Yama Reborn-Chapter 598 - 595: [He’s a Real Damn Genius]

The thousands of refugees outside the town have yet to disperse...

And all of Enke's previous efforts, whether it was to prepare food for repatriation or to form his own army to protect this town — now it seems, all efforts were in vain.

Because all previous efforts were built on the assumption that "the war is over."

Everyone thought that the mercenary army's previous actions against local armed forces were merely retaliatory.

It's over when it's over.

Unexpectedly, an even larger scale of war followed.

The atmosphere in the entire town visibly grew increasingly tense!

It's very apparent that the mercenaries in the town began to strengthen their vigilance.

And the few hundred under Enke's command have also armed themselves.

More roads leading to the town began to witness the arrival of more refugees.

In the refugee camp, thousands of refugees had not yet been repatriated, and more and more refugees from all over were pouring towards this town.

Enke was as tense as a powder keg, with an extremely irritable temper.

He ordered an interception outside the town, absolutely forbidding any refugees from entering the town.

He even recruited young and strong men to create military barricades at several road entrances to the town.

In just five days, there's no need for statistics... Just a glance at the refugee camp outside the town reveals that the number of refugees has exceeded ten thousand.

A vast refugee camp stretched over several miles, almost entering the woods and reaching the northern riverbank.

The town no longer supplies food — given the current situation, even more food cannot feed the increasing number of refugees outside.

After all, the town itself only has tens of thousands of people, and food was never abundant.

All economic activities and business actions have come to a halt due to the war.

According to Enke, if the war continues, either the town will be destroyed in a refugee riot.

Or, the town will die a slow death from war.

The only thing that might bring Enke a bit of comfort is...

He received permission from the mercenaries to purchase arms that could equip two hundred people.

This arms purchase permit wasn't granted by Chen Nuo; rather, it was directly informed to Enke by the mercenaries.

Upon hearing the news, Chen Nuo was certain it was a direct order from the Octopus Monster Company.

Octopus Monster is... fueling a larger flame of war!

Chen Nuo now essentially confirmed one thing.

Octopus Monster, intentionally provoking Pengpeng, then...

...accelerating Pengpeng's degree of corruption!

·

When the number of refugees outside the town exceeded twenty thousand, six or seven bloody incidents of refugee riots had already occurred.

The town occasionally hears gunshots at night — those are the refugees assaulting the checkpoints protecting the town.

During the day, irritable and food-lacking refugees throw stones towards the town.

Some have even made Molotov cocktails.

Under the throwing of Molotov cocktails, some civilian houses on the outskirts of the town were burned. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Some unlucky local residents of the town became homeless people and had to be temporarily housed in the hospital courtyard.

God knows where the starving refugees got the gasoline from.

Previously, the mercenary army would send patrols outside the town for inspection, but now all patrol activities ceased.

Because the refugees have begun organized attacks on patrol teams.

Twenty thousand refugees blinded by hunger, like a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment.

And the town's residents, in fear and anger, also become increasingly extreme.

Conflicting emotions are ready to ignite.

Enke looking at the increasing numbers under his command — in this situation, he recruited several hundred more soldiers.

But seeing his army grow larger doesn't bring Enke any more sense of security.

Enke told Chen Nuo that over half the country is engulfed in warfare.

And every city in this nation that can be named shares the same predicament: large numbers of refugees are gathered outside the towns.

In some places, towns have already been breached by refugees and plunged into looting and pillaging.

"This country is done for..." Enke said to Chen Nuo, his face pale, his voice trembling: "Absolutely done for... After this chaos, who knows how many years it will take to restore the situation to what it was before.

Originally, although it was quite bad, there was at least a relatively stable balance, where everyone could at least struggle to live in peace.

This time, too many forces, too many people, have gone mad with killing.

The two tribes in the north have been slaughtered, a genocidal slaughter with racial hatred, sparing no one — men, women, or the elderly!

Our country... is finished!"

It's not that Enke is unwilling to provide food to the refugee camp...

It's simply impossible for him!

Originally, when there were only two thousand refugees, the wealthy families in the town could gather some food, assembling enough materials for dispersal.

Two thousand refugees... can't work!

Two thousand people — even just maintaining the basic survival of life at a very low standard — need almost ten thousand pounds of grain daily.

Which is five tons of grain.

Five tons! Every day!

Every day, five tons!

For this town, which originally only had tens of thousands of people, where would they get so much stock and surplus grain?

The current situation is like two wolves with their eyes red from hunger staring each other down.

Not out of hatred.

But out of survival.

·

Early that day, there was a great commotion outside the town, and amidst the noise were dense gunshots.

Initially, the gunshots seemed restrained and intermittent.

But soon they turned into dense gunfire, followed by sounds of explosions.

Chen Nuo walked to the mansion's rooftop and saw firelight on the road east of the town.

Soon, a convoy from the mercenary side hurriedly rushed out of the town towards the eastern road...

The situation quickly reached the mansion.

A convoy on its way to the town passing through the refugee gathering area was attacked and besieged by the refugees.

The hungry refugees believed there might be transported food inside the convoy, hence they launched an attack.

