49 Apocalypse Rules

In the conference room.

Instructors for every course and all the counselors were present for a general meeting.

Once everyone had arrived, Dean Zhou Qinfeng spoke with a grave expression. "This morning, the officials delivered their decision regarding Shen Yun and the other four. The case will proceed according to established legal procedures. The other four will most likely be prosecuted for excessive self-defense. Shen Yun, in addition to excessive self-defense, will also be publicly prosecuted for intentional injury."

Upon hearing this outcome, everyone in the conference room looked shocked.

Everyone had suspected the charge of excessive self-defense, but no one had expected Shen Yun would also be charged with intentional injury.

"Dean, that can’t be right! If he’s charged with intentional injury, given the multiple deaths, that would make it intentional injury resulting in death. He’d get the death penalty!"

an instructor exclaimed, agitated. Shen Yun was a student he was very fond of, and he couldn’t accept such a consequence.

Several other instructors also began to speak up.

"How can it be intentional injury? Wasn’t it determined that the ordinary people attacked first?"

"Isn’t a charge of excessive self-defense enough?"

"Could the officials be doing this just to appease public opinion...?"

Facing the wave of questions, Zhou Qinfeng continued, "The reason given by the officials is that among the people Shen Yun killed, several were unarmed. They were merely standing near the gunmen and were killed by the spreading effect of the lethal Psychic Power artifact. As the owner of the artifact, Shen Yun knew it had this area-of-effect property."

"But..."

The instructors who had just been questioning him were momentarily speechless.

Hearing this, Guan Tong recalled the state of the bodies he had seen at the scene.

Judging by the wounds, Shen Yun had indeed used an area-of-effect lethal artifact, killing them all at once.

And as the artifact’s wielder, Shen Yun himself must have been well aware of its effects.

"Dean, are we really going to just sit back and watch an outstanding student be sentenced to death? Shen Yun made a mistake, but it doesn’t warrant the death penalty!"

"Using that kind of artifact under such tense circumstances is understandable. I’d consider it an act of emergency defense."

"Shen Yun is very popular among the students. If he’s sentenced to death, the students won’t accept it."

Everyone was clamoring, all of them unwilling to let Shen Yun be condemned to death under any circumstances.

Zhou Qinfeng’s voice was heavy. "Do you think I don’t want to save our student? But the officials have already made their decision. What they sent us was called a ’recommendation,’ but it was really just a notice. Can we possibly change it?"

The instructors looked at each other and fell into a silent impasse.

Although North Star Academy was unique, it was essentially a "department" established by the government. This was evident from the fact that all students were assigned to public service posts after graduation.

As a fellow department, the academy couldn’t possibly override the government’s legal departments. In fact, Zhou Qinfeng knew very well that if any of the faculty openly opposed the official handling of Shen Yun’s case, they would face extremely severe consequences.

Guan Tong remained silent, knowing it was useless for the instructors to argue themselves hoarse here.

The academy was built entirely on specially allocated government resources. It was impossible to bite the hand that feeds you.

Besides, the public outcry sparked by this case was enormous. If it wasn’t handled properly, it could very well incite more incidents of mutual harm between ordinary people and Ascenders...

At this point, the faculty all knew that Shen Yun’s conviction was likely irreversible.

Unless the government did a complete one-eighty, abandoned its long-standing propaganda, and fully pivoted to the Ascender system—completely giving up on ordinary people—there was little room for this to be turned around.

But with the current population ratio of 7:1, who would have the courage and audacity to abandon the "7" in that equation?

Not to mention, as the rules continued to evolve, current Ascenders could potentially become ordinary people in the future. Many Ascenders with low Psychic Power ceilings, considering their own futures, would also choose to side with the ordinary people on this matter.

"Then... Dean, what if the students find out and don’t agree? What if they cause trouble?"

"They will be dealt with strictly according to academy regulations," Zhou Qinfeng said. "That’s one of the main reasons for today’s meeting. Besides informing you of the decision, I also need to get everyone on the same page."

"If students protest or cause trouble, no faculty member is to support them. Anyone who does will be dismissed without exception. That includes the students—if any of them take it too far, they will also be expelled according to academy rules."

The conference room fell silent.

Many of the teachers quieted down. They certainly didn’t want to be dismissed.

In the world today, the academy was practically the safest and most comfortable place they could be. No other place could compare.

"Additionally, the official notice mentioned that this matter will be handled expeditiously. A court hearing will be held in three days, and relevant academy personnel must be present."

As he spoke, Zhou Qinfeng looked at several people in the room.

"As the dean, I will definitely attend. In addition, Mr. Guan and Mrs. Chen, you two must also go. And of course, Counselor Fang, you will need to be there to provide related testimony."

Guan Tong and Mrs. Chen had been involved in the case, so they had to go. As the one who had provided the intelligence by "intercepting" the students’ communications on the Mind Network, Fang Qian naturally had to go as well.

"Um..." Fang Qian asked, "Dean, my testimony isn’t backed by any evidence. Will that still work?"

"That’s right. Conversations on the Mind Network leave no evidence. How can the court accept it?"

"If they just take one person’s word for it, it’ll just be a case of ’he said, she said.’"

"I’m not sure about that either," Zhou Qinfeng said, shaking his head. "We’ll see what the court has to say. Also, this case has attracted a lot of attention, so many people will likely be there to observe. Everyone should be prepared."

