Returning to the stairs, Rayan went back up.
He walked back into the wooden house. The robbers were still sitting and eating. Hearing footsteps, they thought it was the bald man returning and didn't pay any attention.
However, a few seconds later, they heard a "creak" sound. Turning their heads to look, they immediately heard a series of "clangs" as all the bowls and chopsticks fell to the ground.
"Y-you..."
What they saw was Rayan, with both hands, lifting a large bookshelf several times his own size. The scene was so unbelievable that they instinctively froze in place, unable to speak.
"Here's an extra serving for you."
As Rayan spoke, his arms swung violently, and the large bookshelf he was holding with both hands whooshed over!
"Quick, dodge!!"
Everyone exclaimed and screamed, jumping up one after another. However, the large bookshelf was both big and heavy. With a loud "crash," it directly crushed several people, and screams instantly echoed inside and outside the house.
"Signal!"
The people outside had been on edge the whole time. Not hearing any movement inside for so long, they had thought something had happened to Rayan. But hearing the screams at this moment, they immediately surged forward and rushed into the wooden house!
"Don't move!"
Several long guns were raised and pointed at the robbers inside. They had completely not expected a Military Police raid. One of them, facing the muzzle of a gun, still didn't care and fiercely swung his machete at a soldier!
"Don't! Don't come closer!"
The soldier was clearly holding a gun, but at this moment, he was so scared that he didn't dare to shoot at all. Just as he was about to die under the machete, a "bang" suddenly rang out, and the robber's head burst open, and he fell to the ground.
Everyone looked over and saw Annie expressionlessly shifting the still-smoking muzzle of her gun, then aiming at another one.
"Don't shoot! I surrender!"
The remaining robbers, seeing that these child-like Military Police officers actually dared to shoot and kill, immediately dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground with a thud, begging for mercy.
"Wilson, Roberts, you two go over there to the right fork of the passage below and release all the people they've imprisoned," Rayan said, glancing around. Of the dozen or so robbers, five had been directly crushed to death by him using the large bookshelf, including the long-haired boss. Three or four others had a leg trapped underneath and couldn't get out. Annie had shot and killed one, and the rest had surrendered.
And not a single person on their side was injured, making it an incredibly successful operation.
As for the few who surrendered... Rayan walked over and directly dislocated all their arms. Screams rose and fell, giving everyone the creeps, and the way they looked at Rayan became increasingly awestruck.
Annie, however, was thoughtfully looking at the large bookshelf that had smashed the dining table. Clearly, the bookshelf couldn't have appeared in that position out of thin air. Such a large solid wood bookshelf would weigh at least several hundred pounds... Even though she knew Rayan was very strong, was he strong to this extent?
"Tie them all up, prepare to take them back."
Rayan dislocated the arms of the surrendered to prevent them from making any small moves. The others immediately took out the ropes they had brought and went forward to tie them up, their expressions excited.
Clearly, catching so many robbers was very happy, even if not for the merits. Eliminating harm for the people, most people would feel good doing good deeds.
However, at this moment, the two soldiers Rayan had sent downstairs rushed back up in a panic. "Not good, Captain! Th-they..."
"What's wrong?"
Seeing the strange expressions on the two men's faces, Rayan immediately went back downstairs. Walking to the iron cage, he was shocked to find that all the imprisoned people were dead!
He immediately knelt down to check the wounds on their bodies. The blood hadn't completely dried. "It was just done... how is that possible? None of the robbers went down," Rayan muttered, suddenly realizing something. He counted the number of people and his heart jolted. One person was missing!
A robber pretending to be a victim...?
Rayan was momentarily stunned. He had completely not expected this situation to occur.
Indeed, many cunning human trafficking gangs had this kind of tactic, taking turns planting accomplices to lurk among the victims. This way, whether the victims wanted to save themselves or if others discovered the victims and wanted to rescue them, the human trafficking gang would get the news immediately and then take action.
But...
Rayan completely didn't expect the human trafficking gang within these walls to be so cunning and vicious. Judging from this, after he killed the bald man, that accomplice had started acting, killing all the victims and then escaping through the underground passage... probably judging that the accomplices were about to be caught in one fell swoop, so he also gave up on notifying them... Dammit!
