Chapter 123: Is It a Deal?

“Two!”

Huan Xingtao shouted as he saw that the men across from them still had no intention of lowering their weapons.

“Drop your weapons!”

Finally, a platoon leader from the other side spoke up.

“Are you crazy? Who the hell told you to drop your weapons! I want to see which of them actually dares to shoot!”

Mu Qian roared at his men.

Bang!

“Ah!”

Mu Qian screamed as he collapsed. Hu Hao had fired his pistol, hitting Mu Qian in the calf.

“Anyone who doesn’t drop their weapon dies!”

Hu Hao declared, walking forward with his gun drawn as his soldiers followed behind him.

“Drop the weapons!”

The platoon leader shouted again. This time, the soldiers complied, clattering their arms onto the ground.

“Do you dare tell me who you are? I’m going to kill you!”

Mu Qian snarled from the ground, glaring at Hu Hao.

“Collect their weapons, including their sidearms!”

Huan Xingtao ordered. The soldiers rushed forward, gathering rifles and stripping the guards of their pistols, grenades, and daggers.

“I’m Hu Hao. Never heard of me? You’re going to kill me?”

Hu Hao squatted down and looked at Mu Qian. Beside him, the woman Mu Qian had brought was trembling with fear.

“Just you wait!”

Mu Qian hissed.

“Is that so?”

Hu Hao pressed the muzzle of his gun against Mu Qian’s forehead. Mu Qian continued to stare back with hatred.

Bang! Hu Hao shifted his aim and fired another round into Mu Qian’s thigh.

“Ah!”

Mu Qian screamed again, blood pooling around him on the pavement.

“I want free electricity. Do I get it?”

Hu Hao asked, still squatted beside him.

“He asked you a question!”

A platoon leader barked at the man on the ground.

“You… you… kill me if you have the guts!”

Mu Qian wheezed.

“Kill you? Sure thing!”

Hu Hao stood up and aimed the gun directly at Mu Qian’s head.

“Wait! Wait! Hold on!”

Seeing Hu Hao stand and aim with total indifference, Mu Qian finally panicked. He didn’t know who this man was, but he realized he might actually die here.

“Call your father. Ask him if I dare kill you,”

Hu Hao said.

“Fine! Get my satellite phone, now!”

Mu Qian shouted to the woman. She scrambled to the car and retrieved the device.

“Dial my father’s number!”

Mu Qian ordered. The woman dialed and held the phone to his ear.

“Dad! Help! It’s Qian-er. I’ve been shot. I’m at the power plant.”

Mu Qian blurted out the second the call connected.

“Dad, save me! It’s a Colonel named Hu Hao. I don’t know him!

He says he wants free electricity. I told him no, I have to make money! Dad!”

Mu Qian shouted into the phone.

“Give it to me,”

Hu Hao said, taking the phone.

“Greetings, Commander. I am Hu Hao, the Division Commander of the 87th Division!”

“You have quite the nerve to cause trouble at my family’s business!”

A stern, authoritative voice roared from the other end.

“Hah, what do I have to be afraid of? My troops are holding the line at the front, and in this heat, is there a problem with me using some electricity to give the brothers some air conditioning?

If it’s an issue, I’ll just forget it. You can come down here and collect your son’s corpse.

Also, if you want to retaliate, come find me at my garrison. We can fight a battle and see if I, a mere Division Commander, am afraid of a Combat Zone Commander like you!”

Hu Hao laughed as he spoke.

“Hmph. Just you wait. I’m calling Commander Jiang! I’ll make you pay for this!”

The voice threatened.

“Go ahead. We’re about to go to war here anyway.

Commander Mu, how about I just don’t defend? I’ll let the enemy troops through.

From what I know, this place is one of your main strongholds, and many of your industries are here.

I’m protecting your property for you, yet I don’t get a single benefit? I can’t even use the electricity?”

Hu Hao asked with a grin.

“You!”

The man on the phone was momentarily speechless.

“One word: is it a deal? I don’t want to kill anyone, especially trash like this.

Keep making your money, but don’t take mine. You’re a soldier of the Empire too.

We’re fighting at the front, and we have to pay for power? That’s ridiculous.

Yes or no? Say it! If it’s a yes, I leave now. If it’s a no, your son is dead, and I’ll find someone in your own army to take you out too.”

Hu Hao spoke naturally, as if discussing the weather.

“For how long?”

The Commander asked.

“For as long as my troops are within your plant’s supply zone, the power is free,”

Hu Hao replied.

“That’s unacceptable. One month. I’ll give you one month!”

The Commander barked.

