Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 242 The Formation of the Public Opinion Storm

(Teacher Guan, I understand everything.)
(There were five students who took the mountain path out of the city; they might go to the Cangying Ridge scenic spot south of Pinglu.)
Teacher Chen's voice rang out from the mental network. Guan Tong replied "I understand" and then headed to Eagle Ridge.

I hadn't walked more than a few steps when Teacher Chen's voice rang out again in the mental network, this time sounding very urgent.

(Teacher Guan, there's an emergency!)

(Counselor Fang Qian said that those students had just posted on the online forum, saying that they had a bloody conflict with the camp staff on Cangying Ridge!)
Guan Tong replied: (I'll be there as soon as possible.)
The dean's voice rang out: (Professor Guan, please go check on the situation first. We'll send someone over immediately. We absolutely cannot let anything happen to the students!)

Guan Tong immediately released a wisp of shadow, which quickly went to Eagle Ridge in his place.

At this moment, on the viewing platform of Cangying Ridge.

Half of the dozens of outdoor groups composed of ordinary people had been knocked to the ground, and the remaining twenty or so were all looking at the students with fear on their faces.

They never expected these students to be so skilled; they took down half of their group as soon as the fight started!

The bearded man, as the leader, stared intently at the group.

He could see clearly that several of his men had just fired weapons at the other side, but they hadn't caused any real damage.

These students didn't look particularly strong, but their physical condition was far superior to theirs. When ordinary sticks hit them, they only winced.

"I told you, you'll be the ones who suffer if you resort to violence!"

The tall student looked smug.

Even if the other side has weapons, they are already advanced beings who have passed through more than ten rules. It would be ridiculous if they were afraid of ordinary people carrying weapons.

Aside from some initial nervousness, once the fight started, the group quickly realized that these ordinary people were far inferior to them. They didn't need any special abilities or props; their physical strength alone was enough to take them down with just a few punches and kicks.

Several students were hit hard by punches and kicks and fell to the ground, unable to get up.

At this moment, one of the men who had fallen to the ground began to bleed continuously from his mouth, appearing to be in serious condition. The bearded leader and several others rushed over to check on him.

"Brother, he seems to be dying. I don't know where he was injured, but the bleeding just won't stop!"

"Quickly carry him inside!" the bearded man called out.

Seeing this, the students panicked. They didn't know how things would end if they killed someone.

Shen Yun, who was in charge, wanted to leave as soon as possible. He signaled to his companions to take the opportunity to run away, but the bearded man noticed them.

"You beat our brothers up like this and you think you can just leave?!"

"You attacked first, we were acting in self-defense!"

"Dry!"

The bearded man picked up a hunting rifle, and the students' expressions changed.

Previous conflicts were all fought with melee weapons, not firearms, so they were able to easily win using their physical abilities. If the other side were to use guns, they would undoubtedly have to resort to props.

As soon as the leader was about to draw his gun, the others who had guns also raised them.

Seeing that the other side was about to use firearms, the students knew that the conflict was escalating—and they had only taken a month of mental energy circulation courses, so they were far from being able to activate mental energy to form a protective shield for themselves.

We need to use some props!
"boom!"

A gunshot rang out, and a large number of iron pellets sprayed from the thick muzzle of the bearded leader's gun.

The other gunmen also pulled their triggers, and gunfire erupted.

Several students were already prepared. One of them took out a fan prop and fanned it vigorously. The bullets that were fired suddenly stopped in mid-air and then lost their momentum and fell to the ground.

This scene shocked everyone in the camp. At this moment, Shen Yun took out a playing card prop and threw it out.

Swish, brush, brush!
A flying playing card unfolded into dozens of sharp cards in the air, each one shooting towards the men with guns.

The next second, the sound of sharp blades piercing bodies rang out, accompanied by a spray of blood mist. These playing cards were like steel darts, piercing through the bodies of several gunmen and others nearby.

The twelve or thirteen people, including the bearded leader, immediately fell to the ground. Seven or eight of them died instantly, and the survivors were screaming and wailing in agony.

The other students were a little confused, looking at Shen Yun in astonishment, not expecting him to use such a powerful prop.

After Shen Yun finished his actions, his mind went blank as he looked at the consequences: I killed people? And so many of them?

"stop fighting!"

"Let us go!"

The remaining people in the camp were completely devastated. They had thought that a few dozen people could easily subdue a few students. But the result was the opposite; the power wielded by these ascended students easily overpowered them.

"Let's go... let's go!"

After regaining his senses, Shen Yun was in a state of confusion and called for the other four classmates to leave.

They had only taken a few hurried steps when they saw a figure blocking their way.

When the five men saw the man, they all stopped in their tracks.

"Teacher Guan?"

Guan Tong glanced at the five people, then looked at the aftermath of the battle behind them, his gaze lingering for a moment on the several corpses lying haphazardly on the ground before returning to his original position.

He asked, "You did this?"

"Teacher Guan, we—we acted in self-defense! They wouldn't let us leave! They even attacked us!" The tall boy argued vehemently, but when he met Guan Tong's gaze, he lost some of his confidence and unconsciously looked away.

“I killed them,” Shen Yun admitted. “When I saw them using guns, I was worried that I and several classmates would get hurt, so I panicked and used a highly lethal weapon… I forgot that they were just ordinary people.”

Guan Tong remained silent.

Although he had just arrived, he already had a pretty good understanding of the situation.

