In the pitch-black night sky, a bright moon hung, casting a soft glow. Moonlight poured down like water, illuminating the ground in darkness.
Chang Jianyi and Chu Chaoyan quietly ambushed themselves in a building. This was originally a shopping mall that sold various clothes, but after the doomsday descended, most of the clothes were looted, leaving the mall empty.
Chu Chaoyan and Chang Jianyi hid near the window, quietly watching the building not far away. The windows of this building were all boarded up with wood, making it impossible to see the situation inside. However, in reality, many people had gathered in this building, all notified by Qiao Xianwen to attend the gathering.
Chu Chaoyan looked at the tightly sealed building and asked Chang Jianyi in a low voice, "Hey, do you think that Dragon Slaying Gang will participate in this operation?"
Chang Jianyi sneered and said, "It's best if they participate, and it's fine if they don't. I've already sent a hundred people to keep an eye on this gang. If they don't participate, we'll still charge in. It's just that their name makes me angry."
Shen Feng himself was the Dragon of Yuzhou, yet this gang dared to call themselves the Dragon Slaying Gang, which was a taboo. Moreover, as the most powerful gang in Jiangyang, they must have committed many evils and must be eliminated.
Just then, a group of people appeared on the street in the distance. These people had their faces covered with black cloth and were slowly approaching.
Just as Qi Lingyan had thought, when the escorted supplies included ability potions, no one could resist being tempted.
Back in Yanjing, escorting ability potions required two fifth-tier ability users to set out together. The headquarters was clearly worried about robberies along the way.
Qi Lingyan, however, did the opposite. He deliberately had Li Xiang display the ability potions in front of a group of informants. That night, all the gangs learned about the ability potions, and everyone went mad.
Becoming an ability user was not easy. Either one was a chosen one who gained abilities after being rained on, with extraterrestrial elements in their bodies, or the only other way was to use ability potions. Extraterrestrial elements could only be found in the heads of corpse kings.
For ordinary people to become ability users was a fantasy, unless they were reborn as children of high-ranking officials. Otherwise, they had no hope of drinking ability potions.
At this moment, thousands of people were gathered in the building. The first-floor lobby was packed, and many people were also on the second and third floors. These people were all gang members from Jiangyang, gathered to seize the supplies escorted by Jiangyang to Yuzhou. The person in charge was these bosses, and Qiao Xianwen had become like a host. He wore thick clothes, appearing to be afraid of the cold, but in reality, he was dying of heat.
Qiao Xianwen was wearing a bulletproof vest, which Qi Lingyan had given him as a life-saving equipment. If there were stray bullets during the subsequent battle, wouldn't he have nowhere to complain if he was shot? Therefore, Qiao Xianwen wore very thick clothes specifically to cover the bulletproof vest.
Just then, the building's door was smashed open, and an arrogant voice came from outside.
"Bang, bang, bang," the door was continuously smashed.
"Open the door! We are from the Dragon Slaying Gang. The leader and the strategist are here. Aren't you going to entertain us quickly?" the person knocking on the door was very arrogant.
Qiao Xianwen signaled his subordinates to open the door. When the door was opened, Huang Yu led a group of people rushing in. The leading few held sharp weapons and directly began to clear the area: "Make way, make way! Our leader is coming in!"
A passage was forcibly cleared through the crowd, and everyone glared at these madmen, having never seen such overbearing people.
At this moment, someone cursed, "Are you great because you have more people?"
Huang Yu nodded seriously and arrogantly said, "Sorry, having more people really makes you great."
Wang Xiao stood beside Huang Yu, leaning his head back and resting his shoulder against something, saying, "What, is having more people illegal?"
Qiao Xianwen quickly said, "Brother Huang, we are all from the same fraternity. Don't be so impulsive. Since you're here, it's to discuss how to rob the City Lord's mansion's supplies. Let's be more cordial, otherwise, we will definitely not succeed."
