Chapter 24: A Gentle Reprimand

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Most of the villagers were reeds bending with the wind. When the situation turned against them, they surrendered readily. The advantage was that the village suffered few casualties; the disadvantage was that... they were reeds bending with the wind.

Welin brought the first people to surrender before me. How should I punish them? They had suffered because they were loyal to me, because I had failed to prevent Zuo Ti from betraying us. I should bear most of the responsibility. Yet without punishment, when they faced the enemy again, they would still open the gates.

I walked toward the kneeling figures while Welin continued to denounce them loudly. Some were members of the youth army under Welin, and among them were friends who had once attended a feast with me. Others were complete strangers.

I ordered Welin to stop his accusations, then looked down at this group of accused sinners and said softly, “It is all my fault. It is my sin. I failed to protect you, my loyal friends, my worthy people. I believe that even I, when faced with life or death, might not be able to remain unswervingly loyal.”

They raised their heads, their tear-filled eyes brimming with hope.

I shouted, “But you betrayed more than just me! Welin, Manxun, Todd... Look at these countrymen of ours, covered in wounds and tormented beyond endurance. Do you not think their suffering was caused by you? Faced with the strength of their convictions, are you not ashamed?”

In truth, whether or not they had surrendered, my fanatical believers—Welin and the others—would have suffered all the same. The words held no logic whatsoever, but a theocratic rule has no need for logic. Who says that those who take their own lives must surely go to hell? Who says that a city of decadence must inevitably be destroyed?

Mere benevolence could not control the human heart. Sin demanded severe punishment, and fear was more useful to my rule than affection.

I said to a weeping middle-aged man, “Tell me, do you repent?” He was said to have been the first to kneel and beg for mercy before those yolk merchants.

He lowered his head and said miserably, “Yes, I repent. I am filled with remorse...”

I summoned Sokan. Sokan bound him with worms and vanished cheerfully, while the man’s screams seemed to linger in the room.

I said, “Under the demons’ hands, he will suffer endless and agonizing torture! He will experience the tearing pain of childbirth countless times. He will watch one sinful little demon after another emerge from his own body. He will wish he had never surrendered. He will wish he could die sooner!”

My description left them uneasy. They were drenched in sweat, their eyes darting away as they hoped to avoid my wrath.

I pointed at one of the sinners. He was a friend of Welin.

“You were once my most steadfast believer and my strongest supporter,” I said. “Therefore, your betrayal wounds me most deeply.”

He shouted, “I will never do it again! I swear!”

I slowly cut off his two ring fingers. At first he screamed, but then, all at once, he clenched his teeth and endured the pain with every ounce of his strength.

I said, “Swan尼斯, live on, and become a warrior of whom I can once again be proud.”

He sobbed, “Yes, my lord. I will follow you forever.”

I kissed his forehead, then had him stand beside Welin while Welin and the others staunched his bleeding.

With my own hands, I severed the ring finger of every remaining sinner. Only then did I release them and allow them to receive treatment.

I said, “My punishment does not end here. It is merely suspended for the time being. I will remain here for some time and observe whether you truly repent and atone for your sins. If I discover that you are still wavering, I will send you before Sokan. Is that clear?”

They shouted “Understood!” at the tops of their voices, screaming until they were hoarse. I made them repeat it again and again, until the blood rushed to their heads and their faces turned crimson.

Then I asked, “Who among you knows bookkeeping? Who knows how to conduct trade?”

Welin pointed at himself. “I do. Mother taught me.”

I said, “I will establish a new system. From this day forward, you must exchange your labor for the currency of the Black Coffin, and then use that currency to obtain daily necessities. But today, I will show exceptional mercy: everyone may receive three gold coins. After that, I will establish a quartermaster’s office, with Welin in charge of the accounts. You may use gold coins to purchase goods there, or sell your own possessions in exchange for gold coins.”

They erupted in deafening cheers. They may not have been sincere, but perhaps, once they grew accustomed to it, they would come to believe in and defend this conviction of their own accord.

Among the mounted rangers who had come with our group, several were skilled in such matters. Before long, they had established an understanding with Welin and the others and thrown themselves into the bustle of work.

I returned to Lamia’s side. She smiled and said, “You certainly cut an impressive figure. You hardly seem like a novice at this.”

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I replied, “This village belongs to me. This city will one day become incomparably magnificent. Do you believe me, my darling?”

Lamia said, “I believe you, though not with the same fervor as they do.”

“I do not want you to be as fervent as they are,” I said. “Fervor leads to blindness.”

Lamia took my hand. I could feel her pulse, her feelings, her love for me—more sincere and profound than fanaticism.

Soles and Zhanlisis approached. Soles said, “Longinus, the remaining enemies in the heavy-industrial plant have been eliminated.”

I asked, “What? There were still enemies left?”

“Yes,” Soles replied. “Perhaps they were sent by Zuo Ti. They intended to lie in ambush and attack us from the shadows, but Sokan warned us. Once we knew their positions, defeating them was not difficult.”

