Chapter 462: Judgment
“There aren’t many high-level ability users in the Security Squad. If the Chaoyang team tries to forcibly take or kill him, we’ll be in a very passive position,” Zhuang Mingxu said. After thinking it over, he assigned He Song, an earth-type ability user from the Miracle Squad, to personally protect Xing Lu.
The Chaoyang Squad spent the whole night searching in vain. The next morning’s trial was held in a makeshift courtroom inside the office building, and Ling Zhaoyang showed up with dark circles under his eyes.
Lu Weiyi and Zhuang Mingxu both attended. Just before leaving, Zhuang Mingxu even decided — since trials like this might be rare in the future — to bring Zhuang Aiyi and Taotao along, claiming it would be educational.
When the family of four stepped out of the vehicle, the gathering of representatives from other bases fell silent for a moment.
Tang Bo, seated near the defendant’s stand, responded to Zhuang Aiyi’s cheerful greeting and then leaned in to say, “This is a trial — why’d you bring kids?”
“All our people are here. No one left to watch the kids, so we had to bring them,” Zhuang Mingxu replied righteously.
“Uncle Tang, Aiyi will be good and not talk loudly,” Aiyi promised while clinging to his arm.
Taotao quickly mimicked his brother and hugged Tang’s leg, smiling sweetly.
“Aiya, you two are just…” Tang Bo chuckled, scooping Taotao onto his lap and planting a kiss on his cheek. Then, suddenly sensing something was off, he bounced the child gently and turned to Zhuang Mingxu.
“Commander Zhuang, how old is Taotao again? Why does it feel like he hasn’t grown much?”
Zhuang Mingxu and Lu Weiyi exchanged a subtle glance. Ever since Taotao appeared outside the space, he had spent most of his time with Zhuang Aiyi and rarely returned to the space. At first, he couldn’t be too far from Lu Weiyi, but over time, that restriction disappeared. The only obvious change was that he hadn’t grown taller in all these years—his appearance hadn’t changed much either.
Fortunately, he spoke fluently now and had become much more agile—no longer the clueless child he had once been.
Zhuang Mingxu casually lifted Zhuang Aiyi and sat him between the two of them. “He has a bit of a condition. The doctor said it might be delayed development.”
“That technology…” Tang Bai trailed off, but Zhuang Mingxu caught the meaning.
After all, he had openly explained where Zhuang Aiyi came from: through highly advanced technology. But since that tech wasn’t widespread, most people remained skeptical of its safety.
“Not sure. You know how things are with medical treatment these days…” Zhuang Mingxu sighed and looked with heartfelt concern at Taotao, who was curiously glancing around.
“As long as they’re alive and well, nothing else matters. As parents, that’s what it comes down to—just being alive makes everything else secondary.” Tang Bai, now a father himself, had been constantly on edge during the years of the apocalypse and knew that truth all too well.
The group chuckled and whispered among themselves for a while as more attendees arrived one after another. The trial began.
There were five people seated at the judgment bench: two from the Capital Base, and one each from Pingjin Base, Northern Meng Base, and Hope Base.
Xing Lu was escorted in by members of the security team. After the presiding judge read out the specific charges, he turned to ask Xing Lu if he had anything to add.
“I do,” Xing Lu replied calmly. “I lied yesterday.”
People from the various bases murmured in low voices, clearly enjoying the drama. These grown men had the energy of gossiping aunties—give them each a plate of sunflower seeds, and they’d be cracking and spitting shells with abandon.
Meanwhile, Ling Zhaoyang sat up straight, clearly on edge. Beside him, Ling Shengge looked completely composed, legs crossed and arms around another man she’d always brought with her. The man’s frame wasn’t small, but the way he nestled up to her looked painfully awkward.
“All of this was planned by Ling Shengge. If it succeeded, she could scam a shipment of advanced weapons and resources from the Half Moon Bay Base. If it failed, she could still humiliate me. Either way, she had nothing to lose.” No one expected Xing Lu to say something like that. Even the previously unfazed Ling Shengge now sat upright, her face emotionless as she looked at him.
“Mr. Xing, that’s not what you said yesterday,” someone from the Zhaoyang Squad interjected.
“Yesterday, I was in Zhaoyang Squad. If I didn’t say what she told me to, I’d already be dead.” Xing Lu cast a mocking glance at their direction. “She hates me because she’s in love with her own brother, Ling Zhaoyang. And I was Ling Zhaoyang’s first boyfriend.”
“Holy crap, what?!”
“There’s still gossip this juicy in the apocalypse?”
“No way—I’ve seen Ling Shengge sneaking into Ling Zhaoyang’s room in skimpy pajamas before. I always thought something was off… turns out it was real?”
“You mean… they actually…?”
Whispers and murmurs filled the courtroom without the slightest effort to hide them. Even members of Zhaoyang Squad began to look at the sibling pair with scrutinizing, doubtful eyes.
Zhuang Mingxu thought someone from the Ruthless Squad might immediately flip out and teach Ling Zhaoyang a lesson. Unfortunately, they only looked mildly displeased, said a few words to Ling Zhaoyang, and left the courtroom.
