Chapter 54 Freight Company 3 (No other means of settlement)
"What's strange about it?" Yun Xin asked. "The world has been rather turbulent lately, so it's normal to encounter something like this."
“No, it really is very strange.” Brother Zhang wasn’t fooled. Despite his headache, his mind was still quite clear. “The government has been publicly releasing the evolution game for a while now. Before, when I partnered with others, the worst that happened was that we encountered some accidents on the road or were occasionally caught up in accidents.”
"But after partnering with you, the accidents we encountered were on a completely different level. Like digging a basement and turning an apartment building into a dangerous structure. Going to the cellar, we found a family of six, with only two children still alive. Thinking about it, it's so strange!"
“Aren’t you being a little paranoid?” Yun Xin said. “This kind of thing happens frequently since the government made the evolution game public. It’s normal; everyone does it.”
For a moment, Zhang Ge even wondered if he was the one who was acting strangely.
But then he slapped his forehead, jolting himself awake. "In short, I can't work with you anymore. I'll go back and tell the person in charge to find someone else to team up with."
"Okay," Yun Xin replied casually.
Because the police call caused a lot of delay, Brother Zhang originally thought he would be forced to work overtime that night. Unexpectedly, he didn't rest at noon and started working right after lunch. Everything went smoothly in the afternoon, and he managed to deliver all the goods before the end of the workday.
Zhang Ge was in a daze.
He began to reflect: Had he wrongly blamed the newcomer? Accidents were frequent these days, and he had had bad luck that morning, encountering a slightly higher number of incidents than usual... But after calming down and thinking about it, he realized it was understandable.
Perhaps it was simply because his bad luck coincided with the arrival of the newcomer that he became suspicious without realizing it.
Thinking about it this way, I feel quite sorry for the newcomers.
Brother Zhang felt a little guilty.
Just as I was lost in thought, I suddenly heard a joyful call, "Xinxin!"
Looking in the direction the sound came from, a boy walked quickly to Yun Xin, with what seemed to be an invisible tail wagging wildly behind him. His voice was filled with an indescribable innocence, "Xin Xin, I've come to pick you up."
"Xiao Xiao Xiao Xiao Xiao Wei?!" As he spoke, Brother Zhang almost bit his tongue and involuntarily took a step back.
Xiao Wei turned her face, her eyes turning noticeably colder. "Zhang Mo?"
Yunxin was still wondering how the two of them knew each other.
In a flash, she suddenly remembered that many years ago, among the people who bullied Xiao Wei, there was a chubby boy named Zhang Mo.
That chubby little guy was short and stout, with a round, chubby face. If you stretched him out and removed the excess fat... he would look exactly like Brother Zhang in front of you.
Thinking of this, Yun Xin's expression turned cold. "So it was you."
No wonder he looks familiar.
Zhang Ge didn't have time to answer. He looked at Xiao Wei, clenching his fists tightly—only in this way could he make his body tremble less noticeably.
Yun Xin saw this but misunderstood. She stepped in front of Xiao Wei and angrily confronted Zhang Mo, "You were so ignorant when you were little, bullying my boyfriend. You're still so ignorant now, trying to bully him again??"
Xiao Wei was stunned when she heard this.
Brother Zhang was also stunned. Who bullied whom? Explain yourself clearly!
He wanted to argue, but then he saw Xiao Wei peeking out from behind Yun Xin and asking, "Xin Xin, who are you talking about?"
The body moved faster than the mind; the next second, the person turned and ran.
He shouted as he ran, "Hitting people is against the law! I'm not going to stoop to your level!"
Then they disappeared in a flash.
"Xinxin, you just said your boyfriend?" Xiao Wei tugged at Yun Xin's sleeve, trying to steer the conversation back and get some answers.
Compared to the problems, Zhang Mo's escape and such are minor matters and unimportant.
“Yes.” Yun Xin looked up and pointed at Xiao Wei, “You.”
Then, pointing to himself, he said, "My partner."
Xiao Wei struggled to suppress the uncontrollable upward curve of her lips and continued to ask, "...When did it start?"
"The day you came to find me?" Yunxin asked in confusion, "you said you had to see me before you died, and I said from now on we would live and die together. Wasn't that a mutual declaration of love?"
Since everyone agreed, she tacitly accepted that the two of them should start dating.
Xiao Wei hugged Yun Xin, so happy he didn't know what to say. After a long while, he let out a low sigh, "Xin Xin, you need to ask me clearly about this kind of thing."
"Then... ask now?" Yun Xin composed herself and said seriously, "Xiao Wei, are you willing...?"
Before Yun Xin could even finish explaining the question, Xiao Wei eagerly blurted out, "Yes, yes, yes!"
It looked like it was worthless.
Zhang Mo hadn't thought about the past for a long time.
So much time had passed, he thought he had forgotten.
But seeing Xiao Wei today brought back long-buried memories. He realized that he had never forgotten.
He was about ten years old that year. Because he ate a lot and was fat, like a ball, he was often bullied.
One day, the gang that had been bullying him ganged up on another child.
The child was thin and small, and his clothes were dirty. He looked like he couldn't take a beating.
Zhang Mo, upon discovering this, dared not utter a sound and quietly observed the scene. At the same time, he was terrified, fearing the child would be beaten to death by others.
The beating ended.
A few days later, Zhang Mo learned that the child's name was Xiao Wei, and that he had only suffered minor injuries and was otherwise unharmed. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the matter was over.
