Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 182 The Evolving Art of Photography

In Antai State, a convoy is heading from Antu City to the border with the Northern Kingdom of Xing.

Prince Rado sat in a car in the middle of the convoy, looking somewhat dejected.

His two sons sat beside him, and the elder son, who was in his twenties, spoke up: "Dad, why are you unhappy? Didn't we agree to negotiate with the North Star authorities and that they would allow us to enter the country?"

Lado sighed, "So what? We can do whatever we want in Antai State, but will we be able to do the same in Beixing? Besides, do you think they took us in for free? They had to pay a lot of price for it."

“That’s still better than staying here,” the eldest son said. “There aren’t many people left here, and we can’t survive on our own.”

“Yes…sigh.” Rado looked at his eldest and youngest sons. “When we get to Beixing, I’ll see if I can get you into that mental power development academy.”

Both sons looked on with anticipation upon hearing this. They had heard of the academy before, and joining it would certainly be more exciting than entering the shelter.

"It should be fine, right? Dad, you are, after all, the Prince of Antai State. Even though Antai State is finished, out of respect for you..."

"That's hard to say," Lado shook his head. "North Star—"

squeak! ! !
The car suddenly braked hard, and Rado and his two sons lost their balance and almost fell to the front.

"Damn it! How do you drive like that!" Lado grabbed the handrail and yelled at the driver.

"Your Highness, yes, the car in front has stopped! It seems something is blocking the road!"

"Ok?"

Prince Rado frowned, a bad feeling creeping over him.

His eldest son, oblivious to the situation, said, "Just move the things blocking the road, and that's it."

No sooner had he finished speaking than an explosion rang out.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!!"

Several cars in front were detonated one after another, flames shooting into the sky!
Rado's two sons were terrified, and he himself yelled, "Quick! Turn back!"

The driver swerved sharply to turn the convoy, but an explosion also occurred behind the convoy, killing all of Lado's entourage inside the vehicles.

Without a doubt, this was a highly targeted attack!

"Dad, what's going on?!"

"Don't panic, don't..."

As Rado spoke, cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

He knew there must be a traitor among his men who leaked the information; otherwise, how would the attackers have known that his convoy was departing for the Northern Star Kingdom today?
"Your Highness, look!"

Lado heard the driver's exclamation and looked up out the car window.

A dozen or so men on motorcycles had already surrounded them, most of them carrying guns. But one hooded man was different; he was holding a portable camera, seemingly taking pictures.

Rado took a deep breath, told his two sons to stay in the car, and got out. He knew that running away was useless at this point; he could only negotiate with the attackers.

He got out of the car and first glanced at the situation of his convoy.

Of the eight vehicles in total, six were destroyed. Apart from the one he and his son were in, only one survived.

A middle-aged man in military uniform got out of the car, walked straight up to the attackers, and said something. One of the bald, burly men smiled and nodded at him.

"Chikan!" Rado, seeing this, couldn't help but fly into a rage, shouting at the man in military uniform, "You beast, you actually betrayed me!!!"

Qikan was one of his trusted generals, whom he usually relied on greatly, and he had planned to take him to the Northern Star Kingdom as well. He never expected that the latter would betray him.

At this moment, Chikan and the attackers walked over. Facing Rado, whose eyes were blazing with fire, Chikan remained indifferent.

"Qikan, how dare you do this! How dare you betray me!"

"Lado, you don't still think you're a prince, do you?" Chikan revealed a mocking smile typical of an opportunist. "Antai State is finished. Even if you are a prince, it's just an empty title. Why should I continue to be loyal to you?"

“You…” Rado took a deep breath, “I’ll settle your score with you later!” He looked at the bald, burly man, “So you’re the leader of this group?”

The bald, burly man paused slightly, then nodded: "That's me."

His accent stunned Rado the moment he opened his mouth.

"You're from the Northern Star? No, that can't be..."

The bald, burly man asked mockingly, "What's wrong?"

"I've already reached an agreement with the officials of Beixing! We will enter Beixing as refugees and become part of it! You are Beixing people, why are you attacking me?"

"You've already made your deal with the authorities, what does that have to do with us?" the bald, burly man smiled. "We're not an official force."

"And who are you guys?!" "We're just doing some side jobs in the wasteland, of course." The bald, burly man finished speaking and waved his hand. Several of his men immediately stepped forward and pointed guns at Rado's head.

The bald, burly man said, "As a prince of An Tai State, you must have a lot of valuables on you. We only want your money; hand it all over and we'll let you go."

