Dragon Transformation in the Apocalypse

Chapter 477 Sweeping Away Internal Evil

August 7, 2027, the third day since Li Chenglong returned. He arrived at the Dawn City office early in the morning. Last night, while organizing documents in his study, he discovered a document submitted by the Dawn City Supreme Court to the Dawn City General Committee, so he rushed here early this morning.

Dawn City currently has two levels of courts: four primary courts from different regions and the Dawn City Supreme Court, located not far from Dawn Tower. Trials are only divided into preliminary and final trials.

More than an hour later, at Li Chenglong's invitation, more than ten leaders, including Zhao Anming, President of the Supreme Court of Shuguang City, Xu Qing, President of the Procuratorate of Shuguang City, Han Guang, Minister of the Security Department of Shuguang City, Ma Tiancheng, Deputy City Lord of Shuguang City, Jin Tai'an, Minister of the Justice Department of Shuguang City, and Zhu Ming, Minister of the Discipline Inspection Department of Shuguang City, arrived at the conference room on the 8th floor of Shuguang Tower.

In addition, relevant leaders from the Dawn Army's Political and Legal Affairs Department, Discipline Inspection Commission, and Military Court also attended the meeting. Zheng Yong, General Political Commissar of the Dawn Army, Feng Tian, ​​Chief of the General Staff, Qi Guoan, Director of the General Political Department, and the commanders and political commissars of the four subordinate armies were also present.

Once everyone was present, Wang Jie and Zhao Liying distributed the thick stack of documents they were carrying to them. Li Chenglong began seriously, "I'm sure many of you know what we're here to discuss today. Over the past six months, with the invasion of the Void Creatures, many comrades from other bases have joined us. And in the last two months, as the Void Creature problem has intensified, issues have arisen in Dawn City, including within the Dawnbreaker Army."

He paused for a moment and continued, “One of the most serious problems is the dramatic increase in illegal and criminal activities. Last year, there were only 10 serious criminal cases in our Shuguang City, but this year there have been more than 120 so far. Last year, there were fewer than 8 people in the Shuguang City government who violated laws and regulations, but this year more than 200 people have been arrested so far.”

Then Li Chenglong picked up another document: "The first document is for the government agencies and ordinary residents of Dawn City, and the second one is for the Dawn Army. Let alone the officers and soldiers who violated discipline, some people are even directly committing crimes. Take a good look, everyone; it's truly shocking. I want to ask you all, if these problems aren't resolved, and if they continue to escalate, what will happen in the end?!"

Li Chenglong gave everyone present 20 minutes to carefully read the two documents in their hands before saying, "Now that you've read these, tell me how to solve this problem."

Jin Tai'an, Minister of Justice of Dawn City, spoke first: "Dawn City was established in mid-2024, and three years have passed since then. After more than ten revisions, both the laws of Dawn City and the laws of the Dawn Army are now almost perfect. With the concerted efforts of everyone, the crime rate has dropped to a very low level in the two years of 2025-2026 and 2026-2027."

He continued, "I feel there are three main reasons for this phenomenon. First, the repeated attacks by the Void Creatures have caused widespread panic, making some people more prone to criminal behavior. Second, the total population of Dawn City has increased; it now exceeds 550,000. With more people, all sorts of people will inevitably appear. Third, government agencies, including some officers of the Dawnbreaker Army, have become complacent and focused on dealing with the Void Creatures."

Han Guang, the Minister of City Security, nodded: "I agree with Minister Jin's words. Moreover, most of the laws in our Dawn City, including the legal provisions in the Dawn Army, are inherited from the laws of our China during peacetime. To be honest, some of the punishments in our China during peacetime seem too lenient in the post-apocalyptic environment. Sometimes, more severe punishments are necessary in the post-apocalyptic world."

Zhu Ming, the head of the Discipline Inspection Department, agreed: "I feel the same way. Look at this case: a section chief in the Security Department, who was in charge of the 7th Residential Area, has repeatedly abused his power for personal gain, engaged in power-for-sex and power-for-money transactions over the past six months. He has kept 15 mistresses and accepted bribes totaling 5 level 10 crystals. The losses he caused were even greater, reaching a total value of 3 level 11 crystals. According to the current laws of Dawn City, we can only sentence such a person to 10 years in prison. But I'll say something that I shouldn't say in my position: he should be sentenced to death."

