I'm bad, but players love me

"They're going to die, right?" Willis wasn't questioning the commander's decision; his pain lay in his own powerlessness.

Yun Shuo had also felt this pain many years ago.

It is difficult for people who have saved others to accept that the person they saved will die again in the blink of an eye. What's more, the reason for the other person's death is due to their own incompetence.

Even though he knew he had done everything he could, he still found it hard to forgive himself.

Yun Shuo dug Willis's head out of his arms and made him raise his head to look directly at him.

"They're not as fragile as you think, nor as important as you think. If ELO is gone, there will be another ELO. The nobles won't wipe them out, they will just further exploit them, making them even more powerless to resist."

"But with ELO leading the way, they will soon wake up. There will come a day when there will be a group of people who will overthrow the entire aristocracy and let them know that the people cannot be easily exploited."

"I lit a fire, but I couldn't control it because it spread to all the oppressed people. They were the same as the Elo members, and all I did was ignite that fire."

"Yes, Commander." Willis stood up, "I will carry out all these orders."

"This is why I chose you as the successor to the ELO commander." Yun Shuo nodded with satisfaction.

Willis didn't understand, so he stubbornly asked, "Why? Because I'm obedient enough?"

"No," Yun Shuo shook his head, "Because you are very good at doing these things, and you subconsciously think about these ordinary people."

Willis was so suddenly praised that he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet for a moment. He was really at a loss.

"I swear, I swear I will win this battle for all ELO members and for the people of the entire Cori City. But Willis," Yun Shuo's hand suddenly pressed on the back of Willis's head, pushing his head down, "I also want you to swear that you will really change everything in Cori City."

Willis then vaguely realized that something was wrong, and for a moment he didn't care about his head being held down.

He lifted Yun Shuo's hand, forced his head up, and asked in a trembling voice, "Please tell me, Commander, what are you going to do?"

"It doesn't matter what I do. What matters is that we will win this war. What matters is whether you can maintain your integrity after winning, whether you can fulfill the promises you made, and whether you can fool those sent by the higher-ups."

"Me?" Willis was puzzled, but he was more afraid of the hidden meaning in Yun Shuo's words. "Commander, I will be loyal to you for the rest of my life. No matter what, the commander will only be you. Only you can lead us to freedom!"

His voice trembled, tears welling in his eyes. Willis wasn't crying because of Yun Shuo's doubts about him, but because he was afraid of the hidden meaning in Yun Shuo's words—that Yun Shuo would die, that the commander who had always been omnipotent would die, that the person who had raised him and was also his only relative would die.

Yun Shuo said directly: "I mean, what if I die?"

"You won't die."

"Everyone dies."

"You have absolutely no reason to do so. Just stay behind..." Willis instantly came up with countless plans that would allow Yun Shuo to survive safely.

As long as Yun Shuo wants to live, no one can kill him, not even Ella.

ELO really couldn't do much, but it was possible to let Yun Shuo leave here, escape to another place and live in anonymity.

After all, he is the commander-in-chief.

"I won't hide in the back and live in peace." Yun Shuo's voice was cold and firm, and he rejected the proposal mercilessly. "Don't say such things again."

Willis fell silent under Yun Shuo's gaze, silently protesting the suicidal intention hidden in Yun Shuo's words.

Yun Shuo ignored his childish temper and continued, "In short, in order to deceive the upper echelons, you need to pretend to be a noble yourself and make them think this is just an internal fight among the nobles."

Those guys from Mikanko will allow small fights among the nobles, but they will never allow the untouchables in the slums to stand up and become the masters.

Even if ELO could win this battle, it would not have the ability to deal with a behemoth like the entire Mechanical City.

What's more, as of now, the nobles in Mikanko represent the will of the entire country. ELO is alone, and any victory over the nobles in Kori City will be seriously damaged. How can they possibly defeat them who are more powerful?

