Chapter 3102: Public Trial
The woman certainly didn't believe Xu Huo, but looking into his eyes, an inexplicable sense of trust suddenly welled up in her heart, and she blurted out, "You can really help me?"
Xu Huo responded solemnly, "Not just me. The 025 District Government and everyone trapped by the Player Home will help you."
The woman alternated between crying and laughing, a mix of bitterness, grievance, and hope interwoven. She tightly gripped Xu Huo's hand, "Don't lie to me, don't lie to me..."
Xu Huo took her directly to the City Government Building.
Of course, invoking this law wasn't easy. First, government staff would try every means to dissuade you, to avoid adding to their workload or tarnishing the City Archon's reputation. Settling things privately was always better.
If persuasion failed, they would warn you of the consequences. If the investigation turned up nothing, someone would definitely bear the blame, and the government would wash its hands of the matter.
When "warnings" proved ineffective, a mental evaluation would be required before the case could be reopened. Naturally, only someone of sound mind could proceed.
Thanks to Xu Huo's presence, the first two hurdles were smoothly bypassed. But before the mental evaluation began, the City Government obtained the woman's records, showing she had a history of mental instability with continuous treatment records, and a psychologist could provide certification.
What a coincidence. Xu Huo, as a certified psychologist, offered to diagnose the woman on the spot alongside the City Government's own psychologist to ensure she was currently lucid.
Xu Huo's previous identity had already been flagged as wanted. This new identity was arranged by Ding Xiang through her connections, flawless and untraceable. The City Government had no choice but to summon three psychologists for an on-site evaluation.
They initially tried to postpone the evaluation by a few days, but Xu Huo disagreed. He told them that if they refused, he would go to the Bar Association and publicly demand the implementation of the Restart Law.
Given the district's good public order, most crimes committed by players were handled by the Enforcement Department, leaving little for lawyers to do. Thus, lawyers in District 025 generally handled two types of work.
First, they handled property disputes, especially inheritance cases. These involved human emotions and ethics, making them impossible to resolve by simply pulling out a surveillance device like tracking a criminal, so lawyers were needed.
Second, they kept an eye on the government. Whenever the government violated any regulations, they would find ways to intervene and apply for a public trial. Winning could bring hefty compensation and fame. Losing didn't matter either, as the government couldn't do much to them anyway.
To minimize the fallout, the government agreed to conduct the evaluation immediately.
However, after getting the result he wanted, Xu Huo went straight to the Bar Association and hired an entire legal team to back him up.
The lawyers were puzzled but cooperatively asked what outcome he wanted.
Xu Huo had two demands: first, to uncover the true cause of the woman's son's death; second, to hold the government accountable for the Player Home's actions and force them to pursue further accountability.
The lawyers were highly professional and immediately requested a public trial, with the entire process broadcast on the Message Collection Terminal.
First, data from ten years ago at the Player Home was retrieved. The woman's son had entered a Player Home in Yangtao City under the status of a degenerating player and died of illness two years later—a relatively normal scenario. Degeneration could lead to death at any time, and he hadn't died immediately upon entry; he had received two full years of treatment, complete with medication records.
These records showed no signs of forgery. Logically, the case could have been closed there.
But unexpectedly, the lawyers presented new evidence on the spot: testimonies from several staff members who had worked at that Player Home ten years ago, along with intercepted work records. These records were also genuine, revealing that the medications registered for player use were not all degeneration-slowing treatments but had been replaced with experimental drugs.
Experimental drugs without public approval were not permitted for human use. Moreover, many residents of the Player Home were from District 025. As locals, they should never have been treated this way. If even players who risked their lives were subjected to such abuse, what would other players think?
After all, only a minority of players worked directly for the government. Who could guarantee that retired government players wouldn't face the same fate?
Consequently, the Player Home and other entities implicated in the staff's testimonies were shut down for investigation.
At this point, the Player Home's director was essentially doomed, and the City Government would also be held accountable for negligent oversight.
But this was just a small matter in Yangtao City. No matter how big it got, it wouldn't amount to much.
Soon, however, records from the Player Home revealed a number of degenerating players who had gone missing.
They hadn't been registered as deceased, and even the staff didn't know where they had gone. The director and other core personnel involved had either committed suicide or taken drugs to render themselves mentally incapacitated, making further prosecution impossible.
No matter. Without them, there was still the Alton Corporation.
Previously, players who had escaped Challenge Island realized they had been deceived and couldn't swallow their anger. They returned to cause trouble, attacking Alton Corporation in many cities, keeping local governments busy for two days.
Suppressing players from other districts was simple enough. As the aggressors, they were in the wrong from the start. The authorities simply killed them on sight without bothering with arrests. Thus, players who had suffered on Challenge Island returned to District 025 to suffer even greater losses.
However, long-term residents of District 025 held back. With families to consider, they couldn't act so impulsively. But the Yangtao City incident gave them a consensus: they had to ride this wave.
Soon, people from various places came forward to sue Alton Corporation, some even presenting solid evidence.
As a result, Alton Corporation's leadership was held accountable—not the front-facing spokespersons, but the actual executives behind the scenes.
Alton Corporation was pursued, and since Challenge Island was involved, the number of affected players was enormous. The matter escalated dramatically. Additionally, witnesses reported seeing Inspection Department personnel entering Challenge Island, prompting demands for the Inspection Department to explain itself.
The Inspection Department remained steady, simply stating that the investigation was ongoing and the island was being cleared. No further details could be disclosed.
To some extent, this revealed the stance of the Central Government.
But they had no time to wait and see, because Xu Huo obtained firsthand data on Challenge Island from the Bookworm and publicly revealed Alton Corporation's true purpose for using the island. The Player Home was only a later link in the chain; Challenge Island was the primary source of research on degenerating players.
The Inspection Department couldn't escape either. The island's AI had detected the presence of Inspection Department members when logging player entry data, but they had all died on the island.
Xu Huo "kindly" released a partial list, specifically selecting data from ten years ago and the last two years, showing that the Inspection Department had been sending people to the island for the past decade without results. No one even knew how many had truly died. This led some within the Inspection Department and families who had received death notices to question the department's motives. If there were no results for ten years, why keep sending people? Why not seal the island for a direct investigation?