Chapter 308: It's Better to be Alive

As soon as the two came out, they took a taxi straight to the train station. When they arrived at the train station, they were so hungry they couldn't take it anymore, so they found a small snack bar and filled their stomachs. At this time, they didn't care about the dirt and chaos anymore.

After eating, they finally regained some energy. After paying the bill and leaving the snack bar, they went to the train station ticket office to inquire. There was only one train to Yangcheng, which was at 1:00 AM tomorrow, and it was a slow train, not arriving until after 3:00 PM. What made them even more desperate was that there were no sleeper berths left.

The man looked at the woman: "Are we taking it?"

The woman thought about having to wait at the train station until 1:00 AM, and then having to squeeze into a hard seat for ten hours with country bumpkins who smelled of body odor, and she shuddered.

But then thinking about the rats, cockroaches, and unknown insects in those small inns, her pores opened, her hair stood up, and she instantly got goosebumps all over.

"Take it. There are no planes from Coconut City to Hong Kong, what else can we take if not the train?" The woman said through gritted teeth, "If we are too tired, we can rest in Yangcheng for two days."

The man bought the tickets and found a place to sit down, then began to endure the torment, hoping time would pass quickly so they could leave this place that made him feel disgusted and nauseated.

Jiangzhou, Detention Center!

The sky outside was stained with a layer of red clouds. Zhao Jianlong looked up at that small square of sky, his tense body gradually relaxing, and then he let out a long breath and muttered to himself.

"Lived another day!"

At this moment, the door was opened with a "clatter," and the correctional officer, Lao Wan, walked in carrying a bunch of cell door keys.

The room full of detainees stood up in unison and shouted: "Good correctional officer!"

Lao Wan looked intentionally or unintentionally at Zhao Jianlong, who was wearing shackles and handcuffs and a red vest marked for death row inmates, and then said to the cell head, Lao Sun.

"Special approval for thirty minutes of outdoor time."

Lao Sun's face lit up with joy: "Thank you, Correctional Officer Wan!"

More than a dozen people walked out in an orderly fashion. Outside, there were two more correctional officers who took them to a small playground, which was where they usually had their outdoor time.

Zhao Jianlong didn't move. Lao Wan took a cigarette out of his pocket and lit one for Zhao Jianlong.

Zhao Jianlong took a deep puff of the cigarette. It was clear that his hand holding the cigarette was shaking, but he was trying his best to control it.

"Lao Wan, is there news?"

Lao Wan smiled: "No, I just came over to chat with you."

Zhao Jianlong asked: "How long until it comes down?"

Lao Wan said: "Who can say for sure? Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after, maybe next month. It's also possible that the High Court believes the evidence in your case lacks relevance, or that the facts were wrongly determined, so sending it back for retrial is also possible."

Hearing Lao Wan's words, Zhao Jianlong knew very well that the probability of a retrial was almost zero, but light still shone in his eyes, and he had hope for life. His slightly trembling hand stopped shaking.

Lao Wan also lit a cigarette: "If there is a result tomorrow and it's good, then there's nothing more to say. If it's bad, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?"

Zhao Jianlong smiled quite indifferently: "In this half of my life, I've eaten what I should have eaten, played what I should have played, and haven't lacked any enjoyment. If I have to say there's an unfulfilled wish, it would probably be my wife, children, and my old mother."

"Actually, once you see through it, life is just like that." Lao Wan took a puff of his cigarette, "To be honest, even if you, Zhao Jianlong, were executed tomorrow, you've lived a life more worthwhile than mine."

Zhao Jianlong laughed loudly: "If the death penalty review ruling comes down, just let my wife come alone. The child is still young, and my mother is old, so don't let them come."

Lao Wan nodded: "Okay, I've noted it down."

The two chatted, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

In a corner of the small outdoor playground, Lao Sun squatted at the base of the wall, and everyone in the cell was gathered in front of him.

A young man who looked quite clever asked in a low voice.

"Brother Sun, what's going on? It's study time now, why are we suddenly having outdoor time?"

Lao Sun glanced at the two correctional officers not far away and said: "Zhao Jianlong might be hitting the road tomorrow."

"Ah?" Everyone looked shocked.

Lao Sun said softly: "Zhao Jianlong's death penalty review ruling should have come down. The correctional officer is chatting with him alone, not to explicitly tell him the ruling is down, but to give him a psychological forecast, so that he doesn't react excessively when the review ruling is read tomorrow and cause trouble."

The young man gave a thumbs up and said: "Brother Sun, you really know a lot."

Lao Sun laughed: "You kid, stop the damn flattery."

A young man said: "Brother Sun has sent off more death row inmates than can be counted on two hands."

Lao Sun nodded, scanned the dozen or so people around him, sighed, and said: "I've sent off so many death row inmates. When the review ruling was read, some were very calm, some collapsed on the ground in fear, some cried in remorse, and some even peed their pants."

"These past few days, Zhao Jianlong has looked very calm, but I can tell that he is very afraid and anxious inside. Let me tell you, there aren't many people in this world who can truly face death calmly."

"So, brother advises you all: once you get out, don't break the law again. It's better to be alive. Don't wait until you've made a big mistake to regret it; it will be too late. There's no regret medicine to buy in this world."

The young man suddenly asked: "Brother Sun, how did you get in?"

"Me?" Brother Sun shook his head slightly.

The young man said: "Brother Sun was framed. Because the case is quite complicated, he's been in for more than four years and it still hasn't been cleared up."

At this time, another guy said: "I never dreamed that I would be in the same cell as Zhao Jianlong, accompanying him through the last days of his life and witnessing his death."

Another person nodded: "This life can be considered not lived in vain; I'll have something to brag about when I get out."

The young man's eyes flashed with worship: "Once Zhao Jianlong is dead, Jiangzhou will be Zhou Andong's world."

"Beep beep beep..."

The whistle suddenly sounded. Lao Sun urged: "Back to the cell, keep your mouths shut, no discussing this matter."

"Understood!"

"Understood!"

"Understood!"

That night, Zhao Jianlong slept very soundly, more peacefully than ever. When he woke up in the morning, he felt refreshed.

After breakfast, everyone got busy, started cleaning, then marched in place for more than ten minutes. By 8:30, they were all sitting properly on small stools, sitting in two rows against the large boards on both sides, waiting for the correctional officer to take roll call.

"Clatter!" Lao Wan still walked in carrying a bunch of keys, took roll call according to the rules, and then checked the hygiene. "Cleaned very well. The weather is very good today. When you have outdoor time later, take the bedding out to sun it."

As he spoke, he looked at Lao Sun again. "You arrange for someone to move Zhao Jianlong's bedding out too."

"Yes!" Lao Sun agreed and arranged for people to pack the bedding.

Just at this moment, a majestic shout came from outside: "Zhao Jianlong, come out!"

The air seemed to freeze instantly, and everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Zhao Jianlong. ===== CHAPTER 309 =====