Great, we're doomed now!

Therefore, Mr. Lucius had stockpiled some high-end prosthetic components and possessed considerable knowledge of anatomy and prosthetic transplantation... It was probably because he saw this that his ex-girlfriends all asked him to replace their expensive prosthetic bodies.

The value of these artificial skins... to be objective, is something these girls' families simply couldn't afford!

This is just another story of a naive young person being deceived by love.

He picked up a printed page from the table and held it to his chest:

"This is Mr. Lucius's donation record to the Cyber ​​Mental Health Correction and Rehabilitation Foundation over the past three years. In addition, he has long funded homeless people to enter shelters and provided financial support for youth mental health projects... He is a person who is fighting against mental health problems in the community!"

He's seeking help, hoping the next generation won't produce such despicable women who cheat others—he's striving to make society a better place!

"..."

The witnesses and the plaintiffs remained silent, their eyes burning with growing anger, while the judge on the bench nodded slightly.

As for V—

I laughed in exasperation.

As Lord Ye Shou said, even if a non-profit organization like the [Kuze Union] is established, it may not necessarily make the world a better place, because there are many people who will reject the arrival of good things.

They are like zombies from old movies; because they are creatures that live in darkness, they have an extreme aversion to the sun.

These guys have to be eliminated before Night City can truly recover...

As V thought about it, he raised his hand, swiped lightly on his bracelet, summoned the virtual screen, and tapped a few times, sending out a notification to take action.

—As expected, only killing is the way to go!

Chapter 477: Caw! Liuli, save me! (Two chapters combined)

"The verdict is hereby announced."

boom!

The judge struck the gavel.

The voice wasn't loud, but it carried far in the quiet courtroom, making everyone involuntarily take it seriously.

"...Defendant Lucius von Underwood is not guilty."

Wow~

Released in court immediately!

Witness Alexander Chen has been detained pending trial on charges of intentional assault; sentencing will be announced at a later date.

There was a moment of silence in the courtroom, then as if a valve had been turned on, whispers poured out from every corner, especially from the reporters, who seemed quite excited, probably thinking that the result was sensational enough to guarantee a lot of traffic.

The bailiff walked to the witness stand and placed a hand on Alexander's shoulder. The young man did not resist. He kept his head down, clenching and unclenching his fists several times.

The bailiff patted him a second time before he stood up and mechanically followed him out, but his expression was calmer, and he even glanced at the gallery.

V and he exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.

Alexander was one of the subordinates that Mann recruited for Ye Shou. He went to the main world a year ago, and his return to his homeland this time was naturally due to some kind of calling. He wanted to change the world, which is why he was meddling in other people's business so much...

It's just judicial injustice; it's not enough to discourage him.

Whenever I encounter difficulties, I think about how Mr. Sawai or Mr. Kuze dealt with much more challenging situations back then.

Therefore, Alexander, as the person involved, quickly adjusted his mindset, while V found it difficult to let go:

He heard someone laughing in the back row... not gloating, but a light laugh that was taken for granted and tinged with self-deprecation.

"As expected."

"The jury list was already finalized when it was released."

"That Kuze Union... that's all it is."

"What else can they do? Would a new company go to such lengths with a military technology contractor for the sake of a mere employee?"

"He did a good deed in Night City? He chose it himself."

V listened while keeping his eyes on the defendant's dock.

Lucius was untying his restraints when his lawyer leaned over and whispered something to him. He nodded, glanced at the plaintiff's seat, and the faint smile on his lips never disappeared.

Because of psychological trauma, although the victim received prosthetic skin and was theoretically healed, he was unable to meet with the defendant. Sitting in the plaintiff's seat was the victim's mother, a thin woman with a haggard face. Beside her, her lawyer was packing his briefcase, his movements unhurried, his face bearing an expression that said he already knew the outcome.

—He made no effort whatsoever.

Throughout the trial, he sat there like a decoration placed in the plaintiff's seat, arriving and leaving on time, just like clocking in for work.

"This is boring," V heard someone behind him say. "I thought it might be a bit fun."

"The Kuze Union hasn't reacted at all?"

"What kind of reaction can there be? He's just an employee, not some executive. Isn't the relationship between a company and its employees like that between a gear and a machine? If it breaks, just replace it. Who would stop the entire production line for a single gear?"

"That's true."

In Night City, everyone is a cog in the machine, some bigger, some smaller, some in prominent positions, some buried deep within, but ultimately, they are all replaceable parts.

V listened quietly, his eyes slightly narrowed—

"boom."

The sound was not loud, but rather muffled, like something heavy hitting wood.

The crowd, who were about to leave, stopped and turned back in astonishment to look at the judge's bench.

