180: Chapter 179 The Art of Hearings and the Client's Statements

Lin Shen ultimately chose [Resilience of Compassion].

The reason for this choice was practical: while "humorous deconstruction" could neutralize attacks, the hearing was a serious occasion, and being too offbeat might backfire; "bountiful regret" focused on long-term growth, whereas what was needed right now was immediate stress resistance. And the description for [Resilience of Compassion] was "increases the recovery speed of a civilization after trauma"—this corresponded exactly to the upcoming "on-site stress test."

The moment the choice was confirmed, the technology tree system sent feedback:

"Civilization trait enhancement applied."

"Scope of effect: All members maintaining a conscious connection with the Cradle Node."

"Effect: When subjected to 'soft damage' such as mental oppression or moral interrogation, the healing speed of psychological trauma increases by 300%, and the ability for logical self-consistency increases by 150%."

"Side effect: May cause a tendency toward 'excessive empathy,' lasting for 24 hours."

"Excessive empathy?" Chu Yunshen looked at the description. "What does that mean?"

Just as she finished speaking, the door to the preparation room slid open, and Zhao Yan walked in. He was holding two cups of coffee—usually, he would only take his own, but today he handed the other cup to the projection of β-2 standing in the corner.

"Although you can't drink it, just... take it, it makes you seem sociable." After Zhao Yan finished speaking, he froze for a moment. "Why did I just say that?"

β-2 took the virtual coffee, and the projection actually simulated a steaming effect: "Captain Zhao Yan, according to behavioral records, in the past 372 similar scenarios, you have never shown me 'gregarious concern.' Is this a manifestation of the 'excessive empathy' side effect?"

"...Probably." Zhao Yan rubbed his temples. "General Manager Lin, this buff of yours is a bit strange."

Lin Shen felt it too. He looked at everyone in the preparation room and could suddenly clearly perceive their emotional fluctuations: Chu Yunshen was calm on the surface but her heart was racing, Zhou Zhe was worried about Wang Xiaohua, Zhao Yan was suppressing his anger toward the Pruning Faction, and even the projection of β-2 seemed to be shrouded in a pale blue emotional halo of "wanting to help but not knowing how"—this was clearly an illusion caused by overloaded empathy.

"The side effect will last until the hearing ends." Lin Shen steadied himself. "Everyone, be sure to stay rational and don't get carried away by your emotions."

Countdown: 00:05:00.

The virtual access program initiated. Nine pillars of light rose in the center of the preparation room, corresponding to the virtual connection channels for the nine arbitration seats. Everyone put on their neural interface helmets, and their consciousness began to upload.

At the very last moment, Zhou Zhe whispered: "Do you think the Arbitration Tribunal's virtual venue... has a restroom? I'm afraid I'll get nervous and need to go."

Chu Yunshen: "Virtual bodies don't need to excrete."

Zhou Zhe: "But my brain thinks I need to! This is called psychogenic urinary frequency!"

Zhao Yan: "Then hold it in. Don't suddenly say 'sorry, I'm going to the restroom' during the presentation."

The pillars of light swallowed them up.

Covenant Network · Arbitration Main Venue

When his vision returned, Lin Shen found himself standing on a pure white circular platform. The platform was suspended in an infinite starry background, surrounded by nine tall seats—each seat floated at a different height and had a different design; some looked like crystal thrones, some like stone altars, and some were simply a continuously changing geometric halo of light.

Nine figures sat in the seats, their faces hidden in light and shadow, with only their silhouettes visible.

From the seat directly opposite, a gentle voice sounded—it was Seventh Seat proxy. He sat on a high-backed chair made of flowing data, his crystal eyes clearly visible in the void.

"Representative of the Dragon Country Civilization, Lin Shen, and your supporting presentation team, you have entered the Covenant Network Arbitration Main Venue. I am Seventh Seat proxy, the moderator of this hearing."

He introduced the other seats in turn:

"Second Seat, Technical Ethics Reviewer." A figure with a thin frame and abnormally long fingers nodded slightly.

"Fourth Seat, Civilization Development Trajectory Evaluator." A continuously rotating nebula emitted a low hum.

"Fifth Seat, Historical Memory Analyst." A figure wearing a plague doctor mask remained silent.

"Sixth Seat, Unknown Risk Forecaster." There was only a flickering red flame on the seat.

"Eighth Seat, Resource Allocation and Territory Arbiter." A corpulent figure whose fingers were covered in rings.

