Chapter 701 The Soil Breeding Chaos
Chapter 701 The soil that breeds chaos.
Jingalon Port.
The slums near the Governor’s Mansion.
The open space where the poor used to hang their clothes to dry is now crowded with a large group of people.
Although it is said that this is a place to dry clothes, most of the clothes hanging on the hemp rope are rags, which can only cover privacy at most.
Due to the low education rate and the lack of contraceptive measures and other entertainment methods, people here like to make people when they have nothing to do, so that there are more people than clothes.
Some extremely poor survivors even have to share a robe with their family, and whoever needs to go out wears it.
It is precisely because of this that when Asin stood in the middle of the crowd wearing a clean striped shirt and rough canvas pants, both his temperament and image were out of tune with the poor people around him who were wearing old clothes or even wrapped in sheets.
Finally, in the midst of the people’s pushing and shoving, an old man with wrinkles on his face and a sallow complexion was pushed out.
His name is Jiayi, a member of the rat tribe. He is less than sixty years old, but he looks like an old man who has been buried in the ground.
But then again, in the slums of Kinggallon Harbor, living to sixty is indeed considered old. Most people have lived their lives before they are forty.
The people on this street unanimously agreed that since he was a child of the Rat Tribe, it would be most appropriate for the elders of the Rat Tribe to educate him.
They had to find out three things.
One was what the “iron men” had said to him that day, and the other was where he got the money to buy this outfit.
As for the third thing, it was also the most important one.
What was the meaning of asking them to move away?
The old man who was squeezed to the front had a bit of helplessness on his face, but he also knew that it was the most suitable person to do this.
So he cleared his throat and looked at the young man in front of him with a serious expression and said.
”Axin, you are a good child. I watched you grow up. I held you when you were only as big as a coconut shell.”
Axin nodded.
”I remember, Grandpa Jai.”
The old man showed a comforting smile on his face, but the rows of crisscrossing wrinkles soon twisted up seriously again.
”We all know that you are an honest and good kid. You and your family are good people on this street, so you are on our side, right?”
”Of course.”
Asin nodded again, looked at Grandpa Jiayi, then looked at the neighbors around him, and continued slowly.
”I can swear to my gods that I want everyone to live a good life more than anyone else.”
He had just finished speaking when an indignant shout came from the side.
”Then what do you mean by asking us to move away?”
The shout immediately ignited the emotions of the people around him, and the rebukes that came one after another instantly drowned the two people standing in the crowd.
”That’s right! What do you mean!”
”This is our home! We’re not going anywhere!”
”Those people gave you so much good!”
”Okay, now I understand where you got your clothes from!”
”Bah! You’re a traitor!”
”I knew none of these rats are good!”
”Quiet down, everyone… let me talk to this kid.” Jay’s voice was filled with pleading, and he raised his hand to try to calm everyone down, but all he got in response was a rain of spit.
No one paid any attention to him.
In the final analysis, the rat people are just a bunch of lowly things.
Although they look like humans, their hearts are like rats in the gutter, and the people here look down on them from the bottom of their hearts.
Just as the wolf people are rich in the most courageous and brave warriors, they are rich in prostitutes, pickpockets, thieves and profiteers.
This group of villains who do all kinds of evil are only slightly higher in status than the moon people who have been deprived of all property, power and even personal freedom.
The people here have no doubt that the next ethnic group to be reduced to slavery will definitely be this group of disgusting rats.
It is a shame to allow this group of inferior people to live in the heyday of the empire!
Without them, everything would be better!
Bathed in the curses of the crowd, Asin looked at the indignant faces expressionlessly, and suddenly wanted to laugh.
His status is indeed low.
But how good are these people?
Even if they are as noble as wolves, they are just dogs picking up garbage to eat in this ghost place. Even if they are as docile as sheep, they still give birth to cruel and ruthless gangsters and robbers.
But his old father, who is despised by everyone on this street, has lived an honest and diligent life. Not only has he never offended anyone, he has also taught him and his brothers and sisters to be honest and good people, so that they can be reborn as superior people in the next life.
