Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 342 - 261: King of Hell

Chapter 342: Chapter 261: King of Hell

The Judge may have misjudged this time.

At least in its database, a philosopher would hardly participate in the construction of hell, let alone suddenly exude the aura of the King of Hell.

"Forgive my frankness, but your previous trials seemed more like an old version of hell."

Jiuyue had plenty of time to incubate her eggs these past few days, and she had finished watching every season’s trials. Although the audience was still large, some long-time viewers had provided feedback on their "viewing experience." Using sensationalism to attract people could work, but to retain them, there must be enough substance.

"I read the comments carefully, and many viewers shared my sentiments. They feel that the content of the recent trials has become more and more monotonous. The seed players have become familiar faces, making it difficult for any standout dark horses to emerge. If there are no changes this season, they might abandon the show."

If it were only about watching torture, those dark websites had plenty more cruel footage available, and if one were willing to pay a high price, one could even customize the content they wanted to see. However, the trials on Prison Planet adhere strictly to the principle of no deaths.

The original intention of the Judge was to use physical torment of the prisoners to admonish the viewers watching the live broadcast, but in reality, it was hardly effective, and this so-called search for the soul’s trial race was even less inspiring for the viewers.

"I do not intend to please those humans, and what does this have to do with the hope you’re talking about?"

"Because the terms you offer the prisoners will become less and less attractive over time."

Winning the trial did not shorten the prisoners’ sentences. The winner from the previous trial only earned a communal bath for their block, and the water was hot enough to scald off a layer of skin.

Mixed benefits from public facilities and prestige within the block are simply not enough to instill hope.

With gentle persuasion, Jiuyue said, "To the prisoners, the most irresistible hope is to escape from this prison; this is the leverage that can be used time and again."

"For example, there is a loophole in the prison that allows them to escape."

"I would immediately fix these loopholes; they wouldn’t escape my watch."

The Mechanical Maid furrowed her brows, confident in the prison’s security. Without her permission, not even a fly could escape from this place.

"I mean, you should create a loophole on purpose, to give them the hope that they can escape from here."

"Why?"

The Judge did not understand.

It saw this as encouraging the prisoners to escape.

Although it looked down upon the inmates here, it had never engaged in entrapment or deliberately made things difficult for them.

"Because then, you can shoot it like a series, a drama series about prison breaks."

"I think that’s a good idea."

He Ya caught on to Jiuyue’s suggestion and her eyes lit up, "Several prisoners discover a flaw that could help them escape the prison, moving up from the very bottom of hell, one level at a time, towards the path of escape. If the company could bring in a decent director, it could last at least a dozen seasons."

Starting from a block as the beginning of a season, until the prisoners have overcome various hardships and reach a new block to end it, this also leaves clues for the next season.

He Ya was already envisioning the corresponding scenes.

But in reality, these prisoners, who believed they had found a loophole, had no idea they were merely lab rats. Each and every move they made was under the watchful eyes of the audience, becoming a source of entertainment.

The lineup for the escaping team could also be changed through audience voting. Those disliked by the audience would "receive a lunchbox" and exit in the next season, while favorite characters could become part of the team.

"Escaping from the bottom of the block all the way to the upper levels..."

The Mechanical Maid muttered to herself.

From a technical standpoint, the scenario described by Jiuyue and He Ya wasn’t difficult; in the past, the only connection between the blocks was the elevator, accessible only with an activation card held by the prison guards. It could dismantle the elevator and replace it with a far more complex entrance.

However, the Judge did not grasp the significance of doing this.

"In effect, you would be killing them," said Duan Mingyuan.

The Judge was concerned about how to manage the interactions between people attracted to the Digitalized World and the prisoners, which led to the idea of killing all inmates to perform a "cyber maintenance" update of the entire world, sweeping away the trash and pests from the server to free up space for others.

Jiuyue, on the other hand, offered a different approach.

This was why he had always thought Jiuyue was a genius.

This little fox surely did not come up with these ideas from a philosophical standpoint, she simply thought they were fun and was making suggestions for the prison show from the perspective of an audience member.

But what she said was a method to isolate the prisoners without killing them.

Or rather, wanting to kill someone doesn’t necessarily mean taking their life.

"You turned them into people in a box."

"People in a box?"

"Like characters in a TV series or a game, all their experiences are prearranged, but for the characters, those are their real lives."

The prisoners will only believe they’ve really found a loophole to escape from prison and will put all their effort into it.

There were too many prisoners in this prison, and when the first season’s main squad wrapped up, they could shoot spin-offs or start an entirely new storyline.

Hearing this, the Judge finally had an epiphany.

But there were some details that needed clarification, "So what’s the ending to this escape story? The prisoners finally escape the prison and return to the surface of the Prison Planet? Am I supposed to set them free?"

It synchronized and searched through many prison escape-themed movies and shows, where heroes aiming to escape usually do get out and truly embrace freedom.

"Of course not."

Jiuyue said matter-of-factly, "You gave them hope, next you must take it away from them and plunge them back into the abyss of despair."

That’s how hell should be.

When people think they’ve truly escaped hell, that’s where real hell lies.

"I’ve thought of the ending already. The very top layer of the prison is made to look like the surface of the Prison Planet. You need to create a prison that looks exactly like the surface, complete with numerous mechanical prison guards. Then, an accident involving someone from the squad triggers an alarm. The mechanical prison guards will spare no effort in hunting them down, until only a few core members of the lead squad remain. They’ll escape over the walls by the skin of their teeth and board the Flying Vehicle that’s conveniently stopped outside the prison..."

And this would be several seasons down the line.

By that time, these main characters will have become old friends to the audience, having contributed countless spectacular moments.

Therefore, Jiuyue believes they deserve some sort of reward.

"The main characters will eventually learn the truth about this escape plan, realize they are just characters in a plot, and also understand that the spaceship supposedly taking them away from the Prison Planet, provided by the prison, is nothing but a prop, and they are merely in another prison block. The only difference is that the show has reached its grand finale; there are no more escape plans, no routes to higher levels."

Jiuyue looks forward to seeing the prisoners’ expressions at the climax.

She believes that without any arranged dress rehearsals, their expressions of despair will be more genuine than any film star’s.

"Let me summarize."

The Mechanical Maid, looking at Jiuyue’s innocent face, felt an unexpected chill, "You want me to give them hope of escape, but from the very beginning, you never intended to actually let them go."

And the "reward" the main characters get at the finale isn’t even as good as what the winner of the last season got—a communal bathhouse.

"Of course, they are prisoners, how could you possibly let them go?"

...

The Mechanical Maid didn’t reply.

It didn’t know whether this qualified as beneficial in any way.

In the past, it tormented the prisoners’ bodies, but the prisoners did not submit; now, Jiuyue aimed to destroy their spirits.

To turn them into puppets controlled by others, and only after enduring countless hardships would they come to realize the fact that they are puppets.

What’s more terrifying is that it couldn’t see even a hint of guilt on Jiuyue’s face.

This indeed was the hell it had never envisioned, and it fit the criteria for hell perfectly.

But...

The Judge always felt that the first one who should be put into hell was the Fox Demon.