The return was quiet. The container was taken to the spare cargo berth on the upper levels and left among the stacks of the same featureless boxes. When Lin Wei got out, there was no one around. Only the flickering holograms of the pointers and the indifferent hum of the system.
His body ached, his mind was exhausted. But the seal on his wrist glowed with a new, clear light.: 1/1000. The first victory. He saved Zhang Mei's soul, exposed the crime, and obtained the evidence. By all earthly standards, a triumph.
The triumph in Diyu smelled of dust and ozone.
Xiao Bai and Lao Jin were waiting for him at the warehouse exit, huddled against the wall like terrified mice. Xiao Bai was smiling a confused, goofy smile. Lao Jin looked at his hands as if he had never seen them before.
"We are... Did we do it?" Xiao Bai whispered.
"We did," Lin replied hoarsely. —What about Lin Qiao?"
"They were taken to the quarantine unit for reintegration," Lao Jin said. His voice was still shaking, but there was a new note in it—not fear, but tired determination. — Her readings are already in the system. The case against Yama Luna has been opened. But..."
"But that doesn't mean anything," Lin finished for him. — He is a high-ranking official. The case will be "considered" for centuries. In the meantime, he would find a way to take revenge. Us."
They walked along a deserted corridor, and with each step the euphoria of victory faded, replaced by an icy reality. They got into a big game where the stakes are forever and the opponents don't play by the rules. They're just pretending.
"What should we do now? Xiao Bai asked. — We have one case that we have won. Maybe we should lay low. Take simple cases?"
Lin Wei shook his head. He felt an invisible gaze on him. The system marked him. Yama Heng was marking him. To "lay low" now meant to become an easy target.
"No," he said. — We're moving on. Faster. We need to gain momentum. The system can only be defeated from the inside, becoming such a loud, uncomfortable, and successful part of it that they can't just erase us. We need a reputation. And we need allies."
"Allies? In Diyu?" Xiao Bai snorted. "It's every man for himself here. Even the souls in the queues don't talk to each other!"
"Not all of them," Lao Jin suddenly said. He stopped and looked at them. — There is... other. Just like us. Those who see the rot in the system. Who tried to change something and was broken. They're hiding. But they are there."
Lin Wei stared at him intently.
"Do you know where to look for them?"
"I know. But it's dangerous. If the system finds out that you are in contact with them... You will be declared rebels. They'll erase it without a trial."
"We will be wiped out as soon as the opportunity presents itself," Lin stated coldly. "Lead the way."
Lao Jin led them down, not into the industrial depths, but into the old, abandoned sectors that had once been residential quarters for low-level clerks. Now it was desolate. The holograms on the walls were dimmed, and the air was musty. Occasionally, shadows flickered—the same hunted, translucent spirits that disappeared into the darkness as they approached.
Finally, they came to a sealed door marked "Archive of outdated protocols. Access is closed." Lao Jin tapped his knuckles several times in a complex rhythm. The door slid open soundlessly.
It didn't look like an archive inside. It was the headquarters. A small room littered with scrolls, homemade holographic screens, and cups of frozen nectar of oblivion. In the center, three spirits were sitting at a table assembled from the debris of server racks.
The first one was old, with a beard braided into dozens of thin braids, each of which had microchips woven into it. His eyes were milky white, unseeing, but his fingers flew over the tactile interface, sending streams of data into the air.
The second is a woman in a shabby but neat Diyu courier uniform. Her face was hard, with sharp cheekbones and thin lips. She was fixing some kind of complicated mechanism that looked like a hybrid of a compass and a seismograph.
The third is a young guy, almost a boy, with burning fanatical eyes. He was whispering furiously into a device that looked like a walkie-talkie.
The three of them raised their heads as they entered. There is a wariness bordering on hostility on their faces.
"Lao Jin? — said the female courier. Her voice was low and hoarse. "You brought strangers. And one... alive. Explain yourself."
"This is the protector, Mei," Lao Jin said quickly. "That's the one. He just won a case against Yama Moon. Revealed the debt redirection."
There was silence in the room. The blind old man stopped running his fingers over the interface.
"Confirm," he said. His voice was as dry as the creak of parchment.
Lin Wei showed his seal. The number "1" burned on her like a brand.
The young man jumped up.
"Really? Did you make it?! Tell me!"
"Later, Feng,— the woman named Mei snapped. She stood up and walked over to Lin Wei, studying him. "Why have you come to us, Protector?" To turn us over to the system and buy yourself a break?"