To be honest, he has indeed lived an honest and good life in the past 17 years, and once planned to live out this life like this.
Until yesterday, he was treated like a rat in a sewer by these guys, pushed out of the crowd, just to test who those “iron men” were and what their attitude was towards them… At
that moment, he stood alone on the street and suddenly hated himself for being such a coward, and hated those who made him live a cowardly life for seventeen years.
So much so that when those people handed him the gun, he wanted to pull out those guys who pushed him out and shoot them on the spot.
But he didn’t do it.
It was not because of mercy.
It was because he knew very well who gave him the gun in his hand – or the power of life and death.
Since the master could hand this gun to him, he could naturally take it away from him.
In order to retain this power, he must do everything he can to please them.
He will not be soft-hearted when it comes to killing.
But now.
He must do this thing beautifully and at the lowest cost – before he uses up all the twelve bullets in the pistol.
Holding the cold metal in his pocket, he tried to overcome the fear in his heart and the instincts that had been engraved in his humanity for seventeen years.
Then, like an honest child, he nodded his head for the third time, and also for the last time.
”Yes, I took the money, and it was a huge sum, a sum that you poor guys can’t even imagine in your lifetime.”
The surroundings fell silent instantly.
He could feel that the eyes looking at him were filled with not only pure anger, but also a hint of greed and desire.
It was like a hyena seeing a hare.
They only hated that they were not the ones who took the gun from the Alliance at that time, and they wanted to snatch all the money in their pockets.
Without pausing, Asin used all his strength to maintain his composure and calmly said the words he had thought about all night.
”A total of 40,000. Not only did I buy myself a new set of clothes that could be called clothes, I also bought a set for my brother and younger brother, my sister, my younger sister, and my parents. After that, we plan to buy three pigs and some things to supplement the family expenses, so that everyone can live a more comfortable life.”
A slightly sturdy man stepped forward and stared at him.
”Why did they give you money? Those iron men.”
Asin recognized this guy.
This guy’s name is Vikram, a wolf tribe member. It is said that he used to be a soldier, but only he himself knows whether he was a soldier or not.
He only knew that this guy was a notorious villain on this street, who often bullied his brother and younger brother, as well as his honest father.
Asin knew very well that the reason why this guy didn’t take the money from his pocket was not because he was afraid of him, but because he was afraid of those “iron men” who were suspected to be standing behind him.
That’s why…
he couldn’t lose the support of those adults no matter what he said.
”I sold my house to them,” Asin looked at him expressionlessly, imagining that the group of iron men were standing behind him, and continued slowly, “Now the house is theirs, whether they blow it up or use it as a target to shoot it down, it’s their freedom.”
Everyone was shocked when they heard this, including Vikram who was standing in front of him. Countless people showed surprised and shocked expressions on their faces.
”You can’t do this!”
”That’s not just your house! It’s also the house on this street!”
”That’s right!”
At least –
this huge sum of money should have its own share!
Vikram narrowed his eyes and his tone was a little threatening.
”Boy, I live on the street near you! If the shells fall on me–”
”Then go and discuss it with them! With those iron men!” Looking at the chattering crowd, Asin suddenly exploded, interrupting everyone’s words with a roar.
No one expected that this usually timid, honest and low-key young man would suddenly lose his temper, and the surroundings became quiet in an instant.
Even the famous villain on this street-the guy named Vikram looked at him in astonishment, as if he was looking at a freak who took the wrong medicine.
But even so, this guy just looked at him.
Asin knew that this guy would not dare to touch him.
He was now extremely calm and sober.
He knew that the more unscrupulous he was at this moment, the more these people would think that he had a backer behind him, and the more they would be afraid of what gave him the courage to be unscrupulous.
What’s more, they were not wrong.
He did have that thing.
And it was in his hand!
Looking around at the faces full of astonishment around him, Asin continued to speak with undiminished momentum.
”… Go, gather together, and go and negotiate with those iron men, and ask them to go fight with the Empire somewhere else! Or you can send another coward to negotiate with His Majesty, and ask him to give the port and the Governor’s Mansion to those iron men!”