Chapter 99: Awen instigated

My family members whom I miss day and night:

See Xinan.

In recent days, Sir William would bring letters every now and then. She always seemed very busy, but she would read them to those of us who could not read from time to time.

But there is no letter from me among that pile of letters. Why didn’t you write back to me?

Even if they can't write, it's good to let the children draw a picture for me, like the guy in cell No. 6 next door, whose children drew a whole page of small pictures for her.

The painting says that they have been liberated by ELO, everyone can get a piece of land, every child can go to school, and as long as the adults are willing, everyone can gather together to attend classes.

I heard that her child can already write his own name, and maybe he will be able to write a complete letter soon.

Our children can walk now, and when this chaotic time is over, they will be able to go to school. How wonderful it will be when the older brother holds the younger sister's hand, I hold yours, and mother walks slowly beside us.

Someone's lover even used flower juice to print a red lip print. Although everyone was laughing, they were also envious.

I look forward to hearing from you every day.

……

Rick had barely finished writing when, before he could even put down his pen, Awen, like a ghost, had quietly crept up to his side. She lowered her voice, as if afraid of being overheard, and whispered, "Hey, did you hear that?"

"What did you hear?" Rick asked in confusion. "What news did you get?"

They were both in cell No. 2, and the only two people in the entire cell who had not received a reply, so naturally they developed a sense of mutual understanding.

After all, when you see other people holding letters from their loved ones in their arms, taking them out to read from time to time, and showing them off to each other, it is inevitable that you will feel uncomfortable.

So, the two lonely people just depended on each other for companionship, and stayed together to chat in private when they had nothing to do, so as to relieve the loneliness that arose in their hearts.

Over time, the two of them really became sisters.

Awen is sweet-talking, humble, well-informed, and naturally has a good relationship with people.

Although he was quickly "brainwashed" by ELO and spoke well of ELO every day, which was very different from Rick's views, Rick still thought that the other party was a good person.

Awen had a look on his face that said, "You have no idea what you've been missing." He approached with a gossipy smile and said, "The nobles are preparing to negotiate with ELO."

"Negotiation?" Rick repeated the word in astonishment, then quickly regained his composure and said with a nonchalant smile, "Where did you get this news? It must be fake."

As she swiftly hid the letter in her arms, she turned her head and stared directly at Awen's serious expression. She asked again in a skeptical tone, "Are you sure this isn't ELO negotiating with the nobles?"

Rick used to hang out in the underground entertainment city. Not only was there a mixed crowd there, but there were also powerful characters who she couldn't afford to offend. They all cared about the smallest details in words, and over time, she also subconsciously cared about these things.

After all, if the nobles negotiate with ELO, it is the nobles who take the initiative. In other words, the nobles feel that they cannot win, so they choose to take the initiative to show goodwill and express their willingness to resolve the problem through negotiation.

However, if the situation is the opposite and it is the ELO side that first requests negotiation, it means that the ELO is at a disadvantage and is forced to actively seek peace in order to protect itself.

Rick always had no doubt about the outcome of this war - the nobles would eventually win the final victory.

And it wasn't just him. Everyone in the entire city of Cori, and indeed the entire Mechanical Kingdom, firmly believed this: those protected by the gods, the nobles, would never lose.

This is what has been instilled in them since birth.

"There's nothing wrong with my information. It was really the city lord who took the initiative to negotiate with ELO." Awen immediately retorted.

She sneered and let out two mocking laughs. "Perhaps the rest of us have served as cannon fodder and are almost dead. If the fight continues like this, those pampered nobles will probably have to fight in person. Of course, they're afraid, so they're giving in."

"That's not the case." Rick subconsciously defended the group of nobles.

He was used to doing this kind of thing, even though he knew all about the dirty things those nobles did. But when he encountered it, before he could recover from his shock, he would be the first to defend these high-ranking lords.

