The Prison of the Mythical Beast

Legal philosopher Xie Zhifei and his companions come into contact with an ancient oracle-bone inscription “meme carrier,” and their consciousness is dragged into a higher-dimensional space called “Zhi Prison.” Here, an absolute logical system based on a twisted version of the mythical Xiezhi’s idea of divine judgment holds sway. They are forced to become “jurors” and take part in brutal trials of “causal disturbances.” Failure means being scorched by hellfire, while sound reasoning may earn them the temporary authority to modify the rules, known as a “Pact.” With his almost obsessive understanding of procedural justice, Xie Zhifei is the first to touch the core logic of the System, only to discover that the more he uses rules to fight rules, the more he helps this terrifying system perfect itself. When they struggle to win their first Pact as a reward and catch a glimpse of the real world, they are horrified to find that Zhi Prison’s tendrils seem to have spread there long ago. Their selection may not have been a coincidence.