Upon hearing that Li Dekui had actually "held the granary hostage to command the feudal lords," Chen Yu and the others fell into deep thought. This matter was indeed difficult to handle.

“Li Dehui is just a grain depot manager, how could he have gotten his hands on a nuclear bomb? At the very least, there are police officers, right?” Yang Yue wondered.

"Sigh! Don't even mention it!" Wu Laosan sighed. "Shortly after the cold disaster struck, the entire western capital was thrown into chaos. Looting, vandalism, and arson became the norm, and social order collapsed instantly. The police officers had no time to care about anything else."

“This is chaos in the whole city. People have become extreme because they can’t see any hope for the future. Relying solely on the police to maintain order won’t solve the problem. Opening the granaries and distributing food is the key,” Qiao Meng interjected.

"They're not maintaining order at all! If they were, things wouldn't be like this today!" Wu Laosan continued indignantly. "Seeing the chaos, all the police officers in Nandu City were immediately dispatched to the city's residential compound to protect those in power and influence."

"It was around that time that Li De Kui rose to prominence. After taking control of the granary, he used the grain to win people's hearts and quickly became the largest resistance force in Xidu City. Moreover, this kid was quite bold, daring to lead people directly to the garrison area to rob the armory! Later we found out that the garrison area was already deserted, and he got a bunch of equipment for free."

"Later, relying on the weapons he had, he set his sights on various universities. The small nuclear bomb was stolen from a rocket school."

As Wu Laosan spoke, his voice grew heavy with worry. "That small nuclear bomb was supposed to be used for scientific research and teaching purposes, but now it has become Li Dekui's bargaining chip to threaten the entire Xidu. He used this nuclear bomb not only to consolidate his position, but also to make many people who were already afraid of him even less daring to resist. Even the Xidu government directly submitted to him."

"So, this Li Dehui is quite shrewd; he actually thought of stealing equipment from a military academy," Chen Yu said with a wry smile.

"He's got no brains at all, he just got incredibly lucky!" Wu Laosan exclaimed, his voice trembling with emotion. "He took his men to the university with the intention of robbing the female students..."

"Uh..." Upon hearing this, Chen Yu and the others were speechless once again.

It has to be said that Li Dehui was incredibly lucky. Natural disasters, internal strife, government inaction, and audacity—he even managed to snatch a nuclear bomb while trying to rob a female college student. With perfect timing, location, and people, it was an utterly absurd "comeback."

As he himself claimed, he was indeed the "chosen one," and if we go back several hundred years, he truly deserved to be emperor.

"What a bunch of bastards! If you ask me, all those people in your yamen should be shot!" Yang Yue said angrily.

The reason she was so angry was that their Nandu City and Xidu City were similar, but her father, Yang Tiejun, as the director of the Nandu Police Bureau, immediately took control of the situation with an iron fist. He not only firmly controlled the grain depot, but also the empty Nandu military town.

The Nandu Grain Depot is one of the largest grain depots in the Great Xia Dynasty, ranking among the top five in the entire Great Xia. The Nandu Military Town is one of the five major military towns in the Great Xia. Even though it was almost emptied when Yang Tiejun occupied it, the weapons it left behind were still unimaginable.

It's hard to imagine what terrible consequences would result if the two places were swapped.

"Hehe, don't laugh at me, but sometimes I'm actually quite grateful to Li De Kui." Wu Laosan smiled bitterly. "If it weren't for his actions, I don't know how chaotic the entire Western Capital would be! Although many of the things he did were indeed absurd and he ruined a lot of people, at least large-scale armed conflicts between the various forces in the Southern Capital have become much less frequent."

“Wu Laosan, what you said is somewhat sarcastic, but it’s not without reason.” Chen Yu pondered for a moment and then continued, “In extreme circumstances, sometimes a seemingly absurd situation can temporarily suppress a larger riot. Li De Kui’s rise, though achieved through despicable means, inadvertently created a relatively ‘stable’ illusion for Xidu.”

Having lived through three years of the apocalypse and served as a beast of burden for three years, he knew how hard-won a relatively stable society was in this extremely cold and desolate world. Although Li De Kui was a bit bad, at least he didn't exploit his subordinates like a demon and even distributed food to them. If Chen Yu from his previous life had encountered such an "emperor," he would have truly called him a great person.

However, Chen Yu suddenly changed the subject, saying coldly, "However, this stability is built on fear and injustice. It cannot last, much less become the true peace we seek. Li De Kui's actions have seriously violated the bottom line of humanity. He used his power and resources to wantonly trample on the dignity and lives of others. Such 'stability' is nothing but a temporary illusion, the calm before the storm."

“That’s right. Today we saw a soldier on guard duty fall from the city wall because his body couldn’t withstand the cold. He wasn’t even dead yet, and those guards just buried him!” Qiao Meng said angrily. “They have completely lost the most basic compassion and respect of humanity! They disregard life.”

“I told you long ago, there’s no point in standing guard outside in temperatures below -70 degrees Celsius. This is just a typical example of formalism,” Lin Lele sighed, shaking her head. “I feel sorry for those soldiers.”

"Ahem~" Wu Laosan coughed lightly, "The guarding of the old imperial city was taken on voluntarily by the people in the yamen in order to curry favor with 'Li De Kui'. Those 'soldiers' you mentioned should be 'police officers' from the yamen."

"Oh, then it's nothing." Lin Lele said indifferently.

“However, this brother is right. Li Dehui is ultimately an unstable factor, and sooner or later he will become a disaster,” Wu Laosan said with a solemn expression. “But he carries a gas cylinder and keeps threatening to blow up the grain depot, making it impossible for anyone to survive…”

"Don't worry, third brother, as long as you have the determination, Li De Kui is my responsibility," Chen Yu said with a faint smile.

"What brilliant ideas does Commander Chen have?" Wu Laosan looked at Chen Yu with hopeful eyes.

"You don't need to worry about that," Chen Yu said with a faint smile. "However, if I help you take over the granary, you need to agree to one condition."

"Haha~" Seeing Wu Laosan's wary look, Chen Yu laughed and said, "Don't worry, we are a legitimate national organization with the mission of 'fighting the cold and providing disaster relief, saving human civilization.' We will not make unreasonable demands."

"The government offices are also government offices of the state. Compared to you, they seem to be more formal, right?" Wu Laosan's words were tinged with sarcasm.

"Uh..." Chen Yu was speechless at Wu Laosan's words.