Chapter 78

"Damn... Where did all these people come from?"

Standing on the ruins of a broken wall, Cha held a single-barreled telescope wrapped in tape, gazing at the construction site not far away.

There were about three to five people there, using hand carts to transport stones and hardened cement blocks.

Their movements were quick; they wouldn't stay long, filling a cart and then leaving.

No matter how hard Cha thought, he couldn't figure out where these people came from, and how they managed to build a stronghold right under their noses.

In his memory, Linghu Wetland Park was a desolate forest where even birds wouldn't defecate, with only an abandoned sanatorium in the center of the woods.

Apart from some birds, beasts, insects, and snakes that would move around there, even hyenas wouldn't bother with the prey there.

But that didn't matter.

Those small and large shelters were like cockroach eggs, popping up every now and then. What he needed to consider was how to take down this group of fat lambs.

"Boss, when are we going to make our move?"

Standing next to Cha was a man with a bandage over his left eye. His chest was covered with over a dozen knife scars, resembling centipedes.

At least half of them were from brawls, and the other half he had secretly carved himself.

"Not in a hurry. We are just reconnoitering now; it's not time to attack yet."

Cha handed the single-barreled telescope to a comrade standing nearby.

Unlike Cha, he would never be careless or underestimate his opponents, no matter who they were.

Even if the opponents were only three to five people, and didn't have a single gun, he would carefully observe for a long time, ensuring there was no danger before launching a sudden and fierce assault, aiming to incapacitate them with one move and minimize the time it took for them to lose their ability to resist.

"Should we send a few slaves to probe them? They've been moving stones all morning... I'm worried they'll use the stones to reinforce their defenses."

A hunchbacked man wearing a steel helmet leaned close to Cha and whispered softly.

He had a large shovel hanging on his back. Upon closer inspection, one side of the shovel was sharpened, the other side had saw teeth, and behind the handle was a simple mechanism for a breech-loading smoothbore gun.

Cha thought for a moment and nodded.

"Good idea."

"Find a few cannon fodder to test their strength."

In the Blood Hand Clan's dungeon, there were many captives. These slaves were both playthings for their enjoyment and livestock, as well as cannon fodder for the battlefield.

The Blood Hand Clan's raiders usually wouldn't give these livestock and cannon fodder any food. Instead, they would keep them in a partially collapsed water channel, pouring a bucket of slop down regularly, making them fight with mutated cockroaches and rats, enduring the torment of mosquitoes, fungi, and viruses, like raising them in a jar.

Until their humanity was eroded, they became completely insane, and were reduced to animals driven by instinct, some of them would be selected, given sticks and daggers, and promised that if they captured the stronghold, they would be allowed to join the post-war revelry and be accepted as comrades.

They called it a "baptism of blood."

Cha sent one of his subordinates back, while the rest waited on the spot.

On the other side, Fang Chang, hiding in a half-finished building near the abandoned construction site, frowned as he watched the hand carts gradually move away.

Lao Bai, squatting at the door, couldn't sit still and asked impatiently.

"Why hasn't anyone come yet?"

Fang Chang, annoyed, replied.

"Don't ask me, ask Ye Shi."

Ye Shi also had a worried look on his face.

"There's nothing... I can't sense anything. There are two mutated cockroaches in the basement, should we clear them out?"

Kuang Feng shook his head.

"No need."

Fang Chang bit his thumbnail, deep in thought.

"The other side is more cunning than we imagined. I'm sure they've discovered this construction site, but they haven't made a move... What are they waiting for?"

According to his plan, the raiders should have already targeted this place and wouldn't have let the bricklayers, who didn't even carry weapons, go.

Even for revenge, they would have to make a move!

So, the Niu Ma Squad had set up an ambush nearby, using the bricklayers as bait, ready to wait and see.

But for some reason.

Yesterday, they had squatted here all day, and today they had come early in the morning, but the other side seemed blind to the activity at the abandoned construction site.

"Maybe they haven't discovered it?" Kuang Feng asked.

"Impossible! As long as they aren't blind, they can't miss it!" Fang Chang said firmly.

Just as he was speaking, Ye Shi, who was closest to the window, suddenly became alert and raised his right fist.

"Shh, don't make a sound... There seems to be some activity nearby."

The three immediately fell silent.

Time ticked by, and this time not only Ye Shi but also Fang Chang and the others heard footsteps.

The four exchanged glances and moved cautiously along the wall, circling to the other side of the building.

Not far from them, six men with bare torsos were hugging the wall of another half-finished building, carefully moving along a narrow alley toward their position.

They were dressed in rags, and their weapons were varied.

There were rusty machetes, nail-studded wooden clubs, and even a saw wrapped in wire and attached to a baseball bat, looking quite post-apocalyptic.

But they were all melee weapons, not a single gun!

From their movement, it seemed they planned to circle around the half-finished buildings to the entrance of the construction site, waiting for the next group of survivors to arrive, and then launch a surprise attack, catching the bricklayers off guard.

However, they didn't realize their plan had already been predicted.

Fang Chang's heart leaped with joy. He drew an arrow and gave his teammates an excited and confident look.

Lao Bai immediately understood and gripped his spear tightly.

