Chapter 34 - The Countdown

Hou Ye1 wasn’t from The Old Fourth at first. When he was young, he did some labour work in the city and saved enough for a small house with his wife. Life was easy back then, where everyone smiled and called him Hou Ge

Later, such a lifestyle no longer worked.

He got old and was no longer capable of engaging in strenuous work, and his wife got so ill that she was bed-ridden. The two have never had children, possibly because of their exposure to the erosive substance. The coalition government wasn’t so bad that they completely tossed them away, but there was only a fixed portion of purifying medicine and barely-sufficient food rations per month.

If the old couple lived a life without a hitch, these provisions might be enough for them to survive, but since they were stricken with other illnesses, they could only pray to the Heavens themselves — Medical resources were in short supply, but if the illness was caused by erosion, the hospitals would still likely offer some relief. However, as people got older, more serious illnesses came along. In addition to the obvious erosion on their external appearance, there were also other issues that weren’t easy to seek help for, as such, they could only forge out money from their own pockets.

The old couple worked hard all their lives, and all their savings were spent on treatment.

Hou Ye sold the house and all the furniture in it, but was still unable to fill the bottomless abyss. Driven to desperation, he took the risk and ran to the border of the erosion zone, ready to trade his life to scrap by. But he didn’t expect that he was considered too old, so much so that even the most reckless team didn’t want to take him in.

At this point, The Old Fourth came to find him.

They paid him a sum, asking him to manage these settlements.

Desperadoes were indispensable in the settlements, and things like killing and burning shops were very common, as such, people who tried to earn a living here weren’t happy. After the rise of The Old Fourth, a team that was born out of the need to take care of public security, though they consisted mainly of old men and women, the youngsters didn’t dare to not respect them. And with that, the settlements became a lot safer.

The salary wasn’t high, but Hou Ye had lived a long life and was a wise man. After staying in the settlement for long enough, he simply built himself a proper reputation, successfully pulling back his wife’s life.

Hou Ye’s heart was clear — By the time the settlements earned their peaceful times, The Old Fourth’s wallet had been depleted, and his salary as of now was barely enough to make it. However, Hou Ye was quite satisfied with where they were now, for it was much better compared to the old days full of struggles. 

Although many people was curious about the boss behind The Old Fourth, Hou Ye’s attention had never been piqued. Whether it was an official or a black-market merchant, as long as he earned enough to keep his family full, he wouldn’t care. He believed he would live longer if he knew how to keep his nose off other people’s business.

Hou Ye’s philosophy in other aspects was similar. He tried to manage some annoyingly obnoxious rogues but failed, and the outcomes weren’t pretty. It was always easy to persuade a gentleman, but difficult to deal with a prick. When faced with no other way, Hou Ye decided that as long as these young rogues didn’t end up killing people, he would play soft and just let them fight each other until they got bored.

This time was no exception.

He recognised the two young men who were pushed on the ground. They were two brothers who knew how to make use of the loopholes in The Old Fourth’s rules, therefore a bit tedious to deal with. The two who were confronting them were unfamiliar, probably newcomers.

“Stop making trouble.” Hou Ye passed through the crowd and stopped in front of the four. “Do you see the line next to the morning market? If you want to beat each other up, get out of that line. The Old Fourth isn’t just all talk and no action, you know… Wu Da, Wu Er, why are you making trouble again? Hurry up and apologise.” 

The two were both pressed down by Zhu Yanchen at the moment. Then, Wu Da, the one that shot Shu Jun, giggled and said to Shu Jun with an ominous tone: “I was wrong, I’m really really sorry ah.” 

Then he quickly turned to Hou Ye: “Look, we were already beaten up like this, and we guarantee to not provoke these two again. Are we good?”

Still the same attitude as always.

Hou Ye waved his hand with annoyance: “Harmony is the root of all wealth. Two of you over there, I don’t think you are hurt too much. This is considered even, or let’s just forget it.” 

