The command had barely fallen—
When the Truth Seer's silver radiance erupted once more.
The light swallowed the entire courtroom.
The final memory...
Was about to begin.
...
Night.
In the darkest and lawless part of the imperial planet.
Rain poured heavily outside.
A figure stood inside the dipilated courtyard.
Yu Weiwei.
Unlike the previous memories, he was stalking someone.
Watching.
His expression was complicated as he looked toward the brightly lit room ahead.
For years, he had noticed something strange.
Yu Yuan always disappeared at certain times.
Always meeting someone.
Always hiding something.
And tonight...
He finally followed.
Inside the room.
Two figures stood facing each other.
Yu Yuan.
And Jing Fan.
Jing Fan's expression was filled with frustration.
"How long are you going to hide me?"
Yu Yuan remained silent.
Jing Fan laughed bitterly.
"We've been together for years."
"I have done everything for you."
"Everything."
"I ruined my own reputation."
"I dealt with everyone who stood in your way."
"And yet..."
"You still refuse to acknowledge me publicly."
Yu Yuan's expression darkened.
"Lower your voice."
"Why?"
Jing Fan stepped forward.
"Are you afraid?"
"Afraid that everyone will know the real you?"
Yu Yuan's face changed.
"Enough."
"No."
Jing Fan's eyes were red.
"I want an answer."
"I want everyone to know that I am the person beside you."
"Why won't you let me?"
"Or were you playing me?"
"I didn't, it's not time yet." Yu Yuan said trying to calm his anger down.
"Not yet?! Or do you really have feelings for Si Tian?"
"So is it true as they said? You and Si Tian are dating?!"
"You know that's not true! The only reason I'm with Si Tian is due to his status and once I get my hands on the military token, he's useless to me."
"Ha! Do you think I'm a fool? It has been 5 years now! FIVE YEARS!!"
The argument grew louder.
Outside the room...
Yu Weiwei watched silently.
His eyes widened.
Jing Fan...
Yu Yuan...
They were together?
He knew Jing Fan, he was a great hero, in fact a promising talent. But he retired from the military due to some mistakes and since then his reputation has started to go downhill.
Before he could process it—
A loud crash echoed.
The room fell silent.
Yu Weiwei's expression changed.
He rushed forward.
Inside...
Jing Fan lay on the ground.
Blood spread beneath him.
Yu Yuan stood frozen.
His hands trembled.
The anger on his face disappeared.
Replaced by shock.
"No..."
Yu Yuan whispered.
"No..."
"I didn't..."
"I didn't mean to..."
For the first time...
Yu Weiwei saw fear on Yu Yuan's face.
He ran towards Jing Fan, blood was gushing out from his left chest.
Yu Weiwei regretted not bringing his healing device.
But now is not the time, he needs to call for rescue.
He immediately reached for his communication device.
But before he could—
Yu Yuan turned.
Their eyes met.
The world became silent.
A moment passed.
Then Yu Yuan's expression changed.
Fear.
Then calculation.
"Yu Weiwei..."
Yu Weiwei froze, he knew that expression and it always terrified him. And sure enough the worst came, but in a way he never expected.
"What did you do?"
The words stunned him.
"What?"
Yu Yuan stepped closer.
"You were here."
"You saw everything."
"No..."
Yu Weiwei shook his head.
"I was going to call for help."
But Yu Yuan only stared at him.
Then he shouted.
"GUARDS!"
The door burst open.
Everyone froze.
Yu Weiwei stood beside Jing Fan's body.
Blood covered his hands from trying to help him.
Yu Yuan looked devastated.
"Why..."
"Why would you do this, Cousin?"
The memory froze.
...
The courtroom was silent.
The Truth Seer continued.
The memory rewound.
This time...
Everyone saw the truth.
They saw Yu Weiwei arrive before anyone else.
They saw his panic.
They saw him trying to save Jing Fan.
They saw Yu Yuan's hesitation.
They saw the moment he chose to sacrifice Yu Weiwei to protect himself.
The memory ended.
...
No one spoke.
Si Tian stared blankly.
His mind refused to accept what he had seen.
The person he had hated.
The person he believed was cruel enough to murder someone.
Had actually been the only one who tried to save Jing Fan.
And Jing Fan and Yu Yuan were dating, he was a fool, a big one.
He had believed Yu Yuan over his fiancé.
His hands trembled.
Because he remembered.
Every insult.
Every accusation.
Every time Yu Weiwei tried to explain.
And every time...
He refused to listen.
