Wan Qianhong listened to Ye Hanshan's words, her face showing a hint of confusion.
“What do you mean? Are we still going to hold a trial now?”
As if they had all agreed beforehand, the Scavengers slowly shifted their steps, subtly shielding Liang Shuguang in his wheelchair behind them, looking at Wan Qianhong with vigilance.
Ye Hanshan sighed and spoke. “District Head Wan, this matter... isn't as simple as you think.
“You're still young, so you have no real sense of the disaster thirty years ago. Do you know what Dawn City went through after that disaster thirty years ago?”
Wan Qianhong froze.
“That calamity almost wiped out all of Dawn City's top experts,” Ye Hanshan's voice grew heavy.
“Liu Yun survived and became a Prophet. Not even one in ten of the older generation's experts survived. But what truly came close to destroying Dawn City was the collapse of human hearts.
“The collapse began with the human heart.”
The surrounding Edgerunners lowered their heads involuntarily. As eyewitnesses, they did not want to recall that living hell.
“At that time, everyone thought Dawn City was finished and the end of the world had arrived. They wanted to seize the final opportunity to enjoy life.
“Some stripped naked on the streets and engaged in public orgies, while others took up blades to hunt down their enemies. Rape, arson, murder in broad daylight... every kind of chaos broke out.”
Wan Qianhong's pupils contracted slightly as she listened. She had never heard of these things.
Dawn City's most painful scar was a past that no one wished to bring up.
“Did everyone... choose to fall into depravity?”
“Of course not,” Ye Hanshan shook his head. “Some felt that the more critical the crisis, the more they should rise up and stabilize their ground.
“But this group of people naturally came into sharp conflict with those mentioned earlier, which then escalated into a civil war... Fear of the outside world led to hatred and conquest.
“That time, it was the City Lord who stood up,” Ye Hanshan's voice carried a trace of complexity.
“Dragging his heavily injured body from the war, he negotiated with one faction after another, pulling back the hearts of the people who were on the verge of going wild, and pieced Dawn City back together.
“In that sense, he saved Dawn City thirty years ago!”
“Naturally, merits cannot cancel out faults,” Zhou Qingfeng spoke up from the side.
“But for thirty years, he was the one who supported everyone's faith. From top to bottom, Dawn City has long since been reshaped by his hands.
“If he dies now and the truth is exposed, everything built over the last thirty years will collapse overnight like a dream.
“People cannot accept reality. They cannot accept that the pillar in their hearts was actually a demon. And those who secretly worked for him certainly won't agree!
“Dawn City will tear itself apart. This isn't unprecedented. Many cities on the continent have been destroyed this way in the past.”
Xie Xuan also walked up slowly from behind, looking at Bai Feifei sincerely.
“That's right. And if Dawn City suddenly falls into chaos, it will also be a fatal blow to other cities.
“Teacher Bai, we thank you for exposing all of this, but killing him right now is truly out of the question.”
His tone was very cautious. Clearly, he had placed Bai Feifei's identity and opinions on an extremely high pedestal.
Bai Feifei remained silent. This was the first time she was hearing about these things as well.
Just then, a voice laced with a hint of disappointment suddenly broke the silence.
“Sigh... How utterly boring.”
Everyone was stunned, and they all turned their heads at the same time.
Liang Shuguang leaned back in his wheelchair, shaking his head with a look of regret and boredom on his face.
“Truly boring old fogeys, starting up again...”
He tilted his head, his gaze falling on Wan Qianhong. He lightly lifted his chin as if teasing a child. “Not going to kill me anymore?”
Wan Qianhong's body shuddered, her teeth clenched tight.
In fact, she had already secretly activated her Word Soul, intending to directly attack the blood inside Liang Shuguang's body.
But for some reason, the City Lord's body was like a solid rock; she couldn't reach his blood at all!
Liang Shuguang didn't care about her little tricks either. He simply sighed and shook his head. “In that case, let me live a little longer.”
He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
Everyone instinctively bowed their heads, still treating the man before them as the supreme authority.
“It seems everyone opposes me now,” Liang Shuguang's voice was calm, devoid of any discernible emotion. “Then let's forget it.”
He rested his hands on the armrests of his wheelchair, his tone shifting.
“How about this? Send invitations to the surrounding cities, and invite the people from the Scavenger Alliance Headquarters. Tell them that Dawn City has important matters to announce, and we will hold a public, open-air voting assembly.”
Everyone was stunned. Ye Hanshan asked, “What do you plan to do?”
“Announce my abdication,” Liang Shuguang said nonchalantly.
“And while we're at it, we can sugarcoat the events of these past decades to give the public an acceptable outcome.
“A white lie to give everyone some confidence, that's all.”
He paused, his gaze resting on Bai Feifei once more as the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
“Afterward, I will cooperate with you to eliminate the hidden dangers left behind one by one. I can even give you a list of those who used my name to do whatever they pleased.
“But in return, you must give me an explanation afterward.”
“What kind of explanation?” everyone asked instinctively.
Liang Shuguang smiled. “A solution to deal with the Old Ones' Awakening. Since you've overthrown everything I did, you should figure out what to do yourselves.
“Don't give me excuses like a lack of strength. That's not an excuse. This request shouldn't be a problem, right?”
Silence fell over the area, as if everyone was unable to keep up with the erratic jumps in this man's train of thought.
Didn't you just say earlier that you must keep going...?
After a few seconds, several family elders quickly bowed. “The City Lord is truly magnanimous and wise!”
“We shall follow the City Lord's arrangements!”
The other Scavengers chimed in, their attitudes so respectful it was as if nothing had happened just moments ago.
It seemed everyone was very satisfied, believing that this matter, which affected the entire future of Dawn City, had reached a pleasing resolution.
Wan Qianhong and Bai Feifei exchanged a glance, their minds in complete disarray.
Why does this feel somewhat wrong?
Is this matter really supposed to end just like this?
Just like this?
Liang Shuguang nodded and gestured for his secretary behind him to push him away, heading off to discuss his abdication with the top figures of Dawn City.
The secretary pushed the wheelchair through the bowing Scavengers. The wheels rolled over the gravel, making a crunching sound.
As he passed by Bai Feifei, he suddenly turned his head and cast a glance at her.
That glance lasted only an instant, carrying an indescribable meaning in his eyes.
Bai Feifei's mind was currently in a chaotic tangle; she did not notice it, nor did she react in time.
But in her mind, Xu Mo clearly saw Liang Shuguang's gaze, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
Alright, brother, I get what you mean!
As if I'd let you live through this!
Rate on N.U.
