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Vacher had no time to react at all—he didn't even manage to form the thought of dodging before he took the punch head-on.
Bang! A dull, heavy impact rang out as Vacher instantly felt the world spin before his eyes, his head buzzing like it had exploded, golden stars flashing and dancing in his vision.
In the next moment, his eyes rolled back, his body went limp, and he collapsed backward, completely unconscious.
At that moment, the earlier gunshot had already alerted several other members of the security force.
They rushed out of the opera house with tense expressions.
When they saw Vacher lying unconscious on the ground, along with Shao Yun and the group behind him, the boldest of the guards mustered his courage and shouted loudly, "Who are you?!"
Shao Yun spoke calmly, like a philosopher, saying, "Who I am is not important. What matters is that, in my opinion, this trial is not yet over."
Just then, a Garde lying on the ground with a badly wounded thigh, blood pouring out, endured the excruciating pain and warned everyone in a trembling voice.
"Everyone, be careful! This guy has a gun!"
Upon learning that this mysterious figure possessed such a dangerous firearm—and had even successfully abducted the heinous Vacher—the previously aggressive guards instantly became wary.
Without question, this was a brazen prison break!
What made the situation even more troublesome was that firearms were usually only issued to specially trained units, while ordinary security personnel like them carried nothing more than batons for maintaining order.
Thinking of this, the courage they had just summoned quickly drained away, and they all retreated several steps.
After all, bullets had no eyes—professional matters were best left to professionals!
Shao Yun, meanwhile, remained unhurried as he restrained Vacher and carefully retreated step by step.
At the same time, more and more people streamed out of the opera house, gradually surrounding them.
Furina, who loved a good spectacle, and her guard Clorinde also hurried over after hearing the commotion.
However, because Shao Yun was wearing Dutch van der Linde's "Gang Leader" outfit and had his face covered by a red checkered mask, neither the people nor the Archon present recognized his true identity.
Only then did "Shao Yun" lift his chin high and shout again with righteous conviction.
"Listen to me! We're not here to rescue this sewer rat—we're here to make sure he receives true punishment!"
Clorinde narrowed her eyes slightly and slowly placed her right hand on the gun at her waist, ready to respond to any danger.
"The judgment has already concluded. The Oratrice Mecanique d'Analyse Cardinale and Lord Neuvillette have long since declared Vacher guilty. Next, we will escort him to the Fortress of Meropide to receive his punishment!"
Hearing this, Shao Yun delivered the words he had prepared in advance, mocking her mercilessly. "A deranged demon who slaughtered more than twenty innocent young girls."
"After a so-called fair trial, he gets to walk calmly into the Fortress of Meropide and begin a brand-new life."
"Leaving behind over twenty shattered families, who from this day forward must spend their long years immersed in endless grief over the loss of their loved ones!"
"Is this what you call the result of judgment? Is this what you claim to be fairness and justice?"
Clorinde frowned deeply, her gaze locked onto the emotionally charged man before her. "Then what do you want to do?"
Shao Yun replied resolutely, "What we need is a genuine trial, one that follows the law of 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth'!"
"Only then can this man receive the punishment he deserves, and only then can the wounded hearts of the victims and their families find solace!"
Clorinde's expression darkened, her voice growing colder as she sternly warned him, "Your thinking is nothing but outright barbarism and criminality!"
Shao Yun showed no sign of retreat. Instead, he raised his voice and roared in a thick, authentic Blackwater Town accent, "No! This is true justice! Since ancient times, 'a life for a life' has been the truth, and it will never change!"
Clorinde said gravely, "But the Oratrice Mecanique—"
Before she could finish, Shao Yun cut her off, swiftly unleashing the lines he had prepared, sneering, "A broken machine? You actually trust a machine? Has this world really gone mad to this extent?"
His words instantly pushed the atmosphere at the scene to the brink of tension.
Then, according to plan, Shao Yun continued his biting sarcasm.
"I get it now. Your so-called judgments exist only to consolidate your rule. As for upholding justice, that's nothing more than empty, pretty words—just self-glorification and moral posturing!"
"Everything you do is simply to satisfy the Hydro Archon's amusement."