Rayan's face was extremely grim. The great victory he had originally thought was completely nonexistent. Even though his subordinates were not injured, these victims... no matter what, he had some responsibility.
"C-captain..."
The others also came down at this moment. Seeing Rayan's expression, they didn't dare to speak for a moment.
"One escaped," Rayan said with some unwillingness.
It was impossible to chase now. They were completely unfamiliar with this underground passage, and blindly running around might lead to other dangers.
"Anyway, let's take everyone back first."
The dead couldn't be brought back to life, and Rayan's regret was useless.
If he had known this would happen, he should have dislocated the arms of these victims as well, just like he did with the surrendered robbers... After all, it wouldn't have been easy to identify who was mixed in among them in a short time.
With this incident, the initial joy of everyone was somewhat dampened. But overall, they were still happy, because no matter what... they had eliminated a group of high-risk individuals.
"Captain, we found a lot of money and jewels on the second floor!"
"Bring them all down."
Everyone carried down several large boxes, their eyes glued to the full money and jewels inside. This money was enough for thousands of people to live on, yet it had only been used for these robbers to squander.
The Way of Heaven takes from those who have too much and gives to those who have too little. The way of man is to take from those who have too little and give to those who have too much.
Just as everyone was itching to say something but didn't dare, Rayan spoke, "We'll keep one box."
Everyone looked at him in an instant.
"You're all smart. If this money is handed over, probably not even a drop in the ocean will be distributed to the victims. So, we'll keep one box to make up for it. Do you have any objections?"
"Of course not!"
"We should definitely keep some, otherwise it will all be eaten by those people!"
"How about keeping two boxes?!"
"Uh..."
Everyone started talking at once, clearly supporting keeping some, both for public and private reasons. Some even suggested only handing over one box and keeping the rest, but they were immediately refuted by the others.
After all, the higher-ups weren't stupid. They must have had some idea about this group of robbers. Rayan even had a somewhat dark suspicion: large robber gangs might be deliberately fostered by certain people, receiving regular tributes. If a major case occurred or if the higher-ups wanted to get rid of them, they would do so and then swallow the robbers' accumulated wealth in one go.
It was like harvesting leeks. The robbers harvested the leeks of the common people, and then when they accumulated more, they would be harvested by the nobles or the military above. But in the end, it was always the lowest-level people who suffered.
...
Rayan, Annie, and Marlo walked down the street.
"We'll have a day off tomorrow, right?" Rayan said, thought for a moment, and looked at Annie. "I'm going to the Survey Corps headquarters. Do you want to come with me?"
Annie first shook her head, then asked him, "Why?"
"It's nothing much. Just that many of my good friends from the training corps joined there, and I want to see them. Counting it... it's been more than a week since I saw them."
"Is a week very long?"
"Not much in the length of a year, but it's a lot in a month," Rayan said. "They'll be going on an expedition outside the walls next month. The death rate is very high."
Marlo interjected upon hearing this, "Then Annie, aren't you going to go with him? If they die, you'll never see them again."
Annie said nothing, her delicate face still maintaining its coldness.
"Alright then, I'll go by myself," Rayan said. The three of them had already arrived at their destination the house of the person who had provided the crucial clue.
He knocked on the door, and it opened quickly. The little girl saw Rayan and a smile appeared on her face.
"I... I saw it!" she said, somewhat incoherently. "You caught the bad guys... it's written in the newspaper."
"Mm." Rayan noticed that the woman on the bed was gone; she had probably been buried. This left only the little girl in the house.
A twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, what could she do?
Marlo beside him took out a cloth bag and handed it to the girl. "The money in here is enough for you to live on until you're an adult."
The girl hugged the heavy money bag, her eyes somewhat blank.
Rayan looked at her and thought, a common man is innocent, but becomes guilty by possessing something valuable. This money, left with a child, might only harm her. Perhaps after they left, the local thugs would...
In the end, what was the meaning of all this?
Rayan suddenly changed his mind. Unexpectedly, he reached out and placed his hand on the little girl's shoulder, looking her straight in the eye. "The Training Corps will start recruiting this year. Do you want to become a soldier?"
The girl's hands trembled, and the money bag in her hands fell to the ground, coins clattering all over the floor.
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Need More Chapters
Every 300 Power Stones
2 Bonus chapter
Every 500 Power Stones
4 Bonus chapter.
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