Chapter 24 – Coercion

Volume 2: Battlefield Between Two Worlds

At Li Quan'an's order, the surrounding Class Holders drew their Steel Blades in unison, slowly closing in on the panicked crowd.

Those in the crowd who had been shouting about not rushing out were startled, but then-no one knew what they were relying on-they instead straightened their backs.

"Who are you trying to scare? Who are you trying to scare? Our Country has laws. Touch me if you dare-go on, try it."

A middle-aged woman stood with her hands on her hips, pointing at a nearby Class Holder as she yelled.

The middle-aged woman's behavior seemed to give the people around her some backbone, and they began to shout loudly as well.

Seeing that these people weren't afraid in the slightest, Li Quan'an simply made a hand signal.

A sharp Steel Blade thrust straight through the woman's chest. The woman stared blankly at the Steel Blade that had sunk into her chest, then looked at the Class Holder in front of her with disbelief. She spat out a mouthful of blood and fell silent forever.

The crowd instantly went dead quiet.

"Everyone, listen to me one more time."

Li Quan'an broke the silence. Seeing that the crowd below still didn't react, Li Quan'an coughed heavily.

That cough snapped the stunned people below back to their senses. Many covered their throats and retched; many others screamed in terror. Only when the Class Holders in the distance drew even closer did the crowd finally react-cursing, pleading, and vomiting tangled together until the scene became a complete mess.

"I said, be quiet!" Li Quan'an roared. A Class Holder's Physical Attribute was enough that the Ordinary People nearby felt a wave of dizziness.

"Given the situation, don't talk to me about that useless stuff. Anyone who wants to rush out, stand on my left. Anyone who doesn't want to rush out, stand on my right. Two minutes."

"Oh, and to make sure more people can escape Hualin Town, anyone not preparing to rush will be killed on the spot. To those Mutated Vine things, dead and living-there isn't much difference."

"The Class Holders in the entire Camp have fed you for so long. Now, in a situation like this, it's time for you to pay something back."

Li Quan'an let out a sinister cold laugh.

The Ordinary People stared blankly at Li Quan'an as he spoke, as if they couldn't believe this was the Mayor Li they had always trusted.

"One minute and thirty seconds left." Li Quan'an glanced at the watch on his wrist and said flatly.

As the countdown began, everyone immediately fell into chaos-arguing, discussing, or simply choosing a spot on Li Quan'an's left at once.

Of course, some people walked over to Li Quan'an's right.

They were a group of elderly. By the time the timer ended, about thirty-odd elderly people had chosen to stand on Li Quan'an's right.

An old man at the front looked at Li Quan'an with clouded eyes. In a voice worn with age, he spoke his final request.

"Mayor Li, we're old. We can't walk anymore. We're not going to any Chaihe Town. We only want to die in Hualin Town, and that will be enough. We wonder if Mayor Li can, for the sake of us being old, not make us go to our deaths!"

Mayor Li looked at the group seriously. Fear, helplessness, and bewilderment were written across their faces.

Only now did they understand what the Apocalypse really meant.

With a slight sigh, Li Quan'an jumped down from the big truck, slowly walked up to the elderly people, and then bowed deeply.

The scene fell into silence. Even Wen Yu fixed his gaze on Li Quan'an, wanting to see what choice Li Quan'an would make.

Li Quan'an slowly began, "Elders, with things having come to this, the ones I've wronged the most… are actually you."

"You've spent your whole lives having and raising children. Some of you didn't even get to enjoy your later years before this damned Apocalypse arrived."

"You worked yourselves to the bone for your children, for this society, for so long. You should've had a good ending."

Li Quan'an paused, and then his tone changed abruptly.

"But have you ever thought about this: without you, I'll have to use other people's lives to fill the gap. You don't have much time left to live anyway-so why can't you understand? Using your lives to trade for other people's lives is your greatest value right now. That's your honor. That's the most glorious moment of your lives!"

"Where you die, how you die-what difference does it really make?"

Li Quan'an's voice grew louder and louder until, in the end, he was roaring.

The elderly people behind him were terrified into silence, not daring to say another word.

"Now, for the sake of your age, I'll give you one last chance to choose. Left, or right!"

Hearing Li Quan'an's final ultimatum, the people who had originally been on the right hesitated slightly, and most of them slowly moved to the left.

In less than a minute, when only a few motionless people remained on the right, Li Quan'an waved his hand.

"Kill them all."

Wen Yu watched Li Quan'an's men swing their butcher's knives and slaughter the remaining elderly people, and he let out a sigh.

This scene was too familiar.

Too much like what he'd gone through in his previous life when he'd been Cannon Fodder.

The difference was that he'd been lucky-and he'd known when to play along.

"Welcome to the Apocalypse. And then-congratulations on finally breaking free of the Apocalypse," Wen Yu murmured to himself.

"Let's go. And also-don't burden yourself, and don't overthink it." Seeing Li Quan'an stride over, Wen Yu offered a rare word of comfort.

Not just anyone could give such cruel orders. Anyone with a conscience would feel an enormous weight.

Li Quan'an was the Boss of a Settlement, but before the Apocalypse he'd only been the mayor of a small town-not some madman or cold-blooded Executioner. With several hundred lives suddenly on his shoulders, Wen Yu was afraid Li Quan'an wouldn't be able to bear it.

"I know. I know. All of this… is just to survive." Li Quan'an was clearly not in a good state of mind.

Wen Yu gave Li Quan'an's shoulder a hard pat and said in a low voice, "Pull yourself together fast. Otherwise, in a moment, the one who dies will be you."

Li Quan'an yanked hard at his collar. Seeing the panicked crowd below, he had no mood to make any more speeches and directly issued the final orders.

"Any Non-Class Holder who can drive, get in the vehicles. In a moment you'll follow Brother Wen Yu and punch our way out. The Unclassed will follow behind the Vehicle Convoy-get as many out as you can. The Class Holders will bring up the rear and hold the line. Get ready. We leave in five minutes."

Under the threat of the Class Holders' Steel Blades, the crowd below hurriedly made preparations. Wen Yu also took out some Jerky and chewed quickly, while not forgetting to summon One-Eye-during the breakout, One-Eye would be the main force.

"Mayor Li, I have something to say."

Li Quan'an, who was arranging the preparations, turned back.

It was Sun Ruixing.

"What is it?"

"In a moment, assign me among the Ordinary People."

"No problem."