Chapter 1

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, turned the doorknob, and pushed the door open.

Inside was a rectangular, spacious room.

Cold light shone down from above, converging on a long table in the center of the room.

The table was made of wood, thick and well-crafted; around it were thirteen high-backed armchairs.

At the moment, the chairs numbered "2" to "13" were all occupied. Therefore, he had no choice but to walk to the seat marked with the number "1."

"Phew..." He adjusted his breathing and slowly moved toward the long table.

During this process, he quickly observed the twelve people already seated at the table; among them were men and women, dressed in various styles, with the oldest looking around forty and the youngest appearing to be about sixteen or seventeen.

As he approached, the twelve people remained quite calm. Some gave him a cold, scrutinizing look, some flashed him a mocking smile, and some didn't even raise their eyelids.

Until he sat down, no one spoke a word; the room, which contained thirteen people, was eerily quiet, even the sound of breathing seemed jarring.

He could feel... a strange atmosphere permeating the room, or perhaps it had already permeated long ago.

Before long, his gaze involuntarily shifted to the tabletop in front of him, because on the entire long table, only there... in front of the "Number 1" seat... was something placed.

Ding-ding-ding-ding—

The object rang, right on time.

He hesitated for a few seconds, and only when more than half of the people had turned their eyes to him did he reach out to pick up the handset of the old-fashioned telephone.

"Hello?" He placed the handset to his ear and responded.

In the next ten seconds, the person on the other end of the phone said a few words; only he could hear them clearly, while "Number 2" and "Number 13" sitting on either side of him only caught a few indistinct syllables, unable to make out the specific content.

Ten seconds later, the handset emitted a more distinct dial tone and busy signal.

So, he sighed, hung up the phone, and then took out an I-PEN from his pocket.

He unfolded the electronic membrane of the I-PEN, making it into a "tablet" state, and then entered a password on the unlock screen; when the screen was unlocked, a document popped up directly.

He stared at the screen for a few seconds, then looked up and scanned the twelve people on both sides of the long table.

Then, he read out the words in the document, word for word: "First, I would like to apologize to all of you through the mouth of Juror Number 1, as most of you were invited here by rather extreme means.

"Of course, whether or not you accept my apology is not important.

"I believe that, like me, you are not the type to be bound by trivialities.

"I also believe that those who can sit at this table not only possess outstanding talents but also have a broad vision for the entire world.

"Today, I have invited you here to participate in a 'special trial' as jurors; as long as the thirteen of you... reach a consensus on the topic I provide, you can leave."

At this point, Juror Number 1 put down the device, looked up at everyone, and asked, "Let me ask you, do you really intend to listen to me read on?"

No one answered him, at least not in the first few seconds.

After a while, Juror Number 4... a man in a black suit with a slicked-back hairstyle and a scar running across his entire face, spoke in a low, calm voice, "The reason I am sitting here listening is the same as the reason you are sitting there reading."

Although he used "I" instead of "we," this statement clearly represented the stance of the others.

"Ha..." Juror Number 1 chuckled dryly, "Alright..." He picked up the I-PEN again and continued, "Now, I will begin to read the first file related to this topic..."

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