Chapter 1 Death Sentence

Death penalty!

As the two words echoed in the courtroom, the air became silent, like a graveyard at midnight.

"De... death penalty?" The blue-eyed, blond-haired EU officer widened his eyes, muttering to himself in a trembling voice.

Thump!

Beside him, his companion, who had already been apprehensive, was now slumped on the ground, his face as white as paper, his body convulsing!

The immense fear of death descended.

The EU officer suddenly shouted, "This trial is unfair! We demand a retrial!"

"We haven't done anything substantive that poses a real danger to the Human Alliance. We are only in the initial stages of committing a crime!"

"We demand a lighter sentence!"

For a time, many people began to shout angrily, abandoning their previous composure.

They had not expected that, with such a shortage of manpower and in such a precarious situation, Li Tianran's attitude towards them would be so firm, completely disregarding the series of consequences that would follow their execution!

"You haven't done it not because you didn't want to, but because you haven't had the opportunity to do it yet." Li Tianran looked at the loudly protesting prisoners without expression and said coldly, "All of you deserve to die!"

Thud!

The heavy gavel fell, and with a muffled sound, the fate of these thousands of criminals was sealed.

Death!

The entire trial process was extremely simple and straightforward. Without giving anyone time to object, Li Tianran waved his hand and, in the name of the Alliance Council, sentenced everyone to death. Subsequently, in the presence of a large number of officials from various countries who were watching the trial, thousands of criminals were escorted to the plaza of the Alliance Council headquarters.

Under the fluttering flags of various countries, these thousands of criminals knelt on the ground, and the same number of soldiers stood beside them with guns in their hands, waiting for the order to execute them!

"Give us another chance! I promise to be loyal to the Alliance Council! I promise never to collude with the ancient civilization again!"

"I am the deputy commander of the Kemi Military Region! I have rich war experience, I don't want to die here! Transfer me to the front line! Let me redeem myself through service!"

"I have fought for huge benefits for the country, can't that offset one mistake?"

On the plaza, the desire to survive erupted from these convicted officials, and they began to roar and beg madly, trying to escape the penalty of death.

The heads of various countries looked at these convicted officials kneeling on the ground, their hearts filled with mixed feelings.

There was anger, but also regret!

Once upon a time, these people were all pillars and backbones of their countries!

But now they were rotten and decayed! They could only be eliminated!

"Begin the execution!"

With an order, gunfire rang out.

Blood flowed like a river on the plaza, and thousands of convicted officials were lying dead on the spot.

Everywhere the blood flowed, all the officials from various countries who witnessed this scene turned pale.

"Betrayal of the Alliance and collusion with the enemy, this is the end!"

"If a person offends, then kill the person!"

"If a country offends, then destroy the country!"

Li Tianran pointed to the corpses all over the ground without expression and said softly, "I hope this is the first time, and the last!"

……

The thousand convicted officials were executed swiftly and decisively, and the execution was carried out under the watchful eyes of the public. Soon, the video of the execution spread throughout the Human Alliance, and almost everyone witnessed the scene.

This straightforward and violent attitude did indeed quickly stabilize the somewhat wavering internal structure of the Human Alliance.

However, this matter did not end with the death of those convicted officials; on the contrary, its impact continued.

Most of those convicted officials had previously held high positions, and their families and friends had also received some preferential treatment because of their status, enjoying special food supplies and more advanced shelter housing.

After they were executed, the various countries once again carried out a major operation to deal with the families of these convicted officials.

They were driven out of the high-ranking officials' family shelters, and before they even had time to pack their clothes and household items, they were thrown directly into the worst shelters by a group of cold-blooded soldiers.

Most of the people gathered here were vagrants and undocumented people from before the Calamity, and the living environment was very poor. Most of them were compartments simply renovated from former air-raid shelters. The food supply was even worse, mostly expired frozen food, and even then, it was often cut off!

The sudden and earth-shattering change in treatment was unacceptable to these pampered families of convicted officials. Many of them became ill on their first day in the shelter, but there were usually no doctors here. Only regular medication was dispensed every three days!

This sense of loss made these families of convicted officials feel as if they had fallen from heaven to hell in an instant.

But the most despairing thing was not the harsh living environment, but the people!

The people who lived in this environment!

Faced with these families of convicted officials who were driven here, the people who originally lived here learned of their identities through some channels, and then began to relentlessly humiliate, verbally abuse, and bully them.

It was common for food to be snatched!

Wherever they went, they would be pointed at and gossiped about. This pressure on their souls was an important factor in the collapse of these families of convicted officials!

Many families of convicted officials committed suicide as a result!

……

After hearing this news, Ding Lu felt a little unbearable and said to Li Tianran, "Boss, those people made mistakes, but their families shouldn't have to bear the stigma for them… Isn't that too much for them?"

Li Tianran laughed and said, "Too much? No, I don't think it's too much!"

"You only see the oppression that the families of convicted officials are suffering now because of the betrayal of the convicted officials, but you don't see the privileges that the families of convicted officials once enjoyed because of their status!"

"They only want to enjoy the special privileges of being the family members of high-ranking officials, but they don't want to suffer the adverse consequences of being the family members of convicted officials. They want to have the best of both worlds… Is that possible?"

"..." Ding Lu was silent and didn't know how to answer.

"Moreover, this is also a warning to others, to let them see with their own eyes that if they make a mistake, it's not just themselves who will suffer the consequences, but also their families!" Li Tianran looked at Ding Lu and asked in a deep voice, "Do you know why there was a crime called 'extermination of the nine generations of relatives' in ancient times?"

"The rulers at that time wanted to use this tragic punishment to make everyone who wanted to commit a crime think clearly before committing it, that it was not just themselves who would die! Their family and friends would be buried with them!"

Ding Lu knew very well how terrifying this kind of punishment with a strong feudal dynasty flavor was.

"Of course, this kind of punishment is somewhat inhumane, very unreasonable, cruel and overbearing." Li Tianran took a deep breath, a hint of cruel indifference on the corner of his mouth: "But it is the most direct and most useful method!"

"In chaotic times, harsh punishments should be used."

"Those convicted officials didn't consider their families before committing their crimes..."

"Why should we care about their lives?"