Nine-layer armor-breaking

Chapter 299 That Incident (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

He himself was unsure when the four people lying on the ground would fully regain consciousness.

If someone is completely unconscious, it would probably be better to choose someone who is currently conscious. Even if they can't be expected to be mentally sharp, they could at least be more perceptive.

Based on his experience, the person who lost an arm was someone who would easily regain consciousness and could at least be of some help.

A healthy person can indeed help him do some things, but when exactly he will wake up is something that needs to be gambled on.

Seeing the actions of the three people opposite him, especially the two guards staring intently at him, and the somewhat mocking expression of the guard in the carriage, he couldn't afford to delay his choice for too long, lest the three people opposite him lose patience.

Since he cannot choose carefully, it means that he must make a decision immediately, or at least begin to choose, even if the process may take a while.

He needs to make a choice first, so that the three people opposite him can feel a little more at ease and calm their minds.

Although he is about to make a choice, he still hasn't made up his mind.

He is still considering the issue of personnel.

Of the four people lying on the ground, the one who was closest to the leader was the one who looked the fairest and youngest.

He was not old; he looked much younger than the middle-aged or nearly middle-aged men around him.

His name is Xiaolu, and he is one of the closest to the team's leader.

Of course, his other closest friend was his boss.

Before the rumor-spreading incident, the core member had the closest relationship with his boss, far surpassing even the relationship with the little road lying on the ground.

It was precisely because of that rumor incident that the core members of the leadership became somewhat disheartened with their leader, but he remained silent and patient.

Today's outburst is the result of accumulated resentment, not caused by a single event.

Now, their team leader is gone.

Logically speaking, among the remaining members of the team, the leader and Xiaolu should have the best relationship, without a doubt.

Since Xiaolu is the closest to her, why would the main character hesitate to such an extent? Choosing him directly and then picking someone else would reduce the degree of agonizing.

But the core leader still didn't immediately choose that path.

The leader naturally had his own considerations. "Xiao Lu" wasn't the real name of the person lying on the ground, unable to move.

Even he himself was not entirely sure of his real name, or even his surname.

The origin of his name is directly related to the leader of his team who died.

His boss, Xiao Lu, and the core of the group had somewhat similar experiences, and the reasons they came to their team were also similar. Both of them were taken in by their boss.

The backbone was brought back to his "home" on a rainy day when the roads were muddy. The leader couldn't bear to look at him in that state, so he took him back to his "home".

Xiao Lu was an orphan who was found by his boss while sleeping on a deserted path.

He didn't know who he was. He wandered around for years, doing odd jobs when there was work to earn a living; when there was no work, he could only make do and get by.

Both of them were taken back by their boss when they were down on their luck. After being taken back by their boss, they worked for him and robbed many families, big and small, in Qizhou.

In the beginning, when they first joined the group, they robbed those who were notorious for their evil deeds.

They even help the elderly and children from impoverished families who can't make ends meet.

But soon, when the two of them came to their senses, they realized that it was just an illusion. It was just a trick to keep them in check and to get them to join their group.

They later learned that this process seemed to be followed by everyone who joined the team. But soon, it wasn't that they couldn't keep up the act anymore, but rather that they no longer wanted to maintain that facade; they simply stopped pretending.

Once you've done it once, you can't escape it; if you've done it several times, you're in the same boat.

Since we're all in the same boat, since we're all in the same boat, then we're all in this together, and no one can escape. It's too late for regrets now.

First, lead them to do some bad things that they can accept, and then gradually push their limits to do things that they cannot accept at first.

Later, the frequency and scale of these incidents increased, and whether they reluctantly accepted them or were truly able to accept them, they ended up accepting them.

Their principles and bottom lines are being broken down and lowered little by little.

Some people are more accepting; at most, they might do a few Robin Hood-like things to help the poor, and then we'll take them to do "real work."

Some people are less accepting, but also have a relatively higher moral standard, such as the core and Xiaolu.

These two are considered to be less accepting of such situations. They often only agree to things reluctantly because of their boss; they have no other choice.

They were already in the same boat, and he had shown them kindness, so even though they felt resentful, they wouldn't hold a grudge.

Their leader, along with his team, went on to do increasingly larger and larger things, even starting to rob some well-known good people, such as wealthy families who frequently set up soup kitchens to distribute soup.

Because Xiaolu is an orphan, he is actually more accepting of these things.

Although he hesitated to rob some women, he never made an exception for anyone, nor did he let anyone go unpunished.

If his boss hadn't taken him in, he doesn't know what kind of life he would be living now.

Are they still sleeping on that little road, working a few days when there's work to earn a living, and waiting to spend all their money when there's no work, then just waiting, hungry, and cold?

Therefore, he dislikes the cold winter season and prefers days with pleasant weather that make his life easier.

If his leader hadn't taken him back, it's hard to say whether his life would have been better or worse than it is now.

He has a brilliant mind, full of schemes and strategies.

Although he had never heard of such things as strategy, it was as if it were an innate ability of his. When faced with a situation, he would quickly come up with a solution and be able to come up with feasible ways to resolve it.

