[They all said they finally felt a certain vitality again. Bash’s revolutionary fire seemed to extinguish briefly, then rekindled and swayed.]
[After careful discussion today, we decided to impose the death penalty on Cozmo, in order to establish dignity and give an explanation to the comrades who sacrificed their lives.]
[Actually, before making this decision, I was a little hesitant. Because our experiences were somewhat similar. Although I didn’t see my own shadow in him, I still felt a little confused.]
[In short, this matter has been settled. Once it is officially dealt with, let’s put aside the pain for the time being. 】
"Comrade Verak!"
Stuart's shout came from outside the house. Verak hurriedly wrote '1434.8.2' on the last line of the diary, put it in the cabinet, stood up, opened the door, and welcomed Stuart and Quentin.
Came in: "What's wrong?"
Stuart didn't even bother to sit down, and said excitedly: "All the people who sealed the city have been evacuated today! Maxim probably thinks that Winterfort is safe, and is ready to send people out to pursue Comrade Vladislav and the others!"
"
"Keep waiting." Verak was very patient.
"Comrade Quentin means the same thing." Stuart walked back and forth in the room, so excited that he couldn't sit still. "Anyway, this means that Maxim has taken the bait, and it is only a matter of time before he leaves."
"We have no eye contact among the scavengers. We cannot judge their internal decision-making based on these trends alone. We must consider the possibility that Maxim deliberately set a trap to lure us to the front." Verak ignored Stuart and sat back.
In front of the desk.
"At what point do you think we can move on behalf of us?" Stuart asked.
Verak groaned: "When Maxim and Vladislav meet, let's have a brief exchange of hands once or twice."
"Then it still takes ten days and a half, right?"
"It's just a month, half a year, we have to wait." Verak said, "This is our last chance. If we are exposed to the scavenger's sight again without preparation, Winterfort really won't be able to stay.
, the overall revolutionary work in Bash will become more arduous."
"Hmm..." Stuart had no objection to this.
The scavengers are very capable, and they must be mobilized so that the sub-station can go all out to lay the foundation of the revolution in Winterfort, accumulate strength in a safer environment, and wait for the opportunity.
After the conversation with Stuart, Quentin talked about the purpose of his visit: "After everyone discussed it, we decided to give Cozmo a quick blow. Do you have any ideas?"
This decision surprised Verak.
They had finalized the execution of Cozmo in the morning, but Verak did not give much of his own opinion on how to execute him, and sent Quentin to take everyone's opinions first.
He originally thought that everyone would unanimously propose to torture Cozmo and make Cozmo suffer the most to comfort the sacrificed comrades.
But the comrades were not so unscrupulous and gave themselves respect above death.
Stuart personally was not very satisfied with this arrangement: "In my opinion, it would be better to keep his life as a dog first. When the revolution succeeds, it would be best to take him out and parade him through the streets and then execute him in public. Now this is unknowingly
Letting him die so easily is respecting him, but it does not respect those comrades who sacrificed their lives."
"You think it's a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye, right?" Verak tried to think about this matter from the perspective of his comrades.
"certainly!"
"Isn't execution a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye? We have no mercy on the enemy, and we are not as despicable as the enemy. We can do anything, which is good." Verak admired the results achieved by his comrades.
"I am... forget it, everyone can come however they want." Stuart said half a sentence, but gave up the idea of explaining his point of view.
"In addition, after Cozmo learned about this incident, he wanted to see you one last time." Quentin finished everything he wanted to report after Stuart finished interrupting.
"He wants to see me?" Verak couldn't think of anything else to talk about between him and Cozmo, "Then I'll go over there."
"I'm with you."
"Cozmo wants to talk to Comrade Verak alone." Quentin stopped Stuart who was about to follow Verak.
Verak went out and came to the utility room with the handles of several comrades.
Several comrades must have known that Cozmo wanted to see Verac for the last time, and after saluting Verac, they opened the door.
What greeted Verak's eyes was a stream of feces and urine, almost like a skeletal Cosmo.
"I almost didn't recognize it." Verak walked in and frowned slightly because of the stench.
"You're here..." Cozmo's voice was hoarse and his eyes were dull as he was tightly bound.
