fictionpage Chapter 46 The Man Who Has No Way to Escape
Chapter 46 The Man Who Has No Way to Escape
"Why are they the Japanese again?"
Fang Jianqiu couldn't help but mutter to himself, "These guys are really persistent; I run into them wherever I go."
Zhou Liqun took a deep breath and quickly recounted the whole story.
"Ultimately, it all comes down to one word: competition!"
He spat out a mouthful of saliva:
"Back on the plantation, we were fighting with those short-lived people for a mouthful of water and a mouthful of food. Now that we're out here, we thought the sea was wide enough for fish to leap freely, but we still have to fight for it. Fight for this sea, fight for this fish."
"Well, our settlement only has about ten households, plus children and the elderly, making no more than twenty mouths to feed. We're not greedy; with so few people, how many fish can we catch? Just enough to make ends meet."
Zhou Liqun gestured:
"So when those Japanese ronin first came to this area and started causing trouble, we tried to make money by keeping to ourselves and not provoke those mad dogs who were numerous and powerful. They said that area was theirs, so we gave way. They said we weren't allowed to go into the sea today, so we tolerated it. We thought that if we took a step back, the sea and sky would be clearer. We were all just trying to make a living, so we should give each other some face."
"But who would have thought..."
Zhou Liqun's eyes were bloodshot, and his fists were clenched so tightly they cracked.
"Those Japanese pirates are a bunch of ungrateful wretches! The more you give in, the more they think you're easy to bully, and the more they escalate their aggression! The other day, they directly rammed our nets with their boats and said that this entire bay would belong to them from now on, and told us to get lost!"
"Uncle Wang, who was lying in the house, couldn't stand it and argued with them for a bit, and those bastards pulled out a gun without saying a word! If Uncle Wang hadn't been lucky enough to jump into the sea and swim back, he would have been fed to the fish by now! Even our few decent fishing boats that we had left were forcibly dragged away by them!"
"Sigh, Brother Xiao, Brother Fang, it's not that I don't want to help you."
At this point, Bald Zhou finally couldn't resist taking the cigarette he'd been holding behind his ear for so long, lighting it with a match, and taking a deep drag.
"We're in a bind right now, barely able to save ourselves. We have to fight tooth and nail for our livelihood. We initially gave those Japanese a break because we were all refugees, but look what happened... As the old saying goes, a kind person is bullied, and a good horse is ridden!"
Fang Jianqiu listened to his words quietly, his face showing no change in expression, only his eyes turned slightly colder.
After Zhou Liqun finished venting, he calmly spoke:
"Brother Zhou, now that things have come to this, when do you plan to take action? And what are your chances of getting the ship back?"
Upon hearing this, Bald Zhou took a deep drag on his cigarette, and amidst the swirling smoke, his expression became ferocious and menacing.
"Confidence?" He sneered.
"Damn it, we're just a bunch of uneducated brutes, what brilliant plan could we possibly have? All we'd do is pick a good day for fishing, grab a few fire pokers, harpoons, and cleavers, and have every able-bodied man in the village come at us!"
"Let's fight those Japanese pirates to the death!"
He stomped the cigarette butt out fiercely under his foot and said through gritted teeth:
"We've got nothing to lose! The worst that can happen is death! We were spared from this life on the plantation anyway, these extra years are a bonus! Even if we die, I'll take a piece of those dwarfs' flesh! I'll show them that we Chinese aren't easy to bully!"
At this moment, a moving determination erupted from this seemingly fierce bald man.
That is the most primal and fierce fearlessness displayed by the lower classes who have been driven to the brink of despair and have nowhere else to retreat.
Fang Jianqiu and Xiao Yuanshan exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.
This isn't about seizing a ship; it's about going to their deaths.
Xiao Yuanshan frowned and asked:
"Brother Zhou, your courage is commendable, but fighting a war can't rely solely on brute force. How many guns does your village actually have? And how many of them know how to use them?"
This question was like a bucket of cold water poured over Zhou Liqun's head.
He remained silent for a moment, but finally had to face this extremely pessimistic reality:
"Gun... there's an old-fashioned Wen-something rifle, which I picked up when I escaped. There are also two homemade revolvers, which were left behind as collateral when someone smuggled themselves into the country. Bullets... there are only about twenty rounds at most."