As he said this, he deliberately stressed his tone to emphasize his disdain.
At that moment, Furina, who was hiding behind Clorinde, froze in shock. Why did this suddenly get dragged onto me? This makes no sense at all!
Even so, she couldn't help but step forward to argue back. "That's complete nonsense! How could I possibly treat everyone's suffering as some kind of entertainment?"
Seeing that Furina had taken the bait, Shao Yun felt a surge of joy inside, though outwardly he maintained a look of righteous indignation as he pointed at the still-unconscious "Vacher" behind him.
"If that's the case, then why didn't you sentence this utterly unforgivable 'demon' to death? Other than you enjoying suffering as amusement, I can think of no other reason."
His gaze was fixed tightly on Furina's face, as though searching for any crack in her expression.
Furina replied with slightly unfocused eyes, "That's because the Oratrice Mecanique I created and Neuvillette's—"
Before she could finish, Clorinde had already lost her patience. She stepped forward and pulled Furina behind her protectively.
Then she said in a low voice, "That's enough, Lady Furina. There's no need to argue with this person any further. I have a feeling these people are from the Confrerie of Cabriere!"
Just as Clorinde was about to draw the gun at her waist to subdue the "mysterious man"—
Suddenly, a gunshot tore through the surrounding silence, followed by the sharp, piercing sound of shattering glass.
Clorinde didn't even have time to react before an indescribable numbness violently struck her right shoulder.
An invisible force tore through her muscles.
Immediately after, a warm liquid surged out from the wound in her shoulder like a spring, soaking her clothes at an alarming speed.
The vivid red looked especially glaring under the sunlight, a horrifying sight.
At the same time, the gun clenched in her hand slipped free of her control and fell silently to the ground with a heavy, dull thud.
A searing, bone-piercing pain spread from her right shoulder along her nerves throughout her entire body.
The pain was so intense that fine beads of sweat formed on Clorinde's forehead.
"Ah—" Along with that shrill cry, Clorinde could no longer suppress the agony, letting out an involuntary groan of pain.
Shao Yun looked expressionlessly at the injured Clorinde as his cold, merciless voice slowly rang out. "Miss, I think you should understand one fact: not everyone in this world will give you the chance to strike back later."
"Especially when your enemy is already on guard—remember this truth: strike first and you live; strike later and you suffer!"
Seeing blood continuously seeping from Clorinde's tightly covered shoulder, Furina panicked. She fumbled as she supported Clorinde and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"Someone help! Where are the medics?! Clorinde is injured!"
Clorinde clenched her teeth, enduring the piercing pain as she spoke haltingly. "No… don't worry about me, Lady Furina. It's just… the pain is too intense. My arm feels like it's gone numb…"
At the same time, inside the opera house, behind a shattered window—
Chevreuse, the captain of the special training unit, lay sprawled on the ground in utter disarray, her eyes tightly shut, her left hand clutching her injured shoulder.
Her gun was completely ruined, and the one responsible for all of this was none other than Shao Yun.
At the time, one bullet had traveled straight down the barrel, causing the firearm to explode from the inside.
Another bullet struck Chevreuse squarely in the left shoulder, blood staining her clothes red.
With a single gunshot sound, Shao Yun had fired three bullets—and his movements were so fast that no one saw the instant he fired and holstered the gun. This was the skill of a true sharpshooter!
Shao Yun looked up toward Chevreuse's position on the second floor and shouted loudly, "You sniper hiding up there, remember this—once you've locked onto your target, you must fire! Even being one second late could get you killed instead!"
Just then, Neuvillette stepped out of the opera house.
His sharp gaze swept across the scene. When he saw Shao Yun shouting toward the upper floor, a trace of anger surfaced on his face.
He frowned slightly and asked, "Mysterious individual, what exactly are you trying to do?"
However, before Shao Yun could respond, the families of the victims from the serial disappearance cases of young girls—almost as if they had planned it—simultaneously removed the masks and face coverings they wore.
In perfect unison, they shouted, "Your Excellency, the Chief Justice!"
Neuvillette froze in place, stunned by the sudden turn of events.
His eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at the group of people who had revealed their true faces.
"You are…?"
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