"Ninth Seat, Civilization Value Purity Inspector." —The representative of the Pruning Faction. A figure draped in a silver-trimmed black robe, their face hidden in the shadow of a hood.

Two seats were still empty: the First Seat and the Third Seat.

"The First Seat Arbitration Chief is absent due to cross-sector affairs and has entrusted me to preside in their stead," Seventh Seat proxy said. "The Third Seat..." He paused, "will appear during the testing phase."

Lin Shen noticed that when Seventh Seat proxy said "Third Seat," his tone carried a subtle solemnity.

"The hearing now begins." A light screen appeared in front of Seventh Seat proxy. "First, the Dragon Country Civilization, please provide your civilization overview statement. You have a time limit of thirty minutes. Please proceed."

Chu Yunshen stepped forward. Her virtual avatar was dressed in a formal suit adapted from traditional Dragon Country Civilization attire, her long hair tied up, her expression solemn.

"Respected Arbitrators, I represent the Dragon Country Civilization to present our core civilization traits..."

The statement began. Chu Yunshen's performance was perfect: she condensed the relationships between war and peace, technology and ethics, and individuals and collectives throughout human history into a clear trajectory of development. When speaking about "non-standard practices," she skillfully packaged the "corny pickup line defense battle" as a "creative expression of emotional resilience" and interpreted "The Unfinished Court" as a "philosophical transformation of life's regrets."

"We admit that our methods sometimes appear... unconventional," Chu Yunshen said in conclusion. "But we believe that the diversity of civilizations is the very source of the universe's vitality. A civilization that can neutralize despair with humor and forge shields from regret is perhaps worthy of a chance."

She finished. The time was exactly 29 minutes and 58 seconds.

A brief silence.

Then, the red flame of the Sixth Seat flickered, emitting a crackling sound: "Emotional resilience? Creativity? I only see a group of monkeys making comical reactions under high pressure. Civilization is not a circus."

The tone was unceremonious.

Lin Shen felt [Resilience of Compassion] taking effect—that naked contempt should have made him angry, but now he only felt that the other party "must have experienced a lot of sadness to have become so mean," even feeling a little bit of sympathy.

He steadied his mind and responded: "Your Excellency, Sixth Seat, a circus performance is meant to please the audience, while our 'performance' is for survival. I believe you can understand the difference."

The flame shook violently: "Sharp-tongued. Then tell me—has your fusion with the high-dimensional relic 'divine remains' polluted the consciousness foundation of your civilization?"

It struck at the core.

Lin Shen looked at Zhou Zhe. Zhou Zhe stepped forward and pulled up the data: "We have complete fusion records. The fusion process was a two-way choice, not a one-sided erosion. The divine remains seed is now in deep dormancy and maintaining a healthy distance from our network. We have established twelve isolation protocols..."

"Healthy distance?" The representative of the Pruning Faction in the Ninth Seat spoke up suddenly, their voice cold and chilling. "According to the data we intercepted, Zhou Zhe, a member of your team, once performed a deep consciousness bridge with the dormant seed. What kind of isolation is that?"

Zhou Zhe's heart tightened. They even knew about this?

"That bridging was to obtain the final coding for 'The Unfinished Court,' and it was conducted under surveillance throughout," Zhou Zhe tried to remain calm. "After the bridging, the seed immediately entered deep dormancy, with no consciousness residue whatsoever."

"Is that so?" The Pruning Faction representative raised their hand, projecting a scene—it was exactly the scene of Zhou Zhe reciting poetry to the seed in the medical area. "Then is this... emotional attachment also part of the surveillance?"

In the image, Zhou Zhe was softly reciting, "Don't you see the Yellow River's water coming from the sky," his eyes gentle.

In the preparation room, Zhao Yan cursed under his breath: "They hacked into our medical surveillance!"

In the virtual venue, Zhou Zhe's face flushed red—half from anger, half from shame. The feeling of such a private moment being displayed in public was like being stripped naked.

The empty seat of the Third Seat suddenly lit up.

It wasn't that someone sat down, but rather the seat itself began to transform, turning into a door.

The door opened, and a person walked out.

No, not a person. It was an entity wearing a pure white robe, without a face—its face was a smooth blank slate, with only a huge, golden eye embedded in its forehead.

"Third Seat, Civilization Stress Tester." Seventh Seat proxy's voice carried a hint of tension. "Your Excellency Aurora."

The faceless one Aurora walked to the front of the platform, that golden eye staring at Zhou Zhe.

