Chapter 560: Trial

The battle of Blacklight City shook up the entire Joint Resistance Army

Early the next morning, when Chen Chen woke up from Blacklight Fully-automated Medical Platform, he immediately saw a familiar girl appear in front of him.

This girl had breathtaking looks, with a hint of playfulness and a hint of obedience, and her hair was as smooth as silk. The moment he saw the girl, Chen Chen was in a daze.

“X?”

Then, Chen Chen frowned. The girl in front of him was naturally not X.

“This is X-112, Sir Commander.”

The girl lowered her head. “This body was X’s and it had been frozen like the Black Knights.”

Chen Chen nodded.

“Oh right, Sir Commander.”

X-112 continued. “The venue for the public trial assembly has been prepared. In terms of the Joint Resistance Army, the other four forces contacted us early in the morning. They have received the news that Blacklight City has been seized. Those people want to call you and hope that you’re taking the present situation seriously.”

“There’s no need for calls. I’ll naturally go to them in the future.”

Chen Chen asked coldly, “Anything else?”

“Also, your cousin Chen Shan and your cousin Chen Zheng who have settled down in Survivor City have also returned and they want to see you too.”

“Chen Shan and Chen Zheng?”

Chen Chen frowned, feeling a headache coming on. “So, are they also alive? They aren’t involved in the politics of Blacklight City?”

“No.”

X-112 shook her head. “Everything here was established by Chen Zeyu. In the beginning, they were expelled from the management core of Blacklight City. Chen Zheng also held a position in Blacklight City for a period of time but retired over two centuries ago. Most of those arrested today are descendants of Chen Zeyu and only very few are descendants of Chen Shan and Chen Zheng.”

“That’s good.”

Chen Chen nodded. “They must want to meet with me to intercede for a descendant or another. Tell them that I’ll punish those who should be punished, but I won’t kill those who don’t deserve to die, so they may rest assured.”

With that, Chen Chen waved X-112 away, went downstairs and got in the car, and headed toward the prepared venue for the public trial.

On the other side, in the prison near Blacklight City…

…

“Uncle Chen Zheng, Aunt Chen Shan, I beg you, speak to Uncle Chen Chen on our behalf so that we’ll be released! I’m your favorite, Xinghua, after all!”

Near a cell, Chen Zheng and Chen Shan were standing in front of the door and inside the cell was a middle-aged man with a pale face and a panicked face.

This middle-aged man was named Chen Xinghua and he was the youngest son of Chen Zeyu.

“Fool!”

There was a hint of anger in Chen Zheng’s eyes. “Everything you have is inherited from Blacklight Biotechnology and Blacklight Biotechnology was built single handedly by Chen Chen. You still wanted to hog it all? The core intelligence of the city all belonged to him, it’s just that he had not come back. Well, now that he has returned, how dare you?”

“Uncle, I was wrong…”

Chen Xinghua had tears of regret leaking from his eyes. “It’s not that I wanted to go against Uncle Chen Chen, but the family committee forced us to do it! Aunt Chen Shan, say something!”

“Sigh…”

Chen Shan shook her head. She was now dressed like a young woman except that she exuded a noble and elegant aura. “We haven’t seen Cousin Chen Chen for nearly four hundred years. I’m not sure if our words would still be effective.

“You could still try!”

Detecting the softening in Chen Shan’s words, Chen Xinghua burst into tears of joy. He put his face against the transparent square until it was deformed. “Also, my father is the brother of Uncle Chen Chen. Surely he won’t put us to death with no regard for that brotherly bond?”

Chen Shan was even more silent upon hearing this.

“Let me ask you something now and you must answer me honestly.”

Chen Zheng frowned and inquired, “After Chen Chen showed up, did you guys have any plans to kill him?”

“No, absolutely not!”

Chen Xinghua shook his head vigorously until his snot and tears were flung away. “I have absolutely no such thoughts!”

“Then you might have hope!”

Chen Zheng’s eyes only lit up now. He would still try his best to preserve some of the Chen family’s bloodline if he could.

A sorry look flashed across Chen Shan’s face too.

In the past three hundred years, their heirs had bloomed everywhere and naturally, they had watched some of them grow up. Chen Xinghua was the one they loved best.

When Chen Xinghua was young, he often visited the two of them. He was born smart and quick-witted. When he grew up, he was extremely filial and respectful to the two of them. The two grew even fonder of Chen Xinghua.

Today, Chen Xinghua was less than three hundred years old. He was still a child. The two elders naturally could not bear the thought that Chen Xinghua might be executed.

However, Chen Zheng and Chen Shan would not be unreasonable. They only intended to intercede for the younger generations of the Chen family. As for Chen Chen’s younger brother, Chen Zeyu, neither of them intended to intercede for his sake.

