Chapter 621: You're the Boss, You Call the Shots

"No, no, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! I don't really know anything—even if it's a hundred kilometers, we'd need more than a day to walk, with no food, no water, no weapons, people will die… How about this: brothers and sisters, leave these two boys and the women to you, let us take some food and drink and go. Just food and drink—we won't take any weapons!"

The skinny monkey bowed deeply with both hands clasped, earnestly pleading: "You're well-armed and well-equipped—have mercy! We pose no threat whatsoever."

"Enough chatter. Get out now. Say another word and you'll be fertilizer."

Zhang Su's first impression of this group was extremely poor—their behavior was strange, their speech twisted and sarcastic, and they hadn't even tried to probe the Dragon Head camp's whereabouts, since it was hard to tell whether their words were true or false.

"Keep us…."

"Please, brothers and sisters, we're honest villagers, kidnapped by them—staying with them means certain death."

"Yes, yes, take us in! Just give us a bite to eat—we'll work hard, I swear. Look at this boy, strong and able-bodied, and I can work too, and I can bear children—I'll bear you all children!"

Unexpectedly, before the Dragon Head deserters could speak, the hostages began pitching themselves.

Zhang Su frowned. Fortunately, the Yinluo Legion's ideology was now unified—there were no more naive do-gooders left. He didn't need to pretend; he spoke bluntly to those around him.

"I think these people are suspicious. Those two half-grown boys and several women seem forced, but their expressions occasionally betray no fear. Whether they're faking fear or faking calm, one of them is lying. I won't take in a single one of them!"

"Big brother, you're the BOSS, you call the shots!" Zhao De zhu blurted out in English, his accent thick with seafood.

"Yeah, Brother Shu, you decide."

"Why explain to us? Brother Shu, no need—what's it gonna be? Kill them or let them go?"

Among the crowd, Ke Zhiyu stood quietly beside Liu Tianji, silently absorbing the atmosphere of the Yinluo Legion, learning how to behave.

Zhou Haotian's thoughts ran deeper than Ke Zhiyu's. From every small detail, he deeply sensed the Yinluo King's control, insight, decisiveness, and authority within the Yinluo Legion.

He finally understood why the Survivors' Alliance had been utterly crushed.

"I'll say it one last time!"

Zhang Su shifted his shoulders, raising his rifle as he spoke: "Go! Five, four…"

"No, brothers, please don't—let us stay! We don't want to go with them…"

"Save us!"

"I don't want to die…"

Hearing Zhang Su's countdown, the seven captives suddenly broke free from the hands behind them and sprinted frantically toward the Yinluo Legion.

"Holy shit, holy shit… Big brother, what the hell do we do now?"

Zhao De zhu panicked as the boy and the young woman charged toward them.

Not just him—most people were bewildered. If the Dragon Head deserters had turned to grab weapons and fight to the death, they could've shot without hesitation. But facing unarmed children and women, their trigger fingers lacked the will to pull! Fifty to sixty meters wasn't far, but the uneven railway slowed their sprint.

The Dragon Head deserters behind made no move to stop them—they seemed to hope the Yinluo Legion would take the hostages and, out of kindness, hand over some supplies.

"Do we shoot or not?"

Zheng Xinyu held her rifle, unsure whether to fire or not. Seeing Zhang Su delay his order, she urged impatiently.

Zhang Su felt every eye fixed on him. How should he handle these pleading women and children?

In an instant, Zhang Su suddenly noticed the skinny monkey pulling open his waistband with one hand and shoving the other inside—an indecent gesture like scratching his crotch. His super-vision wasn't for show; at fifty meters, the scene was crystal clear—he saw the cold malice and cruelty in the skinny monkey's eyes. And not just him—the faces of the others sprinting forward were wrong too.

If they were truly fleeing captivity, they should've been terrified, panicked. Why did their faces radiate urgency and brutality? This wasn't normal. Every anomaly was a problem.

"Kill!"

A cold voice erupted from his throat! Whoosh! The fastest attack was a blue-bladed dagger, streaking with dazzling light, plunging straight into the fastest-running boy.

Tap-tap-tap.

Immediately after came a rapid burst of gunfire.

"Ah…"

"Ugh…"

Plop.

Soon, several sprinting figures collapsed into pools of blood.

"No… no, this isn't right… aaaaah…"

Watching her fallen companions, the woman who hadn't been hit crouched down, clutching her head and screaming like a madwoman.

"Run! Keep running forward, you bastards!"

Seeing the Yinluo Legion open fire, the skinny monkey dropped his pretense. Cruelty etched across his face, he screamed orders at the women crouched on the ground, forcing them to charge forward again.

Zhang Su didn't focus solely on shooting the sprinters. His eyes remained locked on the Dragon Head deserters—several turned and lunged for their dropped bags, likely grabbing weapons. And the skinny monkey had pulled a black block the size of a mahjong tile from his crotch.

His heart lurched. "Down!" Zhang Su roared, simultaneously yanking Zheng Xinyu and Wang Xinguai down in one fluid motion. The Yinluo Legion members had conditioned reflexes for Zhang Su's orders—upon hearing "down," they didn't hesitate, collapsing with the recoil of their own weapons, ignoring bruises and scrapes, because Zhang Su's warning always meant life or death! The temporary members Zhou Haotian and Ke Zhiyu were stunned.

Ke Zhiyu hadn't even grasped what was happening when Liu Tianji grabbed his hand and yanked him hard to the ground.

The worst off was Zhou Haotian—Ju Wuying appeared beside him with a ghostly motion and swept his legs out.

"Hey…"

The sensation of weightlessness made Zhou Haotian cry out—but in the instant he fell, an unbelievable sight appeared before his eyes.

The last woman among the sprinters, still unhit, hearing the shouts behind her, kept charging forward with wild, disheveled hair—when suddenly…

Boom! A deafening explosion erupted behind her. No time to react—a massive force slammed into her back, hurling her forward with the shockwave.

"No!"

Her body rolled uncontrollably along the ground, spewing blood, her face twisted in disbelief, eyes filled with regret—but it was too late for remorse.

Plop-plop, gurgle-gurgle.

She crashed into the guardrail, rolled several meters along the mesh, and lay motionless on the ground, alive or dead, unknown.

Fortunately, she hadn't stopped. Had she remained near the corpse, her fate would've been limbs flying, flesh and blood splattering everywhere! Clumps of human tissue shot outward with force, sticking to the railings, wires, fences…

A gust of wind swept over their heads or beneath their feet, kicking up dust and blood-mud that slapped against the few exposed patches of skin. It wasn't painfully sharp—but the warmth sent a chill through their souls, as if a soul had clung to their skin, gnawing and burning.

This explosion caused no actual harm to any member of the Yinluo Legion—but had Zhang Su not ordered the shot in time, had those people gotten close enough, the blast would've killed them all! (End of Chapter)