Chapter 187
Rong Yuan had been gone for a long time. Yin Mu squatted on the ground in a very unrefined manner, just like the old man next to him, with a cigarette in his mouth. He looked as listless as a frost-bitten eggplant. His messy hair hung down to cover his eyes, and there was something in his eyes that others could not understand.
It seemed as if black thunderclouds were gathering, and as if a terrible storm was brewing, but beyond the drooping eyelids, people only saw a middle-aged man who had lost all desire to live.
Although he did not hide his appearance at this time, no one passing by thought that he was the powerful general manager of the fighting department in the news. Or, because people with frustration and pain written all over their bodies can be seen everywhere in this place, no one bothered to look at him.
The one-armed old man next to him neither asked nor comforted him. He finished his cigarette, took out a small bag of dried meat from his pocket, twisted it with his thin black fingers, put it into his mouth one by one, and chewed it slowly.
The two squatted there like two zombies. Passers-by walked around them from a distance, as if they were afraid of being stained by their bad luck.
After a long time, Yinmu suddenly said, "Old Xia, you followed me back then, wandering from Bei'an to Liukasao, and joined the fighting group together. But later, you all left one after another, but you never told me the reason. Why?"
"Why?" Old Xia repeated, snorted, and said sarcastically: "It's not that we haven't told you the reason, but we have told you the reason too many times, but you just never believed it."
This time, Yinmu was silent for a longer time, and many fragments of memories that he thought he had forgotten surfaced in his mind:
"General, Liukasao is not a paradise. Let's leave!"
"It's obvious that Mapu is not a good person. He is just pretending. Don't be fooled by him!"
"That guy is so hypocritical that it makes me want to vomit! How could the general consider that kind of person as a friend?"
"I'm not lying. This matter... this matter is really strange! I will definitely prove it to you!"
"Xiao Wu is dead! With his ability, how could he be stabbed to death by a few drunks? I know he was investigating the cases of the disappearance of those adventurers before. There must be a connection between the two. This is not an accident! Even if there is no evidence, I believe this matter must be very complicated!"
"We are not fighting for power! Those guys are deliberately provoking us. They... they are not good people..."
"General, you... you don't believe me?"
"General, it is the honor of my life to follow you into battle, and I never regret it. But now, I think it is time to leave."
"No reason. I'm just... so tired... I'm tired..."
Yinmu murmured, "Yes, I was wrong. I never believed you... I'm sorry... Lao Xia... I'm sorry..."
Old Xia slowly turned his head to look at him, his lips trembling slightly, and he said in a hoarse voice: "What did that person say to you just now..."
Yinmu didn't answer. He closed his eyes, feeling a pain in his heart as if it was being torn apart.
Many faces flashed before his eyes. They were once his closest comrades-in-arms, but later... some died, and some went their separate ways. There were only two or three people, including Lao Xia, who he occasionally contacted.
He had fought in the interstellar battlefield for many years and was invincible, but he could never understand the complex human heart. He was framed by someone in the Bei'an Republic, but fortunately a group of trusted subordinates fought to protect him, so he was able to escape from Bei'an and fled all the way to Liukasao.
Originally, they just regarded this place as a temporary springboard, planning to rest for a while, restock some supplies, and then flee to another great country 30,000 light years away. But as soon as Yinmu arrived in Liukasao, he was warmly welcomed by Mapu and others, who gradually softened Yinmu's attitude with their meticulous care, heartwarming words, sincerity and trust.
He originally looked down on such a commercial spacecraft mainly used for the entertainment industry, but later... Yinmu felt that although there was no future here and he could not realize his ambitions, it seemed to be a good choice to work with such a group of friends and under the command of such a broad-minded, visionary and understanding leader.
Later, Yinmu became the general manager of the Fighting Department, and his trusted subordinates followed him to join the Fighting Department, holding important positions at various levels. Under Yinmu's training, he turned the Fighting Department's combat team into a team that did not belong to the regular army of the empire, and repeatedly repelled and annihilated the pirates who had set their sights on the spaceship, becoming the most famous at the time.
But the more than 700 subordinates who followed him had accidents repeatedly, either accidentally died on the battlefield or got into trouble while handling various public security incidents. Every time, the subordinates swore that it must be someone who did something, but the surveillance records were completely different. Yinmu had also suspected it, but no matter how he investigated, those were just accidents. Ma Pu and others were generous and righteous, but his own subordinates seemed to be unable to accept the gap from the regular army of the country to the merchant ship escort, and seemed to be gradually degenerating in this place of debauchery - repeatedly resisting orders from superiors to suppress subordinates, slandering and defaming others behind their backs, drinking and having fun during work hours and delaying work, deceiving superiors and subordinates to enrich themselves, etc., and clashed with Yinmu many times.
