Airplane Brotherhood

Under the piercing gaze of Captain Colin, those five guys had no choice but to cough up their money one by one while their noses bled. The lowest amount was five copper coins, and the highest was over ten. Zhang Tie, without a moment's hesitation, stuffed the money into his own pocket. When it was the fatso Barry's turn, he tremblingly reached into his upper pocket and placed nine copper coins into Zhang Tie's hand, wearing an ugly, ingratiating smile. "You win..."

Zhang Tie looked at Barry without a word, though a murderous aura was brewing in his eyes. He didn't retract his outstretched hand. "Are you sure this is all the money you have on you? Remember, when we made the bet, we said everything. Everything, you understand?" Zhang Tie emphasized the word "everything." Having been classmates for years, he knew this fatso Barry was usually the wealthiest of the bunch, often treating others to meals; there was no way he only had this little on him.

Barry stared at Zhang Tie, and Zhang Tie glared right back. The two bleeding guys locked eyes for several seconds. As Zhang Tie's momentum grew, his chest puffed out further, and his mouth opened as if to speak, the fat on Barry's face finally twitched, and the oily sheen on his acne dimmed. "Heh... heh... I almost forgot, I have a little more here..." As he spoke, Barry reached into the left side of his shirt, rummaged around, and finally, with great reluctance, pulled out four gleaming silver coins, closing his eyes as he placed them into Zhang Tie's hand without even looking.

Seeing those four silver coins, Zhang Tie's mouth fell open slightly. He'd hit the jackpot; one silver coin was worth 100 copper coins. He hadn't expected this fatso to have actually stolen more money from his old man...

To Zhang Tie, this was a "huge sum," but to Captain Colin, these few silver coins weren't worth a second glance. Watching Zhang Tie fleece the unlucky Barry and his cohorts, Captain Colin stood with his arms crossed, one hand stroking the steel-needle-like stubble on his chin, his eyes fixed on Zhang Tie with an unreadable expression. Zhang Tie felt a bit uneasy under that stare.

"Hmm, interesting. Kid, what's your name?"

"Zhang Tie!"

"You're quite tough to take a beating like that, and to make a bet like this. Fine, I'll remember you!" With that, Captain Colin turned and walked away.

As soon as Captain Colin left, everyone on the scene except for Zhang Tie collapsed to the ground. They all felt their legs had turned as soft as noodles boiled for three days. It had been incredibly dangerous just now; if Zhang Tie had let anything slip, they would have been finished.

"Big Head, we're even..." Barry, sitting on the ground, tilted his head back to keep his nosebleed from dripping. "We beat you up, and you beat us up. You took our money, but you also saved us from Captain Colin. Come to think of it, we should thank you!"

"Don't mention it..." Zhang Tie was busy rolling up toilet paper to stuff into his nostrils to stop the bleeding. "We're classmates, after all. Fighting is nothing; there's no deep-seated hatred. I didn't want to see you guys get into real trouble, just like you didn't want to see me get into real trouble earlier!"

With his nostrils plugged, his voice sounded nasal and stuffy, which was annoying, but there was no other way.

"Got any more paper?" Barry reached out a chubby hand.

Zhang Tie took all the soft paper he kept in his pocket for the bathroom and divided it into several wads for the guys. They all scrambled to follow his lead and stop their bleeding. Before long, the six guys in the Small Woods looked at each other and realized how ridiculous they all looked. Everyone thought of the saying about sticking green onions in one's nostrils to pretend to be an elephant—damn, it was too accurate. Everyone wanted to laugh, but couldn't.

After the fatso Barry and the others huddled together and whispered for a while, he solemnly said something to Zhang Tie that he hadn't expected.

"After what happened today, we think you're a pretty decent guy. Therefore, we've decided to formally invite you to join our organization—we hope you'll consider it..."

"Your organization?" Zhang Tie looked at Barry and the others skeptically. A bunch of ragtag losers like them, who were just drifting through life and would be swallowed up by the crowd in an instant, actually had an organization?

Seeing Zhang Tie's doubtful gaze, Barry and the others tried to look imposing. Although their bruised and swollen faces lacked any real persuasion, Zhang Tie could tell they were serious.

"We didn't know each other until we fought. We think you're alright, so we discussed it and decided to bring you in. Don't look down on us. Who's to say that a small sapling today won't grow into a towering tree tomorrow? No one is born a big shot. As long as we stick together, this Black Flame City will have a place for us sooner or later!"

