Mystery: When the Lost Homelanders Meet the Lost Homeland Call

He raised his finger and pointed to the pile of people tied up on the ground.

"I think you know better than anyone the crimes they committed. Loan sharking, extortion, forced buying and selling, forcing women into prostitution, extortion of protection money, violent debt collection, bribing officials, manipulating elections... Every single one of their crimes is written in those ledgers."

Lynn raised his hand and pointed to the group of men who were tied up.

"Most of you know them. The Hammer Gang. The scourge of the docks. They've drained countless families of their hard-earned money and ruined countless lives."

A low murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd, mixed with angry curses.

"Do you hate them?" Lynn asked.

"I hate it!" someone shouted.

"Of course I hate them!" another shouted. "They drove my brother to his death!"

"They stole my house!"

"They took my daughter... they took my daughter..."

The voice choked up, unable to continue.

He then pointed to a thick stack of account books on the table.

"Today, these ledgers will be made public. The destination of every penny, the name of every victim, and the identity of every protector will be revealed. There will be no concealment, no cover-up."

A low humming sound echoed across the square.

Some people were whispering, some were cursing under their breath, some were crying, and some were clenching their fists.

Lynn paused for a few seconds to let his emotions settle before continuing.

"You might ask, what gives you the right? You're an outsider, what right do you have to boss us around in our dock area? You destroyed the Hammer Gang, so who are you? Are you the new gang leader? Are you here to replace them?"

He shook his head.

"Neither."

"I came here simply because last night, I saw a fifteen-year-old girl surrounded by six men in an alley. They were trying to force her into prostitution to pay off the high-interest loans her father had been scammed out of."

"I helped her."

  

"Then I thought, in every corner of this city, in every alley, every day, similar things are happening. I can help one person today, two tomorrow, but can I help everyone by myself?"

"cannot."

"That's why I came here."

"I'm not here to be the new boss. I'm here to tell you one thing: you don't need a boss. You don't need anyone to make decisions for you."

"What you need is an opportunity for yourselves to stand up."

Lynn picked up the top ledger, opened it, and read aloud:

"On March 12, 1345, dockworker Thomas Gray borrowed 2 gold pounds with interest calculated at 20% per month, with a repayment period of 3 months. He failed to repay the loan after 3 months, and the interest was added to the principal and recalculated. As of June 1349, the total debt was 142 gold pounds."

He closed the ledger and looked at the crowd.

"Is Thomas Gray here today?"

A commotion arose in the crowd. After a while, a thin, sallow-faced middle-aged man timidly raised his hand.

"I...I am Thomas Gray."

Lynn looked at him.

"How much money did you borrow at the time?"

Thomas lowered his head.

"Two...two gold pounds. My wife is sick and needs money for medicine. I thought...I thought I could pay it back..."

"How much have you paid back?"

"I..." Thomas's lips trembled, "I've already paid back almost 10 gold pounds... but they say that's all interest, the principal hasn't changed... I still owe them 142 gold pounds..."

His voice grew softer and softer until it turned into a silent sob.

"My wife is still dead. I couldn't save her. Now I work as a porter at the docks every day, and most of my earnings go to them... I don't know... I don't know how much longer I can hold on..."

The square was deathly silent.

Lynn opened another ledger.

"John Coron, a dockworker, borrowed 5 gold pounds on April 15, 1349, for medical treatment of a work injury. Interest was calculated at 15% per month..."

He read many stories. Each one was a tragedy of a family.

With each recitation, the anger in the crowd grows stronger.

After reading it aloud, Lynn put down the ledger and looked at the crowd.

"Do you see this? This isn't lending money, this is murder. Murder with a contract, murder with interest, murder under the guise of legality."

He paused.

"And they can do this not just because they have money, people, and guns."

"Also because they have protection. I have their names on my list."

"The Hammer Gang has bribed officials and councilors in Tingen over the years, totaling more than 12,000 pounds. The list includes the Tingen Sheriff, the councilor of the 3rd and 7th wards, the deputy director of the dock management committee, and at least five mid-level police officers."

"The head of the Public Security Bureau? No wonder our reports to the police are always useless!"

"Members of parliament take bribes too? Those people talk a good game in parliament, but it turns out they're all taking dirty money!"

"I knew it! The Iron Hammer Gang has been left unchecked for so many years; they must have powerful backers!"

"Those people should be arrested too!"

Lynn raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"I will give these lists to the right people." He didn't say "church" or "police" because he knew that neither the church nor the police were reliable in this matter. The church probably wouldn't bother with such a "trivial matter," and the police were part of the protective umbrella.

He has his own plans.

"This is the truth." Lynn put down the list and looked at the crowd.

"The reason the Hammer Gang has been able to run rampant in the dock area for ten years is not just because they are so powerful, but also because they have people backing them up. Those who should be protecting you are sucking your blood."

He remained silent for a moment, letting his words linger among the crowd.

Then he spoke:

"You might think: So what if we know the truth? We can't afford to offend those politicians or that bureau chief. Even if we take it to court, the courts are theirs. There's nothing we can do."

Many people in the crowd lowered their heads.

Yes, that's what they were thinking.

What good is knowing the truth? The rules of this world have never been on their side.

“You’re right,” Lynn said, his tone so calm it didn’t sound like he was talking about something hopeless. “According to the laws of this world, there really isn’t anything you can do. Because the law is for the rich, for the powerful. You? The law won’t protect you.”

