Chapter 956: Chapter 956: Brothers at Odds Within the Wall
Not only Niyan, but also Meng Jie, the principal of Mammoth University, was worried sick about the students.
Recently, the situation in Mammoth City was turbulent, and Mammoth University, founded by Niyan, was pushed into the spotlight.
Especially with the "negative stance" of the Survivor’s Daily on the conflict events, it further angered students and progressives. Now they not only demand that Laxi explain the dam incident, but also hold Laxi accountable for the deaths of three students and two Family Meeting members.
Now they are all family.
Including those Moon Clan Resistance elders marginalized by the Laxi authorities.
Back then, Laxi was able to take Mammoth City largely due to the support of the Moon people both at home and abroad, and he himself is a Moon person.
Because of this, it was destined that he could not completely purge these elders, at best only marginalize them away from the center of power—unless he wanted to break ties with all Moon Clan forces at home and abroad, and even with radical factions within the Alliance sympathetic to the Moon people.
The price would be too high...
On the contrary, those elders outside the core circle have no scruples, after all, they have nothing to lose in the first place.
Who knows, they might even prevent a civil war.
They are not interested in competing with Absek for the Northern Three States or Tiandu; having this piece of Mammoth State land is enough.
If they could earn a reputation as peace defenders, the Alliance would surely be pleased.
After all, the Alliance Managers have always had one attitude—
"You Poluo people, calm down, stop killing your compatriots."
So when they saw the opportunity to take power back from Laxi, they all jumped out like hungry wolves, opposing their "Great Moon King."
The surging tides quickly swept across the city, leaving no room for a quiet desk.
To prevent the campus from becoming a battlefield, Meng Jie could only temporarily close Mammoth University.
For him personally, this action was clearly displeasing to both sides.
The Mammoth authorities expressed disappointment in his unwillingness to help stabilize the situation, seeing indulgence as a form of support. Meanwhile, the students believed he was succumbing to the Mammoth authorities’ authority, calling him a cowardly lapdog, a fence-sitting reed.
But these were minor issues.
Mammoth University was entirely funded by Niyan himself and did not rely on the Mammoth authorities for finances, except for some help from Laxi at its inception.
As for those kids, their scolding is just noise; he’s not afraid of death, so why would he fear a few insults?
No matter how harshly those kids criticized, they would never physically attack their own teacher.
The influence of the Family Meeting in Mammoth City was not so overwhelming as to rob people of reason.
Though when he saw those family members stepping forward, Niyan was indeed taken aback for a moment.
While he wasn’t paying attention, those guys were already everywhere...
In this precarious moment, news suddenly shocked all of Mammoth City.
Niyan was dead.
The one who wrote Red Soil and lit the first light of enlightenment for the survivors of Poluo Province, Mr. Mouse, had actually died from exhaustion...
...
In the study of his own home.
Looking at the newspaper, Meng Jie first silently shed tears, then suddenly covered his nose and shoulders shook.
The housemaid saw this and silently came to pour him a pot of hot tea.
When he saw a few tea leaves floating in the cup, his emotions suddenly collapsed, and he began to sob silently.
"Why was it you... of all people, it had to be you..."
"I never thought heaven could be so blind, not seeing the suffering of the people!"
The maid was at a loss, unsure if she had done something wrong, not knowing whether to speak to comfort him or remain silent.
However, Meng Jie did not stay immersed in sorrow for long.
Seeing the tea leaves gifted by a friend, he thought of his unfinished business, of his pregnant wife, of many, many things...
"...Once a person dies, everything is finished."
He looked up at the ceiling, sighed softly, finally made up his mind, took out a sheet of paper and wrote a resignation conceived in five minutes, and then carefully folded it and put it into an envelope.
"Take this to the school administration, then go to the dock and buy two tickets for the next boat to Silver Moon Bay. Buy the one leaving tonight... If you’re willing to go with our family, get one for yourself too, we won’t let you down."
"Yes, sir." The maid nodded hastily, then quickly left the study with the envelope.
The situation in Mammoth City had been unstable recently; every time she went out shopping, she could feel the uneasy atmosphere.
