Mrs. Legend Chapter 357

Chapter 357: The Verdict is Announced 

The video ended, and everyone fell into silence.

After a while, Yan Zizuo finally came to his senses. Then, he took out another chip and handed it to the judge: "Your Honor, this is the surveillance footage from our Commercial Guild. This is the record of Captain Yu Tian arriving at our Commercial Guild on February 15th, 3318, which was New Year's Eve. This is to guarantee the authenticity of the video we just watched." 

The judge had the clerk play it again, showing the process of Yu Tianyi going to the Commercial Guild to pick up the chip, as well as the record of him specifically entrusting the chip to Yan Zizuo.

"Defendants, do you have anything left to say in your defense?" the judge asked.

In Yu Tianyi's brain memory, there were scans showing many people had been threatened, and Li Bing was one of them. This meant the defense lawyer's previous accusation that the plaintiff had tampered with Li Bing's memory was unfounded.

The defense lawyer said, "Your Honor, we would like to request a recess..."

"I admit that I once falsely accused Mei Chuanqi." Cheng Jianwen suddenly spoke up, interrupting the defense lawyer.

The defense lawyer, Xie Hao, and the others' expressions changed.

Mei Chuanqi raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that Cheng Jianwen had voluntarily confessed.

He Jun and Deng Fei looked at Cheng Jianwen in shock, quickly lowering their voices to say, "Cheng Jianwen, have you lost your mind!"

Cheng Jianwen glanced at them: "Remember what I said before the trial started? Besides, at a time like this, is there any use in us still denying it? It's better to voluntarily confess and get a reduced sentence."

He Jun and Deng Fei thought about the words before the trial and their faces turned pale.

Cheng Jianwen looked at Mei Chuanqi: "My voluntary confession isn't for a reduced sentence, but rather I hope Major Mei, considering I confessed on my own, will protect our safety."

There was another point he didn't tell them: whether they confessed or not, whether the case was successfully overturned or not, when Yu Tianyi's video mentioned that they also had brain memory chips stored, Wei Long would surely have murderous intentions towards them. It was better to voluntarily confess and find someone to rely on.

Mei Chuanqi didn't speak.

Cheng Jianwen took his silence as agreement, turned to the judge and said, "The brain memory scans of Li Bing and Yu Tianyi are both real. At that time, we were all tempted and threatened, which is why we came to court to accuse Mei Chuanqi. So, Mei Chuanqi never fled back then."

As soon as he said this, the defense lawyer was so angry he nearly stormed off on the spot.

Xie Hao and the others' eyes reddened as they glared viciously at Cheng Jianwen.

The audience watching the live broadcast gasped in shock, and were extremely angry. None of them had imagined that the military could have such a dark side.

He Jun and Deng Fei also spoke up, admitting that Mei Chuanqi had not fled.

The judge asked again: "Defendants, do you have anything further to say?"

The defense lawyer remained silent with a dark expression.

The other fourteen captains glared at Cheng Jianwen and the others, also saying nothing.

What more they could say now.

Cheng Jianwen and the others had already admitted to falsely accusing Mei Chuanqi over four years ago; further defense was useless.

"If you remain silent, I will consider that you have waived your right to defense and admit to the false accusation against Mei Chuanqi."

Seeing they still remained silent, the judge made the announcement: "The plaintiff, Mei Chuanqi, has had the verdict from August 25th, Cosmic Calendar 3314, overturned. After trial, the plaintiff, Mei Chuanqi, possesses sufficient evidence proving he was indeed falsely accused and imprisoned back then. Now, I declare that the plaintiff, Mei Chuanqi, has successfully overturned his conviction." 

Mei Chuanqi finally broke into a smile and excitedly hugged Feng Jingteng, who had come over.

He had finally shaken off the label of deserter.

"Congratulations, Major Mei," the plaintiff's lawyer smiled. "You've suffered these past years."

Friends watching the live broadcast were also happy for Mei Chuanqi.

Even the audience was happy for Mei Chuanqi, though more were angry because they had been deceived by the military into misunderstanding him.

"From today onwards, the plaintiff, Mei Chuanqi, will have his military status reinstated and receive due compensation from the military court. The method of compensation still requires discussion, so you will need to go back and wait for notification."

The judge looked towards He Jun and the others: "Defendants He Jun, Cheng Jianwen, Deng Fei... Xie Hao. As upright soldiers, you falsely accused a comrade. For this, you shall receive the appropriate punishment. You will now be detained pending trial. Furthermore, regarding Major Wei Long's plastic surgery to impersonate Lieutenant General Yang Changzheng, this individual must also be arrested and brought to justice."

He picked up his gavel, about to declare the trial concluded, when someone shouted "Wait" again.

Everyone looked at Feng Jingteng.

