The Awakened One from Central Continent showed no mercy, speaking with a stern expression:
"We don't accept defections here. If you really want to get through the Central Plains defense line, then you'd better go there and register for recruitment in advance, starting as a soldier at the very bottom. Then you'll naturally get the qualifications to enter the defense line."
The head of the Garan Mountain Safe Zone seemed surprised by the Central Continent Awakened's decisive refusal and stood there stunned for a moment.
The surrounding crowd watched him with schadenfreude. They had tried this before. Zhongzhou didn't care about your previous noble status. Everyone was treated equally here.
At this moment, another squad of awakened individuals rushed to the entrance of the defensive line.
The captain seemed to possess some strength; he bypassed the head of the Garan Mountain family, strode swiftly to the Central Continent Awakened One, his face plastered with a fawning smile, and spoke in a humble tone:
"My brother is an officer in the Central Plains Propaganda Department. Please, kind sirs, let us in. I will thank you all profusely once I see my brother!"
As the captain spoke, he repeatedly bowed and thanked the several awakened individuals from Zhongzhou, displaying a humble demeanor.
However, it would have been better if he hadn't said those words. As soon as he did, the faces of the awakened individuals instantly turned extremely ugly, as dark as the bottom of a pot.
"Another officer!"
If it weren't for the mysterious disappearance of that law enforcement officer who insisted on getting a gilded badge, they wouldn't have needed to stake out this place every day.
Originally, they only needed to follow the normal handover process to change shifts, but now many people have been sent to search for the missing officer.
Because of a severe shortage of manpower, they were forced to stay here all day, facing the noisy crowd in front of them.
"Get the hell out of here! The Propaganda Department is nothing! When did it become the Propaganda Department's right to bring people in?" One of the Central Continent Awakened Ones cursed, his face full of anger.
"Don't even mention your brother, even if your father came, it still wouldn't work today!" another awakened one chimed in, his tone equally nasty.
"That's right, get out of here! Stop getting in my way!" the third awakened one shouted without any mercy.
"Do we need you to thank us so much? Who do you think you are? What right do you have to thank us so much!" The last awakened one, his eyes filled with disgust, joined in the angry rebuke.
Faced with this sudden and harsh scolding, the captain was so frightened that his face turned ashen and he trembled all over. He didn't dare to say another word, let alone mention his brother's relationship.
He immediately turned and fled with the people behind him, not daring to look back even once.
Seeing that this new captain had offended the four Central Continent Awakeners at the entrance with just one sentence, everyone was stunned and speechless.
"Look, we've run into the line of fire."
"They've gone too far in flattering him."
"It's already a miracle that Zhongzhou didn't kill him."
The crowd gathered around erupted in scornful and mocking laughter.
When the head of the Garan family saw the captain escape from his side, he finally came to his senses and realized that relying on connections would definitely not work this time.
Left with no other choice, he gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind.
He carefully took out an exquisite box from his pocket and walked over.
"Sir, please have mercy! I have difficulty walking and really can't participate in the recruitment to become a soldier."
The Awakened One from Central Plains sneered: "Heh, you may have trouble walking, but you can still hold a gun and shoot, right?"
Upon hearing this, the head of the Garan Mountain family broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed that the other party was determined to have them participate in the recruitment.
But he still steeled himself and took another small step forward, lowering his voice and whispering furtively:
"Sir, there are four gold bars inside. I am too tired from the long journey to carry them."
"How about this, sir? If you don't mind, could you please keep it for me for now?"
As he spoke, the head of the Garan family gently opened the box, and sure enough, four gold bars were placed inside.
The Central Continent Awakened One, who had been looking serious and indifferent, widened his eyes in surprise upon seeing the gold bars.
But then, his expression suddenly changed, and his anger surged.
He raised his right hand and delivered a resounding slap to the face of the head of the Garan Mountain family.
With a sharp "smack," the head of the Garan Mountain family was struck and nearly fell to the ground.
"Well, you dare to openly bribe me! You're clearly trying to kill me!" The Awakened One from Central Continent roared in fury.
"Men, get this reckless bastard out of here."
"yes."
Several soldiers rushed forward upon hearing the commotion, wielding sticks and giving the head of the Garan Mountain family a good beating.
The head of the Garan family, clutching his head, was beaten back with sticks.
He was utterly astonished. Logically speaking, gold bars, as a form of hard currency, were universally accepted even in Zhongzhou.
Why wouldn't giving gold bars be acceptable? Could it be that he didn't give enough?
That shouldn't be the case. You have to understand that these are four whole gold bars, which is an absolute fortune.
He had given four Awakened Ones from Central Plains more than enough as a toll to get them through the defense line, so why were they driven out?
But the mocking laughter from the surrounding crowd quickly gave him the answer:
"This person doesn't even know the regulations of Zhongzhou, and he's trying to give a gift!"
"He's probably gone mad from being the head of the family. Accepting bribes in Zhongzhou, he'll surely die if he's caught."
"Tsk tsk tsk, I've lived most of my life and this is the first time I've ever seen someone openly and honestly give away gold bars. It's absolutely hilarious!"
Upon hearing these words, the head of the Garan family turned deathly pale. He finally realized where the problem lay and hurriedly turned to leave with his men.
The four awakened individuals from Zhongzhou at the entrance exchanged glances, all feeling a pang of regret. Those were four gold bars! They couldn't help but curse the head of the Jialan Mountain family for being utterly stupid.
Many people around secretly memorized the appearance of the head of the Garan Mountain family, their eyes filled with greed, as if they were plotting something.
Just then, another commotion arose in the distance. Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw another large group of people slowly walking towards them.
"Look, a new team is coming."
"There's going to be a good show."
"They're still wearing camouflage uniforms, like a regular army," one person said with a chuckle, his tone full of mockery.
"This isn't a regular army at all, it's clearly a bunch of displaced refugees!" someone chimed in, and a burst of laughter immediately erupted.
"Haha, I think they're just pretending to be powerful by borrowing someone else's authority."
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