novelraw Chapter 746: I Have the Ultimate Ownership
Chapter 746: I Have the Ultimate Ownership
They had reached their destination. This tunnel was where the convoy was supposed to rest for the day, but they found themselves stuck.
"What happened?" Jing Shu arrived in the tunnel and immediately noticed something was different.
The air was thick with pungent, foul, and rotten smells, and she reflexively covered her nose and mouth. The ground was sticky underfoot, a mixture of mud and snow, along with some unknown, stringy liquid.
Jing Shu silently stepped on Xiao Lu and wiped her shoes.
The tunnel was bustling with voices, just like a lively vegetable market!
At this point, Jing Shu didn’t need the flustered Sanliang to explain; she already understood what had happened. The tunnel, originally dug exclusively for the migration of the Wu City people, had at some unknown point become inhabited by many others.
Jing Shu saw that both sides of the tunnel were lined with various bedding and tents, making the two-lane passage narrow. Further in, all sorts of daily necessities were on display: basins, cups, pitchers, and many items that seemed to have been scavenged from corpses and kept—various wooden boards, cabinets, and tables among them.
There were even ropes stretched across, with clothes and bedsheets hanging from them.
In short, they had completely transformed the tunnel into their home, leaving only a narrow path for people to pass, making the already narrow tunnel extremely crowded.
On the ground, a man lay groaning in pain. He had been sleeping by the side of the tunnel when his leg was run over by Tan Ke.
"The soldiers are crushing people! They bully the weak, driving Tan Kes right over my uncle! Everyone, come and judge this!"
"He’s not going to survive this; it’s too severe."
"Quick, take pictures, quick!"
"They need to pay... no, they need to compensate with food."
A group of emaciated people surrounded the burly Sanliang and his men, who were well-dressed and robust, clearly not lacking food.
Sanliang spoke from the side, "We communicated with you before entering. The tunnel is meant for the mass migration of Wu City, for vehicles and people to pass through. It’s fine if you choose to live in the tunnel, but you must clear the way when we are passing.
"We honked the horn for so long, yet you didn’t move aside. What, did you really think we wouldn’t dare to hit you? But rest assured, yes, we hit the person, and we’ll take responsibility. We will treat him and guarantee food and lodging during this period.
"If you’re not afraid of death, keep lying on the ground blocking the way. If you get injured, we’ll take you for treatment.
"Xiao Zhang, lift this person and hand him over to the logistics medical department for treatment."
"No way, no way! You can’t take him away! We don’t need your treatment! Pay money—no, give us 1,000 coins’ worth of synthetic meat, and this matter will be settled!" a skinny young man shouted, cradling the groaning middle-aged man on the ground.
"Right! If they don’t compensate with food, we’ll expose them! Did you get the video? Did you record what he just said? The soldier said he would drive a Tan Ke over us ordinary folks! Hmph, let’s see what the internet has to say about this!" another chimed in.
Jing Shu arrived at the scene, looked at Sanliang with a sneer, and said, "You’ve been swindled."
Sanliang furrowed his brows and sighed quietly in Jing Shu’s direction. This damned temper of mine, caught red-handed, he regretted. I should have just apprehended these people. As for the video posted online that could spark a wave of negative public opinion, I could explain it to the higher-ups later. However... with such easily swayed public opinion, one wrong step could lead to complete ruin. A thousand excuses would be useless; public opinion would only say we bullied using our power, not caring about the rest.
Jing Shu, stepping on Xiao Lu, walked up to the young man, crouched down, and asked, "What are your names? Where are you from?"
The young man didn’t know who was approaching. Through the car headlights illuminating the dimly lit tunnel, he only saw a beautiful woman walking toward them. Her voice was especially gentle and pleasant. He responded subconsciously, "My name is Zhang Ertie, my uncle is Chu Xixi, and we are Xinlan people."
Oh, those are some strange names.
"Why are you living in this tunnel? Did the Township Government arrange for you to stay here?" Jing Shu asked again.
"There was a mudslide in Xinlan, and it flooded many areas. All the livable places are already full. Now, living in a house costs 20 Virtual Coins a month. Those of us with no money live in the tunnels. We take what we can get for free," said Zhang Ertie.
"The Township Government doesn’t care at all! This tunnel was only discovered last month by chance," a helpful bystander chimed in.
"This has become our new home now, and nobody can drive us away!" an old lady said warily.
"Oh—" Jing Shu dragged out the sound, then turned her gaze to the young man’s uncle. He was lying on the ground, clutching his leg and moaning. There was some blood on the ground, but not much. Jing Shu lifted the middle-aged man’s leg and examined the wound. It was just a scrape, nothing serious. She took out a large piece of herbal ointment from her pocket and, with a SLAP, applied it.
The middle-aged man reflexively jumped up, howling and clutching his leg.
"Your leg is fine. There’s nothing seriously wrong."
"My leg is not fine! It’s crushed! Those military guys have to compensate me!" the middle-aged man wailed, his face contorted in pain.
"Then aren’t you up and hopping now?" Jing Shu’s remark left the middle-aged man speechless. He still wanted to feign injury for a bit longer, but the pain made him want to jump around.
"Alright, alright, disperse. It’s over," Chu Xixi waved his hand dismissively.
"Wait..." Jing Shu stopped them. "This tunnel is essentially a road, mainly for vehicles to pass through. We haven’t said you need to leave, just to make way temporarily. Why don’t you agree?"
Jing Shu’s question was like poking a hornet’s nest; the scene instantly erupted.
Chu Xixi said excitedly, "Who knows who will grab our spot next time if we move? This spot wasn’t easy for us to get! Many people outside are eyeing it covetously."
"Besides, if vehicles need to pass, we have to move all our things. That’s so much trouble and takes so long!"
"Look, for you, it’s just a temporary passage. Why don’t you go around outside? Can’t you take another route? For us, this tunnel is our lifeline! Can we just give up our lifeline? Even though there’s no water or electricity, and we have to go three miles to the Urban Management Office to charge our devices..."
"If you want us to move, it’s not impossible. Bring synthetic meat—1,000 coins’ worth, not one coin less!"
"Right, bring the meat, or we won’t move!"
"Just run us over then!"
Flashes of light (from cameras) kept coming. Jing Shu knew these supposedly simple and honest local people were setting a trap for them. They were trying to provoke her into saying something regrettable so they could then play the victim and expose her.
"Well said! The tunnel is our home, the last place we can live! We’ve been forced to live in a tunnel, and you people with vehicles still insist on passing through!"
"Let’s get the Township Government to mediate!"
"Did your family dig this tunnel? Just because you tell us to move, we have to move?"
Jing Shu snapped her fingers. SNAP. Everyone was stunned. Then she said lightly, "You’re right. This tunnel really was dug by my family. Here is the contract for digging the tunnel and the proof from the Township Government. It’s my private property, and I hold the ultimate ownership rights."