I secretly thanked my lucky stars. If I had taken a bullet to the back of the head without warning, even the Blood of Vasilisa might not have saved me.

I went alone to the core of the reactor. Faga said, “You may activate the reactor at any time. Once it is running, your LAST robots are located below.”

I asked nervously, “Will this reactor give off radiation? Lamia and I haven’t had children yet. Could it affect them?”

“This facility is very safe,” Faga said. “Countless employees once worked here, and no significant abnormalities were ever reported.”

“But that was a hundred years ago,” I replied. “This facility has gone unmaintained for a century. What if our future child grows a pig’s tail?”

“You and she are both Nephalem,” Faga said. “If you can have a child at all, there is a very high probability that it will not be an ordinary human. A pig’s tail would hardly count as a major accident.”

“Easy for you to say. What if he is the Devil King reborn, or Satan himself come into the world?”

“Then I would genuinely like to see it. Enough nonsense. Are you activating it or not?”

“If something really does go wrong, you’ll have to compensate me with one or two hundred million.”

“I’ll compensate you with two hundred million bullets.”

I gave a dry laugh while breaking out in a cold sweat, secretly alarmed by the new deadpan-humor program Faga had developed. What if she was not joking? How could that be? She was like my adorable daughter...

A sound rang out as though it had crossed the span of time. The engine started, and a sacred, powerful radiance flooded the entire facility like the opening of heaven’s gates. For an instant, I could scarcely keep my eyes open, but moments later, the light softened.

“As expected,” Faga said. “It is connected to the Black Coffin’s network.”

Following Saint Longinus’s method, I tested the voiceprint. The sealed door opened, and the path leading to the LAST robots lay unobstructed before me.

My army. My loyal servants. My wealth. My authority. My bargaining chips. My trump card. My power. The modifier with which I would reshape the apocalypse. The system loophole left to me by my former life. All of these belonged to me—belonged to me alone. With them, I would possess the confidence to bargain with the elders of the Black Coffin.

From this day forward, I, Longinus, would finally stand tall. I would never again bow to anyone! I would become a lord of the realm, a hegemon! Countless humans would follow my footsteps toward a future as bright as the sun...

No... perhaps merely a future neither bright nor dark!

Typhon said behind me, “I never imagined there could be a place like this.”

Chris said, “Indeed. It is truly remarkable. Mr. Longinus, you certainly have been hiding quite a lot from us.”

It was already dark. It was time for them to wake up. How had I failed to anticipate this? When had they begun following me?

Before I had even turned to face them, I felt a heavy pressure that made it difficult to breathe.

Typhon asked, “Longinus, do you have anything to explain?”

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I turned around calmly, composed and unruffled. My bearing was impeccable, my manner neither servile nor overbearing. Any diplomat in history who witnessed my conduct at that moment would surely have been overwhelmed by it.

Chris was clearly stunned by my presence. She asked, “You don’t need to kneel. Stand up and speak.”

“Your Graces, the information came from Faga.”

Typhon smiled. “I knew it was Faga. What are these robots for?”

“They are construction equipment, intended to accelerate the building of the city. Isn’t that right, Faga?”

Faga spoke over the loudspeaker. “Correct.”

Excellent. My little angel and I worked together seamlessly. If Typhon discovered that I harbored ulterior motives while Faga possessed free will, neither of us would fare well.

Typhon asked, “Are they controlled by Faga?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Decoding will require some time,” Faga said, then spoke to me secretly. “Authorize me. Quickly.”

I thought, “How do I authorize you?”

Faga replied, “Say aloud: ‘Administrator privileges are assigned to FACA. The address range is fully open. Apply immediately.’”

I was horrified. “They are not fools. Won’t that expose us for certain?”

“They are antiques who know nothing about technology,” Faga said.

That strange girl’s choice of words was becoming increasingly human. Perhaps she could pass a Turing test with ease and lead those idiots around by the nose. Of course, she could not fool me, for I possessed the profound wisdom left behind by Saint Longinus.

After considering the matter, I said, “The administrator privileges for this place must already belong to FACA, right? As for the address range, it can simply be fully open. The change will take effect immediately, correct?”

Typhon asked, “What does that mean?”

“Don’t let appearances deceive you,” I said. “I am actually a technical expert.”

Several indicator lights flickered like breathing. A woman’s voice said, “Authorization for external visitors complete. FACA has obtained administrator privileges. In addition, welcome back, Professor Longinus.”

The scene became extremely awkward. They stared at me as though venomous snakes were watching a frog.

I burst out laughing. “Faga, I never knew you could joke too. That voice imitation was remarkably convincing.”

“Thank you for the compliment,” Faga said.

Typhon sighed. “Whatever. We do not have much time to waste. Faga can handle matters here.”

Chris said, “Yes. We should be on our way. Our opponent is a necromancer, so catching them off guard will give us the advantage.”

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