Chapter 83: Chapter 68: Interrogation at the Tribunal

"I am not guilty."

Even under the hateful gaze and frenzied curses of billions across the interstellar network.

Even under the crushing pressure of the Chief Justice’s solemn voice.

Yu Lan still held herself up, stubbornly refusing to admit any wrongdoing. Her pair of amber eyes stared directly at the Chief Justice, so crystal clear it seemed no evil could hide from her sight.

BOOM!

The moment her words fell.

The netizens watching the livestream exploded in an instant.

[Shameless, shameless, shameless.]

[The evidence is irrefutable, yet she won’t plead guilty. How can a female be so shameless? No wonder she was capable of using deceptive P-materials.]

[Die, die, die! When is Yu Lan going to die?]

[Look at her! I really want to rush in there and hit her. How is the Chief Justice restraining himself from smashing that gavel right in her face?]

[Infuriating. This is just too infuriating.]

"BANG!"

The Chief Justice, gavel in hand, struck the bench hard once more.

The imposing Chief Justice leaned forward, his brow tightly furrowed, his gaze as sharp as a knife fixed on Yu Lan.

"Yu Lan, whether you plead guilty or not will have no bearing on the final outcome."

"The males who used the Hope Potion you developed have, without exception, all experienced a worsening of their spiritual power collapse."

"How do you explain this?"

"If you cannot, only one word awaits you."

"Death!"

As his final word fell.

The gavel struck the bench again with a loud BANG.

Standing outside the defendant’s stand, Huo Zhanting, Su Xingye, and Shen Zueran all felt their hearts tighten simultaneously.

Their expressions were utterly grim.

It seemed their affection for the female had reached a point where even just hearing the word "death" filled them with such displeasure and rage.

The three males exchanged a look, more united in purpose than ever before. If the court truly intended to harm Yu Lan, they would rather cast aside all their merits and honors to snatch her away.

Huo Zhanting and Su Xingye were already silently arranging for a Starship and various weapons, while Shen Zueran directly used his authority to procure a large quantity of knockout drugs.

Meanwhile, the comments flooding the trial’s livestream were a sea of mocking laughter: "Hahahahaha."

[Tsk, tsk, tsk. I love watching this kind of script play out—a desperate attempt at sophistry, only to get slapped in the face by reality.]

[Didn’t you deny it? Then explain it! Why did the spiritual power collapse of all the males who used the Hope Potion get worse?]

[What bullshit Hope Potion? It’s more like a Garbage Potion.]

Meanwhile, upon hearing the Chief Justice’s words, Yu Lan’s face was a mask of utter disbelief.

She knew the potion she had developed herself.

It might not alleviate the spiritual power collapse in every case, but it absolutely could not make it worse.

’I’ve been framed.’

’I’ve definitely been framed.’

’This is a conspiracy.’

But no matter the conspiracy, it would crumble in the face of absolute truth and strength.

Yu Lan abruptly raised her head, her burning gaze fixed on the Chief Justice, her voice clear and firm.

"Absolutely impossible."

"I demand to see those males again."

Yu Lan’s request was perfectly reasonable.

But in the eyes of the interstellar people, who had already condemned her, it was just a case of refusing to give up until all hope was lost.

"Hmph. Since you remain unrepentant even at death’s door, then we shall let you see them."

"Guards, bring them in."

Following the Chief Justice’s order, the next second, the sound of rattling iron chains came from not far from the stand.

Gasps of shock and disgust rippled through the crowd.

Yu Lan turned toward the source of the sound and saw, to her horror, a line of iron cages, bound together by chains and pulled along by a levitating vehicle at the front.

And the beast forms of the male beasts inside the cages were all too familiar.

A black bear, a cheetah, a ram, a rhinoceros...

One after another.

They were, shockingly, the very males Yu Lan had personally treated and successfully discharged from the Mad Hero Institute.

Not a single one was missing. Every one of them was here.

"Why? How could this be?"

Yu Lan murmured, her pretty face filled with bewilderment.

No doctor ever wants to see a patient they successfully treated return to the hospital.

Just as now, seeing these familiar male figures again, she remembered sending them off with Shen Zueran.

The light in their eyes had been so brilliant, each one talking about finding a beloved female and living a happy life.

Why, in less than a month, had they ended up like this?

Their condition was even worse than when they were in the Mad Hero Institute.

The disbelief in Yu Lan’s eyes was so clear that it instantly enraged the Chief Justice on his high dais.

The gavel slammed down onto the bench with a BANG, and his slightly mocking voice rang out.

"Why? Don’t you know the answer to that?"

"Your Excellency Yu Lan, you of all people should understand perfectly."

"They all have one thing in common: they took your Hope Potion."

The words echoed in Yu Lan’s ears like a devil’s whisper.

On the stand, in the nearby spectators’ gallery, and in the livestream being watched by billions...

...everyone was waiting for Yu Lan to plead guilty.

’Plead guilty, plead guilty, plead guilty.’

’You did this. If it weren’t for you, how could they have ended up like this?’

’Plead guilty, plead guilty, plead guilty.’

’Go die, go die, go die.’

But just because many people say something, does that make it right?

Witnessed by billions, the beautiful female on the stand—who had been standing there, slender and fragile with her head bowed—suddenly looked up. Her burning gaze fixed on the Chief Justice’s position, her crystal-clear amber eyes brighter and more dazzling than the finest gems.

Her red lips curved into a slight smile as she suddenly spoke, her voice loud and full of confidence:

"Wrong!"

"Their condition isn’t just due to the use of deceptive P-materials. It could also be from an overdose of the Male Induction Agent."

"Has the court had a professional testing agency thoroughly investigate this?"

"Are there blood analysis reports?"

"Or can you convict someone out of thin air, based solely on a one-sided story and baseless speculation?"

"I did not use deceptive P-materials. I stand here with a clear conscience. I do not plead guilty."

"But as for the person stirring up trouble from the shadows, like a rat in the sewer—are you feeling nervous right now?"

At this very moment, at the center of everyone’s attention, there was no one more dazzling than Yu Lan.

Even though the interstellar people now loathed her for the Hope Potion’s alleged use of deceptive P-materials, they couldn’t help but admit her brilliance.

This was a ferocious and blatant attack aimed squarely at her.

If it failed to crush Yu Lan outright, it would become the beginning of her rise to fame throughout the world.

Louisa, who had been invited to sit in the spectators’ gallery, clenched the hand hanging by her side into a tight fist.

’Damn it!’