Rado trembled with nervousness. He did indeed have a lot of items and a lot of Ascension Coins. Logically speaking, even if he faced a dozen people, even if a gun was pointed at his head, as long as he reacted quickly enough, he might be able to win!
But in reality, he didn't dare to move an inch.

“I know what you’re thinking,” the bald, burly man said. “You think you have enough hidden tools, so you can take a gamble, right? But as a prince, have you ever actually fought or killed anyone? And how many times have you used those tools?”

"..."

“Admit it, you don’t have the guts to do it. Besides…” He gestured with his lip towards the car behind him, “If you make a move, your two sons in the car will be roasted alive, and that’s not a good thing.”

"No, don't touch my sons!" Rado immediately softened when he heard the bald, burly man threaten him with his two sons. "I can hand over the things, but I have conditions!"

"condition?"

"My son and those two must enter Beixing first! Then I'll trade the goods to you," Rado said through gritted teeth. "Otherwise, I'd rather die than give you a single Ascension Coin!"

The bald, burly man glanced at the hooded man next to him who had been taking pictures with a camera. Seeing that the latter didn't react, he nodded and said, "Okay."

Upon seeing this, Lado immediately turned around and leaned against the car window, saying to the driver and his two sons, "Keep driving forward. It will be safe after we cross the border, understand?"

"Dad, what about you?!"

"I'm safe as long as you're safe, don't worry!"

After saying that, the driver, with the permission of the bald, burly man, drove off.

Lado was still uneasy and demanded to see the vehicle leave the country with his own eyes. So the attackers followed the car with him all the way to the border between Antai State and North Sing State.

After the vehicle crossed the border, it entered the territory of Northern Star. Upon seeing this, Lado took a deep breath.

The bald, burly man said, "Let's make a deal."

Lado suddenly sneered, "Bah! You think you can take what belongs to me, Lado? Don't even think about it!"

He immediately silently ordered himself to open his personal terminal and friend list, intending to trade his Ascension Coins and items to his son.

The bald, burly man's expression changed, and he turned to the hooded man: "Boss, this guy's cheating! What do we do?"

Lado was somewhat surprised by this, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the young man in the hoodie holding the camera. Was this guy who'd been filming the whole time the leader of the group?

"That's easy." After saying that, the hooded man took his right hand off the camera and snapped his fingers.

boom! ! !
The explosion startled Rado, who stared ahead in disbelief.

The vehicle carrying his two sons and driver, which was already within the territory of Beixing, was now engulfed in flames due to the explosion!

"Do not!!!"

The hooded man was taking pictures of Lado with his camera: "This expression is good, natural and vivid, and the lighting is also good."

The group of subordinates standing nearby remained silent, even the one named Qikan looked strange and was also quite alarmed.

He initially thought the explosion was caused by a prop, but now it seems it was due to the hooded youth's ability? Does he have the ability to manipulate explosions remotely?

"I'll fight you!"

Lado charged at the hooded man, but was immediately knocked to the ground by several of the man's henchmen. One of them took out a syringe and injected him, causing him to lose consciousness within seconds.

"A good ending." The hooded man put away his camera with satisfaction.

Qikan, standing nearby, couldn't help but ask, "Chief, may I ask why you're taking this picture...?"

“Of course it’s for art and money,” the hooded man laughed. “People in this era are tired of the old movies. Compared to the post-apocalyptic rules, even those old horror movies aren’t exciting anymore, are they? Art also needs to keep up with the times. I’ll show you the short films I made during the Blood Plague period, and you’ll understand.”

"..."

"Boss, what should we do with this guy?" the bald, muscular man asked.

The hooded man glanced at the unconscious Rado: "Take him back and force him to hand over the items and Ascendant Coins. He probably hasn't had time to trade them to his son yet."

"Understood." The bald, burly man waved his hand, and several people came over and put Lado on a motorcycle.

“Um, Chief,” Qikan glanced at the burning vehicle inside the North Star border, “is this alright? They’ve already crossed the border… Won’t the North Star authorities find out and investigate soon?”

The hooded man shrugged: "So what? What does it have to do with me?"

Qi Kan was taken aback: "What?"

“Shadow did this. He and Lado have a grudge, so it’s reasonable for him to take revenge like this.” The hooded man patted Qikan on the shoulder. “You’ll be the witness. The North Star authorities will believe you.”

　Completed at midnight. Thank you all for your support with monthly tickets, comments, and donations!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)