"What do you want from me?" Verak asked.
Cozmo organized his words for dozens of seconds, and said to Verak, who was waiting silently in front of him to speak: "...I...know that I was wrong...I didn't say this to please you and save my life. I
Really...I know it was wrong...I have no objection to the execution decision."
It was impossible to distinguish between true and false, and the ending could not be changed, so Verak chose to believe Cozmo: "It's not too late."
"...I called you here because I want to say thank you." Cozmo's eyes were still a little dodgy, "Thank you for discovering my betrayal and saving the substation. If it weren't for you, even if I succeeded, I would still be burdened with
With so many hot lives, the rest of my life will be very heavy."
Verak said nothing.
"I envy you very much. I envy you that you made the same mistake as me, but you were able to wake up so early. I joined the Equality Society a few years ago and am one of the veterans who has gone through the most difficult days. I didn't expect that you would be so slow.
The road has gone like this..." Cosmo was very emotional.
"You said these words from the bottom of your heart. I think it will help the fallen comrades rest in peace more than cutting you to pieces." Verak took out a cigarette and lit it, then stuffed it into Cosmo's mouth.
inside.
"Huh..." Cozmo closed his eyes, took a breath, and exhaled the smoke.
"If there is an afterlife, I hope you can live in the new world we built. That new world had your contribution," Verak said.
Hearing these words, Cozmo couldn't hold back with his eyes closed.
He gritted his teeth, his face first trembled and then twitched.
"Let's go." Verak bowed slightly and turned around to go out.
"I'm really sorry." Cozmo's eyes were full of tears and snot, and he swallowed hard and said to Verak's back. Even if the burning cigarette fell on him, he ignored it, "I know that I can't restore their relationship by saying sorry."
Life, but I’m really sorry!”
Verak walked out without stopping.
As the guarding comrades closed the door and the two sides never met again, he stood still and took a deep breath.
Unspeakable emotions surged in his heart. After resting for a few seconds, Verak returned to his room, sat back at his desk, opened the drawer and placed his notebook on the table.
The pen was still stuck to the page of his diary that he had hastily ended.
He reached in with his fingers, reopened the diary he had just written, and added another sentence after the date.
——
August 3rd
The comrades who remained in Winterhold quietly executed Cosmo, and the gloom in their hearts disappeared.
——
August 5
Bashi Empire, Shilling City
After integrating with the reinforcements sent from the Sder Kingdom branch, Vladislav wasted no time and quickly organized revolutionary work.
Spread works such as "On Equality", teach ideas privately, lead workers and farmers to resist the factory owners and farmers who oppress them, and engage in small-scale fights with the guards...
——
August 6
The Bash Empire announced the end of cooperation with the International Equality Alliance.
As soon as the cooperation was terminated, the scavengers carried out a purge of some of the former comrades of the Workers' Mutual Aid Association's sub-stations who were still under control, and then widely announced that there were no reactionary forces in Winterfort, and patrols and curfews were no longer implemented.
After hearing the news, Verak didn't eat for a whole day.
He tried his best, but he still felt guilty.
If I were more capable, would I be able to save more comrades? Instead of being forced to evacuate some comrades first?
It's a pity that 'what if' only exists in imagination and is insulated from reality.
After the grief, he led the comrades at the sub-station to hold a moment of silence to pay the highest respect to the comrades who died due to the Cozmo Rebellion and the scavenger sweeps.
——
August 8
Winterfort, the secret site where Verak and others are located
"Stationmaster Verak." Quentin found Verak, "Ever since Comrade Vladislav and the others made any movements, I sent people to keep an eye on Maxim's mansion for three days. Although I haven't seen him come out in the past two days.
Yes, but it’s quite strange that he hasn’t shown up for two days. I suspect that after Bash announced the termination of cooperation with us, he took orders and set off secretly to hunt down Comrade Vladislav in Shiling City.”
Cozmo's betrayal, Daisy's sacrifice, Vladislav and Arseni went to Shilling City, and now the sub-station lacks a proper leader, so Verak unanimously voted at the meeting two days ago to take up the post.
Acting webmaster of the branch.
