Translator: Ichinonsense

Chapter 1 - Death Row Prisoner

"Criminal

suspect Guo Jianjun, Male, Chinese nationality, 33 years old, born on

11 November 1975, suspected of HSH organized crime's leader, intentional

homicide, intentional a.s.sault, intentional arson, intentional robbery,

intentional illegal sale and possession of firearms, intentional

bombing, rape, smuggling, s.e.xual a.s.sault on woman, coercion, illegal

gambling charges, extortion, bribery, crime of disrupting financial

order. The above charges, proved by testimonies and valid evidences,

after the trial verdict, convicted. By the collegiate bench, i hereby

declare the sentence."

At this point, the judge looked around and

saw all of the people stood up and looked down at the verdict on his

hand, then he read it out loud, "The criminal suspect Guo Jianjun is sentenced to

death, and deprived of political rights for life, this judgement shall be

final, shall not be appealed and to be executed immediately. High

People's Court of G Province, 4 April 2008, adjourned!"

In the

solemn court, the crowd who heard the trial immediately clapped with

pa.s.sion and cheered loudly, someone shouted, "Sc.u.m of society!" The judge on

the main trial bench subsequently withdrew.

The defendant on the

dock was wearing a prison suit and his head was shaved. Two armed

police officers grabbed each of his arms, he wore heavy handcuffs and

fetters, the fetters made a rattling sound while dragged on the ground.

His footsteps were slow

and heavy, though he had been sentenced to death and to be executed

immediately, but there was no usual appearance of a prisoner facing his

death, the corners of his mouth tilted, always hanging a faint smile.

Walking

to the door, bright suns.h.i.+ne s.h.i.+ned upon his bald head, Guo Jianjun

stopped, then took a deep breath, his heart was feeling warm, suddenly a new

feeling blossomed. The cold handcuffs in his hands seemed to bring

warm, his two eyes fell on the people around him.

"Is this Guo

Jianjun? Doesn't look like a bad guy! How could you not learn at a young

age?" A white-heared aunt, probably older, curiously stared at Guo

Jianjun with hazy sight, She wanted to see this province's infamous, the

evil villain in the end looked like this. The place was crowded, bright

light flashed non-stop from the hands of reporters. Unfortunately, a

circle of armed police officers would not let them get close.

Guo

Jianjun gave a deep bow toward the direction of the old aunt. The

white-haired old aunt shouted, "Child, remember to be a good person in

the next life!"

Guo Jianjun smiled, the armed police officer

behind pushed him, he staggered and stepped down his legs. After a long

awaiting for the prisoner, the rear door opened, several armed police

officers put him into the van, then followed in. The door closed, siren

sounded. In the eyes of the crowd, a convoy of several cars rushed out

of the court gate.

The convoy moved towards the suburbs, a middled-aged military police officer with two stars on his shoulders,

looked at Guo Jianjun. The sight in front of the police officer, was none other than a tall and

handsome young man, if not for him to dress as such, no one would have

believed him as a prisoner of death. What was the reason for such a

person to come to this situation?

Looking at the pa.s.sing of the street

through the van window, Guo Jianjun felt the opposite person's gaze,

twisted his body and smiled, "Big Brother! can i have a smoke?"

The

middle-aged officer had performed the task numerous times, but this

man's expression and behavior was not like a person who would meet his demise,

he could not help but becoming alert immediately, he looked seriously at the

prisoner. Two armed military police officers on both sides of him, while his

finger touched the trigger.

Guo Jianjun smiled and shook his

head, "This is not a Hong Kong's film of gangster vs police, are you afraid

that i will run away? Or are you afraid someone will rob the van? Will i

be able to do that? This is the communist country, few people in china

dare to do such a thing."

However, the police officer stayed silent, closely watched his movements.

"Hey!

It's just a cigarette! Why are you so nervous.." Guo Jianjun's eyes swept a

few people's badges and collar, then turned out of the window, sighed

"I was also a soldier in the past, fought with guns, worked really hard

and won the reward, the blood flew through the sweat!" Finished, he no

longer said anything, looked out of the window with confusion, seemed to

remember something.

