“Afternoon, Koroshan.” After the initial scowl, No. 1’s expression didn’t turn to rage. Instead, he smiled. He undid the flask of alcohol by his waist and pulled off the cork. “I’ve come to drink with you, boy.”
“Have you forgotten?” Yu Feichen said indifferently. “I don’t want to drink.”
The last time, he poured no. 1’s drink onto the ground.
“I’ve come to drink with you.” No. 1 repeated his words.
Yu Feichen didn’t speak, because as No. 1 was talking, he raised the flask high above him. Clear liquor sloshed out, spilling over the crown of Yu Feichen’s head. He angled his head slightly to evade it; the strong liquor wet the strands of his hair, continuing downwards, soaking the right side of his clothes.
The pungent reek of alcohol wafted out, but it still smelled better than the 78° proof alcohol at the zombie base.
Yu Feichen was deep in thought.
He wasn’t thinking about no. 1, but what Anfield’s plan was. Could there be other ways to free the prisoners apart from direct confrontation like this?
At the sight of his face, almost dazed from how hard he was thinking, no. 1 gave a short, happy bark of laughter. The soldier was aware that Koroshans regarded alcohol as filth that caused one to sink into the pits of depravity. Yet now, this fellow was drenched in strong liquor. There could be no greater humiliation in the world.
However, with this laugh, the injury on his shoulder started to throb dully again.
Memories of that fight surfaced in his mind’s eye. He grinned hideously and raised his gun, training it to this guy’s skull.
No, that’s not right. He should be pulling out the whip. Before indulging in putting a bullet through this guy, he had to wring every last drop of satisfaction from torturing him first.
—But Yu Feichen’s eyelids merely flicked up, levelling him a look.
The next moment, his right hand abruptly caught hold of the wrist with the gun, tugging it firmly downwards!
Drunk and unsteady, at this tug, no. 1 immediately lost his centre of gravity and stumbled. When he spread his feet to regain his balance, Yu Feichen used the momentum to swing forward, twisting his wrist and leaping over him, squarely striking the back of his right shoulder with a knee.
No. 1 staggered and plunged forward suddenly, his chest slamming into a wooden stake protruding from the ground.
Yu Feichen rapidly put no. 1 in a deathly tight chokehold, unable to make a sound at all.
—to hell with Anfield’s plan. Let him play it rough the way he liked it.
No one could tell how this had happened. They only knew that after a gust of the northern wind raked the fallen leaves, Yu Feichen had felled no. 1, slowly releasing the grip on his throat. This man had already lost his voice, for his windpipe was basically crushed, along with the entire lobe of his lung.
In the dusky daylight, only the clacking of his teeth filled the air.
Yu Feichen’s fingers skimmed his body like a surgeon planning where to make the incision.
The right pocket carried several strings of jewellery and the left pocket kept an expensive gold pipe. Both were high-quality goods.
He found a few gold teeth bearing bone fragments in a leather wallet. He tossed them away, staring condescendingly at no. 1 from above.
The last radiance of the setting sun faded from the sky, and turbid, wrathful words were harshly emitted from no. 1’s throat.
“You’re… dead… meat…”
“Me, dead meat?” Like hearing a joke, Yu Feichen softly repeated the two words.
No. 1 panted and gritted his teeth, glaring upwards, refusing to believe that he would die at the hands of a Koroshan.
But he suddenly met Yu Feichen’s gaze.
Amidst the sickly stench of blood, an unmasked wave of malevolence assaulted his senses. A glimmer of insanity could be faintly discerned from his otherwise completely blank eyes, as if the man before him had been switched out for another.
It resembled a lowly beast meeting the king of the jungle, or an ordinary mortal meeting the death god. No. 1 gnashed his teeth, instinctively starting to shake, using the last ounce of strength to grip the gun in his hand.
“Let me tell you the only way to stop me.” Yu Feichen slowly and methodically fractured the soldier’s elbow, causing the arm to hang down limply. The gun clattered to the ground. Clean white frost dusted the wilted winter grass, and Yu Feichen wiped the handle of the gun over it a few times before holding it in his hand.
“Don’t let me get a gun.”
The words descended like a symphony pulling to deathly rest. No. 1 gasped violently a few times before his breathing came to a sharp halt. Yu Feichen stood up, icy cold alcohol sliding down by his right cheek. He breathed in gently, recovering his usual frame of mind.
Sometimes, he felt that he was by no means anything good. A beast that had devoured a man would always devour more. A knife that had seen blood would always see more. He had come across many, ruled by lust and violence, who had eventually gone mad.
But he was always able to control himself.
He looked to the side. The two Koroshan wood haulers were staring over blankly, and it was hard to tell if the expression in their eyes was fear or ecstasy. Yu Feichen beckoned to them and they silently came over, helping to cover the corpse with a nearby pile of firewood. It was a wretched, undignified death, but no one pitied him. The white plume of the chemical plant was still curling unflaggingly in the air. There was no law in war, only blood debts to be paid.