"Emotional attachment is a weakness of civilization," Aurora's voice was neutral, like a mechanically synthesized sound. "What are you willing to sacrifice for a dormant alien seed?"

The stress test began.

Zhou Zhe swallowed. "I... I don't understand what you mean."

"It's simple." Aurora raised a hand, and two images appeared in the virtual space: on the left, Wang Xiaohua sleeping in a medical pod; on the right, the grey dormant sphere of the divine remains seed.

"Evidence submitted by the Pruning Faction indicates that the 'protocol mark' inside this child requires the divine remains seed as a resonance source to be safely removed."

"And if you remove the seed, your little friend will live; but if you keep the seed, she will be completely eroded within forty-eight hours."

Aurora's golden eyes were devoid of emotion. "Now you choose. Save the child, or keep the seed?"

Zhou Zhe was struck as if by lightning. He looked at Lin Shen, at Chu Yunshen, at Zhao Yan—shock was written on every face.

This was an open conspiracy. The Pruning Faction had calculated that humanity could not possibly abandon a child in a public setting, yet the seed was also an important civilization heritage.

No matter what was chosen, a "weakness" would be exposed: choosing the child would show the civilization was driven by emotion; choosing the seed would show the civilization was cold and heartless.

"I..." Zhou Zhe's hands were trembling.

"You have thirty seconds," Aurora said. "Twenty-nine, twenty-eight..."

Chu Yunshen wanted to speak, but Seventh Seat proxy shook its head. "During the stress test, others may not intervene."

Zhao Yan clenched his fists, the edges of his virtual body flickering due to emotional fluctuations.

Lin Shen watched Zhou Zhe. He could not choose for Zhou Zhe; this was a test of the individual, and also a test of the civilization.

Time ticked away second by second.

"Ten, nine, eight..."

Zhou Zhe suddenly raised his head, his eyes red, but his voice steady. "I request to invoke the 'Civilization Ethics Consultation Procedure'."

Aurora paused. "Reason?"

"According to Article 14 of the Covenant Network's 'Civilization Conflict Mediation Act', when an individual faces an ethical dilemma involving multiple life forms, they may apply to initiate the internal civilization consultation mechanism."

Zhou Zhe spoke quickly—this was something he had noted down while Chu Yunshen was cramming legal texts yesterday. "I am not the sole decision-maker for the civilization. This choice should be discussed and decided by all members of the Cradle Node."

"There is not enough time," Aurora said.

"Then extend the time," Zhou Zhe gritted his teeth. "Or, you can judge us right now as 'unable to make a choice'—but that would only prove we are sufficiently cautious, not weak."

The golden eyes stared at him. After a long while, Aurora said, "Interesting. You are using rules to fight rules."

"You learn this trick when you deal with party a a lot." Zhou Zhe blurted out—only realizing what he had said afterward, he quickly added, "I mean, we are accustomed to finding the optimal solution within the framework."

In the venue, there were a few very faint sounds, similar to coughing—coming from several arbitration seats. It might have been laughter, or it might have been something else.

Aurora turned and walked back to that door.

"The first part of the stress test is passed," it said. "You demonstrated the ability to maintain rule consciousness under extreme pressure. But the test is not over yet."

The door closed, and the seats returned to their original state.

Zhou Zhe's legs went weak, and he almost lost his footing. Zhao Yan cursed in the consciousness communication: "Did you just say 'party a', for fuck's sake?"

Zhou Zhe: "I was nervous! My brain just blanked and..."

However, Lin Shen noticed that when Aurora left, that golden eye seemed to... glance at him. There was a certain sense of assessment in its gaze.

Seventh Seat proxy continued the process: "Next, we enter the technical verification phase. Please have Dragon Country Civilization demonstrate the core operating principles of 'The Unfinished Court'."

Chu Yunshen looked at Lin Shen. Lin Shen nodded, signaling for Zhou Zhe to operate.

But just as Zhou Zhe was preparing to pull up the data, the Pruning Faction representative from the ninth seat interrupted again:

"Before that, I demand an on-site test of the Dragon Country Civilization's 'consciousness pollution level'." The voice under the black robe carried malice. "I suspect their entire team has already been infected by the divine remains' 'sorrow meme', they just haven't realized it themselves."

The flames of the sixth seat flickered. "Seconded. Excessive empathy can be a pathology."

The technical ethics officer of the second seat also spoke up: "Testing is reasonable. If their decision-making is distorted by alien emotional memes, then all statements are untrustworthy."

Three votes of pressure.

Seventh Seat proxy was silent for a few seconds. "Test method?"

