Three days later.
A.M., in the morning.
Drizzling rain persisted, and the entire Fengrao City was bathed in a gray curtain of rain.
The court date for Tiantai Pharmaceutical had finally arrived. Underneath the Jade Pavilion building, Li Songyan was holding an umbrella and looked up, the black and gold color sche of the imposing building making him feel sowhat inferior.
Wei Tianyang stepped out from the main entrance of the hotel, with his confidential secretary following behind, holding an umbrella for him. Six mbers of the Inner Guard were escorting him from a dozen steps behind.
The two t once again in the open square.
Li Songyan silently sighed. Back in Chicken Snake Country, Wei Tianyang was just a lost youth sitting on the street corner. Now, in just about two months, he had donned brocade clothes and had his own secretary, having been arranged by the Emperor of Yin to stay in a luxury hotel that only catered to political dignitaries.
Li Songyan gave a wry smile to himself. He should have been prepared for this; Wei Tianyang’s value was imasurable. Now, he was no longer of the sa world as himself. That he should honor his promise and appear in court to testify was already a great favor.
He thought perhaps in these two months, not only had Wei Tianyang been living a life of luxury but he might also have unlocked many "positions" with his female secretary.
To annihilate a million people and live such an elevated life, perhaps Wei Tianyang had beco intoxicated with the privileges brought by his power and could no longer extricate himself. He might no longer be the youth who dreamt of absolute justice and fairness.
"Li Songyan!" Wei Tianyang quickly approached, extending his left fist and pounding him lightly in the chest.
"You look really... good. They’ve taken good care of you," Li Songyan said with a smile.
"What have you been up to these days? If I had kept my phone, I might have called you for a chat," said Wei Tianyang.
"? Well... just working... what else can I do? Definitely not as comfortable as you. You must have had a fascinating ti. How does it feel to be back in your holand?" Li Songyan responded with a laugh.
"Honestly, it’s quite boring here. Yin Country... is not my holand," Wei Tianyang shook his head.
"I didn’t expect you to say that. What happened?" Li Songyan asked, puzzled.
"The rain is getting heavier, let’s talk in the car," reminded the confidential secretary.
The three of them got into the car and headed towards the court.
Wei Tianyang spoke of the annihilation of Wuliang City with a hint of sadness. "That was not my intention."
"I understand; nobody blas you. It’s just... you also destroyed all the evidence we had collected. This could be... problematic," Li Songyan patted Wei Tianyang on the shoulder.
Raindrops struck the car window, leaving trails of water. The city outside was dark and foreboding, as if it were weeping.
"I don’t have much experience. What should I say when it’s ti?" Wei Tianyang asked.
"The lawyer will ask questions, and you just need to tell what you know. You must have t him by now," Li Songyan said.
"No, I’ve never t any lawyer. During my ti here, no one has discussed court matters with ," Wei Tianyang shook his head.
"...Ah... How could this be...?" Li Songyan frowned, suddenly feeling uneasy.
"What is it?" Wei Tianyang asked.
"I’m afraid that this trial could drag on for years... If that’s the case, everything we did in Chicken Snake Country would have been for nothing... The longer the trial goes, the more likely we are to lose. The best we can hope for is so sort of settlent," Li Songyan said.
"Li Songyan, you made believe in the law," Wei Tianyang said.
"That’s the fairness you wanted; the law is a tool to punish cris, but it can also be used as a weapon for framing others. Therefore, no case is easy to judge unless the evidence is irrefutable," Li Songyan explained.
"Am I not enough? I am living evidence. Do they think that stack of paperwork is more important than a living person’s words?" Wei Tianyang questioned further.
"Both are crucial, and neither can be dismissed... After all, the charges are serious. Tiantai Pharmaceutical and the powers behind it might resist to the very end. They are a national conglorate, after all. The United Council has already offended them; if not for the insistence of Yin Country and the Sethiyan Federation, Tiantai Pharmaceutical might not even be taken to court," Li Songyan expressed his helplessness.
"Let’s see what they say in the courtroom. I’m very curious... what the person who controls Tiantai looks like... how wicked they have to be to treat people like consumables..." Wei Tianyang said.
The car drove on to the middle layer of Fengrao City, where the white and imposing building of the Yin Legal Judiciary stood on the roadside, serving as the international court.
Differing from what Wei Tianyang had imagined, he thought it would be swarming with people and dia reporters scrambling to cover the event. But when they got out of the car, they found the place desolate, eerily quiet, with not a soul in sight.