Awen shook his head and pointed to the cells in the back, which had grown to double digits. He said, "Think about it, how many more people are here? I heard that even after the truce a while ago, prisoners of war were still pouring in. Just take the letter-writing thing for example. A kid from school wrote us a letter and cried halfway through, saying his hand hurt."

Perhaps all new parents still have this bad habit. Rick subconsciously changed the topic to his own children, and even let the child who wrote the letter be the "other people's child".

"Those five- or six-year-olds are all spoiled, and my child is the same. The child crying while writing looks only a few years older than my child. My child knows that every day, her father holds her up high and she refuses to learn a single word. This child is much more obedient than my child."

The more I talked, the more I missed home. The longer I stayed in the POW camp, the more comfortable it became, and the more I missed my children.

She smacked her lips, thought for a moment, then turned and asked, "But what does this have to do with us?"

Awen immediately launched into a flurry of his own opinions: "This is incredibly important! If the peace talks are successful, do you really think you can survive for us? Who are we? Just a bunch of prisoners of war. How could those pampered aristocrats let us go so easily?"

From the moment Awen said the word "prisoners of war", her tone suddenly became high-pitched and passionate.

At this moment, the people who had been scattered in various corners of the cell gathered together, asking in a flurry, "What are you talking about? What happened? What happened to those nobles?"

Willis retorted, "If the peace talks succeed, why can't we survive? At worst, we can continue to serve in the army. Why is there only one way out, death?"

"Heh," Awen scoffed. "ELO won't even fight them, so what do they need us soldiers for? Think about it, the soldiers who bullied us before were either nobles or their dogs. It was never our turn."

Willis was still fighting stubbornly, "There are so many of us, it can't be..."

"Bah!" Awen spat loudly, "They probably all think we should die on the battlefield, at the hands of ELO's guns, instead of returning alive and kicking like we are now."

"Hmph! Don't forget what those bastards value most: 'glory.' You were the one who told me that. But now we've made it back alive and well. How can that be considered 'glory'?"

"By then, there are only two fates waiting for us: either we become pariahs, burdened by debt for generations to come, with no hope of ever getting ahead, and forced to do the dirtiest and most tiring work; or we are secretly forced to die, while outwardly being told that we committed suicide out of shame."

As soon as Awen said this, the entire cell fell silent. After a long pause, someone, sensing something, added, "Yes, the nobles don't dare accept us. Think about it, in the early days, who hasn't received orders from their superiors? If anyone is suspected of being part of the ELO organization, they can be killed on the spot. There's no need for evidence, just kill them if they want."

"Then what should we do? We have been in ELO for a long time. So we can only follow ELO?" Someone's voice was trembling, with a hint of undisguised panic in his voice, as if the sky was about to fall, and he was almost unable to stand.

"Just follow along." Some people were panicking, while others were naturally unhurried. "ELO has allocated land to my family, so my child can learn to read and the whole family can have enough to eat. It's no big deal to follow suit. Even if I die, the whole family will be happy."

"Get lost! My family is still under the jurisdiction of the nobility, and my family still has no food to eat!"

"Then just hit him with more force, that's just perfect." The man said it casually, sounding very righteous.

"I...you..." The man was so angry that his fingers trembled in the air for a long time. He felt indignant but unable to refute what the other party said.

After all, what he said was indeed correct. But she still felt unwilling to accept it and tried to save some face, "That's the truth, but you make it sound easy, but the commander won't listen to you."

Seeing this, Awen's lips curled up slightly. With a hint of joking, he patted the man's arm and said jokingly, "Hey, the commander-in-chief has been called. You changed your stance so quickly!"

However, the man ignored Awen's joke and continued seriously, "Don't interrupt. What you think we're thinking about is not important. What's important is what if ELO really agrees to not play? Are we really going to go back and die like this?"

Awen shook his head. "Don't be offended by what I'm saying. I truly believe ELO is good. You know, the original goal was to make everyone act like human beings. I don't think they'd surrender and reconcile like this."

