Inside Wen Yuâs room, he was amusing his little Soul Beast.
Counting the time, he should be back soon.
Wen Yu wasnât worried at all about whether Li Quanâan would accept his proposal. Li Quanâan was a smart man, and waiting idly for death wasnât something a smart man would do.
KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK.
"Come in."
Wen Yu looked up to see Li Quanâanâs plump face.
"Have the people Mayor Li sent out returned? Howâs the situation?"
"Brother Wen Yu, youâre right. The situation is not good," Li Quanâan said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.
"So what is Mayor Liâs decision?" Wen Yu calmly stroked the little Soul Beast, looking at Li Quanâan with a teasing expression.
This was clearly a rhetorical question. Wen Yu knew Li Quanâanâs decision perfectly well; in fact, Li Quanâan only had one path to take.
"Brother Wen Yu, you must be joking. Even a fool could see the right choice," Li Quanâan chuckled, then tentatively asked, "Shall we... discuss the matter of cooperation?"
Wen Yu waved his hand dismissively. "Do we even need to discuss this? Thereâs only one way: pile on the bodies. Iâll take the lead, but I need people to draw their fire. You bring up the rear with your men and make sure everyone charges forward. We save whoever manages to break through."
Hearing such a brutally simple method, Li Quanâan hesitated. "But, wouldnât a lot of people die this way?"
Hearing Li Quanâanâs words, Wen Yu laughed. "Mayor Li, how many people die has nothing to do with you or me, right? In this situation, we just need to make sure weâre not the ones dying. Isnât that enough? If our forces are wiped out, we can rebuild them. But we only get one life."
Li Quanâanâs expression gradually firmed. "No problem. I still have over 300 people here. Half of them are ordinary folks, not professionists. If they die, they die. Brother Wen Yu is right. I donât even know if Iâll make it out alive, so why worry so much about them? Iâll rally them tomorrow, and weâll leave early the day after."
"Good. In that case, Mayor Li, Iâll await your good news."
Wen Yu extended his hand to Mayor Li. Their hands clasped firmly, and then Mayor Li left the room.
"Heh." Wen Yu took a bottle of red wine from the small, long-dead refrigerator in his room. He had no idea what brand it was. He took a rough swig and then tossed the bottle aside. "Damn, this stuff is disgusting."
Over 300 people... thatâs about right.
He mentally simulated the battle that would take place the day after tomorrow.
Hmm, barring any accidents, thereâs an over 80% chance of breaking out. Thatâs pretty good.
As for those fated to die as his cannon fodder, Wen Yu felt not a shred of guilt. If blame was to be assigned, it was to their rotten luck or, perhaps, their utter weakness.
In the apocalypse, the weak deserve to die. Thereâs no sympathy, nor is there any need for mercy.
The sky outside grew darker. Wen Yu slowly closed his eyes.
What he needed now was just to conserve his energy.
...
Inside Mayor Liâs room, a group of people were in a meeting.
"No, I disagree!" Sun Ruixing slammed the table and shouted at Li Quanâan.
"Li Quanâan, I misjudged you! If you do this, all those old men and children will die!"
Just moments before, Li Quanâan had convened a meeting with his confidants, Lin Hu, and Sun Ruixing, where he announced Wen Yuâs plan. The entire room was silent, except for Sun Ruixing.
Listening to Sun Ruixingâs loud accusations, Li Quanâan took a deep drag from his cigarette and said calmly to Sun Ruixing, "Brother Ruixing, I respect you as a man of principle. Thatâs why I called you to discuss this matter of life and death. But now I see youâre just too stubbornly idealistic."
"Since youâre unhappy with this plan, Brother Sun, why donât you come up with a better one?" In terms of cunning, Li Quanâan was leagues ahead of Sun Ruixing.
"Regardless, I disagree with your plan! If you insist on having the old folks and children lead the charge, Iâll go down and tell them right now that you, Li Quanâan, are sending them to their deaths!" Sun Ruixing roared, his face flushed and the veins on his neck bulging.
Li Quanâan looked at Sun Ruixing intently and began to speak slowly. "First, itâs not the elderly and children leading the charge; Wen Yu is. Second, with them following Wen Yu, he can offer them some degree of protection. And finally, itâs not just them who have to chargeâwe all do. If we donât break out, we die. Itâs only a question of sooner or later."
As for whether Wen Yu would actually go out of his way to protect those people, Li Quanâan could only scoff internally.
Hearing Li Quanâanâs explanation, Sun Ruixing grew even more incensed. "Then at least let the old people and children get in the vehicles, shouldnât we?"
Seeing Sun Ruixing still persisting, Li Quanâanâs anger flared. "Sun Ruixing, you need to understand: every person in a vehicle means one less body on foot to draw fire! You can see the whole plan clearly. Iâm not going to waste time on pointless arguments. Let me ask you just one thing: is your own life more important, or are other peopleâs lives more important?"
Seeing Sun Ruixing still reluctant, Li Quanâan delivered his ultimatum. "They donât have to go if they donât want to. But this plan was made by Brother Wen Yu. Anyone who doesnât charge, fine. But for our own safety, we have ways to *make* them charge. If you donât like it, Sun Ruixing, you can try to resist. See whoâs stronger: you with your elderly and children, or all the professionists in this camp plus Brother Wen Yu. An arm canât win a wrestling match against a thigh, after all."
Ignoring Sun Ruixingâs shocked expression, Li Quanâan spoke directly. "Now, does anyone else have a problem with this plan?"
Seeing that there were no more âsaintsâ like Sun Ruixing in the room, Li Quanâan nodded with satisfaction. "Alright then. Tomorrow morning, have everyone get ready. Tell them Chaihe Town is completely back in order and weâre relocating there. We set out early the morning after next. Pass down the orders: find some non-professionists to drive the vehicles. Have them follow Wen Yu and draw enemy fire."
Li Quanâan glanced again at Sun Ruixingâs grim face and issued his final command. "The morning after next, kill anyone who refuses to leave. Instead of letting them die a slow, miserable death cooped up here, itâs better to send them on their way to reincarnation a bit sooner."
Sun Ruixing stared at Mayor Li in disbelief, never expecting Li Quanâan to issue such an order.
Li Quanâan gave Sun Ruixing a dark smile. "So, Brother Sun, keep your mouth shut. Donât let people who could have made it out end up dying by our own hands."
Ignoring Sun Ruixingâs ashen face, Li Quanâan walked out of the conference room.
...