After learning from the old man about several minor Red Whale Gang strongholds and the structure of its members, Lu Sheng left the cemetery.
The next morning, Lu Sheng went out early for a stroll, intending to scout out the Red Whale Gang's locations.
As he passed through a bustling street, a large shop in the city was holding a promotional event. Here, such events were not called promotions, but "gift equalization."
A large group of children had gathered at the shop entrance, where a wooden platform had been erected. Someone atop it was speaking loudly, drawing the attention of many passersby.
Lu Sheng had merely glanced at it and intended to leave quickly.
But as he passed the platform, he noticed that among the spectators were quite a few people in ragged clothes, their faces yellow and bodies gaunt.
"Yan Mountain City's people have always lived fairly well. I never saw so many refugee-like people wandering the streets before. How had so many suddenly appeared?"
Lu Sheng ignored the shopkeeper speaking loudly atop the wooden platform. Instead, he carefully observed these refugee-like civilians.
Their faces were full of misery, with no hope in their eyes. They simply stood beside the platform, hoping the shop would hand out something to fill their bellies.
After walking a little farther, Lu Sheng heard another crowd gathered ahead on the right. Those gathered occasionally whispered to one another, buzzing with discussion.
He approached, pushed through the crowd, and looked.
A husband and wife, starved until they were skin and bones and scarcely clothed, were kneeling on the ground with a little girl of only three or four in their arms. Around her neck hung a piece of bark, upon which a crude drawing had been made with charcoal. It seemed to depict a