Chapter 17 In Court Today, the Male Insect Academy was quite lively…
The male insect academy was bustling with activity today; you could hear this tune playing everywhere you went—
"Have you heard? Today, a male insect accused another male insect."
"What? Who is it?"
"Are you out of touch? There are only two things that have been making headlines lately."
"Clark and Murphy? They've really gotten this far. I need to go see what's going on."
"Let's go, let's go."
A male insect suing another male insect is a major event in the Federation. Normally, male insects, respecting their status, wouldn't make such a scene. Therefore, as soon as the incident was published, it attracted a large number of onlookers.
The accuser is a B-rank male insect, Clark, while the defendant is an F-rank male insect, Morphyr. The difference in their ranks is enormous. If Clark's claim of harming a higher-ranking male insect is upheld, how will the court rule? Will they really grant permanent exile to a garbage planet as stated in the complaint?
In no time, the number of viewers watching the court hearing livestream skyrocketed, and all sorts of comments appeared one after another, clearly all there to watch the show.
Murphy sat in the dock with a regretful expression. He had planned to take wedding photos with his wife today because of the good weather, but it seemed he would have to postpone it.
...
"What brings you here today?" Attia asked.
Rupert told him yesterday that he would make up for the training time today and wouldn't be coming.
Rupert said, puzzled, "We don't know either. His Excellency Murphy invited us here. He said he had some business to attend to today and might not be able to come back, so he asked us to come and keep you company."
He won't come back...
Atia paused, then hesitantly pressed his hand to his chest. He had a feeling that something was going to happen today, but he had previously thought it was just his imagination, because he hadn't had this intuition since leaving the battlefield.
Could it be that today… He suddenly realized that usually, if someone didn’t come back, Murphy would tell him the reason in advance, but today he didn’t go into so much detail. Before leaving, he only said that there was something going on at the academy and left in a hurry. Rupert and the others were also suddenly summoned.
Attiyah immediately said, "Palmer, find out where Murphy is right now."
“Yes,” Palmer replied.
How did the Legion Commander know about their secret tricks?
"The location is...the central courtroom."
Atia frowned. This place wasn't right. Murphy went between the academy and his home every day and wouldn't go here unless there was something important to do.
"Check the court hearing that took place today."
Palmer opened the court's website and saw a trial being broadcast live, with Murphy's name in the title.
"We've found out. The B-rank male insect, Clark, is suing Lord Murphy for harming a higher-ranking male insect."
Clark.
Atia had some recollection of him; his flamboyant red hair and equally flamboyant personality gave him a bad reputation among the female insects. It seemed that he was the one who caused trouble at the hospital that day.
If that's the case, things are getting complicated. Although he didn't see it, he did hear the commotion.
Rupert also clicked on the case details and browsed through the basic information. "According to Clark's claims, if the verdict is upheld, Lord Murphy may be permanently exiled to a junk planet."
Palmer continued, "And there's no room for mediation. Most importantly, he's a B-grade insect, and the court will always favor the higher-grade males. Now, Mr. Murphy's situation is rather bad."
He projected the live court hearing from his personal computer onto the screen.
The moment the screen opened, a red-haired male insect was seen sitting in a wheelchair, his face deathly pale, and his voice weak and feeble, as if he had suffered a serious injury.
"I just went to the hospital on business. He saw me and attacked me with a chair without saying a word. I really can't believe that such a thing could happen on the Central Star, in the Inner District. If this isn't dealt with, won't all insects be able to attack male insects at will in the future?"
He was clever enough not to mention that he had gone there to steal a female insect, nor that he was trying to break down the door. In short, once he sat in the wheelchair, put on some powder, and pretended to look miserable.
"This is my medical report."
Clark had the bug submit a huge list, which was displayed on the screen in dozens of pages. It was so dense and shocking that anyone who didn't know better would think he had spent many days in the emergency room because of this injury.
As for the person he accused, Murphy leaned back lazily in his chair and chuckled, "You mean I, this weak, pitiful, and helpless F-class male insect, hit you on the head in public, so your foot is injured?"
"..." Clark choked for a moment, but quickly recovered and added, "At that time, my head started to hurt and I quickly fainted. I must have fallen when I hit the ground."
Interesting. It seems this guy is determined to extort him. He did it himself, so he knows the strength of his own actions. To inflict dozens of pages of injuries, this male insect must have put in a lot of effort.
Murphy applauded him. "So, what's the evidence? Because you saw an innocent me before you fainted?"
Murphy sighed slowly, "Alas, I am so pitiful. I was just passing by and you saw me, and now I have to carry such a heavy burden of blame."
Clark listened to his sophistry and pointed to his head. "Are you going to say that I bumped my head on the chair?"
Although the wound on his head has healed with the treatment device, the scar is still there and won't disappear anytime soon. If he hadn't covered it with his hair, he wouldn't have dared to walk outside because of the bald patch.
The thought that Murphy was the culprit behind this made him seethe with hatred.
Murphy chuckled and shrugged. "Why not? After all, some insects are just that stupid; they'll trip and fall even when walking on flat ground. What can I do?"