Looking at the speechless guys, he smiled coldly.
”… You dare not do this, you only dare to find someone who looks easy to bully, and this person is best to be someone you are very familiar with but not so familiar with, and it is best to be someone who works hard and never complains, and never fights back when being beaten or scolded, just like me standing here.”
”I want to drive you away from here, right? Then come and kill me, and then watch your house explode and become ruins! The soldiers of the Empire will use them as shelters, and the iron men in the Governor’s Mansion will use them as targets. When they are done fighting, they will pat their butts and leave, and you will get nothing but a pile of sand and soil! Come on, don’t you have hands!”
No one took action.
There was not even anyone who spoke.
Asin panted slightly.
He had never said so many words in his life, and in front of so many people.
But he was already standing here, like a mouse cornered by a wild cat.
The only thing he could do now was to bluff.
If he got scared, these people would really kill him.
Gritting his teeth and holding back his trembling shoulders, Asin tried hard to recall the words he had thought of last night, and continued to speak word by word.
”It’s me, the poorer poor guy that you poor guys look down on the most. Now I have negotiated a suitable price for you, so that your worthless shacks can be exchanged for at least four fat pigs that you have never touched in your life!” “Forty thousand
, forty thousand Xilan coins! If you are willing to tear it down yourself, they will give you an extra twenty thousand. This is the benefit I have fought for you! It’s me!”
He roared at the top of his lungs, his voice even hoarse, and the people around him heard it and immediately boiled like a boiling oil pan.
Forty thousand!
If you tear down the house yourself, you will get an extra twenty thousand!
For their shabby mud house, let alone 40,000 Xilan coins, even 20,000 might not be wanted! And even if it was worth that much, no one would buy it.
Many people were tempted.
Just as the young man named Xin said, this amount of money was an astronomical figure for most people living here.
With this money, they could not only build a spacious house in the countryside, but also buy three or four big fat pigs.
With pigs, even if they were wealthy farmers, it would be better than squeezing in this slum to do odd jobs that could only make ends meet.
Seeing that everyone was tempted, Vikram was panicked.
He usually made a living by collecting protection fees, extortion, and stealing, and these jobs were all divided into territories.
If he lost this block, he would be like a stray dog without a home, and could only go to other dogs’ territories to compete with them for food.
He would be bitten to death by those more vicious stray dogs!
He didn’t object to selling his shabby house for a good price.
But it should at least be a huge sum of money that will allow him to live comfortably for the rest of his life!
It would be best if he could become a real wolf, instead of hanging out with these poor ghosts like a wild dog!
”Wait! Why is it only 40,000–” Vikram put on a fierce expression and took a step forward.
If he took a few people to negotiate with those iron men, he might be able to get more-
but before he could finish his words, a sudden gunshot interrupted him.
With a bloody hole on his forehead, Vikram stared at the young man whose arm kept shaking with wide eyes. After a moment, he fell heavily to the ground, and red and white blood were scattered all over the ground.
He didn’t know.
Someone had been aiming at his head for a long time.
Hearing the gunshot, the crowd was in a commotion, just like monkeys splashed with boiling hot oil, but they did not move forward, but retreated in fear.
Jai looked at the rat man who pulled out a gun in disbelief, as if he was looking at something outrageous, and said in a trembling voice.
”You killed someone…”
”Yes, I’d better be an animal in my next life.”
Trying hard to hide the trembling of his index finger and arm, Asin put the gun back into his pocket, said this coldly, and then looked at the people around him and continued.
”What about you? Do you want to get the money and leave here, or do you want to be like him?”
As he expected.
No one cared about the body.
People died here every now and then, whether they died of starvation or disease, no one cared at all.
Even if the Governor’s Mansion was right next to it.
They cared more about the gun in his hand, the gun given by the Iron Man and symbolizing authority, even if there were only 11 bullets left in the gun.
In addition to that –
they still cared about themselves.
Or money.
As for Vikram.
That guy is already dead.
