Chapter 5

Under the keen gaze of Captain Colin, the five people had no choice but to take out money one by one, their noses bleeding. The least amount was five copper coins, and the most was over ten copper coins. Zhang Tie unhesitantly put the money into his own pocket. When it was Fatso Barry's turn, he trembled and took out nine copper coins from his pocket, placing them in Zhang Tie's hand with a forced, somewhat ingratiating smile, "You won..."

Zhang Tie looked at Barry without speaking, but there was a murderous intent brewing in his eyes. His outstretched hand didn't retract. "Are you sure that's all the money you have? Remember, we bet on everything, everything, you understand..." Zhang Tie emphasized the word "everything." Having been classmates for so many years, he knew that Barry, the fatso, was usually the most generous, often taking people out to eat. How could he only have this much money?

Barry looked at Zhang Tie, who glared back. The two, both with bloody noses, stared at each other for a few seconds. As Zhang Tie's aura grew stronger and his chest puffed out, his mouth opened as if to speak. Barry's face finally twitched, and the shine on his pimples dimmed. "Heh... heh... I almost forgot, I have a bit more..." As he spoke, Barry reached into his left pocket, reluctantly pulling out four gleaming silver coins. He then closed his eyes and placed them in Zhang Tie's hand without looking.

Seeing the four silver coins, Zhang Tie's mouth opened slightly. This was a windfall; one silver coin was equal to 100 copper coins. He hadn't expected this fatso to really steal more money from his father...

This amount of money was a "huge sum" for Zhang Tie, but Captain Colin didn't even bat an eye at the few silver coins. Watching Zhang Tie ruthlessly take money from Barry and the others, Captain Colin crossed his arms, one hand stroking his chin with its stubble, the other eye fixed on Zhang Tie with a mysterious look. Zhang Tie felt a bit uneasy under his gaze.

"Hmm, interesting, kid, what's your name?"

"Zhang Tie!"

"Are you tough, betting like that? Well, I'll remember you!" With that, Captain Colin turned and left.

As soon as Captain Colin left, the others, except Zhang Tie, plopped down on the ground. They all felt their legs were as weak as noodles that had been boiled for three days. It had been a close call; if Zhang Tie had slipped up, they would have been finished...

"Big Head, it's even now..." Barry, sitting on the ground, tilted his head back to try to stop the flow of blood from his nose. "We beat you up, and you beat us up. You took our money, but you also saved us from Captain Colin. Thanks!"

"No need to be polite..." Zhang Tie, busy taking out toilet paper from his pocket and rolling it into strips to stop the bleeding, replied. "We're classmates, after all. A little fighting is nothing, and we don't have any deep grudges. I didn't want anything bad to happen to you, just like you didn't want anything bad to happen to me."

With the paper in his nose, his voice sounded muffled, which was a bit annoying, but there was no other way.

"Got any more paper?" Barry extended a chubby hand.

Zhang Tie took out all the soft toilet paper from his pocket, divided it into several pieces, and handed them to the guys. They quickly followed suit, stopping the bleeding. Soon, the six guys in the woods looked at each other and found their appearance incredibly ridiculous. They thought of a saying: "Putting a scallion in your nostril to pretend to be an elephant." Damn, it was really too vivid. Everyone wanted to laugh but couldn't.

After muttering a few words with his head in his hands, Fatso Barry said something that surprised Zhang Tie.

"After today, we think you're a good guy, so we formally invite you to join our organization—consider it..."

"Your organization?" Zhang Tie looked at Barry and the others skeptically. These guys, who were just as aimless as himself, could have an organization?

Seeing Zhang Tie's doubtful look, Barry and the others tried to look impressive, though their bruised faces weren't very convincing. However, Zhang Tie could sense their sincerity.

"No pain, no gain. We think you're a good guy, so we decided to bring you in. Don't underestimate us. Who can say that today's saplings won't grow into towering trees tomorrow? No one is born a great person. As long as we stick together, we'll have a place in Black Flame City sooner or later!"

Barry's words stirred something in Zhang Tie. He hadn't realized these guys had such ambition. Compared to them, he felt a bit complacent. Seeing Zhang Tie's interest, Barry continued, "We're graduating this year. After graduation, we all have eight years of basic military service. We might encounter dangers and difficulties. In this era, it's hard to survive alone. Having a few brothers to help out will always give you more options, even in the military. With more brothers around, you won't be bullied so easily!"

Barry's final words finally moved Zhang Tie, making him interested in their organization. "What's your organization called?"

"The Flying Brothers!"

The Flying Brothers? Zhang Tie shuddered at the name, remembering how he had seen these guys lined up by the classroom window, rapidly moving their hands. He had heard that before the Great Catastrophe, humans had invented a machine that could fly, called an airplane. Somehow, the name of this flying machine had become a rite of passage for many young boys. Zhang Tie couldn't understand the connection between the monotonous and boring manual piston movement and the flying machine. The thought of himself standing by the classroom window, doing the same thing as Fatso Barry, made him feel that a sacred part of his heart had been defiled.

"I'll join, but you have to agree to one condition!" Zhang Tie told Barry after a few seconds of thought.

"What condition?"

"No more doing that to Miss Daina in school!" As he said this, the 15-year-old felt a sense of greatness, his heart pounding. No matter how weak he was, he could protect Miss Daina in his own way.

"No problem, it's a deal. From today, you're a member of the Flying Brothers!" Barry agreed readily. Although it wasn't the first time, and many students did the same thing, after today's incident, they felt it was too risky. If Captain Colin had seen them, they would have been in trouble. They could do it at home, where no one would stop them. Zhang Tie's condition was almost no condition at all.

Thus, Zhang Tie joined the Flying Brothers. After absorbing a new member, Barry and the others were in high spirits, seemingly forgetting their earlier discomfort. Zhang Tie had no intention of returning the money. He had made up his mind that if Barry tried to make him return the money in the name of the Flying Brothers, he would immediately leave this damn organization. From Barry, Zhang Tie learned about the members of the Flying Brothers. Besides himself, Barry, and Doug, the other members were present: Savin, Baghdad, Wright, and Sista, all classmates. The only rule of the Flying Brothers was to keep everything about the organization secret, even from family. There was no leader; everything was decided by discussion and voting.

What Zhang Tie didn't expect was that the Flying Brothers, which had only been established for a few months, already had a hierarchy, and everyone found it fair. Barry was the highest-ranked, according to Sista and the others, because he had contributed the most to the organization. As a result, Barry was the only second-level member, meaning he had two votes in the voting process. Third-level members had three votes, and so on. As a new member, Zhang Tie had only one vote.

As they walked out of the woods, Barry looked at Zhang Tie, hesitating. "About that money..."

"It's mine!" Zhang Tie clutched his pocket, eyeing Barry warily.

The fatso scratched his head, smiled bitterly, and said, "Forget it, let Doug wait a couple more days..."

The other guys grinned lecherously when they heard this.

"Doug's out of luck today, hahaha..." Savin winked. "Poor guy!"

"That guy has been holding it in for two weeks!" Sista shrugged.

"Let him hold it in a few more days..."

"A few more days, and he'll definitely get pimples on his face!"

"Hahaha..."

Zhang Tie didn't understand what they were talking about, but he sensed a lecherous aura in their words.

"Heh... heh... You'll understand later. It's a benefit of being a member of the Flying Brothers!" Barry said mysteriously.

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Today, I heard about the author Tianxia Luoxue from Qidian. I urge all the readers to subscribe to the VIP chapters of his last work, "Wu Bu Tianxia"!

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