Chapter 522: Edge of Danger
“If those people really brought out the heavy artillery and poisonous gas, do you really think that you could protect the village just by arming all the villagers to the teeth?” Meng Chao smiled coldly. “Wild Wolf naturally understands this. That’s why if he wants to help the villagers survive, he only has one choice, and that is to lead all the villagers out of this whirlpool of trouble.
“But here’s the problem. The gangs outside lost dozens of elites in the first explosion. They also know that there are incredibly powerful enemies lurking in Leprosy Village. Would they then let the villagers rush outside like a tidal wave?
“You must understand that all the enemies, including the abnormal beasts, lost people, and former Reaper Squad members might blend among the villagers and throw the entire lair into chaos.
“They won’t let this happen. Leprosy Village and Golden Tooth Lair might have been together for decades, but they have always kept out of each other’s business. When you trade, you’re unwilling to come into contact with each other. You’re both incredibly wary of each other.
“Besides, Dragon City is battling in the perimeter. The entire lair has been locked down. If anything happens, even if the outside world sends reinforcements, they might be unable to make it in time.
“To maintain the order in the lair, the gangs have already entered full fortification mode. At such a critical moment, they won’t let the villagers run out.
“When one side wants to flee, and the other refuses to let the other come out, it’s inevitable that the two sides will end up in conflict. And when the villagers fight against the gangs, the enemy will definitely fan the flames. It might even rob you while you’re in trouble!”
Meng Chao’s mind raced as he wondered whether it was possible for him to leave Leprosy Village and find the leaders of the gangs in the lair.
If he could find the leader of Golden Tooth—Saber Jin Wanhao—or Red Brows Su Lun, the second most important person in Golden Tooth, he could explain everything to them and let them make arrangements for the villagers instead of intensifying the conflict.
But on second thought, he was not familiar with the people in the lair, and all communications had been blocked. By the time he found Golden Tooth Lair, it would already be too late.
Wild Wolf was already arming the villagers. Before long, he would take them away to escape.
Even if Meng Chao wanted to take action only after careful thought, there was no time. The Vortex had set up a tightly linked scheme and was most likely monitoring Wild Wolf’s actions. It would create all sorts of situations to force Wild Wolf to lead all the villagers out of the village in a fit of rage; they would charge out regardless of the cost.
If all the descendants of the infectees rushed out of Leprosy Village while armed to the teeth, they would definitely end up fighting against the gangs outside the village.
Meng Chao had seen the gangs and the heavy weapons they brought to lock down Leprosy Village. They were terrifying.
Once conflict started, the two sides would descend into a frenzy and slaughter each other. Even the Gods would have a hard time rescuing them at that time.
Hence, as the only person who had figured out the truth, Meng Chao could not leave the place.
He thought about it and said, “We have to look for Ms. Mulian first. She’s the key behind solving the problem. Did you learn where she is?”
“I did. Ms. Mulian is not in the hospital. She’s near the collapsed building, the place where we escaped. Since there are many casualties there, she’s doing her best to heal them.”
“Alright, we’re going there now!” Meng Chao turned around and ran.
He moved as if he was flying, and even after using all his strength to follow Meng Chao, A’Ji was only barely able to keep up with him. He called out to Meng Chao while gasping for breath, “W-Wait, Uncle, you mentioned just now… that Ms. Mulian is… is in danger… Why?”
“I’ll tell you on the way.” Meng Chao picked up the boy like an eagle would carry a chick in its claws, and his speed increased again. “Based on what you said just now, Wild Wolf should be an extremist who advocates brute force and has an unyielding stance against the people outside. But Ms. Mulian is a doctor, and doctors are merciful. They usually are gentle in nature. She will not agree with Leprosy Village fighting against the world outside, don’t you think so?”
A’Ji was stunned for a while, then tilted his head and thought about it. Then, he nodded and said, “Yeah. Wild Wolf always says that the people outside have bullied us for decades, but there’s a limit to how much we can tolerate. When we reach our limit, we won’t need to continue tolerating those people outside. Our appearance and genes aren’t something we chose. We didn’t do anything bad either, so why can’t we clench our fists and pick up weapons to defend our rights?
“Ms. Mulian seldom says this sort of stuff. In truth, her personality is similar to that of the old village chief. When she speaks, her voice is soft, gentle, and patient. No one has ever seen her angry. At times when some sick people hurt her by accident because the pain caused them to see things, she never blamed them.
“I think that even if Ms. Mulian heard about the village chief’s death, she wouldn’t fly off her handle, though she might be very sad. I just can’t imagine Ms. Mulian being angry.”
“Then, my guess is correct,” Meng Chao said. “Right now, the village chief is dead, and the power to lead Leprosy Village is in Wild Wolf and Ms. Mulian’s hands.
“Ms. Mulian might not be interested in being the village chief, but she will definitely look for Wild Wolf and give him some suggestions to calm him down. She’ll probably even keep Wild Wolf in check so that he won’t act like a wild horse and lead the Leprosy Village villagers in a charge that will end up destroying them all.
