Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In the blink of an eye, the wound on Li Nan's right chest had healed, and he casually tore off the white bandage. He then said to Bitter Melon beside him, "You have the final say here; I'm going to find Mo Xiaohui and the others!"
Bitter Melon nodded, seemingly amused, while Li Nan adjusted his already disheveled clothes and quickly ran across the dusty ruins, climbing over a broken wall to escape.
Next to the army tank at the camp's entrance, the corpse of the rat had been riddled with bullets, resembling a beehive, with no part of it left intact. Even so, some brothers were not satisfied and directly took a knife to sever the rat's head, kicking it aside. The oval-shaped blood gourd rolled away, its two round eyes staring blankly at the now ruined camp!
Meanwhile, Li Nan had already exited the camp boundaries and was running towards a small path reserved at the back gate.
At the beginning of the camp's construction, Brother Three had kept an eye out, anticipating that something might happen in the future. That's why he reserved this back door. Beyond it was a small path leading to a spacious area, allowing civilians in the camp to escape quickly in case of uncontrollable events. It was Brother Three's foresight that saved most of the civilians in today's camp.
After running for about two miles, Li Nan finally saw a crowd gathered together, with two women standing out prominently among them!
Without a doubt, those who could help Li Nan share the burden of the camp's crisis at this moment were Mo Xiaohui and her sister, Lingdang'er.
Around a hundred civilians were huddled together in one spot, but there was no noise; it seemed that the army tank had a significant deterrent effect.
One person spotted Li Nan and immediately spoke up, "Brother Nan, how is it? Has the camp been destroyed?"
Li Nan looked at him; he was a man around fifty years old with a dark complexion and calloused hands—clearly a laborer.
Li Nan raised his hand to calm the expectant civilians and said, "The camp is indeed facing an unprecedented crisis right now. However, things are not as dire as you might think. There will be bread and bottled water; please trust me!"
The man in his fifties changed his expression and immediately questioned, "Why should we trust you? Most of the combat personnel in the camp are either dead or injured, and the camp has been completely destroyed. What can you do to make us believe you?"
Li Nan remained unfazed and replied, "Indeed, I haven't been here long enough for you to know me well. However, let me say this: what has happened is both a natural disaster and a calamity. In ordinary times, we cannot avoid such disasters. Given this situation, what can you do? Should we scatter in despair or regain our spirits and rebuild the camp? This is something you all should consider."
In the crowd, someone moved slightly. When Li Nan looked closely, he realized it was Liu Long; however, his hands and feet were bound with ropes and he couldn't move an inch.
Fatty, who was seriously injured, and A Fei, who had a pre-existing condition, sat on either side, resembling two gatekeepers guarding Liu Long.
Li Nan smiled and said, "Everyone, look back and see who that person is behind you."
All the common people turned to look at Liu Long, who was lost in thought. He immediately lowered his head, seemingly unwilling to face the crowd's gaze. At this point, as a former leader of the camp, he had no face left to meet anyone!
Another citizen jumped out and said, "Liu Long has bullied us often; he deserves this fate!" As he spoke, he kicked towards Liu Long's chin.
In the world of victors and vanquished, a fallen phoenix is no better than a chicken. Even if Liu Long wanted to die now, it wouldn't be so easy.
Beside him, Fatty noticed the sneak attack and glared angrily at the man who kicked. He didn't say a word, but his authority remained undiminished.
The man suddenly felt a jolt of fear and instinctively recoiled. Fatty then spoke up, "What’s this? Trying to rebel?" He couldn't help but laugh when he saw blood spurting from Liu Long's nostrils, then changed his tone, "But that kick was quite good!"
At that moment, Li Nan shouted, "Now you all must have seen it; the former big boss of the camp, Liu Long, is no longer what he used to be. And Second Brother Gao Hu has already perished a few hours ago. I believe you all know who will take over the position of camp leader now?"
The surrounding citizens shook their heads. They had already figured out the situation; it didn't matter who became the camp leader—everyone was equally corrupt. As long as they had power, the first thing they would do is bully these defenseless commoners!
The dark-skinned man who had spoken with Li Nan earlier said again, "The combatants in the camp have suffered heavy losses. Although we don't have guns, if we want to fight to the death together, you won't come out unscathed either. We don't want to stay in that camp any longer; it's better this way—let's part ways and go our separate paths!" He then turned back to the crowd and shouted, "What do you all think?"