The convoy guards fired to drive them away, which incited even greater fury from the refugees, then...

In self-defense, the guards had no choice but to shoot the refugees.

When the convoy finally entered the town under the mercenary escort, Chen Nuo noticed visible bloodstains on the truck bed and tires.

Even the window glass of the cars was shattered in several places.

The arriving team turned out to be the search group Nolan and Wizard were part of.

Subsequently, Wizard and Nolan arrived at the open space of the Mayor Mansion's courtyard by helicopter.

Nolan told Chen Nuo: "The search operation has been terminated, this is the latest directive from the company. Due to the widespread war, the search operation is no longer suitable to continue, so we are ordered to withdraw to this town."

Chen Nuo looked at Nolan: "So you've been completely marginalized?"

"Yes, I just received the notice and command. The order was from some old fellow from Octopus Monster Company's Elders' Council — on the same level as Bai Jing.

That old guy, when Octopus Monster was violently purging the Elders' Council, was cowardly like a rabbit, begging me for mercy.

He almost knelt on the ground pleading me to spare him when we met.

Unexpectedly, just yesterday, this guy arrogantly called me, issuing a command."

Nolan sneered: "If I die this time, it's whatever, but if I don't, once I return, I'll kill this guy."

Chen Nuo nodded: "Tell me his name, if you die, I'll kill him for you."

Nolan paused, then laughed and gave a name to Chen Nuo.

Chen Nuo nodded to indicate he had remembered, then invited Nolan and Wizard inside the mansion to rest.

In the mansion's hall, after they sat down again, Wizard said to Chen Nuo: "I've now realized, the reason Octopus Monster was unfazed by the fake attack we concocted.

He was already prepared to initiate a larger war, the search operation was originally destined to stop."

Chen Nuo actually appeared calm but was somewhat irritable.

He looked at Nolan and Wizard, then suddenly spoke to Nolan: "Give me your phone, I want to call that elder you mentioned."

Nolan was stunned, but seeing Chen Nuo's serious expression, he didn't hesitate and tossed over a satellite phone: "Just dial back directly."

Chen Nuo didn't hesitate and immediately dialed the phone.

It was soon connected, and an old voice came through the line, likely one of the Elders' Council members that Nolan mentioned.

"What's the matter, Lord Nolan, do you have any doubts about the orders?"

The voice was noticeably aged, with a hint of weakness, but it carried an undertone of smugness and ridicule.

Chen Nuo said directly, "I'm not Nolan."

"...Hmm?" The elder on the other side was stunned, and his voice immediately turned gloomy: "Who are you, and how are you using Nolan's phone..."

"I don't have time to waste words with you, so listen closely to what I'm going to say next, and don't get it wrong.

First, my name is Chen Nuo—remember this name.

Then, contact your boss, the Octopus Monster, right away. Tell him that Chen Nuo wants to talk to him, immediately, as soon as possible."

The elder's voice turned cold right away, frostily saying, "Who are you really... and about the boss's..."

"As a dog, you need to have the consciousness of being a dog.

I want to talk to your boss; you're just a lackey, unqualified to interfere.

If you keep wasting time, causing delay in your boss's affairs, I guarantee you'll be the first to die. Remember, my name is Chen Nuo; your boss will be very eager to talk to me. If you dare delay, your boss will also be eager to have you killed directly."

Chen Nuo directly hung up the phone.

Nolan looked at Chen Nuo, smiling with satisfaction, "Not bad, not bad, now I suddenly understand why when the Octopus Monster originally chose me, he said I wasn't his first choice, that his first choice should have been you.

It turns out, you're better suited to deal with those Elders' Council fools than I am."

Chen Nuo squinted his eyes and didn't respond, only his expression grew increasingly unpleasant.

Sure enough, in less than ten minutes, the satellite phone rang.

Chen Nuo answered, and Kamisou Ichiro's calm voice came from the other side: "Mr. Chen Nuo, are you dissatisfied with your accommodations there? What supplies do you need?"

Chen Nuo took a deep breath: "I need a shipment of food, at least fifty tons, no, a hundred tons! More, if possible!

I don't care how you get it, even if you have to bear the cost of airlifting it with transport helicopters.

You could even use Spatial Ability to create a space portal for transport! However you do it doesn't concern me!

In any case, I need to see at least the first batch of food within 24 hours."

The Octopus Monster was silent for a few seconds on the other end, then chuckled lightly: "Mr. Chen Nuo, I always thought you weren't someone so soft-hearted."

"I'm not a saint," Chen Nuo coldly replied: "But I'm not cold-blooded enough to stand by while tens of thousands of innocent civilians die before me without doing anything—even if I'm a bad person, first and foremost, I'm a human, a human being."

"So you need a shipment of food to save the tens of thousands of refugees outside the town you are in?"

"I've said I'm not a saint, nor am I a good person; I might even be a bad person—but at least I'm still a human being.

I can't see what's farther away, and I can't manage too much.

But right in front of me, under my nose, an incident is about to occur where tens of thousands of people will have to kill each other, slaughter one another for a mouthful of food, to survive...

