Old Wang grinned maliciously, picked up a rock, and smashed it hard on Old Yan's head. Poor Old Yan died completely, filled with anger and resentment.
Just then, something unexpected happened. The fat man named Lao Zhao suddenly pulled a dagger from his pocket and plunged it into Lao Wang's back.
Old Wang felt a sharp pain in his back. He reached up and touched it; it was covered in blood. He then turned around angrily, glared at Old Zhao, and roared, "You fat bastard, are you fucking crazy?"
"I'm after you! You son of a bitch, just because you have some connections in the county, you don't respect me, the head of this town, and you even cheated on me! You think I don't know that you and that bitch have been hooking up for a long time? All these years, I've been too embarrassed to expose you, and I even had to raise your son. Do you know how frustrated I've been!" Old Zhao said, pushing the dagger in even harder, his fat face contorted with rage, and his eyes flashing with a crazed flame.
Old Wang was shocked. He thought he had been quite discreet, since Old Zhao was always the first to clarify any rumors that circulated. He never expected that this fatso had hidden himself so well.
He knew that Lao Zhao was determined to kill him, and now the only hope of survival was to fight back. So he endured the excruciating pain in his back, broke free from the blade, and ran towards Lao Hu with all his might.
He cried out, "Director Hu, Zhao Lin has gone mad! Help me!"
Old Hu said anxiously, "Old Wang, quick, come this way, I'll hold him off for you."
Hearing this, Lao Zhao felt more confident and quickened his pace, running towards Lao Hu.
"Thud~" That was the sound of a knife piercing flesh.
Old Zhao stared wide-eyed at the dagger piercing his chest, then looked up incredulously at Old Hu standing in front of him.
"Director Hu, you..."
"Hehe, Lao Wang, don't blame me. We have a lot of supplies, but there are only so many good things. If you die, we'll be much richer with three fewer people to share."
"You might be wondering why there are three fewer people if you die: you, your son, Old Zhao in place... and your bastard son. Aren't there three people?"
"But don't worry, we'll keep your wife. This one is for Lao Zhao, and I'll keep your mistress."
Old Hu smiled, as if he were talking about something trivial that Wei didn't know about.
"You beast...cough cough~ You beast! Cough cough~" Old Wang's eyes were bloodshot, and he coughed up mouthfuls of blood.
Just then, his head was suddenly lifted from behind, and a cold blade slashed across his neck. Warm liquid spurted out, and Old Wang's body slumped to the ground, his eyes, filled with anger and resentment, gradually lost their luster.
…………
Chen Yu and Yang Yue witnessed all of this from the other side of the crack, but they remained unmoved.
Through their conversation, they learned that this group was actually the mastermind behind the swindling of the people's grain. They disregarded everyone's lives and used despicable means to seize the grain from the people's hands, and they deserved to die.
However, their repeated reversals and mutual destruction still took both of them by surprise.
At the very beginning, they were still marveling at the deep brotherhood among the group. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, this so-called "brotherhood" would turn into a deadly conflict, with them not only turning their knives against their "brothers" but also killing children and stealing wives. It's truly heartbreaking.
What's most astonishing is that these people weren't just petty thugs; they were actually town administrators, government employees.
However, considering that these people are capable of deceiving and stealing the very food that people need to save their lives, it's not surprising at all.
This scene completely shattered Yang Yue's worldview. It was the first time she had realized that human nature could be so dark, and the anger and sorrow in her heart intertwined into a complex web.
She held Chen Yu's hand tightly, as if trying to draw warmth and strength from the coldness.
“Chen Yu, the child is innocent, we…we can’t just stand by and watch.” Yang Yue’s voice trembled slightly.
Chen Yu gazed intently at the other side of the crack, where deathly silence had returned. Old Zhao and Old Hu had left, leaving only two cold corpses and the lingering smell of blood in the air.
He gently patted Yang Yue's hand to comfort her. Having experienced three years of the apocalypse, he had long been accustomed to the darkness and cruelty of human nature.
Indifference, betrayal, deception, selfishness, killing and plunder were commonplace in his three years of apocalyptic experiences.
However, he was still somewhat moved at this moment. In any case, he should not have stood by and watched evil happen, and he still needed to find a way out, didn't he?
He took a deep breath and then kicked the stone door open.
The loud crash of the stone gate collapsing startled Old Zhao and Old Hu, who had already left. Each of them grabbed a dagger and rushed over.
"Who are you? How did you get here?" Old Zhao asked warily when he saw Chen Yu and Yang Yue.
Old Hu was also staring intently at Chen Yu and the other man, his eyes darting around.
"Bang!" Without saying a word, Chen Yu shot a bullet that pierced through Lao Hu's forehead.
"You... how dare you? We are officials from Dongshi Town!" Old Zhao stared in horror, his hand trembling slightly as he almost dropped the dagger.
He hadn't expected that these two strangers who suddenly appeared would be so decisive and ruthless, not even giving him a chance to negotiate.
"Officials?" Chen Yu sneered, his eyes full of disdain. "We saw the whole show just now! You dare to call yourselves officials? In my eyes, you are nothing but wolves in sheep's clothing, oppressing the people and robbing them of their resources, no different from bandits. How dare you call yourselves officials?"
"I...I didn't, they did it all!" Old Zhao hurriedly defended himself.
"Hehe, really? Then tell me what exactly happened? How did you manage to trick those villagers out of their grain? Don't worry, I'm always fair and just, and I would never wrong an innocent person," Chen Yu said with a mocking expression.
"The idea came from Yan, the organizer was Deputy Town Manager Wang, and the one who came up with the ideas during the process was Director Hu! I... I was dragged into this whole thing by them!" Old Zhao shouted incoherently, as if he had grasped at the last straw and was eager to extricate himself from this vortex of evil.
His gaze darted between Chen Yu and Yang Yue, searching for even the slightest bit of sympathy or forgiveness.
"Is that so? So what you just did was acting on behalf of Heaven?" Chen Yu said with a faint smile.
"Yes, yes, yes, I have been enduring humiliation and hardship these past few days, all to wipe them out in one fell swoop and reclaim the grain that belongs to the people!" Old Zhao nodded hurriedly, his eyes shining with urgency and hope, as if he had truly become the hero who rid the people of this scourge.
Chen Yu nodded slightly upon hearing this and said seriously, "I will believe you for now. Now that the chief culprit has been eliminated, shouldn't we transport the grain out?"
"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I was thinking of bringing up! The villagers are really suffering!" Old Zhao quickly replied, secretly relieved that he seemed to have found a glimmer of hope.
"Then lead the way," Chen Yu said with a faint smile.
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