Not long after, the group found him and said, "I know you were hiding in the bushes. We did beat Xiao Wei, but you knew about it and didn't report it, so you're guilty as well."
Seeing the fear on his face, the other person continued, "If you're willing to join us, we'll all be brothers and share the good times. If you're not willing..."
The other person's expression suddenly turned fierce. "From now on, every time I see you, I'll beat you up! From now on, you won't have a good life!"
Zhang Mo was scared.
To avoid getting beaten up, he agreed to join. And then... he followed those nasty people to gang up on a kid who was younger and thinner than him.
Zhang Mo didn't want things to be this way, but he had no choice.
If you tell the teacher, they will at most give you a verbal reprimand, but they won't actually care.
When I told my parents, they didn't take it seriously, giving me a look that said, "What could possibly happen to a child playing around like this?"
He even considered complaining to Xiao Wei's parents, but... Xiao Wei's mother had run away, and her father was an alcoholic, so no one would stand up for Xiao Wei.
He had considered resisting. However, the small gang was numerous and powerful; its members were not only tall and strong but also skilled fighters. Even if he and Xiao Wei joined forces, they wouldn't be able to defeat them.
Over time, Zhang Mo gave up. The only thing he could do was deliberately hold back when beating people. He would appear very fierce on the surface, but in reality, he wouldn't use any force at all.
Not participating is not an option.
Because this is a "group activity" of a small gang, he would be beaten up if he refused to participate.
I don't know how long that kind of life lasted.
He seems to have a vague memory.
It seems like they don't want to remember clearly.
For a time, he even developed feelings of self-loathing, feeling like a piece of trash and wishing he could die.
But when it came to actually dying, he didn't dare, and in the end, he could only live on in a cowardly and spineless manner.
Zhang Mo sometimes thought that his days were bleak and hopeless, and that he might continue living like this forever. Until one day, he entered junior high school and could live on campus.
Zhang Mo insisted on living at school despite his parents' advice.
He was determined to distance himself from the group and never participate in "group activities" again.
Things are going smoothly.
After moving to boarding school, he did indeed enjoy a period of leisure.
One night, after his evening self-study session, he was heading back to his dormitory when someone jumped out of the bushes and gave him a severe beating.
Under the dim streetlights, Zhang Mo struggled to make out the person approaching. When he finally saw who it was, he was shocked, "Xiao Wei?!"
After beating him black and blue, Xiao Wei said, "Fifteen more times."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Zhang Mo had no idea how the other person got into the school so late at night. There were security guards at the school gate! Unauthorized personnel weren't allowed in easily.
However, not understanding it doesn't stop Xiao Wei from beating people up.
Since then, Xiao Wei would come every ten days or half a month.
At first, Zhang Mo would beg for mercy, "Xiao Wei, I didn't hit you hard before. Please forgive me since I haven't bullied you much. I really don't want to hang out with those people! But if I openly refuse, they'll turn around and bully me, so that's why..."
Xiao Wei remained silent, only informing him of the remaining number of beatings after each session.
After being beaten so many times, Zhang Mo became furious and wanted to complain to his teachers and parents.
Even though he complained with his face covered in wounds, the teacher didn't believe him. "The child you're talking about doesn't even study at our school. How did he get in? Don't tell me you fell and are just framing him."
His parents went even further, asking him if he was being bullied by his roommates and was too afraid to say, suggesting he should just quit living at school and go home instead.
At this moment, Zhang Mo deeply understood what it meant to be utterly helpless and desperate.
Another beating has ended.
Zhang Mo lay on the ground, unwilling to move.
He was unwilling to accept it, saying, "So many people beat you up, why did you only seek revenge on me? Are you a bully who preys on the weak?!"
Xiao Wei glanced at him and corrected him, "Anyone who bullies me gets beaten up, your injuries are the lightest."
Zhang Mo was dumbfounded and speechless.
“You’ve hit me a few times, so I’ll hit you back a few times. That’s fair,” Xiao Wei said again.
"I apologize! I apologize, isn't that enough?!" Zhang Mo exclaimed anxiously.
"Once I've used up the remaining chances, I'll sincerely apologize to you." Xiao Wei smiled lightly, his smile as wicked as a ghost in the moonlight, before disappearing from sight.
In the end, Zhang Mo realized in despair that there seemed to be no other way to reconcile with the situation except to be beaten.
Gradually, Zhang Mo developed "Xiao Wei phobia." Specifically, he couldn't bear to see Xiao Wei's face or hear his name. Whenever he encountered him, his entire body would tremble uncontrollably.
Fortunately, despite his ruthless beatings, Xiao Wei still has a good reputation.
After the last beating, he said "It's over," and never came back.
During winter break, Zhang Mo secretly contacted his old cronies to ask if they had gotten beaten up.
When they met, Zhang Mo was startled.
His face and the injuries on his body made him look like a cripple.
Before Zhang Mo could speak, the other person sobbed and said that the injuries were all from an accident and had nothing to do with anyone else.
Zhang Mo didn't know what Xiao Wei had told them, but judging from the reactions of his cronies, everyone understood that once the beating was over, the matter would be resolved. If things escalated, the feud between the two sides would only deepen.
Moreover, they bullied Xiao Wei first, so if things really escalate, it's not necessarily Xiao Wei who will be punished.
Zhang Mo thought he had figured it out, but then he heard his cronies hug him and cry, "He's not even fourteen! He won't be held criminally responsible for murder! Waaah, I'm so scared."
Zhang Mo, "..."
Don't say that, it scares me too.
(End of this chapter)
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