Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 37 Black 6's Violence

Walking briskly along the streets of the outer city, Zhou Ye felt a sense of lightness in his steps. The air was filled with the enticing aromas of various foods emanating from the restaurants and eateries lining both sides of the street. Shop assistants were calling out their wares from their doorways, and children were running and playing everywhere.

The streets and houses were very clean, and the passersby seemed to have no worries about food and clothing. It was a peaceful and prosperous scene.

However, once you step outside the city gates, it's like you're in two different worlds. Even the air you breathe is so dirty, without any of the sweet scent of the city.

Many people here are dressed in rags and look pale and thin, as if they have been suffering from long-term malnutrition.

By the way: the average level of basic data for ordinary people on the panel refers to normal conditions.

But the actual level of hunger suffered by ordinary people at the bottom of society is far below this. That is the real reality.

In other words, even if ordinary people eat their fill every day, their bodies are already far superior, and they can easily beat several skinny people.

The streets were the same; litter and sewage were a common sight. Loitering thugs and beggars frequently appeared…

Back in the alley where my courtyard was located, things were even worse, resembling a dilapidated slum. Or rather, this was, in fact, a slum.

Interestingly, however, this isn't the worst of it. After all, there are still houses to live in, and small shops where people do business.

I've heard that on the outermost edge of the city, there are just chaotic shacks inhabited by displaced people. Even the patrolling constables and city defense guards don't want to go in. It's a completely chaotic and dark world.

In other words, poorer residents of the county town, or like Zhou Ye, could afford to register their household in the county town and thus be considered county town residents. They were essentially laundered migrants who were still able to live there.

If they are unregistered residents, that is, destitute vagrants, they can only live in shacks. They are far worse off than even the residents of slums.

On the other hand, this also highlights another advantage of the Fenglei Martial Arts School – it is far enough from his home that as long as he doesn't actively expose himself, it will be difficult for people nearby to discover that Zhou Ye has actually started practicing martial arts.

Upon entering the alley, Zhou Ye first went to Lao Gao's butcher shop. Lao Gao wasn't there today; his only son, Gao Xiaoyi, was the one serving the customers.

Gao Xiaoyi is about the same age as Zhou Ye, and the two of them have become somewhat familiar with each other over the past few days.

"Brother Ye, what do you want to buy? What about the remaining half a pig liver, two pig kidneys, and three pig trotters?"

"Xiao Yi, business is so good today?"

"Hehe. So my dad went to buy some goods!"

"Then pack them all up for me. I've been craving them."

"OK!"

You can't eat salted meat and salted fish every day; you still need to eat something fresh occasionally.

However, just as Gao Xiaoyi finished packing these things, a commotion broke out in the alley.

They saw Hei Liu and a few thugs dragging a young girl into their car. The girl cried and screamed, but she was powerless to resist and was quickly dragged to the side of the car.

Zhou Ye and Gao Xiaoyi watched the commotion. Gao Xiaoyi whispered, "That's Old Geng's third son. Old Geng, that gambling addict, sold his daughter Xinghua to a brothel."

Zhou Ye frowned slightly. Although he wasn't a pushover and would never get involved in such troublesome matters, especially the messy affairs of a gambling addict's family, witnessing such a human tragedy still left him with a lingering unease.

Just then, a young man rushed out from a nearby house, blocking the girl's path with an agitated expression: "Stop! You can't take Xinghua away. How can you snatch someone in broad daylight? Is there no law?"

Before he could finish speaking, two loud slaps rang out, and Black Six slapped the young man twice across the face, knocking him to the ground. "Damn it! I'm the law! You blind bastard, how dare you block my way?"

The other thugs immediately surrounded the young man and began kicking him repeatedly on the ground.

While kicking and circling, he continued to curse, "Are you fucking asking for death?"

"I'll send you to be reincarnated!"

"You damn pig, haven't you heard of Brother Black Six from our Flower Snake Gang? He's a master of internal energy cultivation!"

"..."

At this moment, a middle-aged couple rushed out of the young man's house. They were pulling at Hei Liu and begging for mercy, but Hei Liu impatiently pushed them away.

"Grandpa is teaching him a lesson today. He's so reckless; he'll get beaten to death sooner or later."

"Brother Hei Liu, Brother Hei Liu, please spare my Xiao Jie! I'll kneel down for you!"

"..."

However, a new situation suddenly arose. Amid the cries of the middle-aged man and woman, a dozen or so young people had gathered around at some point.

Realizing the situation was turning against him, Hei Liu secretly gestured for the thugs to stop beating him. He went up to the group of young men and yelled at the tall, burly leader, "Da Jin, Lao Geng borrowed money from me at exorbitant interest rates, and I'm here to collect the debt. He willingly offered his daughter as collateral, and you think you can meddle?"

The man with the big gold shirt, after observing the situation, said, "Brother Black Six, you can't go too far. Why did you hit Little Jie?"

"Who the hell wants to hit him? That kid's got a loose belt and jumped out looking for a beating. Fine, I'll give you face and let it go! But don't you dare ruin things for our Flower Snake Gang!"

"What about the apricot blossoms?"

"Eight taels of silver, principal and interest. Don't say I'm bullying my neighbors. Give me the gold now, and I'll release Xinghua. You bunch of poor bastards, why don't you give me the money?"

"..."

It was clear that Black Six was somewhat wary of that big gold guy, so he said a few harsh words and then forced the girl into the car and left.

Da Jin and the group of young people were also short of money. They had their concerns, perhaps fearing the Flower Snake Gang behind Hei Liu?

So they helped Xiao Jie up from the ground and took him home, and then they quickly dispersed...

Just then, Gao Xiaoyi, who was standing nearby, leaned closer to Zhou Ye and whispered with a gossipy tone, "Brother Ye, Xiao Jie probably had feelings for Xinghua all along."

"Huh? They're a couple?"

"It's probably not finalized yet. But they've been exchanging glances all the time. Everyone else knows about it."

Zhou Ye chuckled a few times. He wasn't interested in the young couple, but rather in Da Jin and his friends. Ordinary people rarely dared to resist gang oppression.

"Do you know about Daikin?"

Zhou Ye found it somewhat amusing. It seemed this Gao Xiaoyi had a knack for being an informant, and he was quite willing to share.

Unexpectedly, Gao Xiaoyi suddenly hesitated. After struggling with his expression for a while, he whispered in Aye's ear, "Brother Aye, this is a secret. You mustn't spread it around outside."

"???"