Chapter 984
Chapter 984 - 970 Execution
2,065 words
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11 min read
When the first ray of dawn’s light spilled across the square, the "old man" hanging from the cross was utterly unaware.
It took more than half an hour later, as more and more spectators entered, and the noise grew increasingly loud, for him to finally lift his head....
"So... hot..."
The sunlight shone right into his crystallized pupils, causing an unbearable stabbing pain that seared into his brain.
The growing "noise" around his ears, which in the past would have provoked his proud and highly sensitive nature into murderous rage at the slightest whisper, now failed to capture his attention at all.
He was still alive, but he might as well have been a dried-up corpse strung up for display.
His will was still living in yesterday, in the moment when that person had come to see him alone....
"Yo, isn’t this Rule-level comrade Zhao Yan? How come you’re in such a sorry state after just a few days."
A familiar and friendly figure, coupled with another familiar voice and tone, combined at that moment, set Zhao Yan’s desiccated heart pounding fiercely once again.
His head shot up, his face full of incredulity.
As the words of his homeland and the countenance of someone from the Exotic Realm merged together, he seemed to slip into a dream of returning to his old world, and in that moment, he understood everything.
"So... it turns out..."
In front of him, the merchant who, up to this point, had yet to show direct hostility, smiled as he conjured a wooden chair and simply sat down.
He still had that cocky yet friendly smile, only, in the midst of this process, feathers shrank and disappeared, while his stature grew larger and taller.
Seconds later, when all changes ceased, seated on the chair was a young man with his legs crossed in a carefree manner.
An ordinary young man, the type who possibly hadn’t graduated from college yet.
Remembering something, the young man casually tossed something into the air.
A coat of a familiar style landed on the young man’s body, representing the expectations he once had, the nightmares of the past, and the eternal reaper of the future...
"Special Service..."
His voice was hoarse, hesitant, uneasy, yet with a tinge of expectation and relief.
"Not bad, at least that Dao Zhong guy wasn’t as composed as you."
"Dao Zhong?" Zhao Yan lifted his head, his double-visioned eyes straining to lock onto the figure before him, the face of the boy-next-door seeming like it belonged to a different lifetime.
"That’s right, and Liu Ku and the others, heh, they died so disgracefully. Crying like whiny brats."
The young man laughed maliciously, yet the emblem of the Lantern Bearer on the shoulder of the coat he wore became even more glaring at this moment.
This wasn’t a good cop—morally speaking, he was definitely not up to standard—his methods and actions violated countless laws... if this were back on Earth.
This was a good cop, because he indeed completed his job, "arresting" the fugitive drenched in blood debts who had escaped beyond the reach of law enforcement.
"... I... surrendered myself... no, I’ve already been captured, according to the law, I should be taken back for trial....."
At this time, Lu Ping’an laughed even more heartily, his laughter nearing tears.
"Why do you all have this attitude? You’re even worse than those whiny brats."
Lu Ping’an fiddled with the gold coin in his hand, having realized that as a Strongman, the Blood Feast had a clear flaw at the level of will.
Viewing other lives as mere bread and themselves as a superior species, they generally lacked empathy for the life and death of other humans... well, if they had empathy, they wouldn’t have the heart to bite.
As vampires of the Blood Feast, they probably no longer believed they could die. This disregard for the lives and deaths of others while only believing in their own immortality formed the core of their value system.
Selfish, indifferent, unafraid of others’ life or death, yet never anticipating that their doomsday was approaching... when Doomsday and judgment truly arrived, they seemed all too...
"... disgraceful, truly disgraceful. Is this what a Rule-level of the Life system has come to? Murder, devouring, you should have been prepared for your turn to come..."
Even the Big Cat couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
Yet in the face of Zhao Yan’s request to be "sent back for trial," Lu Ping’an laughed and responded.
"Request denied, the journey is too long, and the cost of escorting you too high... Do you really think I’m an idiot to give you time to recover?"
The long trip brimmed with uncertainties, and Lu Ping’an had no intention of finding out what sorts of trouble a Rule-level could cause or what kind of tricks he might pull.
Looking at the Rule-level hanging in mid-air, with only half a body left, impaled by his own Demon Sword, Lu Ping’an nodded in satisfaction.
"I... I still have uses... my wealth, my power, don’t you want them...."
The young man of the past, now the withered "old man," desperately pleaded for a chance to live.
But this time, Lu Ping’an didn’t even bother to ask whether he was "worthy" or not.
𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
With a snap of his fingers, a space door opened.
The female of the Feather Tribe dressed in uniform stepped out... The next moment, she transformed from the familiar security captain that Zhao Yan knew into a captain of the Special Service Team.
"So it turns out that we’ve been dancing in your palm all along... No, you probably couldn’t have predicted my arrival, did I stupidly jump into the trap set up for Dao Zhong and the others?!"
Regret, anger, fear, resentment... but the target of his terrifying anger, that "Resentful-spirit," was whispering in his ear, its malicious laughter growing louder and more harrowing.
"It’s you... it’s you... it’s you..." The ghost’s screams, from the moment he was pierced until now, Zhao Yan was barely able to endure before, but now...
"Enough, enough! Enough! Enough!" Hysterical screams echoed in the cell, as more and more aggrieved spirits entangled him.
And the calm Judge, not only did she laugh even more joyously, she cheerfully pointed out the truth.
"Not just that, you yourself are part of the trap. I also thank you for dragging Sun Yi into this... Hehe, without your effort, how could I, a mere fourth-tier Weakling, possibly kill that renowned seventh-tier Big Boss?"
As he spoke, Lu Ping’an clapped his hands in gratitude for the other’s sacrifice.
"...you... are you here to humiliate me?!"
"No, I’m not that free. As a pitiful ground-level law-enforcer, I’m just being forced by my superior to work overtime... cough, Xia Qin, don’t hit me."
Lu Ping’an, bullied with an elbow jab by his "boss," reluctantly gave up his position to let Captain Xia begin her work.
"Limited by human resources, it’s impossible to take you back for trial, but according to ’Special Service Public Security Regulation Article 17’, in special cases, based on available resources, a provisional simple court can be formed... I, Xia Qin, the Captain of Special Service Team Three in the Ancient city’s Zion District, will serve as the Chief Judge."
"I, also a member of Special Service Team Three, Lu Ping’an, as a Judge."
"Cat... Meow, I, team member Lei Shuiyun Meow, am also a Judge."
Even this bouncy little kitten was coming out to judge him, at this moment, Zhao Yan felt not just the absurdity, but also ridicule and humiliation.
"...On the 7th day, the defendant was directly related to the Blood Sacrifice incident involving the lives of 370,000 people in Xiachuan City, facing over two thousand criminal charges, which involve... the main ones include..."
Trial? Collecting evidence? Merely reading out the deeds of these criminals from the warrant was enough to break the limits of all penalties.
"The provisional court hereby declares... death-penalty," Xia Qin calmly stated her judgment, completing her written and video records.
"Death-penalty, Meow." And Meow Meow, also smiling cheerfully as she pronounced the sentence, was growing more and more fond of witnessing the end of life... and the struggle at death’s doorstep!
"Death-penalty..." Lu Ping’an yawned, he’d been overworking lately and felt a bit like catching up on sleep.
The plain speech concluded the simple proceedings, and Zhao Yan went from a "suspected defendant" to a "convicted death-row inmate beyond redemption."
But to simply end him with one clean stroke now would hardly do justice to the hundreds of thousands of wronged souls...
"...However, as law enforcers, we need to follow the local laws and regulations, so, in accordance with the principle of territoriality, you need to first undergo the judgment and punishment of the locals..."
From the hollow Great Gate, emerged the figures of Damu and others.
They were survivors of the Refugee Camp, the lucky ones after Zhao Yan’s massacre, and they were his mortal enemies...
"To punish the wicked is to pay tribute to the victims, and to deter potential other criminals... Hehe, I asked, and their ’law’ is rather primitive, and quite stimulating..."
In the bag that had fallen to the ground were pliers, needles, racks, and so forth...
Lu Ping’an casually picked up a syringe and administered a dose of blood-coagulating toxin to the other. It would limit his regeneration abilities somewhat, making this night all the more exciting, all the more enduring...
"Alright, ladies, go back now. Now, it’s time for the pleasant yet not child-friendly second half..."
As he kicked away the Cat screaming "I want to watch Meow, I’m an adult now Meow!", Lu Ping’an sat on his stool, flipping through a book, cheerfully enjoying the long, bloody night.
With him there, no matter what happened, no matter how many times he died or came back to life, the next day on the execution grounds of the Feather Tribe, a living death-row inmate could still be harvested...
"Come on, try hard, survive. Tomorrow, you still have to face the welcome of ordinary citizens throwing rotten eggs at you, hehe. My ’Offensive Stench Projectile Kit’ is selling quite well here, thanks to your contribution..."
The death-row inmate, whose tongue had been clipped off, didn’t even have the energy to scream, and this long night would bring him endless "fresh flavors."
Lu Ping’an was a law enforcer, of course, so he did not take justice into his own hands, but the Exotic Races... Hehe.
"Hehe, enjoy it, each of them has a blood feud with you, each of them has a notorious reputation on the road, and each has their own unique skills. Enjoy it, Mr. Big Villain..."
The next day, the one hung on the consoling crucifix (as per Mr. An Nan’s request) was but a desiccated corpse yearning for a swift death.
When the morning sunlight sprinkled down, when the time for execution arrived, this "monster," who had taken at least a hundred thousand lives, actually showed a smile longing for release.
"...Speaking of which, have you seen this Demon Sword? Do you hear the familiar screams inside? In a way, I’m on the same path with you. For us, death might not be a release, but rather the beginning of a long journey..."
At this moment, the voice of the young man suddenly rang in his ears.
Death is not the end? The torment will continue? Zhao Yan violently awoke, frantically pulling at the chains binding him, witnessing the descent of the Judgment Light in utter despair.
"Release? Peaceful death? Do you even deserve it?"
Lu Ping’an calmly flipped through his book while toying with a gold coin that shone with intense rainbow light in his hand.
Lu Ping’an possessed no power to enslave souls after death, but although the claim that Zhao Yan would die without peace was outrageous, it wasn’t entirely a lie.
[Zhao Yan’s Third Gold Coin (Lower Gold Rank Cursed Object), Quality: Intact (200%)]
[Note: It contains a sinful and sorrowful soul... The Bank is willing to acquire it for 3,000 points!]
— End of Chapter 984 —