When I first joined the team, the core member didn't have much say.

Most of the ideas and suggestions he put forward are not adopted by others.

Later, when he encountered many dangerous situations, he suddenly remembered the thoughts of his mentor.

He felt that if things went as his leader suggested, things might not have gotten so bad. So, his boss intentionally tested his leader a few times and found that the leader was not only resourceful and reliable, but also grateful to him and a person who knew how to repay kindness.

His boss felt that the core leader was reliable, so he gradually handed over some tasks to him.

As they took on more and more responsibilities and the team improved, the leader truly became the core figure within the team.

After gaining important positions and gradually consolidating their status, the core leader proposed a set of rules that were very difficult for the entire team to accept.

That means he must not touch women.

Whether it was a woman they had robbed or a woman from a brothel, in short, no woman was to be touched.

The moment this rule was mentioned, the entire team was in an uproar. Even their leader didn't quite understand it, feeling that his approach was a bit too strict.

Even so, his boss did not raise any objections, but instead outwardly showed great support for his work.

At that time, his boss really needed the help of a pillar of support. It was also during that period that the pillar of support and his boss had a pleasant time together.

Unlike later on, when his boss was fearful, dissatisfied, and wary of his leader.

Perhaps people's hearts can truly become unrecognizable to themselves and others.

From the initial pity and gratitude between the two, to the later reliance on each other and pleasant interactions, to the later fear, dissatisfaction, heartbreak and pent-up anger, in the end, they both had the thought of killing each other.

The core leader really did that; his boss just hasn't had the chance to do it yet.

Human nature is unpredictable; perhaps their different choices from the very beginning led to this outcome.

Ever since he established himself in the team, the core leader proposed that no one should cross that red line—that no one should touch a woman.

The reason he cut ties so decisively was not for any other reason than that when the core member had just joined the team, he had witnessed a young woman being brutally violated by a teammate, and he was powerless to help.

Listening to the woman's constant wails and screams, he felt powerless to change anything, and he hated his own sense of helplessness when faced with things he wanted to change.

That teammate was considered one of the veterans on the team, having joined much earlier than him. He was the backbone of the team and couldn't be touched no matter what.

He saved the woman's life when she was on the verge of death.

It was snowing that day.

He reported to those more senior than himself that the woman had already died, which was his intention to leave her a way out.

That day, braving the wind and snow, he took the woman to a small clinic all by himself.

He imitated those people, pretending to be a thug, and threatened the doctor to treat the woman.

He wasn't short of money.

However, in that situation, simply giving money might cause the people at the clinic to let slip what was going on.

Therefore, he had to use some methods and make some threats to the people in the clinic in order to keep the matter a secret.

After that, he never had the chance to see the woman again.

All I remember is that the doctor at the clinic said, "If this woman has a strong will, she might wake up. She's still holding on to her last breath, so she probably still has a chance to live."

On the way from the team to the clinic, he heard the woman muttering something, her words coming out intermittently but never stopping.

He didn't know if the woman was still conscious at the time.

In fact, after he reported the woman's situation that day, the matter naturally fell to him.

However, in such cases, whenever someone dies in the team, whether it is a woman or a man, the two of them are sent to the mass grave together.

That day, he did use some tricks to make the team member who went with him to the mass grave to send someone off unable to walk any further after being halfway away from "home" due to severe diarrhea.

The key figure was naturally very "understanding" and took the blame himself.

The person who had diarrhea, fearing punishment for breaking team rules by acting alone, kept the matter a secret and did not report it.

And so, in a rather muddled way, the man of principle managed to get it done. The man of principle himself felt that even though he wasn't a good person, he didn't know why he cared so much about that woman.

Looking back now, it was probably because he hadn't been in the team for very long and his mindset hadn't been completely changed yet.

Now that he's seen it all, big and small, he doesn't know if he'll feel the same way again if he encounters the same situation.

But this incident did leave a deep impression on him, and he still remembers it vividly.

And that teammate, the one who abused the woman, naturally didn't have a good ending either.

After the core player took a central position in the team, although the teammate's attitude changed drastically, even becoming somewhat obsequious, the core player didn't hesitate. He used a trick to get rid of the teammate quite naturally.

On the surface, however, it seems to have nothing to do with his core values.

That teammate's tragedy stemmed from his own mistakes within the team.

In fact, there were people who drove all of this.

It may seem like a mistake, but it wasn't really a mistake; everything was traceable.

The incident involving that teammate was orchestrated by the core leader. The teammate who got diarrhea was also pre-planned by the core leader.

In fact, now that he's come this far, he's lost sight of himself. He doesn't know what he's living for.

Perhaps the reason that event left such a deep impression on him was because he still had his original aspirations at that time.

However, he can no longer find his former self. That former self may have gradually disappeared from this world the moment his boss picked him up.

That was a shadow in his heart. He always forced himself not to think about it or recall it, but those shadows lingered in his mind.

That's why he went against everyone's wishes and ignored his teammates' objections, resolutely enacting such a strict rule.

(End of this chapter)