Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 178 Harvesting and Mutilating!
"These two are also on our elimination list." Little Ear pulled out a piece of paper filled with names and handed it over.
“The people on these lists have all been placed under surveillance and can be arrested at any time.”

Cao Wei Da took it and looked at it, raising an eyebrow and saying, "In that case, let's go take a look. Liu Da, lead the way."

"Yes!"

Afterwards, the group followed Liu Da to Zhengyang Railway Station.

Upon arriving at the destination, Liu Da pointed in a direction and said, "Master Cao, look!"

Everyone looked in the direction Liu Da pointed, and what they saw made their faces flush with anger, and their fists clenched tightly together.

In a secluded corner near the train station entrance, a small, thin beggar was huddled up, his frail body looking as if a gust of wind could blow him over.

The little beggar's eyes were lifeless, his gaze was dull, and his face was as pale as paper, exuding an indescribable misery and helplessness.

In front of him was a begging bowl full of chips, and what was most horrifying was that the little beggar's face and arms were covered with crisscrossing, shocking wounds.

The wound had clean edges, clearly indicating that it was intentionally made by slashing with a sharp blade.

"Gathering and mutilating alive!!" Cao Weida gritted his teeth, spitting out each of the four words, his cheeks trembling with rage.

The so-called "harvesting and mutilation" is an extremely cruel and inhumane crime.

It's safe to say that anyone who does this kind of business is, without a doubt, an utterly wicked person who deserves to be torn to pieces!

Cao Weida's face was as cold as ice. He ordered Xiao Erduo to grab a local and asked him:

"Hey buddy, did these kids just show up here today?"

Cao Weida and his team did not wear police uniforms when they came out to make the arrest, in order to avoid alerting the suspects.

The person who was summoned was initially reluctant to be brought in, but his attitude immediately changed completely after two silver dollars were handed to him.

He blew on the silver coin, brought it to his ear, and after confirming it was real, beamed with joy:
“Sir, you’re both right and wrong. These kids did arrive here today, but they’ve been wandering around the neighborhood before that.”

"Moreover, these children are not the first batch to come. Several batches of children came before, but they disappeared after a while."

Cao Wei's face grew even colder. These damned beasts, how many children have they harmed?!

"Thanks, brother, you can go now."

After dismissing the passerby, Cao Weida asked in a cold voice, "Little Ear, who is the patrol chief in charge of this area?"

"His name is Qu Dong. He got into the police station through connections with Jiang Haichao, the head of the Green Dragon Society."

"So, are Liu Heizi and Hunchback Zhang, whom you mentioned before, related to this Jiang Haichao?"

"Yes, Liu Heizi and Hunchback Zhang are disciples of the Green Dragon Society."

"As expected, birds of a feather!" Cao Weida's gaze grew even colder. "They've probably already received this news. These damned parasites! They're utterly inhuman! They deserve to die!"

He looked at the children, his eyes filled with pity, which intensified his murderous intent.

Duomen looked utterly heartbroken. "How could these people be so cruel! They're just kids! How could they do that!"

"Because they're no longer human!" Cao Weida's voice was like that of an emotionless machine. "Just wait, once we catch these people, I'll make them pay tenfold, a hundredfold, for the suffering these children endured!!"

Little Ears' gaze fell upon the group of pitiful little beggars, his eyes gradually reddening with anger. He couldn't help but speak up, "Brother Cao."

"Wait a minute." Cao Weida glanced around at every corner of the room.

"Don't rush over now, wait a bit longer."

If they go there, whether they give them money or take the kids away, they risk alerting the enemy.

There must be criminal gangs secretly monitoring these children, partly to prevent them from escaping, and partly to prevent them from keeping the money they begged for.

Liu Heizi and Hunchback Zhang were the masterminds, but he would not forgive his accomplices either!

"For everyone's sake, let's go around and take a good look to see if there are any other children who have had similar experiences."

"We're short-handed, so call some brothers over to help keep watch. Meet here in half an hour."

"Remember, do not make any rash moves. I'm going to wipe out all those beasts in one fell swoop!"

"Okay!" Everyone nodded vigorously, and Duomen, Xiao Erduo, and the others quickly scattered in all directions.

These beasts are so depraved, they don't want to let any of these scoundrels get away with it!

