249: Trial

Su Jin didn't spare another glance at the pile of mud on the ground; his cold gaze shifted to Book, whose face was ashen.

He stepped forward, his massive hand clamping directly onto Book's dark face, his five fingers tightening like iron pincers as if he could crush it at any moment!

"Book, isn't it!" Su Jin's voice squeezed through his teeth, carrying undisguised contempt and killing intent. "How dare you come to my Huaguo to act like a tyrant and oppress our Huaguo students?! Who gave you the nerve?! Huh?!"

Book's cheekbones ached from the squeeze, and he felt as if his skull was about to crack. Terrified yet desperate to maintain appearances, he shrieked in a strange accent, "You... how dare you treat me like this! I am an international friend! I am protected by international law! I want to see my embassy! I'm going to complain! I'll sue you for violating human rights!" He tried to struggle, but under Su Jin's absolute power suppression, it was like an ant trying to shake a giant tree.

Su Jin felt a wave of nausea. It was already the end of the world, and he was still clinging to this ridiculous rhetoric? He didn't bother wasting words; he swung his other hand in a wide arc and delivered another heavy, powerful slap!

Slap!

This slap was even harder than the one he gave Principal Liu! Book was sent spinning three hundred and sixty degrees through the air. Saliva mixed with broken teeth and blood sprayed out, his gums were shattered, and half of his face swelled up at a visible rate like a blackened steamed bun. He crashed to the ground screaming, his consciousness blurring.

Su Jin shook his hand in disgust, as if he had touched something filthy, and said coldly, "Disgusting!"

He turned and gave a clear order to the over one hundred Red Alert Soldiers behind him: "Listen up! Give these arrogant... a good 'education'! Make sure they remember this!"

"Yes, Sir!" Over a hundred fierce Red Alert Soldiers responded in unison, their voices shaking the sky! They had long been filled with righteous indignation. Hearing the order, they didn't say a word, raising their rifles and charging into the crowd like tigers descending a mountain, smashing and hitting everyone they saw! Fists, feet, and rifle butts fell like raindrops!

A few Evolvers tried to resist, but as soon as the light of their Superpowers flickered, they were instantly subdued by the Red Alert Evolver officers in the squad with even greater strength. They were pinned to the ground and beaten mercilessly. After the beating, the soldiers ruthlessly pressed their guns against the Evolvers' heads and fired. Their heads blossomed instantly, and they died on the spot! Su Jin watched the entire process with folded arms and a cold gaze, showing no intention of stopping them.

Seeing the army stand up for them so forcefully and teach those thugs who had oppressed them for so long a lesson, the students behind Jiang Xin were moved to tears. No one knew who shouted "Long live the soldiers!" first, but immediately, overwhelming cheers and shouts echoed throughout the campus: "Long live the soldiers! Long live the Red Alert Legion!"

Meanwhile, the spineless ones were pale with fright, huddling together and trembling, fearing that the soldiers' rifle butts would fall on them in the next second.

"A bunch of spineless cowards! Weren't you quite capable when you were bullying your own classmates and students?!" Su Jin's fierce eyes burned with killing intent as he scanned the cowering cowards, his anger growing.

Book's mistress, however, was defiant. "What right do you have to say that about us? If you soldiers hadn't waited until now to come, how could we have been bullied by them?"

"Nonsense. Slap her mouth!" Su Jin glanced at the gaudily dressed woman and didn't explain, directly ordering the slap. The Red Alert soldier closest to the woman stepped up and smashed a rifle butt into her face. The woman was knocked to the ground, howling in pain.

"Ah!"

"You soldier, you bastard, you thug! I'll have you sent to a military court!" The woman clutched her mangled face, rolling and throwing a tantrum on the ground.

Su Jin wasn't sure how to handle these shameless people properly for a moment; killing them all seemed too bloody.

Just then, a sci-fi apollo aerospace fighter descended with a low, majestic roar, slowly landing on the nearby open ground.

The levitation pod lowered, and the powerful Jiang Xin, accompanied by Lu Qinian, stepped out. Their arrival made the atmosphere on the scene even more solemn.

"Su Jin, what's going on here? What's the situation with these people?" Jiang Xin's gaze swept over the messy scene and the clearly divided groups. He spoke calmly, yet his voice carried an inherent authority.

Su Jin immediately jogged forward, stood at attention, and saluted, his voice booming: "Reporting to the Commander! The situation is like this..." He quickly gave a concise report of what he had learned, then turned to look at Wang Hua. "Private First Class Wang Hua! Step forward! Give a detailed report to the Commander!"

"Yes, Sir!" Wang Hua suppressed his inner excitement and jogged to the front of Jiang Xin and Lu Qinian. When he saw the Senior Colonel rank on Jiang Xin's shoulder and the dazzling Major General rank on Lu Qinian's, he was startled and deeply shocked, hurriedly saluting.