"But you have been staring at his mansion for two days and you haven't seen him come out. If he has really left, why is he so secretive? Is it because he is afraid that Vladislav and the others will notice, or is he doing it for us to see?" Wei
Lark was quite wary of Maxim.
"No matter what, as long as he appears in Shiling City later and is restrained by Comrade Vladislav. He is the core of the scavengers. If he leaves, even if there are still some scavengers left in Winterfort, it will not matter.
It will form an effective threat to us." Quentin analyzed.
"Well, it seems we have to wait a few more days."
——
August 10
Maxim, who secretly arrived in Shiling City, completed the control and surrounded a group of comrades who were giving lectures to the workers.
Vladislav and the others had already received the reminder from Verak and others, and they had strong awareness of precautions and emergency measures. They immediately started a gun battle with the scavengers, and relied on their superior firepower to rescue the trapped comrades and evacuated.
To other towns.
The performance of the 'bait unit' this time refreshed Maxim's understanding of the sub-station. He gave up some messy thoughts and became convinced that the entire sub-station would withdraw from Winterfort. He mobilized all his forces to pursue Vladislav all the way.
.
Winterfort is no longer fortified, and the time is right. Verak and others, who have been waiting for a long time, finally take action.
Quentin formed an intelligence team, Oscar formed a propaganda team, and Stuart also recruited a group of people to do business.
In addition to their respective duties, Verak led Connie, Clark and others to do all aspects of work.
As for the combat team, since the comrades who stayed in Winterfort would have to hide their strength and bide their time for a long time, exposure would mean failure. Therefore, considering that there was no need for it yet, Verak shelved this plan.
——
August 13
Vladislav led the "bait detachment" and walked Maxim around the territory of Bash, leading them to the area near the Kingdom of Sdr.
Since this 'bait unit' had a head-on confrontation with the scavengers and fled Shiling City, it has never stayed in any place for more than two days, and therefore has not been able to engage in any revolutionary work.
This is exactly what Vladislav meant.
Their mission is to contain Maxim, and now they are fleeing all the way without stopping. The scavengers cannot catch up with them, and their safety will naturally be guaranteed. If safety can be guaranteed, the containment will naturally continue, fighting for the comrades of Winterfort.
More time.
Maxim, on the other hand, felt that it was his constant pressure that prevented the rebels from accomplishing anything, and he was also very satisfied with the status quo.
These two forces within Bash have reached a delicate balance.
However, in order to prevent them from being caught up all the time, Maxim, who was inevitably overthinking, guessed that he was deliberately leading them away from Winterfort. Vladislav did not intend to run endlessly. He discussed it with Arseny and the comrades from the Sder substation.
After a while, we decided to set up an ambush in the border area.
It's best if you can severely damage the scavenger. If you can't, you can still anger Maxim and ensure that he won't be suspicious of this matter in a short period of time.
——
August 14
The ambush did not go well.
Maxim failed to see through Vladislav's fundamental purpose, but saw through his idea of running to the border.
If the sub-station wanted to escape from Bash, it would be enough to enter the Kingdom of Sder in one go, but they were walking and stopping like this, circling back and forth in the border area. They were clearly waiting for their arrival on purpose, and there must be some deception involved.
He followed suit, and then specially arranged for two teams of people to stay behind and follow them, and then they galloped all the way to the front.
Sure enough, after chasing to a place, Maxim was ambushed. He immediately contacted the other two teams, and in turn attacked the comrades of the International Equality League branch, forcing Vladislav to evacuate with his people and save
strength.
Verak in Winterhold was not surprised when he received the news.
Vladislav was born as a worker. Although he has grown a lot through training, he is still far behind people like Maxim. It is only natural that this ambush was seen through and exploited.
The reason why he didn't stop it was because there was still a branch station in the Kingdom of Sder watching this matter. No matter how bad the situation was, it couldn't be any worse, and even if he suffered a loss, the result would still be good.
This move deepened Maxim's judgment, and he concluded that the International Equality Alliance wanted to compete with him outside. He gradually focused all his energy on chasing Vladislav, and his attention to Winterfort dropped to zero.
As long as Maxim stays away, Winterhold will no longer be a threat.