September 2, Pinglu City Court.
When Guan Tong arrived, the public gallery was already full.
Teacher Chen, who had co early, had saved him a seat, and he sat down after walking over.
“There are so many people following this case,” Teacher Chen said, “Did you see when you ca in, Teacher Guan? Outside there are crowds gathered besides the people in here.”
“I saw it.”
In fact, cases over the past year where Ascendants clashed with ordinary people causing casualties and ending up in court had happened many tis.
But none had the level of influence that today’s case did.
Guan Tong felt the reasons were diverse.
For example, people at the camp had recorded a clear video of the conflict and uploaded it online. Also, one side of the conflict was students—practically golden children—of the academy, while the other side were ordinary people living in an outdoor camp. That contrast in social status alone made for hot discussion.
Those factors collided and produced a chemical reaction, turning this case into one that now concerned the whole country and even the Human Consortium organization.
“Teacher Guan, what do you think the verdict will be?”
“Hard to say.”
“Ah, the judge is here.”
Court staff began to enter. After everyone took their places and made brief preparations, the judge announced the start of the trial.
Soon Shen Yun and the other four students, as well as several representatives from the camp, were brought in by the marshals.
Guan Tong looked at Shen Yun and the others’ expressions; each of them looked haggard.
Although they had not suffered any physical punishnt during the days they were detained, the fear of the outco alone was enough to tornt them.
Once everyone was present, the formal procedures began.
Since entering the Doomsday Rules era, ti was precious and efficiency paramount; all official procedures had been greatly shortened.
The trial was the sa: after stating the facts and presenting evidence, the court quickly issued rulings for the four students other than Shen Yun.
Among the four, three were judged to have acted in lawful self-defense, and one was judged to have exceeded self-defense.
The one judged to have exceeded self-defense was the tall boy; he had maid two people and killed one, and was sentenced to five years.
The tall student collapsed a little on the spot upon hearing the sentence.
The judge believed the sentence should have been over eight years, but considered his surrender and other factors and reduced it accordingly.
Although five years sounded like a reduction, the problem was that it was uncertain whether humanity would still exist five years from now. Given the pace of the Doomsday Rules, all forty-nine rules could be completed within about five years.
Even if everything went smoothly, it ant those years spent in prison would effectively be years of no growth.
When it ca to Shen Yun, the judge handed down a sentence of life imprisonnt.
At the announcent, Shen Yun was furious, clenching his fists, obviously unwilling to accept it.
The gallery erupted with discussion.
“Life is too harsh!”
“He killed so many people, why not the death penalty?!”
“Is this a setup for so backstage deal in the future?”
“This is the end of his life…”
So thought the punishnt too light, so thought it too severe; there was no consensus.
Teacher Chen looked regretful after hearing the life sentence. “What a waste. With Shen Yun’s grades and performance, he would have had a bright future. Teacher Guan, do you think this verdict is reasonable?”
“Reasonable or not, it’s just how it is.”
Guan Tong had actually expected “more than twenty years.”
He thought the death penalty was unlikely, because Shen Yun had been acting in defensive counterattack. But with so many dead, a light sentence was impossible.
After the verdict was announced, Shen Yun stated in court that he would not accept it and would appeal.
A few people in the gallery slipped out early to tell the crowd waiting outside the court.
The news spread quickly, causing a storm of discussion online.
Whether people thought the sentence heavy or light, everyone assud that as long as the prison term was a few years, there would be no further developnts.
Because imprisoned Ascendants only receive official aid when facing survival-type rules. For non-survival-type rules, the authorities do not allow prisoners to be released to complete challenges.
For example, the Fire Thief once issued the fifth Doomsday Rule, Night of the Living Dead.
Ascendants in prison naturally need not worry about the threat of the living dead. But if they wanted to go outside to eliminate living dead to earn Ascension Coins, they would not be permitted.
Over ti, Ascendants in prison, no matter how strong, would continuously weaken until their Mind Power decayed to zero and their panels closed, turning them into ordinary people.
One can imagine how desperate Ascendants who experience this process would be, forced to watch themselves fall behind the main group, slowly wasting away.
Resistance or escape was almost impossible; prisons holding Ascendants had special modifications, and even the guards were Ascendants paid in Ascension Coins.
When Guan Tong and Teacher Chen left the court, Dean Zhou Qinfeng was standing at the entrance, sighing.
Seeing the two of them co out, Zhou Qinfeng stepped forward. “Teacher Chen, Teacher Guan, I didn’t expect this result! Such an excellent student, ruined like this!”
“Shen Yun said he would appeal, right?” Teacher Chen said, “Maybe the second trial could reduce it a bit…”
Her voice trailed off; she clearly knew it was unlikely.
Zhou Qinfeng shook his head. “Even if it’s reduced to ten years or eight years, how is that different from life in this era? By then the forty-nine rules will have all ended. Even if humanity survives, it won’t matter to them. Teacher Guan, don’t you think so?”
Guan Tong nodded lightly. Although he didn’t think humanity would collapse just because of losing Shen Yun and the others, he understood Zhou Qinfeng’s point.
Teacher Chen sighed helplessly. “They only have themselves to bla. They’re around twenty years old and don’t know how to asure how hard to hit soone.”
At that mont Zhou Qinfeng’s phone rang. He listened for a few seconds and was suddenly alard. “What? The students are causing trouble?! I’m coming back right now!”
He hurriedly hung up. “Quick, Teacher Chen, Teacher Guan, let’s go back to the academy imdiately. The students started rioting after hearing the trial result!”
The three of them didn’t dare delay and rushed back to the academy.
As soon as they entered the gate, they heard a chaotic uproar. A few hundred students had gathered in front of the administration building, chanting “innocent release” and “Shen Yun is innocent.”