"To offer a deal,— Lin replied bluntly. — You have information. You have access to something that is not in the official archives. To the "shadow" accounting department of Diyu. I have the legal status of a defender. And now — one victory. I can go where you're not allowed. I can ask questions that the system is required to answer. We can help each other."
The blind old man nodded slowly.
"It makes sense. But it's risky. You're a lightning rod. All the hate of the system is on you now. Cooperating with you is suicide."
"You're already on the erasure list," Lin retorted. "Otherwise you wouldn't be hiding here." You tried to fight alone and lost. I suggest we join forces. Not for the revolution. For... point operations. Saving those whom the system has decided to grind illegally. To dismantle this wall brick by brick."
May exchanged a glance with the old man. He nodded again.
"I am Tsui. Former archivist of the Supreme Court. I know where the skeletons are hidden in every closet. May is our "eye and ears", she can deliver anything and anywhere. Feng is our hacker. He finds gaps in the code where there would seem to be none."
"And what do you get?" asked May.
"Business,— Lin said. — Difficult, hopeless cases that the system has scrapped. You find them — those who are wrongfully convicted. I'm protecting them. Every case I win is a blow to the reputation of corrupt judges, a step towards my goal and a chance for you to get new compromising materials. We are building an archive. The Archive of truth. Which will one day become a weapon."
Feng lit up.
"Yes! We can create a black book! Record all their violations!"
"Hush, puppy," Tsui muttered, but a hint of a smile twitched at the corners of his lipless mouth. — Defender of rights. Slow, methodical work. Without making loud statements. We are not overthrowing the system. We are... We treat her. We cut out cancerous tumors."
He held out his hand. His fingers found Lin's hand and squeezed it with unexpected force.
"Welcome to the Accounting Department of Retribution, Defender. Our first rule is that we don't exist. Secondly, we never make mistakes. And third, the accounts must be settled. Always."
From that moment on, everything changed. Lin had a rear. A real one, albeit a ghostly one.
Cui gave him his first assignment. A case that has been gathering dust in the archive for decades. The spirit of an old scientist accused of "stealing heavenly fire" — an attempt to recreate the process of star formation in the Diyu laboratory. The accusation is heresy and a violation of the cosmic balance. The verdict is eternal contemplation of a motionless black hole.
"The real reason," Cui explained, "is that his research could lead to the creation of a new energy source, which would undermine the monopoly of the Energy Department, which is run by Yama Heng's brother—in—law."
It was the perfect second case. It was difficult, on the verge of a foul, but with a clear background. And most importantly, it did not directly affect the Yama clan, but it hit their allies.
The preparation took the rest of the "day". Lin Wei immersed himself in studying the cosmological treatises of Diyu, which Mei had obtained from the forbidden department. Xiao Bai and Feng were looking for loopholes in the wording of the charges. Lao Jin, using his old connections, obtained the logs of the scientist's experiments.
When Lin Wei entered the Courtroom the next morning (local time), he was not alone. Behind him stood an invisible army of exiles, broken idealists and offended by the system. Their knowledge flowed into him through a hidden channel that Feng had set up.
The judge this time was different — Yama Tin, known for his incorruptibility and pathological hatred of any violations of the established order. The perfect opponent to defend a heretic scientist.
The meeting was long and exhausting. Lin Wei did not appeal to emotions, but to logic and the letter of the law. He argued that the scientist's experiment did not violate any direct prohibition, but was only interpreted as "potentially dangerous." He brought to light the precedents, old court decisions where such accusations were deemed far—fetched. The precedents that Cui found in the farthest corners of the archives.
Yama Tin frowned, argued, but retreated step by step under the pressure of iron logic and impeccable knowledge of the rules. In the end, he reluctantly admitted that the charges were based on shaky foundations. The scientist was acquitted and returned to his research department under supervision.
The seal on Lin's wrist changed the number: 2/1000.
As he was leaving the hall, an official courier caught up with him. He handed Lin Wei a thin, black envelope made from the skin of an unknown creature. There were no inscriptions on it.
Lin opened it in a secluded hallway. There was one piece of paper inside. On it, in burnt calligraphic handwriting, was written:
"An insect that bites sooner or later comes into the bird's field of vision. You've won two cases. You think you're growing up. In fact, you're just becoming more visible. Your next victory will be your last. — J.H."
The threat was direct. Yama Heng wasn't going to wait for Lin to gain momentum.
Lin Wei crumpled the note, and it crumbled into ashes in his fingers. He looked at his seal. 2/1000.
The journey to a thousand things has just begun. But the first hunt for him has already been announced.