Chapter 8 The Gray Dome Era 8: Flip the Table!
Nanmen Jue barely slept that night. The light in her room stayed on the whole time. She couldn't tell day from night. The pain in her body and the tension in her nerves made her constantly hear her own heartbeat, thump, thump, as if it were about to burst out of her thin chest.
Half-conscious, the door opened again, and she sat up abruptly. This time, soldiers in black and white entered.
A soldier in white handcuffed Nanmen Jue, his breathing trembling slightly. Nanmen Jue winked at him.
“Zhu Wenjie isn’t dead. I saw him in the treatment area,” Zhang Chuxi said quickly as she approached.
Nanmen Jue nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.
Seeing her so calm, Zhang Chuxi also calmed down a bit, and the fear that had surged when she saw Zhu Wenjie lying on the hospital bed, grinning at her sinisterly, subsided considerably.
"Please don't die!"
They took the elevator back to the ground floor. Before stepping out of the elevator and facing the bustling crowd, Zhang Chuxi said softly.
Nanmen Jue glanced back at her, gave her a slight smile, and then she turned around and walked into the midst of everyone's condemnation.
The courtroom is located at the deepest part of the ground floor and can accommodate thousands of people to hear cases at the same time. As the highest court of mankind today, it continues to operate and uphold justice for humanity, no matter how frozen and desolate the outside world has become.
As Nanmen Jue entered the courtroom, it was as if he had stepped into a giant freezer. The air inside was low, and the walls were all made of thick black iron. The smooth metal surface reflected a faint light, and golden characters were engraved on the walls, all of which were legal provisions, exuding an iron-like coldness.
The gallery was full of people, watching Nanmen Jue approach. Nanmen Jue's gaze was fixed on the woman sitting in the center of the judge's bench. He stood in the center of everyone's attention and was put on trial.
"Name."
“Nanmen Jue”.
"age."
"eighteen."
"identity."
"Researcher of the Gray Dome Tower Life Society".
The woman sitting in the center of the dock and Nanmen Jue had a few brief exchanges, during which no one else spoke.
Even though the hall was packed, their voices echoed throughout, creating a cacophony.
Next to President Lin Suwen was a middle-aged man wearing glasses, who appeared to be her secretary or secretary. Qi Mo was sitting in the first row of the audience. Nanmen Jue glanced around but did not see any other names floating in the gallery, nor did he see Zhao Huai Ren.
"Nanmen Jue, do you admit to stealing reductase to produce chips?"
Lin Suwen posed the most crucial question, and Nanmen Jue looked up, "Can anyone prove this accusation?"
"The production room's surveillance cameras accurately recorded your theft," Lin Suwen said. "You first distracted the researchers responsible for recording and guarding the chip, then removed it. The whole process went very smoothly; you took less than five minutes to remove a chip that is crucial to humanity. Do you have any explanation for this?"
“That sounds like there’s no way to deny it,” Nanmenjue said. “Fine, I admit it.”
One stone stirs up a thousand waves.
The audience could no longer remain silent; it erupted into a cacophony of voices, with everyone shouting indignantly. Qi Mo cast an anxious glance at her.
Nanmen Jue remained unfazed and added, "I stole the chip, and it's now in the hands of the resistance. Gray Tower will never be able to produce antidepressants again."
A moment of silence fell over the arena. Everyone was stunned by Nanmen Jue's arrogance. Everyone stared at her with wide eyes, as if they were seeing a monster in human skin.
Before the noise could rise again, Lin Suwen slammed her hammer down, her powerful contralto voice resounding throughout the venue.
"quiet--"
The air fell silent once more. Everyone glared angrily at Nanmen Jue, then looked expectantly at Lin Suwen, waiting for their beloved president to punish this heinous criminal.
Lin Suwen had black and white hair, neatly coiled at the back of her head, revealing a pair of sharp eyebrows and eyes. From a distance, Nanmen Jue couldn't see the wrinkles on her face. The not-so-young president stared directly at Nanmen Jue and asked a dignified question.
"Nanmen Jue, as a researcher of the Gray Tower, you betrayed the Gray Tower's beliefs, disregarded the safety of the Gray Tower's millions of people, and did things that harmed the interests of all mankind. Do you have no remorse for this?"
“No,” Nanmen Jue said.
"...Why did you do that?"
"It's fun."
"Nanmen Jue!"
Amid the uproar, Lin Suwen shouted, "This is a courtroom, not a place for whims. Answer my questions honestly, and the law will give you a fair trial."
Nanmen Jue looked up. The huge lampposts overhead were very bright. She squinted but couldn't see the president's eyes clearly, but she vaguely felt that the president didn't seem to want her to die.
Lin Suwen asked seriously, "Were you injected with brainwashing drugs during your contact with the resistance?"
Before Nanmen Jue could answer, she continued, "Do you ever experience memory lapses, or forget where you were or what you were doing?"
This is practically blatant protection of her.
Nanmen Jue blinked, just about to agree, when a sharp voice erupted from the crowd.
"Even if she is truly being controlled, she is still the one who stole the chip! She is no longer Dr. Nanmen!"
"Quiet!" Lin Suwen tapped the hammer. "Nanmen Jue, answer my questions without hiding anything."
"Even if she says yes, how can we be sure she's not lying?" someone said.
"Professor Zhao, the chief of the Life Society, spent the whole night preparing some test strips that can detect the components of brainwashing drugs. All you need is some blood," Lin Suwen said.
Nanmen Jue understood. Last night, Zhao Huai Ren said he would risk his life to save her, but it turned out he was conspiring with Lin Su Wen to deceive people. He wasn't fighting against the president, but against the angry masses who were against her.
