I was acting crazy in North America, and all the crazy people there took it seriously.

Chapter 160 A Righteous Hero Fears No Death... Holy crap, Death! (Bonus Chapter 426, Requesting Monthly Tickets!)
Ranking? Pushing someone up the hero rankings?
This isn't the first time The Sun has encountered such a request.

And the initial answers were all—

"No, absolutely not! Our lists in The Sun, whether they're the list of heroes or the list of outstanding individuals, are based on fairness and objectivity. They are selections made based on facts and professional judgment, and we will not tolerate any form of taint!"

Logan didn't even need to do anything; Richard was already shaking his head like a rattle.

But Wade Berrick, who is taking a long-term approach, came prepared this time, saying he was willing to pay a high price to boost his ranking!

High price? How high?

Well, on the other hand, the list is ultimately meant to serve people, and if there are any performances that can be considered heroic, we can certainly take them into consideration.

That's right! We all have the same support system, so we should help each other out!

Wade Berwick immediately put forward his choice of "hero," a judge in Mississippi.

This guy set an amazing record: in just 100 minutes, he announced 100 verdicts, declaring all the accused suspects as "illegal immigrants" without exception. His efficiency was astonishing.

However, even when he brought up Logan, the latter still disagreed.

Putting someone like this on the leaderboard will only make the list a laughing stock.

The list of heroes should at least include true heroes who can convince the public!

Wade Berwick left in a huff.

The Sun, however, has sparked a debate: In this frenzied wave of "illegal immigrant verdicts," is there really not a single person who can be called a "hero"?
This discussion really got the editorial team thinking.

Do you know what The Sun is best at?
Fanning the flames, distorting the facts, and turning black into white... Ugh!
Their specialty is finding gold in shit!
The more demonic and monstrous the place, the more we must find a glimmer of light within it.

Thanks to everyone's concerted efforts in digging, they actually discovered a figure who was recognized as a hero by the editors.

But Wade Berwick is absolutely unwilling to support him on the charts; he would agree to pay money to get him removed from the charts, though.

roll!
You don't need to vote for him; The Sun will push him onto the list itself.

So, while other media outlets were still arguing about whether the arrested European serial killers should be tried in the United States or extradited back to Europe, The Sun launched a new edition of its list of heroes.

Light of Order

Brief Introduction: He was neither a Supreme Court Justice nor a nationally renowned legal scholar; he was simply an ordinary county sheriff's judge. Amidst the wave of trials for "illegal immigrants" sweeping the South, he withstood the pressure and, with wisdom and conscience, upheld the most fundamental dignity of the law.

Recent achievements: Withstanding immense pressure, efficiently handling hundreds of backlogged cases in a single day, yet refusing to follow the trend of "presumption of guilt," he pioneered the use of "plea bargaining," saving most people from imprisonment and upholding the dignity and compassion that the law should possess.

Hero's Declaration: "The law is designed to prevent the powerful from abusing their power and doing whatever they want!"

Commentary: "When the floodwaters overflowed the levees, some went with the flow, while others built sandbags. Judge Julian may not have stopped all the floodwaters, but he did his utmost to protect the peace behind the levees. This perseverance and innovation under extreme pressure is the beacon of hope for the restoration of order."

In the subsequent article, The Sun used a plain yet detailed style to tell the story of Judge Julian's choices in the face of a mountain of backlogged cases and the pressure of implicit case-handling targets from his superiors.

For undocumented immigrants with conclusive evidence, he ruled in accordance with the law to transfer them to the immigration authorities.

But for those whose charges are vague, whose evidence is insufficient, or who are arrested simply because of their skin color or poverty, he introduced the "plea bargaining" model.

He announced that the case would be closed if the defendant admitted to a minor charge (such as "misconduct" or "failure to produce identification in a timely manner") and paid a relatively small fine, thus avoiding imprisonment.

In this way, he also efficiently handled more than 100 cases in a single day, but only a very small number of people were sent to prison!
The article praised this move as "a landmark leap in the history of American criminal law!" and lauded Judge Julian as "the conscience of a society governed by the rule of law!"
The article concludes cryptically: "Several Southern states are now in a fragile peace built of sandbags, and no one knows which sandbag will collapse and the peace will be lost forever! We believe that more people like Judge Julian are needed to build sandbags so that peace can last!"

However, this edition of the hero list immediately sparked huge controversy upon its release! Many readers, especially those whose xenophobic sentiments had been incited by the media, had reservations after seeing the report:
"This is what you call a hero? Isn't this just a disguised 'indulgence'? It's just given a nicer name, 'plea bargaining'!"

"The price of crime is just a fine? What deterrent effect does the law have then? This is condoning crime!"

"Did The Sun take bribes to glorify this kind of meddlesome judge as a hero?"

However, within the judiciary, especially among legal professionals who are aware of the actual situation in the South but are unable to speak out due to pressure or their stance, the reaction is quite different.

They unusually expressed strong approval for The Sun, a newspaper they had always disliked for its penchant for sensationalism and tolerance of criminal activity.

"In that environment, Judge Julian's actions were absolutely the conscience of the judiciary!"

Furthermore, some senior legal scholars have pointed out that although Judge Julian's practice was crude, it did, to some extent, open a new door for the stalled American criminal law system.

The prosecution can avoid the time and money costs of investigation, evidence collection, and trial preparation, while the defendant can receive favorable treatment, achieving the best overall result.

And what was The Sun doing at that time?

Instead of addressing the controversy, they were concerned about Judge Julian.

In the previous two hero lists, regardless of whether they were "black agents" or "black police officers," they all "accidentally" died shortly after being listed.

Once might be a coincidence, but twice is bound to make people uneasy.

The editors were so frightened that they delayed releasing a new edition of the Heroes Ranking.

This time, everyone strictly followed Logan's "summary" and deliberately avoided all words related to the underworld, such as "alive," "dead," "tombstone," and "sacrifice," when choosing their hero declarations.

On the first day of the list, there was controversy. The newspaper contacted Judge Julian and advised him to be careful, minimize going out in the near future, and be wary of any suspicious persons.

However, Judge Julian himself seemed unconcerned, even laughing heartily on the phone, "Believe in science, not superstition! I'm a man of integrity, even if death really exists..."

Logan, on the other end of the phone, felt a chill run down his spine and quickly interrupted him.

Dude, you can't just make promises like that! Anyone who makes such a promise in a TV series usually doesn't survive past the second episode!
The first day was uneventful.

The next day, Logan contacted the judge again to confirm that he was still alive and well.

The tension among the group eased considerably.

The third day was equally uneventful, and the judge experienced no unexpected events.

At this point, a sense of relief finally filled the editorial department of The Sun.

"See? I told you! It was all a coincidence before! Our Hero Ranking is definitely not the Death Ranking!"

Logan, hands on his hips, said, "We can also increase our publicity for our heroic judge on Voice of Freedom; we're getting a lot of flak right now!"

That night, Voice of Freedom began promoting the Heroes' List, stating, "Many people actually don't know the specific situation in the South..."

An urgent call rang the radio station's news line. It was The Sun's local informant: "Fuck! Fuck! Judge Julian has been assassinated! Right outside his house! Shot three times! His life hangs in the balance!"

The staff at The Sun, who subsequently received the news, were completely stunned!
They all had only one thought in their minds: Damn it, Death!
……

(End of this chapter)