The Acting Person-in-Charge and Huang Yi showered briefly, sprayed on some perfume, changed clothes, and then attended the hearing.
The atmosphere of this kind of hearing was not as solemn as a court trial. When they passed by, it even made the people nearby joke about the manure that had just been thrown.
Many people from the Witch Faction also attended this hearing. They came to cheer Huang Yi on, though they might have other purposes. After sitting down, there was still half an hour of foreplay.
The chief examiner introduced this hearing according to convention, then guided everyone to take their seats in order and get ready.
Just as the venue quieted down and the chief examiner was about to announce the start, the door was pushed open.
The sound of the door opening was very clear in the silent environment, causing quite a few people to turn their heads for a look.
A woman wearing flat leather shoes and a suit walked in. Her hair was already white, and her face was covered in wrinkles.
She looked about 70 years old and carried an air of authority. Everyone swept by those hawk-like eyes averted their gaze, not daring to meet them.
Several people followed by her side.
The onlookers at the hearing all gasped. The grandmotherly woman was from the Witch Faction and was also the highest-ranking official of the Witch Faction in the Eastern Region, the Vice Alliance Leader.
Huang Yi was a little surprised. He had not expected such a big shot to come.
Looking again at those following beside her, the leaders of the two Magical Girl-friendly parties in the Eastern Alliance had also come. Although they were only Regional Councilors rather than Grand Alliance Councilors, they still showed considerable respect.
A few words from a Regional Councilor could decide whether the Eastern Alliance’s military budget increased or decreased. They could also decide how many parks and hospitals were built. It was all just a matter of them holding a meeting. Their power could be big or small. Wanting the local Special Task Force disbanded or the local Defeated Team expelled was just a single sentence.
Now they knew why the Alliance Leader had come to this hearing, and why so many Witch Faction people had come.
Because the Vice Alliance Leader and the two party leaders had also come.
They were here to bolster the scene and make their faces familiar.
The councilors on the Witch Faction side all stood up. Only after the Vice Alliance Leader and the two party leaders had sat down did they sit.
This little interlude also ended. The chief examiner frowned and slowly announced that the hearing was about to begin.
He gave the grandmotherly Vice Alliance Leader time to interject, but she did not speak and simply watched.
Huang Yi and the Acting Person-in-Charge sat side by side in the middle. They were not shackled, because they were not criminals.
In the first few minutes, the tension was not yet thick. The dozen or so questions the hearing officer asked were to confirm the ins and outs of the matter.
For example, at the time of the incident, why was everyone gathered at the Countermeasure Center?
The Acting Person-in-Charge answered truthfully that because something strange had been discovered several thousand meters underground and was under investigation, they were working at the Countermeasure Center.
They asked, what was discovered underground?
The Acting Person-in-Charge mentioned the matter of a suspected Dungeon, but it had not yet been investigated clearly.
They asked about the deployment of the Special Task Force and the Defeated Team at the time.
The Acting Person-in-Charge also explained it clearly.
This hearing basically had no shady dealings. It was always like this. No detail was too small; everything would be asked about clearly.
Trivial little things. Such as what they ate in the morning? Or seemingly insignificant things like going to the bathroom nine times? Or how many decibels the environmental noise was? Or the air-conditioning temperature at the time of the decision? What was the environmental temperature at the time? Degrees Celsius.
They asked him who could be evacuated when he made the evacuation decision.
They also asked him about the evacuation order for citizens, Outer District people, and civil servants.
They also asked what the decision to “abandon rescue of the victimized citizens” came from. Was it his own idea, or was someone stirring the flames?
Once again, they asked from morning until afternoon, almost enough to make a person break down.
The two-day hearing finally ended.
If there were one or two bad actors among the hearing officers, they usually could not affect the outcome of the hearing.
The hearing asked too many questions, and the number of participants was especially large.
On top of that, there was a large amount of mutually corroborating evidence chains.
It was very difficult to tamper with things and harm someone in the middle of all that. Although the Human Alliance’s hearings were not absolutely fair, they could at least barely reach the passing line of fairness.
On top of that, the big shots of the Witch Faction in Yiri City were all sitting in attendance, clearly showing that they valued Huang Yi. Their purpose in coming was to make sure nobody messed around.
If handled impartially, Huang Yi would probably be fine.
In fact, some rumors had already begun to spread that night.
They had basically ruled out the possibility that Huang Yi was an enemy or an internal spy. His identity and stance were fine, and his mental state was fine too.
Most of the hearing officers believed that the decision he made at the time was beneficial to humanity, protecting more people at the cost of the smallest sacrifice.
As for the Acting Person-in-Charge? His situation was not so good.
According to the descriptions of many witnesses at the Countermeasure Center, the Acting Person-in-Charge was slightly weak and not decisive enough in his usual work.
His emotions could not be called particularly stable either.
He had some talent for leading, but not much. He was suited to being a minor leader, but not worthy of the position of Director of the Countermeasure Center.
According to the rumors currently circulating, he did not need to be punished for the “evacuation of personnel” decision. But for the ineffective post-incident rescue, and for insufficient pre-incident defense forces and early warning capabilities, he still had to carry the blame.
Before waiting for the official notice, Huang Yi seemed very anxious, going to see Professor Meng every few days.
He could almost confirm that he would be reinstated. It was just that the notice had not come down yet. Professor Meng should say who the Magical Girl who attacked him was, right?
However, Professor Meng still did not say. He insisted on waiting until the official notice came down before he would fulfill his promise.
Days without work were truly boring!
Huang Yi went to the boxing gym to work out and practice boxing. It could strengthen his body and also pass the time.
Until he received a message from Yin Lin, asking a baffling question.
Yin Lin: “Do you know where Old Wang went?”
Huang Yi thought for a long time: “I don’t know.”
He did not clarify whether it meant “I don’t know his whereabouts” or “I don’t know who Old Wang is.”
Huang Yi asked in return: “What are you looking for Old Wang for?”
Yin Lin: “Something came up.”
Wasn’t that obvious? Huang Yi was amused into laughter.
The Jinyin Hong San Jiemei side also received similar news.
Seeing that Yin Lin was looking for Old Wang, Huan Hong asked: “What are you looking for him for?”
Yin Lin: “Something came up.”
Huan Hong: “Of course I know something came up, so I’m asking you what came up.”
Huan Hong was very bored now. The task Xia Shiyao had arranged for her was to watch from the shadows. She had watched for many days and still had not spotted anyone following Xia Shiyao.
Was someone really following her? She could not help but doubt it.
Even if there was, she had not sensed the tracker’s Mana for so many days. The other party was most likely an ordinary human without Mana. Xia Shiyao, however, had a different view: “It could also be a Magical Girl whose Perception Ability far exceeds yours and mine, so she can precisely know our position and thereby avoid us.”
“And now? You still haven’t found anything?” Although Huan Hong had completed Transformation, she was still wearing ordinary clothes and gave off no Mana. “I mean, neither of us has Mana. Who could sense us? I just haven’t seen anyone following you.”
Huan Hong was clearly a little impatient. These past few days, she had almost become Xia Shiyao’s Bodyguard.
Xia Shiyao’s attitude remained very firm: “Trust me, someone is definitely following me. I already know who it is, I just still can’t quite figure it out.”
They probably never expected that today’s patrol would become a day in their lives impossible to forget.