Cave Refuge

Ward and his companions never saw it coming - Dong Tianyu pulling out two handguns from behind.

The sight of the guns sent waves of shock through the trio, but their fears dissipated quickly. From behind, one of Ward's subordinates questioned softly, "Boss, do you think those are real guns in his hands?"

Hearing his subordinate's words, Ward himself was somewhat skeptical. Although it was difficult to obtain firearms, an ordinary person could still get their hands on one if they tried hard enough. Keeping a gun at home without being caught wouldn't be considered unusual.

Moreover, back in Santec, there were people openly selling guns alongside the highway. Even though those sellers were gone, those who managed to purchase the guns and were not found out - that, till today, would be considered standard.

Ward himself had a few - both long and short guns. He kept them hidden at home, occasionally taking them out for maintenance. But he never dared to flaunt them. If he ever felt the itch to fire, he'd head to the local firing range.

When they initially took shelter in the Refuge Center, he did not carry his long guns but only took two handguns along. However, his boss found out and traded them off for cigarettes and alcohol.

It seemed like the opposing party had overheard his subordinate's scepticism, as they raised their guns and aimed at the three. Goosebumps instantly sprang up all over Ward's body.

Ward, in his youth, was fearless and aggressive, entirely unafraid of death. But as he aged and accumulated respect and loyalty from his comrades, he gradually stepped back from the front line. This shift brought out more of his survival instincts.

"Listen, let's talk things out. My subordinate was merely out of line. Please accept my sincere apology. Let's discuss this calmly. Can we not aim guns at each other? That's terribly dangerous. What if the guns discharge accidentally?"

Hearing Ward's plea, Dong Tianyu replied with a smirk, "How could you be so sure that the safety catch on these guns isn't on," claiming that before firing two random shots into the ground.

The sound of gunfire rang out, and two bullets embedded themselves into the ground a short distance before the trio.

Seeing the bullet holes on the ground, the three of them might not know the particular model of the handguns Dong Tianyu was holding, but they realized they were no toys.

The silent mountain was suddenly eclipsed by two gunshots, alerting several people ascending from different directions.

Climbing the mountain from four different directions was a strategy. They were aware they couldn't capture the Nameless Mountain alone with their limited influence, so they proposed to form alliances.

After deliberation, they decided that each party would dispatch a few to scout the area first. The main goal was to ascertain if this place had already been claimed, like Spring Mountain.

To avoid stirring up trouble, they agreed not to carry weapons while ascending the mountain. After hearing the gunshots, they understood that someone had run into conflict.

The climbers, utilizing their wit, hurriedly descended the mountain. After all, the sound of gunfire was evidence that other survivors were present in Nameless Mountain, and these survivors were armed.

If it were the old days, their first reaction to hearing gunshots would not be retaliation, but to inform the authorities, hoping that they would arrest the culprits.

Such a course of action not only allowed the authorities to gain merit but also helped them get rid of their rivals—an advantageous situation.

In such times, it's hard to rely on authorities. Even if they reported, the chances of the authorities sending someone to solve the problem were slim.

Even during the catastrophe, the authorities remained as they always have. There may be certain cases that they are unable to solve, but 99% of them they simply chose not to pursue due to unfavorable returns.

To illustrate this, consider a scenario where your electric bike was stolen. If you file a police report, it would be challenging to have it returned. However, suppose you left a bag of raw peanuts in the bike.

You can claim that these peanuts were mixed with rat poison to kill rats. If a human consumption leads to fatal poisoning.

Upon hearing this claim, the authorities will undoubtedly activate their tracking system. Within half an hour, your electric bike will be located and returned to you.

Of course, filing a fraudulent report is illegal. But when your electric bike is found, who would dare to taste the peanuts to prove if rat poison was mixed?

In the past, even if you claimed to have heard a gunshot or suspected someone of possessing firearms, the authorities would undoubtedly visit to investigate. But now, if you report a gunshot to the authorities, the most they will do is make a record of the incident and discard it thereafter.

Upon hearing the gunshot, other climbers had the option to descend the mountain. But for the three men who had guns pointed at them, they didn't dare make a move for fear of Dong Tianyu accidentally discharging the firearm again.

At this point, Ward realized there was no escape, so he directly asked Dong Tianyu, "Sir, no, Big Boss, what do you want from us? You can tell us directly. If it's something we can help with, we'll be at your service."

Dong Tianyu, seemingly ignoring him, invited, "Sorry for that slip earlier, not used to handling these little ones. I have some larger ones at home. You think you'd want to take a look?"

Upon hearing Dong Tianyu's words, Ward understood his intention. He quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, don't trouble yourself, Brother. We have some urgent matters to attend to and have to leave immediately."

"Oh, you're in a rush? What a pity! You are already at my doorstep, yet you don't want to come in. If word gets out, people might speak ill of my hospitality."

"Brother, let's not go in. We genuinely have some important tasks. Our friends are waiting for us to get back. We need to go right away. After we finish these tasks, if you're still available, we can come over for a visit again."

Dong Tianyu caught the hint in his words but didn't mind. Breaking into the cave without heavy weaponry would be quite a feat.

He didn't believe that Ward would have the connections or resources to procure heavy weaponry. If they had such capability, they would not have targeted this place in the first place.

"So, shall I escort you on your way down?"

Hearing Dong Tianyu's offer, Ward and his companions heaved a sigh of relief, assured that he had no intention to kill. So they quickly said, "No need for that. We know our way down, and we can manage on our own. Please, stay."

With that, the trio carefully left the platform. As soon as they were out of sight, they started running.

Watching them retreat, Dong Tianyu knew that his peaceful days were over.

Although eliminating them was an easy task, from their clean clothes, he figured out they were not surviving on their own. Instead, they belonged to some force. The trio were just pawns. Killing them would not have made a significant impact on their group.

Letting them go after showing off the power of his firearms was to deter unnecessary trouble.