Perhaps a great disaster was really coming...
After all, her parents died early, and she had no family, so it might be better to follow someone with a plan.
Meng Jie left the study and happened to see his wife holding her belly as she came down the stairs.
Seeing this, he hurried to help her down the stairs.
"Why are you up so early today?"
"I couldn’t sleep no matter how I tried, so I thought I’d get up and see you," his wife looked into his eyes, seemingly seeing something, asked with some concern, "Are you going on a business trip again?"
Meng Jie was silent for a while, then sighed.
"Not a business trip, moving, we’re all leaving."
His wife was taken aback.
"Moving? We just finished decorating the house, where are we moving to?"
We didn’t move during the war, why are we moving now...
She didn’t understand, but judging by her husband’s expression, it didn’t look like a joke.
Meng Jie took a deep breath and spoke to his wife in a warm and patient tone.
"Something big is about to happen here. We’ll go to Silver Moon Bay first; we’ll be safe once we get there. I’ll visit my mentor then and see if I can use the Alliance’s connections to save some people... If it doesn’t work, so be it; we can’t always make things difficult for friends."
His mentor was Ms. Han Mingyue of the Alliance Social Science Research Institute.
Although the Alliance Social Science Research Institute wasn’t as famous as the Biological Research Institute or the Scientific Research Team, their reports could still appear in the desk drawers of Alliance Managers.
His wife gently knit her eyebrows.
"How long will we be gone this time?"
Meng Jie shook his head.
"It’s hard to say, maybe we can come back, maybe not."
His wife nodded.
"I’ll go with you, but can you tell me what exactly happened? Did Laxi ask something of you again, or are those students pressuring you to take a stand—"
"None of them," Meng Jie shook his head and said, "This time Lowell should be Zayed, Sava...maybe someone else we don’t know, but it doesn’t matter who, we have already lost."
This is an invisible war.
A battle between the Poluo people and "feudalism" itself.
In the words of the survivors of Giant Stone City, Pol is the ghost hovering over Mr. Stephen’s head, and vice versa—Mr. Stephen is also Pol’s ghost.
As for feudalism, it is the ghost of the Poluo people themselves. This kind of ghost cannot be killed with a gun, and their society has not yet developed the strength to counterbalance feudalism.
Instead, repeated bloodshed has imbued the repeatedly killed feudalism with the strength of civilization, evolving into a monster they have never seen before.
This monster not only speaks human language but also has a human form, can blend into the crowd pretending to be a progressive force, fighting alongside young men to "shoulder to shoulder" and take down the thousand pillars of the City of Thousand Pillars, under the guise of smashing shackles to break the spine of the Poluo people.
If killing an emperor could eliminate feudalism, they should have declared victory when the Witch Todd died.
However, the final outcome was the emergence of an Anush, who "has an international vision" and chants "I can also trust the Alliance."
Now that Anush is dead, in less than a year, another one has emerged even further than Anush, adept in thick black study, more cold-blooded and ruthless—Zayed.
Meng Jie dared not even imagine what kind of terrifying form the next monster would evolve into if Zayed were to die.
"...To say something that my students wouldn’t like to hear, if Laxi wants to call himself emperor, I oppose with both hands, but in my heart, I support it. He is too murderous, but which founding emperor isn’t? He runs education, industry, has strategies that work outside and tolerance inside—at least he won’t kill your entire family over a few scoldings. If truly left to history to judge, he should be a wise ruler. Only such a person can go toe-to-toe with hypocrites."
"As for feudalism...it will naturally be eliminated when productivity and production relations have progressed together, when people’s minds are truly enlightened, and when the land of Poluo Province nurtures another progressive force that can truly counterbalance feudalism, rather than being a large-scale behavioral art performance."
"This day may be in the distant future, and by that time, no matter which governance method we choose, history will be moving forward."
...
Central Sheep State.
Upon hearing the urgent news from Tiandu, Yishel was worried but managed to stay calm and issue orders.
The railway was dismantled by the local villagers, and the supplies in the train were carried away by bandits.
He captured a few people for questioning, but they only said that it was ordered from above, but couldn’t specify who above.
