The rain was still pelting down. It had been pouring for hours and showed no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Most of the survivors in the camp got into simple tents built with waterproof fabrics. They had all grown used to the ever-present downpour, but they still wished it would be over soon.

Somewhere deep in the camp, there was a fully intact store; within this store, in a relatively spacious and clean room, stood a long table surrounded by several chairs, upon which a group of people sat encircling it and were discussing an important issue.

“Just for that insignificant thing, so many innocent people are being sent to their deaths?”

A middle-aged man stood up and reprimanded the others sharply. This individual was around 45 years old, with straight brows, a shaven face, a tall figure, slightly gray temples, and a majestic demeanor. At this time, with lingering anger on his countenance, he looked at everyone present, his eyes filled with intense disgust and disdain as if he were ashamed to be with them.

A man sitting next to him said, “You are the oldest and the strongest among us, so we highly respect you. But Zhao Changping, even as the first leader, I don’t think you can have it your way this time since the matter concerns everyone’s interests.”

Zhao Changping said resolutely: “Black Bear, you don’t need to say any more! Let this matter go; don’t mention it again; even if I were to die, I would never agree!”

“Zhao Changping, do you think this is still a peaceful and prosperous era? Times have changed! That spring is essential for us, so we must get it no matter what!” The reprimanded guy grew fearless and scornful, and he turned his head and shouted to the others: “Camp leaders, do you agree with me?!”

“Black Bear is not wrong.” Finally, after a brief period of contemplation, an older man stated, “What he said is plausible. There isn’t much water left inside the spring. Those monsters have grown more vigilant since the last time we snatched a bit. We can only make use of our people to serve as cannon fodder, and only by distracting the monsters can we have a chance to attack!”

“Yes, there is not much water left in the spring, and we have no time to lose!”

“Not on your life!” Zhao Changping glared angrily, “Don’t bring this up again; if someone does anything secretly behind my back, then don’t blame Zhao for being ruthless. I’m directing my words to everyone! Especially you, Black Bear! Don’t think I’m ignorant of the beast like deeds you’ve been doing in plain sight! You’d better restrain yourself; don’t let me learn about these incidents next time; otherwise, I’ll pull off your skin!”

“What did you say?” Black Bear was furious as he sprang up, slapping the wooden table. The immense force crushed the table into pieces. “Zhao Changping, who do you think you are? Do you think you are the savior because of your strength? If you have the ability, go forth and slay all those monsters! I’ve had enough of your shit; don’t force us to turn our backs on you!”

Zhao Changping looked at him indifferently and said coldly, “Do you want to fight?”

Black bear’s face turned red and blue, and he said through gritted teeth, “Don’t think I’m afraid of you!”

Zhao Changping drew his long sleeves and strode forward with a defiant look as he spoke, “Very well, then please come and teach me a lesson.”

“You, you……”

As soon as Zhao Changping and Black Bear stepped up, ready to battle, the rest of the room instantly came forward to persuade them not to fight. Zhao Changping was dragged back by the people behind him, while the other leaders urged Black Bear not to engage him anymore. Though, of course, he knew in his heart that he was not Zhao Changping’s opponent, so he went down to save face.

The enraged black bear gritted his teeth and yelled, “Retarded like a rotten stone.”

“Even if I’m a rotten stone, that’s better than being a rotten egg.” Zhao Changping laughed mockingly, “Black Bear, are you going to beat this stone with an egg?”

“Very well, I’ll remember this.” The veins on Black Bear’s forehead twitched; he stomped his foot vigorously and shouted at his subordinates, “Let’s go!”

“A man of honor knows that there are things that must be done and things that must not be done.” Zhao Changping stood up, glanced around at the other leaders, and remarked indifferently: “I, Zhao Changping, am only an ordinary military veteran, but all I want is to be honest, and open in my actions, with a clear conscience in mind. This concludes the debate. As of now, I don’t want it brought up.”

The leaders looked at each other in blank dismay, and some even gave Zhao Changping a harsh glare. But unfortunately, due to the other party’s strength, they had no choice but to shake their heads and leave the meeting room with a sigh.

“Company Commander.” A young man walked up to Zhao Changping with a helpless expression on his face and said in a low voice: “Company Commander, you have offended all the big shots in the camp today. Their eyes hide malice; I’m afraid they will want to retaliate. “

Zhao Changping stood with his hands behind his rear, his back straightened up like a javelin, as he said in a low voice, “Leave them be. No matter what, I will remain true to my beliefs and principles; what differentiates a man who has lost his values and beliefs and has no bottom line in doing things from the monsters outside? Regardless of what others say, I, Zhao Changping, cannot be such a person!”

“Yes, company commander!” A trace of respect flashed in the young man’s eyes, and he respectfully responded, “Let’s have the dozens of our brothers fight it out with them and see who is afraid of whom!”

Zhao Changping sighed and lightly shook his head, “Don’t I also wish to get rid of these pests? It’s just that each one of them has a significant number of elementary warriors in their ranks, and these individuals are the camp’s form of protection. If we murdered their leaders, they would undoubtedly turn against us. At that point, whether we win or lose, we would have ultimately consumed the camp’s power, fighting each other; what shall we use to repel the monsters’ invasion at that time?”