The surrounding citizens felt their thoughts shift upon hearing someone take the lead. Although the camp had provided them with a safe haven before, they had suffered too much bullying. Now that over a hundred of them were gathered together, they could carve out a new path for themselves without relying on the camp's power.
Moreover, their discontent stemmed from the fact that most of the combatants in the camp were either dead or injured. This meant that the power that had previously kept them subjugated had weakened significantly. It seemed they now had the qualifications to engage in equal dialogue with Li Nan!
But was it really like this?
Seeing the unusual expressions of the common people, Li Nan immediately laughed and said, "I understand that you all have your doubts. If you regard me as someone like Liu Long or Gao Hu, then you underestimate me, Li Nan. However, what you say does make sense. At this moment, you may no longer need to rely on the strength of the camp!"
At this time, Fatty and A Fei, who were sitting behind the crowd, noticed something was off and stood up. Although they were severely injured, they still had a certain intimidating presence at a critical moment.
A few common people sitting further back saw Fatty and A Fei stand up and immediately shouted in warning, "What are you two planning to do?"
Fatty smirked and replied, "What we want to do doesn’t require your explanation!"
At this moment, Mo Xiaohui and Lingdang'er also rushed over and stopped Fatty, saying, "Don't speak recklessly. Be careful or I’ll bring someone to deal with you!" After saying that, she turned her gaze to Lingdang'er.
Lingdang'er turned her face away and did not look at Fatty, while Fatty pleaded, "Sister Mo, don’t be angry. This is just a misunderstanding; it’s these common people who are trying to rebel!"
Mo Xiaohui looked at Li Nan, whose clothes were tattered and clearly worn from the fighting. It seemed there had been a fierce battle in the camp earlier.
However, seeing that Li Nan was unharmed finally put Mo Xiaohui at ease.
Although Li Nan looked disheveled, his expression remained steady. It seemed that the situation was still under control. How could this group of common people who wanted to establish their own authority actually accomplish anything? If they truly had such intentions, they would have revealed their cards long ago instead of waiting for Li Nan to appear now.
Li Nan smiled and continued, "In the camp, none of you dared to wield a weapon. While having a weapon doesn’t necessarily mean one has courage, not daring to wield one doesn’t mean one is cowardly either. But have you really thought this through? To sever ties with the camp right now is a decision that requires careful consideration; don’t regret it later!"
The dark-skinned man shook his head. Li Nan's words struck a chord with him; would breaking ties with Li Nan lead to good outcomes?
Nearly a hundred common people were pondering this question when Fatty shouted from behind the crowd, "Don’t be ungrateful! When there was no food in the camp, it was Brother Nan who took out his own private rations to help you; when the camp was in trouble, it was Brother Nan who first thought of your lives and had Sister Mo risk herself to bring you out. Otherwise, most of you would be dead by now!"
Among the crowd, a boy around sixteen or seventeen glared at Fatty as if he dismissed what Fatty had said.
At that moment, Fatty saw a Little Brat provoking him and immediately shouted, "Damn it, at such a young age, you're already so defiant. What, you don't believe what your Fat Uncle says?"
Fatty then reached behind him with his right hand, and the young boy immediately flinched.
Seeing this, Fatty burst into laughter, "A coward is a coward; you all are cowards. How come you’ve forgotten the kindness that Brother Nan showed you? Damn it, you’re all a bunch of ingrates!" He then pulled his right hand back out.
Seeing Fatty put on a show of strength, the young boy straightened his neck again.
The inherent flaws of common people are the same everywhere; it has nothing to do with education or cultural literacy. It is a flaw deeply rooted in their very being that cannot be eradicated.
The principle of "having milk means having a mother" applies everywhere.
Hearing Fatty's stern shout, the surrounding commoners began to whisper among themselves, genuinely recalling Li Nan's kindness. But just because Li Nan had given them some benefits, would they bow down and continue living under exploitation? Probably not!
Just as everyone hesitated, a dark-skinned man suddenly shouted, "I want to leave! I will not stay in this camp any longer!"
At this declaration, everyone was in an uproar. Meanwhile, Li Nan spread his hands and calmly said, "The camp is not a prison; it's not a place where once you enter, you can't leave. You have the autonomy to decide. Since you want to go, I won't keep you. Do as you wish!"
Comment 0 Comment Count