Chapter Thirty-One: Where Loyalty Lies (Part Three)

Under the intense pain, the tall, sturdy man let out a loud roar to vent his agony, but his movements never faltered. He turned sharply and grabbed the wings of the mutated bat that had attacked him, yanking them down with force as he pressed his entire body onto the creature.

Screech!

“Big Guy!”

“Kill it! The beast!”

Unable to restrain themselves any longer, Mouse, Iron Pillar, and the others launched a frenzied, desperate assault on the mutated bat. For a moment, the bat’s shrill cries echoed ceaselessly in the chaos. These men had just come out of prison—where strength and ruthlessness were the only currency. There, one had to be tough enough not only to avoid being bullied but to dominate others. Cut off from the outside world, inmates constantly honed their bodies, making them formidable. Now, Mouse and his crew, full of savage courage and reckless desperation, overwhelmed the mutated bat, which, though beginning to show intelligence, quickly lost its composure.

Screech, screech, screech...

The surviving bats, realizing the danger, broke away and soared into the air, widening the distance between themselves and Iron Pillar, Liu Kui, and the others on the ground. Of the total fourteen or fifteen mutated bats, only two or three remained, circling and screeching above. Black Snake had personally killed five, Zhou and Big Guy two each, and the remainder had fallen to Iron Pillar and his companions. The bats above, sensing the threat, mourned their fallen kin with plaintive cries before swiftly flying away, disappearing from sight in moments.

“Zhou!”

“Big Guy!”

Mouse and the other four, covered in wounds and drenched in blood, rushed to embrace Zhou and Big Guy, who had collapsed on the ground. Yet the two were gravely injured, blood pouring from their bodies. They had lasted this long on sheer willpower, but now, with their guard lowered, weakness and pain overwhelmed them. Even extending their hands was impossible, blood bubbling from their mouths as they moved their lips in vain, unable to form words.

“Zhou, Big Guy, hold on! Hold on! We'll find you the best doctor in the world, truly! The best doctor, you’ll be cured!” Mouse and his group, themselves exhausted and losing blood, struggled to comfort the two, streaks of clear tears cutting through the grime on their faces.

Zhou tried to turn, reaching out, and Mouse and Dunzi hurried to help. But their bodies were spent, and the three collapsed together. Big Guy’s group fared no better.

They had only eaten a few biscuits that morning, after days of pursuit and escape, never relaxing their vigilance. Now, with severe blood loss, once their bodies relaxed, weakness and pain made movement nearly impossible.

They turned toward the place where Jia Yujin lay. Jia Yujin seemed half-unconscious, his body feverish and flushed, muttering incoherently with a face twisted in pain and confusion, tears streaming unchecked from the corners of his eyes.

Zhou struggled to reach out to Jia Yujin, but pain and weakness thwarted him. Only with Mouse and Dunzi’s help did he extend his right hand, yet he could not move even a fraction further.

Just then—

“Well! Well! Well! What brotherly affection! It tugs at the heartstrings—such loyalty, as long as the heart beats, the brotherhood endures!” A voice, laced with cruelty, hatred, and envy, rang out.

Black Snake had watched from the start, observing the desperate struggle between man and mutated bat. Though a powerful awakened one, even he felt a chill as he watched—the men possessed something terrifying, something that struck fear in all. As he glanced at his own followers, pale and anxious, his expression darkened, his eyes gleaming with vicious excitement.

Seeing the group near death, yet still reaching for the barely alive Jia Yujin, he recalled a saying: “Brotherhood! For life! As long as the heart beats, brotherhood endures!” Frustration filled him. Why did he have so many brothers, yet none like these? Why wasn’t he the one? Why, despite his strength, did he lack such loyalty?

Rage, envy, and resentment gnawed at him, demanding release—a more savage, bloodthirsty outlet.

Hearing Black Snake’s words, the group understood their end was near. They didn’t even glance at him, seeming to quietly await their fate.

“Do you really want to die? To throw your lives away for this half-dead scrap?”

“Now, if you surrender to me, Black Snake, whatever treatment you had under that scrap, you’ll have here. How’s that?”

“Think it over—I’ll give you some time. But remember, your wounds can’t afford much more delay.” Suddenly, Black Snake looked at Jia Yujin lying on the ground, tears still at his eyes, and his gaze sparkled, as if he’d found a new toy. He turned to Mouse and the others.

Whoosh!

But the group remained silent, waiting for something, not even blinking at Black Snake’s enticement. Yet his henchmen looked greedily toward Mouse and the others, throats working as if starved men seeing a feast, hungry wolves eyeing a prize. Mouse and his crew were the Eight Titans under Jia Yujin, second only to him in the gang. If they switched to Black Snake, their status would soar—his offer was enticing.

“Well! Fine! Since you refuse, I’ll honor your brotherly bonds!” Black Snake, seeing their reactions, grew furious, his face darkening sinisterly.

“Someone, bring that scrap over. I want to see what’s so extraordinary about this stubborn soul who refuses to die. Let’s give him a proper dismemberment…” Black Snake’s words, dripping with cruelty, echoed in Mouse and his friends’ ears.

Though moved by their camaraderie, his followers cursed their stupidity. In today’s world, your own life and money mattered most; a nod would secure both, so why hesitate? Two men stepped forward toward Jia Yujin.

“Stop!”

“You dare!”

Mouse and the four who could still speak shouted, their voices, though weak, startling the two.

“Useless!” Black Snake’s face twisted in anger.

“I want to see what you dare and what you can do!” he declared, striding toward Jia Yujin, his two lackeys following.

“No!”

“Just let Lord Jin go, and we’ll do anything you want!” Mouse and the others grew frantic, shouting.

“Oh? Anything?” Black Snake paused, then continued, ten meters, nine, eight, seven…

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Tell us what to do to let Lord Jin go!” Their urgent reply made Black Snake’s eyes light up; he’d found something novel. He stopped five meters from Jia Yujin, eyeing him—Jia Yujin seemed to try to shake his head, more tears rolling down his cheeks, his expression full of excitement.

“Fine! Crawl over here, give me three loud kowtows, then crawl beneath me, and I’ll let the scrap go. Line up, hurry!” Black Snake spoke lightly, legs apart, pointing to his crotch.

Mouse and the others’ faces changed dramatically. To them, death, even murder, was bearable, but to crawl and bow beneath another—though it wouldn’t kill them, it was a hundred times worse. It was a blow to their spirit, their spine, their dignity—the ultimate disgrace for men of iron.

“Hahaha, so? Have you decided? I haven’t got all day!” Black Snake took two more steps, relishing Jia Yujin’s growing agitation, admiring his own cleverness—a masterstroke. He would break their resolve, see how they would react.

“Fine! I’ll do it!” After a moment’s silence, Mouse’s voice rang out.

The others’ faces shifted, eyes wide, as if they too had made up their minds.