“Hmph. No need. Thanks anyway,”

Hu Hao said, moving to hang up.

“Wait! Wait! Fine! You can use it!”

The Commander shouted as soon as he heard Hu Hao say “thanks,” knowing the situation had just turned lethal.

“I’m telling you, Commander Mu, you know that on the front lines, soldiers sometimes shoot their own generals in the back.

I wouldn’t have any trouble getting a few people into your ranks. If you don’t believe me, we can test it.

Furthermore, your industries are right here. I could just order my men to seize everything.

What would your family have left? If you want to retaliate, do it whenever you want; I have nothing to fear.

My men and I are at the front and could die at any moment. Do you think I care if you’re a Commander?

As long as this plant is generating power, my division gets it for free. Say one word against it, or try to cut the power, and I’ll blow this plant to hell!”

Hu Hao declared.

“Fine. Release my son!”

The Commander suppressed his rage.

“I haven’t even arrested him. He’s just lying on the ground, losing a fair bit of blood,”

Hu Hao chuckled.

“I’ve agreed! Get him to a hospital!”

The Commander urged anxiously.

“Then explain it clearly to your son. I’d hate for there to be a misunderstanding later,”

Hu Hao said, holding the phone back to Mu Qian’s ear.

“Dad!”

“Yes… yes… I understand!”

Mu Qian nodded weakly.

“Take me to the hospital!”

Mu Qian shouted to Hu Hao.

“Is it a deal then, young master?”

Hu Hao asked.

“Yes! Just get me to the hospital!”

“Not my problem. Manager, did you hear that? Don’t you dare cut the power!”

Hu Hao said, pointing at the plant manager.

“Yes, yes!”

“Let’s go!”

Hu Hao shouted to his soldiers.

“Give us back our guns!”

The guard platoon leader demanded.

“Hah. You’re not bad, but they won’t be grateful. You’re in for trouble when you get back,”

Hu Hao told the man.

“I… I… give me the guns!”

The platoon leader insisted, though he looked terrified.

“Tell your Commander that I’m keeping the guns.

And you’d better tell him exactly what happened. If you hadn’t called a halt, every one of these men would be dead.”

Hu Hao walked toward the parking area.

“Hey, Wang Yao, is this car expensive?”

Hu Hao stopped in front of the sports car.

“That’s for sure. A Flying Horse sports car, worth over 400,000!”

Wang Yao nodded.

“Where are the keys?”

Hu Hao turned back to Mu Qian.

“They’re… in the car!”

“Alright. I’m borrowing it. I’ll give it back when I’m bored with it!”

Hu Hao prepared to get in.

“Huan Xingtao, get in here!”

Hu Hao called out, notably ignoring Wang Yao. Wang Yao stood there in surprise, his disappointment evident as Hu Hao drove away.

“Hao-ge, why are you treating Wang Yao like that? He’s your classmate,”

Huan Xingtao asked from the passenger seat.

“Hah. How should I put it? They aren’t qualified officers yet. They’re afraid of trouble!

Back in the office, Wang Yao wanted to talk me out of this more than once. It’s a good thing he didn’t actually say it.”

Hu Hao steered with one hand while holding a cigarette in the other.

“They don’t understand. They don’t know the first thing about the battlefield. It’s only natural they don’t get you,”

Huan Xingtao said.

“I know. So I’m letting him cool off and think. He doesn’t even know what time it is; he thinks I’d be afraid of a Commander’s retaliation. Hmph. Who’s retaliating against whom is yet to be seen.”

Hu Hao let out a cold laugh.

“It’s out of concern for you, isn’t it?”

Huan Xingtao smiled.

“True, that’s true. But… sigh, forget it. Once they see what it’s really like on the battlefield, they’ll understand. Nothing I say or do now will make sense to them.”

Hu Hao had more to say, but he stopped himself.

He realized that Wang Yao and the others had never been to war. Those who haven’t faced life and death can’t possibly understand the shift in mindset that comes with it.

Furthermore, officers like Wang Yao didn’t realize how deep the rot in the Eastern Spirit Empire truly went. They thought the failures at the front were just a matter of poor combat performance.

They didn’t see that the Empire was decaying from the roots. If the Emperor couldn’t turn the tide, the nation was doomed to extinction.

Hu Hao never relied on others, least of all the Emperor. The Emperor had to consider his own interests and those of the powerful noble families.

He wouldn’t easily move against the interests of those clans; his only move was to send their scions to the front to be thinned out.

However, those noble sons still controlled the positions of Corps Commanders and Combat Zone Commanders. Once peace returned, commoners would likely still be left with nothing.

(End of Chapter)