After the conflict broke out, the camp was made up of ordinary people who were weaker. Several students, not knowing their own strength, killed or injured many people in the camp.

"Teacher Guan, it's all my responsibility, and I'm willing to take it upon myself!" Shen Yun said loudly.

His classmates shook their heads, wanting to say something, but Guan Tong stopped them with a look.

"How to handle this matter is not up to me," Guan Tong said. "The academy will send people over soon. You should stay here and not wander around."

"……understood."

A student asked nervously, "Teacher Guan, what...what will happen to us? Will we have to go to court?"

"I don't know that either."

Guan Tong really didn't know.

After entering the post-apocalyptic era, although the laws did not change overtly, many of them were rendered ineffective by "emergency avoidance" and various real-world situations.

For example, when food shortages occurred due to regulations, many people went directly to the supermarket warehouse to take food. Wouldn't that be considered theft or even robbery? But would the authorities really pursue legal responsibility for these people in such situations? No.

Previously, when there were many donor organizations and violent gangs in the wild, the official way to deal with them was to directly send armed forces to clear them out, without any court trial process or anything like that. Is this in accordance with regulations?
Times have changed, and many things will change.

A conflict has broken out between several students from the academy and a wilderness camp, resulting in the deaths of many people. How this matter will be handled, and whether legal proceedings will follow, is something Guan Tong, who has long lived alone in the wild, has no idea how the authorities will deal with it.

Guan Tong then walked towards the group of people in the camp and introduced himself.

He asked about the situation, but the people in the camp ignored him and just stared at him with hostility.

One of the women, tears streaming down her face, held the body of a man killed by Shen Yun in one arm and her phone in the other, hissing, "You students from the Ascendant Academy can't deny killing someone! I filmed everything that happened and uploaded it online! If the authorities are biased, netizens will give us justice!"

"..."

Seeing this, Guan Tong shook her head and said nothing more, not noticing the way those people were looking at her.

Before long, the people from the academy arrived.

There were teachers, as well as soldiers from the security department and medical personnel.

After a brief on-site investigation, all the students and camp personnel involved in the conflict were taken back to Pinglu City.

After returning to Pinglu, the five students, led by Shen Yun, did not return to the academy and were temporarily taken in by the official authorities.

This prompted Dean Zhou Qinfeng to convene a meeting immediately to discuss the matter.

"I think everyone is aware of the situation. All five of our students have been temporarily detained, and the situation is very bad."

Zhou Qinfeng's expression was very serious. As a principal for many years, he could tell that this matter was serious and not easy to resolve.

Zhang Linliang, the lecturer who had sparred with Guan Tong before, asked in confusion, "Wasn't it that group of people from the wilderness camp who stopped our students? They were the ones who started it, weren't they? Are we wrong for acting in self-defense?"

Another lecturer said, "These students are all excellent, and Shen Yun is among the top. If we punish them for this and delay their studies, it will be a major loss for the academy and the authorities."

Seeing Zhou Qinfeng's furrowed brows, Teacher Chen asked, "Dean, what are your thoughts?"

Zhou Qinfeng said in a deep voice, "I'll only tell you one thing, which Teacher Guan told me. The video of Shen Yun and the others taking action was filmed by people in the camp and posted online. It seems that they even gave it a sensational title like 'Academy students torture and kill ordinary people,' which has already caused a media storm."

The crowd's expressions changed slightly as they realized the meaning behind Zhou Qinfeng's words.

At the societal level, there have always been many conflicts between ordinary people and those who have achieved spiritual advancement. In order to avoid conflicts between the two, some departments have intentionally or unintentionally arranged different residential areas as much as possible to reduce the overlap in their lives and avoid conflicts as much as possible.

Now that this video has been released online, it will definitely cause a public opinion storm.

“Our college will definitely do its best to protect our students,” Zhou Qinfeng said. “We need to issue an explanation report on the incident as soon as possible and post it online to prevent public opinion from turning against us.”

"I'm afraid... Dean, have you forgotten? The effective period of the [Digital Detoxification] hasn't expired yet. The vast majority of people active online right now are ordinary people. It's self-evident which side public opinion will take."

"What if the authorities succumb to pressure and convict a few students? Are we really going to send these precious college students to jail?"

"If you ask me, our college should be a strong support for its students!" a lecturer said somewhat radically. "Even if our students were in self-defense and made a mistake, so what? In this era, the value of an outstanding college student is higher than that of a hundred ordinary people. Although people don't like to hear the truth, that's the fact!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked over in surprise. Zhou Qinfeng glared at the lecturer and said, "Watch your words!"

Although the lecturer didn't say anything more, he still looked unconvinced, as if he felt he hadn't said anything wrong.

Moreover, judging from the way he scanned the others, he believed that many people present shared this thought, but were afraid to speak it out because they thought it was right.

There was a brief silence in the conference room.

A moment later, Zhou Qinfeng looked at Guan Tong: "Teacher Guan, you were the first teacher to arrive at the scene. What are your opinions on this matter?"

“If the students weren’t lying, and it was the people from the camp who attacked first and used firearms, then I think it’s justified self-defense,” Guan Tong said.

That's what they say, but... sigh.

Zhou Qinfeng sighed and concluded, "Regardless of how the authorities handle it, our college wants to make it clear that we will resolutely protect the students' legitimate rights. Furthermore, all lecturers, please make sure that in your next class, you remind your students to learn from this incident and avoid getting themselves into trouble!"

(End of this chapter)