When Han Xiao woke the next morning, he felt light all over. The exhaustion from his escape had been swept away.
"Brother Han, you're awake." Hu Hongjun was outside the door, stretching his muscles. He greeted him with a smile.
The family had been so welcoming, giving him food and shelter. Though Han Xiao was reluctant to leave, he still told them he had to go.
"Thank you for your hospitality. Unfortunately, I can't stay long. If I get the chance, I'll repay you."
An walked over carrying a small bundle and smiled. "I made some flatbread. Take it with you to eat on the road."
Warmth spread through Han Xiao's heart as he accepted the bundle with both hands. The heat of the flatbread passed through his palms and into his heart. He smiled, then realized An couldn't see it and said sincerely, "I slept very comfortably last night. Thank you both so much for your hospitality."
An covered her mouth and chuckled.
"Haha, don't mention it. All under heaven are brothers," Hu Hongjun said heartily.
Han Xiao packed his belongings and picked up his backpack and the animal-hide bundle. Suddenly, he noticed that the leaves on the bundle were gone. His expression darkened slightly. "Someone touched my bundle."
Hu Hongjun was startled. "That can't be. Neither An nor I... Wait, Hu Fei, get your ass out here!"
Hu Fei, who had been hiding behind the tent and listening in, shuddered and slunk out.
A glint flashed in Han Xiao's eyes. With the hint of a smile, he said, "You again."
Hu Fei hunched his shoulders, not daring to look Han Xiao in the eye. Hu Hongjun kicked him in the backside and said in exasperation, "Did you steal his things? Hand them over right now!"
Hu Fei bit his lip and reluctantly took out a Type 73 Wasp, handing it to Han Xiao.
"Brother Han, go ahead and beat him. This brat deserves it." Hu Hongjun began considering what position to use when he beat his nephew later.
"No need. It's enough that I got it back. Keeping this would put you all in danger." Han Xiao took back the pistol and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he particularly cared about his equipment; he was worried that leaving a weapon behind would bring trouble to the settlement. Hu Hongjun had put him up for the night, so naturally he couldn't leave a source of trouble behind.
Hu Fei pursed his lips dismissively. He thought Han Xiao was stingy: he had so many guns, yet he couldn't bear to part with even one.
"The mountains may not turn, but the rivers do. If fate allows, we'll meet again, no matter how far apart we are. Goodbye." Han Xiao formally took his leave.
Hu Hongjun nodded. "Be careful on the road."
Han Xiao shouldered his belongings, turned, and left.
As the saying went, a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. If he had the chance in the future, Han Xiao would repay them for the kindness they had shown him that night when he needed it most.
"That scary guy's finally gone." Hu Fei wiped away a cold sweat, then grinned to himself. Hehe, good thing that guy didn't notice I stole two guns.
After getting away from Hu Hongjun's scolding, Hu Fei returned to the back of the tent and took another Type 73 Wasp pistol out of a box. He played with it, unable to put it down, and made up his mind: even if Han Xiao came back demanding an explanation, he would deny it to the bitter end and refuse to give it back, no matter what.
But why didn't this gun have a trigger?
The map drawn by the wanderers looked like a grade-schooler's doodle, but it showed his current location, which was enough for Han Xiao. He remembered the complete map of Planet Aquamarine.
He was within Stardragon's borders. According to the map, another three days of walking would take him out of the woods to a railway, where he could catch a ride to a city.
At noon, Han Xiao found a place to eat and replenish the stamina he had used up. He caught sight of several new tears in the animal-hide bundle, made by thorns and branches.
Han Xiao spread out the animal-hide bundle, preparing to put the guns into his backpack one by one. Suddenly, his hands stopped, and he let out a puzzled sound.
"There seems to be a gun missing..."
He counted again. It wasn't his imagination.
Han Xiao's heart sank. If the gun had been left at the settlement, that would be terrible!
Forgetting about food, Han Xiao hurriedly gathered his things and strode back the way he had come.
Two black bulletproof armored vehicles arrived at the wanderer settlement. Number One led a fully armed squad of test subjects and forced all the wanderers at gunpoint to gather in the square, where they crouched together with their hands on their heads.
All the wanderers recognized the Germinal Organization's insignia, and panic spread among them.
"Have you seen this man?"
Number One tapped his handheld terminal, and a virtual image appeared in the air. It was a photograph of Han Xiao.
"No."
Everyone clamored at once, flatly denying it.
The Germinal Organization's methods were well known. As long as the wanderers made it clear they had nothing to do with the matter, the organization wouldn't attack them.
The Six Nations and Germinal were opposing factions, while the wanderers were fence-sitters who swayed between them. They usually remained neutral, but they could side with either camp, so both the Six Nations and the Germinal Organization had rules against readily using force against wanderers.
Only Hu Fei shuddered, his guilt practically written on his face.
Number One was angry and frustrated. He had tracked Han Xiao for seven days before finally coming across a settlement, yet everyone said they hadn't seen him. That meant he had gone in the wrong direction.
