Chapter 415

Chapter 415: No Escape from Living Crimes

Is it not over yet?

Several council members felt confused because they hadn’t actually done much recently.

After reaching an understanding with Arthur, they had either explicitly or implicitly instructed their subordinates to refrain from causing trouble. Logically, everything should have been fine.

But soon they realized what the second sharp sword aimed at them truly was—

It was the damn factory!

The five relatively young individuals recalled Arthur’s promised deadlines: from the beginning of the New Era to November 13th of the 52nd year of the New Era.

This was their period of amnesty for crimes.

Some of their clandestine dealings, which had previously taken place, were currently ongoing, and without today’s incident, they would have continued in the future.

These filthy actions resembled a war machine without brakes. Once it started, it could only press forward relentlessly until it was completely destroyed.

By November, all the council members had sternly warned their subordinates to stop their dirty activities, even if only for a few months; at least they should wait until Arthur’s storm had passed before reemerging.

Unfortunately, those who had already tasted sweet rewards could not be completely controlled by the council members. Even if they chose to obey commands, their subordinates and their subordinates’ subordinates would still opt to act against the wind.

And once these individuals were caught, they would shamelessly share any evidence that could help reduce their sentences.

Such evidence had a time sensitivity; if someone else spoke first, then what they said would become irrelevant.

The doors of the hall opened, and a commotion erupted outside.

Military vehicles parked around the hall, and a massive number of criminal records were unloaded from the vehicles and brought into the hall, presented before Infinite Scroll, the presiding judge.

The criminals themselves had no need to come here, as their sentences would be delivered to their locations later, which the guards would then execute.

Inside the hall, as numerous charges were read aloud, the heads of more and more council members became burdened with accusations.

The inner city of Hope City had become a chaotic mess from decades of ongoing corruption. The connections were not simply linear; rather, they resembled a web structure where stirring even a small part could capture entire clusters of the corrupt.

The root of the problem lay within the factory, which tied back to the power plants, greenhouses, and underground pastures, even involving the black market and specialists from research institutes responsible for destruction.

Listening to the continuous reading of charges, the council members felt a numbing sensation.

They appeared to view their once-rooted power from an entirely new perspective.

Before this, each of them had been extending their tendrils in a dark room, but now, with the lights turned on by Arthur, they realized their extensions had formed a massive network.

The repetitive and monotonous evidence was read for several hours, having a hypnotic effect comparable to a university calculus class, occasionally causing the audience in the hall to doze off.

But everything changed at a certain moment. When the name of a spectator appeared in a testimony, two soldiers dashed into the hall, pressing the individual down onto the seat and handcuffing him without a word, dragging him away like a dog.

This scene unfolding before everyone appeared to serve as a booster shot, causing all eyes to widen and ears to perk up, fearful of hearing their names called from that “Life and Death Register.”

In contrast, the five council members above wore expressions of resignation, with Zhong Ding even leaning back against his chair to nap without concern.

Finally, as the clock approached midnight, the Temporary Court returned to the sentencing phase.

After nearly ten hours of intense work, Infinite Scroll’s tone showed no change as she sat in the judgment seat, her voice steady as she said:

“Now I will announce the verdict of this case: According to human union laws, former Hope Council members Zhong Ding, Nia, Gao Xi, Sharma, and Bordeaux are deprived of their Congressman Identity, stripped of Hope City citizenship, and sentenced to life imprisonment for labor reform, to be executed immediately.”

Arthur did not raise any objections to Infinite Scroll’s sentence. Since they chose procedural justice, it was fine for her to render judgment according to the laws of the human union era.

Moreover, objectively speaking, the new generation of inheritance faction council members had indeed committed less severe crimes than these five old bones.

Perhaps due to the selection style of the inheritance faction, these five were chosen from orphans in the outer city by the previous generation of council members.

Once they assumed their positions, they evidently leaned more toward pleasure and expanding their power, unlike their predecessors, who often resorted to small actions like assassinations.

Hearing that they wouldn’t be sentenced to death, the five individuals in the defendant’s seat sighed in relief. But the thought of having to work in factories or mines until they died sent shivers down their spines.

Among the five, Zhong Ding and Bordeaux appeared the calmest. One had completely sided with Arthur and chosen to surrender, while the other, being older, felt confident he wouldn’t suffer for long.

In contrast, the three younger members fell into endless frustration after a brief moment of relief.

Just as the trial was nearing its end, several people in the audience section suddenly moved.

A few superpowered individuals cultivated in secret by the council members, holding positions similar to Yan Ming’s, were at it again.

Knowing that a comeback was impossible, these individuals either emerged from genuine loyalty or fear of the impending reckoning, attempting to create a scene for today’s live broadcast to add more excitement.

Shi Jin watched as a superpowered individual next to her became visibly red-hot, with streaks of bright color gradually coloring his skin, appearing as if he would explode at any moment.

Just as she was about to unleash her powers to protect those around her, her right hand brushed against something soft.

Shi Jin looked down to see a familiar calico cat beside her. The cat followed the principle of "Kitten’s Paw" and withdrew its paw from her hand, placing it above:

“Don’t worry, your task is complete.”

Fulan said this and transformed into a chaotic mass, engulfing Shi Jin seated in her chair.

The group of superpowered individuals who experienced the disturbance numbered over a dozen. They either chose to explode like fireworks, like the individual next to Shi Jin, or intended to commit suicide on the spot due to the overwhelming amount of dirt on their hands.

Unfortunately, none of them achieved their objectives because someone’s actions were far swifter than theirs.