The Killer Dies, The Injurer and Thief Are Punished

Chapter 17: Those Who Kill Shall Die, Those Who Injure and Steal Shall Be Punished

Although Lu Yuanming had spoken of seeking revenge against the MXG Gang, it was naturally not something he would do with a single word or a sudden impulse, leading his men to charge in.

This required some planning and prerequisite conditions, such as locating the specific whereabouts of the MXG Gang, understanding their personnel composition, confirming who held John's rifle after his death, and how many bullets were left.

And all of this involved another person: Tom.

According to everyone's account, during the eighteen days Lu Yuanming was away in the mortal world, John had gone out on three more expeditions. Each time, he took one person with him. During the third expedition, an accident occurred, and the person accompanying him that time was Tom.

After the incident, Tom ran back alive, bringing news that John had been backstabbed and his rifle stolen. However, beyond that, he offered no explanation as to why he was unharmed, nor how the people who backstabbed John managed to find the bank base so quickly.

All the disciples believed Tom had betrayed them again, just like Judas betrayed Jesus in the scriptures. However, this time their defenses were tight, so Tom could only betray Saint John and not the Messiah.

When Tom returned to the bank, he was immediately imprisoned by the disciples. Although no one beat or tortured him, not a single person pleaded for him. His fate would be decided by Lu Yuanming.

Upon entering the bank, Lu Yuanming immediately had Tom brought to him. He looked at Tom's haggard expression and said gently, "I want to know what happened when you and John went exploring. You must tell me the truth. If you are innocent, I promise no one will harm you. If you are guilty, I also promise to punish you only to the extent of your crime."

Tom immediately burst into tears, crying as he knelt before Lu Yuanming. "Lord, I did not betray Saint John, nor did I betray anyone. When Saint John was backstabbed, I was terrified and ran back to the bank with all my might. Lord, I truly did not betray you, please believe me! Even if I were that Judas, who had already betrayed once out of ignorance and disrespect for the divine, I would never, and would not dare to, betray the Lord again!!"

Lu Yuanming was silent for a moment, then said to Tom, "Our most important objective now is to find those MXG people and judge them, killing those who are guilty. You must accompany us on this mission. After the battle, I will also ask the MXG people if you committed any betrayal. If you are lying now, I will punish you based on the extent of your lie, with the highest penalty being death, followed by expulsion. Have you thought this through?"

Tom immediately replied excitedly, "I understand, Lord. I am willing to bear all consequences for what I have said. I did not betray anyone; I only ran away immediately after Saint John was killed because I was too cowardly."

Lu Yuanming nodded and gestured for Tom to stand up. However, the disciples beside him immediately began to speak. Most of them believed Tom was lying, and even those who didn't explicitly say he was lying, still considered his act of fleeing when John was attacked as a betrayal.

Lu Yuanming immediately said seriously to everyone, "Everyone, as you can see, I am just a young man who has just entered society. I do not have much experience, nor do I have a talent for understanding power or human hearts. I am certainly not a cunning old fox. I treat all of you with the utmost sincerity. Here, I must state again that I am not a law major, and my understanding of the law is very shallow. Furthermore, our current environment is not suitable for directly applying the laws of the living world. Therefore, we will decide Tom's guilt and punishment based on the most basic and simple meaning of the law: those who kill shall die, and those who injure and steal shall be punished. This applies not only to Tom but also to our entire organization and everyone who will join it in the future. We will adhere to this simple value system until we have enough people, society progresses, and productivity increases. Then, we will collectively devise more detailed legal provisions, alright?"

Everyone listened intently to Lu Yuanming's words, and many secretly nodded in agreement, including those who harbored great doubts about Lu Yuanming's identity as the Messiah.

Of course, a small minority was not satisfied. Someone immediately said, "Lord, what if Tom is lying? What if all the MXG Gang members are killed in our battle with them? Then his crime will be hidden, won't it?"

Allowing evil to go unpunished was something many people could not accept. Thus, some people glared angrily at Tom.

At this moment, Lu Yuanming stepped in front of Tom, his nearly two-meter-tall frame completely shielding Tom behind him. He said loudly, "This is precisely the simple value of justice I spoke of! Tom may be guilty, may have betrayed, may have lied, and we may not be able to ascertain the truth due to our conflict with the MXG people. But the most important point is, does any of you have proof of his betrayal, crime, or lies!?"