When Yu Feichen came to the door of the truck, the other two soldiers were still drinking and making merry, neither one aware of what had happened on this side. His other two compatriots, however, were each carrying an axe, wandering in their vicinity. Seeing him come out from the nook, they exchanged a look.
These two soldiers weren’t any cause for worry. The foremen weren’t armed and could be easily disposed of as well.
From the north platform, one couldn’t clearly make out specific movements over here, only a mass of heads and the trucks.
After the soldiers and foremen were taken care of, they would pretend to be driving the trucks to transport wood back to the concentration camp, and Yu Feichen would get out and soundlessly deal with the sentries. Then, the Koroshans could move freely. Yu Feichen would continue to infiltrate further into the concentration camp to handle things over at the side holding the women and children.
The trucks would be dumped to the north and west sides, creating the illusion that they were fleeing to Korosha. But they would actually be heading to the oak mountains in the south, crossing the river that winded around the entire Oak Valley Concentration Camp, then continue their journey through the dense forest. By the time the concentration camp perceived anything wrong, everyone would already have scattered into the dense alpine forest at night.
The acorns on the oak mountains would do nicely for long-term sustenance, and the water from the winter snow would ensure a source of water.
In seven to ten days, the Koroshan prisoners, escaping the imminent peril, would be like their forefathers in the legends—cutting through thorns and crossing the mountains, to arrive at Sasha, a neutral country, making contact with their homeland.
This wasn’t at all a bad plan and was also smooth going in the present. The soldier that posed the biggest threat had been dealt with and freedom was close at hand. Everyone thirsted for it. Even the big-nosed man, who had been weighed down by anxiety, breathed out a sigh of relief.
Yu Feichen’s gaze slowly scanned the field. He kept feeling that there was something amiss.
The big-nosed man’s guts weren’t as big as his nose. From the way he was acting, as long as Yu Feichen’s plan had the potential to succeed, even if he didn’t dare to participate, he wouldn’t snitch either.
He would only snitch under one circumstance—if the fleeing prisoners were at an absolute disadvantage.
But Yu Feichen believed that he, regardless of the time or place, would never make a careless mistake. Such a situation shouldn’t occur.
But in the prophesised events last night, the big-nosed man had snitched.
Was it possible that there were things that cropped up outside of the plan?
Yu Feichen’s brows furrowed, swiftly calculating the odds.
At the same time, the axe-wielding Koroshans gradually edged closer towards the backs of the targets that they had been assigned to. They gripped the handle of their axes and slowly raised them high—
When, just then, a train whistle suddenly split the air from the distant mountains shrouded in rolling fog.
“Afternoon, Koroshan.” After the initial scowl, No. 1’s expression didn’t turn to rage. Instead, he smiled. He undid the flask of alcohol by his waist and pulled off the cork. “I’ve come to drink with you, boy.”
“Have you forgotten?” Yu Feichen said indifferently. “I don’t want to drink.”
The last time, he poured no. 1’s drink onto the ground.
“I’ve come to drink with you.” No. 1 repeated his words.
Yu Feichen didn’t speak, because as No. 1 was talking, he raised the flask high above him. Clear liquor sloshed out, spilling over the crown of Yu Feichen’s head. He angled his head slightly to evade it; the strong liquor wet the strands of his hair, continuing downwards, soaking the right side of his clothes.
The pungent reek of alcohol wafted out, but it still smelled better than the 78° proof alcohol at the zombie base.
Yu Feichen was deep in thought.
He wasn’t thinking about no. 1, but what Anfield’s plan was. Could there be other ways to free the prisoners apart from direct confrontation like this?
At the sight of his face, almost dazed from how hard he was thinking, no. 1 gave a short, happy bark of laughter. The soldier was aware that Koroshans regarded alcohol as filth that caused one to sink into the pits of depravity. Yet now, this fellow was drenched in strong liquor. There could be no greater humiliation in the world.
However, with this laugh, the injury on his shoulder started to throb dully again.
Memories of that fight surfaced in his mind’s eye. He grinned hideously and raised his gun, training it to this guy’s skull.
No, that’s not right. He should be pulling out the whip. Before indulging in putting a bullet through this guy, he had to wring every last drop of satisfaction from torturing him first.
—But Yu Feichen’s eyelids merely flicked up, levelling him a look.
The next moment, his right hand abruptly caught hold of the wrist with the gun, tugging it firmly downwards!
Drunk and unsteady, at this tug, no. 1 immediately lost his centre of gravity and stumbled. When he spread his feet to regain his balance, Yu Feichen used the momentum to swing forward, twisting his wrist and leaping over him, squarely striking the back of his right shoulder with a knee.
No. 1 staggered and plunged forward suddenly, his chest slamming into a wooden stake protruding from the ground.
Yu Feichen rapidly put no. 1 in a deathly tight chokehold, unable to make a sound at all.
—to hell with Anfield’s plan. Let him play it rough the way he liked it.
No one could tell how this had happened. They only knew that after a gust of the northern wind raked the fallen leaves, Yu Feichen had felled no. 1, slowly releasing the grip on his throat. This man had already lost his voice, for his windpipe was basically crushed, along with the entire lobe of his lung.
