Chapter 52: Liberator’s Monument (Part 2)
The crowd gathered toward the inner city square. Most people wore terrified expressions, like small beasts driven from their nests, huddling together for warmth in the freezing snow and shivering uncontrollably.
The inner city streets were truly beautiful. Unlike the outer city, where feces, domestic garbage, and snow were all mixed into a sludgy mess.
Haili held Gegun in her arms, wrapping a large, colorful scarf around his body. Her eyes were wide with apprehension; she had casually picked up this scarf while passing by the textile factory. She was terrified that someone would force her to return it. It wasn’t that she couldn’t bear to part with a pretty piece of cloth, but rather that the heavily injured Gegun desperately needed the warmth.
The self-healing capabilities of Bio-Soldiers were stronger than ordinary humans, on par with Mutants. Gegun’s wounds had already stopped bleeding, though the raw flesh remained exposed to the air, oxidizing into a dark, bruised color.
The snow and blood in the square had been completely scrubbed clean. Row upon row of chairs were placed along the edges of the square—they looked like they had been hauled out from the palaces of the various lords by the robots.
Everyone had a seat. Haili sat down on a rose-red satin stool. She had never imagined that a stool could actually be soft. It was even adorned with pearls.
What a beautiful stool. Is this really something I’m allowed to sit on?
Upon entering the inner city, the crowd instead fell silent, their expressions carrying a trace of awe. They sat down uneasily, nervously sizing each other up.
On the flat ground ahead lay a massive pile of metallic garbage, stacked like a small hill. The night had passed, and the sun had risen, but the cloud cover was too thick, allowing only a hazy, gray light to filter through.
A moment later, a new group of figures appeared beside them.
Robots.
Not all of them were humanoid. There were trash cans, mechanical dogs, and snowplows.
The humanoid machines sat down in the same audience section, while the non-humanoid variants stood behind the chairs, forming an encircling ring.
The optical sensors on the robots glowed with bands of light as they awaited their next commands, looking for all the world like a pack of wolves with glowing eyes in the dead of night.
These robots were not equipped with Anthropomorphic Modules and could only operate based on rigid instructions. Their symbolic presence here far outweighed their practical use.
Haili had seen robot soldiers before; the serfs of the Eternal City had been supervised by them.
In the past, someone at the textile factory had stolen animal skins to trade for medicine, and they were executed by a robot. Haili had been sitting at her loom, and all she heard was the sudden crack of a gunshot.
What are they planning to do? Haili’s heart was brimming with confusion.
Several prison transport vehicles drove toward the square, parking on the far side. These vehicles were essentially train cars, but the compartments were open, allowing everyone to see exactly what was loaded inside.
Haili cast a hasty glance and recognized a few faces. For instance, the lord who managed their street (the Municipal Official), the lord who collected grain (the Minister of Agriculture), and the lord responsible for collecting the tithe at the exchange market and the annual new year tax (the Tax Official)…
In the past, these lords had been arrogant and imperious, their faces constantly plastered with impatience, acting as though speaking a single word to the outer city residents was an act of supreme grace. But now, locked in the prison carts, they wailed and cried to the heavens just like the rest of them, their clothes as ragged as fleeing serfs.
Many of the lords also had electronic shackles clamped around their ankles. This meant they had tried to resist and had been summarily subdued.
A few minutes later, the robots stood up, automatically parting to create a clear path.
Haili followed suit and stood up as well.
She saw a young man wearing strange clothing—she had heard it was called a protective suit. His face was mostly obscured, revealing only a pair of beautiful green eyes that reminded Haili of the turquoise and peacock feathers she had once seen on an expensive gown.
At this moment, everyone’s gaze fell entirely upon him.
As for the 1.5-meter-tall robot standing beside him, everyone subconsciously ignored it.
He and that robot stepped onto the high platform together.
Through the loudspeakers, Haili heard his voice. Just like the last time she heard it, she felt a natural sense of warmth and familiarity.
Only this time, he was speaking the Human Alliance language, though thankfully, there was a real-time translation.
The man introduced himself as Xiang Nanli, from the Survivor Base’s Liberator Squad. The core philosophy of the base was the equal and peaceful coexistence of all intelligent lifeforms… well, she had already heard him say this part before.
