Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Meng Chao thought about it carefully. The people who tried to use maglev and escape through the sky just now should have been the members of the hunting squad.

They were the only ones injured by the super crystal bomb and unable to continue fighting. That was why they were forced to retreat.

As for the people on the Vortex's side, their plan had succeeded and they had the advantage, so why did they need to run?

Besides, even if they wanted to run, they would not go into the sky.

After all, even if they flew out of Leprosy Village and Golden Tooth Lair, they would be immediately discovered by the superhumans stationed outside. That would be the same as death.

Hence, if the Vortex's subordinates really wanted to escape, they would be escaping through the underground tunnels, just like the insects during the n.o.ble Descent Hotel ambush.

At that moment, A'Ji took the initiative and said, “Uncle, when I get the cloak for you, should I ask around for information as well?”

Meng Chao pondered this for a while, then nodded. “Go. Be careful.”

“Don't worry. If Boss Feng died but I didn't, it means that G.o.d doesn't want to take my life for the time being!”

A'Ji grinned and snuck out.

Meng Chao watched him stick close to the walls and blend into the crowd discreetly.

He then dragged a villager who was bleeding all over his head because he was. .h.i.t by a stone to a safe place and used the chance to talk to him.

After speaking to him for a while, he ran to another side and worked together with the people to carry a villager whose legs were broken. He seized the chance while helping to understand the cause behind the fight above them.

Gradually, A'Ji moved further away and disappeared in the depths of the bustling crowd.

Meng Chao waited patiently in the beginning.

But soon, he sensed something. His expression changed, and he cussed under his breath.

He retreated into the alley and used his hands and legs to climb up the wall like a huge gecko.

He silently climbed up until he was on the eighth floor. There he found a terrace that protruded out of the building while held up by steel pipes.

To provide shelter, a rainproof canvas had been put over the terrace.

Meng Chao yanked off the canvas and placed it around his shoulders to cover his built body, the terrifying scars, and his fierce-looking weapons.

He narrowed his eyes and moved like lightning between the buildings while avoiding the superhumans in skeleton masks in the area.

Soon, a sneaky youth showed up below him like a rat in the drain.

It was A'Ji.

He was already four streets away from the manhole cover they had crawled out of.

There were no villagers around him, and it did not look like he was searching for anyone to ask for information either. He only ran forward with his head bowed.

After running for a while, he stopped to catch his breath and turned his head back to look. When he didn't see anyone chasing him, he sighed in relief and continued running.

It was clear that he did not plan to look for a cloak or get any information. Instead, he found an excuse and ran away!

Meng Chao looked down from the fourth floor of a building. He snorted coldly.

A'Ji stopped as if he was struck by lightning. He turned his head around and went pale as if he had seen a ghost. He screamed and started running at full speed.

But he could not outrun his enemy.

Meng Chao casually fired two steel b.a.l.l.s and accurately hit the backs of A'Ji's knees.

“Ack!” The boy fell to the ground. Bruises bloomed on his face, and he looked really pathetic.

“And why are you running?” Meng Chao descended from the sky and brought A'Ji up like an eagle with a chick in its claws. He glared at him. “Do you think that I really won't hurt you?”

“Let me go! Just let me go! You're all bad guys!” A'Ji was terrified and anxious. In his desperation, he gathered his courage and struggled fiercely in Meng Chao's hands. He kicked and hit him. “You just want to destroy Leprosy Village! I won't help you! I'd rather be reborn than help you!”

“What do you mean?” Meng Chao scowled. “Tell me clearly. Who wants to destroy Leprosy Village?”

“It's you! It's all of you and those people in skeleton masks and motorized armor! They're all fighting in Leprosy Village! You're with them!” A'Ji's face was flushed red and he spoke quickly. “I heard from the villagers just now! You're from a capture squad from outside! You're here in Leprosy Village to catch wanted criminals.

“Your only goal is to capture the wanted criminals. To achieve your goal, you don't care even if you need to destroy Leprosy Village and kill all the villagers!”

Meng Chao was stunned. “What? Who said that?”

“Everyone is saying that. Someone saw it with his own eyes and heard it with his own ears!” A'Ji shouted in anger. “The big explosion that affected a few buildings in the beginning was caused by you because you wanted to catch those wanted criminals. Then, you announced to all the villagers that there are fierce wanted criminals hiding in Leprosy Village and that all the villagers have the duty to help you capture them.

“If we won't work with you, it'll mean that we're hiding the criminals and will have to receive the worst punishments together with the criminals.

