The slap on the face wasnât a crisp "pa!" but a muffled "bang".
Qi Zhiyuan was sent flying in the midst of everyoneâs stunned gaze.
Qi Zhendong, who was eager to intervene, froze for a moment and exclaimed, "Big brother!"
The surrounding fell into a dead silence, and suddenly a womanâs scream rang out.
Qi Zhiyuanâs mother raised her hands in disbelief in front of her eyes, her mouth wide open, almost revealing her tonsils.
The woman rushed toward where Qi Zhiyuan had fallen, crying and cursing, "Qi Jian Country, you bastard, are you trying to kill my son?"
While wailing, she picked up Qi Zhiyuan.
At the same time, she cursed Qi Jian Country as heartless, complaining about how difficult it was for her to raise a child alone.
Iron Old Man glanced at his eldest daughter-in-law, kept silent, and his gaze fell on Xiaodong.
When Qi Zhiyuan was picked up by his mother, his head was buzzing, one side of his face numb, the other side swelling in pain, squeezing his eyes into mere slits, now fiercely staring at his own father with those small eyes.
"Why did you hit me?"
"Because youâre useless and you deserved it!"
Qi Jian Country took a step forward and was pulled back by Qi Zhendong, who saw the situation, and softly advised, "Now is not the time to hit him."
He turned to the Qi Zhiyuan on the ground and said coldly, "Arenât you going to get up and apologize to your dad?"
The crowd, watching the Qi Family drama and knowing Qi Zhiyuanâs bullying ways in the shelter, observed coldly and began murmuring.
While itâs true the Qi Family holds the most sway in the shelter, thatâs due to Iron Old Man and the reputation the Qi Brothers built.
Not because of Su Huanâs absolute dominance over the armed train.
Moreover, among the over five thousand people in the shelter, many are not on good terms with the Qi Family. Normally relying on the Qi Brothers, these people naturally dare not speak up.
But seeing the Qi Familyâs decline and with previous trivial frictions, whispers started to increase.
As they talked, a slightly sharp voice reached everyoneâs ears.
"What exactly happened in the bar? My partner went there and never returned, where is he?"
"Yeah, my Liu Zi went to the bar too, and Iâve never seen him since."
"My mom hasnât come back either..."
Hearing these words, Qi Jian Country opened his mouth but was stopped by Qi Zhendong grabbing his arm.
Qi Jian Country looked at his brother in confusion.
The latter shook his head.
They couldnât stop over a hundred lives being lost, they just couldnât fight back against the intruders.
That was the truth.
But who would believe it?
The entire barâs patrons were dead, only the Qi Family survived, no matter how itâs explained, it wouldnât convince people.
People wouldnât believe the truth; they would only believe the most despicable suspicion in their hearts.
The Qi Familyâs situation is already precarious; if this story gets out, there would be no chance of recovery.
"Young Master Qi, my family had the best relationship with you, whereâs he now?"
"You said earlier you made a mistake, did you lead those outsiders in?"
"Didnât you trap everyone!"
Seeing this, Qi Jian Country took a deep breath and sternly shouted, "Rascal, get up!"
Qi Zhiyuan felt like his head was about to burst, every sentence from the surrounding people piercing his mind like a dagger.
But what pained him most was Qi Jian Countryâs slap.
Growing up, he had hardly seen Qi Jian Country a few times; every time he returned home, there were all sorts of reasons for a beating waiting for him.
Others could turn to their dads when bullied outside for support.
But if he got into a fight, heâd have to hide it, because if the family knew, his dad would beat him again.
He thought that with the apocalypse, he would be free of his past life.
But nothing had changed.
Grandpa controlled him, his father and two uncles also controlled him.
Everyone could control him.
Everyone was competent.
Except he was incompetent.
Everyone amounted to something.
Except he was nothing!
Except he deserved to die!
The long-suppressed emotions from his heart surged to his throat, then to his head, filling it until it was about to explode.
He pushed away his sobbing mother and with red eyes shrieked hysterically at Qi Jian Country.
"Incompetent? Qi Jian Country, youâre the real waste!"
"Fifteen years away, not even a colonel, what have you achieved? You are nothing!"
"When my mom was bullied, where were you?"
"When I was insulted for having a deadbeat dad, where were you?"
"When those people were killed, where were you?"
"You were trampled like a dead dog!"
"Qi Jian Country, youâre the trash!"
"What gives you the right to scold me?"
"I donât have a father like you!"
"F*** you!"
The last sentence Qi Zhiyuan shouted through gritted teeth, blood and saliva spraying, each word exploding like a shell in the space.
He stared at Qi Jian Country like an enemy, his head swelling like a pigâs head.
The crowd was left mind-blank by his outburst.
Everyone looked at Qi Zhiyuan with an expression like seeing a ghost, then suddenly turned to the Qi Brothers.
Qi Zhendong and Qi Zhenbang trembled with anger, eyebrows standing stiff, "You little rabbit, say that again?!"
Before they could move forward, Qi Jian Country grabbed his arm.
The roles of the two brothers were now reversed.
Qi Zhendong looked at his big brother.
The latterâs burly body trembled slightly, his face ashen, only the hint of guilt in his eyes couldnât be hidden from his brother of many years.
"Jian Country, is what Zhiyuan said true? My partner...is gone?"