Chapter 17: The Murderer Shall be Put to Death; Assailants and Thieves Shall be Held Accountable for their Crimes

Although Lu Yuanming spoke of seeking revenge on the MXG gang, it could not be done impulsively or without planning.

It required some prior arrangements, such as finding the MXG gang's precise location, understanding their personnel structure, confirming who possessed the stolen Winchester rifle after John's death, and how many bullets remained.

And all this involved another person, Tom.

According to what everyone said, John had gone out to explore three more times during the eighteen days of Lu Yuanming's return to the mortal world. Each time, he took someone with him, and it was on the third outing that an accident occurred, and the person accompanying him was Tom.

After the incident, Tom ran back alive, bringing the news that John had been stabbed in the back and that the Winchester rifle had been snatched. However, he did not explain why he was unharmed or how those who stabbed John were able to quickly find their way back to the bank, which served as their base.

All the disciples believed that Tom had betrayed them once again, just as Judas had betrayed Jesus in the myths. Only this time, they were more vigilant, so Tom could only betray the holy John, unable to betray the Messiah.

When Tom returned to the bank, he was detained by many disciples. Although no one beat or tormented him, nor did anyone plead for him. His fate would be determined by Lu Yuanming.

After entering the bank, Lu Yuanming immediately had Tom brought to him. He looked at Tom's haggard expression and softly said, "I want to know what happened when you and John went exploring. You must tell the truth. If you're innocent, I guarantee no one will hurt you. If you're guilty, I also guarantee that you will only be punished to the extent of your crime."

Tom immediately burst into tears, crying and kneeling before Lu Yuanming, "Lord, I have not betrayed holy John, nor have I betrayed anyone. I was terrified when John was stabbed in the back, and then I ran back to the bank without thinking of anything else. Lord, I really didn't betray you. Please believe me. Even if I were that Judas who already betrayed once due to ignorance and the inability to recognize the divine, I would definitely not dare nor be willing to betray the Lord again!"

Lu Yuanming paused for a moment, then said to Tom, "Our most important goal next is to find those MXG people, judge them, and kill the guilty. You must participate in this battle, and afterwards, I will also ask those MXG people whether you have committed any betrayal. If you're lying now, I will decide your punishment based on the extent of your lies later. The maximum is the death penalty, or secondly exile. Have you thought this through?"

But Tom immediately responded anxiously, "I understand, Lord. I am willing to bear all the consequences for what I have said now. I haven't betrayed anyone. I ran away immediately after holy John was killed because I was too scared."

Lu Yuanming nodded and motioned for Tom to stand up. However, the surrounding disciples immediately started murmuring, with most believing that Tom was lying. Even those who didn't accuse him of lying thought his escape when John was attacked constituted betrayal.

Lu Yuanming then solemnly addressed everyone, "My friends, as you can see, I'm just a young man who has recently entered society. I lack extensive social experience and do not have a talent for grasping power tactics or human nature, nor am I cunning. I treat you all with the utmost sincerity. Here, I want to make it clear, I didn't study law professionally. My understanding of the law is very superficial, and the environment we are in now isn't suited to applying the legal frameworks of the living world. So, let's base our decisions on the most primitive sense of law, 'Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth.' Anyone who kills must be killed, those who injure or steal must face the consequences. This applies not only to Tom but to our entire organization, and anyone who may join us in the future. This will be our guiding principle until our numbers are sufficient, our society progresses, our production capacity increases, and we can then collectively build more detailed legal provisions. Does that sound good?"

Everyone listened intently to Lu Yuanming's words, and many people nodded in agreement, including those who harbored great doubts about his identity as the Messiah.

Of course, there were also some who were dissatisfied. One person immediately spoke up, "Lord, what if Tom is lying? What if all the MXG gang members are killed during our fight with them? Wouldn't his crimes be concealed then?"

Letting evil go unpunished is certainly the last thing many would want to accept, so indeed, some people looked at Tom angrily.

At that moment, Lu Yuanming stood in front of Tom, his nearly two-meter-tall frame completely shielding Tom. He spoke loudly, "That is why I speak of a primitive sense of justice! Tom may be guilty, may have betrayed, may have lied, and we may not be able to get the truth due to our fight with the MXG people. But most importantly, does any of you have evidence of his betrayal, his crime, his lying?"