“Just now, to capture the criminals, you didn't even bat an eyelid and started fighting in our village. You destroyed countless people's homes, caused rocks to fall, and killed so many villagers. All of us saw it. Are you going to deny it?”

“Those people in skeleton masks are captors from outside, and they threatened you to help them?”

Meng Chao's face was grave. He scowled. After pondering it for a while, he immediately understood the situation. “Listen to me, A'Ji, I am indeed a captor from outside, but I'm definitely not with those people in skeleton masks.

“On the contrary, it's highly likely that they're the criminals we wanted to capture, and they're the ones who want to destroy Leprosy Village!”

A'Ji was shocked. He felt confused and stuttered, “Wh-What?”

“It's true. Trust me. We did come to Leprosy Village to capture the wanted criminals, but we would never use whatever method possible and harm people. In truth, before we entered the lair and Leprosy Village, we went through special training to target the situation here. We even had to make certain sacrifices to reduce the collateral damage here to the lowest so that the innocent wouldn't be hurt.

“We didn't set up the super crystal bomb that blew up the building. The people who started fighting in the air in Leprosy Village without caring about the villagers' safety are not part of us either. I have reason to believe that the people who threatened all of you are not captors either, but wanted criminals. Their goal is to make you hate the world outside and turn the situation even more chaotic!”

Meng Chao put A'Ji down.

A'Ji covered his throat and coughed a few times before he said with bloodshot eyes, “I-I don't trust you. None of you from outside are nice.

“Over the past few decades, you have never cared about Leprosy Village nor provided any help to us. You left us to our own devices.

“To you, we're just the deformed and ugly descendants of zombie virus infectees. We're not any better than zombies. Even if one hundred years have pa.s.sed, we will still spread terrifying viruses and bacteria to you.

“As long as you capture the wanted criminals and maintain the order in the world outside, even if all the villagers die, you won't care, will you?”

“Of course will care,” Meng Chao retorted firmly. “To me, there's no such thing as villagers from Leprosy Village or people outside the village. I don't care how you look like because of the virus either. We're all Dragon Citizens and humans who came from Earth. We're all comrades who share the same civilization. We're the same.”

“Stop lying. We're not the same,” A'Ji said. “What sort of lives are the people outside living, and what sort of lives are the villagers living?”

“You might have some misunderstanding toward life outside,” Meng Chao said. “The normal citizens outside might be living slightly better than the villagers, but it's not much better. They have to face the threats of zombies, monsters, and viruses. They also are troubled about their livelihoods and futures. They have to work day and night to struggle to survive too.

“It's not that we don't want to solve the problems of Leprosy Village. It's just that we have limited resources, and we can't solve the problems for the time being.

“I told you while we were underground. As long as we work together and win this war, we'll be able to get enough resources, and Leprosy Village will definitely gain a completely new look. The villagers will also live like the citizens outside.”

“I don't trust you. I've never believed in a single word you said since the beginning,” A'Ji hissed. “The villagers might seldom go out, but we're not barbarians who don't receive information from the world around us. We can surf the net too!

“I've seen a lot of videos about how the people outside live. They live in huge houses, drive pretty cars, and enjoy all sorts of things that I can't even name but never dare to think about enjoying.

“Do you even know that we can't eat earthworm cans every day in the village? Plenty of times, I had to fight with my friends until we were all bleeding for one rotten can!

“But one time I saw someone outside actually feed the freshest Iron-armored Rhinoceros Steak to her pet dog!

“I've never tasted fresh Iron-armored Rhinoceros meat in my life. At most, I've only eaten the leftover flesh of Iron-armored Rhinoceros or synthetic food made from their p.o.o.p.

“You're outsiders who feed your pets steak, so would you care about the lives and deaths of the villagers here? I don't believe it!”

Meng Chao was silent for a while before he sighed and said, “I've never fed my pets steak, and I wouldn't do something like that. I don't understand why people do that either.

“Trust me. Most of the normal citizens outside are like me. They wouldn't understand, accept, or support this sort of thing.

“Only a handful of powerful people and their disciples do that sort of thing.”

“But isn't Dragon City controlled by those powerful people?” A'Ji retorted. “They say that they don't have the resources to solve the problems in Leprosy Village and the lair, but they have the resources to feed their pet dogs steak, live in mansions, drive fancy cars, eat good food, and buy crazy things? How then are there no resources to help us?

“And you're saying things like as long as we win this war, we can solve all problems easily? How am I supposed to know whether you will really help us instead of using those new resources to get more steaks to feed your pet dogs so that they will become fatter and stronger?”