Zhou Lin

Do you know "Fengduluo Mountain"?

If someone suddenly asked you this question in Long County, you might think of some ancient folklore about hell.

But now, across the globe, people are asking this question.

Just because...an "urban legend" related to it appeared on the Internet.

The content of the legend is roughly like this——

One day in early 2218, a website called "Funduluo Mountain" appeared on the Dark Web. This website did not provide illegal transactions (illegal transactions on the Dark Web include but are not limited to arms, poisons/drugs/chemicals) , sensitive professional knowledge/consultation, illegal employment relationships, etc.), nor publish sensational conspiracy theories, nor engage in supernatural exploration of those gods and ghosts...

Fengduluoshan only does one thing - judging.

According to the website's own records, since February 2218, the website's live broadcast channel will be opened on every first and fifteenth day of the lunar calendar. The specific opening time is uncertain...sometimes at night, sometimes in the early morning. , and several times right at noon.

But no matter when, as long as the channel is opened, it means that a "live trial" has begun.

In the following time, the audience will witness a man wearing a mask who calls himself "Judge", judging one or more people; there are no restrictions on the age, gender, and occupation of the person being judged, but one thing is The same thing... they are all people who have been in the news.

Sex offenders who rely on money and status to escape their crimes; serial killers who have been on the run for many years but have never been caught in law; traffic perpetrators and their families who maliciously neglected their obligation to pay compensation; who refused to save their friends and did not want to avoid responsibility afterward. The related persons who refused to assist in the investigation; the old man and his instigators who drove people to death with porcelain and malicious lawsuits; the cultural figures who made their fortune by plagiarism and infringement; the fraud gangs that specialize in defrauding the elderly but get away with it by relying on legal loopholes; and many more Hidden rules and scandal-ridden film and television giants, etc.

The crimes of these persons being tried vary from minor to serious, but they all meet two prerequisites: first, there is a certain social topic; second, they have not paid the due price for their actions, or have not paid the price at all. .

And "Funduluo Mountain", just as its name means in folklore, is a place to "settle accounts" with these people.

Every month, "Judge" will prepare two live broadcast shows, and within 24 hours after the live broadcast ends, the full version of the high-definition video of this live broadcast will be placed on the homepage of the website, providing free online viewing and downloading.

Unlike those who sell perverted, murderous, and bizarre videos on the dark web, the judge seems not to be interested in money; his only way to interact with the audience is... to vote.

Every time a trial is broadcast live, the judge will use the votes of the audience to determine the process and final outcome of the trial; although the person who controls the overall situation is still the judge, the audience will also feel that they have a high degree of participation.

Such a person and such a show are naturally in line with the tastes of netizens.

In the online world, the vast majority of people are chasing a sense of identity that is beyond their own class and ability and cannot be obtained in reality.

They hide behind the screen, tap on the keyboard, make remarks that they think are irresponsible, and expect to receive support and recognition.

Every year, every month, every day, every moment... they expect, long for, be valued, and be responded to.

They vent in malicious attacks and rude debates, disguised with cheap pity and acquired knowledge, to make their virtual identities powerful, gain companions, and even gain fans.

And their purpose for doing this is simply because they want to "change" something.

This desire is real. They really want the world to develop in a better direction "what they think", but they are unwilling to pay the human or material costs and take risks in reality, so they choose This wish is realized through the keyboard in hand and a virtual identity on the Internet.

The judge is the person who fulfills their wishes.

If one day, someone hands a "death penalty button" to your hand, as long as you press it, you can make someone you have seen on the social news make you and countless others feel unqualified to live in this world. The scumbag is going to die...and die miserably. Will you press it?

If that person told you again that even if you pressed the button, you would not be held accountable and all the responsibilities would be borne by him, would you still hesitate? In other words...how long will you hesitate?

Even on the bright Internet that people are familiar with, the answer is probably obvious, let alone the dark web...

…………

2218, summer, Black Hawk County, Berlin.

Hal Schneider was in a terrible mood when he walked out of the company conference room.

Once again he failed.

David, the sycophant who had joined the company after him, became floor supervisor, and he would stay in his boring job for at least another six months.

Hull is thirty-two years old this year. He is not married, not in love, or even has any friends.

He put all his energy into his work, but still has not been promoted to management.

Since three years ago, his boss has been constantly hinting that he might give him a promotion, but it always just stays at the "hint" stage, and in the end... someone else always gets there first.

Those who are not as capable as him and invite their colleagues out for entertainment every day; those who run away early when he works overtime, but scream when he asks for credit; those who rely on nepotism to enter the company and have nothing to do...

If Hull were the boss of this company, he would be able to compile a "waste list" with more than a dozen names in one night, more than half of which are middle-level or above; he is convinced that as long as these people are Driving him out of the company will at least increase the efficiency of work here by more than 50%.

Unfortunately...he's not.

On the way home, the air conditioner in Hull's shabby car happened to be broken. Coupled with the bad traffic conditions, he sat in the car and took a sauna for nearly an hour.

By the time he returned to his apartment, his anger and frustration had not abated but had intensified.

Of course, there is more anger.

Even after he went to take a shower, the anger still showed no tendency to subside.

He put on his bathrobe, took out a piece of cold pizza left last night from the refrigerator, and warmed it up for two minutes. While preparing this "dinner", he also took out three cans of cold beer. After preparing all these, he sat in front of the computer.

