Ch 447: The First Step Of The Elimination Plan
This sudden change immediately caused the surrounding people to cry out in alarm.
“Village Chief, you, you, why did you kill Old Chen?!”
“Clan Elder, if there’s a conflict, just talk it out, why resort to this?!”
“Yes, we’ve been neighbors for so many years, what conflict couldn’t be resolved?!”
Zhao Benguo smiled and scanned the crowd, waiting for their emotions to stabilize.
“Old man, I can only take you this far. The road ahead, you have to rely on yourselves.
To survive, you must endure the trials and tribulations!”
As he spoke, he turned to Lü Rou and her siblings, Zhang Junsan, and Zhang Changgen.
He reached out and touched Zhou Keqin’s head.
“You are all good children. Remember to follow his lead, and create a new order unlike the present one!”
Having said that, he turned around and walked unsteadily to a patch of grass.
Everyone dared not approach, afraid that the Village Chief would shoot them.
Zhao Benguo found a willow tree, leaned against the trunk, facing south.
His gaze seemed to penetrate thousands of mountains and rivers, recalling scenes passing before his eyes.
He seemed to see himself back in Monkey Country, on the battlefield of gunfire, seeing a comrade blocking a bullet originally aimed at him.
Zhao Benguo showed a relieved smile.
“Old brothers, I’m late!”
Bang!
“Village Chief!!!”
“Clan Elder!!”
“Grandfather Village Chief!”
“Old Village Chief, what are you doing?!”
When everyone reacted, Zhao Benguo had already committed suicide by gunshot, a faint smile still on his face.
When Li Fan heard the first gunshot, he was startled and quickly ran towards the crowd.
Before he could get close, he heard mournful cries from the crowd.
Upon seeing Zhao Benguo’s corpse, Li Fan’s heart trembled violently.
Could it be that his words caused this old man to have suicidal thoughts?
This was a complete misunderstanding. His intention was to cull people; the methods would be cruel, hoping the old man wouldn’t interfere.
After all, the old man had high prestige among these villagers; he could command them at a word.
But he never intended for this old man to commit suicide.
A group of men surrounded the willow tree, weeping.
Zhou Keqin, Zhang Junsan, and Zhang Changgen laid Zhao Benguo flat and arranged his clothes.
At this time, they discovered that Zhao Benguo had claw marks from a zombie on his abdomen.
Looking at this wound, the complex emotions in Li Fan’s heart finally subsided.
It seemed that Zhao Benguo, knowing he couldn’t live, wanted to find a way out for these people.
Turning back, he saw another corpse, Chen Zhiqiang, who had just wanted to shake hands with Li Fan.
He couldn’t help but admire the old man’s decisiveness and magnanimity.
He not only understood his words but also conveniently removed another unstable factor.
When they first met, Li Fan suspected that the old man was not pure of heart, and that Lü Rou and her siblings would definitely be sold.
Now it seems that he was narrow-minded.
Seeing the villagers weeping, Li Fan silently withdrew, walked to the riverbank, and sat down.
He lit a cigarette and considered how to proceed.
Li Fan’s plan was to use the grain he had to lead these people towards Li Ao Mountain.
This journey of over a thousand kilometers would take at least two months.
This journey would be a major training exercise. Those who ultimately survive, whose loyalty is proven, will form the framework of his base.
Therefore, this journey would certainly be extremely cruel; many would die, fall behind, or leave.
Li Fan estimated that no more than 10,000 people would remain in the end.
Just as Li Fan was pondering how to begin, a strong smell of blood rushed into his nostrils.
A graceful figure came and sat beside him.
Li Fan glanced at Lü Rou.
“Murder?”
“Yes!”
“What are your plans next?!”
Lü Rou turned her head and looked at Li Fan.
“What you said about taking some people with you, is that true?”
Li Fan nodded.
“Yes!”
Lü Rou moved her lips several times, finding it hard to speak:
“Can you take those children?!”
Li Fan knew that Lü Rou had been protecting over six hundred children.
Hearing this request, Li Fan smiled faintly.
“Do you know that following me will be a very long distance!”
“Where to?”
“The Jiang-Huai area, over 1700 kilometers. Are you sure you want to take a group of children with me?”
Lü Rou’s face turned ugly after hearing this. Such a long distance, just thinking about it was terrifying.
These children simply couldn’t make it.
But she couldn’t abandon these children.
Just as she was about to leave, Li Fan’s voice reached her ears.
“Listen, I can provide you with 30 military trucks, and I can also provide food and clothing for these children.”
Lü Rou’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Really?”
“Really, but I won’t assign people to help you protect them.
As for drivers and people to guard the children, you need to organize them yourself, but everyone must be loyal to me.
Another requirement is that these children must be separated from all the refugees.
And I need you to train them along the way, to train a group of Boy Scouts with martial arts skills.
In three to five years, I want to see a team that is only loyal to me.”
Lü Rou, although she didn’t understand Li Fan’s purpose in doing this,
this was the only hope for the children to survive.
Looking back at the crowd, she had people in mind.
“Okay, it’s a deal!”
“Yes, it’s a deal!”
Li Fan thought the concept of karma was quite magical. In his past life, he was surrounded by a zombie horde with a group of children.
It was Lü Rou and her siblings who saved him.
Unexpectedly, in this life, roles were reversed, and he still had to repay this debt.
Lü Rou got up and walked back into the crowd, calling Zhang Changgen and Lü Chao.
“I will take the children with Li Fan; he will provide me with 30 military trucks and the children’s food and clothing along the way.
Now I need thirty drivers and hundreds of people to protect the children.”
Zhang Changgen’s men, while in the Safe Zone, had witnessed Lü Rou’s strength.
They were all impressed by this seemingly weak but actually resolute woman.
Hearing Lü Rou’s words, Zhang Changgen immediately stated:
“I’ll go with you too. My brothers here will follow your orders.”
More than a hundred young men behind him immediately expressed their agreement.
“Yes, Sister Rou, we’ll go with you!”
“I can drive!”
“Me too!”
“I can also!”
In a short while, Lü Rou found thirty drivers and 120 people to guard the children.
Then, she took the children and guards towards Li Fan.
Most of these children no longer had immediate family.
Their extended relatives had long since avoided them; no one wanted to carry children as burdens during the escape.
“Li Fan, I’ve chosen the people!”
Zhang Changgen and his people stood before Li Fan, apprehensive.
“Good. Remember, you take my trucks, eat my food, you are my people.
My demands are simple: obey, follow orders, don’t question any of my decisions.”
Zhang Changgen glanced at Lü Rou, then assured Li Fan:
“Mr. Li, rest assured. We know right from wrong; we won’t do something like eating and then kicking over the table!”
“Okay, take the children and come with me!”
The crowd followed Li Fan to a relatively open area near the harbor, and then saw Li Fan perform like a magician.
With a wave of his hand, more than thirty military trucks appeared in the open space.
Everyone was completely dumbfounded, including the children, who looked at Li Fan like he was a god.
Their small eyes were filled with a complex expression of worship and fear.
“The trucks are full of fuel, and in the back truck are coal, cookware, some common medicines, and clothes.”
As Li Fan spoke, he waved his hand, and four large bags of rice and a large pile of pickles appeared on the ground.
“Supplies. Collect them once a day. First, feed the children.”
Having said that, he turned and left. Not far away, Li Fan’s voice came again.
“I hope you can protect these things!”
Loyalty is certainly not cultivated with a single sentence or a meal.
As long as he controls the rice, the flock will not stray from his control.