Later... some of them died, some became disheartened and left with the adventure team, and some, although still stayed in Liukasao, were far away from the Wudou Department and Yinmu.
He once thought that it was because the environment had changed, people's hearts had changed, and their interests had become entangled, that the brothers who could trust each other with their lives on the battlefield had so many contradictions and went against each other. But after a conversation with Rong Yuan today, Yin Mu realized that he was the one who was wrong.
He had been wrong all along . He was blinded by a few words and deceived, pushing away those who really cared about him and believed in him.
Yinmu turned to look at Lao Xia, his most trusted old friend who was born into a wealthy family and used to be a person who never tired of fine food and had too many rules to be annoying. But now he was smoking choking low-quality cigarettes skillfully and chewing hard rat jerky with relish.
In the past, he thought that Lao Xia only knew military tactics and didn't know how to run a business, which was why he had such a hard time. Yin Mu had tried to help him many times, but was always driven out by him. Even when he came here to eat, Lao Xia refused to charge him a penny more.
But now Yin Mu finally understood that it was not that Lao Xia was incapable of living a good life, but that every time he made a little progress, someone would step on him again. Those people were afraid of his wisdom and feared his will, so they kept trying to make trouble for Lao Xia, and they felt happy to keep him in the mud.
What made Yinmu feel the most painful was not the experiences of Laoxia and other comrades over the years, but that even when they were in such a situation, they were unwilling to explain the whole story to him and ask for help. Because the fundamental reason for this result was not how sinister others were, but Yinmu's distrust.
He felt sad and asked in a hoarse voice, "Old Xia, I have disappointed you so much, why don't you leave? With your ability, you can make a name for yourself anywhere. Why do you have to endure this kind of life in Liukasao?"
Old Xia looked up at the sky silently and rolled his eyes.
In the past, whenever he talked to Yinmu, he was either sarcastic or sarcastic, and they almost never had a good exchange. But seeing that even though this guy was always pissed off by him, he would still force a smile and sneak into this dirty and shabby shop to clumsily try to help him, Lao Xia softened his heart again.
How could you never think of leaving?
How many times had he wanted to just walk away? Who cared if some idiot would be exploited and squeezed dry and torn apart and burned as firewood?
But every time he was about to leave, he hesitated and told himself: Wait two days... Leave in two days... Today's weather is not suitable... My waist hurts recently... It's too damn hard to buy a boat ticket... The fool seems to be injured...
I hesitated and hesitated, and more than 20 years passed in a hurry.
At this moment, he didn't want to talk about his inner journey, as he felt it was a bit embarrassing. However, seeing Yin Mu's painful expression, he couldn't bear it and muttered in a low voice, "Because there is still a fool here... I'm waiting for him to be desperate again one day, and I will definitely laugh at him."
If one day he has nowhere to go... I will help him at all costs...
"Since he is a fool, why bother with him? Why should you waste your whole life just to laugh at a fool?" Yinmu whispered.
Old Xia was silent for a while, then sighed and said, "Because he was stupid, we lost him...but also because he was stupid, we believed in him and followed him..."
There are too many intrigues and schemes in this world. Even the seemingly simple people will fight for petty gains. Only this fool is full of passion and sincerity. Even if he is deceived and used by others, people can't hate him, let alone worry about him.
Yinmu lowered his head for a long while, then he reached out and wiped his face twice, raised his head and said, "What if... now this fool has come to his senses and regretted it... but he decided to do something that might overturn Liukasao and save many people, something that might very well kill him, would you still be willing to help him?"
Old Xia thought for a long time, and when Yinmu was gradually getting disappointed, he heard him say suspiciously : "You haven't been fooled again, have you?"
"No." Yinmu let out a long breath, his tense shoulders relaxed, and he said, "I'm sure this time that man didn't lie to me."
"Who is that person?"
"Ah? I...I forgot to ask his name..."
“…”
"But it's definitely true... Although it sounds a little unbelievable... But I think... I can believe it..."
Yinmu's voice became smaller and smaller.
Old Xia took a long breath, then sighed deeply. He threw the unfinished rat on the ground, stood up, walked to the door and said, "Come in, tell me everything you just said carefully, don't miss a word! Also, how did you get to know that person, how did you contact him, and what means did he use to gain your trust? Tell me all of this! After you've told me everything, I'll consider whether we should risk our lives to help you this time."
"You guys?" Yinmu asked as he stood up and patted the dirt off his butt, following him.
"Yes, there are still 177 of those old brothers in Liukasao. I have all their contact information."
Old Xia turned around and a smile appeared on his skinny face.
"We have been waiting for you to come back."
In an instant, Yinmu burst into tears.
