The Atonement Algorithm

“Do you believe someone can ‘wash away’ their crimes? Not through the law, but through… sacrifice?” Gu Yan, the youngest associate professor of law at Jiangcheng University, is about to marry the only daughter of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission secretary. His future is bright. Then, just 72 hours before the wedding, his fiancée mysteriously falls to her death. Every piece of evidence points to Gu Yan: a blind spot in the surveillance footage, a blurred shoeprint, a smear of lipstick on his shirt, and the anonymous note in his pocket that says, “Kill me.” Blacklisted across the internet, abandoned by everyone, and awaiting a death sentence. At the very moment Gu Yan is locked in a death row cell, a System called [Scales of Sin] lights up on his retina: “Host detected with an ‘unfinished murder’ weighing on his soul. Mission issued: find the real culprit and restore the scales to zero within seven days. Failure penalty: your soul will be damned to the Eighteenth Level of Hell for all eternity.” Gu Yan thinks this is his chance at redemption, until he discovers… The real culprit behind his wife’s death is none other than himself. And every time he tries to “correct” the past, the real world crumbles in even more terrifying ways. This is the ultimate battle over human nature, cause and effect, and algorithms. When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back. But this time, a hand reaches out from the abyss and offers you a knife.