In the dusky daylight, only the clacking of his teeth filled the air.
Yu Feichen’s fingers skimmed his body like a surgeon planning where to make the incision.
The right pocket carried several strings of jewellery and the left pocket kept an expensive gold pipe. Both were high-quality goods.
He found a few gold teeth bearing bone fragments in a leather wallet. He tossed them away, staring condescendingly at no. 1 from above.
The last radiance of the setting sun faded from the sky, and turbid, wrathful words were harshly emitted from no. 1’s throat.
“You’re… dead… meat…”
“Me, dead meat?” Like hearing a joke, Yu Feichen softly repeated the two words.
No. 1 panted and gritted his teeth, glaring upwards, refusing to believe that he would die at the hands of a Koroshan.
But he suddenly met Yu Feichen’s gaze.
Amidst the sickly stench of blood, an unmasked wave of malevolence assaulted his senses. A glimmer of insanity could be faintly discerned from his otherwise completely blank eyes, as if the man before him had been switched out for another.
It resembled a lowly beast meeting the king of the jungle, or an ordinary mortal meeting the death god. No. 1 gnashed his teeth, instinctively starting to shake, using the last ounce of strength to grip the gun in his hand.
“Let me tell you the only way to stop me.” Yu Feichen slowly and methodically fractured the soldier’s elbow, causing the arm to hang down limply. The gun clattered to the ground. Clean white frost dusted the wilted winter grass, and Yu Feichen wiped the handle of the gun over it a few times before holding it in his hand.
“Don’t let me get a gun.”
The words descended like a symphony pulling to deathly rest. No. 1 gasped violently a few times before his breathing came to a sharp halt. Yu Feichen stood up, icy cold alcohol sliding down by his right cheek. He breathed in gently, recovering his usual frame of mind.
Sometimes, he felt that he was by no means anything good. A beast that had devoured a man would always devour more. A knife that had seen blood would always see more. He had come across many, ruled by lust and violence, who had eventually gone mad.
But he was always able to control himself.
He looked to the side. The two Koroshan wood haulers were staring over blankly, and it was hard to tell if the expression in their eyes was fear or ecstasy. Yu Feichen beckoned to them and they silently came over, helping to cover the corpse with a nearby pile of firewood. It was a wretched, undignified death, but no one pitied him. The white plume of the chemical plant was still curling unflaggingly in the air. There was no law in war, only blood debts to be paid.
When Yu Feichen came to the door of the truck, the other two soldiers were still drinking and making merry, neither one aware of what had happened on this side. His other two compatriots, however, were each carrying an axe, wandering in their vicinity. Seeing him come out from the nook, they exchanged a look.
These two soldiers weren’t any cause for worry. The foremen weren’t armed and could be easily disposed of as well.
From the north platform, one couldn’t clearly make out specific movements over here, only a mass of heads and the trucks.
After the soldiers and foremen were taken care of, they would pretend to be driving the trucks to transport wood back to the concentration camp, and Yu Feichen would get out and soundlessly deal with the sentries. Then, the Koroshans could move freely. Yu Feichen would continue to infiltrate further into the concentration camp to handle things over at the side holding the women and children.
The trucks would be dumped to the north and west sides, creating the illusion that they were fleeing to Korosha. But they would actually be heading to the oak mountains in the south, crossing the river that winded around the entire Oak Valley Concentration Camp, then continue their journey through the dense forest. By the time the concentration camp perceived anything wrong, everyone would already have scattered into the dense alpine forest at night.
The acorns on the oak mountains would do nicely for long-term sustenance, and the water from the winter snow would ensure a source of water.
In seven to ten days, the Koroshan prisoners, escaping the imminent peril, would be like their forefathers in the legends—cutting through thorns and crossing the mountains, to arrive at Sasha, a neutral country, making contact with their homeland.
This wasn’t at all a bad plan and was also smooth going in the present. The soldier that posed the biggest threat had been dealt with and freedom was close at hand. Everyone thirsted for it. Even the big-nosed man, who had been weighed down by anxiety, breathed out a sigh of relief.
Yu Feichen’s gaze slowly scanned the field. He kept feeling that there was something amiss.
The big-nosed man’s guts weren’t as big as his nose. From the way he was acting, as long as Yu Feichen’s plan had the potential to succeed, even if he didn’t dare to participate, he wouldn’t snitch either.
He would only snitch under one circumstance—if the fleeing prisoners were at an absolute disadvantage.
But Yu Feichen believed that he, regardless of the time or place, would never make a careless mistake. Such a situation shouldn’t occur.
But in the prophesised events last night, the big-nosed man had snitched.
Was it possible that there were things that cropped up outside of the plan?
Yu Feichen’s brows furrowed, swiftly calculating the odds.
At the same time, the axe-wielding Koroshans gradually edged closer towards the backs of the targets that they had been assigned to. They gripped the handle of their axes and slowly raised them high—
When, just then, a train whistle suddenly split the air from the distant mountains shrouded in rolling fog.
