Chapter 516: A Bright World
When prices in the city of Moses Port fluctuated significantly, some families realized that something was wrong ; when the price of even husk wheat became unbearably high, some families decisively packed up their belongings and took their families to the countryside to avoid disaster.
Baron Zaka Norman's father was the one who moved away. The old man had long since gone to live a quiet life in the countryside far away from the city. As for the baron himself... he simply stayed in the city because he was worried about the precious collection at home.
Those who are rich and own properties in other places can hide away, but ordinary families do not have such conditions; even those who have some savings have to consider practical issues such as how long the family savings can last after they stop working and how to find a place for the family to stay after moving to other places.
For example, Rachel's family, whose two brothers both had jobs and had some compensation money left, did not consider at all whether to temporarily hide in the home of relatives in Newing Town.
After that, as prices soared, supplies in and out of Moses Port were deliberately blocked, the money in their pockets became less and less, but the price of boat tickets continued to rise... Even if the Rachel brothers had an idea, it would be difficult for them to leave.
There are as many as 300,000 people in Moses Port, like the Rachel brothers, who are "welded" in the city due to momentary hesitation or various practical difficulties.
Nearly two months of torment, the frustration of expecting stability in the city but repeatedly being disappointed, the pressure, despair, irritability and other emotions that accumulated day after day... on this day, I finally found an outlet for release.
On July 1, 1033 in the alien calendar, starting at 2:00 p.m., the fleet of tricycles that appeared in residential areas and were open to supply all kinds of scarce daily necessities were no longer the focus of the citizens of Moses Port.
Countless citizens walked out of their homes and gathered in the neighborhoods around their homes, excitedly discussing everything they were concerned about; when a group of captured criminals escorted by the dead or the church passed by, these excited citizens cheered and rushed over to watch as if they were having a street carnival...
In order to let the city residents vent their long-suppressed emotions, Yang Qiu added an "extra reward" to the house-raiding missions issued to players: "Parade the prisoners through the streets, and increase a little territory reputation every half an hour." In order to avoid excessive concentration of city residents causing trampling, Yang Qiu also specially planned different parade routes for each player team doing the house-raiding mission...
This kind of "civilian NPC welcomes the king's army" plot... players have no objection, as long as there are rewards.
The church had no objection to the gold coins. Over the past month, countless citizens who had run out of food at home had been struggling to survive by running to the church to receive "Holy Communion". The church's expenses were also huge. Bishop Cromwell had hidden in the prayer room and cursed more than once. The priests were also very happy to be able to personally escort the culprits who caused all this to eat slippers in the street.
The only thing that made the Gold Coin Church a little unhappy was that the citizens did not dare to throw slippers at the souls of the captured nobles and those once high-ranking masters. Instead, all kinds of slippers were thrown at the thugs and gangsters escorted by the priests, and the priests were also affected...
This city-wide carnival lasted for more than two hours and ended at four in the afternoon - mainly because the players were tired of parading around and were no longer impatient to "play with the NPCs."
At this time, Ms. Shirley, who controlled the City Hall, had already vacated the area for temporary detention of prisoners. She arranged for people to receive the prisoners and organized agents to go to various blocks in the city to install loudspeakers.
The infrastructure of Moses Port is second to none among the cities on the Rhine (excluding the royal city). Most residential blocks have gas pipelines and electrical wires, and the speaker installation is quite smooth, eliminating the need to arrange for personnel to carry hand-cranked generators to generate electricity on a regular basis.
The next morning, soon after the citizens of Port Moses got up after a rare good night's sleep, the outdoor loudspeakers installed in various blocks and the Tarantan radios purchased by some residents at home began to broadcast the numerous crimes committed by the 16 Port Moses nobles who were arrested the day before.
Again, although it is very satisfying to hold a public trial, the consequences of a stampede caused by the dense crowds would be disastrous. What Yang Qiu wants is for Moses Port to stabilize as soon as possible and for the new regime to gain the trust of the locals as soon as possible, rather than ignoring public safety for the sake of momentary pleasure.
The evidence collected by Baron and Baron Vio, the identification of King Adela III, and the fresh confessions obtained during the overnight review; all in all, it took the entire morning just to report the crimes of these sixteen noble families, and even the announcers were rotated several times...
The citizens who were indignant at the beginning and spontaneously gathered around the loudspeakers in various blocks became numb; from being so excited that they wanted to rush into the city hall and drag out the imprisoned nobles to death, they slowly dispersed and went about their own business, only keeping one ear open to pay attention to when the trial results would be announced.
The new acting governor clearly knew what the citizens wanted to hear. When the tricycle fleet selling all kinds of affordable daily necessities appeared again in various blocks near noon, the "announcer" who had just been replaced on the loudspeaker was Ms. Carida, a prophet of the Gold Coin Church Inquisition, who was invited by the new city hall to serve as a public trial judge (the original judge of Moses Port had left with the Odis family). She was well-known to the people of Moses Port and announced the trial result resolutely in her deep and powerful voice:
The titles of sixteen noble families involved in the case were revoked and all their properties were seized and confiscated.
Among the sixteen noble families, including the prison warden, national garrison officers, and city police officials who were accomplices, all adult members who are involved in the case with solid evidence, extremely serious crimes, and serious illegal and unconstitutional behaviors will be hanged tomorrow and hung on the city wall for three days as a warning to the public.
Adult members of the tribe whose crimes were less serious and not punishable by death were detained together with the rest of the suspects (thugs and hooligans) in the western mountainous area of Odysseus to serve their sentences.