Usually, when Hou Ye declared this sort of verdict, there was a 50 to 60% chance that it would work. In the case that the other party was still dissatisfied, Hou Ye wouldn’t mind giving them some supplies as compensation.

“Grey Claw.” The young man with a wounded shoulder withdrew his sword and stretched out his hand. Hou Ye failed to react for a second, then he shook hands with the young man in a daze.

Very good. This young man had a clear, hearty voice, and he also knew how to introduce himself. Surely he sounded like a reasonable one.

“…If we cross that line over there, we can continue fighting, right?” The young man grinned.

Hou Ye: “…”

It seemed that young people who dyed their hair with such a strange colour usually had a bit of a temper. [T/N: LOL]

“It’s not like you can’t do that.” Hou Ye got closer and lowered his voice. “Young man, those two brats know exactly when to jump in the moment you lower your guard, and they also hang around with some not-so-decent people around there. With just the two of you, you’re likely to suffer —  if you cross that line, The Old Fourth won’t be able to control them. The dead can’t defend themselves, you see. How about this, I’ll give you two some compensation, just take it that you were bitten by a dog…” 

As though they could predict how Hou Ye would steer away from trouble, Wu Da and Wu Er got up from the ground, not bothering to hide the smugness on their faces. Repulsed by these low-life scums, the crowd of onlookers started booing.

“Thank you, but you don’t have to worry.” The smiling tone in the young man’s voice could be heard even more clearly.

After that, he walked to his companion, said something in a low voice, then thrust his sword into the ground.

“Since The Old Fourth said so, let’s go over there to continue.” With a hook at its tip, the mechanical arrow had plunged deeply into his shoulder, but the white-haired young man paid no mind to it at all. “I alone will suffice. As for you, just gather as many as you wish. How now, do you have the guts?”

Wu Da and Wu Er were almost choked. Even if their reputation was pretty bad around here, they couldn’t just lose their face. Towards rogues like them, people would look down, but they wouldn’t dare to make any provocation either.  If the others condemned them to be cowards, their life here would be difficult — so if they admitted that they were scared in front of the public and this spread out, their allies and fellow rogues would likely be gone the next day.

They had specifically checked to make sure that Yu Jin’s teammates were newcomers before deciding to make a move. How would they expect that these newcomers turned out to be so reckless?

“How many do you want? Don’t cry for mercy later. Lao Er, you wait here, I’ll go get some more.”

“No one has it easy here. When we’re making trouble like this, The Old Fourth isn’t happy either. You should think carefully.” Wu Er, the younger brother that remained behind, once again tried to play the good cop. He stole a glance at Zhu Yanchen from time to time.

“My partner won’t be part of this, don’t worry.” Shu Jun saw through the other man’s thoughts.

Wu Er laughed awkwardly and stopped talking.

The morning market was the place with the most people in this settlement. Seeing that there would be a good show to watch, more and more people came over. Hou Ye, knowing that the fight was really going to happen, could only sigh and stay aside.

Eventually, Wu Da gathered a total of 14 people. Even though the locals knew that this brat was unquestionably chicken-hearted, a commotion still rose.

Hou Ye began to sigh even harder. This seriously won’t end well. But before he could finish sighing, the white-haired young man’s partner walked up to him.

Thinking that the man came to intercede, Hou Ye quickly spoke first: “Why don’t you persuade him a bit more? Or ask him to find another way to resolve this. This method really won’t help.” 

The man shook his head, touched the inner pocket of his coat and took out a small metal card. The silver-coloured plate was simple yet exquisite, with a circle of blue gems embedded on the front, carrying with it a sense of nobleness that was utterly incompatible with this place.

The ‘IV’ symbol on the card was rather eye-catching.

The long sigh that Hou Ye was brewing got stuck in his throat, turning into a strange fizz that sounded almost like that of a horn —  He recognised this symbol. The last time he saw this thing was five or six years ago, when he was ‘head-hunted’ by The Old Fourth. That day, those who carried this brand were either distinguished guests from The Old Fourth, or senior officials of the organisation.