Not many people liked him when he was alive, not to mention that after he lay on the ground, the mass grave was his final destination.
The man standing behind Vikram moved his Adam’s apple, suppressed the panic on his face, stared at the young man standing in the crowd and spoke.
”Can you… promise to help us get the money?”
Xin said without hesitation.
”I promise.”
The man hesitated for a moment, nodded, and walked forward.
Xin stared at him intently. Although he was panicking, he did not show it on his face that was numb from seeing blood.
One step.
Two steps…
Three meters away, the man suddenly stopped and took a deep breath.
”…Thank you for everything you have done for us.”
His Adam’s apple moved, and he continued.
”Like you said… this place will soon become a ruin. Even if we don’t take the money, nothing will change.”
The surroundings were silent for many seconds.
People seemed to be surprised by his approval.
But soon, sparse voices began to sound.
”Indeed…”
”This price is good enough.”
”Your Majesty won’t give it to us.”
”My broken house has been leaking for a while, and I just plan to build a new one.”
With someone taking the lead, everything became much easier.
Although there was some hesitation and hesitation in those words against their will, there was no surprise in the meaning they revealed, and most of them were affirmation and praise for Xin.
Seeing the obedient crowd, Asin breathed a sigh of relief, but he did not thank the man, just looked at him indifferently and said.
”Your name.”
The man said respectfully.
”Kunar… a dog tribe member.”
Asin nodded.
”From now on, you are mine.”
The man looked happy.
Just at this moment, the sky full of dark clouds suddenly began to float with small raindrops, one drop after another falling on the blood-stained mud.
When people found it was raining, they rushed to the clothes and sheets hanging on the hemp ropes to dry, scrambling to hold them in their arms, fearing that they would be wet by the rain, and even more afraid that others would take them away in the chaos.
Asin just squatted down, picked up a bullet shell from the ground, raised his trembling thumb and wiped off the mud and water on it.
”Go bury him.” He tried not to reveal any cowardice in his voice.
Kunar, standing in the rain, nodded respectfully, like a loyal servant.
”Yes!”
It wasn’t just Kunal.
Several other men also grabbed Vikram’s hands and feet and carried him outside the square.
From this moment on, they were all his subordinates.
There was no need to say anything.
Asin, squatting in the rain, did not get up, but just quietly looked at the pool of blood in the distance that had not been washed away by the rain, his eyes fixed on it.
This was his first time killing someone.
He found that as long as he didn’t treat people as humans, but as animals, this thing would be easier than he thought.
Although his arms were numb, his palms were in great pain, and his legs were so weak that he couldn’t stand up…
”
Damn, it’s raining.”
”Hurry up and find a place to shelter from the rain.”
Near the Lowell Camp, near the slums of Blackwater Street.
The four players who were patrolling along the alley suddenly saw that it started to rain, and it seemed to be getting heavier, so they walked to the eaves of a nearby house.
Unfortunately, the eaves were too narrow, and there was wind outside. No matter how they leaned against the wall, the rain would fall on their armor.
The “Type 5” exoskeleton has good wading performance, but it is very troublesome that water has entered the gaps of the bulletproof inserts, and some moving parts also need to be re-oiled and maintained.
The more complex the machine, the more picky it is about the working environment. The only truly durable one is probably the Mosquito plane produced by Goblin Technology.
Maybe…
they should hire a few NPCs to do this.
[Shanhe Rumeng] thought so in his heart, but saw a few pairs of dark eyes staring at them through the half-open window.
He looked at [Zero Chong] of the Perception Department on the side, who shook his head.
”No intention to kill.”
Shanhe Rumeng walked to the door and stretched out his hand to knock on the door.
The door opened quickly, and a wrinkled face poked out from the crack of the door, with a panicked look full of anxiety.
”Sir?”
”Let’s take shelter from the rain.”
After saying that, Shanhe Rumeng took out a 100-face Xilan coin and stuffed it into the hands of the old man with an incredible look on his face.
”Thank you…thank you.” The old man thanked him with fear and stepped back to make way for the door.
The light in the room was dim, but it was barely visible.