Without the railway, it’s too late for a forced march to Tiandu.
To the north of Snake State, in Wolf State, the Southern Legion left a road network, and not just the road network...those Gray Wolves may have taken over the Southern Legion’s equipment!
Including trucks, and those artillery that can quickly maneuver with trucks...
The thought of possibly encountering Conqueror No. 10 on the plains made a drop of cold sweat slide down Yishel’s forehead.
Even the Alliance couldn’t use a mountain division to attack an armored division.
After all, he was just a commander, he couldn’t conjure up troops out of thin air and have his soldiers poke tanks with fire sticks.
He now had two options left: either head north to join Laxi or continue south to crash into the wall with his head.
Both of these were a mediocre choice and a bad choice.
As for the smart choice...
He could think of it, but he would never choose it.
As Yishel was undecided, an officer hurried into the tent, saluted, and reported.
"Report! The 110,000 team has come into our view! They should have come by train from Lion State direction!"
Upon hearing this news, Yishel felt no surprise, but rather a stone in his heart had fallen to the ground.
This made sense now.
The entire Northern Field Army had been infiltrated by the Family Meeting, even high-level figures like Yakale had been recruited as "family members."
Was it because of those fifty-two "fire crossbow" self-propelled guns?
When Absek established the Northern Field Army, he had Yakale leave the treasures snatched from the Legion to the rookies of the 50th, 51st, and 53rd thousand troops.
Yakale always had a grudge about this, thinking of those fifty-two cannons every time he lost a battle, blaming himself for not being able to keep the wealth, but also not considering whether those things could run on mountains.
This seemingly small yet significant matter might have left a grudge in his heart.
But there might have been other triggers as well.
In any case, these things were no longer important.
At this moment, Yishel couldn’t help but think, if those fifty-two cannons could travel through time and space to come back to him, he wouldn’t have to be a lone bear crashing into walls with his head.
"Contact the Eleventh Ten thousand Team Headquarters for me."
"Yes!" The officer saluted and exited the tent.
Yishel also stood up and went to the tent where the radio was.
The distance between the two sides was already very close, allowing for direct radio connection, only a little risky.
But it was worth taking this risk.
Yishel noticed that the young man beside the telephone seemed a bit nervous, so he smiled and comforted him.
"Don’t be afraid, Yakale is my subordinate. Even if he wants to turn against me, he has to listen to me finish speaking. He won’t fire at me halfway through...even as a ghost, I won’t let him go."
The young man nodded, but still had a nervous look on his face, staring intently at him.
Yishel patted his trembling shoulder, sat down in front of the phone, took a deep breath, grabbed the phone, and shouted.
"Yakale, what do you mean!"
The old leader still had some leftover prestige.
Startled for two seconds by the shout, Yakale, holding the phone, nearly saluted. After coming to his senses, he cursed.
"What do I mean? What do you mean!"
Yishel angrily said, "You explain yourself first! Who let you leave your post without permission! What are you doing here!"
"Leaving my post without permission? I took down the position you’ve been gnawing at for a month..."
Halfway through his speech, Yakale noticed the officers around the telegraph were sneaking glances at him, his old face turned red, and he glared at them, then diverted the topic clumsily.
"It’s an order from the Snake State War Zone Commander...you don’t need to know whose order! Anyway, the rank is higher than yours! I came here for nothing else but to stop you from doing something stupid! I’m telling you, leaving your war zone without permission...this is treason!"
Hearing this, Yishel smiled.
This guy was still the same, not good with words, couldn’t even articulate a reasonable point.
Even with his rhetoric composed for him, he managed to speak incoherently and unconvincingly.
Thinking of how even this brute who only knew how to fight was being forced to start talking politics, Yishel felt a mix of bitterness and sorrow in his heart.
"Yakale...I’m not asking who instructed you. I just ask you one thing, will you go with me?"
Without waiting for his response, Yishel continued.
"You go with me, when we win this war, I will keep my promise, I’ll teach you how to court female students."
Upon hearing such an unserious remark in such a serious setting, Yakale, whose nerves were tense, almost spat out his blood.
