"Kill him! Kill him!!!"
A tsunami-like roar came from afar. Inside the courtroom, there was dead silence.
The judge who pushed open the door and entered took his seat at the very top, looking down. "The joint trial of more than nine hundred cases concerning The Tuner terrorist attack begins now."
The court was in session.
"Kill him! Kill him!!!"
The echoing tide sound drew closer. Once the prosecutor had finished speaking, the judge struck the gavel and solemnly asked, "Defendant Huai Shi, do you have anything else to say?"
The accused in the wheelchair merely smiled, then wearily closed his eyes.
"Kill him!"
Outside the courtroom, the surging crowd was still shouting feverishly.
From morning until noon.
And Huai Shi leaned back in his wheelchair, exhaling wearily beneath his oxygen mask.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
It was as though countless people were shouting in unison. Among the marching crowds in the streets, faces flushed red as they raised their signs and waved them excitedly at the cameras.
"All teams are in position."
Within the crowd, atop high-rises, and between the streets, guards and private soldiers—some in plainclothes, some fully armed—warily surveyed every face around them.
"All departments, stay alert. Do not let up—screen all facial data..."
A hoarse voice echoed through the communications channel.
"Trial! We demand a trial!"
From the enraged marchers came a uniform chant: "Death penalty! Death penalty! Death penalty!"
Meanwhile, Huai Shi stared at the dust dancing softly before the skylight in the afternoon sunlight.
Lost in a daze.
The prosecutor spoke, submitted case files, listed evidence, questioned witnesses; the jury asked questions, the defendant spoke... In what seemed like the blink of an eye, every tedious procedure had passed.
The final stage was already close at hand.
Countless noisy shouts and roars gradually pressed in