Besides the fact that Blacklight City daring to attack Chen Chen was thanks to Chen Zeyu’s instruction. The most important factor was that Chen Zeyu was Chen Chen’s younger brother after all. No matter how cruel Chen Chen was, he could not possibly kill his own younger brother, right?

In both of their opinions, Chen Chen would, at most, place Chen Zeyu under house arrest or demote him directly and make him an ordinary person.

Nevertheless, at this moment, the door of the prison suddenly opened and a group of Black Knights walked in with numb faces. They opened the doors of the cells one by one, brought out the Chen family members detained inside, and sent them to the prisoner car outside the prison.

“Uncle, Aunt! Save me!”

Chen Xinghua burst into tears and when the Black Knight led him away, he grabbed the edge of the gate with all his strength, displaying an imploring expression to the two of them.

“Cousin…”

Chen Shan could not help but grab Chen Zheng’s sleeves with a disconsolate look.

“Don’t worry, as long as you haven’t done anything to Chen Chen before, we’ll keep you safe even if we have to grovel on our knees!”

Chen Zheng resolutely said, “Come on, Cousin Chen Shan, let’s look for Chen Chen now!”

The two hurried to the Blacklight Building with hope, but when they arrived at the Blacklight Building, they were informed by X-112 that Chen Chen had left for the scene of the public trial.

The public trial assembly was arranged by X-112 to be held in the stadium of Blacklight City.

As they rushed to the stadium, they immediately saw the sound trucks on the street. These vehicles were fitted with loudspeakers and blasting a mechanical message.

“At 2 o’clock this afternoon, in the Blacklight Stadium, the new city lord will hold a public trial assembly. All the members of the Chen family are involved in the public trial. Citizens of the city are welcome to come and watch… At the same time, the Blacklight Channel will also broadcast the entire process. Stay tuned!”

It was not only the sound trucks but also the sirens everywhere in the city that were broadcasting this. To stabilize the order of the public trial assembly, X-112 even ordered an army to be dispatched to patrol the city.

Hearing that the trial turned out to be judging the lofty Chen family in Blacklight City, countless residents immediately rushed to the streets, gleefully racing in the direction of the stadium. All at once, the entire town had shown up.

At this time, the roads near the stadium had been closed. If anyone wanted to enter, they could only go on foot. However, after an hour, the stadium that could accommodate over ten thousand people was already full. Thus, X-112 set up a holographic projection device outside the stadium, allowing those outside to see the scene inside the stadium directly on the big screen.

When Chen Zheng and Chen Shan arrived, the road was blocked by the flow of people. They could only search for soldiers nearby, show their identities, and ask the army to deploy a helicopter to transport them to the venue.

Still, when the two arrived, the time was already ten past two in the afternoon, and the trial assembly was commencing…

At the scene of the assembly, Chen Chen walked to the podium step by step. He first glanced around the crowd, then, without any opening remarks nor ceremony, he just said, “Now, the public trial assembly shall begin!”

At Chen Chen’s order, more than a thousand men and women with pathetic expressions were led by the army to the rostrum of the stadium. Most of these people were tender-skinned and at first glance, they appeared pampered, in sharp contrast with the ordinary people in the city.

Ordinary people were of course not qualified to use the Blacklight Fully-automated Medical Platform and because of the shortage of resources in these apocalyptic times, the residents in the city did not have access to the pre-fusion age-reversal treatments. Therefore, the life span of ordinary people was still only 70 or 80 years.

On the other hand, the Chen family seemed to be standing high up in the clouds overlooking all living beings. They could live more than three hundred years old if they liked. With such a contrast, the positions of the two sides appeared to be in extreme opposition but the Chen family maintained a strong modern force, so riots rarely occurred.

Moreover, Chen Zeyu did have some skills. He was able to establish this city through solid governance. Achievements were rewarded and mistakes were punished. A special family rule system had also been established. Therefore, although there had been countless murky and unjust cases in the family during the three hundred years, most people could still survive, and because of this, the order in Blacklight City had always been stable.

Nonetheless, for X-112, as long as anyone was involved in a fraudulent or unjustified case, it could be tracked down.

At this time, the Chen family stood in front of the rostrum under the watch of the Black Knights and the army. Some of these people looked dazed, some had spite in their eyes, and some were weeping in a low voice. After they appeared, the entire stadium was so quiet for a while that one could hear a pin drop.

The three-hundred-year rule of the Chen family had long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Although they had fallen from their pedestals at this time, the people still dared not act too brazenly for fear of retaliation.

At this moment, Chen Chen’s gaze swept across the venue like a god and then he glanced at Chen Zeyu who was standing at the forefront. However, at this moment, there was a sudden rush of footsteps and Chen Chen’s Field swept behind him. He immediately saw the anxious expressions of Chen Zheng and Chen Shan.

“Stop them!”

Chen Chen waved his hand. The Black Knight on the side stopped the two of them and they could only worry helplessly.

