Chapter 412

Chapter 412: The Reversal of History

When Arthur spoke these words, his gaze swept not only over the council members but also over the audience below who were privileged to be present, as if he were scrutinizing every individual in Hope City.

Eventually, his eyes settled back on Gao Xi and the others, and he spoke slowly:

“This is my plan for today. You must have noticed that it does not include a provision for your votes. Because…

“Regardless of the outcome of this proposal, I will proceed with this trial; it merely distinguishes between procedural justice and result justice.

“Moreover, I must remind you all that procedural justice adheres to the laws of the human alliance, whereas result justice is subject to my personal judgment.

“So, it’s time for you to cast your votes; many matters await us.”

“……”

The silence was so profound it felt as though a boulder named Arthur was pressing down on everyone’s chest, making it difficult to breathe, and even the simple act of moving seemed like a luxury.

The council members realized one undeniable truth: they had lost, and they had lost from the very beginning.

None of the ten present could fathom why such a superpowered individual existed, why he possessed such authority, or why he had appeared at such a pivotal moment.

Everything seemed to unfold naturally, yet in retrospect, it appeared to be a series of uncanny coincidences.

Without the public support garnered from that monumental battle, there would have been no medal ceremony that resembled a dog training session.

And without that medal ceremony, the council members’ authority would not have begun to crumble, and Arthur would not have swiftly gained the power of speech.

Had he not gained the power of speech, they would not find themselves so utterly powerless today.

One could only conclude that everything was a coincidence, or perhaps everything was being manipulated by an invisible hand, as if each person had a thread extending from them, soaring into the vast expanse of deep space, held and maneuvered by some unseen force.

In the suffocating silence, Arthur, seemingly impatient, urged:

“Everyone, move.”

From the depths of the silence, a sigh finally emerged:

“I oppose.”

“[Oppose], recorded.”

The first to break was Gao Xi, who had been left stranded, completely losing the courage to engage in a battle of wits with the Speaker before her. The fierce determination of “either the fish dies or the net breaks” had dissipated, leaving her unable to lift her head and face him directly.

The moment she chose to oppose the proposal, a wave of relief washed over her, but it seemed to strip her of her very bones, leaving her to slump weakly against the high-backed chair.

Following Gao Xi’s lead, the remaining three found themselves equally powerless to resist; since judgment was inevitable, they resigned themselves to it. They would not perish here for the sake of a few old things.

“I oppose.”

“Oppose.”

“Oppose.”

The three almost simultaneously chose to surrender, bringing the opposing votes to “five,” while the supporting votes remained at four from the longevity faction council members.

“Vote counting is complete; all votes are valid, with a total of four in favor and five opposed. The proposal is rejected.”

A cold, mechanical voice echoed, followed by the sound of electricity fading from the hall.

The spaceship’s main unit, briefly summoned by Vaughn, had completed its task, and all the equipment in the hall returned to normal.

Arthur smiled at the five who had failed in their final attempt:

“Do you all have any more tricks up your sleeves? If not…”

He left the sentence unfinished and turned to nod slightly at the "Infinite Scroll" below.

The artificial intelligence immediately caught Arthur’s signal and spoke in a cold, serious voice:

“Court is now in session.”

“Snap!”

The sharp sound of a finger snap echoed throughout the hall, causing everything to lose the gravitational pull of the planet beneath them and begin to move under an unseen force.

The long table on stage neatly split into three parts; one part with the five members of the longevity faction rotated to the left, the part with the five members of the inheritance faction rotated to the right, and Arthur and his section moved backward, forming the layout of the courtroom, while everyone below seamlessly transformed from the audience into members of the observation seats.

Arthur waved his hand, and the five members of the inheritance faction, along with their chairs, vanished at the edge of the stage:

“The next round is yours.”

On the other side, several chairs in the empty seats below began to rise one by one, filling the gaps left by the five.

As the tables and chairs danced in the hall, the previously vanished system sound reappeared and echoed in everyone’s ears:

“Detecting auxiliary machine [Taraxacum-03-07] reconnecting, connection successful.

“Updating permissions, update complete.

“Permission authentication successful, court is valid.”

Meanwhile, "Infinite Scroll" was not idle below.

She rolled up her left sleeve with her right hand to reveal skin that was surprisingly fair for her age.

She clenched her fist tightly, and a smooth seam opened on the inside of her left forearm, laying bare numerous components for Wencheng to see.

This was a location on the terminal of the artificial intelligence carrier that integrated many interfaces.

"Infinite Scroll" reached out and took one from five side-by-side storage units, handing it to Wencheng:

“This is the evidence you need.”

Having said that, she stepped onto the judgment platform, taking the seat belonging to the judge, while Arthur took the seat of the clerk, seemingly observing everything as a bystander.

Wencheng took the somewhat heavy storage unit, already guessing the contents inside.

Before losing his memory, he had once accidentally seen a video within it, and when he tried to download or record it separately, that file had mysteriously vanished, as if it were all just a Dream Illusion.

Now it seemed that the one who had given him that hint was this “Infinite Scroll,” but his ability appeared not to meet her expectations, leading to a unilateral termination of their cooperation.

Lost in thought, Wencheng found himself sitting in the plaintiff’s seat, finally able to meet the eyes of the five council members with an equal stance after many years.

“Please allow me to present the evidence first.”

Wencheng suppressed his excitement, maintaining the necessary procedure with his final shred of rationality.

He inserted the storage unit into the reading device, and under "Infinite Scroll’s" remote control, the heavily encrypted data began to slowly decode.

The long progress bar felt like a countdown to execution, making the five council members feel suffocated.

Finally, Yang Suyan could no longer endure everything he had faced; he glared fiercely at Arthur, who sat in the clerk’s position, roaring:

“Arthur! This is a desecration of the law! You want to dismantle the council, you want to be a dictator! You are humanity’s sinner, driving history backward!”

The blonde man sitting in the clerk’s position showed no anger at his words and did not intend to retort. He looked at Yang Suyan and several other council members who thought the same and shrugged:

“Of course, we have to reverse; if you keep driving this car, it will fall off the cliff!”