Rotting Land: Survive

Chapter 732 - 718: Reverse the Roles (Part 4)

He Lei felt he had said enough, time was pressing, and he couldn’t waste any more words here. He stood up and gave one last admonition: "All of you stay put and wait for my orders. Before you receive my instructions, no one, I mean no one, should act randomly. If anyone dares to mess up, Qiao Shan will shoot him directly, got it?" As he spoke, He Lei pulled out a replica Model 64 pistol and handed it to Qiao Shan.

This was a move He Lei just thought of; doing so served the purpose of helping Qiao Shan establish authority. Nowadays, the deterrent power of a gun is far more reliable than saying a hundred or a thousand words.

Qiao Shan was sharp and immediately pulled back the gun’s slide after taking it, agreeing, "Did everyone hear what Brother Lei said? Brother Lei is willing to bear the label of betrayal for our sakes but would never sell us out, so we shouldn’t drop the ball at this critical moment. Let me make it clear first, this operation concerns the life and death of all our brothers. If anyone dares to switch sides in battle or disobey orders, don’t blame me for blowing his head off."

"Hmm!" He Lei gave an almost imperceptible hum of approval, satisfied with Qiao Shan’s cooperation. With his words, he believed his position among these people would be more solid: "Oh, by the way, jot down the frequency for the hand-held radio communications; you’ll use this later. Our previous frequencies should have been eavesdropped on, so make sure not to use them!"

Peng Fei was anxiously watching the corridor’s entrance; the task He Lei had just given him was to survey and stand guard. But undertaking this task was easier said than done.

The factory was no longer as it used to be; it was under others’ control. For a prisoner like him, who should have been inside, to appear suddenly outside the door was preposterous.

By the time he might notice someone approaching, he’d likely already have been dispatched by a bullet before he could let out a warning. Yet, who knows what that pig-headed Lei was thinking.

Just as his mind drifted into wild thoughts, the door of the room opened. He Lei came bustling out and whispered near Peng Fei, "You go in; Qiao Shan will explain your task."

He Lei’s sudden words gave him a shudder in panic. Assuming it was someone below, he quickly faked a loud cough.

The loud cough startled He Lei into taking a step back; little did he expect such a big reaction from the other side. After realizing it, he slapped Peng Fei across the face, enough to knock him sideways a half step, showcasing his strength.

"Goddamn it, Nima, what the hell? Zoning out? Seems like you don’t want to live. Shouting like that, trying to draw everyone below here?"

Peng Fei dared not touch his burning, swollen cheek, and dared not even breathe loudly as he trembled and pleaded, "Brother Lei, calm down, Brother Lei, calm down. I was just too nervous, too nervous!"

"Useless, nervous my foot, if you can’t even handle this, tell me upfront. Don’t drag all our brothers to die with you."

Peng Fei waved his hand repeatedly: "Lei... Brother Lei, it was an accident, a complete accident. I promise it won’t happen again, please give me another chance."

"Hmph! For old times’ sake, I’ll give you another chance. I hope I didn’t judge you wrong."

With those words, He Lei walked ahead; he first had to thoroughly check the second and third floors of the building to ensure none of Yang Buwei’s men had slipped through the cracks. It was fortunate he inspected, as when he had just gotten down to the second floor, he happened across two guards coming out from relieving themselves and preparing to head upstairs.

He Lei paused, pretending he didn’t know: "Why are you two not at your posts and running here?"

The two subordinates exchanged a surprised glance, somewhat bewildered, and replied, "Brother Lei, you just sent us downstairs to handle something. We just finished the task and were on our way back, took the chance to relieve ourselves!"

He Lei leaned in close to the two, as if trying to count the moles and freckles on their faces, before smacking his head and suddenly realizing, "Shit, it’s you guys, finished the task?"

"Finished, Brother Lei!" The two subordinates felt rather helpless, secretly cursing He Lei as an idiot. He forgot a task he had assigned just a few minutes ago. How could someone like him be a boss? Following him is like submitting their lives to King Yama!

"Good, good, you’re pretty quick. I’ve got one more job for you, go downstairs and get three people up here for me, then join them on the third floor to wait for my orders. We’ll soon deal with those bastards upstairs."

He Lei’s demeanor aroused no suspicion in the guards. The two, slightly excited, rubbed their hands together eagerly, "Sure thing, Brother Lei, been waiting to deal with those guys for a while. We’ll go now!"

Watching them leave, He Lei’s sinister eyes glistened with a menacing chill: "Hmph! Let you have your fun, soon you’ll be crying without tears!"

The situation was urgent and unavoidable now. He Lei dared not delay, and hastily trotted back into the room.

"Mr. Lei... you’re back, uh, no one has come!" Dr. Liu, clutching a phone, was nervously guarding inside the door, afraid someone might come knocking. Hearing noises outside, he was nearly scared to wet his pants.

Seeing He Lei was like seeing his own mother, letting out a breath of relief. Unfortunately, He Lei had no time for his nonsense now; he had more pressing matters to deal with.

"Goddamn it, get out of my way!" He Lei casually shoved, sending Dr. Liu sprawling on his back. The latter fuming silently, yet dared not utter a sound.

He Lei nudged aside the beer bottles on the ground with his foot. After some searching, he didn’t find a full one and angrily beckoned to the half-cowering Dr. Liu, "Hey, go inside and grab me a few bottles of liquor! All that talking made my throat dry!"

"Yes! Right away, Mr. Lei!" Dr. Liu scrambled to his feet, tripping over a corpse on the ground in his haste, almost landing face-first again.

He Lei glanced at his clumsy demeanor and shook his head disdainfully: "What a dumbass, clumsy as hell, and a so-called intellectual. Useless! Damn!"

With serious matters at hand, He Lei composed himself, picked up the hand-held radio, and began laying out the plan: "Attention, everyone, this is He Lei. To prepare for potential upcoming conflicts, I’ve discussed with Yang Buwei to strengthen the warehouse defenses; here are the arrangements, listen closely. Three people go to the rooftop to set up an observation post. Five people to the third floor to handle the captives. Three people come to my room’s door on the third floor and await orders. Understood?"

Meanwhile, Yang Buwei’s men were gathered at the main door, chatting about the earlier thrilling incident, so He Lei’s abrupt radio orders made them uneasy. Some parts were particularly odd; logically, reinforcing the guard should focus on the main entrance, but pulling 11 people and leaving only three at the door seemed absurd.

But since the order came from above, these subordinates had no right to say anything, especially when making a living in these apocalyptic times was incredibly tough. None of them wanted to risk speaking out and getting kicked out of the factory.

"Understood, Brother Lei, we’re on it!"

"Where’s the damn liquor?" Having successfully wrapped up the deployment, He Lei’s craving for a drink grew stronger.

"Here it is, Mr. Lei!" At the right moment, Dr. Liu handed over a bottle of beer with the cap already opened, trembling as he stood ready by the side. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com), your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)