Chapter 299 The might of poker!
Yan Liuyuan’s Curse Manipulation had somehow been turned into a unique production method by Ren Xiaosu. That caused Yan Liuyuan to subconsciously get the idea that he had to arrange for some food to be found whenever he wanted to curse the other refugees.
Under these circumstances where everyone else was unaware of what was really going on, Li Qingzheng had suddenly become their group’s mascot.
Regarding Yan Liuyuan’s power, Ren Xiaosu decided that it was still better to keep it from everyone for now, because this power was simply too strange. Even he couldn’t understand it.
Sometimes, such abstract powers would make people even more fearful. So Ren Xiaosu reminded Yan Liuyuan to keep it a secret. This matter would only be known to Yan Liuyuan, Ren Xiaosu, and Xiaoyu.
As such, Li Qingzheng was rather puzzled. Could he really be the legendary lucky charm of the group? How else could he always end up getting associated with finding food after suffering from some bad luck events?
Logically speaking, if a supernatural being discovered they could manipulate curses, they would definitely use it offensively.
Even Yan Liuyuan thought so, as that was only logical. However, he had underestimated Ren Xiaosu’s way of thinking...
When he returned to the barracks after work at night, a leader of the refugees came around to look for Yan Liuyuan and said, “You’re very good at finding food. Have you considered joining us?”
Yan Liuyuan became unhappy right there and then. “You’re the fucking one who’s good at finding food!”
What he had was clearly a terrifying power to manipulate curses, alright? So how did it suddenly turn into a wilderness survival skill instead?
That leader of the refugees choked in shock. If it were any of the stronghold’s escapees, they would definitely choose to avoid Yan Liuyuan. However, the refugees were different. They had been fighting for survival all their lives, so they could feel that Yan Liuyuan was one of them when they saw him and were not really afraid to approach him. In fact, this leader of the refugees was famous for his ruthlessness back in town.
The refugee leader smiled and said, “I am Cao Junpeng, so you can call me Brother Cao. In times like these, we have to stick together in order to survive. You have so many women in your group, and you’re even saddled with wounded as well, so how long do you expect you can keep going on for? Surely they’re not going to rely on you alone to get through everything, right?”
To outsiders, Ren Xiaosu’s group seemed to be relying on Yan Liuyuan for support. This was because Yan Liuyuan was the one handling all the dirty work that required him to be ruthless.
However, Yan Liuyuan sneered and said, “Brother Cao? Do you think you’re worthy of me calling you that? There’s only one person in this world who is fit to be my brother.”
Cao Junpeng said calmly, “You’re talking about that crippled brother of yours? He might have been very strong in the past, but I heard from the doctor that there are several places where his bones are fractured. Do you still expect him to stand up in the future? Even if he does, he will still be a good-for-nothing in life. Listen to me, you can’t be impulsive in a world like this. You will get dragged down by him.”
Then Cao Junpeng jumped five or six steps back when he saw Yan Liuyuan pull out a dagger from his sleeve.
Yan Liuyuan calmly said, “Bastard, how can you be so ignorant? You don’t look like a good person anyway. Don’t think that just because the refugees look up to you it means that you’re really some important person!”
Yan Liuyuan hated hearing others badmouth Ren Xiaosu the most in his life. In his mind, he had already sentenced Cao Junpeng to death. Ren Xiaosu was inside the barracks all this while, so he could definitely hear what Cao Junpeng said. So how could Yan Liuyuan allow others to speak badly of Ren Xiaosu like that?
Everyone knew that Ren Xiaosu was Yan Liuyuan’s brother. The doctor who had treated Ren Xiaosu was a gossip, so the other refugees were probably aware that Ren Xiaosu was going to be crippled.
But only Ren Xiaosu and the others knew who the actual person in charge of their group was. Would Ren Xiaosu become disabled? Of course not!
Suddenly, Ren Xiaosu said from inside the barracks, “Liuyuan, how can you speak to others like that? Apologize.”
Yan Liuyuan smiled at Cao Junpeng and said, “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that you don’t look like a good person. You look pretty
good.”
But just as he finished saying that, he heard Ren Xiaosu say, “I told you to apologize; I didn’t ask you to lie.”
“Oh.” Yan Liuyuan said, “I was mistaken.”
Cao Junpeng sneered. “How many of you are there? Do you really think we won’t dare to touch you? You’re already behaving so disrespectfully at such a young age. We’ll see each other on the construction site tomorrow. After you’re dead, let’s see what happens to your brother. And those girls in your group?
They’ll probably lead a life worse than death when the time comes!”
Although the troops did not intervene with fights that took place at the campsite, killing people was prohibited. If anyone killed someone, they would be severely beaten up and have their workload doubled as a punishment. But there was no such rule at the construction site!
When Yan Liuyuan returned to the barracks, Ren Xiaosu said, “Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”
Yan Liuyuan was taken aback for a moment. He knew the other party’s threatening words had crossed Ren Xiaosu’s bottom line. If it were the past, Cao Junpeng would have died on the spot. But how was Ren Xiaosu going to solve this matter?
Ren Xiaosu moved his hands and feet to loosen up a little. Although it had only been less than ten days, his fractured bones had already started healing. While he could not exercise vigorously yet, he could just barely walk with assistance from the nanomachines.
Ren Xiaosu said, “When I cause some chaos later tonight, we’ll find an opportunity to leave this place. Liuyuan, keep an eye on the situation outside.”
Yan Liuyuan’s eyes lit up. “Sure!”
During the night, Cao Junpeng and the others were plotting something. A few refugees were seated together and playing Fight the Landlord with playing cards handed down to them by the reinforced troops. It was unknown how long the reinforced troops had been using the cards as they were in a very tattered state.
But to the refugees, it was good enough that they could play cards during such times.
If they wanted to form an alliance within the refugee camp, they had to first have a good relationship with the Yang Consortium’s soldiers. Otherwise, it would be considered an unlawful assembly and they would be punished for causing trouble. A few days ago, Cao Junpeng had caught two pheasants and sent them to the reinforced troops as a tribute. That was why he was allowed to form his own group, while the playing cards were also given to him at that time. It was like he was bestowed a gift by them.
Cao Junpeng said, “When we get to the construction site tomorrow, we’ll drag that kid into the forest and kill him while the soldiers aren’t paying attention. Remember, cover his mouth and don’t let him call for help. Wang Fugui is on very good terms with the soldiers too, so we don’t want any trouble.”
“Isn’t that Wang Fugui just a lackey who serves tea to the soldiers? What’s there to be afraid of?” A man shouted out loudly, “One ‘three’!”
Only three people could play at once, so the rest of the followers sat around to watch and listen to them. The inside of the barracks was filled with the stench of feet.
“One ‘four.’” Cao Junpeng drew a card and played it onto the table.
But at this moment, a hand suddenly reached in from the side and threw out four “threes’ onto the table.
Cao Junpeng immediately cursed. “I only played a four, but you actually played four ‘threes’?! Do you even know how to play? Huh? And didn’t three already get played? So where did these four ‘threes’ come from? You’re freaking cheating!”
“Eh, something’s not right. I wasn’t the one who played these cards,” someone said.
Cao Junpeng looked around and asked, “Who threw out these four ‘threes’?”
But at this moment, the four “threes” on the table suddenly turned brighter and hotter as well!
With a loud boom, the newly built wooden barracks had its ceiling blown sky high. It was like they were chicken casserole baking in a pot. No one could get away from the explosion!
When Ren Xiaosu heard the voices outside, he suddenly said to Wang Fugui and the others around him, “Get ready to run!”