The Code

Seele's arrival introduced a new variable into the stalemate!

The newcomer was the Chief Stoker of the Core Furnace. He looked like an elderly boiler worker, dressed in shabby work clothes stained with ore dust and grease, his hair gray and his back hunched.

Yet no one present dared underestimate this seemingly unremarkable old man-

In his arms, he held a thick, heavy Code!

This was the only original copy of the Code in the Underworld, passed down from the Architect who had single-handedly founded Belobog, the city of Preservation, seven hundred years ago!

To hold this Code was to represent the supreme will of the Architect-

To carry out the justice that great figure had established centuries before!

Thus, when the Chief Stoker entered, everyone saluted him.

They paid their highest respects to the original text left behind by the Architect that he held in his hands!

Seeing him here, Scott cursed inwardly:

Damn it, what was this old bastard doing here?

As though he had seen through Scott's thoughts, the elderly Chief Stoker looked at him calmly and said:

"A child told me I was needed here to uphold justice."

"Yes, sir!" Scott suppressed his displeasure. "Someone here certainly needs fairness and justice, and that someone is me! Look at me! I've lost an eye!"

As he spoke, he glared hatefully at everyone in the room and shouted in his harsh, quacking voice:

"Oh, sir, look at me! Look at poor old Scott, doomed to see through just one eye for the rest of his life. Yet these people from the Orphanage and this Silvermane Guards officer are using their reputations and authority to bully me as they please! They're silencing me, refusing to let me speak! Sir, you must see that I get justice!"

"Who's silencing you?" Veins bulged on Oleg's forehead. He was clearly furious beyond measure.

"Tsk, see? Isn't that exactly what he's doing?" Scott put on a frightened expression. "Sir, you have to help me!"

At the sight, Natasha swore outright:

"The guilty party accuses the innocent first! Absolutely shameless!"

Seele chimed in:

"Have you no shame?"

The Old Director turned to the Chief Stoker and spoke earnestly:

"Sir, I can't outargue him. But I hope you will enforce the law impartially based on the evidence here, favor neither side, and, above all, remain true to the Architect's will."

"I will." The elderly Chief Stoker nodded, then sat down at the table and opened the heavy Code.

An air of ages long past filled the room.

He surveyed everyone with his deep-set eyes and asked:

"The situation here is complicated. We need to separate the issues and rule on them individually. Discuss it among yourselves-which should we rule on first?"

Natasha and the Old Director exchanged a glance and immediately reached a decision.

Their immediate priority was, of course, to rescue Chu Mu! The boy was seriously injured, and treating him here would be difficult. He urgently needed to leave for somewhere else.

But Oleg spoke first:

"Sir, please first rule on whether the contracts Scott signed with these children are valid."

He then took out the contracts he had already gathered and organized, presenting them to the Chief Stoker with both hands.

Beside him, Natasha and the Old Director looked at him in confusion.

Oleg said quietly:

"This was Chu Mu's wish. He wanted to free those children first, then deal with his own situation."

"But-!" Natasha's eyes widened, and she was once again profoundly shaken.

The Old Director turned to look at Chu Mu on the floor, then said to Natasha:

"He's our Orphanage's hero, isn't he, Natasha? He came to us from the sea of stars. We're all fortunate to have him."

Tears filled the Old Director's eyes.

Years later, when people heard of Jarilo-VI, they might not know where that planet was, and they would know even less about its city of Belobog.

Yet the moment someone mentioned the Orphanage in Rivet Town, they would remember. Once, a boy had set out from there.

The Old Director had helped countless people throughout her life, but the reason she would truly be remembered across the sea of stars was Chu Mu!

Of course, the Old Director knew nothing of Chu Mu's future achievements. Everything she did now was simply because she was a selfless person, someone worthy of respect.

To a great extent, she influenced and shaped Chu Mu.

"We must get him out of here, whatever it takes." The Old Director's voice was full of resolve. "His little sister is still waiting for him at the Orphanage."

"Yes, Xiao Bu is still waiting for him," Natasha said softly, an indefinable sorrow in her voice.

Heroes had risen from the young since ancient times, but those who became heroes in their youth often faced such troubled lives that it hurt to watch.

Meanwhile, Scott was frantic, like an ant on a hot pan, and shouted at the Chief Stoker:

"Sir, all these contracts are completely legal! Look, they all have their signatures and fingerprints! You can compare them against the children's fingerprints. Those can't be faked! They signed these contracts themselves!"

Hearing that, Seele could not help retorting:

"Bullshit! We can't even read! What you wrote in those contracts and what you told us were two completely different things!"

"Can you prove that? Did you make a recording?" Scott challenged.

"How would we have anything like that?" Seele shook her head. "Stop twisting things! You tricked us!"

"Heh, you don't get to decide whether I tricked you!" Scott sneered. "Your fingerprints, at least, are genuine. If you say I tricked you, show me the evidence."

"But you did trick us! There are so many of us here-isn't that evidence?" Seele protested.

Seeing this, Oleg stopped Seele and sighed:

"Leave the ruling to him."

At that moment, the elderly Chief Stoker stood up and lifted the heavy Code into his arms.

Everyone else straightened, their expressions turning solemn.

"I will now announce my ruling." The elderly Chief Stoker glanced at them. "Under Article 26 of Act No. 3, the principle of presumption of innocence, I rule that Seele's accusation of deliberate deception against Scott lacks sufficient evidence and cannot be upheld."

"How can that be?" Seele looked incredulous.

"I told you!" Scott crowed. "A wise ruling, sir! You truly are the embodiment of fairness and justice!"

The faces of the others darkened.

"Defendant Scott, do not interrupt me!" the Chief Stoker rebuked him sternly.

"You're not finished?" Scott looked puzzled, but soon relaxed. "It doesn't matter. That first ruling alone already gives me a crushing victory, doesn't it?"

The others ignored Scott, their eyes fixed on the Chief Stoker.

Then the Chief Stoker spoke slowly:

"Under Article 13 of Act No. 7, contracts signed by children under eight years of age are invalid, as those children lack the capacity to enter into civil legal acts."

At those words, Scott's remaining eye opened wide, its pupil unfocused.

Only one word echoed through his mind-

Invalid!

Invalid!!

Invalid!!!