The livestream exploded.
{ ... }
{ I can't breathe. }
{ Yu Yuan... }
{ He killed Jing Fan? }
{ Accidentally or not, he still blamed Yu Weiwei. }
{ He watched Yu Weiwei try to save him and still accused him?! }
{ No... no way. }
{ I defended him for years... }
{ I hated Yu Weiwei because of this. }
{ I called him a murderer. }
{ But he was innocent. }
{ The Truth Seer showed everything. }
{ Yu Weiwei chose this pain just to prove the truth... }
{ And Yu Yuan thought he wouldn't dare? }
{ He really underestimated him. }
{ The person everyone called weak... was the only one brave enough to face the Truth Seer. }
Yu Yuan stood frozen.
His face was completely pale.
He never thought this memory would be revealed.
He never thought Yu Weiwei would endure the Truth Seer.
He had known how cruel it was.
He had been certain.
Yu Weiwei would choose anything else.
Anything.
But he was wrong.
The Truth Seer continued to shine.
And for the first time...
Yu Yuan realized.
The person he had always looked down on...
Was the one person he could never control.
In the Imperial viewing platform...
Emperor Caspian slowly closed his eyes.
His fingers, resting on the armrest, curled tightly until his knuckles turned white.
He had seen countless trials.
Countless criminals.
Countless innocent people.
Yet this...
This was different.
An innocent man had been condemned by public opinion.
His empire had watched.
His government had watched.
And no one had questioned it.
"...We failed him."
His quiet voice echoed through the chamber.
No minister dared answer.
Because there was no excuse.
Yet...
Before anyone could process their guilt—
Crack.
A tiny sound echoed.
Then another.
Crack...
Crack...
Crack...
Everyone instinctively looked toward Yu Weiwei.
The Truth Seer suddenly began flashing crimson.
Warning runes spread across its surface.
『WARNING.』
『Subject's Mental Sea approaching catastrophic collapse.』
『Stability: 80%』
『Stability: 70%』
『Stability: 50%』
"What?!"
A researcher shot to his feet.
"Impossible!"
"The Truth Seer shouldn't damage someone's Mental Sea to this extent!"
Another researcher stared at the readings in horror.
"No..."
"It's not the Truth Seer."
"He was already injured before entering."
The entire hall fell deathly silent.
"Already injured?" Emperor Caspian asked coldly, his gaze sweeping over everyone below him. Some looked guilty, while others had gone deathly pale.
"If I remember correctly, everyone who undergoes the Truth Seer must first be confirmed to be in peak physical and mental condition."
His voice grew colder with every word.
"Explain."
"Your Majesty." The researcher swallowed before continuing. "According to Yu Weiwei's medical records, he entered the Truth Seer in perfect condition. There is only one explanation..."
He enlarged several scans in front of the audience.
"His Mental Sea was tampered with before his awakening."
"Tampered with?" Caspian repeated, genuine disbelief flashing across his face.
The audience instinctively turned toward Yu Yuan.
The man looked as though all the strength had left his body. Had the police robot not been gripping his shoulders tightly, he would have collapsed onto the floor.
Only one family would benefit from such a thing.
Yu Yuan's family.
Yu Weiwei had been born through artificial gestation, a miracle made possible by the Empire's advanced reproductive technology. His two fathers—General Yu Chen, one of the Empire's greatest military heroes, and the renowned business magnate Lin Ze, whose commercial empire spanned countless star systems—had disappeared into a black hole shortly after his birth during an expedition.
As the sole heir of the main branch, the infant Yu Weiwei had been entrusted to his uncle's family until he reached the age of twenty-eight, the legal age of adulthood in the Interstellar Empire. At that time, everything his businessman father had built would rightfully be returned to him.
"If someone's Mental Sea is tampered with before awakening..." another researcher said grimly, "...they will not survive more than fifteen years after the tampering."
"The Mental Core begins developing around the age of ten," another researcher added. "That is also the easiest period to interfere with it."
Silence.
"He is twenty years old now..."
"...Which means..."
"...He was never expected to live past twenty-five."
The entire hall gasped.
The cruelty hidden beneath the scheme sent chills down everyone's spine.
Yu Weiwei...
Would never even reach adulthood.
Those with quicker minds saw an even more horrifying truth.
Destroy his Mental Sea.
Destroy his reputation.
Frame him as a murderer.
Then wait.
Once he quietly died somewhere, no one would suspect foul play.
Who would investigate the death of a universally hated criminal?
No one...