Chapter 140: The Will to Sacrifice

Two more days passed.

Something certain people had been waiting for finally happened.

A group clashed with the town mayor's faction over toll fees during their departure, resulting in mutual casualties—but like the first firecracker to explode, it triggered an intense chain reaction.

No one had expected anyone would dare resist them.

Since the mayor took office years ago and crushed all opposition, this was the first organization to bare its teeth at them, even to bite back.

And it was a minor, unknown group.

To better finish harvesting the chives and to assert their authority, the mayor's close aides immediately mobilized troops to crush the rebel group's stronghold.

Unexpectedly, while the group fought back fiercely, they secretly dispatched a covert team to attack the Town Hall.

When thick black smoke swirled above the Town Hall, countless onlookers stared in disbelief—this group's audacity made many believe they had lost their minds.

No one could imagine where they found the courage.

Were they truly unafraid of death? Or did someone back them?

Soon.

When another group appeared, dressed in strange attire, the question was answered—

The Underground Arena.

As the younger brother of Silver Monkey, the unchallenged king of the Iron Town, Did Did Yin Ma had opened an identical arena in the Undercity, but far more quietly than his brother.

Who could have imagined he would now directly confront the mayor's faction—with such a solid reason?

To resolve the dispute, he demanded the mayor's side provide a proper explanation for their recent arbitrary fees and disruption of Iron Town's peace.

In other words, make them spit back what they'd swallowed and apologize.

This threw the mayor's inner circle into panic; they urgently contacted Mayor Rubi, who sat idle in Silicon Beryllium City—but he couldn't return in time and had no idea how much his subordinates had pocketed.

He only learned the true details through Did Did Yin Ma's words.

He had wanted to contact Did Did Yin Ma's brother, Silver Monkey, but the latter refused to answer calls, forcing him into an awkward remote negotiation with Did Did Yin Ma instead.

But Did Did Yin Ma gave him no respect whatsoever—he demanded not only that his subordinates return all the money extorted in recent days, but also that the mayor and everyone in the Town Hall issue a public apology.

——How could the mayor possibly accept this? Not only would it destroy his face, but if he did it, his official cap would be off for good—he might even lose his life.

After all, the Town Hall symbolized Elder Ejin, the mayor of Silicon Beryllium City's honor—it was an extension of his will towering above Iron Town.

In desperation, the mayor chose one word: "Delay."

Delay until higher-ups agreed to see him, delay until he could return to Iron Town and handle this mess.

But he never imagined his once-infallible delaying tactic would reveal the Town Hall's "weakness" to many organizations.

Many groups in Iron Town harbored old grudges and new resentments; they had been suppressed from erupting into large-scale conflict only because Did Did Yin Ma and Silver Monkey had allowed the mayor's faction to crush all dissent.

Now that the mayor's faction was weakened, many organizations watched as the Sandflow Team had grown fat from their plunder, consumed by envy beyond measure.

Who wouldn't want to grow rich on others' corpses?

The Jackal Team's internal split wasn't over—they were still negotiating with the Sandflow Team—and many began to feel: if the Sandflow Team can do it, so can we.

Suddenly,

An unusual mood was brewing across Iron Town.

Meanwhile, Did Did Yin Ma's Arena and the mayor's faction remained locked in stalemate; the original small group that sparked the conflict survived by slipping through the cracks, leaving many stunned.

But why would Did Did Yin Ma do something so exhausting and thankless?

The root reason was that the two brothers had chosen silence hoping Iron Town could develop peacefully—they never wanted to return to the era of daily battles. But the mayor's faction's recent actions were clearly destroying that stability; naturally, they had to step forward.

Yet the most crucial point was this:

"Is Did Did Yin Ma also on our side?"

"In stance, he does stand with us, and he truly hopes we can bring a brighter future to Oure. But don't rely on him too much—his main duty is to hold back the mayor's faction and his brother."

Shan Ren explained to Baimu: "Silver Monkey's history is complicated. After realizing that no matter who replaced the top leaders of Oure, the outcome remained the same, he completely abandoned any hope of reviving Oure. Thus, his personality is extremely stubborn."

Zero Point Reading Network

"Hey…"

"Someone's going to crack soon. Just wait and see."

The day after Shan Ren spoke these words, Iron Town erupted into chaos.

The organization to which Rap Brother belonged declared war on another long-standing rival, invading its territory.

At once, all eyes turned to the two largest factions locked in stalemate.

When they realized neither side truly intervened—only issuing warnings that the "first shot" group must avoid large-scale conflict and limit actions to surface-level skirmishes—

Everyone went mad.

The chaos sweeping across Iron Town officially began.

——

Office Building.

"In two days, the Sandflow Team will launch a further incursion against the Jackal Team."

Master Liu Ge stood at the front, addressing those below: "Jiemate has been successfully recruited by the Crystal Group. He and his subordinates will cooperate with us to launch a surprise attack on the Luo Qi Group's territory."

He glanced at Baimu and added, "A week ago, during the mine dispute, Luo Qi faced off against Elder Cang Zhi Lang. After exchanging wounds, Elder Cang Zhi Lang emerged victorious. Luo Qi fell ill after returning to the Jackal Team's base and has been bedridden ever since."

"Though this wasn't part of our plan, it has further accelerated the ambition of the Sandflow Team's Stone and Crystal Groups."

Damn!

A gift from heaven!

Baimu was surprised—the Sandflow Team had such luck? He wondered if Cang Zhi Lang had recovered; last time he saw him, the injuries looked severe.

"Luo Qi is hot-tempered—he's likely to make reckless moves. Our main goal is to ensure the Sandflow Team captures Luo Qi's territory smoothly, and to prompt the Crystal Group to probe another top leader's territory."

Master Liu Ge spoke softly, distributing documents one by one.

"This is your basic division of duties. I'll make corrections on-site as the situation requires."

"Yes, sir!"

A chorus of crisp replies.

All Baimu looked at the document in his hand. Clearly written on it were the tasks he had to carry out—"Defeat the regular members of the Hound Squad, persuade the peripheral members to surrender. First ensure your own safety, then ensure the safety of ordinary civilians."

Ordinary civilians… Right. This time it wasn't a raid on a mine, but a strike against the Hound Squad's territory within the town. Involving ordinary people was only natural.

The more chaotic Huang Tie Town became, the higher the probability their operation would succeed—but it was inevitable that ordinary people would be affected.

But what could they do? They were the weaker side.

"Nothing in this world can ever be perfectly accounted for. All we can do is grit our teeth and keep walking forward. As for merit and fault, we can wait until the dust settles before we settle the score."

Flobo seemed to read his thoughts and offered quiet counsel.

"Exactly. If a peaceful transition were possible, no one would want to take it this far. But the root cause lies in those people's greed and desire to plunder. We're in no position to make decisions for everyone, yet we also can't keep sitting by while tragedies unfold."

Another person spoke slowly.

All Baimu looked at them. On not a single one of those faces did he see any attempt to shirk responsibility; instead, he saw a thick sense of mission, as if every ounce of accountability rested on their own shoulders.

This was a team of unwavering conviction, willing to sacrifice themselves.