The Trembling World

Chapter 171 - Learning from past mistakes

TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney

ED: Oz

Liu Gan and Yin He arrived at the main building, Wang DeCheng was walking up to greet them. Since he still thought that Xu ChangHui and Zhou MingLiang had gone to the toilet, he was very worried as they had yet to return. He wanted to immediately report to Liu Gan about it. However, he couldn’t leave his post in the lobby as it was his duty, but he was also worried about their safety. Therefore, like an ant on a heated pan, he paced back and forth.

“Elder Liu, what is wrong?” Wang DeCheng saw that Xu ChangHui was covered in blood and getting dragged by the neck by Liu Gan. Wang DeCheng was frightened by what he saw as they walked closer.

“Wake everyone up.” Liu Gan said to Wang DeCheng.

Quickly, Wang DeCheng ran into the lobby and woke everyone up, as they all sat by the conglomerate of beds.

“Now tell everyone. Why did you kill Zhou MingLiang! If there’s even a hint of deceit in your words, I will chop your legs in half!” Liu Gan tossed Xu ChangHui on the ground in front of everyone.

Hearing that Zhou MingLiang was killed by Xu ChangHui, almost all team members were shocked. There’d been people constantly dying ever since their escape from the hospital. Precedently, it was the near-death experience with Zhou JingJing and Lee Miao by the bathroom, and now it was Zhou MingLiang.

“I didn’t mean to kill him! I saw my countryside wife! She tried to use her knife to kill me, so I was forced to retaliate. I didn’t think it was all a hallucination. I mistook Zhou MingLiang for my countryside wife. The moment I realized it, it was too late! I definitely didn’t mean to do that…” Xu ChangHui revealed everything the moment he heard Liu Gan’s threat.

“Zhou MingLiang is a chattery person, but he isn’t the type of person to be that daring! Whose idea was it to steal the yacht to escape? You better give me an honest answer!” Liu Gan shouted as he hefted his axe, menacingly pointing its head at Xu ChangHui’s legs.

“It was me… It was because I was too afraid! I feel that this island isn’t too safe! It’s best we leave this area, otherwise we will all be killed one by one by that Variant Zombie with its hallucinogenic ability, and then eventually we will have our brains eaten!” Xu ChangHui said outloud.

Xu ChangHui revealed the truth. Everything he had said was the fear of all the team members, and it brought it to the surface. They looked on at Xu ChangHui and started whispering amongst themselves.

First it was the earlier incident with Zhou JingJing and Lee Miao in the bathroom, and now this accident with Xu ChangHui and Zhou MingLiang! It seemed as though this monster of a Variant Zombie had a very powerful hallucinogenic-inducing ability. It could cause two people to fight amongst one another. No one could know for sure who was affected by the hallucinogenic ability in their group amongst them; even an all-out brawl was not entirely out of the question. This was simply too scary to think about.

“This island has no safe place! If you continue to stay here, you will all die! We should all convince Elder Liu to take the yacht and leave! I could lead you guys to the countryside…” Xu ChangHui noticed that his words had caused an effect, so he quickly changed the topic. He crossed his fingers in high hopes that Liu Gan would fail to remember he had attempted to seize the yacht behind their backs.

Liu Gan heard Xu ChangHui’s encouraging shouts of disturbance and got angrier. With his hands already holding up the fire axe, he brandished it at Xu ChangHui’s neck, cleanly separating the head from the neck. As the head rolled off the body, a streak of blood shot upward a meter high for a second before diminishing. A truly horrific scene.

“Xu ChangHui instigated Zhou MingLiang in an attempt to steal our yacht. They would’ve caused all of us to die! Afterwards, he killed Zhou MingLiang. These set of actions are forbidden from occurring! If I let him live, he will find ways to exact revenge on us. To get rid of this thorn, I have to kill him! For those you who might have a similar idea, if you dare follow in his step and go against my rules, then let Xu ChangHui be a good example.“

With the corpse tide, the bridge, and the tornado events, Liu Gan thought this group was very united. No one would’ve foreseen that Xu ChangHui would try to betray them, so Liu Gan was very disappointed and angry at the same time. At the dock, he was prepared to kill Xu ChangHui on the spot. The reason why he kept him alive was to do it in front of everyone so his death would serve as an example to others. That way, the others would obey discipline among the ranks. In addition, how could Liu Gan tolerate Xu ChangHui spreading such misleading rumors?

Everyone was still drowsy from sleeping, but the news of Zhou MingLiang’s sudden death due to Xu ChangHui, and witnessing the public execution of Xu ChangHui with the blood shooting out from his stump of a neck, shocked everyone present. They were all deathly pale in the face and trembled with fear, unable to speak another word.

“That Variant Zombie, I have plans on killing it already! As long as you obey me honestly, I will do my best to protect you all! If you don’t want to follow this team, when I arrive at the next location, we can go our separate ways. I definitely won’t stop you! However, if you scheme behind my back or spread rumors, it violates my bottom line. When I kill people, I am not remorseful about it!” Liu Gan said angrily as he walked toward the lobby door.

“Xu ChangHui was planning to steal the yacht. If he did that, then we would all be stranded here! He definitely deserved to die!” Zhang ShengLi finally understood the situation and immediately stated his stance on the situation.

“Yes! If he actually succeeded to steal the yacht, then we would be stranded on this island without any other methods of escaping it. What he did is unforgivable!”

“You really don’t know what the person is thinking, especially when he looks so honest. Who would’ve thought that he was capable of something so evil.”

“Elder Liu treats us very well! How could Xu ChangHui do such a thing? What an ungrateful person!”

“Yes, he is an ungrateful person!”

. . .

The others started chiming in with their viewpoints and fervently stated their loyalty toward Liu Gan and the group. Whether or not what they had said had come from the heart, at least none of them would be as daring as Xu ChangHui and have designs on stealing the yacht.

“Elder Liu, Xu ChangHui lied to me about going to the bathroom and acted as though he had to go urgently. I watched him head toward the bathroom, and while I was worried about him, I didn’t follow. I didn’t know that they would do such a thing! It’s all my fault. Please punish me, Elder Liu!” Wang DeCheng pleaded for punishment as he was embarrassed about it having happened under his watch.

“In the end, this was a team gathered impromptu, so if there were instances of trouble makers getting into the mix, it is not a surprise. Wang DeCheng, you don’t have to blame yourself. Just work together with Zhang ShengLi on watching these people. Before I return, don’t let any of these people leave your line of sight.” Liu Gan’s tone mellowed when he spoke to Wang DeCheng.

Liu Gan wasn’t brutal to everyone, only toward those who didn’t oblige to his commands. Naturally, those who disobeyed would have to be punished severely. Only with someone like Wang DeCheng, who was loyal to him, would he skimp on the punishment and pardon the mistake.

“Thank you, Elder Liu!” Wang DeCheng was glad that Liu Gan didn’t blame him for his responsibility. Quickly, Wang DeCheng ran to Zhang ShengLi and transmitted the message given by Liu Gan - to watch everyone in the room and not let them leave their line of sight.