So teachers tried to persuade them, but to no avail. The students didn’t do anything else besides shouting slogans, because the academy’s Security Departnt personnel were nearby in full force, a powerful deterrent.
Zhou Qinfeng hurried up to the student crowd and shouted, “Students, calm down first!”
Seeing the dean, the students beca even more agitated.
“Shen Yun is innocent! You can’t sacrifice him to soothe public opinion!”
“Dean, you should lead us in protesting!”
“This is discrimination against our academy students. We won’t accept it!”
Zhou Qinfeng tried to placate them, while Guan Tong and Teacher Chen frowned.
Another teacher ran over, hair disheveled, and said, “Teacher Guan, Teacher Chen, there are also so students causing trouble over by the faculty dorms. Please go handle that; we don’t have enough people here.”
Riot at the faculty dorms?
Guan Tong and Teacher Chen exchanged looks, both beginning to suspect sothing, and imdiately went over.
Down by the building, about fifty or sixty students had gathered, loudly shouting at the dormitory:
“Traitor! Co out!”
“What about that senior from the previous class? How could she do sothing like this!”
“She sneaked into the students’ Mind Network to eavesdrop, and even tattled to the dean. Shaful!”
Hearing the students’ shouts confird what the two of them had guessed. The students had co to the faculty dorms specifically to target Fang Qian, the counselor.
Fang Qian had provided testimony in the trial, and news of that had certainly spread back to the academy. It was no surprise the students were angry and ca looking for her.
“I didn’t expect the situation we worried about would really happen!” Teacher Chen said anxiously. She and Guan Tong had discussed earlier how bad things might get after Fang Qian’s exposure; they didn’t expect it to beco reality so quickly.
“First, disperse the students,” Guan Tong said.
“Right.”
They stepped forward. The dozens of students quieted when they saw them.
Teacher Chen gently urged, “Students, please go back, okay? If you have grievances we can discuss them later.”
One student shook his head. “Teacher Chen, Counselor Fang snuck into our Mind Network and tattled. If not for her, the academy wouldn’t have known we left the city, and then…”
“If the academy hadn’t known, would the conflict at Cangying Ridge have not happened?” Guan Tong asked.
“That… even if it did happen, it wouldn’t have turned out like this, right?”
“Do you an that if I hadn’t gone back then, Shen Yun and the others could have silenced the rest and there wouldn’t have been further trouble?”
The student’s face changed drastically as he shook his head repeatedly. “No, I didn’t an that!”
Another student spoke calmly. “Teacher Guan, if the academy hadn’t known, only about a dozen of us could have left the city. If a dozen of us had gone together to Cangying Ridge, would those ordinary people have dared to act when they saw such a number? The conflict might not have happened like this.”
“That makes sense!”
“Yeah, they only dared act because there were so few of Shen Yun’s group. If we had been ten or twelve, would they have dared?” other students chid in.
Guan Tong said, “You have a good hypothesis. Now tell , what are your demands?”
Demands?
They exchanged looks. The calm student spoke again: “Counselor Fang Qian must apologize to us formally!”
“That’s right, she should apologize!”
“An apology is the bare minimum. She shouldn’t be a counselor anymore.”
Guan Tong nodded. “And after that?”
After that?
The students hadn’t thought that far.
“Do you only want her to apologize?” Guan Tong asked, “Or do you think the person who told her to do it doesn’t need to apologize, only the person who executed the act should take responsibility?”
“Ah…”
The students were stunned.
Teacher Chen tugged his sleeve and whispered a warning, “Teacher Guan, don’t say that!”
Guan Tong ignored her and looked at the calm student. “What do you think?”
The student faltered and began to stamr.
At that mont the faculty dormitory door opened from inside, and Fang Qian walked out with her friend Qin Qing beside her.
She had probably heard the commotion, and she bowed before the crowd. “I apologize to you. I’m sorry!”
“……”
Although the students had shouted for her to co out, now that she actually stepped forward and apologized, they didn’t know how to react.
Watching the tears fall onto the ground beneath her, and rembering what Guan Tong had said earlier, many of them felt awkward and began to reconsider.
Teacher Chen seized the mont. “Alright, Counselor Fang has apologized. Let’s forgive her and go back. Co with .”
“……let’s go.”
“Going back.”
Using this as an excuse to back down, the students quickly turned and followed Teacher Chen away.
“Qianqian, they’re gone. You don’t have to keep bowing!” Qin Qing said when she saw Fang Qian still bent over even after the students left.
Fang Qian slowly straightened, her face streaked with tears.
Qin Qing patted her pockets, discovered she hadn’t brought tissues, and hurried back inside to get so.
Only Guan Tong and Fang Qian remained in front of the dormitory door. He said, “Why did you take on this matter in the first place? This outco was inevitable.”
Fang Qian was silent for a mont before replying, “I didn’t want others to be made to suffer…”
“So you sacrificed yourself for others. I wouldn’t have guessed that in a year and a bit, you’d beco so noble.”
“……”
Fang Qian thought he was mocking her, but through her blurred vision behind her glasses she saw no ridicule on Guan Tong’s face—only calmness.
She sniffed and said, “I will apply to leave the academy and go elsewhere. About what happened back then, I…”
“Fang Qian, you heard what I told the students earlier, right?” Guan Tong said suddenly. “When I said those things, do you know what I was thinking?”
“……What?”
“Why did I bla you then but not bla the parents who called you? They were the ones who told you the Hidden Rule, who instigated you to act against . Is the fault only yours?”
Fang Qian froze.
After saying that last sentence, Guan Tong turned and walked away.
“So, I think over this past year we’ve all grown a lot. Whatever you do from now on, rember what happened today and don’t repeat it.”
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