At that moment, Ling Zhaoyang was stunned by the shocking truth and didn’t know how to react.
Ling Shengge, seated like a queen, turned to look at him with teary eyes full of wronged indignation—refusing to let those tears fall.
“Xing Lu, if you hate that we broke up, then blame me. Don’t say things that’ll ruin Shengge’s reputation—”
“She has a reputation? Didn’t she already give that up when she drugged me and dragged me into bed?” Xing Lu cut him off coldly. “And I’ve never hated you for leaving. Back then, it was Ling Shengge who spread rumors that I cheated, then sent me photos of you in bed with another woman. We were both misled—that’s the real reason we broke up. So no, I don’t blame you.”
“That was fake…” Ling Zhaoyang stared at her in disbelief.
He had always cherished his sister. Even after the apocalypse, when she went too far, he never thought to blame her. But now, learning what she’d done before… he was shocked.
“You’re going to believe a liar?” Ling Shengge retorted.
Ling Zhaoyang met her gaze and stayed silent for a long while before saying, “We might be screwed this time.”
“Not necessarily,” Ling Shengge replied, her eyes turning viciously toward Xing Lu.
Xing Lu looked at the two of them and smiled. “She hated that I could be with Ling Zhaoyang, so she sabotaged us. After the apocalypse, I was just an ordinary person—easy to pin down and hand off to others for her own gain, all while venting her jealousy over me being his first love. That’s why she targeted me this time.”
“What proof do you have that what you’re saying is true?” Ling Shengge crossed her arms and stared at him.
“I recorded it,” Xing Lu said with a laugh. “And the things those two men left on me? I collected the samples and gave them to the security team. Changhong Base can’t do DNA testing, but the Capital Base just happens to be able to.”
Right on cue, someone walked up to the podium with a broadcasting device. After a few steps, a clear recording played: Ling Shengge’s voice giving instructions to frame him—step by step. The parts where she implicated Ling Zhaoyang had been edited out, making her intent clearly focused on sabotaging the Half Moon Bay Base.
Along with the test results, one of the two people who had been captured the previous day was brought up to the courtroom.
With every piece of evidence laid out, it was a complete case. There was no room left for argument.
Lu Weiyi, the original defendant, didn’t even get a chance to speak. As the verdicts were being announced, he leaned toward Zhuang Mingxu and whispered in his ear, “Why did you change the target?”
“To make an example of them,” Zhuang Mingxu replied. “Let anyone plotting similar schemes remember this case—and weigh their own power carefully.” Besides, if they’d revealed the target was Ling Zhaoyang, it would’ve just been tabloid drama, a personal feud. Framing it as an attack against a base made it far easier to escalate the situation.
“The events and the entire process are now completely clear. Do the plaintiff or defendant have any further statements or appeals?”
Lu Weiyi and Xing Lu both shook their heads.
“This case is ruled in favor of Moonbay Base. According to the previously agreed compensation, the Sunlight Squad is ordered to pay Moonbay Base one million crystal nuclei as reparation.”
“No, we never agreed on a specific amount!” Ling Zhaoyang suddenly stood up and shouted, knowing very well what one million crystal nuclei meant.
“Is he going back on his word now? Has he no shame?”
“Which matters more, pride or money?”
“Haha, of course he’d go back on it. Can you come up with one million crystal nuclei? That’s equivalent to a million zombies. Honestly, no single faction could afford that easily.”
“Tch, tried to take advantage and ended up digging their own grave.”
“Did they really think Moonbay Base was so easy to owe?”
Amidst the buzzing discussion around them, Zhuang Mingxu stood up unhurriedly and looked over at the Sunlight Squad. “Captain Ling, now that the truth is out, I hope you’ll honor our agreement.”
He calmly adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves, his demeanor confident and composed. “Given the amount, I’ll give you five days to prepare. I suggest you don’t entertain thoughts of running. After all… your base camp is right there.”
“There’s really no need to escalate things to the point of exchanging one life for a single crystal nucleus, right? What do you all think?”
Zhuang Mingxu’s seemingly light-hearted but threatening words turned the faces of the Sunlight Squad pale. Pretending not to notice, he looked toward the onlookers who had come to watch the drama unfold.
“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to witness the outcome of this injustice. I hope you’ll help spread the word about Moonbay Base, so people won’t misunderstand our leader. I’ve reserved a lunch at Yi Pin Xiang restaurant. Anyone with a trial attendance slip is welcome to enjoy.”
“Thank you, Commander Zhuang.”
“Of course we’ll spread the word. Teams like this that just want to exploit others without improving themselves—everyone should be on guard.”
“Exactly, who knows when they might try to plot against us next?”
Amidst all the chattering, Zhuang Mingxu gave Xu Sa a subtle glance. Xu Sa understood immediately and led a few people toward the Sunlight Squad.
“Commander Zhuang, as we agreed, I’ve handed over all the evidence. You promised to protect me,” Xing Lu said, stepping forward before leaving.
He glanced toward the Sunlight Squad—some of them were already walking his way with clearly hostile intent.