"I...have you lost your mind? When did I ever say I needed your help, do I, a dignified Ten Thousand Leader, need you to teach me how to woo girls? I throw the deal back to you, you follow me today, and I’ll give you ten female students! No, twenty! I’ll let you choose yourself!"
Yishel smiled lightly.
"Then I can’t go with you, if I go with you, the battles I’ve fought would be in vain."
Yakale’s eyes widened as his hand holding the phone trembled. He roared.
"You’re out of your damn mind, do you know how many of them there are?! Eight hundred thousand! A full eight hundred thousand! Each one of them well-fed and strong, standing next to them we’d look like beggars. What do you have to fight them with? Using those teenage child soldiers of yours? Their armored units can line up from the south to the north of West Sail Port! I fought for a year to accumulate these cannons, and they can casually muster that many from a single ten-thousand-man team! They could drown us with just their artillery shells!"
"You say you can fight, how useful are you alone? Do you really think you’re a god?! Duwata, Nigel... which one of them isn’t bigger than you? Even they chickened out! Yet here you are, all noble and mighty! Why don’t you take your fantasy alliance and go fight a total war with them?! Best to leave no one standing here!"
Holding the phone, Yishel smiled again and asked just one question.
"Are you envious?"
Yakale’s eyes reddened.
"I... I’m not envious! I’m not a coward! I don’t even look up to you, so why would I look up to that bunch of fat pigs? But I can’t just watch you head to your death! If you’re going to die, die up north! Die at the hands of the Vellante people! You mustn’t die in Tiandu! You’re a hero, you should die at the hands of the Vellante people! We still have hope!"
"Well, I’m actually not as great as you think, you may have forgotten..."
Yishel was about to say something when Yakale interrupted him rudely.
The straightforward guy had never begged before, yet now seemed ready to kneel, speaking in a pleading tone.
"Surrender... I’ve contacted everyone I could, Shaluk even turned ’The Butcher’! Absek has already lost!"
"Hahaha! The Butcher... you mean Pickles? The coward who kept talking about his son all day and is under Duwata’s thumb? The pig picking off stragglers behind the Alliance’s back? You, who survived Lion State and came back, never looked up to that thing, how come you’re relying on him now?"
Yishel suddenly laughed heartily, to the point where tears almost came out.
Even that blockhead turned against Absek, it must truly be a dead end.
For some reason, Yishel suddenly thought of the commander of the Forbidden Army who died in front of the Heavenly Palace gate.
While Witch Todd had run away, that guy stubbornly guarded the palace gate, glaring defiantly at that self-proclaimed Heavenly King scoundrel.
In the past, he thought it was because that person wasn’t slick enough, unlike himself who was clever.
But now standing in a similar position, he suddenly understood.
He defended not Absek, not the newly-established Poluo Country, nor the people living on this land...
He was defending only his wishes, his ideals, what he believed in and was willing to die for.
Even if those wishes were not deeply desired by all Poluo people...
They were never deceived by anyone.
Anush was both the feared, dreaded, and longed-for Heavenly King they both feared and desired!
Only he could awaken their deep-seated desire to overthrow their fellow compatriots!
When you want to kill, whether curry is spicy or sweet can be a pretext, how can you not find a reason?
The United Federation barely remains united not because of the Alliance.
It’s only because the Vellante people haven’t left...
After laughing enough, Yishel took a deep breath, his expression gradually turning cold.
"Yakale, I’ll fulfill you! The Northern Field Army does not count this cowardly Eleventh Ten Thousand Troops among us! I, Yishel, the Jungle Rat, do not have a subordinate like you! Bah—! Open fire on the Third Ten Thousand Team!"
Yakale was stunned.
It wasn’t because of Yishel’s cursing or his verbal artillery attack, but because it was the first time this guy used a tone other than self-deprecation to pick up the nickname "Jungle Rat" imprinted on his wanted poster.
From "The Meat Grinder" at the big river bend, they had always been at odds, but now he was going to fulfill him...
This tall man of 1.8 meters instantly shed tears, his eyes red as blood, screaming into the phone without hesitation.