"Let's go!" Number One snorted angrily and led his squad toward the vehicles. But as he turned, he suddenly noticed Hu Fei's expression.
Suspicious, Number One stopped and shouted, "Grab that kid!"
Hu Fei went pale with fright. A test-subject soldier dragged him out of the crowd, trembling like a quail.
Number One narrowed his eyes. "Do you know the man in the picture?"
Hu Fei hastily shook his head. "No."
Number One noticed a hard object bulging beneath Hu Fei's clothes at his waist and shouted, "Search him!"
Hu Fei was pinned to the ground and could only watch as the Type 73 Wasp was found.
"This is our gun!" Number One's expression turned icy. He aimed his gun at the crowd and shouted, "Zero was clearly here, and you dared to hide it? Are you all looking to die?!"
"Talk! Where did he go?"
The gun trained on them sent a stir through the wanderers. One after another, they looked toward the bearded Kailo, the first person to have had contact with Han Xiao.
Kailo was hiding in a corner like an ostrich, afraid to show himself. Seeing their looks, he panicked. "Why are you looking at me? I only sold him a few things. Hu Hongjun is the one who knows where that guy went!"
The people around Hu Hongjun immediately scattered as if fleeing a plague.
Seeing that things had come to this, Hu Hongjun could only stand up slowly. "I don't know," he said in a low voice.
Eager to clear himself of any involvement, the bearded Kailo immediately shot back, "How could you not know? You stood up for him and even put him up for the night!"
Number One's expression turned sinister.
The terrified wanderers urged Hu Hongjun to speak.
"Hurry up and tell them what you know!"
"Are you going to get us killed for an outsider?"
Hu Hongjun cursed Kailo inwardly. He took a deep breath, made up his mind, and pointed in a direction. "That man went that way," he said in a low voice.
"Very good. You know what's good for you." Number One smiled darkly and fired without warning.
Bang!
A bloody hole appeared in Hu Hongjun's forehead. His face froze in shock, and his body swayed before crashing to the ground. A pool of blood spread beneath him.
Hu Fei screamed, staring at Hu Hongjun's corpse in horror.
He... he just died like that?!
Number One's expression remained unchanged, as if he had merely killed a chicken. The wanderers' concealment had enraged him, and when he heard that Hu Hongjun had put Han Xiao up for the night, he had immediately decided to kill him.
As long as someone had even the slightest connection to Han Xiao, Number One didn't mind sending them to hell to repent.
"Old Hu?" An sensed that something was wrong. Her face pale, she rose unsteadily and followed the sound, feeling her way toward her husband with stumbling steps.
Number One drew his pistol and, from a distance, shot An in the head!
The bullet blew open half the back of her head, scattering blood and brains across the ground. An fell along the way, only an arm's length from Hu Hongjun, yet it might as well have been an impassable chasm. Her lifeless eyes were stained red by splashes of blood.
Number One glanced sideways at the corpse and sneered.
"Looking for death."
Hu Fei broke down, collapsing to the ground and wailing.
He was filled with regret. A moment of greed had gotten his uncle's family killed.
The wanderers were angry but dared not speak. Looking at Hu Hongjun's and An's corpses, they felt sorrow for others who shared their plight.
The handheld terminal was connected to the Germinal leader's monitoring feed. The leader demanded, "What are you doing? Who told you to kill them?"
Number One hurriedly admitted his mistake in fear and trepidation. "These wanderers knew something and didn't report it. I only wanted to make an example of them. We'll leave right away."
The leader shook his head. "Forget it. Since you've already killed them, finish the job cleanly. Don't let word get out."
Number One nodded. His expression turned cold, and he made a hand gesture.
An unbroken volley of gunfire sent countless birds flying from the woods.
The sunset was red as blood. Han Xiao hurried back as fast as he could and finally reached the settlement before dark. From a distance, he smelled the pungent stench of blood, and his heart immediately sank.
"I'm too late."
The once-bustling settlement was deathly silent. Before him was a scene of slaughter, with shocking bloodstains everywhere. The earth beneath his feet was soaked with blood, wet, soft, and sticky, leaving a bloody footprint with every step.
Han Xiao saw the bodies of Hu Hongjun and An, both brutally killed. His pupils contracted, and anger rose in his heart.
Just then, a figure crawled up from among the corpses covering the ground. Han Xiao recognized him as the bearded merchant who had extorted money from him.
Kailo was still shaken. He had fainted from fright when the massacre began, but had luckily escaped with his life. Before he could rejoice, he saw Han Xiao standing nearby, looking at him, and immediately began trembling like a leaf.
Han Xiao closed the distance in a few quick strides, seized Kailo by the collar, and demanded, "What happened here?"
"The Germinal Organization! The Germinal Organization did it! We didn't reveal where you went, so they killed people to vent their anger. Our people died so horribly! For the sake of Hu Hongjun putting you up, you have to avenge us!"
Tears and snot streamed down Kailo's face as he put on a convincing act. He didn't dare tell the truth; he only wanted to urge Han Xiao to go after the Germinal Organization himself, so he wouldn't be dragged into it.