107: Chapter 107 The Last Brick

The New City's wall was a bit shorter than Flower City's, but it made up for it in thickness. Every block of stone was polished neatly and evenly, and the seams were filled with Spirit Mud.

He reached out and touched the wall—the coarse texture of the stone was slightly warm from being baked by the sun.

These stones were all carried up by people on their backs.

Tens of thousands of people had been carrying them for seven whole days.

Quite a few people were already standing on the city gate tower.

Wan'er, Lei Lie, Strategist Zhu Ge, Minister Wang Fugui, and Nuan Nuan—the core team was all there.

Wan'er held a booklet in her hand, likely the inspection records.

Lei Lie stood straight to the side, his gaze scanning every part of the city wall as if checking the defenses.

Strategist Zhu Ge was pushed in his wheelchair to the edge of the battlements, looking down at the crowd below, deep in thought.

Minister Wang Fugui, on the other hand, had a joyous expression and stood in the most conspicuous spot. Seeing Zhou Yun come up, he hurried forward two steps to greet him.

"City Lord! Today is truly a good day!"

Zhou Yun smiled. His gaze passed over the others and landed on the very center of the city gate tower—a small section there was empty. The surrounding bricks had all been laid, leaving only a perfectly square gap.

On the ground next to the gap lay a blue brick.

Tie Shan ran up in a few quick strides, bent down to pick up the brick, and presented it to Zhou Yun with both hands.

He took a deep breath, as if he had saved up all the words he had prepared all morning for this very moment.

"City Lord!" His voice was loud, loud enough for the people below the city wall to hear. "This is the last brick of the New City. Please…"

He got stuck.

"Please… uh…" Tie Shan frowned and tried hard to remember. He had clearly memorized that word several times last night. "That, what was that word again…"

Minister Wang Fugui's voice came from the side, kept very low but impossible to hide: "Lay the foundation stone."

"Right!" Tie Shan's eyes lit up, and he raised his voice. "City Lord, please—lay the foundation stone!"

As soon as the words "lay the foundation stone" were spoken, the crowd below the city wall ignited, shouting in unison:

"City Lord, please lay the foundation stone—!"

Waves of sound surged one after another, from the city gate to the base of the wall, and from the base of the wall to the distance.

Some voices were loud and clear, some were hoarse, and some carried a hint of sobbing, but all the sounds merged together like a giant drum being struck all at once.

Zhou Yun stood on the city gate tower, looking at the upturned faces below.

He could clearly see those nearby, while those in the distance were just silhouettes, but the expression on every face was the same—eyes shining, corners of mouths turned up. Some people's eyes were already red, but their smiles were all the wider.

How many of these people had escaped from other cities ten days ago?

He did not know.

But he knew what those people had been through.

Ten days ago, some of them were still wearing metal collars, the red lights on their necks having just lit up, waiting to be driven out of the city gates to starve to death in the wilderness or be torn apart by a Demonic Beast.

Some had fled with their families for who knows how many days, their dry rations long finished, relying on gnawing on tree bark and grass roots to make it to the gates of Flower City.

Some had fallen ill—in this world, a sick ordinary person was equivalent to waste, equivalent to being dead.

But what about now?

They stood under the wall of a new city, eating Silver Rank spirit rice, wearing clean clothes, having strength in their bodies, and light in their eyes.

Every stone of this city was carried up by them, every foundation was tamped down by them, and every wall was built by them.

This was not something given to them by others as charity.

This belonged to them.

"City Lord, please lay the foundation stone—!"

The shouting rose again, louder than before.

Tie Shan stood before him holding the blue brick, his hands trembling slightly, his lips pressed tightly together.

Zhou Yun glanced at him, then looked at the faces below the city wall. Then he reached out both hands and took the blue brick.

The blue brick was not large, about half an arm's length, easily supported by one hand of an adult man.

But Zhou Yun held it with both hands, as if holding something very heavy.

He held the brick, faced the city below, pondered for a moment, and then bowed deeply.

When he bent down, the surrounding noise suddenly went quiet.

Everyone held their breath.

Zhou Yun straightened up, and the wind on the city gate tower blew his clothes.

His voice was not loud, but in such silence, every word was heard clearly.

"I have truly and deeply felt everyone's intentions."

He paused and smiled.

"But this last step does not have to be done by me."

...

There was a slight commotion in the crowd.

Tie Shan was stunned.

Wan'er looked up, and Strategist Zhu Ge's fingers paused on the armrest of his wheelchair.

Zhou Yun held the brick, turned around, and walked along the city gate tower toward the east side.

There stood a group of ordinary citizens, mostly elderly, occupying an out-of-the-way corner on the city wall.

They were neither craftsmen nor Professionals. During the days of building the city, they had done the simplest of jobs—carrying rubble, mixing Spirit Mud, and passing tools.

They stood very far from Zhou Yun and did not shout, just watched quietly.

Zhou Yun stopped in front of an old man.

It was a thin, small old man with gray hair, a slightly hunched back, and wearing a faded, coarse cloth jacket.

He stood at the edge of the crowd with no one around him. Seeing Zhou Yun walking toward him, he first looked around in confusion, thinking he was looking for the person next to him.

"Old Man Gen."

Zhou Yun called his name.

The old man was completely stunned.

"City… City Lord?"

"This last brick," Zhou Yun handed the blue brick to him, "I would like to ask you to place it."

Old Man Gen's first reaction was to take half a step back.

He waved his hands repeatedly, his expression changing from confusion to panic. His lips moved several times before he found his voice: "No, no… City Lord, this will not do."

"I am just an ordinary old man," he waved his hands in front of him, as if pushing away something he dared not accept. "If we talk about cultivation, I am old and still an ordinary person, not even Black Iron Rank. If we talk about contribution, I just carried stones and passed tools on the construction site, doing the most inconspicuous work. If we talk about age…" He glanced behind him, "Old Man Liu is three years older than me."

The more he spoke, the more constrained he became, his voice getting quieter and quieter, until finally he was almost muttering to himself: "Who am I to deserve this… This is not appropriate, really not appropriate…"

Zhou Yun did not rush to speak.

He just stood there in front of the old man, waiting.

Waiting until Old Man Gen had finished all his excuses, waiting until he lowered his head and dared not look at him, Zhou Yun finally spoke.

"Old Man Gen, every brick and tile of this city was laid by everyone together. It is poured with the sweat of everyone in Flower City—those who carried stones, mixed mud, passed tools, cooked, and delivered water—every single person. Anyone who has contributed to Flower City has enough reason to place this last brick."

His tone was very light, as if speaking to his own elder.

"And…" Zhou Yun smiled, "It is precisely because you do not stand out in any way that you can better represent everyone. Isn't that right?"