‘Young ones are reckless.‘ He knew that a violent solution would only beget more violence, so he looked for an alternative.

“Be patient.” Zhao Changping patted his subordinate on the shoulder. Then, a cold light flashed in his eyes, “Soon, this group of scumbags won’t be having a good ending.”

…………

With a gloomy expression, Black Bear returned to his personal dwelling. The house’s exterior was somewhat damaged, but the interior was still in good condition, and there wasn’t much leakage on rainy days. When the door opened, all the subordinates following him came to a halt and stood outside his doorstep.

The room was not small at all, with many daily necessities scattered around, while numerous makeshift wooden cages surrounded the room, each housing a naked woman. Black Bear used to be a security guard, earning a few hundred dollars each month. Coupled with his irascible personality and ugly looks, those glamorous and high-quality beauties never glanced at him whenever he strolled down the street. Some were even embarrassed to walk alongside him.

The current Black Bear felt a great sense of accomplishment and pleasure whenever he saw a beautiful young woman screaming and begging for mercy while obeying his commands like a dog. But, gradually, he began to change from simply satisfying his urges to abusing and tormenting women as his mentality grew increasingly twisted. He began to enjoy torturing ladies, especially those with a noble temperament who acted superior, and he used various methods to commit violence, torture, and humiliation. Eventually, whenever he saw a beautiful woman crying underneath him, he felt an inexplicable sense of joy.

There were a total of six cages in the room; those were his newest collection. He was thrilled whenever he returned and found them trapped in a cage, trembling, and staring at him with fearful eyes.

But everything was different today.

Zhao Changping had gone too far. Based on what Old Wan Gu said today, the former knew something about his evil deeds. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be loathing Black Bear to that extent, and he would most likely take action sooner or later! His strength was overwhelming; if he indeed chose to fight it out with him, the other leaders may not necessarily stand by his side to assist in dealing with Zhao Changping as a means of self-protection.

With this in mind, Black Bear flew into an uncontrollable rage; he raced up to unlock the frontmost cage, yanked a woman’s hair, pulled some strands out amidst her screams, and then took out a whip and began beating the poor woman. Her screams echoed throughout the room; she was naked, crying, and pleading for mercy as she crawled on all fours to escape. However, Black Bear just chuckled, then he chased her and whipped her crawling body nonstop. When the other caged women saw this, panic flashed across their lifeless and numb faces, and they wept silently.

Probably feeling that it wasn’t enjoyable enough, Black Bear opened all the cages and let all the women rush out, brandishing his whip in a circle and whipping them around. He laughed loudly and waved his arms more vigorously upon hearing the women’s high-pitched pleas as if he were a superior enslaver thrashing his poor slaves around the room. After a long period of flogging, the maniac grew a bit exhausted. He was about to get naked to resume the violence when he grabbed a bruised woman.

Suddenly, a rush of footsteps was heard outside the room’s entrance, followed by a stammering voice, “Brothers, please let me inside; I want to see the boss!”

Several people standing outside pushed the man out and warned, “The boss is working on some business; if you disturb him, it won’t end well for you!”

This person had a rough appearance; his clothes were tattered, and his face was full of dirt. He was precisely the ruffian who had escaped from Xiao Yu. His entire body was drenched, and his clothes were covered in mud as he stood both flustered and terrified; he was at a loss for what to do, so he ignored their words and shouted loudly, “Something bad, something bad happened, let me see the boss!”

Those henchmen were Black Bear’s guards, and their status among his subordinates was relatively high. Usually, he would let them go in to have a meal after they finished their work, but now that he was eager to enjoy his time with his collection, he instructed them to stay outside as he didn’t like to be interrupted. However, after hearing the chaos, he got angry and scolded from the room: “Who’s screaming at my house? Get the fuck out of here!”

The ruffian suddenly gritted his teeth, pounced on the door, and yelled loudly, “Boss, something bad happened! Something bad happened!”

The several henchmen guarding the door grew annoyed and were on the verge of beating him up when the door suddenly opened with a bang. Their Boss emerged, and the ruffian hurriedly sprang up to meet him.

Black Bear punched him in the stomach and growled, “Why are you howling while I’m this angry? Have you completed the task assigned to you?”

“Today… today, I went there with a few brothers because I wanted to teach that kid a lesson,” the local ruffian knelt on the ground, sweating profusely and covering his stomach as he squeezed out a few words. “But who knew he’d get a helper……and that helper murdered two of our brothers!”

Black Bear scowled and roared, “Murdered?! Those who dare murder my people in the camp shall all be hung upside down.” He spat those words out and yanked the person on the ground like a chicken, “I’ll give you five minutes to call everybody over here. I’m curious to see which formidable figure would dare challenge me! Now go!”

“Yes! Yes! I’m going; I’m going.”

The thug fell heavily to the ground once again, and ignoring the large bump protruding from his head, he quickly got up and staggered in one direction.