Ma Tiancheng told Li Chenglong, "I wrote a detailed explanation of this matter. Because of this section chief, we joined forces with several departments and arrested a total of 30 people involved. The number is shocking. Because a senior division chief acted as a protector, they deceived their superiors and abused their power for personal gain. Yun Qian, the Minister of the Logistics Department, has requested disciplinary action for this matter and launched a major investigation within the department. Later, more than 50 more people were discovered. Those who should be arrested were arrested, and those who should be dismissed were dismissed."

At this moment, Supreme Court President Zhao Anming took out another document and said seriously, "Take a look at this case, which was only recently exposed. In the 5th and 6th residential areas of Dawn City, due to the relaxation of management caused by the attacks of void creatures in the past few months, a criminal gang has emerged. They rob, injure, rape, seize, and engage in forced buying and selling; they are almost capable of any evil. However, because this criminal gang has the backing of a Dawn Army regimental commander and a section chief of the City Security Department, several investigations have been thwarted."

Zheng Yong said, "We have already arrested that regimental commander and he will be sent to a military court for a thorough trial and sentencing."

Minister Han Guang of the Urban Security Department also said: "The section chief has been arrested, as well as two branch captains. As for those criminal gangs, we also organized a large-scale crackdown and basically arrested them all. However, because there are too many cases, they are still under further investigation. But we have now made it our top priority. I assure you that within half a month, we will definitely find out the truth. No matter who is involved, we will investigate to the end."

Everyone chimed in, discussing many cases from the two documents, and the discussion didn't end until 11:30 a.m.

Li Chenglong said solemnly, "Fighting corruption and promoting integrity, and eradicating organized crime are things that must be done right now. Don't relax just because the Void Creatures are coming on strong. I remember this is the third time I've emphasized corruption. Although things were better for a while, this trend has reappeared. I have always abhorred organized crime, and they must be severely punished."

He concluded by saying, "Now, as the highest-ranking official of the Dawn City Autonomous Region, the Lord of Dawn City, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Dawn Army, I hereby issue the following instructions: at this stage, all laws of Dawn City shall be applied strictly to the fullest extent of the law. For example, life imprisonment to the death penalty shall be imposed, and any suspended death sentence shall be carried out immediately. I know that my direct intervention in the law is unconstitutional, but this is the only way to proceed under the current circumstances."

Li Chenglong continued, "Secondly, a city lord's office will be established in Dawn City, and a commander-in-chief's office will be established in the Dawn Army. If you encounter any problems that are difficult to solve or have nowhere to turn for help, you can come directly to me, and I, or Yun Lan, Ma Tiancheng, Zheng Yong, or Feng Tianlai, will handle them personally."

"There's a third point: immediately launch a crackdown. Dawn City, led by its General Committee and Discipline Inspection Department, and Dawn Army, led by its Discipline Inspection Committee, will conduct a rigorous investigation within the Dawn City government and Dawn Army. If a problem is discovered, resolve it immediately without delay. Also, the City Security Department will immediately begin a city-wide special campaign to eliminate organized crime. At the same time, a zero-tolerance attitude must be adopted towards prostitution, gambling, and drugs. No matter who it is, if they interfere with your actions, report them to me immediately."

Although Li Chenglong knew that it was not appropriate to conduct such a large-scale internal review under the current circumstances, he believed that a small leak could sink a great ship. It was better to find and resolve these problems now than to have bigger problems later.

In the following two weeks, more than 400 officers and soldiers of the Dawn Army were arrested, the highest-ranking of whom was a deputy division commander of the 2nd Division. After a fair trial, 260 of them were executed on the spot. As for the superhumans who committed crimes, the special forces took action and dealt with them.

In the Shuguang City government, more than 600 officials of various ranks were arrested, of whom 310 were sentenced to death. The number of arrests during the crackdown on organized crime and the anti-gambling and anti-prostitution campaigns reached 2071, with over 400 of them being particularly heinous criminals who, after public trials, were executed.

Dawn City Television broadcast the entire event live, receiving a warm welcome from the people of Dawn City. Even Cecily, Marina, Lena, and others felt that Li Chenglong's actions were truly gratifying. They also gave their full support to the operation, promising not to interfere in any matters involving them, provided the evidence was conclusive.

After learning about this, Commander Chen Guoqiang expressed his high praise and appreciation for Li Chenglong's actions. He also conveyed the situation of the cleanup operation by Dawn City and the Dawn Army to other bases, asking them to learn from it.