Once they escape, who knows how many more children will suffer the same fate!
Half an hour passed quietly, and more than a dozen plainclothes patrol officers were scattered at various intersections, ready to go.

Little Ears came to Cao Weida's side and said, "We found five more children on the street not far to the east, both boys and girls." "They looked exactly like these little beggars, with tattered clothes and lifeless eyes."

"Two of the children have been left with disabilities, and the remaining three have multiple injuries."

"I've already assigned eight brothers to keep an eye on things there."

The process of "harvesting and dismembering" doesn't involve crippling all the beggars from the start; rather, it involves assigning tasks to these little beggars every day.

If you finish, you won't be hurt; if you fail, you'll be beaten up at best, and have your hands cut off or your eyes gouged out at worst.

Upon hearing that there were five more children, Cao Weida's mood darkened further. "Have you spotted any suspicious adults around?"

"Yes, there were several suspicious-looking people lingering not far from those little beggars. They never left and kept their eyes on them. There's no mistake."

"However, whether there are others still needs further investigation."

Cao Weida nodded. "Liu Heizi and Hunchback Zhang are keeping a close eye on them, right?"

It's now confirmed that it was these two bastards who organized this business.

"Don't worry, Brother Cao, I've already sent people to keep a close eye on them. They definitely won't escape." How could Little Ears possibly let these two masterminds get away?
"That's good." Cao Weida's narrowed eyes flashed with a cold light.

"Keep a close eye on these people. There can't be just one group of them; some of them will have to go back for dinner! Follow them and find a place to stay before making any further decisions."

Before they could finish speaking, a problem suddenly arose on the other side.

Among the children, one who was not physically disabled darted around with his eyes, then suddenly stood up and ran desperately in one direction.

Before he could run very far, a hideous man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face suddenly rushed out from the crowd and blocked the child's path.

The ugly man's face contorted in rage as he grabbed the child's disheveled hair and yanked him back forcefully.

As he walked, he pulled a stick from his waist and smacked the child's thigh twice.

While hitting him, he cursed, "You little bastard, you dare to run! You dare to run! Do you dare to run again!"

"I've fed you and clothed you, and you still dare to run away?!"

"If you dare run again, I'll break your legs!"

The child cried pitifully, but the ugly man beat him mercilessly.

The child was dragged to the begging spot, thrown to the ground like a rag doll, and snarled, "Kneel down for me! If you don't beg for five yuan today, I'll beat you to death tonight!"

Seeing all this, Xiao Erduo was so angry that the veins on her forehead bulged and her fists clenched so tightly that they cracked. She wanted to rush up and beat the ugly man to death, but Cao Weida grabbed her and pulled her back.

He silently shook his head. "Don't move. It's not the right time yet."

Seeing the children being abused like this, Cao Wei was also angry, but kindness and compassion cannot solve the problem; in many cases, they can even make things worse.

For example, if they rushed out and beat up that ugly man now, it would inevitably alert their accomplices who were guarding him.

If this alerts the enemy and allows some of them to escape, more children will suffer in the future.

Therefore, show compassion when you should, and be ruthless when you should!
Little Ears was so angry that he kept spitting out rage through his nose, but in the end he could only helplessly endure it for the time being.

In the arena, the ugly man did not stop his actions. Although he stopped hitting with the wooden stick, he continued to punch and kick.

Passersby who witnessed this cruel scene showed expressions of pity and condemned the ugly man's evil deeds.

But the ugly man didn't care at all. Instead, he arrogantly put his hands on his hips and shouted at the top of his lungs, "What are you looking at! Haven't you ever seen a father disciplining his own son before!"

"What, you're feeling sorry for him? You don't want me to hit him?"

"Okay, give me five silver coins, and I promise I won't hit him anymore. Will you give me that?"

"If you're not going to give it to me, then go do whatever you're supposed to do and stop talking nonsense!"

There are always kind-hearted people in the world, even in this chaotic era.

Seeing the child being abused like this, a kind-hearted passerby couldn't bear it any longer. He silently took out five yuan in banknotes and a bowl of mixed noodles and put it in the child's tattered bowl.

When the ugly man saw that there was actually a fool giving him money, his eyes lit up immediately. He quickly stepped forward and grabbed the money, only then stopping the beating of the child.

However, he still forced the child to kneel there and continue begging.

(End of this chapter)