"My friends, I've also learned about your America in the world of the living; it's not just your country, but all over the world, including my own country. Many things have been twisted—'not this time doesn't mean it hasn't happened to someone else,' 'just no evidence doesn't mean they haven't done it'... Such rhetoric exists. Indeed, seeking evidence may allow some criminals and wicked people to escape legal punishment, but remember, I would rather let ten thousand evildoers go free due to insufficient evidence than to punish an innocent person without regard for the evidence!"

At this point, Lu Yuanming thought about the religious atmosphere among these people and immediately added, "If you still consider yourselves my disciples and believe you are practicing my path, then you must accept this principle, now and in the future. If you want to determine someone's guilt, you must present undeniable evidence of that guilt. Without doing so, you're not my disciples, nor my followers!"

These words seemed to Lu Yuanming as nothing more than but the exploitation of these people's religious sentiments; however, for the majority present, the statement struck like a bolt from the blue.

Father Edward was the first to fall to his knees, eyes brimming with tears as he said, "Whoever comes to me and does not love me more than his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and even his own life, cannot be my disciple... Oh Lord, it is we, the foolish lambs, who have tarnished your great love. Please do not abandon us, lead us to continue on Your path!"

All those around knelt down and prayed aloud, while Tom cried bitterly, weeping and knocking his head to the ground as he knelt.

Charlie, watching all this, was churning with various thoughts in his heart, and eventually, he too half knelt down and turned to Lu Yuanming, saying, "Sir, please let me follow Your path, but I don't believe in God. Please be my godfather and allow me to kiss your right hand."

Lu Yuanming hesitated, not understanding the reason behind Charlie's request to kiss his right hand.

(Perhaps another religious ritual? Like how Christians draw the cross on their chest? I'm really fed up with this. Can't they just speak plainly, like explaining the plan to refurbish the community after defeating the MXG people, or set up a five-year plan or something?)

Though he didn't understand, with the mindset that this is a cultural difference that he needed to respect, embracing the values of cultural harmony and diversity, Lu Yuanming still smiled and extended his right hand to Charlie. Charlie gently kissed Lu Yuanming's right hand, then said to him, "Please, sir, provide me with two handguns and enough ammunition. My men and I will be responsible for locating the MXG people, and we may even manage to capture one or two stragglers."

Some of the original disciples looked hesitant, but Lu Yuanming had just spoken sternly, so they didn't dare to say anything. Lu Yuanming, adhering to the principle of not suspecting those he uses and not using those he suspects, immediately agreed to Charlie's request.

Even if Charlie really ran off with the two handguns, in this post-apocalyptic world, ammunition could not be replenished, and only Lu Yuanming could make it. Thus, those two guns and the ammunition were just the cost of a lesson, and even removed a potential unstable element from the team. Actually, it wasn't a loss at all. However, if Charlie truly wished to serve the organization, then this was a gain of people's hearts and loyalty. Who wouldn't want their organization to trust them wholeheartedly?

Charlie and his men received two handguns and all the bullets that went with them, and without saying much, he gave a deep bow to Lu Yuanming and then rushed off with his men into the end of the streets.

In the time that followed, Lu Yuanming first inquired one by one about the professions of the team members, the level of education they had received, and then he tirelessly went to the park to check on the growth of the potatoes, after which he returned to the bank to discuss with everyone the use of the remaining twenty Colorless Light Particles.

Just then, a lookout ran back to report that Charlie and the others had returned, and they had brought with them an injured person.

When Charlie, covered in blood, carried a Latin American-looking person into the bank, there was an uproar among the crowd.

With a smile, Charlie said to Lu Yuanming, "Father, I have not failed your expectations. This blood is the enemy's, and this man is one of the captured MXG members. He will tell us their stronghold, and we can avenge Saint John."

Lu Yuanming was elated beyond measure, as he really needed people like Charlie who were brave and ready to fight; most of the team members were mild-mannered.

He also found it odd that ever since he learned of John's death, many people had repeatedly mentioned Saint John. Could it be that Americans and Europeans liked to prefix the names of the deceased with 'saint'?

However, this didn't impede Lu Yuanming's subsequent actions. He had long wanted to try if, aside from creating weapons, ammunition, food, and fresh water, the Colorless Light Particles could also do something else.

Clutching a Colorless Light Particle, he approached the MXG man who was gasping for breath and said, "If I save your life, will you then tell me your location, as well as confess all the sins you have committed?"

Without waiting for the man to speak, Lu Yuanming pressed the Colorless Light Particle against the MXG man's wound in the next second.