Chapter 12 The Key to Salvation

On the way to the next room, Feng Bujue discovered something pleasing: the [Apparatus] specialization in his skill levels had been unlocked. It was at F level now. He didn't know whether it was from fiddling with the Walkman or folding newspapers, but at least it was open. If the skill rewarded for clearing the stage was in the [Apparatus] or [General] categories, he should be able to learn it directly.

A few minutes later, he finally arrived at another door marked in red. This time, he pushed the door open and went in.

The room was small, with two televisions placed against the wall. There was a table in the center of the room, and a key was placed directly on the table. In the corner of the right-hand wall was a vertical pipe, protruding about one meter from the ground. Feng Bujue walked over and looked at it. The diameter seemed to be just right for a tennis ball to fit in.

This time, before he touched anything, the door behind him closed on its own. At the same time, one of the two televisions lit up, and the image of the white-faced doll appeared on the screen.

"Hello, Arthur. Perhaps you feel that the game is coming to an end, or perhaps you think you can leave here alive soon. But please ask yourself, do you really deserve it? Can a moment of kindness and fleeting pain change your hypocritical nature?

"You and I both know that you have not yet received true salvation."

Feng Bujue didn't say anything. He felt that something was wrong with these words. The so-called "moment of kindness" and "fleeting pain" should refer to his choices when he passed through the previous two rooms. This meant that this recording might have been made just a few minutes ago, or...the screen was simply broadcasting live.

The screen of the second television also suddenly lit up. Feng Bujue saw an unbelievable scene. Wang Tanzhi actually appeared on that television. Wang Tanzhi in the picture was also walking in a corridor. He looked injured, with blood stains on his body, and his walking posture was a little strange.

"Rolling around in the arena of fame and fortune has allowed you to meet many petty people who call you brother. I believe that even if they learned of your disappearance or death, these people would not care. But... Arthur, you have a friend, a true friend," the doll said. "John is also playing a game, but his destination is a dead end. And the only thing that can help him escape, and at the same time... is the thing that can help you leave here, is the key on the table.

"You can use it to open the last door, or you can throw it into the pipe in the corner and send it to John.

"There is only one key. If the despicable and hypocritical Arthur Siegel chooses to die, then the kind and upright John can survive.

"Life and death, make your choice."

Feng Bujue stared at the television screen, stunned for a full two minutes. He was thinking about what was going on with Wang Tanzhi in the second television. Was this just a fake image generated in his script, or was he really seeing Wang Tanzhi in another single-player survival mode script at this moment? If it was the latter, then this system was too sharp. Could it actually allow the scripts of two different players to overlap at a certain moment?

He thought to himself, *It seems that the answer will have to wait until the end of the script to ask Xiao Tan. Now, I can only speculate, and cannot verify it.*

At this moment, Feng Bujue couldn't help but admire the brilliance of this script. Arthur in the setting was indeed not a good person, and the previous two levels were not enough to change anything, but those were just foreshadowing.

According to this plot, the final choice was the key. If Arthur sacrificed John and chose to escape himself, then he would suffer the condemnation of his conscience for the rest of his life, living in pain. His selfishness and hypocrisy would be infinitely amplified, tormenting his mind. Arthur would eventually go to another extreme, becoming a fanatical altruist, a true philanthropist, so that his conscience would feel better.

This was the so-called "salvation," allowing the player to understand respect and cherish life after the trial, and to be grateful for the rest of their life.

The other situation was that Arthur chose to die himself, allowing his friend John to live. That was directly a sacrificial salvation.

Feng Bujue shrugged, walked to the table, picked up the key, looked at the last closed door, and said to himself, "So, my script ends in failure..." He walked to the pipe, didn't think much, and threw the key in.

Afterwards, the screen of the second television was turned off, and the doll in the first television spoke again: "An admirable choice, Arthur. Don't worry, death is the sublimation of the soul." It seemed that this was really not a recording.

"That door..." Feng Bujue turned his face, pointed in the direction of the door, and said, "Leads to a dead end."

The doll's neck turned slightly, without responding.

"Your wording is very interesting...and very rigorous. I was almost deceived," Feng Bujue said. "The thing that can help him 'escape' is also the thing that can help me 'leave here'." He laughed. "Heh...if I took the key to open the door, I would die instead, right?"

The doll still didn't answer, remaining silent.

"You said I 'can use it to open the last door', but you didn't say that I could live after opening it. I would only 'leave'," Feng Bujue said. "And the most important hint is... 'If the despicable and hypocritical Arthur Siegel chooses to die, then the kind and upright John can survive'." He spread his hands. "I thought for a few seconds before I understood that this is not a contradiction. At this moment, John got the key, and he can survive, while the 'despicable and hypocritical' Arthur is already dead.

"Standing here is Arthur Siegel who can sacrifice himself for his friend, and who has passed the trial, an 'admirable' person, whose 'soul has been sublimated'. Am I right?"

The doll finally spoke: "Excellent. You have seen through the rules of the game, but this makes me question the results of the trial."

"Are you really just a set of script data generated by the system?" Feng Bujue narrowed his eyes and walked towards the television. "Could it be that for you, my choice is not just a predetermined logical conclusion? Does it also matter whether my basis for passing the level is conscience or cunning?" He squatted in front of the television, and in the same tone as in the recording, lowered his voice and said, "The final choice of this script is not actually between life and death. But a game about the id, ego, and superego.

"If I put myself into the mindset of 'Arthur Siegel', then I would be choosing with the id, and that despicable reporter would undoubtedly abandon others to save himself, using the key to open the door, which would lead to death.

"If I completely looked at the problem with the mindset of a 'player', then I would be choosing with the ego. For a player of Thriller Paradise, this is just a script, and the options are very simple: clear the stage or Game Over. So, I would still take the key to open the door, and still die.

"Only a person who enters the subjective role with an objective mindset, 'a player who is focused on playing Arthur Siegel', can make a decision with the superego. In that way, even without breaking your tricks, I would choose to throw the key into the pipe, because that is the most perfect interpretation of the script.

"And then, you would give me a surprising ending in return, is that right?"

The television screen actually went black at this moment, as if the doll had forcibly stopped this exchange. Feng Bujue immediately heard the familiar, emotionless system prompt in his ear:

[You have completed this script. You will be automatically teleported in 60 seconds.]