Huang Yu continued to walk forward, saying, "I'm just giving you face. You, Boss Qiao, are all about peace and prosperity. I won't flip the table. This time, I'm bringing all my men. The condition is simple: the ability potions are mine, and you can divide the rest of the supplies however you want!"
After speaking, Huang Yu nodded to his subordinates. A group of henchmen immediately took out their firearms. There were actually hundreds of rifles. Although the models were old, their deterrent effect was evident.
"This... let's discuss it first," Qiao Xianwen said awkwardly.
Huang Yu waved his hand and said loudly, "What's there to discuss? Listen to our strategist. Our strategist is a scholar of heaven and man. In the words of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he plans everything within his command and wins a thousand miles away. Listen to him about everything!"
Qiao Xianwen inadvertently glanced at Qi Lingyan on the side. Qi Lingyan nodded slightly, and Qiao Xianwen understood. He then said, "Since Brother Huang wants to be the alliance leader, I have no objections. Then Brother Huang will be the person in charge, and I won't compete for the leadership anymore."
Huang Yu became even more smug. Qiao Xianwen had already backed down, which meant he was the real person in charge, didn't he?
Huang Yu stood up, patted Wang Xiao on the shoulder, and said in a low voice, "Mr. Wang, please give the wartime speech now."
If Wang Xiao were to go to the battlefield, he might wet his pants on the spot, but now that he needed to give a pre-battle speech, it was his time to perform. It was nothing more than making up a bunch of nonsense, as long as it could unite everyone for the time being. Whether the content was true or not, there was no need to care.
"Brothers, listen to me. I am the strategist of the Dragon Slaying Gang. Now, what we need to do is resist Shen Feng, this traitorous official. Therefore, we must unite! Do you know why Shen Feng, this scoundrel, renamed Luzhou? Is it really to make people forget the past? Of course not. Shen Feng is instigating people. If it were still called Luzhou, countless people would miss the good life of the past. But the renaming of Luzhou to Jiangyang has a clear meaning: he is saying that this is his territory! He can even rename a city, which is naturally a declaration of sovereignty!" Wang Xiao said loudly on the stage.
Qiao Xianwen walked to Qi Lingyan's side, grabbed his arm, and pulled him towards the window twice, his meaning clear: this place is not suitable for staying, let's retreat quickly.
Unexpectedly, Qi Lingyan stood in place, frowning and listening to Wang Xiao's speech.
Qiao Xianwen asked in a low voice, "Brother, you haven't been swayed, have you?"
Qiao Xianwen couldn't imagine that Qi Lingyan, who was always quick-witted, would be so serious and even listen attentively to the enemy's speech.
Qi Lingyan explained in a low voice, "Some things can only be seen clearly by the enemy, so I plan to listen more. If you are afraid of death, you can leave first."
Qi Lingyan suddenly understood why Shen Feng had renamed Luzhou back then. If he hadn't renamed it, many people at the bottom would have been nostalgic for their past lives and always wanted to restore that life. But after the renaming, it was different. It meant that Luzhou had changed, and Shen Feng, as the one who renamed it, was the boss!
A simple renaming carried a huge implication that ordinary people would not be able to see.
"Fine, fine, I'll accompany you. We can look out for each other," Qiao Xianwen was resigned. What was worth listening to in the enemy's speech?
Wang Xiao became more and more excited as he spoke, and his expressions became increasingly exaggerated: "Speaking of which, most of us are from Yuzhou, but think carefully, whether it's Jiangyang or Yuzhou, where are the people from the City Lord's mansion from? They are all from Jiangyang. Why? Isn't it because these people were the first to follow Shen Feng? We came late, our positions were snatched away, and our cities were also snatched away. What do you say?"
"Yes!" Everyone's emotions were stirred. The fact was as Wang Xiao said. Although there were more people from Yuzhou than Jiangyang, Shen Feng's confidantes were all old members of Jiangyang. Those who came later could enter the City Lord's mansion through exams, but their influence was clearly insufficient.
