Two areas of seats were situated respectively on both sides of the courtroom. The seats faced each other. Chen Ling had just sat down when he saw Zhuo Shuqing and a crowd of reporters from other media taking their seats on the opposite side...
At the moment their gazes collided, Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Something isn't quite right."
Wen Shilin on the side also spoke at the same time, "For a normal courtroom trial, having two or three media outlets come would be the absolute limit, but this time so many came all at once... And almost every single media outlet has their respective reporter representatives. This line-up is a bit too big."
"It seems this courtroom verdict won't be that simple." Chen Ling's face was as cold as frost.
Right as the two were speaking, a massive throng of figures walked over from the nearby aisle, approaching straight towards the spectator seats on Chen Ling's side.
Chen Ling's gaze swept over there, and astonishment surfaced in his eyes...
"Brother Zhao Yi, what are we doing here?" Ling'er held the hand of a teenager, passing in front of Chen Ling.
"We're here to cheer for our District Three's Superior Han Meng." Zhao Yi's face was full of determination. "Superior Han Meng didn't hesitate to betray Aurora City for us. Without him, we wouldn't have today. We absolutely cannot forget this favor... Ling'er, you don't need to make a sound later, just sit quietly, understand?"
Zhao Yi's gaze swept over the seats, and he sat down directly in the position next to Chen Ling. Next to him was Ling'er.
Not having seen him for a period of time, Zhao Yi seemed to have matured a lot. Now he was no longer like that trouble-making big boy on Frost Street, but more like the pillar of a family. The baptism of leaving his hometown had made this teenager grow up overnight... He was wearing a set of dilapidated gray cotton-padded clothes, with faint stubble remaining at the corners of his mouth. His gaze looking towards the trial stand was incomparably determined.
On the other hand, Ling'er's clothes were relatively newer. She had her hair tied in a pair of cute braided pigtails, sitting obediently beside Zhao Yi, like a quiet porcelain doll.
"Little Yi, did you bring the stuff?"
In the row of seats behind Chen Ling, Boss Xu Chongguo's voice sounded.
Chen Ling slightly turned his head back and looked, discovering that almost all the District Three residents who followed the train into Aurora City that day had arrived. A total of sixty-one people had completely filled up the spectator seats on this side.
"I brought it." Zhao Yi nodded.
"Give it to us, we'll use it later." Xu Chongguo reached out his hand and said.
Zhao Yi hesitated for a moment, but still took something out from under his cotton-padded clothes and secretly handed it to Xu Chongguo.
"It's a pity Old Ding is sick and couldn't come, otherwise we could be considered to have all arrived..." Xu Chongguo sighed. "I hope there can be a good result this time."
"It's fine, we have so many people, we're not lacking him alone." Zhao Yi spoke to comfort him.
Chen Ling just sat beside Zhao Yi like this, taking all of this into his eyes. A trace of confusion couldn't help but rise in his heart... What exactly did they want to do? Hopefully they weren't being foolish and going to do something to confront the Enforcement System.
"They are the District Three Survivors." Wen Shilin also recognized these people, lowering his voice and speaking by Chen Ling's ear. "It seems they came to strongly support Han Meng..."
"Mm." Chen Ling nodded slightly.
"Brother, you look somewhat familiar to me?" Zhao Yi on the side also noticed Chen Ling, scratching his head and speaking in confusion. "Have we met somewhere before..."
"It's the brave man who beat away that reporter surnamed Zhuo that day." Xu Chongguo recognized Chen Ling at a glance, his tone somewhat grateful. "We meet again. It was relatively rushed last time, I still haven't asked for your esteemed name?"
"..." Chen Ling paused for a moment. "Lin Yan."
"Hello, my name is Zhao Yi." Zhao Yi reached out his hand. "Later we might... uh... make a bit of a commotion, please don't take offense."
Chen Ling shook hands with him with an odd expression. "What do you want to do? This is the courtroom."
"You will know later."
Right as the two were speaking, several figures slowly walked out from inside the courtroom and sat down on the trial stand.
At the head was an old man draped in a black-red robe. His attire was dignified and solemn. Sitting in the position of the judge, his gaze was profound like the boundless frozen sea.
"That is the chief judge of the Court of Judgment, and also the current Pathway Chief of the Judgment Path, Seven-Stripe Enforcer Gu Yuan." Wen Shilin explained at the right time.
"Pathway Chief? What is that?"
"You should have heard of the fourteen Paths to Divinity, right? Every Path to Divinity has many branch paths, and the so-called 'Pathway Chief' is the strongest person on a certain path in this era." Wen Shilin continued speaking, "In other words, he is the 'King' of the Judgment Path in this era."
"Don't just look at how this old man is old in age now. It's said that back then he actually fought one-on-one with that Enforcer Commander-in-Chief, who is the Pathway Chief of the Asura path, and fought for three days and three nights without deciding a victor... What a pity, perhaps because he's getting on in years, this old man's potential has been exhausted, and he's still Rank 7 after so many years. And that Pathway Chief of the Asura path has already stepped into Rank 8. The strength between the two is already a world of difference."
"Enforcer Commander-in-Chief? Is that Tan Xin?"
"No, Tan Xin is only the Deputy Director-General. That Commander-in-Chief is usually too lazy to manage those messy matters, so he just gave full authority to Tan Xin to handle them."
Gu Yuan sat on the trial stand in the center of the courtroom, swept a glance at the time, and lightly knocked the base with the wooden gavel in his hand. A muffled sound echoed within the courtroom, and the noisy crowd instantly quieted down.
"The trial proceedings regarding the Enforcer Commander-in-Chief of District Three, Han Meng, begin now." Gu Yuan's calm voice sounded. "Bring the Defendant, Han Meng."
Everyone's gazes fell to the side. They only saw a familiar figure wearing black prison clothes, wearing shackles on both hands, walking out from the edge of the courtroom. Two Enforcers followed by his side, one on the left and one on the right, escorting him into the defendant's seat, standing alone below the trial stand.
After Han Meng appeared, Chen Ling obviously felt the breathing of the District Three crowd around him become heavy. Zhao Yi beside him stared closely at those black prison clothes, his eyes full of worry.
On the other hand, Han Meng stood firm in the defendant's seat without any expression, like a black sculpture.
Not having seen him for this period of time, Han Meng seemed to have lost some weight, but that calm and unruffled expression remained the same as usual. Even though he was wearing a simple black prison uniform, he still gave people an inexplicable aura of wearing an Enforcer windbreaker, not looking in the slightest like a prisoner.
"Next, I will make a brief statement of the case..." Gu Yuan spoke once again.
Just as Gu Yuan was about to say something, two crisp sounds came from the spectator seats!
Snap, snap—
Under everyone's astonished gazes, two bright red banners were unfolded in the spectator seats. The crowd of District Three Survivors raised both hands high, striving to hold the banners to the highest point. Vigorous and powerful large characters were instantly displayed in front of everyone!
—[Harboring Great Righteousness in Heart, Selfless Sacrifice!]
—[Enforcing the Law strictly like a Mountain, Sheltering the Spark of Humanity!]
As these two banners opened, Zhao Yi also suddenly stood up, picked up a horizontal banner, and held it above his head with a snap!
—[Han Meng is Innocent!!]