Chapter 1024: Execution

Fang Liangye's fingertips trembled slightly.

The dream-like memory constantly stirred his mind. Fang Liangye had never so desperately wished to be the Six of Hearts... If the real Six of Hearts were here, he would surely be able to kill all the Usurpers, turn the tide, and save his beloved.

But he wasn't... He had nothing but a single playing card after waking from a deep dream.

Even so, Fang Liangye no longer wanted to be a coward.

Fang Liangye slowly pushed open the warehouse door and walked out.

As the Usurpers departed, only bodies covered with white sheets remained in the open space outside the warehouse, rustling silently in the wind. Everyone, shrouded in the shadow of despair, looked soulless, their gazes utterly hollow.

Fang Liangye walked to the nearest body. As if discovering something, he lifted a corner of the fluttering white sheet.

A pale, young face met Fang Liangye's eyes.

Cao Jun.

Seeing Cao Jun's body, Fang Liangye felt a wave of dizziness. He seemed to see the boy excitedly holding playing cards in front of him not long ago; he saw him energetically moving through the factory area, knocking on doors one by one, saying, "I want to buy a glimmer of hope."

In just a few days, everything had changed.

In the current Boundless Domain... where was there any hope left?

"Fang Liangye..." The worker who had just been held at gunpoint walked up to him, eyes bloodshot, and spoke hoarsely, "They said that one day, the sun would rise again from the Boundless Domain... Tell me, where is the sun now?"

Fang Liangye lowered his head, not answering.

The Rat Party, who had firmly believed the sun would eventually rise, had been dragged into the abyss. A pall of despair hung over the long night. On this land filled with slavery and radiation, the sun might never rise.

So where was the way out for people like them?

"...I don't know," Fang Liangye said after a long silence, looking towards the Bell Tower under the gloom. "But I don't want to endure it anymore... Even if I die, I'll take a piece out of those sewer rats."

Fang Liangye gripped the playing card tightly in his hand, as if having made a decision, and charged directly towards a certain warehouse!

Fang Liangye's words were like a sword, piercing the hearts of all the workers present.

They exchanged glances, and a strange emotion began to spread through the crowd.

The Bell Tower.

The enormous hands of the clock slowly turned on the dial, their shadows silently sweeping past Ying Fu. He sat there quietly, his gaze fixed on the distant night, lost in thought.

A-Qian's chest rose and fell evenly on the small bed, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep.

"Your Majesty..." Mo Lian approached Ying Fu, lowering his voice. "A group of Usurpers has arrived below, saying they want to go to the top floor of the Bell Tower. Should we let them up?"

"What do they want up there?"

"It seems they want to execute a 'thief party' member."

Ying Fu frowned, glanced at the sleeping A-Qian, and said without hesitation, "Tell them to get lost."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Although Ying Fu didn't live in the church and had little visible presence, he did possess the authority to deploy all Usurpers. With his command, the Usurpers reluctantly headed towards the nearest intersection.

Ying Fu didn't even look at the Usurpers. His gaze remained fixed in the direction outside the Boundless Domain, as if he were waiting for something.

"By my calculations, it should be about time."

"Chen Ling..."

"I'm very curious, what extent can your imperial destiny truly achieve?"

Creak—

Lou Yu pushed open the door, a black robe flowing as he slowly walked down the broken corridor of the church. Behind him, Du Lan, also cloaked in black, followed silently.

Lou Yu, who possessed four Philosopher's Stones, now radiated an aura vastly different from before. Occasionally, a few Execution Enforcers and Usurpers who saw him from afar showed a flash of surprise in their eyes.

They hadn't seen Lou Yu in a long time. This time, he not only appeared in public but also seemed to be leaving the church.

Where was he going?

Although curious, no one approached him for a conversation; they simply continued with their own tasks in silence.

Lou Yu walked calmly towards the church's main door, his gaze fixed forward. An inconspicuous maid, carrying a tray, passed by him without drawing any attention, as if he hadn't noticed her.

The maid brushed past Lou Yu and walked directly into the depths of the church, finally stopping at the door of the confessional.

She gently knocked on the door, then stepped inside.

Click—

As the confessional door closed, in the dim light, Chen Ling's eyelids slowly lifted... He saw that the visitor was the same maid again, and a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.

The maid, carrying the full tray, walked step by step to the foot of the crucifix and met Chen Ling's gaze for a moment.

She smiled gently:

"...It's time to eat."

"What a damn emperor, he's clearly just a prisoner, yet he still acts so arrogantly... I really don't know how he can be so brazen."

In the gloom of the deep night, the Usurpers, grumbling displeasedly about Ying Fu, stopped at a deserted intersection.

"Exactly! We gave him a place to stay in the Bell Tower, and he actually thinks it's his territory."

"Executing her at the Bell Tower could have scared those Rat Party members, but now we can't go up there, so it's the intersection... Just quickly execute this woman, then let's go back and rest."

"Do you think those Rat Party members will come to save her?"

"I'd be more afraid if they *didn't* come. It's free military merit, why wouldn't we want it?"

An Usurper kicked Wu Duo from behind, knocking her roughly to the ground. Another Usurper unhurriedly raised his gun, aiming it at the back of Wu Duo's head.

Wu Duo, covered in wounds, lay sprawled on the ground, utterly devoid of strength, able only to close her eyes helplessly.

At that moment, her only wish was that those people would *not* come to save her. She could roughly guess how many Usurpers were ambushed around them, and coming now would be a suicidal act.

The Usurper holding the gun spoke slowly, his gaze scanning the surroundings casually, yet seemingly in deliberate anticipation of something.

The instant the last number fell, a crystal ball streaked through the street like a meteor, heading straight for the Usurper's face!

Boom—!!!

Purple flames erupted in the void, and a mysterious figure appeared out of thin air within the crystal ball's explosive blaze. It was a lean man covered in tattoos. After using the explosion to blast three Usurpers away, he shouted towards the distance:

"Attack!!"

Five figures darted out from different directions. They seemed prepared, each activating their divine path abilities, engaging in battle with the Usurpers who had blocked the western road!

"Go!"

The lean man swept his robe, and purple flames gathered at his feet. He grabbed the bound Wu Duo and sprinted towards the western road!