And the one beside him was named Andrew, also a member of the base, who would serve as the acting City Lord of the Eternal City for the next month.
Andrew would assist in the city’s autonomous development and lead the citizens in post-war reconstruction.
“So they’re just swapping out the City Lord?” someone whispered in discussion.
Coups, wars, changing dynasties—these concepts were simply too distant for them, and even harder to comprehend.
Whatever Xiang Nanli had just said about “liberation,” “oppression,” and “equality,” they didn’t understand that either.
“Now, the base’s operation to liberate the Eternal City has achieved preliminary success. We will proceed to judge the administrators of the Eternal City in accordance with the Base Laws.”
…
…
Dongfang Qingdi stood by the city wall, gazing in the direction of the square.
He hadn’t made an appearance.
Neither had Gospel. It needed a quiet environment to manually override and control the robots within the city.
Gospel hopped onto the top of the wall, engaging its recording mode with a single click, muttering to itself: “January 11, New Calendar Year 947. The convening of the Eternal City Square Conference announces the formal establishment of the Survivor Base. Xiang Nanli propagated the base’s philosophy to the remnants of the Surface and established the fundamental principle of ‘the peaceful coexistence of all intelligent lifeforms.’ Base member Andrew becomes the acting City Lord of the Eternal City…
“Historically known as the ‘Eternal Judgment’.”
Dongfang Qingdi narrowed his eyes slightly: “I don’t recall you being a historian.”
Gospel tilted its 270-degree rotating mechanical eyeball to look at him: “Why didn’t you go down there, Scout?”
Dongfang Qingdi didn’t answer.
He stood blocking the morning light, his expression calm and indifferent, utterly lacking any intention of explaining himself to Gospel.
But Gospel had already continued speaking of its own accord: “Is it because your ideologies are different?
“But you are a warrior of the Omnic Legion. This ‘correctness’ that you believe in—is it truly your own thought, or is it what Alpha instilled in you? Whose standpoint are you taking? And which group of people are you considering this for?”
Alpha 5.2.0 fell silent for a long time.
His brows furrowed: “You’re as annoying as Ecclesiastes.”
The mechanical puppy burst into loud laughter.
…
…
Snowflakes drifted down from the sky.
The atmosphere in the square suddenly turned grim and austere.
“The first criminal: the City Lord of the Eternal City.”
A corpse with its head severed from its body was wheeled out.
Haili couldn’t help but let out a gasp. The City Lord, whose majesty had once been as unshakeable as Mount Tai, didn’t stand up, nor did he resurrect.
Based on the data extracted from the Eternal City’s database, the robot began to list the City Lord’s crimes in excruciating detail. Crimes against humanity, enslaving his own kind, torturous murder, illegal biological experimentation…
From her embrace, Gegun’s weak voice drifted up: “I became a Bio-Soldier when I was seven years old. My older brother and I received the injections together. I partially mutated, but retained my sanity; but my brother turned into a full Mutant and was shot dead by the guards.”
Finally, the robot delivered the verdict: “Death penalty, executed immediately.”
The City Lord’s corpse was stabbed one more time for good measure, and then, like a piece of trash, it was tossed into another empty prison cart.
This cart had an electronic screen on it, displaying a single line of text: Agricultural Fertilizer Recovery.
Next was the Minister of Agriculture. The robot finished reading his crimes and, as before, pronounced: “Death penalty, executed immediately.”
This minister was grotesquely obese, looking like a massive, fat rat.
His legs went soft as he fell to his knees on the ground: “I, I, no—no! I’m a good person! I’ve never killed a single person!”
“F*** you!” A middle-aged woman couldn’t hold back anymore. She stood up and cursed venomously, “You animal! Give me my son back! You ***!”
This great lord had a penchant for young children.
Whenever he strolled through the outer city, families with children were always terrified. Yet, there were also those who willingly offered up their own kids to him.
The robot soldier standing to the side felt absolutely zero fluctuations in emotion. It fired a single bullet, piercing straight through the center of his forehead.
The great lord was dragged away as well.
The despairing mother stood frozen for a second, and in the next, she covered her face and broke down into agonizing sobs.
Haili’s heart trembled. She felt a bizarre, inexplicable emotion welling up inside her.
