Published: January 31, 2025
With Li Quan'an's order, the surrounding professionals quickly drew their steel knives and slowly approached the panicked crowd.
Those shouting not to rush forward were suddenly startled, but after some unknown confidence surged within them, they stood tall.
"Who are you trying to scare? Our country has laws! If you dare to touch me, try it!"
A middle-aged woman, hands on her hips, shouted loudly at a professional not far away.
Her actions seemed to embolden the people around her, and they began to shout loudly.
Seeing that these people were not afraid at all, Li Quan'an made a gesture.
A sharp steel knife pierced through the chest of the middle-aged woman who had just spoken. She stared blankly at the knife that had sunk into her chest, then looked incredulously at the professional in front of her, before spitting out a mouthful of blood, never to make another sound.
The crowd fell into silence.
"Everyone, let me say one more thing."
Li Quan'an broke the silence, noticing that the crowd below still had no response. He cleared his throat heavily.
This cough startled the crowd back to reality; many covered their throats, gagging, and some screamed in fear. It was only when the professionals approached even closer that the crowd reacted, voices of anger, pleas for mercy, and vomiting sounds turning the scene chaotic.
"I said to be quiet!" Li Quan'an roared, his physical presence making the nearby ordinary people feel dizzy.
"Given the current situation, don’t talk to me about useless things. If you want to charge out with me, stand to my left. If you don’t want to rush out, stand to my right. You have two minutes."
"By the way, to ensure that more people can escape from Birch Forest Town, all those who are not prepared to rush will be killed directly. For those mutated vines, there is little difference between the dead and the living."
"The professionals in the entire camp have been fed by you for so long. Now that this situation has arisen, it’s time for you to pay back."
Li Quan'an sneered coldly.
Ordinary people stared blankly at Li Quan'an, unable to believe that this was the Mayor Li they had always trusted.
"One minute and thirty seconds left." Li Quan'an glanced at his wristwatch and calmly spoke.
As the countdown began, everyone immediately became chaotic, discussing among themselves or quickly choosing to stand on Li Quan'an's left.
Of course, some people went directly to Li Quan'an's right.
This was a group of elderly people; by the time the countdown ended, more than thirty elderly individuals chose to stand on Li Quan'an's right.
The leader of the elderly men looked at Li Quan'an with cloudy eyes and spoke in a frail voice, making his final request.
"Mayor Li, we are old and cannot move anymore. We don't want to go to Chaihe Town; we just want to die in Birch Forest Town. We hope you can spare us out of consideration for our old age and not let us die!"
Mayor Li looked seriously at this group of people, fear, helplessness, and despair visible on their faces.
It was only now that they understood what the apocalypse meant.
Sighing slightly, Li Quan'an jumped down from the truck and slowly walked to the elderly in front of him, then bowed deeply.
The scene fell into silence; even Wen Yu carefully watched Li Quan'an, trying to understand his choice.
Li Quan'an slowly opened his mouth and said, "Dear old folks, what I feel most sorry for today is you."
"You have lived your lives raising children, and some of you never even got to enjoy your later years before this damned apocalypse hit."
"You have worked hard for your children and this society for so long, and you should have earned a good ending."
Li Quan'an paused, then suddenly changed his tone.
"But have you ever considered that without you, I will need to fill the gap with someone else's life? Anyway, you don’t have much time left to live. Why can’t you understand that using your lives to exchange for someone else’s life is your greatest value now? That is your honor, your most glorious moment in life?"