Barry's words stirred something in Zhang Tie. He hadn't realized these guys had such ambition; compared to them, he had been drifting along too much. Seeing that Zhang Tie seemed moved, Barry continued to work his silver tongue. "We're graduating this year. After that, it's eight years of basic military service. Who knows what dangers or hurdles we might face? In this era, it's too hard to survive alone. Having a few brothers to help out means an extra way out no matter what happens. Even in the army, if you have brothers around, you won't be bullied so easily!"

Barry's final point finally moved Zhang Tie, sparking his interest in their organization. "What's the name of your organization?"

"The Airplane Brotherhood!" Barry said proudly.

The Airplane Brotherhood—that was the name of these guys' organization? Thinking of how he had seen them standing in a row by the classroom window that morning, moving their hands rapidly, the name gave Zhang Tie a chill. He had heard that before the Great Cataclysm, the machines humans invented to fly in the sky were called airplanes. He didn't know when it started, but the name of that flying machine, after adding a specific verb, had become a mandatory course for countless miserable, adolescent boys. Zhang Tie couldn't fathom the connection between that monotonous, tedious manual single-cylinder piston motion and an actual aircraft. The thought that one day he might stand by the classroom window like the fatso Barry, performing the same manual single-cylinder piston motion toward Teacher Daina, made him feel as if the most sacred part of his heart had been defiled.

"I can join, but you have to agree to one condition!" Zhang Tie told Barry after a few seconds of thought.

"What condition?"

"From now on, you are not allowed to do that same thing to Teacher Daina at school!" When he said this, the 15-year-old boy felt incredibly noble and a bit excited. Regardless, even though he was still weak, he could use his own way to protect Teacher Daina.

"No problem, it's a deal. From today on, you're a member of the Airplane Brotherhood!" The fatso Barry agreed readily. Although this wasn't the first time, and with so many animals in the school, who knew how many people were doing the same thing every day, after today's incident, Barry and the others felt that their behavior this morning had been a bit too risky. If Captain Colin had actually seen them, they would have been finished. Doing it outside of school was fine; no one at home could control them anyway. Zhang Tie's condition was hardly a condition at all.

Just like that, Zhang Tie joined the Airplane Brotherhood. Having recruited a new member, the fatso and the others were in high spirits, seemingly having forgotten their earlier unpleasantness. Zhang Tie had no intention of returning the money in his pocket; he had already made up his mind that if the fatso Barry tried to make him return the money in the name of the Brotherhood, he would immediately quit this damn Airplane Brotherhood. From Barry, Zhang Tie learned about the composition of the Brotherhood. Besides himself, Barry, and Doug, the entire membership consisted of the guys present—Shavin, Baghdad, Light, and Sista—all acquaintances from the same class. The only rule of the Brotherhood for now was that all matters regarding the organization must be kept secret from outsiders, even family. The Brotherhood had no leader; everything was decided by discussion and voting.

To Zhang Tie's surprise, this Airplane Brotherhood, which hadn't even been established for a few months, had already developed a hierarchy, and everyone agreed it was fair. The highest rank was naturally Barry. According to Sista and the others, Barry had contributed the most to the Brotherhood, so based on contribution, he was currently the only Level 2 member. A Level 2 member meant that in a vote, Barry had two votes. Level 3 would have three votes, and so on. Since he was a new member, he, like the others, only had one vote.

As they walked out of the Small Woods, the fatso Barry looked at Zhang Tie and hesitated. "About that... that money..."

"It's mine!" Zhang Tie covered his pocket, eyeing the fatso warily.

The fatso scratched his head in frustration and gave a bitter smile. "Fine, forget it. Let Doug wait another two days..."

Hearing Barry say this, the other guys all wore lewd smiles.

"Doug is out of luck today, hahaha..." Shavin winked. "Poor guy!"

"For today, that guy has been holding it in for two weeks!" Sista shrugged.

"Let him hold it for a few more days..."

"If he holds it for a few more days, he's definitely going to break out in acne!"

"Hahaha..."

Zhang Tie had no idea what these guys were talking about, but he could feel a lewd aura permeating their conversation.

"Heh... heh... you'll understand later. This is a benefit for members of our Brotherhood!" Barry said mysteriously.

Only today did Tiger hear about the passing of the Qidian author Tianxia Luoxue. Tiger here calls upon all Snowflakes to subscribe to all VIP chapters of Tianxia Luoxue's posthumous work, Wu Bu Tianxia!