She couldn’t describe it, nor did she know the reason for it, she was just so overwhelmed that her entire body shook and her eyes went bloodshot.
Yes, great lords. My hatred is nothing more than a piece of soft sandpaper.
But there are always people whose will is a blood-soaked bullet!
Haili subconsciously looked toward Xiang Nanli’s position.
The man’s eyes were completely tranquil. He barely spoke, and he certainly didn’t interrupt Andrew.
The Tax Official, the Captain of the Guard, the Minister of Agriculture…
One by one, the people were pushed out. Their crimes were read, the legal code was cited, and then they were executed. Tossed right into the recycling cart.
Exactly how they had treated the serfs who froze to death.
The final person was the City Lord’s Wife. Compared to the other nobles, she had maintained the most basic level of dignity.
The madam was escorted off the vehicle, forcefully shoving away the robot soldiers on either side of her. Electric currents surged through her body, and the aristocratic woman, whose appearance bordered on elderly, collapsed ungracefully to the ground.
She stood back up and said sharply: “Bring the manager of your base to see me. I am a cultist of the Black Cross Inquisition. Are you people not afraid of offending the Divine Court?!”
Xiang Nanli calmly asked in return: “So what about the Divine Court? Does that have anything to do with the crimes you’ve committed? Is being a follower of the Divine Court your license to torture and kill other humans?”
A gunshot rang out.
With that, all the criminals had been executed.
The remaining people whose crimes did not warrant death would be fitted with electronic shackles to atone for their sins through meritorious service. Making amends for their past mistakes.
After all, within the Eternal City, these people were considered highly educated intellectuals and technical talents, so they could probably still serve some use.
With robots surrounding them, there was no fear of them escaping whatsoever. That was another drawback of robots—they were rigid and inflexible.
Once the trials concluded, the conference entered its next phase.
“Now, the corpses before you belong to the intelligent lives who sacrificed themselves to defend and liberate the Eternal City.”
A massive pit was excavated from the snowy ground. The scraps of ruined metal and the few Bio-Soldier corpses were buried deep within the earth.
Gegun struggled, sitting up from Haili’s embrace. A faint glimmer returned to his eyes: “That’s Lilac. And Alangium, and Murraya.” These were the comrades he had spent every waking moment with.
Nanny robots brought over fresh flowers from the greenhouses, laying countless roses and lilies over the bodies.
The drones began to play music, grand yet sorrowful.
The crowd fell silent on their own accord. Even the babbling toddlers sensed the solemn and majestic atmosphere.
Xiang Nanli continued—
“Following discussions by the Base Committee, the inner city square of the Eternal City has been renamed ‘Liberator’s Square.’ The warriors who participated in the city’s defense against the Mutants are collectively awarded first-class merit, and are granted the title of ‘Honorary Citizens of the Survivor Base.’ We will erect a ‘Liberator’s Monument’ within the Eternal City to commemorate these brave, fallen warriors.
“Whether Natural Humans, Omnics, or Bio-Soldiers, we live under this same sky, fighting together for the liberation of all intelligent life. Yes, we are trapped in the polar night, so we shall tear open the heavens ourselves. We are bound to cross every chasm; bound to let the flames of civilization burn brightly upon the wasteland once more; bound to make a brand-new world rise from the horizon!”
On the distant city wall, Gospel was jumping up and down in excitement: “Excellent, this speech has been recorded! In the future, we’ll transmit it via radio waves! Xiao Fu is going to make a holographic projection to loop this 24/7!”
Dongfang Qingdi couldn’t help but interject: “Are you trying to help him or ruin him?”
“That’s why I said in the future.” The mechanical dog, which only reached his calf, was clearly in a fantastic mood. It hummed a little tune before suddenly speaking, “He is Xiang Nanli. But who are you, Scout?”
On a hillside even further away.
Ezekiel stood at the peak; from this vantage point, he could overlook the entirety of the Eternal City. In the dead of winter, the surrounding trees were entirely bare.
He unconsciously flicked his long tongue, his pupils shifting rapidly between round and vertically slitted.
Ezekiel raised his head and scratched his own face. A translucent scale peeled off, revealing the skin underneath, which closely resembled a human’s.
“Heh…” Talks a good game.
He took a step backward and vanished into the mountain forest.
_