“There are too many suspicious things leading to the village chief’s death. Everyone believes in the second theory, as if plenty of people saw and heard what happened, but how else could so many details instantly travel to so many villagers’ ears? Are the captors from outside really that stupid that they would say something as crazy as using heavy artillery to level Leprosy Village? Do they really think that we’re in the lawless, dark era from decades ago?
“While we’re not completely free of discrimination toward those who are zombie virus carriers and possess mutated genes, the current Dragon City has a law that states that every human life is precious. If we intentionally killed thousands of innocent lives to complete our mission, then we, without a speck of doubt, would be committing crimes against humanity. We would face the harshest suppression and judgment from the Supernatural Tower and the adjudicator court!
“It’s not hard to see such flaws in logic if you calm down and think about them. If Wild Wolf can’t calm down himself, I’m sure Ms. Mulian would have her way to calm him.
“But the enemy does not want to see that.
“Also, you mentioned that Wild Wolf was brought up by the old village chief, and he’s like a son to the village chief. He also has a good relationship with the village chief’s granddaughter, Ms. Mulian. Wild Wolf has also escorted Ms. Mulian when she went out to treat others. Thus, I believe that their relationship is like that of a niece and uncle. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that they share a very close relationship, right?”
A’Ji nodded. “Ms. Mulian does call Wild Wolf Uncle Wolf.”
“Good. The old village brought Wild Wolf up and protected him, and Ms. Mulian is the niece Wild Wolf wants to protect.
“Let’s say that the old village chief’s mysterious death is unable to completely destroy Wild Wolf’s rationality, so he’s not overcome by blind rage and doesn’t descend into a frenzy. Then what if we add Ms. Mulian into the mix?
“Let’s say that Wild Wolf is already standing on the edge, his sanity about to slip away, then at this moment, he suddenly hears about Ms. Mulian’s death. And what if Ms. Mulian’s death is related to the captors who came from the world outside?”
A’Ji was dumbfounded. He stuttered, “Th-Then Wild Wolf is definitely going to break down.”
“That’s right. And when a person is overcome by rage, they ignore all logic and do a lot of things that they wouldn’t believe that they could do while their minds are clear,” Meng Chao said coldly. “I believe that this is what the enemy wants to see.”
As they spoke, they bypassed the alley and returned to the building which had housed the Deification Capsule pharmacy. It was now a smoking ruin.
The closer they got, the more signs of the explosion they could see around them. It had really made a mess of the buildings nearby.
All the windows within a circular area of hundreds of meters were destroyed by the shockwave. The steel pipes and scaffolding that supported the illegal building structures were blown off, along with the many of the illegal structures. The villagers inside had not even had the time to scream before they fell to their demise. Their blood was everywhere.
The buildings that still stood did so in a slanted fashion and were badly burnt. The exterior walls were mottled.
The whole area was like a black forest that had been burned by a wildfire.
A thick, burnt smell filled the air, which forced them to rub their noses free of snot after every few breaths. Otherwise, their nostrils would be stuffed.
There were also specks of will-o’-the-wisps rising with the hot waves, and they floated in the black dome created by the thick smoke.
There were a lot of villagers in the area.
Most of them were still around because their homes were buried in the collapse or because they still had family members trapped under the debris.
They knew that their hopes were slim and they were working in vain, but they were still mechanically digging through the debris.
Even though most of the villagers had deformities, Meng Chao had seen their expressions countless times before. They were the exact same as the expressions of the normal citizens after they lost their homes.
The villagers moved listlessly, as if they were ghosts in hell. When Meng Chao saw this, he instinctively clenched his fists slowly.
Half of his soul had returned from the apocalypse. Compared to the people of the current era, he could look at the Monster War through a more objective lens and could calmly write the One Hundred Ways to Destroy Dragon City as well as treat the clash between human civilization and monster civilization as a survival game where both sides fought on equal grounds, but endless hate for the Vortex began to boil in him after seeing the distraught villagers.
Even if it was a war that would end with one side being utterly destroyed, this method was way beyond despicable.
“Look, Uncle, Ms. Mulian should be over there!”
A’Ji pointed into the distance. A flag fluttered in the heat waves near the ruins.
Meng Chao squinted. Countless villagers were surrounding a white tent that had been set up spontaneously. A flag with a blossoming Ford’s manglietia was erected right next to it.
The Ford’s manglietia gave off an elegant, noble, and sacred air, just like a lotus.
The flower itself was a tall macrophanerophytes tree. It could take root in graphite and sandstones. Its trunk was incredibly straight and sturdy, so it had a strong lifeforce.
“Thank goodness! It looks like Ms. Mulian is alright!”
A’Ji cheered. He felt that luck was on their side.
Before his voice could fade away, they heard the sound of crystal engines roaring, which came from motorized armor charging forward at full speed.