Chapter 644: Chapter 370, Internal Strife_2
After untold hardships, having passed through numerous military control zones, he went to see a highly influential person. This person had always supported the development of their gang and reaped benefits from their activities, who could be regarded as the power behind them.
However, the mansion he had visited only once before now presented a scene of decay, with even the smell of blood lingering.
It was said that the Integrity Commission of the new government had conducted a sweep there.
Then Malca could only slink back, defeated.
On the road there and back, Malca saw many things that happened within the military control zones. He had once visited most of these places, but now, seeing them again, they were completely different from his memories.
These changes, reflected in his heart, quietly shifted his own thoughts.
…
Back with the gang, he was summoned by the boss for questioning.
“What did Mr. Olon say?” the boss asked impatiently.
“Mr. Olon is finished,” Malca said.
He clearly recounted to the boss everything he had seen and heard.
After listening, the boss’s face showed panic and resentment.
“Damn it! He was useless! Bragging all day about how awesome he was, how influential, what a formidable figure he was, but in the end, when the Alliance came, wasn’t he slaughtered like a dead dog?”
After a tirade and venting his emotions, the boss turned to another person and asked, “What about the contacts you were supposed to make with our ‘good neighbors’? How did that go?”
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The so-called good neighbors referred to several forces around the neighborhood where they operated. There were rebel groups and other gangs. Their relationships with each other had been a mix of good and bad in the past, but the boss believed that in these times of life and death, they should unite to weather the crisis.
Thus, he had sent people to make contact with these ‘good neighbors’ to align and leverage their connections.
However, he received bad news once again.
“No one is willing to partner with us… Pingkang Army said they are negotiating with the government, Haifeng Gang seems to have disappeared completely, as if they’ve been wiped out, and the Ping’an Army has fully capitulated, accepting the Alliance Government’s terms – I barely made it back alive from there…”
“Fuck!”
The boss stood up and paced back and forth anxiously.
He muttered a lot to himself.
“We can’t just let this go…”
“I need to think if there’s any other way…”
“We can’t let those bastards just go work for the government…”
“Attack, intimidate!”
“Any transport convoy that passes, blow it up!”
…
From the boss’s mouth spewed a stream of vile plans.
Malca sighed.
He spoke up: “Boss, let’s surrender.”
“What?” The boss’s gaze suddenly swung toward Malca, staring at him intently.
He had always ruled his gang with brutality, never allowing a voice other than his own within the gang.
Usually, under such a gaze, Malca wouldn’t dare to speak.
But today, he dared to say, “Let’s surrender, there’s no chance of winning. On the way here, I saw too many military control zones, not just here in Mingyan City; everywhere is undergoing reform. I think, the new government is really determined to completely transform Nest Capital. Honestly, I don’t think that’s a bad thing, if everyone could live a peaceful life…”
“Do you want to die!”
The boss pulled out his signature weapon.
It was a specially modified hand cannon, with a split barrel that could fire three large caliber shotgun shells at once. Malca had seen its power firsthand; one shot could shatter a person’s entire upper body.
But Malca’s face showed little fear.
He just sighed.
‘Bang’
The gunshot rang out.
Malca wasn’t hurt, but a hole had been blasted into the back of the head of the Branding Hand Gang boss.
“`
Behind him was someone holding a gun, with wisps of blue smoke still rising from the barrel.
The boss was killed in a brutal manner, which gave the other brothers in the room a jolt. Some were lost, some at a loss, and some instinctively pulled out their guns.
Malca shouted, “Put your guns down!”
“You killed the boss!” someone yelled.
“He was leading us all to a dead end!” Malca’s eyes glared over, “Do you want to be buried with him?”
The person was at a loss for words.
Who would want to die?
“You’ve all seen what the streets are like. Ask yourselves, why would anyone follow us if they could live peacefully? Other gangs, the Rebel Army, it’s either death or surrender. The dead are forgotten, the living join the civilians in better days.”
“They say being in a gang is carefree, but how many of us have truly lived carefree? What drove us to join gangs in the first place? Was it not because life was unbearable? Now that we can live, don’t you want to?”
“He, as the boss, could enjoy the best food and drink and was insatiably greedy. He refused to accept the government’s terms. What about us? Why should we follow him to our deaths?”
“If he was only greedy, if he was just not thinking straight, that would be one thing, but did you not hear what he just said? Aren’t the people in the streets our own families and friends?”
“Stop harboring pipe dreams. The era of gangs is over. Continuing like this, there is no way out.”
“I plan to go to the government’s work team now, to talk about the future of the Branding Hand Gang. At best, we use the connections and favors we’ve built over the years in the streets to help people, and maybe even end up as officials; if not, we find other work. All of us are able-bodied; life won’t be too hard.”
“What if they insist on wiping us out?”
“Then we are done for.” Malca said emotionlessly, “Do you still not see the situation? If they want us dead, we are as good as dead already. It’s just a matter of a few days sooner or later!”
The questioner fell silent.
“Do you have anything else to say? If not, I’m off.”
In the silence, someone threw out one more line, “Killed the boss just to take his place, huh? You’re talking like you’re the boss already, but no one’s acknowledged you yet.”
Malca retorted, “In a few days, the gang will be gone. Whoever wants to be the boss can have it.”
…
The events within the Branding Hand Gang were just a microcosm.
In General Hans’ eyes, all the changes were even clearer.
Lately, he hadn’t made any more complaint calls to Gu Hang.
What was there left to complain about?
Now that the mighty Governor had brought in a bunch of reliable administrative personnel from who knows where, and they began working at the grassroots level by districts, the intensity of the peacekeeping battles that his troops faced had plummeted.
The riots and attacks hadn’t completely stopped, but at least they were mostly reduced.
In some well-managed areas, the stationed troops were practically on vacation.
And he, at last, could free up forces from some of the higher-security areas to be redeployed to lower-security ones.
Some ‘abandoned’ districts still required a stronger military response. Eradicating Cults or obstinate gangs, forcibly breaking up crowds with military force, and transporting everyone to temporary resettlement areas.
Although the present Mingyan City was still far from being a pleasant place, Hans, as an outsider, could see clearly that everything here was rapidly improving.
Could it be, after centuries of chaos, Korolya might genuinely undergo a revolutionary change under the hands of that young Governor?
Emotionally, he was reluctant to believe it. Those past impressions were too deeply ingrained in his mind.
But rationally, he had to admit that everything could change.
While he was contemplating this, he suddenly received another call from Gu Hang.
“General Hans, I am very pleased with your troops’ work in Mingyan City. You have two more months to deal with the situation inside Mingyan City. After two months, you will be moved to a new Nest Capital.”
General Hans immediately put his contemplations aside.
Damn it, they really don’t treat people like humans, do they?
Hadn’t even rested a bit, and now off to a new place?
————
Happy New Year, everyone!
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