Defendant No.7: “The Forgotten Son”

> Court File:

Number: 07

Age: 21

Gender: Male

Identity: University dropout, no known occupation

Keywords: Emotional deficiency, rational extremism, no known family

Trial Question: Can someone devoid of emotion be capable of moral judgment?

The young man walked into the courtroom with a gait that was eerily rhythmic—neither confident nor fearful, but disturbingly neutral. No twitch, no frown, no flicker of sentiment passed across his face.

"What's your name?" Shen Yan asked.

"I have none. The world never gave me one, and I never needed it."

"You're implicated in a psychological abuse case—death by sustained emotional neglect. The victim said, 'When he looked at me, I felt like I didn't exist.' What do you say to that?"

"She was weak. Dependent on validation. Afraid of silence."

"And you don't think her death has anything to do with you?"

"I never touched her. Never spoke ill. I simply… did nothing."

Silence.

"Then how do you determine right from wrong?" Shen Yan pressed.

"Logic. I assess outcomes, not feelings. I optimize for minimum harm."

"Do you think someone who cannot comprehend love should be allowed to judge others?"

The young man stared back, not defiant, not afraid—just empty.

"Comprehension is not an obligation. The world is destroyed not by lack of emotion, but by its misinterpretation."

Shen Yan leaned forward. "Have you ever tried to feel?"

"Once. When I was fourteen. I was adopted and later abandoned. That's when I realized love is a conditional equation. I lost value; they canceled me."

"And since then, you stopped believing in authentic connection?"

"I didn't stop believing. I stopped trying."

[Shen Yan's Memory Fragment]

It was a monochrome rainy night.

Young Shen Yan sat at the corner of a classroom, casting plaster lines on the floor like runes meant to ward off despair. People called him "cold," but they never saw the scars under his sleeves, or the letter he rewrote a hundred times but never sent.

Then he met someone even quieter.

The two of them sat on opposite ends of a balcony—one reading, the other gazing at the storm.

They never spoke.

But they were never lonely.

Some emotions do not need language. Just coexistence.

[Final Vote]

The system's voice echoed:

> "Participants, please cast your vote for Defendant No.7."

"Guilty or not guilty—let your conscience decide."

A silent countdown began.

Shen Yan closed his eyes and recalled the boy's voice saying, "Love is a conditional function."

And then he remembered the balcony. The night. The boy who said nothing, but stayed.

Sometimes, even those abandoned by the world still carry a silent thread that ties them to humanity.

Maybe… that's what makes someone human.