Heroes' Prison

Chapter 810 - 768 Thunder God’s Execution_2

Fuchan Fen also encountered this situation. She was originally rushing back on a battleship to fend off Starting Point’s next wave of attacks. However, after Floating Harbor was destroyed, there was no further news of Starting Point attacking other territories. This left her at a loss — going back felt futile, staying away felt risky — unable to fathom Starting Point’s intentions.

The temporary departure of these Super First-Class masters significantly weakened the forces of the Invading Army. Everyone was on edge, repeatedly instructing their respective guild headquarters to prepare fully, lest they become Starting Point’s next target.

But their worries were unnecessary. Even if Starting Point wanted to attack them, it would be quite challenging. Simply relying on the forces established by his Rose Prison brothers in those countries could never replicate the success of his previous operation.

That night, when he attacked the Pope’s Heaven’s Guild, it was Lei Shen who served as the core of their tactics;

When he attacked Miyamoto Musashi’s Martial Arts Guild, the Cursed Land was their tactical cornerstone;

And when he attacked Fuchan Fenrao’s Floating Life Guild, the Deep Sea Demon Flesh became the key to the strategy.

However, in his forces across other nations, there were no such tactically vital elements, making it difficult to achieve significant results.

On this day, a heavy atmosphere loomed over Rose Prison.

Lei Shen’s execution day had finally arrived!

On this final night before the execution, a suffocating silence filled Rose Prison. Inmates silently gazed through the iron doors of their cells toward Lei Shen’s cell.

Meanwhile, Starting Point stayed in Lei Shen’s room for the entire night to accompany him in this final evening within Rose Prison.

It was now midnight. At six o’clock the next morning, Lei Shen would be taken away to face execution by lethal injection.

Starting Point and Lei Shen had just six hours left together.

"Lei Shen, have you ever regretted it? Even up until your execution, you haven’t brought down the World Federation. If you had chosen not to fight back then, you might now be at home, holding your daughter, enjoying family bliss with your wife." Sitting in the dimly lit room, Starting Point deeply took a drag from his cigarette and asked Lei Shen, who sat across from him.

"It’s regret, not remorse," Lei Shen replied, exhaling a long stream of smoke that dissipated into the air. He said, "I firmly believe that as long as someone continues to walk in our footsteps, leaving a trail of blood prints with every step, after countless sacrifices, one day what we failed to accomplish will be achieved. The World Federation will surely collapse, and this dark cloud will dissipate from the world’s skies. When that day comes, people might remember someone named Lei Shen, who once played a small role in changing the course of history. Whenever I think of this, I feel my death won’t be in vain."

"I wholeheartedly believe it," Starting Point nodded thoughtfully.

At that moment, Lei Shen took a deep breath and said, "Ah-Yi, from now on, I entrust these prison brothers to you. Take good care of them."

Starting Point flicked his cigarette ash with his index finger and said, "I will, leave these brothers to me! Now, you can be at peace."

The room contained only the two of them. Smoke filled the air, swirling like a dream shrouded in darkness. The flickering tips of their cigarettes faintly illuminated their silhouettes.

Lei Shen took his final drag and flicked the remaining cigarette away. The cigarette butt traced a fiery arc through the air before hitting the ground, bouncing a few times, and briefly glowing with sparks before releasing its last curl of smoke. It was like a white soul rising from the burnt end, disappearing into eternal darkness, leaving only silence.

Fixing his gaze on the extinguished cigarette butt, Lei Shen murmured, "Do you remember? I once said that life is like this cigarette — flickering, rising and falling, quickly consumed. In the end, it only lets out a few sparks, struggles briefly, and then extinguishes forever. Now, my cigarette has only six hours left. When the six hours are up, dawn will break, but for me, it will mean descending into eternal darkness."

Starting Point looked at his own finished cigarette and threw it away, smiling, "No matter. When one cigarette is done, you can always light a new one." As he said this, he picked up another cigarette from the table and lit it.

Lei Shen suddenly laughed as well, picking up a fresh cigarette and lighting it himself, taking a deep inhalation.