"Damn it! Don’t do anything stupid! Come back to Tiandu with me! I’ll guarantee your survival! At least think about your female students... and you’re a bachelor, at least consider your brothers in the Third Ten Thousand Team! They at least have families!"
"Hahaha! Coward! Can’t lift the knife anymore after just one battle? Let’s settle this on the battlefield."
Yishel decisively hung up the phone, adjusted his collar sitting in the chair, then looked at the young man with trembling shoulders—the Third Ten Thousand Team’s messenger.
This time, he spoke in a very soft voice.
"I’ll give you my female student, go ahead."
Heart pierced through, the young man knelt to the ground with a thud, weeping as he spoke.
"Commander! Just surrender! Outside... the entire communications team is our people! We are all lost! I beg you! Don’t die!"
"Get up! Look at your pathetic self, still kneeling before the Vellante people came, and still kneeling after they leave! The Third Ten Thousand Team doesn’t need soldiers as spineless as you!"
Yishel glared at him and reprimanded.
He didn’t want to ask what bought them, nor did he need to think.
The Vellante people had families, and these young men too had their weaknesses, just a bit of leverage would do.
Those people didn’t need to pay anything extra, just do the same as Anush, divide the loot and that’s enough. Niyan’s evaluation was right, they are the same, no doubt.
The young man crawled up from the ground, his eyes red as he looked at his commander, with snot hanging down his chin from crying.
He couldn’t believe that the communications team captain, whom he regarded as family, could say such harsh words as "kill if need be," and entrust such a cruel task to a new recruit like him.
Why let him do such a brutal thing!
That was his commander!
The hero of the northern front!
The Vellante people’s nightmare!
His hand couldn’t reach the sidearm on his waist no matter what, he’d rather point it at his own head!
"I’m begging you! Run! I’ll get you out! I’ll just tell them... you’re already dead!"
Yishel chuckled, looking at the young man sobbing miserably and spoke in a soft tone.
"You’re too young, what would you do if I ran, I promised to take you home, and I’ll make sure you live."
"Go ahead."
He wouldn’t run anymore.
Nor could he run anymore.
He’d already run from the chapel in West Sail Port to here, where else could he go?
In the end, he was just a little mouse, lucky enough to sit in the Northern Field Army Commander’s position.
This was ultimately his home.
If those wanting his head were Poluo people, they can have it then.
He only felt sorry for Mr. Melgio, who taught him to read and write, and the old nun at the chapel, he didn’t have parents of his own, they were like his parents.
It’s a pity he didn’t get a chance to pray there again, but returning to repent alongside the Silver Moon Goddess seemed pretty good too; he hadn’t had time to greet her for a whole year.
By the way, Lady Margaret should be having her second child with her husband soon. Little Ruby will have a companion soon... although the promise of meeting again couldn’t be fulfilled.
And then there’s Anvo.
That fool, always being used as a tool, now serving as a diplomat in Jinjaron Harbor, seems to be doing quite well. At least he’s not caught up in the murky waters of Tiandu...
It really is quite amusing.
Who would remember that all of this began with an honest, short-lived fellow.
A group of dock workers thought about their fate and finally, in sorrow, wanted an explanation for Ollie’s family.
After all, 800 dinars for a life, no matter how you look at it, seems too much... At least make it a four-digit number.
Perhaps even Absek himself didn’t expect that they, caught in the vortex, would travel such a long and tumultuous road only to return to the same dry well.
But the people he met were all quite good.
Thinking about it for a long time, there aren’t really any regrets.
...
Arctic Circle.
The cold wind howled.
The only place that still records the early years of the Wasteland Era seems to be here.
The map of "Wasteland OL" is larger than imagined. No matter how far you go from home, it never gets boring.
Amidst the ice houses, two girls in thick cold-resistant clothes and a fluffy female bear were surrounding a two-meter-high snowman, while a group of children with curious eyes squatted nearby.
Not long ago, the White Bear Knights completed a thrilling adventure.
In the corner of the Wasteland, unnoticed by the respected Manager, they defeated the mad scientist who attempted to use mind control technology and cloning technology to manipulate an army of cloned bears to conquer the world, liberating the Arctic villagers enslaved by his evil faith!