The officer and several soldiers were a

little surprised to hear that. The officer's watchful expression

lessened, and the finger unconsciously moved away from the trigger.

The

officer looked up and down at Guo Jianjun, paused, and finally asked,

"Have you been a soldier? Military police officer or the PLA?"

"Back

then..." Guo Jianjun faced back and smiled. After a slight of

hesitation, the officer took a pack of cigarettes, pulled out one of the

dots, and cautiously handed it to Guo Jianjun. The latter thanked him,

fingers on the cigarette, took a deep breath and exhaled through his

mouth.

In response to the former's inquiring eyes, Guo Jianjun

said slowly, "I was an infantry soldier on 1993. I spent three years at

the frontier, and after returning from the army, i returned to my

hometown in rural areas where my mother and father lived without

relatives. However, i came back and found out that my father died in the

second year of my military service because of illness and lack of money

for treatment. Because my mom was expecting that i would be rewarded

after the duty and did not want to burden me with my thoughts, she did

not tell me about father's death. When i got home, my father was gone

and my mother was bedridden. The grief was painful, but the living still

had to live, and mother's illness had to be healed. My allowance back

then were less than 3000 yuan, i had to pack all of our stuff, then took my

mother to the city to do all the checks needed, i bought all the medicines

needed, but money were tight. With the help of my comrades and

villagers, i got some money to get mother to stay in the hospital.

However, the hospitalization cost was too high for rural people like us,

i had to entrust mother to the city's comrades, i went to the south with

some villagers to find some work, hoping to earn some money for the

bills." Here, the cigarette in his hand had been burned to the bottom,

Ashes dropped on the van's floor.

A leather shoe stretched over

to put out the cigarette b.u.t.ts, the officer took out another cigarette,

handed it to Guo Jianjun, "Continue!"

"Thanks!" Guo Jianjun waved

his handcuffed hands, his mouth heavely sucked in. He continued to say,

"In the city, the villagers got me a work in a construction site as a

laborer, everyday had to go upstairs and downstairs to pick bricks and

cement, 800 yuan for one month, including food and clothing, wages

would be paid in the sixth month. Altough it sounds tiring, but it was

nothing for ex-infantry like me. 800 yuan would be enough for rural

family like us even if we had to wait for half a year. Ha! Six months

later, the building on the site was finished. But when the paytime was

due, our boss was gone. We were only a group of workers from rural areas

and a bit unfamiliar with the laws, Where to get back our wages? Find

the local government also useless, a few more times, even the

government's door did not let us in. In the end, everything was for

naught, Mother's sickness was still waiting for money, and i did not

have any technical skills. Had to find another workplace, to be the

labourer. Hey! The result was that, i did not come across any money nor

work."

"Why don't you report it?" The officer frowned. Several

military police officers were also attracted to the story, curiously

stared at him, this famous Guo Jianjun suprisingly had such a job.

"Report?"

Guo Jianjun sneered, "Brother, you stay in the army for a long time. It

was not like nowadays, and it was no use to report it. Now there is a

way, even the prime minister would come down to give the workers their

wage. But back then, just try it!"

The middle-aged officer

looked slightly embarra.s.sed, took the cigarette b.u.t.t from the prisoner's

hand, and dropped it off. He handed another one, briefly asked,

"Later?"

"Huh! Later, my mother's condition worsened, anxiously

waiting for money for the surgery, my comrade in arms was there to see

the doctor, while i sold my parents' house. At that time the house was cheap! if it

was put now, it would be ten times the price. Finally, the money from

selling the house was almost spent. I was also pus.h.i.+ng it too. Just

then, i met the boss who owed my wages. I begged for the wages but nothing

came, in the end, he called a bunch of people to beat me up. Dragged a

wound, i contacted a few former comrades, told the matter to them to get

revenge. Oh! Worthy of me who used to life and death on the frontier.

