To be honest, I really wanted to rebel against Zhou Liang and escape from his side.

But who is Zhou Liang? He's a monster. Not only is he smart, but he's also incredibly skilled. He once broke Yan Zhengfeng's arm with his bare hands. If I could escape from such a monster, I'd be a god.

Since there was no way to escape, I never thought about running away again. I decided to stay by his side and see what his plan was.

And just like that, two days passed quietly.

During these two days, Zhou Liang did very simple and straightforward things: plunder and pillage.

To be honest, I don't understand why he did that.

These past two days, if we count from the morning I met him, it's now the evening of the second day.

In the past two days, he has shot more than twenty groups of raiders, and without exception, all of them met a tragic end; they all died, and all of them were killed by Zhou Liang alone.

I did the math carefully. The smallest group of raiders had three people, and the largest group had more than twenty. So, in just two days, Zhou Liang has killed more than two hundred raiders.

These numbers shocked me.

Moreover, I haven't helped him at all in the past two days; I've just been watching from the sidelines the whole time.

Once, I even ran away while he was dealing with the raiders, but he caught me in less than an hour. I was so frustrated.

However, things didn't always go smoothly; Zhou Liang was shot and injured on one occasion.

However, this guy has always been tough. After applying medicine and bandaging himself, he is basically fine now. If it weren't for the fact that he sometimes can't lift his arm, you wouldn't think he was injured.

As it grew dark, he prepared dinner.

We ate in the middle of nowhere.

I asked, "Why are you doing this? Didn't you say you wanted to control Central Town? Why are you hunting these raiders around Central Town? Isn't this reducing your future manpower?"

Zhou Liang finished his meal with his head down, saying as he ate, "Really? But I don't think these raiders are of any use. They're just a bunch of idle people. Even if they're incorporated into the central town, I'm afraid a large portion of them won't want to continue living like this. Once they're in the central town, they'll really become useless."

"Then what exactly is your purpose in doing this?" I really don't understand why you would kill someone like this.

Zhou Liang said, "It's very simple, I'm making them nervous."

"nervous?"

Zhou Liang nodded: "Yes, the raiders have been around for several months since they appeared. The longer the raiders have been, the more they have become accustomed to this kind of life. They know how to avoid the strong and how to find resources, but they don't know what war is!"

"If Central Town really wants to use these raiders as soldiers, then they have to put pressure on them. My purpose in hunting down raiders on a large scale these past two days is to put pressure on the remaining raiders. I think Central Town must have already received news of the large-scale raiding of raiders. Before long, the surrounding raiders will definitely be in a state of panic, and then those hesitant raiders will choose to join Central Town."

Do you think that by doing this, I'm still cutting back on future personnel?

Looking at the smile on Zhou Liang's face, I couldn't help but feel helpless.

Sigh, I still can't get used to this kind of person's thought process.

Indeed, Zhou Liang was right. Once the news of the mass killing of raiders spread, other raiders would definitely panic and would probably willingly join the central town.

Originally, there weren't many raiders who wanted to join Central Town, but this will significantly increase the number of people joining, and Central Town will be able to complete the incorporation process much faster.

"So, are you still going to kill them tomorrow?"

Zhou Liang shook his head. "I'm injured, how can I kill anyone? Besides, I've already killed over two hundred, that's enough. It's time to go back to Central Town. The next step is to make contact with the higher-ups there."

I was taken aback. Contacting the higher-ups in the central town?

"How are you going to make contact? You're not even from the central town."

Zhou Liang smiled, but didn't give me an answer. Instead, he said, "A brain is a good thing. I hope you have one."

"..." I really wanted to smash the bowl in my hand over his face.

And so, a peaceful evening passed.

There's no need to worry about the research institute, because Zhou Liang took me back last night. Under Zhou Liang's threat, I talked to Sister Jing for an hour before leaving the institute.

I've prepared myself for not going back for a long time. I've also told Sister Jing that if war breaks out, we must leave the research institute and go to Jiajiang or somewhere even further away. In short, we must not come back until things are peaceful here.

...

The next morning, Zhou Liang kicked me awake.

I rubbed my dirty cheeks, then looked at the rising sun in the east, glanced at my watch, and realized it was only six in the morning. Oh my god.

"Hey bro, can I sleep a little longer?"

Zhou Liang said, "Get up, drive. Hurry up, or we'll miss it."

I don't know what Zhou Liang meant by "missed out," but he was clearly very serious about his plan. I couldn't afford to be lazy, so I had no choice but to get up from the ground, ignoring my sleepy eyes, and get into the car. As soon as I started the car, I yawned.

To my surprise, Zhou Liang was very decisive. He slapped me across the face and said, "Don't sleep, understand?! If you get into a car accident, I'll cut your tongue out!"

"..." I hear this kind of threat from him several times a day. At first, I was a little scared, but gradually I got used to it and asked, "Go back to Central Town?"

Zhou Liang said, "Okay, let's go to the provincial highway north of the central town and lie in ambush there."

I asked, puzzled, "Why would you go there to ambush them?"

Zhou Liang didn't say it directly, but said, "You'll understand in a moment."

Well, I'm his prisoner now, and I have no choice but to obey him. With no other option, I turned the steering wheel and headed towards the provincial highway north of the town center.

We had been wandering around the central town area for a while, so it was a quick trip; I drove here in just over half an hour.

Zhou Liang said, "Drive the car outside the provincial highway and then lie in ambush. I estimate that someone from the central town will arrive in less than half an hour. Let's wait patiently."

I looked at him suspiciously. "How did you know someone from the central town would be here?"

Zhou Liang said, "You think I've only been killing people these past two days?"

"Yes," I nodded and said.

Zhou Liang shook his head, seemingly unwilling to speak to me.

(End of this chapter)