"Based on the information provided by both parties during the second adjudication process, as well as the technological reconstruction of the scene."
"On behalf of the Law Department of Talon Prime's 1,242nd District, I declare that you have won the case, Mr. He Chou."
In the white room, a woman holding a balance rod stood before two men and formally announced the result.
Then the white room vanished.
In its place were a cold, narrow corridor, the icy seat beneath him, and the cold cables of the Brain-Computer Interface.
The woman had disappeared as well. Only He Chou's opponent remained.
He Chou removed the cables, breathed into his hands, then rose and looked down at the opponent from the white room.
"Just you wait, you Sector Capital deadweight." His opponent stood up with an exceedingly cold smile, opened the door under He Chou's gaze, left the corridor, and boarded a hovercar bearing the Tyran Navy insignia.
"Naval personnel, damn." He Chou rubbed the back of his head, somewhat dazed, but quickly stopped caring.
He waited by the roadside and squeezed onto a transit platform bound for District One of Talon Prime.
Everyone stood in line and waited.
For people like He Chou, the commute itself was not long. The long part was squeezing onto the transit platform and waiting.
Important people rode in hovercars. Those old things were not as fast as transit travel, but they were comfortable. Given the choice, who would want to cram onto a transit platform?
Besides, was time really so tight that they absolutely had to use transit?
But complaining was useless. He Chou knew exactly where he stood, so he merely thought about it and obediently remained crowded onto the platform.
After who knew how long, it was finally He Chou's turn.
He stepped