Wang Xiao continued to instigate, "Not only that, but there is no place for us in the City Lord's mansion, yet the work is done by people from Yuzhou. Think about it, the majority of people in farming and repairing city walls are from Yuzhou. If this continues, only people from Jiangyang will enjoy the benefits, and only people from Yuzhou will do the work. This is discrimination. Listen to me, we must resist and fight for a better future for our descendants, don't you agree?"
"Yes!" everyone responded loudly.
If Wang Xiao had only blamed Shen Feng, people would not have reacted much, as they were all used to it.
But Wang Xiao shifted the conflict and directly pointed to the issue of resource allocation, which immediately aroused the dissatisfaction of many people. Especially since most of the people present were from Yuzhou, after a speech, they suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie. They were all fellow townsmen, and they should unite.
Wang Xiao slowly came down from the stage, and Huang Yu quickly greeted him, giving him a thumbs up and saying, "Sir, you've hit the nail on the head. With just a few words, you've stirred up everyone's emotions. You're truly amazing. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to say such things."
Wang Xiao smiled awkwardly. He was just talking nonsense, but he unexpectedly discovered that these people cared deeply about their regional affiliations. Although the two places were only half a day's journey apart, they insisted on distinguishing who was from where. This gave him an opportunity to stir up regional conflicts and directly ignite the anger in everyone's hearts.
Although Wang Xiao was not an exceptionally intelligent person, as the saying goes, three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. Wang Xiao often observed and indeed found a problem: Shen Feng's confidantes were basically his old team from Luzhou. Although those who came later could enter the City Lord's mansion through exams, their influence was clearly insufficient.
Once regional conflicts arise, they cannot be easily resolved. Now, a group of desperate individuals believed Wang Xiao's words and wanted to reclaim their rightful power. It could be said that their mentality had changed. Before, they wanted to become stronger, but now these people had the idea of replacing them.
Huang Yu seized the opportunity, stood on the stage, and shouted loudly, "Brothers, to reclaim what originally belonged to us, we must fight with all our might. If I become the City Lord, I will definitely not treat you unfairly!"
"Good..." Cheers erupted like a tide, and countless people waved their weapons, as if victory was imminent.
At this moment, Huang Yu no longer cared about being exposed. He called everyone and headed towards the east of the city.
The trucks that had finished loading were parked in the eastern district of the city. This was originally a park, but it was poorly managed and gradually became a vegetable garden, while a spacious area became a parking lot.
The street was very quiet, with no noisy sounds. Huang Yu looked up and realized it was already two o'clock in the morning. At this time, apart from students who stayed up late, there were basically no other people awake.
"The night is dark and the wind is high, even heaven is helping me!" Huang Yu was overjoyed. Since the street was so quiet, the City Lord's mansion must have no defenses, which was perfect for looting supplies.
Huang Yu's breathing gradually became heavier. He also dreamed of becoming an ability user. As long as he could become an ability user, he would truly soar to the heavens!
"When I become an ability user, I will truly be a person above others. I want the people below me to look up to me obediently. Anyone who dares to disobey, I will kill him directly. I will become a great figure!" Huang Yu thought to himself.
Meanwhile, Qi Lingyan and Qiao Xianwen slowly retreated in the crowd. Although they kept moving forward, they would occasionally lower their heads to tie their shoelaces or stand together to discuss problems, moving very slowly. In the end, the two fell to the back, more than a hundred meters away from Huang Yu and his group at the front.
"Later, when the gunshots ring out, hide in the corner and pretend to be dead. Tie a white cloth around your arm!" Qi Lingyan handed a white cloth to Qiao Xianwen. Although he didn't say it explicitly, Qiao Xianwen quickly understood. As long as a white cloth was tied around the arm, the army would recognize it as their own and would not shoot casually.