There were plenty of people in The Old Fourth who worked in a grey zone, and few of them liked to show their faces. But since there was always a need to deal with middle- and lower-level members, everyone simply used this symbol to represent their identity.

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Oops, Wu Da and Wu Er have kicked an iron plate, he thought blankly.

“Haze.” The person’s self-introduction was equally succinct. “This group shouldn’t be the first that tries to take advantage of the loopholes. The coalition government’s recruitment missions, everyone’s business dealings and daily disputes — Report all abnormalities to me.”

“Certainly!” Hou Ye’s whole body stretched up straight, as though he was half-worried not fulfilling his duties, yet also half-relieved because the trouble here had been taken off his shoulders.

Not far away, Shu Jun had already raised his broadsword.

Although Wu Da hurt his bones, he still stubbornly waved his gun around, for fear of being looked down upon. His group of fellow rogues was squeezing and rushing towards Shu Jun, their moves completely uncoordinated.

Under everyone’s eyes, Shu Jun could neither use his special ability nor expose the erosive substance inside here. So this fight would solely require his combat skills.

And this was exactly what he wanted.

Only two of them wouldn’t be able to overturn the entire order currently in existence. So if they wanted to openly snatch the meat from the wolf’s mouth, the first step was to show off their power.

One side was the gangsters that had been making trouble in the settlement, while the other side was a combattant who had been through life and death for ten years. Wu Da’s plan to outnumber Shu Jun had no way to succeed — Even though it was windless here, Shu Jun still looked like he was dancing atop the wind. The broadsword wrapped in a white cloth broke through the air, and Shu Jun let his body move along with his natural strength and inertia. As though the broadsword had turned into feathers, it swayed gracefully in the air, its every trajectory inevitably hitting a target.

Onlookers began to whistle, and some even started chanting “Grey Claw”.

Like a phantom, Shu Jun dodged every single bullet, dart and arrow that flew his way. None of them managed to deal even a scratch to him. As Wu Da emptied two full magazines, a thin layer of sweat trickled down his forehead — The opponent wasn’t like a human, with an incredibly fierce air of oppression. Although he was wearing a mask, Wu Da could still feel an overwhelming fighting spirit and explicable rage emanating from him.

In front of the broadsword, his allies looked like fallen leaves that had been swept away by the wind and were wriggling all over the ground. Before he had time to turn around and run away, the broadsword hit his abdomen and sent him landing into a mud puddle. After stopping himself from rolling further with much difficulty, he threw himself into the mud and started retching.

With his sword, Shu Jun took down one by one. Jumping over a withered tree stump that had been brushed to one side, he shoved the broadsword deeply into the mud. Immediately, Shu Jun lightly leapt up and landed firmly on the hilt of the sword, without letting any drop of mud touch him.

He crouched on the sword like a beast, looking at Wu Da from above.

I surrender, I won’t mess around again. Those were the only seven words left in Wu’s brain. He simply closed his eyes and buried his face in the mud. Meanwhile, the moment Wu Er saw that the situation had turned for the worse, he vanished without a trace.

The onlookers here were only used to seeing tearing-and-scratching fights. This was the first time they laid eyes on a proper battle. In a blink, one after another, cheers and applause ruptured the air. Shu Jun got the result that he wanted, but still he remained quiet. He drew his sword towards himself and walked back to Zhu Yanchen.

“Let’s go back.” Zhu Yanchen was still staring at the arrow on Shu Jun’s back. “Your wound needs to be attended to, and I have something to tell you.”

“What a coincidence, so do I. ” Shu Jun chuckled.

Seeing the Wu brothers shaken to the core, Hou Ye gleefully followed behind Zhu Yanchen, not concealing the content on his face at all.

