Chapter 120 The Threat Is Approaching
Inside a workers' dormitory outside a villa in the underground city, a group of people were playing cards. Food scraps littered the floor, and rats and cockroaches scavenged for food, but the men seemed oblivious. The leader kept excitedly shouting, "Hurry up, play your cards! You bunch of bastards, I'm on a winning streak this time. I'm going to win all your Asia Crystals today. Don't you dare spoil my fun..."
Among the group was a middle-aged man with beads of sweat constantly appearing on his forehead. He looked very nervous, staring intently at his cards as if he wanted to bore a hole through them.
"Brother Dao, I really don't have any more Asia Crystals. How about we call it quits today and stop playing? Please, have mercy on me."
The man simply turned the cards upside down on the table and begged for mercy from the group of hideous and fierce-looking men.
The scarred man known as Brother Knife reached out, and the middle-aged man's face drained of color. Terrified, he retreated, and a switchblade appeared in the scarred man's hand, the blade already pressed against the middle-aged man's throat.
"Damn it, you've ruined all my luck today, you wretched thing. What a rotten bastard! I told you to play, so play. Say one more word and you'll see what happens." Scarface put away his knife and slapped the middle-aged man across the cheek. The man's already gaunt face was now covered in deep blood, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Still feeling unsatisfied, Scarface punched the man several more times in the face, spitting out saliva mixed with blood all over the ground. One of his front teeth was also knocked out. The middle-aged man grimaced in pain and kept begging for mercy.
"Ah...ah...Brother Dao, no, no, no, how many Asia Crystals do you need? I'll get them for you, I promise I'll get them all for you, please let me go..."
The flickering light shone into the middle-aged man's terrified eyes; the face was that of Zhang Yuan, the veterinarian Ji Mu remembered.
"Brother Dao, Brother Dao, calm down, don't forget our purpose."
Upon hearing the purpose, the man lying on the ground, panting heavily, narrowed his eyes slightly, slowly spat out a mouthful of blood, and slowly stood up. It seemed that he hadn't come here for the sake of the Asian crystals.
Having struggled here for so long, he can understand these things. However, now that he's fallen on hard times, his old skills are useless in the apocalypse. Now he can only be a gardener, a florist, helping Boss Ni tend to the flowers and plants in the garden. It seems that apart from that little bit of anamorphic crystal, he has nothing left to covet.
Unable to understand, Zhang Yuan stood silently in front of everyone, waiting for Scarface to break the silence.
Scarface wiped the bloodstains on his hands with Zhang Yuan's clothes, then paced back and forth in the room, snorted coldly, and asked, "I remember you used to have a good relationship with a kid named Ji Mu."
Zhang Yuan was startled. How long had that kid been gone? Why was he suddenly asking about him now? But he hadn't been involved in this, so he couldn't blame Zhang Yuan for the kid running away.
With a fawning expression, she tentatively said, "Brother Dao, Ji Mu, we all live together, so we're pretty familiar with each other, but to say we have a good relationship is just so-so. He's still a child, so we adults will definitely take care of him more, but his running away has nothing to do with me."
Scarface's lips curled into a sinister smile. "Stop talking nonsense. He's the younger brother of the person in charge of the weapons factory outside the city. We have a mission that we absolutely must assign to you."
Zhang Yuan swallowed hard, large beads of sweat sliding down his face. He really didn't know what had happened. That kid just ran away... What weapons factory, what brother.
Zhang Yuan suddenly recalled the recent violent incidents on the commercial street. He had been wandering around the commercial street at the time, thinking about looking for some buying and selling business to do, and secretly saving up some Asia Crystal...
What followed was an astonishing scene: those people were killing indiscriminately, and their weapons were incredibly powerful; they were all Boss Ni's men.
Zhang Yuan became increasingly anxious, feeling a chill run down his spine. He felt as if Boss Ni was controlling his every move. Lost in thought, he even forgot to reply to Scarface.
"I'm talking to you, you son of a bitch!" Scarface slapped Zhang Yuan again, making his head buzz.
"Oh no, no, I can't do it. Look at my hands, they're shaking so much I can't even hold the knife. What kind of task do you want me to do? Besides, Boss Ni's task for me is just to take care of these roses in the garden..."
"If the big boss didn't give me a signal, why the hell would I come looking for you? You think too highly of yourself. Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. Hahahaha..." After saying that, everyone around burst into laughter.
"Also, stop being so damn useless. Put away that cunning face of yours. Your little tricks are no match for the big boss. Don't forget what you used to do. The big boss doesn't mind exposing all your dirty deeds and letting the underground military take your worthless life."
The lights flickered, and panic and despair flashed across Zhang Yuan's face. Scarface pinched Zhang Yuan's face and said, "Listen carefully, I'm giving you three days. Go and get close to that kid named Ji Mu. You'd better find a way to become familiar with him, even more familiar."
"How would I know where he is? Would it be too obvious for me to suddenly go looking for him?" Zhang Yuan was still unwilling to give up and wanted to find some excuse.
"That's none of your business. We'll get you a job at the weapons factory. You just need to remember your mission: get close to Ji Mu and become his best friend. I think you've treated him well before, so this mission shouldn't be too difficult for you. Whatever method you use, you'd better figure something out. If you don't do it right, you'll be in big trouble."
Scarface lowered his voice, each word sounding as if squeezed out from between his teeth, cold and sinister.
Zhang Yuan's palms were sweating, and the words in his throat seemed to be stuck; he could only nod with difficulty.
He knew that he could not refuse this order. If he refused, he would become a cold corpse in ten minutes, sent into a quarry and flushed into the sewers. If he did not obey, this dark underground city would be his eternal burial place. He would never see the sunrise again, never see the mountains and rivers, and never see tomorrow.
Looking out of the dilapidated window, one could indeed see layers upon layers of earthen mounds and houses in the underground city, devoid of sunlight or starlight, forever shrouded in dust. At that moment, Zhang Yuan thought that he didn't want to die in this dark underground world, so he would go up and take one last look, to try his luck one more time, just in case he still had a chance to survive.
"Sorry, kid, I want to live too."