"As for people..."
Zhou Liqun's face darkened further. "Including me, there are only two people who have actually handled a gun and fired one: the other is Uncle Wang, who's lying in the house. The others... at most know how to use a harpoon."
"And as you've seen, Brother Xiao, most of the people here are survivors of plantation hell. They all have some kind of old wounds or injuries, and some are even too painful to move when it's cloudy or rainy. Uncle Wang is already the second strongest fighter among us..."
Having laid out the whole situation, Zhou Liqun was clearly fully aware of what was going on. Yet, the determination in his eyes remained unwavering.
"But Brother Xiao, we have no choice. We've already escaped time and time again, and we don't want to escape again! If we escape again, are we going to escape into the sea and become fish?"
The three fell into a brief silence.
The only sound in the air was the hissing of Zhou Liqun's relit cigarette.
Behind him, under the big tree, several teenagers were craning their necks, timidly watching what was happening.
Although they couldn't understand what the adults were saying, they could still sense the heavy atmosphere.
Fang Jianqiu noticed that they were secretly watching him.
On those tender faces, there was not only mud, but also some small, scabbed whip marks.
Those are the marks left by suffering, and also the imprint left by this era.
At this moment, Xiao Yuanshan, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
He turned to look at Fang Jianqiu, his eyes filled with expectation and trust: "Brother Fang, what do you think?"
Although it was only a short sentence, just six words, Fang Jianqiu easily understood Xiao Yuanshan's meaning.
The old man was asking him: Should we get involved in this? Can we even do something about it?
Fang Jianqiu did not answer immediately.
He looked around at this simple yet lively haven, watching the children rolling in the mud, the women mending nets under the eaves, and the chickens and ducks leisurely foraging for food.
This is their only home in a foreign land.
A slight smile played at the corners of his lips.
"We can kill the Japanese pirates, retrieve the ship, and achieve our goal of going to Chinatown. Such a win-win situation is hard to find even with a lantern."
There was another purpose he kept to himself.
That means killing these Japanese ronin will also give him experience points...
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuanshan let out a long breath, a joyful smile spreading across his face, and nodded emphatically.
Now, he no longer worries whether Fang Jianqiu can do it.
This is a man who single-handedly ambushed and killed an entire rifle squad in the dark of night!
Those Japanese pirates were, in the end, just a bunch of peasants who had fled from disaster, only they had the advantage of numbers.
Zhou Liqun, on the other hand, stared in astonishment, his mouth agape, forgetting to even smoke his cigarette.
He naturally understood the meaning behind Fang Jianqiu's words: this agile, strong, and handsome young man wanted to help them.
"You...you really want to help us?" Zhou Liqun's voice trembled slightly, filled with both gratitude and worry.
"Brother Fang, I really appreciate your idea, truly! But... that's a real, bloody battle! Bullets don't discriminate! You're so young, and you just escaped. It's not worth risking your life for something as trivial as this!"
Fang Jianqiu smiled and shook his head, offering no further explanation.
He simply pulled a Colt revolver slowly from its holster at his waist.
"Brother Xiao, could you please pick up a few pebbles?"
He pointed to the ground beside him.
"Throw it in an empty space, throw it high, throw it far."
Xiao Yuanshan understood immediately and bent down to pick up a few pieces of pebbles without saying a word.
"Watch closely!"
Xiao Yuanshan gave a low shout and suddenly swung his arm.
Several pebbles whistled into the air and scattered in different trajectories.
Fang Jianqiu stood there, rooted to the spot, without moving an inch.
Just as the pebble reached its highest point.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Gunshots rang out suddenly.
It was an extremely rhythmic barrage of shots, so fast it was dazzling.
In mid-air, every pebble still in flight shattered into pieces the instant the gun fired.
Not a single piece missed its mark, and not a single piece landed intact.
As the gunfire ceased, Fang Jianqiu casually holstered his gun with an extremely elegant movement.
This series of actions is more convincing than any grand pronouncements.
Zhou Liqun's mouth gaped even wider, and the half-burnt cigarette in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud," scattering a few sparks, but he was completely unaware of it.
At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind:
"So that's how guns are used?!"