Judged in the Court of Scumbags

More viewer comments appeared.

"I'd sell myself away for a hundred thousand dollars! What kind of family is this?"

"So what if they're rich? Abusive husbands deserve death!"

As the comments picked up in frequency, the next memory began playing out on screen.

In the memory, we were in our home when I slapped Charlene hard. She collapsed to the floor and stared at me in disbelief.

"You actually hit me! You slapped me over such a trivial matter! I want a divorce!"

The comments immediately exploded with activity.

"Oh my God! Do you think you're allowed to hit your wife as you please just because you give her a hundred thousand dollars a month in living expenses?"

"Domestic abuse either never happens or always happens. There's no in-between. Damn scumbag! He has to be punished. I can feel the pain of that slap through the screen."

Aiden continued to pronounce his verdict. "No scumbag behavior has been displayed in this instance. Hanson Quill is not guilty."

It wasn't just the viewers this time. Even the audience in the stands couldn't resist standing up to throw their water bottles and shoes at me.

A glass bottle came flying toward me. I didn't know who had thrown it.

Although I dodged it, the bottle hit the wall and shattered. The glass shards scattered through the air and scratched my cheek. Bright red blood flowed down my face and dripped onto the back of my hand.

Having my memories extracted over an extended period of time had already made my body very weak. I barely managed to remain standing. I glared at every single person who had thrown something at me.

The court had devolved into absolute chaos.

"Bastard! What kind of man hits a woman? We object to the unfair judgment! We demand that the judge be replaced!"

"Objection! Objection!"

Aiden banged his gavel on the table. "Silence! All troublemakers, this is your first and only warning! If you refuse to quiet down, you'll be asked to leave!"

Although the audience protested loudly, they still fell silent in the face of a prestigious judge like Aiden.

When Aiden looked at me this time, something in his gaze had changed.

Charlene looked triumphantly at me and mouthed, "Challenge me, and death will be the only thing waiting for you at the end."

Unfortunately for Charlene, she'd forgotten that these were my memories. Even if she wanted to use public opinion to convict me of guilt, the audience would still have the opportunity to learn the truth.

Just as my memories were about to be extracted once more, the Judgement Helmet suddenly burst into flames. I felt as if my entire body had been scorched. I lost consciousness and slumped to the floor.

Just before I passed out, I saw Charlene staring fixedly at me with a smile on her face.

The live broadcast was interrupted. I was sent to the infirmary for emergency treatment, and Aiden announced that the trial would be postponed.

"Could that man be planning to escape because no substantial evidence could be found?"

"I told you something shady must be going on! This won't do! We demand that the criminal's memories be reextracted!"

"What if you guys secretly acquitted him of all charges? Won't we have been played for fools then?"

The viewers were still flooding the comment section of the live broadcast. Aiden paused the trial and went to look for me in the infirmary.

I had already woken up by then, but my muscles were still twitching uncontrollably.

"My apologies. After the appraisal, we determined that the Judgement Helmet had been tampered with and short-circuited just now. We're very sorry for the harm it has caused you."

I had already suspected as much the moment Aiden brought it up. I couldn't think of anyone other than Joel who could have so easily tampered with the Judgement Helmet.

From the looks of it, their aim was to convince me to back off or take my life altogether!

Since that was the case, I no longer needed to show them any compassion.

Aiden had an awkward expression on his face. "Can you still continue to stand trial?"

I stumbled to my feet with steely determination in my eyes. "Yes!"

I'd never let someone who wanted me to die have their way.