“Fear is the most effective tool!”

He raised his voice, sounding manic: “More effective than guns! More effective than cannons!”

“It can make the wildest horse kneel down and lick my boots obediently!”

“And it can make you so-called ‘heroes’ who think you’re all that, properly weigh yourselves!”

Scorpion suddenly leaned forward, lowering his voice. It sounded like a snake’s tongue, hissing, audible only to the four of them.

“Whatever that old geezer Lei Laohu can give you, I’ll give you double!”

“If you want to live, and live comfortably, you have to learn to pick a side, understand?”

“Smart people know how to choose to live longer, don’t they, Mr. Lu?” He specifically looked at Lu Shiyan, with blatant provocation.

After speaking, he snapped his fingers, tossed his head casually, and waved to his subordinates behind him, as if what he had just said was nothing more than idle chatter after a meal.

“Keep handing out stuff! Damn it, today’s really a good day!”

“Let everyone taste my ‘generosity’!”

Before leaving, Scorpion suddenly turned his head back, his snake-like eyes sweeping over Lu Shiyan, Su Wan, and Xiao Han.

A strange arc formed on the corner of his mouth, as if mocking, yet also anticipating.

“I’m waiting for your answer.”

“Remember, in this hellhole, there’s no such thing as a damn neutral party!”

“Don’t choose?” He sneered, “Then you’ve chosen a dead end, waiting to be crushed by me!”

Scorpion’s figure quickly disappeared behind the dense crowd, but the suffocating pressure still hung heavily over the square.

The distribution of supplies continued.

The hands of the henchmen distributing the goods were trembling, and those receiving them barely dared to breathe.

The mother and son, having received double portions of food, trembled and practically crawled away from the square under the gaze of countless complex eyes.

The little boy named Xiao Lei, before leaving, timidly looked back at Xiao Han.

His eyes, besides gratitude and admiration, held more of a heavy, heart-tightening burden that shouldn’t belong to a child his age.

An old woman, because she was a bit slow, was impatiently shoved by a burly man behind her, almost falling face-first. Yet she didn’t dare utter a sound, merely trembling as she picked up the half-biscuit that had fallen to the ground, shrinking her neck, and hurrying forward.

“Damn!” Xiao Han squeezed out a word through gritted teeth, his fists clenching with a cracking sound, veins bulging, “I almost couldn’t hold back just now, I really wanted to shoot that smug bastard’s head off!”

He shook his head, trying to shake off the irritation, but Xiao Lei’s eyes, with a hint of stubbornness amidst the fear, inexplicably lingered in his mind.

He took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently, as if about to explode.

Lu Shiyan shook his head, his face expressionless. “He’s calculated very precisely.”

“He knew we would come, and he might even have guessed that we would meddle.”

“So, he deliberately staged this act.”

“Firstly, it’s to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys, to deter those short-sighted people in the base.”

“Secondly, it’s also to test our background.”

Su Wan looked at the people queuing for supplies.

One by one, they stretched out their hands, numbly accepting the pitiful amount of food, their eyes terrifyingly hollow, as if their souls had long been drained.

“They… they’re like wild beasts trapped in a cage, even their last thoughts of resistance have been slowly worn away.”

“Now, do you understand why Lei Laohu was so eager to find us?”

“Scorpion, this venomous snake, is expanding too quickly.”

“Lei Laohu feels the chill on his neck; he’s scared.”

“He needs a sharp enough knife to break this stalemate, otherwise, he’ll be the next one swallowed.”

Su Wan couldn’t help but ask, “What about us? Which side… which side do we stand on?”

Lu Shiyan didn’t answer immediately.

He turned his head, looking at the now empty high platform in the distance, “No matter which side we stand on, or rather, no matter how we choose, there’s only one goal.”

“Let’s go back first.”

“It’s time to meet this legendary Lei Laohu.”

The group left the square and walked back.

At a street corner, a thin figure was shoved to the ground by a burly man.

It was the boy named Xiao Lei earlier!

“Damn it!”

Xiao Han’s eyes instantly turned red, and he roared, about to rush forward.

The burly man stepped on the meager supplies Xiao Lei had just received and bent down to snatch them.

“Stop!” Xiao Han’s fist was already raised.

A cold hand suddenly grabbed his arm with astonishing strength. It was Lu Shiyan.

“Why are you pulling me?!” Xiao Han turned his head, “Didn’t you see that kid being bullied again?!”

“Don’t go!” Su Wan sighed and said.

Passersby around them either hurried past with shrunken necks, not daring to glance their way.

Others stood far off, watching numbly, as if observing a monkey show unrelated to them.

Su Wan watched the thin figure being pushed down again, her lips pale. When Xiao Lei’s supplies were stepped on by the burly man, the eyes he turned towards them, besides fear and a plea for help, seemed to hold… calculation? Or something else?

“No, something’s not right with this Xiao Lei.”

“What’s wrong with you two?”

“Xiao Han, let’s go back, forget about it.” Su Wan suddenly raised her voice a little.

Lu Shiyan’s hand was like an iron clamp, squeezing Xiao Han’s arm painfully.

“Xiao Han.”

Lu Shiyan stared at him, “Don’t you realize you’re acting very strangely?”

His voice was flat, as if stating a fact.

“You’ve never been such an impulsive person.”

Xiao Han’s veins pulsed in his neck, his eyes bloodshot, still wanting to shout.

Lu Shiyan nodded his chin towards the disheveled Xiao Lei on the ground.

“You’ve just met, how many times do you plan to stick up for him?”

“Xiao Han, when did you become so… chivalrous?”

These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over him.

The fire in Xiao Han’s eyes suddenly choked, as if someone had grabbed his throat.

That surge of anger, which was almost bursting through his head, was forcefully blocked by that sentence.

He himself was stunned.

Yes, when did he, Xiao Han, become so concerned about a strange kid?

Su Wan also grew anxious: “Xiao Han, let’s go back first! Be good, forget about it!”

She also realized that Xiao Han was acting too abnormally today.

Those onlookers around them had shifty eyes, carrying an indescribable meaning.

The three no longer lingered, turning and quickly leaving.

Xiao Lei lay on the cold ground, watching the three figures disappear around the street corner, until they were no longer visible.

He bit his lip hard, his small fists clenched tightly, fingernails digging deep into the tender flesh of his palms, oozing blood, but he seemed to feel no pain.

A muddy tear rolled down his dusty cheek, hitting the ground and spreading a small dark stain.

He didn’t cry out loud, but with a sense of unwillingness, he buried his head in his arms with all his strength.