Chapter 425: Chaos Is the Ladder to Ascension!

General Zhang Su held his knife in hand, turned the lock, and pushed open Room 202; as the door swung open, voices inside could be heard.

"Do you guys at Tianma Yu always get up this early? It's not even six yet and you're already making noise!"

Wu Baokang's snores were loud, but he slept lightly—he'd woken when Zhang Su and the others stomped up the stairs, and after hearing the door open, he began complaining incessantly.

Snap, Zhang Su flipped on the light; the blinding glare made Wu Baokang raise his hand to shield his eyes.

"What the hell are you doing? Don't you even say something before turning on the light…?"

"Stop whining. Things aren't as you claimed—you're not leaving. Come on!"

Zhang Su pulled plastic zip ties and a coil of steel wire from his bag.

"What do you mean? Why are you tying me up?"

Wu Baokang blinked his dry, gritty eyes, two large crusts of sleep still clinging to the corners; he stared at Zhang Su in confusion, then instantly understood the moment he saw the tools in his hands—his body tensed, and his hands instinctively pulled back.

"Didn't you tell me you'd report back by tomorrow at the latest, and then Liao Youzhi would decide the next move based on the info? But your boss Liao Youzhi called the other three groups together at five a. . and is preparing to attack us! Can you explain why?"

Zhang Su's face was cold, his expression grim.

"Huh?!"

Wu Baokang froze, his face blank and cartoonishly dumb; he shook his head frantically, saw Zhang Su's murderous look, and realized this wasn't a lie—he waved his hands wildly: "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! Liao Youzhi always plans meticulously—he'd never change plans so suddenly! Where did you hear this? Someone's lying to you!"

Zhang Su would doubt any source, but the information from Li Zongkai—he wouldn't doubt it, unless Li Zongkai himself had been deceived. That was possible, but it didn't stop him from preparing for battle.

"Someone's lying to you? My source is reliable. It's clear Liao Youzhi lied to you—your boss plans to abandon you all, doesn't he?"

Zhang Su began sowing discord.

"Impossible, impossible… Ohhh…"

Wu Baokang's expression shifted wildly as he turned the matter over and over in his mind, unable to make sense of it; he grabbed his hair and let out a frustrated roar.

"Come on—you're now a key hostage. I promised before I wouldn't kill you, and I keep my word. But you'd better hope Liao Youzhi has some loyalty—when he sees you tied up, he might hesitate to shoot. Otherwise, you're dead."

Zhang Su shook the rope in his hand.

"There's definitely something wrong here—I didn't lie to you!"

Wu Baokang had no choice—he couldn't fight, couldn't run, had no options left. Finally, he extended his hands, turned his head aside. This time, he didn't try any tricks—he'd been thoroughly beaten down the past few days and knew full well the gap between himself and Zhang Su. He wouldn't be foolish again.

In a few swift motions, Zhang Su bound Wu Baokang's arms tightly—thin steel wire bit into his wrists, rope secured his elbows, and worst of all, his fingers were all zip-tied together…

"Heh… heh…"

Wu Baokang tilted his head to look at his bound arms and let out a self-deprecating laugh.

"Feels like slaughtering a pig for the New Year. Hey, Lord of Death, are you this insecure you've got to tie me up like a festival pig?"

Zhang Su tugged firmly on the knots, pulling him outside as he said, "Shut up. No one's got time to watch you."

Stepping into the hallway, Wu Baokang saw the other captives tied up outside—worse off than him, their upper bodies wrapped in over a dozen coils of rope, nearly turned into rice dumplings; the guards beside them held burlap sacks, clearly planning to put them over their heads.

Soon, Zhang Su led the ten hostages to Xiao Xingyun. He noticed no one was waiting in the dining hall—they'd all gathered in the courtyard.

"Big brother, you bringing all these guys here to negotiate with Liao Youzhi?"

Zhao Dezhu, who'd been squatting in the corner smoking and cleaning his gun, jumped over to Zhang Su's side upon seeing the newcomers.

Everyone else turned to Zhang Su. They'd assembled quickly, but still didn't know what was going on.

"At five a. ., Liao Youzhi notified Civilian Guardians, Tianqi Corps, and Little Eagle Society—he's planning to attack us!"