Well, Si Si was quite doubtful whether this guy stood any chance of conquering the world.
At least in the River Valley Province, it might not even require the Manager to intervene, Nicole alone could have feasted on them all.
In any case, the event ended, and they acquired the DNA of many pre-war endangered species, perhaps enabling the restoration of the rare animals that were eaten to extinction in Poluo Province.
By the way, this Arctic Village actually had its own name, but it was too long and the tail couldn’t hold it, always mispronouncing it as "Ah Ba Ah Ba," so the locals reluctantly accepted being called "Arctic Villagers" by these outsiders.
Additionally, technically this counts as the Northern Empire’s territory, but those Weilante people only built an outpost here, extracting some natural oil and gas or similar to combustible ice, not really managing local affairs.
But those trivial details don’t matter anymore.
What’s important now is to leave something as proof of their visit before starting the next adventure!
Si Si didn’t have any ideas, Meat Meat wasn’t very bright, Sesame Paste would agree to anything, so it was Tail’s turn to step up.
This fellow had a flash of inspiration and came up with a cheesy idea—to build a snowman for the heroic Meat Meat!
And so, a group of people busied themselves building a snowman in the middle of the icy houses, amidst the howling cold wind.
Although Si Si doubted how long this snowman would last, those children’s eager eyes made her dismiss that utilitarian thought.
There’s really no need for it to last long.
Teaching these children how to build snowmen, so that when they build them again next time, they will naturally remember the brave residents of the refuge who traveled over mountains to rescue them from the evil scientist.
Watching from afar at that harmonious scene, even Si Si’s calm face couldn’t help but show a slightly blushing smile.
Being written into a fairy tale seems pretty nice...
How delightful, how delightful indeed.
But at that moment, a short cry of grief echoed as the snowman, which had reached over three meters tall, collapsed with a crash.
"Quick, save the snowman!"
"Cough, cough! Giao! You should save Tail instead!"
"Ah Wei, don’t move! We can still salvage it!"
"Ah, bring me back a scarf..."
"AWSL!"
Seeing the nearly finished bear collapse, the children exclaimed in shock and rushed to save the snowman, but it was too late.
Fortunately, nearby adults rushed over, stopping Meat Meat from trying to rebuild the snowman and rescuing Tail, who was trapped in the snowdrift.
"Are you alright?" The village resident, as strong as a bear, patted the snow off her shoulder and asked with concern.
"Oh, it’s nothing... Tail has suffered worse injuries; this bump and scrape is nothing."
Tail waved her hand dismissively, turned around, and slipped back to the snowdrift to continue rescuing with Sesame Paste, Meat Meat, and a group of children.
The village residents exchanged glances, scratching their heads, their expressions turning more reverent.
Tail didn’t care what they thought; she just wanted to save the snowman.
However, it was a pity that in the end, they only managed to save a round, chubby body.
"It collapsed..."
"Don’t be sad, there’s nothing we could do..."
"It’s all your fault, didn’t you say those heavy paws couldn’t be suspended? Shouldn’t they just rest on the ground?"
"...Ugh! If only we had made a smaller one."
Si Si approached, squatted down to study it for a while, shook her head, and sighed.
"...It’s unsalvageable, let’s build another one."
"Ooo..."
Sesame Paste sat in a corner, dejectedly hugging her knees and doodling circles.
Though she always said anything goes, anywhere is fine, she was always the one trying the hardest yet struggling the most to move on.
Tail comfortingly hugged her from behind, gently petting the pair of cat ears hidden in her hat.
"Oh... cheer up, Tail will be with you."
Meat Meat also came over, placing her thick bear paw under the thick gloves, buzzing warmly.
"Let’s build another one. This time I’ll make sure to keep a close watch on Ah Wei!"
Hearing this, Tail was immediately unhappy.
"Giao! Why do you always blame Tail whenever something happens? Why don’t you blame Ah Guang? He’s obviously the mastermind!"
Watching the two goofballs bicker, Sesame Paste chuckled, and Si Si also laughed while clutching her stomach.
Someone far away in the Grand Canyon sneezed, rubbed their nose, and muttered.
"Who’s cursing me now..."