Even if someone doesn't want to believe it, they can't openly question the president's authority if he says such things himself. At this point, if Nanmen Jue goes along with it and lets her teacher come out to draw some blood, she can survive this trial.
She understood what Zhao Huai Ren meant last night. When the two most powerful people in this era wanted to protect her, how could she possibly die?
With only a broad road ahead, Nanmen Jue looked up at the blinding headlights overhead, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips.
Zhao Huai-ren had already come up with the test strip. The steps leading to the trial were slightly higher, and Zhao Huai-ren stood below, looking up at Nanmen Jue.
"Extend out a hand." Zhao Huai-ren's eyes held reassurance and hope.
Nanmen Jue glanced down at him, then suddenly looked up and stared directly at the judge at the highest point, asking in a strong voice that was not befitting of an injured person.
"Your Excellency, are you aware that once a person is injected with antiretroviral drugs, they will regress to an animal driven only by primal desires as soon as the radiation wears off?"
The entire room fell silent.
Everyone fell silent, and the test strip in Zhao Huai-ren's hand fell to the ground.
"Nanmen Jue, what are you saying!" Zhao Huai Ren was the first to react. "Soldiers! Soldiers! She's been drugged and is delirious. Drag her away!"
Soldiers were guarding Nanmen Jue, and they instinctively put their hands on his shoulders to restrain him, but they were all stunned and forgot to react.
When people are extremely shocked, they will freeze in shock, but this freeze will not last long. After a few short seconds, the noise will explode!
"Take her away!" Lin Suwen said.
The situation was out of control. Everyone stood up and shouted something, and Lin Suwen's voice was drowned out by the crowd.
"That's not how it works! Everyone, calm down!"
The crowd surged forward, everyone demanding a reasonable explanation from the president. In this era, everyone's body had accumulated some level of radiation. When resveratrol was first produced, everyone rushed to sign up, hoping to be among the lucky ones to receive the first injection. Now, a large number of people have already received their first dose, and even if they haven't had their turn yet, their relatives and friends have. How could they remain calm? Panic gripped everyone!
This was not just a riot among the lower and middle classes; the first to be injected were the high-ranking officials. Now that they had suddenly learned the truth, even those around the president were looking at her with utter shock.
"Run!"
Zhao Huai Ren grabbed Nan Men Jue and the two of them made their way through the chaotic crowd to the corridor outside the courtroom.
The noise was right next to him. Zhao Huai Ren looked at Nan Men Jue with a pale face and a solemn expression. What he saw made him freeze.
Nanmen Jue was actually laughing.
The man who had instigated chaos and even riots throughout the Gray Tower with a single sentence grinned broadly, his bright, unrestrained laughter almost blinding in the dimly lit corridor.
“…What are you doing?” Zhao Huai-ren said with great distress. “With me and the president here, how could we possibly let you die? You just need to do as we say! Why are you doing this? You’ve not only cut off your own path to survival, but you’ve also ruined the lives of hundreds of thousands of people!”
"Oh, really?" Nanmen Jue said with a smile, "This is a huge burden. I'm afraid my spine is too weak to bear it. If I remember correctly, it was the retrograde hormone that cut off their path to survival, not me who told them the truth."
“You…sigh! According to President Lin and my plan, we will protect you, announce to the public that you are sentenced to life imprisonment, and in reality, you can just change your name and rejoin the research group. Wouldn’t that be the same as before?” Zhao Huai-ren said.
Nanmen Jue stopped laughing and looked at Zhao Huai Ren with a deep gaze. Under her sharp and intense gaze, Zhao Huai Ren lowered his eyes.
"That sounds nice," Nanmen Jue said. "To describe extracting the remaining value from me as saving my life, are you afraid I won't be grateful?"
Zhao Huai-ren said, "Xiao Jue, that's not how it is."
"If there really is no problem with the relativistic hormones, killing me today would appease all the public anger and restore your peaceful rule. Would you be so kind as to protect me?"
She pressed on relentlessly, and Zhao Huai-ren's eyes filled with sorrow. "Is this how you think of me? I cherish your talent. As long as we work hard to resolve this issue before the deadline for the third injection, won't everything be back on track?"
“I’m a researcher too. Are you lying to me, or to yourself?” Nanmen Jue said. “If the side effects of resveratrol were so easy to resolve, why would you go to such lengths to keep it a secret from everyone, including your own research team? This drug was developed by your team. If you thought there was hope, why didn’t you start asking them to work together to improve it sooner?”
Zhao Huai-ren had nothing to say.
“Admit it, you’ve lost control of the situation.” Nanmen Jue cast his gaze into the distance, where a faint light shone through the window, illuminating a dim corner. “You had already taken the first step when you discovered the problem, and then you just didn’t want to cause chaos among the masses. The method you used was to cover it up, to cover it up until you couldn’t cover it up anymore.”
She paused, her tone tinged with sarcasm, "You went to great lengths, even playing the sentimental card, you really put a lot of thought into this for me."
Zhao Huai-ren's wrinkles deepened, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
“I told President Lin… I said it was almost irreversible, but she believed me, and she believed you. She believed we could find a way to deal with its side effects.” He hunched his back and buried his face in his hands. “We have to make a final effort… You shouldn’t have done this, Xiao Jue. The Gray Tower can’t handle the chaos of a mass riot right now.”
"If you can't bear the consequences, should everyone die because of your cover-up?" Nanmen Jue turned his head away, refusing to look at the old man's weak and collapsing appearance. His jawline was taut, revealing a stubborn sharpness.
"What I hate most is being treated like a fool, being treated with condescending pampering, when in reality it's just that I don't want people to realize that I'm being treated unfairly."
"I don't want to be part of your game, I'm not capable of it, but I also don't want to remain silent, so I'll flip the whole table and make sure no one gets away with it."
A note from the author:
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