Zhang Su's single sentence silenced the courtyard instantly. At that moment, Wu Daqiang entered the yard carrying a signal transmitter; seeing the frozen atmosphere, he quietly led his men to the side. During this, he and Wu Baokang exchanged glances—both their eyes held complex emotions.

"Boss, Gong Chengming swore the Survivor Alliance had no interest in the north, yet now they're coming to attack us—this is a betrayal! We've got to teach them a lesson!"

Qi Xiaoshuai spoke first, then sniffled—he'd been dragged out of his warm bed too early and caught a chill.

"Teach them a lesson? Heh…" Lu Yubo chuckled darkly, his gaze flicking over the ten hostages. "The name 'Yanluo Army' isn't given lightly. If they dare come, we'll send them straight to hell!"

"Quiet. Listen to me."

Zhang Su raised his hand, drawing all eyes to him, and said in a low voice: "There's something I must tell you now. Li Zongkai—the old man who came with us to the Cultural Road barracks—is one of us."

"Li Zongkai didn't know Tianma Yu was my territory, so he agreed to join Liao Youzhi against us. And I didn't know Civilian Guardians was his faction—we nearly ended up fighting each other…"

!!!

Except for the few who already knew, everyone else was stunned. This news was explosive—even those who trusted Zhang Su deeply couldn't help doubting, until they saw Wu Daqiang and the others' calm expressions, and only then did they believe it was true.

Not just the Tianma Yu group—even Wu Baokang and the five Tianqi Corps captives wore stunned expressions. They never imagined such a story existed—it was unbelievable.

This added another layer of chaos to an already tangled situation. No one could say how things would unfold.

"Never thought the famed Civilian Guardians had such a deep tie to Tianma Yu. Who could've guessed? Honestly, I never saw this coming. It's all gone to hell—getting messier by the minute… Hahaha!"

Wu Baokang suddenly burst into laughter. Liao Youzhi had gathered intelligence meticulously—but he'd never heard a word of this!

"Didn't you hear my big brother? Neither he nor Old Li knew the other's situation—how could your boss possibly know? You're a total idiot!"

Zhao Dezhu seized the chance to berate Wu Baokang—he'd been cursed out mercilessly the night before, right before his mouth got tied shut.

Wu Baokang ignored Zhao Dezhu completely, rolled his eyes toward the sky, muttering under his breath—no one could make out his words, but his deadpan, unbothered demeanor infuriated Zhao Dezhu.

Zhang Su didn't mind the chaos—because chaos is the ladder to ascent!

"The Civilian Guardians matter is only one part. There's another matter!"

Zhang Su's gaze swept over the Tianqi Corps men and said coolly: "Liao Youzhi's goal isn't just to seize this northern territory. According to his own words (he nodded toward Wu Baokang), he plans to use the chaos to eliminate the other three groups—and then dominate the entire northern Qin City alone!"

"Huh?"

The tall, thin leader of Tianqi Corps turned pale, staring at Wu Baokang in disbelief. Seeing the sneer on Wu's face, he realized Zhang Su wasn't lying—this was true.

"You… you Survivor Alliance are despicable! We agreed to split the land, but you stab us in the back! Liao Youzhi is a treacherous, vile, cowardly worm!"

The tall man erupted in curses, spittle flying.

The five Survivor Alliance members didn't react. Since ancient times, victors rule and losers perish—and in this world, where men devour each other, who still cares about propriety, righteousness, loyalty, or filial piety?

"Quiet!"

Zhang Su glared at the still-yelling tall man.

"Yes!"

The tall man immediately clamped his mouth shut, stood at attention, and said: "Lord of Death, I'm Fan Dahai, Knight of Light of Tianqi Corps—I'm ready to fight the Survivor Alliance!"

"Pfft…"

Before Zhang Su could respond, Lu Yubo couldn't hold back his laughter: "Seriously? You? Knight of Light? Are you serious?"

"Cough… cough…" Yu Wen cleared his throat, deadpan: "Knight of Light—Lamolock of the Twelve Round Table Knights. One of the three strongest knights, said to wield an unstoppable spear."

With Yu Wen's explanation, everyone now had a clearer image of the Knight of Light. Looking again at the tall, scrawny man's shabby, weak appearance, they all felt he dishonored both the Light and the title of Knight—utterly baffled how the Tianqi Corps leader had given him such a name.

(End of Chapter)