"Who are you calling stupid?" Clark slammed his hand on the armrest of his wheelchair and tried to stand up, but thankfully he realized what he was doing as soon as he moved. If he stood up now with full force, he would give himself away.
He took several deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down. There was no need for him to argue with Murphy; the guy had become quite sharp-tongued ever since that day, and he couldn't win the argument.
He said, "The doctors at the scene can testify, and I request that they be summoned."
Just as the judge was about to nod in agreement, he heard Murphy say quietly, "Clark is a male insect, and the doctor is a female insect. Would the doctor give testimony that is detrimental to the male insect?"
If he tells, will Clark let him off the hook after the trial? After all, he even sued me, an innocent male insect; do you think he'll let the female insect off the hook? Sigh, poor doctor, just passing by and he gets into such big trouble.”
Murphy's words make a lot of sense, which is why many court cases involving male insects are difficult to adjudicate.
The judge paused the summons and said to Clark, "Mr. Clark, summoning the doctor is indeed inappropriate. How about we use the hospital's live surveillance footage instead?"
Clark immediately replied, "Of course... no."
If the real-time surveillance footage is exposed, wouldn't it reveal that he brought two bodyguards to steal the insect but was beaten up by Murphy instead? How would he be able to work with the insect then?
But just as Clark was about to utter those words, he received a subtle signal from the judge.
Clark changed his mind, "Of course, since he doesn't agree with the insect evidence, let's show him the physical evidence."
He felt confident and said smugly to Murphy, "Didn't you want evidence? The surveillance footage is evidence, isn't it?"
Murphy's gaze darted between the judge and Clark, then he chuckled and gestured for them to proceed, "Please go ahead."
The surveillance footage was quickly brought to court and played amidst great public attention, and Clark's smug smile was already half-exposed.
In the video, a red-haired male insect, accompanied by two bodyguards, arrives at a hospital room. One bodyguard steps forward to open the door, while the other walks a few steps away and disappears from view. Then—
"Sizzle..."
"Sizzle..."
The video did indeed cut out the scene where Clark appeared, but at crucial moments, the surveillance footage was filled with static and black and white, and even the sound was not recorded.
How could this be? Clark was dumbfounded.
Even the judge looked on in disbelief; there couldn't possibly be anything wrong with the surveillance footage.
Facing Clark's questioning gaze, Murphy returned his smile, his tiny spiritual tentacles flicking in a place where Clark couldn't see them—a minor disturbance, nothing technically sophisticated.
Clark clenched his fist and slammed it hard on the armrest of the wheelchair, laughing angrily, "Fine, you're very good. Although I don't know how you did it, the warm-up is over."
His gaze fell upon the judge, and he said resolutely, "Judge, I am applying for the enforcement of Article 36 of the Male Insect Protection Act, which stipulates that in the event of a conflict between male insects, the legitimate rights and interests of the higher-ranking male insects should be given priority. I request that you immediately declare him guilty."
He is a B-grade male insect, inherently more noble than F-grade. If he can't deal with Morpheus today, he won't be able to stay in the high-grade male insect circle anymore.
The judge pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze to Murphy, seemingly giving his tacit approval.
This court case was fundamentally unfair.
Whether or not it's proven is actually not important, and whether or not physical violence occurred is also not that important. With the current level of technology, as long as no hand, foot, or head is severed, it's just a scratch, and there's no way to convict anyone. At most, the fine would be an apology and some compensation.
Therefore, the most attention-grabbing aspect of this trial is not whether any physical altercation occurred, but rather how the case will ultimately be judged when a higher-ranking male sues a lower-ranking male—whether the higher-ranking male will be upheld or the lower-ranking male will be protected.
Atiyah listened in silence, and in a daze, he seemed to be back on that day, standing in court as a criminal, powerless to defend himself, and with no way to defend himself.
Because it was the male insect that slandered him, and behind the male insect is the parliament, the male insect protection association and the court naturally stand behind the male insect. They know all the facts, and if they want him to be found guilty, then he can only be guilty.
"The Legion Commander, the worm..."
Rupert was somewhat worried. He had witnessed the interaction between the two insects firsthand these past few days. Now, the male insect was in the same position as the Legion Commander insect back then, and was about to face the same judgment. It was self-evident what the Legion Commander insect was feeling.
"...I'm fine." Atia's eyes remained fixed on the direction of the screen, even though he couldn't see it at all.
He stroked the card he hadn't given away, and he was now somewhat relieved that his insect core still had a chance to shatter again...
The live stream chat was flooded with comments, most of which expressed sighs, noting that there were different ranks between male and female insects, and even among male insects, there was a clear hierarchy.
Although I had guessed it, this is still too fast. I thought I could watch it a little longer.
[There wasn't much suspense to begin with; one of them was a B-grade, a high-level male.]
The male insect is so weak, it would die if exiled.
...
Clark raised his head high, his gaze fixed on the judge. "...I want you to immediately sentence him to exile on a garbage planet, and all his property, including his female slave, shall belong to me."
A note from the author:
----------------------
Thank you for the nutrient solution from Louwaitingfengbao! [Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers][Sprinkling flowers] Actually, I'm so happy to see all the babies coming over to leave their paw prints and sprinkle flowers every day! [Starry eyes][Pat head][Keep it up!]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com