Willis disagreed with Awen's point of view and retorted: "But it is an objective fact that we cannot win."

"But before ELO appeared, no one imagined that an organization that emerged from the slums could feed so many people. No one imagined that an organization without any supernatural powers could go head-to-head with the Cori Army and even defeat them."

Awen looked around at the crowd that had gathered around him and said in a low but firm voice, "If we don't give it a try, how will you know we really can't defeat those nobles?"

"Exactly. The Cori Army was always touted as being 'unrivaled in the world,' like a force sent down from the heavens. But as we all know, once they clashed with ELO, their immediate superiors vanished without a trace. What the hell is this?"

"Oh, maybe that's the case."

"Also, the only place that's peaceful right now is ELO territory. I heard the central area of ​​the civilian area has been looted, and people are running towards ELO's jurisdiction in droves."

"Hey, does your village have it too? My mom also wrote about it in her letter." Another person agreed.

"It's the same thing here. I didn't mention before that there were some members of the Kori Army who were planning to blend in with them, preparing for future internal and external cooperation. But in the end, most of those refugees were disabled. Either disfigured or with broken limbs. Even those who were not disabled were so hungry that their stomachs were the only thing left. As soon as that person got in, he was discovered."

The few of them immediately went off topic and started chatting animatedly about their own matters.

However, Rick, who was standing next to her, became extremely anxious when she heard the word "central area". She didn't want to listen to such aimless chatter. She rushed over and grabbed one of them, shouting, "Where in the central area was robbed?!"

Her tone was urgent and impulsive. Not only could the other party not hear what she said, but she was even frightened.

The other party looked at her in horror and subconsciously asked, "What on earth do you want to do?"

Seeing this, the people who were chatting around also gathered around.

You know, ELO has set rules for the prisoners of war, strictly prohibiting any form of fighting.

Seeing the situation about to get out of control, Awen hurriedly stepped forward to grab Rick's arm, but after several attempts, she failed to move it. She had no choice but to explain dryly, "Don't get me wrong, don't get me wrong. That's where her family is from. I haven't received a reply from the beginning until now. I'm too worried."

"Alright." Upon hearing this, the man seemed to understand Rick's actions and reluctantly accepted the explanation. He even said in a good-tempered tone, "I don't know where they were robbed. I just know it was the Cori army that did it. Afterwards, those who were still alive scattered and hid in small villages."

She even went so far as to comfort Rick, saying, "Maybe you didn't reply because you managed to escape. Don't worry, ELO will definitely provide for your family. As long as you're within ELO's jurisdiction and aren't seriously injured, you'll be able to survive."

Several people took turns comforting Rick, watching him pounding his head over and over in agony, the pounding getting heavier and heavier, as if only this could slightly ease the pain in his heart, "If only I hadn't gone out that day... If only I hadn't gone out... Mom..."

The sun moved to the middle of the sky, and it was already noon. Many people who stayed here to eat and wait for death were already counting the days until lunch.

At this moment, William also hurried over from outside, "Everyone go gather outside. Come out one by one in order, starting with Room 1."

The crowd in the back was looking around, "What's going on? Are they moving to a new place to eat?"

"How dare we be so shameless? We're lucky enough to give you food to eat. Stop dreaming."

"Could we go back now?"

"Oh, you're dreaming. There's no home anymore. Where can you go back to?"

Chapter 100: Everyone Wait for Me

The days in the prisoner-of-war camp were always regular, and every day was pretty much the same. That was why whenever William spoke, it always made people feel like a storm was about to come.

These prisoners of war who have been well-fed for such a long time can't help but suspect that they are "pigs" raised by ELO, and today they are going to be killed and eaten.

Although we don’t know what we will experience in the end, it is precisely this feeling of confusion and uncertainty about the road ahead that makes most people walk slowly, as if this way they can face reality later.

Especially those who heard Awen's long speech just now felt quite aggrieved.