There was a table in the room of less than ten square meters, with some pots and pans on it, and the pairs of black eyes were hidden behind the table.
They were children about eleven or twelve years old, with sallow complexion and dirty faces. There were boys and girls, all wrapped in a linen sheet, as if torn from a complete curtain or bed sheet.
Looking at the shiny exoskeleton and the rifle hanging on the chest, the faces of these children were both timid and curious.
They had never seen these iron men in armor, and they only felt that these people seemed more powerful than those soldiers carrying rifles.
Two girls who looked a little older, with fear and trepidation on their faces, quietly climbed upstairs along the ladder at the urging of their mother.
Shanhe Rumeng had some reluctance in his eyes, but he didn’t say anything. He just took three teammates to stand at the door to shelter from the rain, trying not to disturb the lives of these people.
The two sides faced each other in silence, with only the sound of the rain outside the window.
After a while, it seemed that these “iron men” were not so scary, and their eyes could not be seen through the eyepieces, so the adults and children in the room gradually stopped taking them to heart.
Except for the three women who went upstairs earlier, everyone else gathered around the table, using their hands to scoop out pieces of mud the size of a baby’s fist from the iron basin filled with brown-red mud and spread them flat on the table, spreading them into pancakes.
The old man was mumbling something, and he stretched out his muddy hands to grab some crushed wild vegetable leaves, pepper powder, and cardamom powder from the basket beside him and sprinkled them on the mud cakes.
The players standing at the door looked at each other, swallowed their saliva involuntarily, and whispered in the communication channel,
”Is this… soil?”
”It’s probably.”
”Oh my god…”
”So it seems that the nutrient paste is more delicious.”
”But they actually have seasonings.”
Shanhe Rumeng didn’t say anything.
He remembered seeing it on Sisi’s post. It is said that there is a vast red land to the north of Jinjialun Port.
That piece of red land is completely different from the “Guanyin soil” they usually understand, both in color and composition. It seems to have been artificially improved. Although nothing can be grown, it can be eaten directly after boiling and filtering out the sand and gravel and draining.
The local poor people will mix some plant fiber and seasonings into it to make it less difficult to swallow.
Of course, although eating this artificially improved mud is not as dangerous as eating kaolin, it is impossible to eat this stuff seven days a week.
Most of the lower classes in Jingalon Port still eat black beans and a kind of beans that look like chickpeas but are larger, and various berries and wild vegetables as supplementary food. As for the main source of protein, it is mainly some insects and freshwater snails.
As for “mud cakes”, they are only used as a supplement when the economy is not well-off.
In short, because it is located at the junction of tropical and subtropical regions and on the flood plains of the Yongliu River, the food sources in this area are relatively rich.
It is precisely because of this that this settlement can accommodate so many people – a population that far exceeds the carrying capacity of this land. However,
the survivors living here are just surviving, and they are not even as dignified as the cows in the barn.
At least only outsiders can eat them.
After a while, the man finished the ritual of spreading the seasoning, and the mud cakes on the table became half-dry.
He picked up a few pancakes, put them into a palm-sized bowl, handed them to the older child beside him, and whispered to him to send them to his mother and sisters upstairs.
Then he rubbed his hands and called on the family members who had already swallowed their saliva to eat.
Ling Chong, who was standing at the door, couldn’t stand it anymore. He took out the compressed biscuits stuffed in his backpack, walked forward regardless of the captain’s eyes to stop him, and stuffed it to the nearest child in the panic eyes of the family, and whispered in human language.
”Eat this.”
He knew very well that there was no point in doing so, just like stuffing gold coins into the home of an NPC with four walls, it would not change anything.
But he still did it.
There is no special reason. Isn’t playing games just for the sake of understanding?
Shanhe Rumeng shook his head, but didn’t say anything. Erliang Yueguang, who was standing next to him, quietly gave a thumbs up.
The little girl who was as tall as his exoskeleton chest armor widened her black eyes, stared at him through her fluffy hair, and then looked at her father. Seeing that her father did not object, she took a bite of the plastic packaging.