In the families involved in the case, minors under the age of fourteen who are not at fault (not directly or indirectly involved in personal injury cases and causing serious consequences) will not be held accountable and will be transferred from other territories and arranged by the city hall to receive re-education.
When the verdict came out, the whole city cheered.
The Rachel brothers, who were listening to the trial at home, heaved a long sigh of relief when they heard the fate of those "famous" noble lords.
"I told you, Joey, the City Hall will never let those guys go this time." Sapir said with a beaming face, "Operator John said yesterday that in order to calm the public anger in Moses Port, Mr. Yang and Ms. Shirley will definitely make those bastards pay the price they deserve."
Joey Rachel, who was still lying on the bed, nodded silently in submission. This young man, who had once been noticed by a vampire disguised as a member of Leo's family because of his outstanding abilities and almost lost his life, had finally felt relieved after being abandoned by his original employer and experiencing more than a month of turmoil.
"Sapir, you don't have to accompany me. Operator John thinks highly of you, so go report to him." Joey waved his hand and said, "If you can get the contract from the City Hall this time, don't miss it."
"Okay." Sapir stood up impatiently, picked up the small hat beside the bed, and said, "Brother, you should rest for two days. If you have any plans, wait until you recover."
"I understand. Go ahead." Joey urged .
Sapir strode out of the apartment. Lisa, who heard the door close, poked her head out of the kitchen and said, "Joey, why did Sapir leave? Isn't he having lunch at home?"
"It's okay. The city hall will provide them with working meals." Joey lifted the quilt and got out of bed.
"Hey, why are you up? Lie down!" Lisa was startled. She ran out of the kitchen, through the small living room and into the bedroom, trying to push her husband back. "Didn't the pastor say that you still need to rest?"
"I'm fine, Lisa. I just wanted to get up and walk around." Joey gently pushed his wife's hand away and said firmly, "Go back to the kitchen and watch over it. Don't waste the ingredients that Sapir brought back."
Lisa let out a low cry and quickly fell back into the kitchen.
Sapir helped out at Agent John's place for half a day yesterday and brought back a lot of food - the contract workers at the city hall already had generous meal allowances, and because Sapir was only a "volunteer" and didn't get paid, the meal allowance he received was even more generous.
His wife prepared lunch quickly, and after the couple had filled their stomachs, Joey asked Lisa to take the remaining food to Lisa's parents' home.
"Don't worry, Sapir should be able to get food back tonight." Joey comforted his embarrassed wife and said, "Go quickly. When I can move again, I will try my luck at the city hall. Then our family won't be in such a difficult situation."
Lisa nodded gratefully, picked up the basket and went out; Joey, who was left alone at home, sat for a while, then got up, turned on the radio, and walked slowly in the small living room while listening to the broadcast.
Not long ago...Joey had thought about dying.
If he were not there, his young wife could have remarried, and his younger brother Sapir would not have to work so hard all the time.
But...in order to prolong his life and keep him alive, his wife Lisa and his brother Sapir have already paid so much, and Joey really can't selfishly end his own life.
But this kind of useless life is obviously not what Joey is willing to face - he has been better than others since he was a child. With only a few years of studying in a private classroom, he was able to teach himself advanced courses, obtain an accounting certificate, and get an enviable job. The proud Joey finds it difficult to face the reality that he has become a burden.
It was not until now that Joey saw a glimmer of hope.
The undead regime valued Moses Port and the people of Moses Port more than he had imagined... Just to give an explanation to the citizens, they did not hesitate to hang so many nobles.
A young man from the slums can become a respected operator, a woman from the red-light district who was once trampled upon can become a high-ranking civil servant or even act as consul, so... people like him should also have the opportunity to be valued and reused, right?
Joey knew very well why his former employer did not consider taking him away. They said that he was not in good health, but in fact he was just afraid that he had been targeted by a vampire.
Vampires are too secretive and extremely difficult to detect. Even if Joey could ask the pastor Mr. Quin Burt to prove that he was never taken as a follower by a vampire and that he was still a normal person, those nobles who valued their lives would not be at ease.
No matter how talented or outstanding Joey is, he cannot change what has happened, and he cannot help but be depressed.
The current City Hall gave Joey a glimmer of hope - the undead who could kill vampires were active in the city, and the governor of Moses Port would be a wise undead sage. Such a City Hall would not be taboo, despise, or reject someone like him who had been attacked by vampires!
As long as there is a chance to get a job, Joey is confident that he can prove himself...all he needs is a chance!
On the second day after the skeleton ship docked, Moses Port was quite quiet except for a period of bustle when the verdict was announced at noon; the citizens who had just received normal supplies were still immersed in a trance, unable to believe that the chaos was settled so quickly, and many people still needed time to slowly adapt.
On the third day, the radio announced that 214 death row prisoners had been hanged, and the city cheered again.
Joey, who had some difficulty in moving, quietly put on his coat, took the crutches prepared by his brother and left home after his wife and brother went out. He walked slowly for more than an hour until he was sweating all over, his legs were weak, and his eyes were dim, before he finally arrived at the west city gate with difficulty.
In front of the West City Gate, on the Free Market Square that every Rhine city has, many citizens who rushed from home to watch the excitement and were reluctant to leave gathered.
Standing at the edge of the square, holding onto the wall, Joey saw from afar the stiff corpses hanging under the city wall opposite the square, and the faces of those who once rode in pneumatic cars and luxurious carriages, looking down on everyone with arrogance. A smile unconsciously appeared on his face.
After admiring this unprecedented "spectacle", Joey turned around and slowly moved towards home.
Moses Port is very hot in summer, with a cloudless sky and clear skies.
"What a nice weather." Joey said with emotion.