After the meeting, Mrs. Chen stopped Guan Tong to review the events of that day with him, just to make sure they didn’t misstate anything later.

Afterward, she also needed to find Fang Qian to go over things, because at the time of the incident, Guan Tong had gone to Cangying Ridge to find Shen Yun and the others, while Mrs. Chen had returned to the academy to get information from Fang Qian.

"Things are probably going to be very difficult for her now," Mrs. Chen said to Guan Tong before she left. "Once she’s in court, the fact that Fang Qian was lurking in the students’ Mind Network can’t be hidden anymore. All the students will find out."

Guan Tong nodded.

He had known from the very beginning that this would eventually be exposed; it was only a matter of time. Whoever took on the role of the "infiltrator" was destined to be the scapegoat.

Mrs. Chen said worriedly, "If the students take their anger out on her, the dean might ask her to leave the academy to calm things down..."

"If I were her, I wouldn’t have taken this assignment in the first place," Guan Tong said. "And if I had to leave now, I’d tell the students it was the dean’s idea before I go, just to give him a hard time. I’d probably file a complaint with the official departments, too."

"Mr. Guan, you..."

Mrs. Chen was at a loss for words.

Guan Tong shrugged. "If someone makes my life difficult, I’ll be sure to return the favor. Of course, this is Fang Qian’s business. How she handles it has nothing to do with me. I still have a class to teach, so I’ll be going."

Watching Guan Tong leave, Mrs. Chen couldn’t help but wonder, ’What exactly did this Mr. Guan do before coming here...’

...

SMACK!

Yelena threw a punch with all her might, her fist surging with concentrated Psychic Power, and struck the palm of Guan Tong’s defensive hand.

The collision of their offensive and defensive Psychic Powers produced an intense shockwave of energy that even let out a HUM, like the vibration of pure energy.

"Hah..."

After throwing that punch, Yelena had nearly exhausted her Psychic Power. She rested her hands on her thighs, panting slightly.

Guan Tong nodded in satisfaction. "You’ve gotten very good at applying Psychic Power to your attacks. Next time we train, we’ll switch things up."

"Switch things up?"

"Next time, I’ll attack, and you’ll defend," Guan Tong said. "Continuously mobilizing your Psychic Power to protect your entire body is the key to advancing. When mastered, you can create a 360-degree, wide-area psychic shield in an instant."

Yelena’s interest was piqued. She looked at Guan Tong. "Can you do that, sir?"

Guan Tong shook his head. "Even I can’t do it at that level. So far, the only person I know who can is Shi Jingyi."

Hearing Shi Jingyi’s name, Yelena asked, "Will she be coming back to the academy to teach?"

"Of course. I’m just her temporary substitute. She should be back before the end of the year. You can continue to learn from her then."

"...I’m afraid that’ll be too late. I’ll be leaving the academy and returning to my country before October."

"Before October? It’s already the end of August. You’re leaving in just another month?"

Yelena nodded.

"No wonder you’re in such a hurry."

Guan Tong hadn’t known Yelena was only staying at the academy for such a short time. Now it made sense. If she was leaving before October, she really didn’t have much time left and had to step up her training.

Thinking of what happened before, Yelena said earnestly, "Mr. Guan, I’m truly sorry that you had to deal with death threats and have your life disrupted."

"Don’t worry about it. I’ve already taken care of them."

"..."

Yelena froze for a moment. She hadn’t expected Guan Tong to admit it so openly.

So the missing Sisiya assassins her brother had sent were really dealt with by him.

"However, Student Stasia, since you brought it up, there is something I should tell you in advance."

Yelena listened silently. She could tell from Guan Tong’s expression that what he was about to say was no ordinary matter.

"I’m not letting your brother off the hook," Guan Tong said directly. "When you send someone to do your dirty work, the one sent is secondary. The one who sent them is the real problem."

Yelena’s eyes widened. She never expected Guan Tong to say something like that.

She almost immediately wanted to stop him. Given her brother’s status, he was absolutely not someone a mere academy teacher could afford to make an enemy of!

"Sir, this matter—"

"I don’t know what your relationship with your brother is like, but when a person does something, they have to face the consequences."

Guan Tong seemed to sense what Yelena wanted to say, his expression turning indifferent.

"And you don’t need to tell me how prominent your family is, or what will happen to me for crossing your brother... To me, it doesn’t matter whether I can ’afford’ to offend someone or not. I’ve made plenty of powerful enemies. Your brother won’t be the first."

"..."

After training, Yelena returned to her residence.

Seeing that she looked troubled, Sikokun asked, "Princess, did something happen?"

"Your judgment was correct. The assassins were indeed executed by Guan Tong."

Sikokun was surprised. "He actually told you, Princess?"

In her view, even if Guan Tong had done it, it was highly unlikely he would have admitted it.

"He also told me he’s going to hold the one who sent them accountable—my brother."

"...It will be all right, Princess. I know what you’re worried about, but in the future, when he learns your true identities, he will absolutely abandon this idea."

’Will he, really?’

Although Yelena hadn’t known Guan Tong for long, she had a feeling he wasn’t the type of person to go back on his word.

"Don’t forget, you will be returning home in less than a month," Sikokun said. "North Star Academy is just one stop in your long life, a place to temper yourself. You needn’t think too much about it."

"...Yes, I know."