Seeing that her mouth was pierced by the plastic teeth, Ling Chong quickly gestured with his hand.
”You have to tear it open, like this.”
The little girl hesitated for a moment, clumsily imitated his gesture to tear open the plastic packaging, and hesitated to take another bite.
In an instant, her eyes widened, and her dark eyes seemed to be painted with a layer of color, rolling with a layer of hazy waves.
It was a delicacy she had never tasted before.
She stuffed it into her mouth voraciously. Seeing this, Ling Chong looked around and didn’t see the container of water. He gritted his teeth again, took out a bottle of water from his backpack, unscrewed it and handed it to her.
”Don’t choke.”
The little girl was choked, and coughed hard. She took the water bottle and drank most of it before she recovered.
After unbuttoning the mask of the helmet, Ling Chong squatted down, smiled and reached out to touch her fluffy hair, and asked in a gentle tone.
”What’s your name?”
”Arnold.”
Why does this name sound like a boy?
Forget it.
Ling Chong didn’t care and continued with a smile.
”My name is Ling Chong. If you see bad guys holding long guns in the future, go find us over there.”
He pointed in the direction of the Lowell Camp, which was the base of their Centuriae and the base of the rebels.
Arnold, with a mouth full of biscuit crumbs, nodded his head vigorously and licked his fingers with satisfaction. I don’t know if he took his words to heart.
The children around looked at this side eagerly, swallowing their saliva, and the sticky mud cakes on their hands suddenly lost their fragrance.
Thinking that he had already given them all, this one wouldn’t make a difference, Ling Chong simply took out the last few compressed biscuits in his backpack and distributed them to everyone present, including their father, the old man with wrinkles on his face.
Seeing the children wolfing down the food, Ling Chong felt satisfied and had a satisfied smile on his face.
A few compressed biscuits don’t cost much, not to mention that no one eats them at all, they are just temporary supplies just in case.
The older boy took his brother upstairs, seemingly intending to share the delicious food brought by the “Iron Man” with his sister and mother.
The old man stared at the biscuits in his hand in silence, with a sad face, as if he was thinking about something.
Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he looked at Ling Chong with a pleading face.
”Arnold is too young… Change one.”
Ling Chong’s smile froze on his face instantly.
”What?!”
Er Liang Yue Guang couldn’t help laughing out loud, holding his stomach and leaning against the earth wall beside him. Shanhe Rumeng looked at the guy with a frown on his face, and then felt embarrassed and looked away.
[Version Chusheng], who had been silent, suddenly shook his shoulders and spoke.
”In the province of Bora, only elders and husbands can touch a woman’s head. If it is an unmarried woman, touching her head means proposing… I just checked Lao Si’s post after logging off.”
”Fuck!?”
Shanhe Rumeng sighed.
”Drag him out and kill him.”
Erliang Yueguang, who had been giving a thumbs up a second ago, nodded in agreement.
”+1, so fucking naive.”
Version Chusheng: “……?”
”Wait, I don’t know! This doesn’t count!”
Standing up from the ground, Lingchong wanted to explain with a smile, but the three teammates looked at him with disgust.
The little girl named Arnold was just licking her fingers, indifferent to the chattering of those people, and didn’t understand why her father sighed.
A pair of black eyes stared straight at the backpack filled with delicious food, and she was thinking about one thing.
If only I could have another piece.
Unconsciously, the rain outside the house stopped.
Just when Shanhe Rumeng was about to leave here as soon as possible with his three teammates, a gunshot from outside the window suddenly broke the tranquility after the rain.
It was the sound of the Ripper’s rifle!
The four of them were instantly alert.
Without waiting to say goodbye to the family, Shanhe Rumeng pushed open the door and rushed to the street. Three teammates with live ammunition quickly followed behind him.
With the help of the exoskeleton, the four of them moved as fast as lightning. In just a breath of time, they deployed their formation in the direction of the gunshot and set up their rifles against the cover.
However, what they didn’t expect was that the group of guys with guns standing on the opposite street were not their enemies.
They were their own people…
(End of this chapter)
