NOVEL NEXT Chapter 53 - What Did I Say?
Chapter 53 What Did I Say?
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
“OMG!”
“There are so many people!”
“I’d have thought they’re holding the Olympics if I didn’t know better.”
“I don’t think the Olympics would have this many people.”
“The Dragon Cave almost can’t fit all of them inside.”
8,000 drones hovered above Dragon Cave, recording the trial and streaming it online.
Another 80,000 drones were standing by to make sure that the live stream wouldn’t be interrupted by the malfunction or if any drones ran out of battery.
300 judges took charge of the trial, and they would give the verdict simultaneously. There were no juries, and the sentence would be passed down directly. Even with such a procedure, they still couldn’t go through all
the defendants in one night.
By the time they read all the names, the sun had risen.
“The following defendants in the first category are sentenced to death. The four members of the Shane family: Stella Shane, Luna Shane, Luke Shane, and Helen Mat. Also sentenced to death are Gary Mat, Tony Lewis,
Frank Kwok, Ethan Fraser, Andy Lee, Ivy Law…
“The following defendants in the first category are sentenced to imprisonment for life: Sandy Lou, George Newt, Hilary Lee, Lucy Farse…
“The following defendants in the second category are sentenced to imprisonment for life: Ken Hawk, Jack Hawk, Yuna Hawk, Jessica Lang, Emma Leigh…
“The following defendants in the second category are sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than 30 years, without probation, commutation, or appeal…
“The following defendants in the second category are sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than 25 years, without probation, commutation, or appeal…
“The following defendants are in the third category…”
The list never seemed to end.
Over a hundred newsrooms were broadcasting the trial simultaneously, and the 300 judges took turns to read the names.
“I feel so good! They deserve the punishment!”
“Mr. Himmel Soan is God! We won’t allow any blasphemy! Those people have defiled God! They deserved it!”
The keyboard warriors and trolls thought they had dodged the bullet when the Soan empire set them free. However, the Anti Cyberbullying Act then came out, and they became the first group of people the country
used the legislation on.
They were used to saying whatever they wanted online, but this time, they would have to face the consequences.
However, they held no grudges.
Before the trial started, the netizens speculated that these people might cry, beg for mercy, or try to pull all kinds of strings to get their sentence reduced. Yet, the trolls were more resilient than they had expected.
Not many of them broke down in tears. Only about 5% had such reactions, most of which were women.
A huge majority repented and sincerely admitted what they had done.
They knew how severe the matter was and regretted their actions. However, they couldn’t turn back the clock and could only feel sorry for their conduct. They had no choice but to suffer the consequences.
Because the person in question was Himmel Soan.
They probably would be discontent if the victim were someone else. They would likely make a scene in court and try to come up with excuses. However, Himmel Soan was too prominent a figure, and the country
would never have made all the achievements without him.
The country had five types of medals granted to outstanding individuals, and receiving any of them could exonerate the recipient from all crimes, including a capital one. Until Himmel Soan turned up, no one had been.
able to obtain all five of them. Being rewarded with any single one would be considered the most incredible honor.
However, Himmel Soan had all five medals. Because of that, the trolls felt they had no right to ask for reduced sentences.
One couldn’t just talk about respecting Himmel Soan. They should feel it from the bottom of their hearts.
Humans were controllable.
However, human emotions weren’t.
o matter how great a person was, someone was bound to dislike them. The authorities could control people’s conduct, but they couldn’t control their minds.
Himmel Soan was an exception. Any adult with a conscience and adequate intelligence would know what a great man he was. They might not say it out loud, but deep down, they had to recognize the man’s virtue.
o one could argue with that.
The air in the room felt stifling. Everyone in the room was a tycoon in a particular field, and any one of them was capable of stirring things up in an industry.
However, they were all covered by cold sweat and shaking like leaves in their seats. None of them dared to utter a word.
The stranger thing was that opposite them sat a teenager that looked about 18 years of age. It was such a baffling scene.
The teenager was none other than Himmel Soan.
The other people in the room were all members of the Soan empire.
Yosef Soan.
Warren Soan.
Caroline Soan.
Camille Soan.
Drake Soan.
Phoebe Soan.
Liam Soan.
Any of those names could make ordinary people go pale. That was the effect of the Soan empire.
“That’s to say, you’ve followed none of my instructions. Correct?”
Himmel Soan was so angry that he laughed. He watched his followers with an expressionless face.
“Patriarch… We…” Warren tried to explain but didn’t know what to say.
Drake chimed in, “Master, it’s not all their fault—”
“Was | asking you?!” Himmel Soan snapped at Drake before he could finish. Drake had been so proud and intimidating when facing Henry and Gordon, but now, he cringed like a little boy and didn’t dare to say another
word.
“Drake, I’ll deal with you later!” Himmel Soan pointed at Drake, his two siblings, and the three divisions. “How dare the three of you do that?! Who gave you the order? Speak! Who?!”
“Master, I…”
“You imprisoned so many people just like that! You had no right! What’s the responsibility of the three divisions? What did I tell you? Who gave you the permission to come out of your seclusion? You should feel lucky
that I couldn’t move a muscle when I was in the crystal coffin. Otherwise, I would have killed all three of you in the sacred temple!”
The room was silent.
Dead silent.
Drake and his siblings burst into a cold sweat. They had thought about explaining what they had done, but now, they didn’t dare open their mouths.
Himmel Soan smacked the table and growled, “I’ll deal with the three of you later! Warren, Yosef, Lance, Caroline, and Hayden, have you done none of the things I told you to do? Is our country the largest economy in
the world yet?”
“No… Not yet, Patriarch…”
“No? Why not?!” Himmel Soan smacked the table again. This time, the wooden table couldn’t withstand the force and cracked open. “What have you been doing in the past three decades?!”
“We’ve been looking for you…”
“Why the hell did you do that? What did I tell you back then? I’ll cut all your heads off if our country doesn’t become the greatest nation in the world in thirty years! Did I tell you to look for me? Speak!”.