The Downfall of Zeng Shisan

"Shoot!" Tom held Zeng Shisan in front of him with one hand, blocking him from the others. "Let's see who dies first, me or him."

Currently, among Zeng Shisan's men were his own 19 henchmen and 4 traitorous henchmen who had defected from Bozi. The remaining 7 were originally Uncle Qi's men, but they immediately switched sides when they saw the situation wasn't favorable.

With 30 men and 10 guns, others relied mainly on cold weapons.

Seeing Zeng Shisan being used as a shield, one of Uncle Qi's former men gritted his teeth and shouted, "Come on! Then you'll die with him!"

Those who followed Zeng Shisan, especially those who had just witnessed Tom's invincibility, were reluctant. Some went up to slap him on the head, while others grabbed the guns, saying, "It's useless. Bullets can't penetrate his body. Are you blind? Didn't you see that there's no blood under his tattered clothes? If you shoot, Thirteen Brother will definitely die. He won't."

Now, everyone was in a state of chaos with no one in command.

Zeng Shisan was in so much pain that he was almost passing out. He couldn't feel his legs, and seeing his men pointing guns at him, he cursed with one eye open, "You immediately put down your guns! Are you looking for death?"

One big man hesitated, turned around, and walked out. Outside, the remaining brothers were controlling the crowd with weapons. He ran over and grabbed a nine-year-old girl, then walked in, "Let go of Thirteen Brother, or I'll kill her."

"Greg!" Accompanied by the sound of bones cracking, Zeng Shisan let out a heart-wrenching scream.

Without hesitation, Tom snapped one of his arms, using triple strength.

"Your bullets can't hurt me, and the life or death of others doesn't concern me." Tom pretended to be indifferent. He couldn't give the other party any hope of rescuing the hostage. Even if it was a nine-year-old girl, he had to temporarily abandon his compassion. He wanted to tell them that using Zeng Shisan as a hostage was only because he wanted to torture Zeng Shisan.

"You can take more people hostage, but it doesn't matter to me. For you, it's just a matter of life or death." Tom continued, then put his hand on Zeng Shisan's other arm.

"No... please stop... don't come anymore... you... whoever dares to take a hostage, you kill him! What are you still waiting for? I'm the only one who knows the contact person. Without me, do you still want to get more weapons? Dream on!" Zeng Shisan's words shattered their last glimmer of hope. One of them let go of the girl, and his eyes rolled, "Let us leave, you can do whatever you want with Zeng Shisan. Otherwise, we'll all fight to the death!"

This guy was very clever. Now that Zeng Shisan was finished, the others would definitely not acknowledge each other. In a round of fighting, with bullets unable to penetrate Tom's body and his immense strength, they couldn't win.

Continuing to stay here would only lead to the final confrontation. They had played so big last night, he knew that the ordinary people in the camp wanted to eat them alive. Instead of that, it was better to take the guns and bullets and find another way out.

"Let us take our things and leave! We won't come back!" Tom carried Zeng Shisan out, made eye contact with Uncle Wei in the crowd, nodded slightly, and then stepped forward.

"The mastermind is Zeng Shisan. Those who want to leave can leave. Those who want to stay, we will consider giving appropriate punishment depending on the situation. I warn you, the ants and bamboo green snakes outside have mutated, all because of the weapons you hold. You have seen that even after the mutation, Tom's bullets can't penetrate, let alone other mutated creatures outside. With me here, no vermin or beast has come in until today, it's considered safe. Whether you leave or stay, it's up to you."

Immediately, the 7 former followers who were originally following Uncle Qi shouted to surrender, while pointing their guns at their former companions and slowly backing away.

They had three guns in total, and Tom knew he had won at least one-third of the weapons.

The four henchmen of Bozi were also willing to stay.

So those who wanted to leave were the 19 people who had been chasing after Uncle Qi, knowing their crimes were heinous.

Among them, four hesitated for a moment, broke away from the crowd, and walked slowly towards Uncle Wei.

There were only 15 left, looking at each other, they could only slowly retreat to the door with their weapons raised.

The door gap was made with a specially crafted large wooden bar that could be opened and closed. They forcefully opened the door gap and climbed out one by one.

Tom pressed forward step by step with Zeng Shisan until he stopped in front of the gate, watching the bad guys escaping one by one, feeling somewhat unwilling.

Zeng Shisan had done such a thing, and they were equally responsible.

When the avalanche comes, no snowflake is innocent.

Tom really felt unwilling to let them go like this. However, this was the best result for regaining control of the camp without bloodshed. But Tom believed that with only those seven guns, they wouldn't last long. Just the mutated bamboo green snake, which had probably already woken up from its slumber, was enough to deal with them.

At this moment, there were screams outside the door, accompanied by gunfire.

Tom dropped the half-crippled Zeng Shisan and ran forward, only to see Zeng Shisan's men who had drilled out crawling back in with grim faces.

Some of them were stained with blood, and some were injured.

Following them in was a somewhat familiar face, which Tom recognized. It was the skinny guy from Bozi who could climb a dozen floors with his bare hands. He greeted Tom triumphantly and held a gun he had taken.

