Chapter 410 - 177: Gallows (Is There More?)_3
...
"They say it’s better to live poorly than to die well, but your life is so pathetic it’s better to give you a quick end!"
From the tales of the natives, he already knew what kind of people these Spaniards were.
Chen Zhou felt not the slightest pity for the brown-haired man’s miserable state.
Now, he only wanted to quickly resolve this trouble to prevent further issues from arising with time.
...
After nearly a day of absence, when Chen Zhou’s tall figure appeared by the fields, all the natives automatically stopped swinging their hoes and digging the earth, looking up at him.
Two overseers appeared simultaneously, standing next to Chen Zhou.
Sunday still wore a cold expression—
Yesterday, Chen Zhou went to the cabin to give him a private lesson on how to manage the natives.
Today, his attitude was less harsh than yesterday, but the stern expression had become a habit, difficult to change for the moment.
As for Saturday, even if he wanted to feign brutality and fierceness, he couldn’t, his round face truly ruined the aura.
...
He had Sunday call all the natives out of the fields.
Chen Zhou spoke a sentence, and Sunday translated it, assigning new tasks to the natives.
They needed to follow Sunday to the pile of construction materials by the beach. Some would use carts, while others would carry the wood and stone bricks by hand or shoulder to a designated place. Saturday would be there to count the times each person went back and forth, and the amount of materials they transported.
Of course, in this task, those using carts had the upper hand.
Therefore, Chen Zhou would have Sunday assign carts to those natives who had worked diligently and behaved well in the past two days, setting an example for the others.
To let them understand, here, obedience was the best way to profit.
As compensation for the heavier labor, as long as they completed the designated work today, the natives would get a full meal at noon and in the evening.
The ones who worked the most would receive an additional piece of chocolate as a reward—
Yesterday, "Zebra" generously shared with others the piece of chocolate Chen Zhou had rewarded him with. The natives now knew "chocolate" was a particularly sweet and rich food that filled them with strength after eating it.
...
The promised natives, thinking of the soon-to-be-filled belly, suddenly became excited as if invigorated by adrenaline.
Under Sunday’s lead, seven naked natives moved like hyenas freed from a cage, striding down the mountain, leaving only Werner behind.
Despite recent interactions leading Werner to grow more disgusted, even hateful, towards the natives excluding him.
At the moment of separation, he instead felt fear.
Standing by the fields, facing Saturday, who held a whip and wore a rope at his waist, and Chen Zhou, tall and strong with a mysterious smile, Werner felt a sudden, intense unease, as if foreseeing the shadow of death.
"God will not forgive you, you heretics!
You’re destined for Hell!"
With a curse, Werner tried to seize his last chance, suddenly turning and using a stick to support his body, desperately running towards the nearby forest.
However, all his efforts were in vain. Saturday, prepared in advance, caught up with him in an instant, tying his hands and feet and dragging him back to Chen Zhou.
...
"Why bother?"
Chen Zhou still smiled; Werner’s escape and resistance didn’t cause him any emotional fluctuation.
Crouching beside the brown-haired man, he unfolded the drawing board always by his side. On it was fixed an A4 paper, clearly outlining a building Werner found familiar—
The gallows.
This structure, symbolizing punishment and the authority of law, was extremely simple.
Two sturdy posts were deeply embedded in the ground, with a crossbeam set on top. In the center of the beam hung a noose made of hemp rope, tied with a live knot.
Below the posts was a wooden platform, connected to the ground by stone steps on either side.
With Chen Zhou’s sketching skills, drawing a gallows was a piece of cake, even capturing the texture of the hemp rope hanging from the crossbeam with lifelike detail.
Therefore, when Werner saw what was drawn on the paper, he immediately understood his fate.
At this moment, all his previous compromises, pretenses, vain hopes, and other pursuits in life froze on that noose.
Having lost hope of survival, Werner finally tore off all disguises.
His face twisted ferociously as he cursed, eager to spit in Chen Zhou’s face.
Using every vile word he knew, he cursed while struggling, trying to break free from the ropes that bound his hands and feet.
Yet all to no avail.
Like dealing with a stubborn insect, Chen Zhou ignored the frantic brown-haired man, merely putting away the drawing board and standing up unhurriedly.
He then spoke calmly to Saturday.
"Give him a few lashes to calm him down."
...
The field, long deserted by the natives, suddenly echoed with the crisp sound of a whip and Werner’s inhuman screams.
Soon, the screams gradually subsided, leaving only faint sobs.
...
Tears, snot, and blood flowed down Werner’s face. This sailor, who prided himself on having sailed the seas for years, experienced and seen much, still couldn’t comprehend as death approached.
Why had his life turned into this in an instant?