The old man in the black robe was leaning back in his chair, his head tilted back, his eyes rolled back, making incoherent "clucking" sounds, and his whole body was convulsing violently.

His artificial skin was torn, revealing the alloy skeleton underneath, which had clearly never experienced such a violent "conflict".

"Your Honor!"

The clerk sitting in the front row stood up and hurriedly tried to help the judge, but as soon as his hand touched the judge's robe, the judge's body stiffened abruptly, and then he slumped into the chair like a puppet with its strings cut, his head tilted to one side, his mouth half-open, unable to make a sound.

The clerk jumped back in shock, fearing he might get involved.

The courtroom erupted in chaos!

Hacker intrusion!

This is clearly a hacker attack!

But in this situation... what kind of hacker could bypass the court's offensive defenses?

Then, amidst the chaos, the judge, who had already lost consciousness, actually moved!

It was as if it had been rebooted from the inside out, with every bone and every muscle precisely resetting. The head slowly rose and the eyes opened; the mechanical eyes were no longer rolled back, but had turned into a deep, almost opaque dark gold.

The pupils disappeared, leaving only two solidified glimmers of light, like polished amber.

"..."

The judge raised his hand, his fingers gripping the gavel, and slowly lifted it.

The air in the courtroom seemed to freeze. No one moved or spoke. The reporters, lawyers, and spectators all remained frozen in their seats, their eyes fixed on the hand gripping the gavel handle.

The hammer fell.

boom!

The sound was louder than the previous two times, as if it had struck everyone's hearts hard, causing many people to shudder involuntarily.

boom!

boom!

"again……"

For a moment, the entire courtroom seemed to be weighed down by something unseen; the air grew heavy.

"It has been reviewed again!"

As soon as the words were spoken, a pale, gloomy light, like a shadow, appeared behind the judge.

Something emanated from within his body, as if something was bulging out of his thin frame, making his black robe bulge.

The light gathered behind the judge, gradually outlining a huge human figure, from a blurry silhouette to discernible features, from an abstract ball of light to a concrete form—

The entire courtroom was gripped by some unseen force in that instant!

The reporters' recording equipment, cameras, and hovering drones all went out at the same time.

Those who watched the trial live felt the same tremor at the same moment. A darkness seeped outward from the screen, like ink spreading in clear water, unstoppable and inescapable.

Their electronic brains were invaded by an inexplicable force, rendering the firewall ineffective, and the antivirus software was swallowed up before it could even issue an alert!

Hundreds of thousands, even millions, of people lost control of their consciousness in the same second. They weren't shut down, they weren't formatted; instead, they were pulled into the same space:

A huge, boundless amphitheater.

When they came to their senses, they were astonished to find themselves in a completely different environment.

V stood in the corner, his feet on solid ground, surrounded by endless darkness. Apart from the star-studded dome, there was only pure, absolute nothingness. His gaze swept across the surroundings, taking in thousands upon thousands of seats, layered upon each other, stretching from his feet to the horizon, like the hollowed-out interior of a mountain transformed into a stadium.

Each seat was occupied by a person, some in suits, some in work clothes, some in hospital gowns, and some in pajamas—citizens who had been dragged in from all corners of Night City at the same time.

Their expressions shifted from bewilderment to fear, and from fear to blankness, like a group of fish suddenly pulled from the water and thrown onto the beach, their mouths opening and closing, yet unable to utter a sound.

I have absolutely no idea what happened!

In the center of the amphitheater, a beam of light fell vertically from the boundless darkness, like a silver sword, nailing itself to the stone slab at the very center of the ground.

A man stood inside the pillar of light: Lucius von Underwood.

He was like a butterfly pinned to a specimen box, trying to move his limbs, trying to step out of that beam of light, but his body wouldn't listen to him; every joint seemed to be welded shut, completely immobile.

The judge stood at the edge of the pillar of light, the hem of his black robe fluttering without wind, like the wings of some nocturnal creature slowly unfolding in the darkness.

Behind them was a huge stone statue that was faintly visible in the darkness. It looked like some kind of human figure, but no one could tell what it was. Only V recognized that it was exactly the same as Ye Shou's giant form.

On the back of his right hand, the long-disappeared Holy Grail mark was faintly warming, as if responding to some distant call—making him incredibly excited!

The judge spoke, and although it was a mechanical voice, it was completely different from ordinary synthesized speech:

"Lucius von Underwood".

The defendant's body trembled violently, as if an invisible hand had gripped the back of his neck.

"Twenty-six kidnapping charges, sixteen unlawful detention charges, and twenty-one charges of assault..."

The judge's lips didn't move, but his voice came from all directions: