Chapter 115: The One Who Bears the Firewood for the People

Three days later.The morning mist had not yet dispersed.

The execution ground was filled with the damp scent of earth.

Su Zhan, Wang Mingyuan, and Qin Bai were present to witness the proceedings.

Su Zhan had been here once before.

The last time he came here was when Doberman was beheaded.

Soon.

The first batch was brought forward.

These were the people who had previously wept bitterly in court, kneeling and begging for mercy.

They seemed to have had their backbones removed, their legs long lost the strength to support their bodies, completely relying on the execution ground personnel dragging them forward from both sides.

Chen Zhi wore prison uniform.

His eyeballs bulged, his lips trembled constantly, yet he couldn't even form a complete sentence.

The execution personnel lifted him up.

His body instantly went limp, knees knocking against the ground.

"Stand up!"

The execution personnel shouted sharply, yanking his hair to force his head up.

There was no such thing as being too rough with these death row inmates.

Especially not with human traitors who colluded with aberrant creatures.

If Daxia hadn't long abolished executions like dismemberment by five horses, even death by a thousand cuts wouldn't feel excessive to these enforcement officers.

Chen Zhi's gaze was unfocused, drool hung from the corner of his mouth, and a dark liquid seeped through his crotch area.

Dragged beneath the guillotine.

He let out a heart-rending, lung-tearing wail.

The sound didn't seem human, more like some kind of slaughtered livestock.

"Crash!"

The guillotine fell, blood splattering everywhere.

Next was Xu Ming.

This former deputy editor of the newspaper now resembled a ragged doll, completely at the mercy of the execution personnel.

His face pressed against the cold ground, snot and tears smeared across his features.

He mechanically repeated: "I don't want to die... I don't want to die..."

When pressed under the guillotine.

He suddenly convulsed violently, the desire to survive making him struggle desperately.

Yet the execution personnel still pinned him firmly on the execution platform.

"Crash!"

The guillotine fell, separating head from body.

One after another.

These figures who once wielded immense influence in business and political circles now cried like children.

Completely devoid of their former superior demeanor.

Some lost control of their bodily functions, some fainted, some frantically bit their own wrists attempting suicide.

But without exception.

All were dragged beneath that cold, gleaming guillotine.

When the guillotine rose, the steel cables made metallic clanging sounds.

When it fell, there was only a loud crash and a brief "crack."

Then the dull thud of rolling heads.

And the sizzling sound of spurting blood on the sandy ground.

The execution ground staff were long accustomed to such scenes.

They worked like moving cargo.

Dragging away the headless corpses, bringing up the next batch of prisoners.

Blood seeped into the yellow earth, quickly covered by new sand, leaving only dark stains behind.

Su Zhan watched all this indifferently, his heart completely unmoved.

He watched those headless corpses.

Waiting for one person.

And the sizzling sound of spurting blood splattering on the sandy ground.

This man had long occupied high positions, even when sentenced to death, he maintained his former dignity.

The execution ground staff were already accustomed to such scenes.

He wondered if Zhou Yueshan would be like these people when he reached the execution ground, whether he could maintain his final dignity until death.

More importantly, Zhou Yueshan was different from the others - he believed he had done nothing wrong, had his own unique theory, believing that being sentenced to death now was merely the victor becoming king and the loser branded a bandit.

This kind of person... couldn't be persuaded.

But... at this moment, Zhou Yueshan's best partner, Du Shanhe, couldn't save him either.

Su Zhan watched all this indifferently, his heart completely unmoved.

Was Zhou Yueshan.

He walked with steady steps toward the execution platform.

The execution personnel moved forward to support him.

But he raised his hand to stop them: "Unnecessary."

Zhou Yueshan's gaze swept across the observation seats, lingering on Qin Bai's face for a moment, as if examining the "prime culprit" who had captured him.

He walked before the guillotine, calmly straightened his collar, then turned to face the crowd: "What I said three days ago, I presume everyone still remembers it vividly, but I'd like to add a few more words."

The execution personnel didn't stop him.

Daxia was quite humane - death row inmates like him were given time for final words.

But not too long - within 10 minutes was acceptable.

"Do you know how many new parks Jiang City has built in the past six months?"

Zhou Yueshan extended three fingers: "Three, while in the previous five years, not a single one was built, because land was finally freed up."

Qin Bai coldly interrupted: "Parks exchanged for nearly a hundred thousand lives?"

Zhou Yueshan chuckled lightly: "Commander Qin, you might not know this, but beneath the greenery outside Jiang City's Aberrant Purge Division window lie bones from the slums twenty years ago. Every inch of glamorous land in this city is soaked in blood."

He turned to the recorder: "Please be sure to write this down."

Qin Bai said coldly: "So you think you're a hero?"

"No no no, I'm just a clear-eyed businessman."

Zhou Yueshan shook his head: "Everyone present here! The houses you live in, the roads you walk on, the public services you enjoy - which of them isn't built upon the sacrifices of others?"

The observation seats stirred with unrest.

"Take the simplest example—"

Zhou Yueshan pointed to the distant high-rises: "In the past six months, Jiang City's per capita living space has increased by 0.8 square meters. What does this mean? It means enough burdens have been cleared away."

Wang Mingyuan frowned: "You call this clearing burdens? You're beyond redemption."

"Otherwise?"

Zhou Yueshan retorted: "Does Teacher Wang prefer the old times? When eighty people crowded into one classroom, five households shared one toilet?"

"What you describe were scenes from hundreds of years ago in Daxia."

Wang Mingyuan retorted: "Your example is quite inappropriate."

"The principle remains the same."

Zhou Yueshan declared loudly: "'Those who gather firewood for the masses should not be allowed to freeze to death in wind and snow' - such noble words, yet unfortunately, reality shows that firewood gatherers are always the first to be burned."

The executioner had taken position.

But Zhou Yueshan continued: "I stand here today not because I did wrong, but because—I wasn't thorough enough."

He turned elegantly, actively placing his neck in the guillotine groove, finally saying to Su Zhan:

"Young man, remember today's sun. When you graduate from Vermilion Bird Academy, look at Jiang City then, and reconsider my words."

The guillotine fell.

Qin Bai said with a cold laugh: "So you think you're a hero?"

Su Zhan was stunned.

Why talk to me?

Do I know you?

"Su Zhan."

Wang Mingyuan placed a hand on his shoulder: "Don't be swayed by his distorted logic."

Su Zhan turned to his teacher: "Huh? Oh... I won't be."

"Zhou Yueshan was most skilled at this tactic."

Qin Bai said coldly nearby: "Even in death he plants thorns in people's hearts. No wonder he could collaborate with Du Shanhe, and as equals at that."

"His data was all cherry-picked."

Wang Mingyuan's grip tightened: "What decreased unemployment, falling housing prices... were bought with a hundred thousand lives! How is this kind of development different from aberrant creatures eating people?"

"Teacher, I understand."

Su Zhan nodded, kicking at the sand beneath his feet with a disgusted expression: "He was just a madman."

Right now he needed to maintain his loyal appearance.

This point needed no further discussion.