He paused.

"So today we're not following the law."

The crowd looked up at him.

"We do not wait for justice that will never come," Lynn's voice became deep and powerful. "Today, we judge ourselves."

"Now, it's time to decide the fate of these people."

He pointed to the pile of Hammer Gang members on the ground.

"I am neither a judge nor a king. I have no right to judge anyone. But you do."

"These people have been committing crimes in the dock area for over a decade, bullying you, cheating you, and ruining your families and your lives. So it's up to you to decide what kind of punishment they should receive."

"I won't do it for you. But I'll give you this opportunity."

"Anyone who has been wronged, anyone who is angry, anyone who wants to ask 'why,' anyone who wants these people to suffer the same pain you have endured—stand up. It is your right."

The square remained quiet for a long time.

Lynn didn't urge him; he simply stood on the wooden platform, like a tree, waiting quietly.

Then, a woman stepped forward.

She walked to the wooden platform and looked at a man on the ground whom the thugs called "Scarface." He was a minor leader of the Hammer Gang, responsible for violent debt collection and intimidation.

"Do you know me?" the woman asked.

Scarface looked up at her, his eyes filled with fear.

"You...you are..."

"Three years ago, you came to my house to collect debts." The woman's voice was calm, so calm that it didn't sound like an accusation, but more like a statement of fact. "My husband couldn't pay, so you beat him. You beat him to the ground, stomped on his head, and hit his knees with a wooden stick. He knelt on the ground and begged you to give him a few more days, but you wouldn't listen. You beat him for half an hour, and then you left."

She paused for a moment.

He died the next day.

Scarface's face turned deathly pale.

"I...I don't know...it wasn't me...someone else hit me..."

"I don't blame you," the woman said. "I just want you to know that his last words before he died were 'I'm sorry.' He apologized to me because he couldn't pay you back."

He did not wrong me.

"He wronged himself. He shouldn't have knelt down and begged you. He shouldn't have bowed down to a bunch of beasts."

The woman's voice finally trembled slightly.

Then she raised her cane and, with all her might, slammed it down on Scarface's back.

"Snap—"

Scarface screamed and rolled on the ground.

The woman hit it again.

"This is for my husband."

"Snap—"

"This is all for my son. He's working as a child laborer in a factory because he can't afford to go to school."

"Snap—"

"This time, it's for myself. For the past three years, I've regretted it every single day, regretting that I didn't stab you all to death that night."

She pounded it five times, then threw away her cane, turned and left.

Then, a second person stepped forward.

The third person.

The fourth person.

The fifth person.

More and more people came out and walked to the wooden platform. They shouted their anger and expressed their pain to the bound Iron Hammer Gang members. They used their fists, wooden sticks, shoes, and anything else they could get their hands on to hit, smash, and vent their anger.

The outburst lasted for nearly an hour.

When the last person left the wooden platform, none of the Iron Hammer Gang members were left in good condition. Some had bruises and swelling on their faces, some had blood trickling from their mouths, some had their clothes torn, and some were curled up on the ground trembling.

However, no one was killed, because whenever someone hit too hard, Lynn would use an invisible force to deflect some of the force, ensuring that they were only injured and not killed.

These people should be punished, but they shouldn't die at the hands of these victims.

Once someone dies, the nature of the matter changes. Putting aside everything else, killing is not a good thing for a person's psychological structure; it's a genetic instinct.

Ultimately, he will be the one to execute himself, bearing all the psychological pressure.

"That's enough," he said.

The crowd quieted down, but a restless, lingering anger still hung in the air.

"Now, it's time to decide their final fate."

He walked up to the group of people who had been beaten beyond recognition, squatted down, and looked at them.

"Some of you have blood on your hands. Murder, rape, forced prostitution, violent debt collection resulting in death—these sins cannot be repaid with a beating alone."

He stood up, turned around, and faced the crowd.

"I need you to do one last thing for me," he said. "Tell me, of these people, who deserves to die."

At the same time, Lynn activated his spiritual vision, and his divination abilities began to work, verifying the truth or falsehood of the words.

There was a moment of silence in the crowd, and then a middle-aged man stepped forward.

"Him!" He pointed to a man. "His name is Jack, the leader of the Hammer Gang. Last year, he led a group to collect a debt and threw the old man who owed him money off the third floor. The old man died just like that."

Another person stepped forward: "And him! His name is Brandon, he specializes in forcing those girls... He... He killed my sister!"

"That guy! That bald guy! He tricked my dad into signing a contract, then forced my sister to... My sister later jumped into the river!"

One name after another was called out, and one crime after another was exposed.

Lynn wrote down the names of those who had committed unforgivable crimes, then dragged them out of the crowd and tied them up separately.

Some of the crimes confessed did not warrant death. Lynn simply wrote them down and then comforted those who approached her, saying that evil would eventually be punished, just not through death.

In reality, amidst the public outrage, there were quite a few calls to execute everyone, but few dared to actually appear in front of Lynn and shout this out; the people of this era were not yet accustomed to making their voices heard.

Then he walked to the dock and looked at the gray-green seawater.

"Only justice can console the dead," he whispered, then turned and threw it away with all his might.

"thump--"

These people were thrown into the sea like stones, causing splashes on the surface before the water slowly calmed down.

More than two thousand people watched this scene in the square in complete silence.

After a long while, cheers and applause resounded through the sky.