"Everyone, I have learned about your USA in the living world, and not just your USA, but it seems to be the same all over the world, including my own country. Many things are distorted. Phrases like 'it didn't happen this time, but that doesn't mean it hasn't happened to others' or 'there's just no evidence, which doesn't mean it wasn't done'... such rhetoric exists. It is true that pursuing evidence might allow some criminals and villains to escape legal punishment. But remember this, I would rather let ten thousand villains go free due to insufficient evidence than punish an innocent person without regard for evidence!"

Speaking to this point, Lu Yuanming thought of their religious background and immediately said, "If you still consider yourselves my disciples, and if you still believe you are following my path, then you must accept this. Now and in the future, you must present irrefutable evidence to prove someone's guilt. You cannot fabricate evidence or make baseless accusations. If you do not adhere to this, you are neither my disciples nor my believers!"

Lu Yuanming thought he was merely borrowing from their religious fervor, but to the vast majority of those present, his words struck like a thunderclap.

Father Edward was the first to kneel, his eyes immediately welling up with tears. "Anyone who comes to me and does not love me more than their own parents, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even their own life, cannot be my disciple... Lord, it is we, your ignorant lambs, who have defiled your boundless love. Please do not abandon us, and lead us to continue on your path!!"

Everyone around knelt and prayed loudly. Tom, in particular, cried uncontrollably, kneeling and kowtowing as he wept.

Charlie watched all of this, his mind churning with various thoughts. In the end, he also knelt halfway and said to Lu Yuanming, "Sir, please allow me to follow your path. However, I do not believe in God. Please be my godfather, and allow me to kiss your right hand."

Lu Yuanming hesitated. He didn't understand why Charlie wanted to kiss his right hand.

(Perhaps it was some kind of religious ritual? Like Christians making the sign of the cross on their chests? I'm so sick of this. Can't they just talk properly? Like, after we've dealt with the MXG people, we can all renovate the community and set up a five-year plan or something?)

Although he didn't understand, based on the idea that this was a cultural difference, that he should respect European and American religions and cultures, and seek common ground while reserving differences, Lu Yuanming still smiled and offered his right hand to Charlie. Charlie then lightly kissed Lu Yuanming's right hand and said to him, "Please, sir, give me two pistols and enough ammunition. My subordinates and I will be responsible for finding the MXG people. Perhaps we can even capture one or two stragglers."

Among the initial disciples, a few showed hesitation on their faces. However, Lu Yuanming had just spoken sternly, so they didn't dare to say anything. Lu Yuanming, operating under the principle of "trust but verify," immediately agreed to Charlie's request.

Even if Charlie took the two pistols and ran, in this Afterlife, ammunition could not be replenished; only Lu Yuanming could manufacture it. So, these two pistols and ammunition would merely be paying tuition once, and it would also eliminate an unstable element from the team. This deal was actually not a loss at all. But if Charlie genuinely wanted to serve this organization, then this was a way to win hearts and gain loyalty. Who wouldn't want their organization to trust them wholeheartedly?

Charlie and his subordinate received two pistols and all the matching bullets. He didn't say much, only bowed deeply to Lu Yuanming, and then led his subordinate into the end of the street.

In the following time, Lu Yuanming first asked everyone in the team about their professions and their educational backgrounds. Then, he rushed to the park to check on the growth of the potatoes. After that, he returned to the bank to discuss with everyone the use of the remaining twenty Colorless Light Particles.

Then, at this moment, the scout ran back to report that Charlie and his group had returned, and they were bringing back an injured person.

When Charlie, covered in blood, carried a Latino person into the bank, the crowd was in an uproar.

Charlie smiled and said to Lu Yuanming, "Father, I have not failed your expectations. This blood is all enemy blood. This person is one of the MXG people we captured. He will tell us where their base is, and we can avenge Saint John."

Lu Yuanming was overjoyed. He was currently lacking people like Charlie who were brave and willing to fight. Most people in the team were refined scholars.

He was also puzzled. Ever since he learned of John's death, many people had repeatedly mentioned Saint John. Did Europeans and Americans like to add the word "Saint" before the names of the dead?

However, this did not hinder Lu Yuanming's next actions. He had long wanted to try if Colorless Light Particles could do anything else besides manufacturing weapons, ammunition, food, and fresh water.

He held a Colorless Light Particle and approached the dying MXG person, saying, "If I save you, will you tell me your location and all the sins you have committed?"

Lu Yuanming didn't wait for the person to speak. The next second, he pressed the Colorless Light Particle onto the MXG person's wound.