Only when they entered the courthouse did they see so staff and security responsible for maintaining order.
Helena Mina and a West Soil man were chatting on the long sofa in the hall, and upon seeing Wei Tianyang, they rose to greet him.
"Chairwoman!" Li Songyan stood at attention and saluted.
"Li, Wei, this is Lawyer Wang," Helena Mina introduced.
"I’m Becker Wang, a pleasure to et you..." Lawyer Wang was mixed-race, and he extended his hand to Li Songyan.
The two shook hands before Lawyer Wang was led a few steps away by Inner Guards brought by a confidential secretary.
"I’m worried Wei Tianyang hasn’t talked to the lawyer; I’m afraid he’s underprepared," Li Songyan expressed his concern.
"Don’t be nervous, Li, just read off the script. This is just a formality; they’ve already confessed," Helena Mina said with a smile.
Li Songyan was startled.
"Wei, you won’t need to say anything later, just take off your clothes and show the injection sites on your back after Lawyer Wang makes his request. It’s that simple," Helena Mina said smiling.
"After today, Tiantai Pharmaceutical will have to start selling down jackets, right?" Wei Tianyang said.
"No, after today, there will be no Tiantai Pharmaceutical," Helena Mina replied with a smile.
At 1 p.m., the trial formally began.
The courtroom was set up in an extrely cramped room, rely fifty square ters in size, where four long tables were joined to form the defendants’ and plaintiffs’ benches. The judge sat at the far end, with two mbers of Yin’s Superpower Special Departnt behind him for protection.
Wei Tianyang, Helena Mina, Li Songyan, and Lawyer Wang sat on the right side, while the defendant was an East Continent man unknown to Wei Tianyang. He appeared to be in his sixties, with graying hair and a balding head, dressed in a grey suit, his hands bound with straps, flanked by two Inner Guards.
This wasn’t a trial, it was bullying, a ceremonial announcent of sorts.
That once-arrogant pharmaceutical mogul, whose research team alone had caused the deaths of thousands in Chicken Snake Country, now sat in lackluster confinent as the chairman, forced to partake in a pretense of justice with his predetermined fate, all for these people before him.
Lawyer Wang read a long string of text from a thick file, which Wei Tianyang ignored; he was rely observing the old man.
Had his identity not been disclosed beforehand, there was no way Wei Tianyang could have associated this man with the chairman of Tiantai Pharmaceutical.
The man looked completely dejected, staring blankly at the tabletop, appearing kind and benevolent based on looks alone, a pitiable figure now, like an old man who’d lost his children.
He timidly glanced at Wei Tianyang, just once, before quickly averting his gaze.
"I’m finished..." Lawyer Wang sat down and bowed to the judge.
"Then, may the defense witness testify. In 2105, Tiantai Pharmaceutical conducted human drug trials in Qiyang City of Chicken Snake Country. As a survivor, you should have injection sites on your back, right? Would you mind showing us?" the judge asked Wei Tianyang.
Wei Tianyang stood up, unbuttoning his shirt. The brocade garnt was not easily lifted, so he had to remove it entirely.
He handed his clothes to the confidential secretary, revealing black luminous patterns on his right arm, chest, and collarbone, causing everyone present to frown slightly.
"What are these glowing patterns...? Are they contagious?" the judge asked with so concern.
"If they were contagious, I would’ve caught it by now," Li Songyan said.
"Is this normal?" the judge asked the two mbers of the Superpower Special Departnt behind him.
After exchanging glances, they also shook their heads. The male said, "We don’t have these things on us, and as soldiers, we’re not scientists; we don’t understand either."
"There are indeed injection sites... um..." the judge noted.
"I think that will suffice," said the confidential secretary as he handed Wei Tianyang his clothes.
Just as he was about to get dressed, the old man suddenly stood up. He had been staring at the patterns on Wei Tianyang’s body ever since the start, and his expression transford from forlorn to invigorated, as if he had found a treasure.
He grabbed Wei Tianyang’s blackened right arm and shouted manically, "091! This is 091!! Hahaha!! It has rged!! It has rged!!"
"Defendant!! Sit down! Release the witness!!" the judge banged the gavel.
The Inner Guards quickly subdued the old man and forced him back into his seat, but he still clutched fiercely at Wei Tianyang’s right wrist and continued to bellow:
"Hahaha!!! The 091 project succeeded!! It succeeded!!! Hahaha! I’ve changed the world!!! Hahaha!!!"
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