The bullet pierced Ning Zhewan's upper palate, taking a piece of his skull with it and leaving a mangled bloody hole.
The barrage of comments fell silent for a moment, then exploded.
This was a genuine explosion, so much so that Ning Zhewan's corpse on screen became indistinguishable.
Some thought it was a special effect, others a prank, and some believed the Arbitrator was insane.
They didn't believe Ning Zhewan's death had anything to do with them, or rather, they had grown accustomed to death in these videos. The sudden suicide brought more surprise than fear.
Wen Wen narrowed his eyes. He had initially thought the Arbitrator aimed to be a lofty judge, but now he realized that guess was wildly off.
First, he could confirm that the Arbitrator's, or rather Ning Zhewan's, death was definitely not a prank or some computer special effect.
The massive rune in his room required not only immense psychic energy to activate,
but more importantly, it needed the blood and soul of a person – a blood sacrifice.
Furthermore, if Ning Zhewan merely wanted to activate this formation, he only needed to commit suicide. There was no need to orchestrate so many 'judgments.'
Initially, tens of thousands watched this video, its popularity rivaling Wen Wen's guided leader dance. Now, less than ten thousand remained.
This was likely a special ritual performed to achieve a certain goal!
Earlier, the Arbitrator had congratulated the over a thousand viewers for not disregarding human life. Thus, those who voted for death were, in his eyes, people who disregarded human life.
What would happen to them?
Watching the comments flash by on the screen, Wen Wen revealed a hint of mockery. These people hadn't realized the gravity of the situation.
All of the Arbitrator's videos were produced solely by Ning Zhewan.
Now that Ning Zhewan was dead, who had edited and uploaded this final video?
Blood flowed from the bloody hole in Ning Zhewan's head, dripping onto the large, reddish-brown pattern on the floor. The pattern flickered with a faint red spiritual light, a sight only Wen Wen could see.
Following this, Ning Zhewan's body moved strangely. His left hand, right hand, legs, and torso, one by one, made crisp cracking sounds. Then, Ning Zhewan stood up.
His eyes, now devoid of luster, shed tears of blood. A sinister grin contorted his lips, and torn tissue mixed with blood flowed down.
"Hello everyone, we meet again. I am the Arbitrator, I am... Ning Zhewan!"
On the comment feed, a few people relaxed slightly, while others erupted in anger, vulgarities filling most of the screen.
Ning Zhewan had stood up, meaning everything just now was fake. They angrily cursed Ning Zhewan because the previous scene had terrified them.
But Wen Wen knew that the Ning Zhewan before them was no longer human.
"I want to ask you, after seeing me shoot myself, what were your feelings?"
"Guilt, or fear?"
"Alright, your thoughts no longer matter, because I am indeed dead."
Ning Zhewan turned his head, allowing the audience to fully admire the bloody hole. He even reached his hand inside and stirred it around.
After this brief demonstration, the audience realized something was amiss, and fear began to grip them.
Some tried to close the webpage, only to find it impossible. Even turning off the computer or unplugging the power couldn't remove Ning Zhewan's somewhat terrifying face from the screen.
Wen Wen sighed. The nature of this matter had changed. Previously, it was a vigilante executing scum privately. But now... now Wen Wen had no idea how things would develop.
At the very least, wiping the memories of scattered, unidentified viewers wouldn't be easy.
Ning Zhewan began to laugh maniacally, his open mouth revealing the bloody hole within, a sight that was somewhat frightening.
"Do you regret it, are you scared?"
"Too late, you have carelessly decided a person's fate..."
"So, I will also decide your fate!"
"The case I explained to you yesterday, the orphanage was real, the victims were real, and my identity was real... but the killer was not me!"
"I did come from that orphanage, but I didn't seek revenge. The revenge was sought by a radical friend of mine. Without my intervention, several more people might have died."
Wen Wen nodded slightly. This aligned with his investigation. If Ning Zhewan hadn't helped the old principal conceal things, the old principal might have been killed by Ning Zhewan's friend as well.
Ning Zhewan moved his chair forward, positioning his verified face to occupy most of the screen, emitting a somewhat crazed laughter.
"I lied, yes, but you didn't doubt my words at all. You lightly decided I should die. You once called me your hero, and now this hero has been personally pushed into hell by you!"
He pointed at the screen and shouted: "You don't care if I truly deserve to die, you don't care what consequences the execution will bring!"
"You treated it as a judgment game, merely enjoying the sense of participation in executing a villain!"
"You are ugly, foolish, and vile. You... deserve to die even more than those I executed before."
"But you hide behind the network, you are numerous, and no one can punish you!"
"But I don't want to let you go. I have seen too many tragedies caused by your irresponsibility, so I want you to pay the price!"
"After all these days, anyone who voted against me twice can no longer watch this video. I'll give those who voted for survival in the last case a chance."
"As for the remaining viewers... I will take your lives one by one within a year, starting with Shenchuan City!"
After Ning Zhewan finished speaking, the computer screen turned black. Then, a black beam of light shot out from the screen, landing on Wen Wen's hand and forming a black mark.
Not only did this black mark appear on Wen Wen's computer, but all over seven thousand people who had voted for death at the end, a black hourglass mark appeared on their hands.
The hourglass bore a number. Wen Wen's number was 2.
But the palm of that hand quickly lit up with a crescent moon, and the mark was unwillingly transferred to the other hand. The Disaster Gloves attempted to erase it, but after a moment's thought, Wen Wen decided to keep the mark.
He didn't believe Ning Zhewan's methods could kill him, and he could erase this mark at any time. He wanted to see what Ning Zhewan intended to do with this mark.