Even now, the settlement was facing a huge crisis, the same one every gathering of humans was . All of the easily available food was gone . Perishables had long since disintegrated, and everything else was either deep underground or in the territory of a monster horde .
As it stands, the settlement had a week to go before food riots started . Then, the only source of food would be monsters .
For the settlement’s citizens, the only option would be to throw themselves at the monsters in hopes of killing them with numbers . At that point, the settlement would be no more .
However, Cheng Yang’s arrival might change that . Or at least Wei Yun told himself it would .
Although Wei Yun and his aides controlled the colony, ten internal factions held considerable power as well . Since Wei Yun had submitted, the next step was to have the other important figures in the settlement submit .
Wei Yun summoned them to the center of the settlement, and although none of them were happy to lose what little power they had, none of them dared to fight back . Wei Yun had overpowered them, so anyone that could subdue him wasn’t to be messed with . They were especially hesitant when they saw Lau Hui’s dire wolf .
“Now!” One of the faction leaders suddenly shouted .
In an instant, two dozen people jumped up from behind the tents aiming guns at Cheng Yang and the other settlement leaders . This time, however, their arsenal wasn’t limited to meer pistols .
Cheng Yang’s brow wrinkled . Guns weren’t a threat to him, but no one enjoyed being held at gunpoint . It was also his second time today . Cheng Yang could forgive Wei Yun since he had provoked the man, but if these fools didn’t come up with a reasonable explanation, Cheng Yang was going to send them to visit King Yama .
“Captain Zhou, what a treacherous fool you are . ” Wei Yun spat at a man in his thirties with long hair tied into a ponytail .
“Wei Yun, this is your fault for forcing an incident . ” Captain Zhou said with a devious smile while pulling out a gun of his own and aiming it at Cheng Yang’s head . “I was willing to keep the peace until now, but we all worked hard to make the settlement what it is today, so who are you to give it up for personal gain? Isn’t that right, everyone? It’s so sickening it gives me the chills . ”
The man’s words were addressed to the other faction leaders in the crowd . Although some of them agreed, no one dared to move around with so many guns pointed at them .
“It gives you the chills?” Wei Yun snorted . “Bullshit . You’ve clearly prepared yourself for a rebellion, so if you didn’t do it now, you would have done it later . I can only praise you for being too well hidden . I had no clue you’d stockpiled this many guns . ”
“Rebellion? You’re senile old man . What loyalty do we have to you? This is simply us fighting to control our own destiny . ”
“How ignorant . ” Cheng Yang sighed . Initially, he had been willing to see how this played out, but he didn’t have the patience to listen any longer .
Captain Zhou’s only hint towards Cheng Yang’s abilities was the dire wolf next to Lau Hui and second-hand information from Wei Yun . The firepower he had now was more than enough to annihilate a small group of monsters, so how could he put a few humans and a wolf in his eyes? Even if Wei Yun wasn’t exaggerating, how could a human body withstand a bullet? As long as he hit Cheng Yang, it would be over .
Cheng Yang’s disdainful attitude did nothing to dissuade Captain Zhou . He felt himself a cat playing with a mouse in its claws . How blind he was not to recognize that the mouse was a tiger, and he was but a grasshopper .
“You may feel powerful, boy, but a bullet will end you like anyone else . If you want to live, you’d better tell me how you got those powers of yours . Otherwise, I’ll-” Cheng Yang suddenly charged at Captain Zhou .
The Captain’s words weren’t just for show, as soon as Cheng Yang moved, he fired his gun . Unfortunately, Cheng Yang was too fast . The bullet missed, and the distance was closed in an instance . With a fierce kick, he shattered the man’s kneecap sending him to the ground .
When Captain Zhou looked up, he saw a sharp iron sword pointed at his throat .
“Stay put, or I’ll gut you . ” Cheng Yang said calmly .
Despite everything, Captain Zhou had a smile on his face still . His soldiers continued to point their guns at the center of the group, with only a few changing their targets to Cheng Yang .
“So that withered old man wasn’t lying about you . ” Captain Zhou chuckled . “This makes me want your powers even more . ”
“Do you not understand the situation you’re in? Order your subordinates to put down their guns in three seconds; otherwise, you’ll die . ” Cheng Yang said bluntly .
“That depends on what you can give me . ”
“Do you think you’re in a position to negotiate right now?”
“How could I not be? Your friend’s lives are in my hands even though mine is in yours . ” Captain Zhou cackled . “Push me too far and well see if both of us don’t die . ”
“What a crazy bastard . Its people like you who are the most troublesome to deal with . ” Cheng Yang sneered before snatching the Captain’s pistol .
Then, Cheng Yang lifted the gun up to his temple and leisurely fired . The bullet didn’t even have the power to make his head move . It just bounced off .
One bullet after another, Cheng Yang methodically shot himself until the clip was empty .
Captain Zhou’s face oscillated between fear, excitement, despair, and ecstasy with each shot of the gun . At first, he had been confused, but now he knew why Cheng Yang was so confident .
“How can this be? You aren’t afraid of bullets! This is too amazing!” The Captain laughed despite the danger he was in .
“Three . ” Cheng Yang ignored the man and started counting down .
“How wonderful, when I get that power, I’ll be unstoppable . ” Captain Zhou grinned . “Even if you kill me now, Wei Yun and the others will still die . I refuse to believe everyone is as bullet-resistant as you!”
“Are you stupid? Even if everyone here died, I could just find someone else to serve me . ”
“What about me, then? I’ll serve you loyally as long as you give me power like yours . ” Captain Zhou said in an unconvincing tone .
“Your just another unfortunate soul, so if you submit to me, I’ll consider it . I also promise not to kill your subordinates . ”
“Really? Great, everyone stand down!” Captain Zhou shouted .
Although their leader was crazy, none of his subordinates weren’t willing to die with him . As soon as they had the opportunity, they threw their guns to the ground .
A moment later, Wei Yun’s underlings rushed forwards to repossess the weapons .
Cheng Yang stored the sword in his ring and tossed the pistol back to Captain Zhou . Then, he turned to Lau Hui: “Ox, you know what to do . ”
Before Captain Zhou had a chance to get up, Lau Hui’s dire wolf charged forwards and bit into his neck . Even in death, the man never stopped smiling .
“Even if I let everyone else go, a crazy and vicious snake like you needs to die . ” Cheng Yang said coldly as the wolf ripped Captain Zhou into pieces .
“Jie Zhengqing, you and Wei Yun can take care of the rest . I promised to spare his subordinates, but that promise does not extend to you . Do what you want . ” Cheng Yang turned to address Wei Yun . “Pick some people you trust . After me and Ox finish clearing the surrounding area, we’ll bring you to our village . We’ll bring the rest of the settlement in batches later . ”
Then, Cheng Yang left with Lau Hui before anyone could ask him a question .