The Pruning Faction representative raised a hand and threw out a black cube. The cube landed in the center of the platform and unfolded into a device covered in neural probes.

"This is a 'meme purity detector'. You only need to place your hand on it, and it can analyze the emotional meme composition at the base of your consciousness." A low laugh came from under the black robe. "Dare you not?"

A challenge to provoke them.

But Lin Shen knew that if they refused, it would be equivalent to admitting they had something to hide.

He looked at the team. Everyone nodded.

"We'll do it." Lin Shen was the first to step forward and place his hand on the device.

A cold sensation. Then, a subtle electric current scanned his consciousness in reverse along the neural pathways of his virtual body.

A light screen appeared above the device, displaying the analysis results:

[Individual: Lin Shen]

[Emotional Meme Composition: Human Baseline Template 98.7%]

[Xenogeneic Meme Pollution: 1.3% (Classification: Sorrow/Regret type, Source: divine remains seed Symbiotic Residue)]

[Pollution Assessment: Slight, does not affect logical autonomy]

Then it was Chu Yunshen: 0.9% pollution. Zhao Yan: 0.7%. Both were within the safe range.

When it was Zhou Zhe's turn, the numbers jumped out: 11.2% pollution.

The whole venue was silent.

"11.2%." The Pruning Faction representative's voice carried the tone of a victor. "Anything over 10% is 'moderate pollution'. Mr. Zhou Zhe, was the 'rule consciousness' you displayed earlier really your own consciousness? Or did the divine remains teach you?"

Zhou Zhe's face turned pale. He wanted to defend himself, but he didn't know what to say—because even he wasn't sure. Those nights spent reciting poetry to the seed, those golden light clusters that appeared in his dreams, did they really have no effect on him?

Aurora's seat lit up again. The faceless one did not come out, only a voice was transmitted:

"Pollution value exceeds 10%, triggering the deep verification procedure. I propose conducting an 'consciousness source tracing test' on Zhou Zhe—directly reading the raw memory of when he bridged with the divine remains."

"Objection!" Chu Yunshen said immediately. "That involves personal privacy and consciousness security!"

"But in civilization-level reviews, personal privacy must give way." The sixth seat's flames crackled. "I support the deep verification."

Seventh Seat proxy looked at Lin Shen: "Mr. Lin Shen, you may refuse, but refusal will cause the hearing to terminate prematurely, and the results will be unfavorable to you."

Lin Shen looked at Zhou Zhe. Zhou Zhe bit his lip and finally nodded. "I'll do it."

"Good." Aurora's voice was devoid of emotion. "The test will be conducted in the next phase. For now, complete the technical demonstration."

The pressure was temporarily shifted, but a greater crisis hung overhead.

Zhou Zhe took a deep breath, walked to the center of the platform, and began to operate the demonstration interface for 'The Unfinished Court'.

His hands were trembling slightly.

But just at the moment he pulled up the holographic projection of the ruined garden, a voice that no one expected suddenly resounded in the venue—

It was β-2.

Her projection appeared on the platform, standing beside Zhou Zhe, though no one knew when it had arrived.

"Apologies, I have accessed without authorization." β-2's voice was calm. "But according to the consciousness synergy agreement between myself and Engineer Zhou Zhe, I have the right to intervene and assist when his emotional fluctuations exceed the threshold."

She looked at Aurora's seat, looked at all the arbitrators, and then said something that stunned the entire venue:

"Additionally, regarding Engineer Zhou's 'pollution' issue—I would like to provide supplementary data."

She raised a hand, projecting a complex waveform graph.

"This is a piece of information that the divine remains seed actively transmitted to Engineer Zhou when he was bridging with it. The content of the information is..."

β-2 paused, and in a tone devoid of emotion, recited a line of poetry:

"May I be like the star and you like the moon, shining brightly upon each other night after night."

Then she raised her head, and that golden eye (simulating Aurora's appearance, but one size smaller) blinked:

"According to my analysis, this is an emotional meme expressing 'companionship and protection', rather than erosive pollution. If this is called pollution..."

She paused, then said another sentence that made Zhou Zhe want to crawl into a crack in the ground right then and there:

"Then I suggest that you, the arbitrators, also accept this kind of 'pollution'—after all, according to public Covenant Network data, the civilization pressure index of everyone present is on average 470% higher than ours."

Dead silence.

Then, the technical ethics officer of the second seat let out a clear, irrepressible—

"Pfft."

Like the sound of air leaking.