After a discussion, the boss was kidnapped and beaten to pulp, we also

threatened him if he would tell the police then his whole family would

be killed. Boss was also timid, he really did not report it," Guo

Jianjun laughed.

"Military origin, how could you do such a crime?" The officer shook his head.

"It

was too late, Mother didn't wait for the money and left this world,"

Guo Jianjun voice down, suddenly looked at the officer, slightly

shouted, "What about military origin? if it was the warring era, i would

not hesitate to throw my blood for the country. To protect the country, to

protect the homeland, but i couldn't even protect my own parents, what's

the point of adhering to the military's beliefs? Now you go and see,

those who are in the most glamorous places enjoying themselves, are

those the ordinary soldiers who defended the motherland? Or those

ordinary people?!"

"Is this the reason you betrayed your

motherland and harmed your national interests? Have you forgotten the

phrase in your military oath.... That the national interests are above

all?" The officer was in rage. The surrounding police officers in the

compartment looked at each other with a bit of gaping stare, this was the

first time they perfomed the task and encountered such a thing.

"Harmed

the interests of the country, perhaps! But you said that i betrayed

the motherland, please take back that sentence. I, Guo Jianjun, dared to

do anything these past years, but to betray the motherland, only the

traitor would do that, i can not afford to bear the name of a

traitor.... If i had to put on this charge before i was dying, i really wouldn't stop crying," Guo Jianjun stared coldly at the opposite party

with a chuckle.

Several military police officers did not quite

understand what Guo Jianjun meant by this remark. The middle-aged

officer turned out to be emotionally stable, and looked thoughtfully at

him for a moment, slowly said, "Do you regret it till this day?"

"Regret?"

Guo Jianjun laughed, "Regret in life? Is regret useful? Anyone who

walks the path of the world would know that sooner or later they would

come back to the beginning. At least 18 years later, i might be a hero."

"18 Years later, is a hero?" The officer could not help but laughed, "Do you read martial arts novels?"

"Oh!

No more, no less. Yes, i will introduce you to a place to read some

novels. It is free to go and see, there's also a lot of novels in it,"

Guo Jianjun said.

The middle-aged aged officer nodded and smiled, "Thank you! I'll go see it later."

The

van shaked a bit from the b.u.mp, apparently they had come into the

countryside, not far from the destination. Guo Jianjun glanced at the

corner of a certain military police officer, the officer was

wearing a black hood, and never took it off from start to finish. He could

not help but asked, "Later, is brother the one who will send me to my

destination?"

The officer nodded and did not say anything more.

Guo Jianjun exclaimed at the officer wearing the black hood, "Brother,

please! Wait a little longer and entertain me some more," But no one

responded him.

Felt helpless, Guo Jianjun sat on the swinging car,

his feeling was down. Yesterday bustling like a dream, beauty in the arms

left and right, fleeting in the blink of an eye. He thought of an old

song, mouth could not help but muttered, "Last night, Last night's

stars have fallen, disappeared in the distant Milky Way, want to

remember, but forgotten..."

The van slowed down, and finally stopped.

Guo

Jianjun got dragged off the van, looked up to see the sky had become

overcast, hiding thunder and lightning. After the officers intervened,

he was pushed to the designated execution site.

The executioner

readied his gun, the dark muzzle aimed at the prisoner, finger to the

trigger, just about to pull it, but overheard the exploding thunder. Guo

Jianjun's closed eyes suddenly opened fiercely to see the sky, a purple

lightning from above, he only felt paralyzed, then gradually lost

consciousness. Before his consciousness dissipated, he asked himself in

his heart, "Did i really deserved to be struck by a heavenly lightning?"

The

Death row prisoner's body instantly charred black, all of the officers

in the surrounding were stunned. The commander recovered his blank mind,

he called the forensic officer to examine it. A while later, the

forensic officer stood up and shouted, "Already dead!"

Standing in

front of the charred body, the commander looked at the camera, not sure

how to report the photographed evidence for the execution, then he took the

executioner's gun, pointed at the heart of the charred body, "Bang!" A

shot! He muttered, "You are executed according to law, not lightning!"