Ye Shi and Kuang Feng took out Molotov cocktails and lit them with matches.

"Three... two... one, engage!"

"Take them down!"

At Fang Chang's command, spears, arrows, and burning bottles rained down from the third-floor window, catching the raiders off guard.

The worst off was the leading man, who was pierced through the chest by a spear, collapsing into the fire like a deflated balloon after a moment of struggling.

Another raider was hit in the arm by an arrow, but before he could react, another arrow shot into his mouth.

The raiders below were thrown into chaos by the sudden attack, shouting and screaming, their morale clearly shaken.

But thinking of the grim fate of fleeing and the promises made to them, they overcame their fear and charged into the half-finished building, braving the rain of arrows and spears.

However, they soon experienced a true nightmare.

These players had no sense of martial virtue, using all sorts of flashy and unconventional tactics.

As they reached the second floor, just one flight of stairs away from the third floor, a smoking can rolled down from above...

Less than two seconds later, a loud explosion echoed through the hallway.

White smoke instantly filled the air, the pungent smell of gunpowder and metal shrapnel flying through the narrow corridor, creating a hell on earth!

The smoke had yet to clear.

The raiders, who had been lively a moment ago, were now lying on the ground, moaning in pain.

The worst off couldn't even moan, his body half-mangled, only his legs still twitching.

"Damn... This thing is so powerful?"

Lao Bai, holding his spear, was stunned at the entrance, completely dumbfounded by the scene.

"Of course, think about how much gunpowder was packed in there."

Fang Chang pushed his shoulder.

"Don't just stand there, quickly tie them up..."

If they waited any longer, the ones on the ground would surely die.

Even if these raiders would eventually be hanged, they needed to claim the bounty first!

...

Hundreds of meters away.

The sound of the explosion drifted over.

Standing on the ruins with a single-barreled telescope, Cha's face grew grim.

Although he couldn't see the situation inside the building once the cannon fodder entered, he could guess the general outcome.

Just as he had suspected.

The entire construction site was a trap set by the blue-coated group!

They had deliberately sent people to move stones, appearing defenseless and harmless, while actually setting up an ambush around the area.

How cunning!

"Boss, what do we do now?" the man with the knife scars on his chest asked anxiously.

Cha remained silent, and the scarred man continued.

"I suggest we just charge in!"

"They're using bows and spears, and they've exposed their position! We have so many guns, why should we be afraid of them?"

The hunchbacked man looked at him with disdain.

"Are you deaf? Was that explosion fake? They clearly lured the people in and killed them! Who knows how many more are hiding inside."

"What do you suggest? Everyone else is raiding in the north, and we're just wasting time here? I think we should either charge in or go to the north! If we're lucky, we might catch a couple of fat lambs heading east. Once the snow starts, there will be nothing left!"

Wasting time wasn't practical.

Cha knew his men needed loot to survive the winter, and no one wanted to freeze and starve.

But going to the north without dealing with this wasn't practical either.

The leader had given him this fat piece of meat to chew on, a sign of his loyalty and trust. If he failed like that idiot named Cha, the leader wouldn't let him off easily.

"Wait."

Hearing the boss speak, the scarred man was taken aback and asked.

"Wait... until when? It's already noon."

"Until night, until they're in their beds," Cha said grimly, looking at the small, thin man beside him and ordering, "Go back and bring ten fast-running slaves, and prepare some Molotov cocktails and needles."

"The rest of you, rest and conserve your energy."

"At midnight, we'll give them a surprise!"

...

Outside the northern gate of the forward base.

The Niu Ma Squad, with the envious gazes of other players, returned from the construction site, escorting three bound captives and three dead bodies on a cart.

One of the dead was mangled by the explosion, the other two were charred, emitting a foul smell.

"Damn! Damn!"

"Truly hardcore! But I don't know why, in real life, I can't even kill a fish, but here, seeing blood doesn't faze me at all?"

"Maybe it's the next-generation technology based on dream interference. Visual filters? Emotional blunting? I don't really understand."

"Awesome! They wiped out a whole team."

"Besides being awesome, I have nothing else to say!"

Hearing the commotion from a distance, Chu Guang, walking to the north gate, was equally surprised to see the captives and bodies brought back by the Niu Ma Squad.

Four people taking down a team of six was impressive.

These players had some skills!

However, the shock lasted only a few seconds. Chu Guang walked closer and quickly understood what had happened.

These six were not real raiders; they had no bone artifacts to signify their identity. Instead, their faces or foreheads were marked with characters.

"…Huan?"

Although the strokes were a bit off, it should be pronounced this way.

As expected, these captives were slaves of the Blood Hand Clan.

But so what?

The accomplices of criminals are also criminals. If they picked up weapons, they must have been prepared for the consequences.

After confirming their identities, Chu Guang said nothing more, pulling out a bag of silver coins and handing it to Fang Chang.

Facing these excited young players, Chu Guang nodded and said encouragingly.

"The shelter will remember your contribution. Here are 106 silver coins and 5 copper coins. Additionally, you will each receive 300 contribution points, totaling 1200 points."

"Now, send these criminals to the gallows of justice."

"Death will forgive them!"