I don't want my legacy to be haunted by nightmares because of such things.

At least here, the refugees outside the town, and the residents in the town, they are human beings after all.

The war you instigated, I have no way to stop it. But I don't want to see too many people die before my eyes.

Octopus Monster, either you agree to my demands.

Or today I will leave this place with Lu Xixi and the Son of the Sun, I will not participate in any of your subsequent plans in this damned place.

Think about it yourself."

Kamisou Ichiro's voice remained calm: "No need to think about it, Mr. Chen Nuo. You, and Her Majesty the Empress, and His Excellency the Son of the Sun, your value in my heart certainly far surpasses that of some worthless food.

So, as you wish."

Chen Nuo hung up the phone directly, and then let out a frustrated breath.

The Wizard and Nolan looked at Chen Nuo with a bit of complexity in their eyes.

Chen Nuo coldly looked at the two: "What are you staring at me for?"

Nolan exhaled: "Just a bit surprised."

Chen Nuo sneered: "Surprised? Surprised I would interfere with the lives of those refugees outside who have nothing to do with us?

Surprised I would show mercy to save the lives of those ordinary people?"

Nolan said nothing further.

The Wizard shook his head and said, "They're just ordinary people... and also a group of ignorant, lowly locals..."

Chen Nuo suddenly stared at the Wizard, coldly saying, "Do you know what I hate most about the Octopus Monster?"

Without waiting for the Wizard to respond, Chen Nuo continued directly: "What I hate most about the Octopus Monster is its high and mighty attitude, as if humans are just ants at its feet, it can manipulate, crush, kill, exploit, and toy with them at will...

It pretends to be a God, overlooking all beings. As if our human civilization is in its eyes nothing more than a cheap, insignificant toy!"

The Wizard and Nolan said nothing more.

"I've said, even if I'm not a good person, even if I'm a bad person, at least a bad person is still a human being.

I hate the Octopus Monster's way, as I just said.

So, I won't let myself become like it.

If you also have that mindset, thinking they're just a bunch of untouchables, that their lives or deaths have nothing to do with you... then you are nothing but another form of the Octopus Monster."

The Wizard found himself speechless.

But this time, it was Nolan who responded to Chen Nuo.

Nolan looked at Chen Nuo with unprecedented seriousness for a long time.

He suddenly laughed: "Chen Nuo, now I really think working with you might be the smartest thing to do.

As you said, my hatred for the Octopus Monster, my resolve to rip a piece from it even if I die, stems precisely from this.

I hate its posture of seeing itself as a higher life form, disregarding humanity!"

·

The Octopus Monster's promise was, as usual, swiftly fulfilled.

That same night, two heavy transport helicopters flew into the small town, bringing the first shipment of food.

Chen Nuo watched as bags of flour were unloaded from the transport helicopters, reading the labels on the bags, he knew the Octopus Monster must have used its influential power to send people to purchase from a neighboring country and airlift at great expense.

It's hard to say whether the airfreight cost of the two heavy transport aircraft was too extravagant, compared to the value of just over ten tons of flour.

However, with the arrival of more than ten tons of food, Chen Nuo immediately summoned Enke.

"You can leave half for the residents of the town, and the other half, organize your people to distribute outside the town. I'll give you a few people to help, if anyone mobs, suppress them directly! Then orderly distribute the food."

Enke gazed at Chen Nuo...How to put it.

The look in his eyes at the moment was more devout than when he was a teenager in church school, praying in a small chapel, looking at the statue of the Saint Heir.

·

The first time food was distributed in the refugee camp, it did cause some disturbances—among the starving-eyed refugees, of course, there were some violent ones who launched mobs.

But Chen Nuo wasn't a saint, for mob disturbances, he stamped them with gunfire.

After shooting dead a few ringleaders on the spot, the distribution continued with much better order.

Then, the next day, the entire day was filled with several rounds of airlifts, heavy transport helicopters continually arriving at the small town.

More and more food was piling up in the large courtyard of the Mayor Mansion.

Soon, the news that a large amount of food was transported reached the whole town, finally calming the restless hearts of the people a bit.

It was like pouring cold water onto red-hot stones, slowly cooling things down.

The Octopus Monster eventually airlifted more than two hundred tons of food altogether.

Enough for the refugees outside to eat for a month.

After resolving the enormous crisis, Enke's wisdom burst forth once more.

He told Chen Nuo his thoughts: letting tens of thousands of people receive food every day, just feeding them, will still result in instability.

People cannot simply lie around after eating their fill; it's unsustainable!

They must be exhausted, with no energy to cause trouble!

Thus, Enke made a cunning move.

Distribute food, but let these refugees work!

The roads outside town are in disrepair, so level the roads!

The wildlands outside town, clear the fields, remove weeds, chop trees!

The refugee camp lacks drinking water, have them dig reservoirs, then manually transport water from the big river!

In short, to receive food, they must work!

Let these refugees labor daily, wear themselves out, leaving no energy for any rebellion.

Chen Nuo couldn't help but sigh internally.

Isn't this damn thing labor for relief...

This Enke really is quite a talent.

·