"I saw your counterattack through the glass window, Tom, you really didn't disappoint me!" Bozi walked over joyfully to shake hands with Tom, which made Tom feel a bit uncomfortable.

Uncle Wei came over, and Bozi approached, calling out warmly, "Uncle Wei!"

"Well done! We almost let them all escape," Uncle Wei praised.

Bozi pinched Tom again, teasingly asking, "Aren't you invincible?"

Tom awkwardly handed over the ruby pinched in his palm. By now, the color of the ruby had faded significantly. "If I use it too much, my ability will exhaust its energy. I just bluffed them to intimidate them."

Being invincible seemed impressive, but it consumed the gem greatly. If he had been holding a sapphire instead of a ruby, the energy would have been depleted after the first round of bullets.

Then Tom and Bozi rushed back to the cardboard house, where Uncle Qi lay quietly on the bed.

The exhausted look in Uncle Wei's eyes told Tom that Uncle Qi's condition was dire. Zeng Shisan had decisively shot Uncle Qi first before shooting Tom. The bullet had hit Uncle Qi's carotid artery.

The severe bleeding left him gasping for breath, his life rapidly slipping away.

"Uncle Qi!" Bozi called out.

Uncle Qi opened his eyes, wanting to raise his hand but lacking the strength. Bozi crouched down, bringing his ear closer.

"I'm... sorry... I didn't... listen to you," Uncle Qi whispered.

Bozi didn't reply, just silently watching him.

"Take... care... Tom."

Tom crouched down.

"If you encounter Strong, tell him, Uncle Qi... finally... played the hero... one last time..."

Tom nodded, "I will!"

Uncle Qi knew Zeng Shisan's character well. He knew that by giving the gem to Tom, Zeng Shisan would definitely want to kill him to vent his anger. Yet, he still did it. So, it could indeed be considered a heroic act.

The entire camp was in turmoil because of him. Over a hundred people were fed to the vermin outside. As the leader, Uncle Qi bore an undeniable responsibility. But at least he had used his life to correct his mistake, and with his death, the debt was settled. Tom couldn't blame him anymore.

Uncle Qi breathed his last, and Uncle Wei sadly covered his face with a cloth. To Uncle Wei, who had known him for over thirty years, Uncle Qi's death was deeply sorrowful, but Tom knew he didn't have time to mourn. The whole camp needed him to boost morale.

Of the 15 who escaped, four were killed on the spot by Bozi, including the henchman who suggested the escape.

26 henchmen surrendered and were all guarded by Bozi's nine men who had taken over the weapons.

They were all driven to a glass jar, one by one, and hung inside. It was the best place to detain them, as the tiny figures couldn't climb out of the smooth glass walls, just as the Ant Queen had confined them.

It was Tom's idea, the same way the Ant Queen had detained them before.

Uncle Wei, as the owner of the clinic, had initially gathered the nearby poor people and was the backbone of the community. Everyone believed in his character.

During Uncle Qi's rule, it was Uncle Wei who constantly fought for their rights and maintained the balance of the camp.

So now, everyone obeyed Uncle Wei without question, naturally willing to accept Uncle Qi as the new leader.

Now, Uncle Wei stood on a platform, looking at the expectant faces below, feeling overwhelmed.

"I, Qi Zhiwei, am grateful for your trust. Despite Zeng Shisan's oppressive rule, everyone's anger still followed my advice to endure. It's this endurance that allowed us to wait for the opportunity to counterattack. So this victory, I want to say, is the result of everyone's efforts. You did not further escalate the conflict with Zeng Shisan, avoiding direct confrontation with him, and we minimized our losses."

"Yes, Zeng Shisan's actions last night were despicable. Several women were played with, including little Xuanxuan. Xuanxuan, come here!"

The frightened nine-year-old girl called Liu Lexuan was very afraid of strangers. Except for her parents, she only trusted Uncle Wei. Now called by Uncle Wei, she hesitated for a moment before walking up and grabbing Uncle Wei's hand tightly.

Uncle Wei crouched down, gently patting her hand, "It was just a nightmare. Compared to your future life, what happened last night was just a small test. Xuanxuan, remember, you must be strong and not fear anyone. Look, this is Brother Tom. He defeated the bad guys and freed everyone!"

Lexuan looked timidly at Tom, who stood beside her looking somewhat awkward. Then, taking small steps, she walked over and reached out her hand to Tom.

"She believes in you, don't let her down, kid!" Uncle Wei encouraged, sensing that Tom was somewhat introverted.

Taking a deep breath, Tom held Lexuan's hand, walked to Uncle Wei's side, and then spoke loudly, "I... I'm just doing what I can. These gems and crystals have special powers. If given the chance, everyone can try them out. I believe others will awaken special abilities too!"

The news that gems could activate powers for everyone excited people of all ages and genders in the camp, and they cheered.

Uncle Wei nodded approvingly at Tom. By daring to share his secret publicly, Tom's reputation had risen another notch in Uncle Wei's eyes.