He didn’t need to say anything, for this move of his was enough as an explanation. Hou Ye had been working with The Old Fourth for a long time and was no longer at the bottom of the ladder. So if he was following someone with such respect, that person must also be from The Old Fourth, and the person’s status was definitely not low.

This place had been uneventful for so many years. Finally some interesting newcomers had arrived.

After watching the show, the crowd happily dispersed.

‘Grey Claw’ and ‘Haze’… It seemed that this settlement would soon go through some big changes.

Zhu Yanchen didn’t have a habit of ordering old people about. It was still a distance away from the bar, so he asked Hou Ye to go back first. Still carrying his injury, Shu Jun propped the sword against his shoulders and said nothing throughout the whole journey.

“You talk first.”

“You talk first.” 

The moment they entered the hotel room, the two spoke almost at the same time.

The next second, the two of them said in unison: “I’ll go first.”

Zhu Yanchen: “…” 

Shu Jun’s expression finally relaxed. To make it convenient for the treatment of his wound, he removed his shirt and took the initiative to sit down on a chair: “A Yan, you go first. The old man seems to be in a great mood. What’s the outcome of your negotiations?”

The corner of Zhu Yanchen’s lips raised a little. He gazed at Shu Jun for a moment and didn’t try to hide the truth: “I’m the founder of The Old Fourth. Their high-ranking staff can prove my identity, so they won’t get in our way.”

Shu Jun was absolutely clueless about The Old Fourth, simply seeing them like the local tyrant that managed this town. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but choke: “You can do so many things at the same time, have you not been sleeping all these years? When you said ‘to unie the people at the border settlements’, I thought you meant to start from scratch, my god…” 

Zhu Yanchen obviously didn’t intend to talk about the history of his struggles in detail. He brought up the surgical tray and began to observe the arrow that had stuck deep into Shu Jun’s flesh: “Let’s not talk about this for now. What did you want to say just now?”

Shu Jun raised his face: “Oh, I’m actually the boss of all the marshes.” 

Zhu Yanchen’s hand slipped and the tray almost fell to the ground.

Shu Jun laughed: “Just kidding, just kidding. I want to set up a good atmosphere first, for after all, what I’m about to say isn’t very positive — I want to join this ‘organisation with a certainly bleak future’ of yours.”

He continued: “In the fight just now, I clearly felt the urge to kill.”

Shu Jun’s voice became serious, his tone turning a little sharper: “I don’t want to hide it from you. I really can’t care about human beings. I have my hatred, and I harbour an urge to vent it out. But the killing intent and hatred just now was definitely not mine — now that I think about it, it may be the ‘information’ that I obtained from Sweet Vanguard.”

“A Yan, in your previous inference, you believed that a brain-possessing Erosion Marsh is like an ordinary creature that only wants to survive. It seems that your assumption was still a tad too optimistic.”

They used to think that a brain-possessing Erosion Marsh was ordinary intelligent life that stood guarded against humans only because humans had the means of purification, which posed a threat to its survival — Under this premise, a brain-possessing Erosion Marsh would be hostile to humans and synthesised humans alike. But they wouldn’t act in an overly extreme manner, rather, they should only put up defence in order to stay alive.

“If I hadn’t met you, my physical condition wouldn’t have stabilised, and I would’ve ended up completely eroded like Sweet Vanguard, all alone… I’m pretty sure that even if I desperately hold on to my sanity, hatred will be the emotion that supports me till the end.”

“The erosive substance is a very simple being that only cares about the results. What if they regard ‘hatred’ as the most powerful kind of intelligence they could get from humans?”

In the eyes of Erosion Marsh, that kind of frantic hatred that hoped to destroy everything was ‘high-quality intelligence’ that was conducive for their survival. Then they would preserve this sentiment, share it with other herd members and gradually turn it into a part of their instinct —  Hatred would drive them to aggressively attack and never stop until the enemy was completely destroyed.

The time that Zhu Yanchen and Shu Jun had left might be shorter than expected.

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