Ignoring the desperate shouts of the two, Chen Chen said solemnly, “Chen Xinghua, step out!”

The two Black Knights immediately marched Chen Xinghua to the forefront of the crowd.

“Chen Xinghua, the third mayor of Blacklight City. He has taken office for fifty-three years.”

Chen Chen spoke somberly, his voice directly transmitted over the entire stadium through the microphone. “Since you were an adult, to satisfy your lust, you have made many secret arrangements and forcibly seized 86 young women, leading to their family’s destruction. In the past three hundred years, more than a thousand lives have been ended by you directly and indirectly. Do you plead guilty?”

“Wah!”

A violent clamor broke out among the crowd in the auditorium because the things Chen Chen had said were a huge secret, so they did not even know all this.

“No, I don’t, I’ve been wronged, Second Uncle!”

Chen Xinghua suddenly sobbed out loudly. “I was wronged. If you don’t believe me, ask my father or ask my uncle and aunt!”

“Hmm?”

Chen Chen narrowed his eyes when he heard these words and a murderous intent gleamed in his eyes. “You dare to deny it. Do you think the urban intelligent control system is just for decoration?”

As he spoke, Chen Chen waved his hand, and on the big screen next to the rostrum, segments of surveillance records began to play. There were text labels under these records, indicating what happened in which year and month.

However, after this was played for dozens of seconds, Chen Xinghua’s face was ashen.

Faced with the ironclad facts, Chen Xinghua finally could not keep up his denial. Chen Zheng and Chen Shan who were in the background also stood there in stunned silence. Although they also knew that Chen Xinghua’s hands were not clean, they did not expect that he had killed this many.

“Relying on your position in the Chen family, you acted in derangement without regard for law or morality!”

Chen Chen’s voice boomed. “Murder means a death penalty. I sentence you to death! This shall be carried out immediately on the spot!”

“No… No, not this!”

Seeing the two Black Knights walking to the front with guns, Chen Xinghua trembled all over and came back to his senses again. His face was gripped by extreme fright. “Chen Chen, I’m your nephew! Dad, Dad, come and save me!”

Chen Zeyu could not help closing his eyes, with a look of agony.

The Black Knights ignored Chen Xinghua’s torrent of pleas. One of the Black Knights, with a casual push, just made him kneel to the ground while the other Black Knight picked up the pulse rifle and pressed it coarsely against Chen Xinghua’s forehead.

“Dad… Uncle, Aunt…”

Chen Xinghua’s eyes were dazed. He stared at the muzzle in front of him, his entire body trembled like a wheat stalk. Some people even smelled of feces and urine.

“Bang!”

With a gunshot, Chen Xinghua’s skull flew back and a large volume of white and red substance splashed all over the Chen family behind him!

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly, countless people burst into a tsunami-like commotion throughout the venue. The residents of Blacklight City had never thought that the Chen family, who was originally so lofty, would die in front of them so easily at this time, and executed by a firing squad, no less!

It was known that even the death penalty in Blacklight City only included lethal injection. Moreover, they rarely heard of the Chen family being punished. This notion had been crystallized in their heads over three hundred years. The Chen family was like the royal family in the feudal period. They were existences beyond that of ordinary people!

Now, their framework of understanding was completely shattered with this gunshot!

At this moment, countless people converged their gazes upon the figure on the podium. He was a slender young man who seemed to be only in his twenties but it was this person who appeared to be from the Chen family himself, yet was able to execute a family member mercilessly!

Some people have a gleam of panic in their eyes but more people had a glint of excitement and a touch of fanaticism in their eyes!

Still, just as the crowd burst into a tsunami-like uproar, Chen Chen continued to speak. “Chen Lin, step out!”

The two Black Knights were expressionless as they dragged out a plump middle-aged man.

“You even killed your nephew, you’ll die a miserable death!”

As if knowing his fate, Chen Lin, who was in charge of the internal affairs of the entire Blacklight City, had a mad look in his eyes. He shouted, “Chen Chen, you’ll die a…”

“Snap!”

Before he finished speaking, a Black Knight immediately pinched Chen Lin’s chin. There was a clean “snap” and Chen Lin’s chin was directly removed, resulting in a dislocated jaw.

“Chen Lin, 98 years old, Secretary-General of the Interior Affairs of Blacklight City.”

Facing the curses of his family, Chen Chen’s eyes still did not waver. He said with a calm expression, “During thirteen years in office, due to your selfish desires, 58 civilians were slaughtered secretly and 36 people were killed to be silenced. Death penalty, execute him immediately!”

“Agh—!”

Up to this point, even though Chen Lin had had his chin dislocated, he still unleashed a heartrending roar with a wild expression, the last display of madness in his lifetime!

“Bang!”

There was another gunshot and Chen Lin’s voice came to an abrupt end. His bloated and plump body slowly fell to the ground. At this moment, a flash of despair finally appeared in the eyes of all the Chen family members present.