He steadied his mind and began to recount in detail and with clarity the various darknesses and injustices that had occurred at Xijiang University of Technology during these months of the apocalypse. This included the atrocities committed by Book and others, the sycophancy of the school leadership, the degradation of some students, and the difficult struggle of those who held their ground. He told everything exactly as it was, without leaving anything out.

As Wang Hua narrated, Jiang Xin's face grew darker, and the fire in his eyes became more intense like an impending volcanic eruption. An invisible pressure even began to radiate from him, making it difficult for those nearby to breathe. Standing beside him, General Lu, the old general, also listened with clenched fists and white knuckles, his face filled with the deepest disgust and hatred a soldier could have for the word "betrayal."

"General Lu," Jiang Xin took a deep breath, suppressing his surging anger, and looked at Lu Qinian with a cold tone. "In your opinion, how should we handle these national scum who have forgotten their ancestors and acknowledged a thief as their father?" Although he called him General, his tone was that of a superior questioning a subordinate.

Although Lu Qinian was fuming with rage, his response to Jiang Xin was slightly respectful: "Commander, you flatter me! Lu Qinian is now just a Division Commander under the Red Alert Legion and does not dare to be called General anymore. The actions of such scum are appalling; they have betrayed their country and nation, acted as pawns for outsiders, and oppressed their compatriots. Their crimes are unforgivable! How to handle them is entirely up to the Commander's decision; Lu Qinian will have no objections!" His words were powerful and resonant, stating his position clearly.

Hearing Lu Qinian's words, especially the phrase "unforgivable crimes," those spineless ones who had sided with Book were instantly scared out of their wits. A large group of them fell to their knees, kowtowing like pounding garlic, as cries and pleas for mercy broke out: "Commander, have mercy! We were forced! They would have killed us if we didn't listen!"

"Commander! We know we were wrong! Give us a chance to turn over a new leaf! We are willing to undergo Reform through labor!"

"Commander! I'm willing to inform! I know who else..."

Looking at this group of unsightly cowards, Jiang Xin had no pity in his eyes, only cold disgust.

"Wang Hua!" Jiang Xin suddenly barked.

"Present!" Wang Hua stood tall and responded, his voice firm.

"You have done very well!" Jiang Xin's gaze fell on Wang Hua, his tone carrying undisguised praise. "In the face of a powerful enemy, you did not shrink back or compromise, and you upheld the integrity of a soldier and the dignity of the nation! You did not disgrace our unit! You are a good man!"

Feeling this high level of affirmation from a high-ranking Commander, Wang Hua's chest heaved violently, and his voice choked with emotion: "Reporting to the Commander! Wang Hua does not dare take the credit! Protecting the country and the people is a soldier's duty! Even if it means going through fire and water, I will not hesitate even if I die ten thousand deaths!"

"Good! A 'ten thousand deaths' indeed!" Jiang Xin nodded heavily, the appreciation in his eyes growing stronger. "Su Jin!"

"Present!"

"This kid is good material; he has blood and responsibility, a good sprout! I'm handing him over to you. Lead him well, train him well! Don't let talent go to waste!"

"Yes, Commander! I guarantee the mission will be completed!" Su Jin responded loudly, his gaze toward Wang Hua also filled with expectation.

Immediately, Jiang Xin's gaze turned back to the group of spineless ones kneeling and begging for mercy. His voice returned to its previous coldness, like a judge passing sentence: "Wang Hua!"

"Present!"

"Go and identify those among them whose hands are stained with the blood of their compatriots and who have committed unforgivable crimes, one by one!"

"Yes!" Without hesitation, Wang Hua strode toward the trembling cowards. His eyes were like torches as he carefully scanned every terrified face. He had an extremely deep impression of several individuals who had relied on Book's power to oppress their classmates and had even participated in beating, humiliating, or even killing them. Soon, he pointed out dozens of people.

Jiang Xin looked at the dozens of people who had been identified and whose faces were now ashen. He remained expressionless and only uttered two words: "Execute them."

As soon as the order was given, the prepared Red Alert Soldiers stepped forward in pairs, dragging these limp and useless scum to a nearby open space.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

...The crisp and loud gunshots rang out one after another across the campus like the drumbeats of justice, announcing the end of evil.

Justice was served!

"As for the rest," Jiang Xin looked at those who hadn't been identified but had still participated in the defection, his voice still cold, "although you didn't kill directly, you aided the tyrant and lost your integrity. While you are spared the death penalty, you cannot escape punishment! All of you will be taken back for five years of Reform through labor! We will see how you behave!"

Watching their former companions, leaders, and sycophants receive their due punishment, and seeing the army that symbolized justice act so decisively, Wang Hua and the hundreds of students behind him could no longer suppress their inner excitement. Many hugged each other and wept, while even more spontaneously raised their arms and cheered over and over again. Their voices converged into a torrent that shook the sky:

"Long live justice!"

"Long live the Red Alert Legion!"

"Long live Huaguo!"

These cheers dispelled the haze that had hung over the university for months and signaled that in this land that had suffered so much, truth and justice would eventually pierce through the darkness like sunlight and shine upon all living beings.