Feng Jingteng handed the document in his hand to the judge, then turned towards the camera: "From the memory footage of Li Bing and Yu Tianyi, everyone saw that the plaintiff, Mei Chuanqi, once led a force of three thousand people in a battle against the Zerg, which allowed another force to achieve victory."

He paused for a moment and then added: "Perhaps everyone thinks this is a very ordinary battle scene, assuming you could easily find records of military forces that have fought the Zerg in the archives. However, this particular battle is special. Because when I was leading my team to repel the Zerg back then, due to insufficient firepower, we were on the verge of complete annihilation. Just at that moment, a force suddenly emerged and fought alongside us to drive back the Zerg. If it weren't for them, our planet would likely have already been invaded by the Zerg."

"And this force that suddenly appeared was the one led by the plaintiff, Mei Chuanqi. The battle footage seen in Li Bing and Yu Tianyi's memory images is from that final great battle where we defeated the Zerg."

As they watched the live broadcast, people across the entire planet were stunned.

This meant Mei Chuanqi was not only not a deserter, but also a great hero.

Yet look at what they had done. They had scorned someone who had once saved the planet, calling him a coward and a weakling.

"Everyone must be very curious why this great battle wasn't broadcast back then. This is because someone secretly tampered with things, erased the records. Afterwards, someone shamelessly stole the plaintiff's achievements, getting promoted directly from captain to colonel."

Feng Jingteng turned back to the judge: "Therefore, I request the court to return the plaintiff's rightful achievements to him. Regarding the person who stole the plaintiff's achievements, that person should receive severe punishment. In this document is the record of who took the plaintiff's achievements. I have also brought former comrades who fought alongside us to prove that the great battle scanned from Li Bing and Yu Tianyi's brains was indeed the crucial final battle that repelled the Zerg."

Qi Ju and others were summoned to the court. After verification, it was confirmed that the great battle in Li Bing and Yu Tianyi's memories was indeed their final victory over the Zerg.

Feng Jingteng concluded: "I hope the military will grant the plaintiff the highest compensation."

The audience watching the live broadcast also expressed strong support; this compensation was only right.

However, this compensation still needed discussion, and the result couldn't be announced immediately in court. So the trial finally ended at 1:00 PM.

Li Bing's parents were placed under protection, and inquiries were made about the whereabouts of their two children. Upon learning the children were at Xie Hao's home, soldiers were sent to safely rescue them.

As for He Jun and the others, because they had confessed in court to falsely accusing Mei Chuanqi, they had offended Yang Changzheng. They were now imprisoned separately from Xie Hao and the others, under heightened protection.

Before leaving the courthouse, Mei Chuanqi and Feng Jingteng went to the court's temporary detention facility to see He Jun.

At this time, He Jun and the others had already had their military uniforms removed and were wearing black prison uniforms, sitting slumped in a corner like drowned rats.

When they saw Mei Chuanqi arrive, they were only slightly surprised, then showed no other reaction.

Mei Chuanqi walked to the door and said, "I'm not here to thank you for suddenly changing your minds in court and admitting to falsely accusing me."

The three men still sat on the ground silently, waiting for Mei Chuanqi to finish.

"Since you've already admitted to falsely accusing me, then next, you will not only be expelled from the military, but also sentenced to prison. At that time, I will speak to the judge and ask for you to be sent to the Black Prison."

After saying this, Mei Chuanqi turned and left.

"What? The Black Prison?" Deng Fei and He Jun stood up in shocked panic: "Mei Chuanqi, falsely accusing you was wrong of us, but please, don't let the judge sentence us to the Black Prison."

"Mei Chuanqi, come back!" The two stood at the prison door, shouting frantically.

"Stop shouting," Cheng Jianwen suddenly spoke up.

Deng Fei turned his head and said agitatedly, "Cheng Jianwen, aren't you worried? Mei Chuanqi wants the judge to sentence us to the Black Prison. That's where they lock up serious criminals. If we go in there, it's a death sentence for sure."

Cheng Jianwen glanced at him lazily: "He's protecting us."

He Jun and Deng Fei were stunned: "Pro...protecting us? Looks to me like he wants us dead."

Cheng Jianwen asked them: "Have you ever thought about how Mei Chuanqi managed to survive and come out of the Black Prison in good shape?"

He Jun didn't understand: "What does us being locked up in the Black Prison have to do with him surviving there just fine?"

Cheng Jianwen rolled his eyes at him: "Being able to come out alive and well means he knows people inside the Black Prison and is familiar with the place. If he's sending us there to serve our sentences, he must be quite confident we can come out alive. Otherwise, if we go to other prisons, someone might secretly arrange for us to be killed."

He Jun and Deng Fei thought this made some sense, and obediently sat back down in their original spots, saying nothing more.