"Ah-Yi, thank you!" Lei Shen said sincerely, smoking the newly lit cigarette as he stared at Starting Point through the haze of smoke.

Starting Point smiled silently, taking contemplative drags in the darkness, feeling the minutes pass by one by one.

He had always wondered how a death row inmate spent their last night. Knowing there was no escape from their impending death the next day, with no means to stop it. Death itself wasn’t terrifying; it was the waiting that was.

The final night before execution was the most terrifying night of all.

Some death row inmates couldn’t sleep a wink, some shivered in the dark, and some became strangely manic, singing, dancing, yelling...

Starting Point couldn’t fully grasp these emotions, but he knew Lei Shen was incredibly calm now — a true calmness, like a baby nestled in a mother’s womb.

Darkness signified death, but also rebirth. When a baby is in its mother’s womb, it knows only unbroken darkness, yet it is a darkness that nurtures life.

The moment the baby is born into the world, it sees its first ray of light, as if a long night has passed and a new day has begun.

Minute by minute, the hours slipped away. Starting Point and Lei Shen sat quietly in the darkness, awaiting the inevitable.

The cigarettes burned one after another; ash scattered across the room, and the haze grew thicker.

The clock hands rotated endlessly. The night felt both unbearably long and fleeting.

"Time’s up." Finally, Lei Shen glanced at the clock as the hands pointed to six o’clock. His execution time had come.

Almost simultaneously, sounds of doors opening echoed from downstairs. A group of prison guards, dressed in riot gear, marched briskly and resolutely. Their footsteps seemed to stomp upon one’s heart, quickening its pace involuntarily.

In an instant, every prisoner in Rose Prison scrambled out of their beds, gripping the bars of their cell doors and watching with heavy apprehension as the guards climbed the stairs toward Lei Shen’s room.

Both Lei Shen’s and Starting Point’s cells were kept open and unsecured, a privilege Lei Shen had bartered for as the Prison Overlord. But from now on, he would no longer hold the title of Prison Overlord.

He was the last death row inmate of mankind, a figure fated to be immortalized in the evolutionary history of human civilization. Media outlets from across the globe were closely following this story.

After this day, the death penalty would become a relic of the past. All injection beds, electric chairs, gallows, and other execution devices would be relocated to museums, enclosed in glass cases for future generations to behold.

Finally, the heavily armed guards arrived at Lei Shen’s cell, their presence blocking out the hallway light. Lei Shen cooperated fully, extending his hands to let them cuff him. He turned back to take one last glance at Starting Point before following the guards out.

Starting Point stood behind, watching as Lei Shen walked farther and farther away, gradually leaving Rose Prison behind.

From the countless cells, thousands of eyes tracked Lei Shen’s departure, silently seeing him off for the last leg of his journey.

At last, Lei Shen was completely led out, disappearing from everyone’s sight.

From that moment on, Lei Shen no longer belonged to Rose Prison.

The iron doors of each cell finally unlocked, and prisoners surged out. Many rushed directly toward Lei Shen’s cell, wanting to hear something — anything — from Starting Point.

Within moments, a throng of inmates crammed into Lei Shen’s cell, encircling Starting Point.

"Brother Yi, will Brother Lei really die?"

"Brother Yi, after winning the Best Individual Award, what did you talk about with Mr. Huang Sha, the CEO of Era of Corporation?"

"Did Mr. Huang Sha ultimately agree to spare Lei Shen’s execution?"

At this moment, nearly every prisoner in Rose Prison was asking Starting Point the same question in different ways: Was Lei Shen truly going to die?

Lei Shen’s cell became layered with onlookers, their gazes filled with both hope and dread as they fixated on Starting Point.

Calmly, Starting Point picked up a new cigarette from the table, lit it, and took a deep drag.

Then, he slowly turned his head, looking out the window toward the newly risen sun, exhaling a smoke ring as he said, "The sun has risen."

(To be continued. If you enjoyed this work, you’re welcome to visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast your Recommendation Tickets and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)