As soon as he turned it on, his computer desktop displayed all work-related software and various temporary folders. At this moment, he thought this was an ironic thing.

He couldn't help but think that if he had spent more time on interpersonal relationships in the past ten years, he might have gotten everything he wanted in an easy way.

He will have many friends, a family, or at least a girlfriend; he will be like those losers who ride on his head and can't do anything other than taking credit and flattering, and can get a high salary just by socializing.

Thinking of this, Hull felt depressed in his chest. He drank half a can of beer, burped roughly, and then opened the desk drawer and took out a bottle of lubricant, a pack of tissues, and a VR peripheral that could be connected to the computer host. .

Although it is likely that no one has counted this matter, and accurate statistics cannot be obtained, but generally speaking - if you are a man over thirty who lives alone, has certain financial conditions, then you will definitely go Dealing with something that is on the edge of the law.

Hull is no exception... He has some computer knowledge and has been a frequent visitor to various dark webs a few years ago.

Of course, in the first few years when he first started working, he was just an ordinary Internet user; he went to websites known to the public and expressed various opinions from his own point of view, but soon he realized something One thing - even in the online world, I am a very boring person.

If "socializing" is a kind of talent, then Hull is probably a retard in this regard; he is the kind of person who can chill the atmosphere in a chat room with just a few words, and he is the kind of person who speaks seriously After commenting, you will be ignored or embarrassed to the point where you just want to pretend not to see it.

Over time, his comments on the Internet became more and more violent and offensive, but that did not improve his situation. At most, it changed his situation from "embarrassing" to "annoying" That’s all.

When this constant feedback of negative emotions accumulated to a critical point, Hull finally began to look for some bloody, curious, and illegal things to stimulate his nerves and achieve the purpose of venting.

In this way, he stepped into the dark web, and here... found a sense of ease and a way to buffer the pressure of reality.

He still remembers the feeling of disgust he felt when he first saw a "training video" on the dark web that was purported to be "supplied to a certain high-level federal congressman" and leaked from a certain "Internet Security Center." , guilt, and... excitement.

Today, on this day when his promotion failed again, he felt that he had every reason to commit another crime.

Just as he prepared various items, drank beer, and browsed information on various dark web resource sharing sites, he suddenly saw many similar messages——

"The trial has begun."

"The trial is being broadcast live."

"Today's trial is Borg!"

"What a joy! Haha!"

"That bastard Borg went to Fengduluo Mountain, hahaha."

These contents are undoubtedly pointing to the same thing, and this thing... Hull, who often goes to the dark web, has naturally heard of it, but he has not gone to see it with his own eyes.

But now, since he happened to catch up with the live broadcast, Hull just wanted to go in and take a look, and opened the "Fengdu Luoshan" website that he had heard about for a long time.

As soon as the webpage was displayed, there was an extra-large video window. On the right side of the window was a list of instant comments. Two numbers were displayed in the lower left and lower right corners of the video. The red number on the left was now 241, while the white number on the right was Only a pitiful 4.

Hull put on his headphones, adjusted the volume slightly, and started watching the live broadcast.

At this moment, the video screen showed a middle-aged bald man with a big belly wearing only a pair of shorts.

This man's face, Hull had seen on the news, his name was Lucas Berg, a native of Black Hawk County and a director of the federal Social Security Organization.

At this time last year, someone revealed that Borg had long used his position to bring some "guests" of unknown origin to the homes of female citizens with intellectual disabilities, and violently assaulted them while their families were away. .

Once this matter was exposed, it immediately aroused a very bad social response. For a time, public dissatisfaction boiled. All media and people pointed the finger at the relevant federal departments. Berg was quickly taken away by the police to assist in the investigation.

But the next development of the matter is...

After a period of investigation and interrogation, the federal government quickly mobilized public relations and gave several sets of official statements that could neither be verified nor denied to calm public opinion; as time went by, most of the matters had nothing to do with them. After being filled with indignation for about a week, the people forgot about the news. After all, they still have their own lives to live. Compared with these things that they cannot control, news such as celebrity gossip is obviously easier to attract their attention. force.

A few months later, when the incident had almost been completely forgotten, the results of the "Borg Incident" investigation were officially announced in a very low-key manner - there was insufficient evidence and the charges were not established.

According to relevant federal departments: Borg's DNA was not collected from the wounds on the so-called "victims", so the physical evidence is not established. As for where their injuries came from...these people are more complicated in their daily lives than the rest of us. It is normal to get bruised easily; also because they are a special group of people with intellectual disabilities, their testimonies are not trustworthy. Similar testimonies may be fabricated by people with ulterior motives. In addition to the official information, , other rumors cannot be trusted, and those who spread rumors will be held accountable by the relevant authorities.

Just like that, the matter was revealed.

Of course, after what happened, Borg will definitely not be able to stay in his original position; but it doesn't matter, he is also a federal official after all, and he can't stay in this position anymore. Just change it to another one. As for where to change to... this is the federal government There is no need to report internal transfers to the outside world.

After such operations, the image of the federal social security organization has been preserved; the people involved in the case are no longer in their positions anyway; no one can hear the voices of the parties involved, and as for the voices of netizens... they are anyway Basically, I have forgotten about this matter a long time ago, and those who have not forgotten dare not say anything more... In short, if it is handled properly, the world will be peaceful.

But……

Judge, he seems to think this matter is not over yet.

So, there is this next show...