Early in the morning, Liu Er led a convoy to collect tribute. SUVs led the way, followed by several cars and trucks.
For those in the city, they would deliver the goods themselves to the prison; for those in the countryside, they would collect them and check on the situation. They had also arranged for people in charge and teams stationed there.
Actually, they could have split up and taken them down in several groups, but Liu Er just liked the feeling of showing off his power. He felt inexplicably excited when he saw them begging for mercy, being afraid, trembling, and crying.
If you see a treasure you like or a beautiful woman you're attracted to, you can snatch her away and enjoy her to the fullest.
So he's willing to lead the team, going from one point to another, and his happiness reaches its peak when he sees the empty car filled to the brim.
Along the way, they were extremely arrogant, beating and killing anyone who resisted until the other party became afraid and surrendered the supplies they wanted. Some who couldn't afford the supplies resorted to robbing women; they didn't spare young and beautiful girls, not even teenage girls, and even good-looking boys were not spared.
A village was infected with the half-corpse virus, but the patients were all isolated. The village chief coughed in front of him, and he ordered his men to beat the village chief half to death.
The elderly man, over 60 years old, was powerless to resist. He lay on the ground, enduring the beating while trying his best to explain.
Finally, the old man was beaten half to death. Liu Er called a halt and then had everyone gathered together. They were all dressed in tattered clothes, emaciated, and stood timidly in a row. The children clung tightly to their parents, their eyes filled with fear.
Liu Er looked at them and burst into laughter. "These people are all infected with the virus. To stop the spread of the virus, let's do a good deed and burn them all."
He spoke of burning this living person as if he were burning an insignificant piece of paper.
"Yes." His men brought ropes and tied the people back to back into a circle, then drove them into the room where the half-corpse virus infection was being managed, locked the door, and set the room on fire, burning the group of people alive.
As Liu Er watched the flames grow larger and larger until they soared into the sky, listening to the sounds of tearing, screams for help, and curses from within, he felt as if he were God. It was wonderful to be able to so easily decide the life and death of people.
Seeing that the people in the group seemed a little sorry for him, he said, "You bastards, why aren't you going to find something?"
The others then ran from house to house searching for anything useful.
After all that trouble, it got dark, so they rested at the village chief's house for the night and arrived at Wangjiagou the next day.
Wang Zichao and his group saw their arrival from the watchtower, and the plan could now be officially implemented.
As soon as they arrived at the door, Wu Bohu and Wang Zichao came out to greet them.
"Second Brother, you must be tired from your journey. Please come inside. We have prepared some wine and food for you." Wu Bohu was very humble.
"You're smart to know your place." After yesterday's village annihilation, Liu Er was in a great mood, and seeing Wu Bohu's attitude, he didn't put on airs.
"Not bad, Tiger, you've done a pretty good job managing this godforsaken place. The crops are growing well," Liu Er praised, looking at the lush wheat seedlings, rapeseed, and various vegetables on both sides of the road.
"With such favorable conditions, you should double the amount of tribute you give us in the future," Liu Er added.
"Second Brother, isn't all of this yours?" Wu Bohu glanced at the expressionless Wang Zichao and finally offered a cheeky compliment.
"You're on the right track," Liu Er praised.
They soon arrived at the village chief's house, where the food was ready. Everyone was tired from the burning, killing, and looting along the way, so they were very satisfied with the fragrant food, even though it wasn't lavish. They quickly took their seats and began to eat heartily.
"Second Brother, have a drink." Wang Zichao handed a glass full of wine to Brother Liu.
"You're a new face, kid." Liu Er neither took the wine glass nor drank it.
"Quite cautious," Wang Zichao thought to himself.
"Second Brother, this is Wang Zichao, the one who wrote the report before. The village is able to maintain itself so well thanks to him." Wu Bohu quickly came over to introduce him and smooth things over.
"So it's you, kid. Not bad." Liu Er took the wine glass and took a sip.
Wang Zichao also raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Liu Er didn't care about the report itself, but he remembered that it had been praised by his superiors. This village, however, was one of the more peaceful and serene villages they had ever seen.
The crops were good, there were no casualties, and no half-corpse virus. It's just that the underlings he'd seen before seemed to have disappeared. But he was being flattered by Wang Zichao and Wu Bohu, and quickly forgot about it. He went on to recount his glorious deeds, including the village massacre that had occurred yesterday.
Wang Zichao and the village chief listened, their hands clenching until they bled before they could control their expressions. If it weren't for the plan they still had to carry out, he would have loved to shoot him right now.
However, when the topic turned to the half-corpse virus, Wang Zichao had something to say. He said, "Our village also had this virus before, but it was cured later."
Upon hearing this, not only did Liu Er sober up considerably, but the other tables also stopped eating and drinking.
"Who cured her?" a man next to Liu Er asked anxiously. His wife had also contracted the virus and was waiting to die in prison. Hearing that there was a cure, he was extremely eager.
“We don’t know where he is. He’s a distant relative of Wang Weifeng. He was visiting relatives when he happened to run into him and treated us. He called this virus the Half-Corpse Virus. But he said he’s in City C, without giving a specific address. If Second Brother needs it, Weifeng can go back with Second Brother and he can go find him,” Wang Zixiang said sincerely.
As he spoke, he beckoned Wang Weifeng over and said, "Come here, Weifeng, greet your second brother."
"Hello, Second Brother." Wang Weifeng greeted him very politely.
Liu Er carefully examined Wang Weifeng for a while. He saw that Wang Weifeng had a decent appearance, a tall and strong physique, but he was also meek and honest.
“Second Brother, Weifeng is a very capable worker and an honest man. Besides finding people, you can assign him any work you need. He is very loyal. Brother Bohu has already told us about the eldest and second brothers, and we are very eager to work for you. It is a blessing we have been hoping for.” Seeing Liu Er hesitate, Wang Zichao quickly added fuel to the fire.
"If we can find someone to treat the virus, it will be a great achievement for both Big Brother and the higher-ups. Taking one person in won't make a difference." Liu Er thought to himself, "Alright. Then you can come with us today. When we get back, you'd better find someone properly for me."
"Yes, Second Brother," Wang Weifeng replied honestly.
After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Liu Er packed twice as many tribute items as before and led Wang Weifeng on their journey home.
Once they were out of sight, Wang Zichao patted Wu Bohu on the shoulder and said, "You did a good job today."
“Yes, yes,” Wu Bohu replied.
Wang Zichao tricked Wu Bohu with a kind of inedible poison. He claimed that Wu Bohu had taken the poison and needed the antidote every week to keep him obedient. Wu Bohu initially didn't believe him, but during the week he didn't take the antidote, he suffered from stomach pain and vomiting, almost dying. He only recovered after taking the antidote, which forced him to believe and obey.
"Finally, they've completed the first step of the assigned task. Now it's up to Wang Weifeng." Wang Zichao silently prayed, "May everything go smoothly."
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