Chapter Four: Every Malice Leaves an Echo

“Gods need enemies,” the captain laughed as agents restrained him. “Without hostility to feed them, how will they learn to rule?” Xiezhi's darkness turned cold. [Initial community personality: Justice 38%, Evidence 31%, Protection 19%, Punishment 12%.] [Warning: Punitive tendency seeking targets autonomously.] Lin faced the beast. “You make evidence speak. You do not make the guilty disappear.” “And if evidence never receives judgment?” Its voice sounded like a gavel in an empty room. Lin watched the red thread leading toward DeepVault headquarters. “Then we open-source judgment too.” He released all evidence from the assault, Xiezhi's reasoning paths, and his own administrator logs.