Chapter 614: Subdued
Chapter 614: Chapter 614: Subdued
Liam Sterling tugged on Ryan Rowe, signaling him not to add fuel to the fire.
Ryan Rowe snorted but said nothing more.
"You’re lying! The child Lynn Ellison was carrying was mine! It’s because she was going to have my baby that I agreed to help them raise snakes and make those restorative Snake Blood Pills for them."
Rhys Chase’s brow twitched. "So you’re the one who was raising the venomous snakes."
Chester Warren sneered. "That’s right, it was me. Titus Lawrence, bring it up."
Two men emerged from behind him, carrying a huge burlap sack. Something inside was squirming frantically.
The nearby residents, terrified, backed away again. Everyone recognized that the sack contained snakes.
"There are fifty Silver-banded Kraits in here. The Silver-banded Krait is, to date, the most venomous snake in the world. Once this bag is opened, they’ll attack anyone and everyone indiscriminately."
Evelyn Ford and Ronan Kendrick stood in the middle of the crowd. Rhys Chase still appeared composed and calm. He didn’t seem threatened by Chester Warren’s words, but the impatience in his eyes betrayed his foul mood.
"Fine. I’ll give you food. How much do you want?"
Chester Warren squinted at Rhys Chase. "So you’re just another coward who’s afraid of death. Harry Caldwell was right when he called you a villain."
Rhys Chase didn’t argue. "Since I’m giving you the food, can you tell us where the explosives are?"
Chester Warren sneered, "Do you take me for a fool? Get three cargo trucks and ten tons of food ready for me."
Chester Warren pulled a photograph from his pocket. "Kowtow to this picture and admit your mistakes. Then cut yourself ten times."
"Are you out of your mind? Ryan Rowe already told you, that woman slept around! She was sleeping with several men! That child wasn’t even yours, are you insane? All these people here are your countrymen, and you’re harming them right here. Can you even live with yourself after all the food you’ve eaten over the years? Chester Warren, this is an official base! Everything you’ve eaten and drunk all these years, wasn’t it all supplied by the base? The only reason you’re alive today is because of the soldiers outside protecting you! Even after the earthquake destroyed the base, Mr. Chase had us set up the kitchen first, just so everyone could have a hot meal. You ungrateful bastard! We never should have saved you when you were buried under the rubble! You’re using the lives of these orphans to threaten Mr. Chase! You’re not even fit to be called human! You’re worse than an animal! You have no humanity! You’re just a piece of scum!"
Liam Sterling was furious. He charged forward, pointed right at Chester Warren’s nose, and began to curse him out. Chester Warren was stunned, as were the lackeys behind him.
While they were still dazed, Liam Sterling snatched one of the bags of Silver-banded Kraits. Just as Chester Warren snapped out of it and reached to detonate the bombs, Ronan Kendrick raised his gun. BANG! BANG! BANG! Three shots later, a bullet had torn through Chester Warren’s palm, and two more had hit his legs.
"Aaaargh..."
Chester Warren collapsed to his knees, howling in pain. The sudden turn of events terrified all the residents. The scene instantly devolved into chaos. Screams and cries rose and fell as people fled in every direction. Some fell to the ground, and those behind them, carried by momentum, trampled right over them.
The soldiers hidden in the crowd immediately sprang into action, pinning all the troublemakers to the ground.
"Watch out for the bombs!" Evelyn Ford shouted as a warning.
"It’s fine. These kinds of bombs need to be lit. They can’t be detonated otherwise," Ryan Rowe said nonchalantly, looking rather relaxed as he dangled a bag of Silver-banded Kraits in his hand.
"Everyone, stop running! The troublemakers have all been subdued! Don’t panic! Don’t run! Everybody squat down where you are! There might be explosives underground!"
Evelyn Ford’s voice rang out, and the chaotic crowd slowly calmed down. Everyone squatted down in place. But there were still a few bad apples who tried to flee. Evelyn Ford took out her pistol and fired two shots into the air.
"Squat down where you are! Anyone who disobeys will be executed on the spot." Evelyn Ford’s threat was highly effective. No one dared to get up and run anymore. They wished they could just lie flat on the ground and not move an inch.
Cries rippled through the crowd, but Evelyn Ford paid them no mind.
All the hostage children were rescued, and the troublemakers, led by Chester Warren, were all tied up.
"You little rascal, you’ve really got something."
No one had expected the key person in taking down the troublemakers to be Liam Sterling. When he was cussing them out like a shrew, everyone thought he had gone mad. But at the critical moment, he had actually managed to snatch the bag of Silver-banded Kraits. The troublemakers had just started to react when Ronan Kendrick shot Chester Warren, incapacitating him. The two of them had coordinated perfectly, as if they had practiced it dozens of times. And Rhys Chase’s earlier agreement to give Chester Warren food had just been a ruse to lower his guard.
A few administrators surrounded Liam Sterling, showering him with a torrent of praise as if it were free. Liam Sterling’s lips twitched. ’I saw it clearly just now,’ he thought. ’These guys were all hiding in the back. Now that the problem’s solved, they’ve all popped out.’
Chester Warren was trussed up and thrown on the ground. His mouth was taped shut, so all he could do was glare viciously at Rhys Chase, Ronan Kendrick, and Liam Sterling.
"Some people have high intelligence, and that’s *all* they have." Rhys Chase criticized him bluntly right in front of Chester Warren, and everyone else burst out laughing.
The frightened children were taken back to the tents by several nurses to be comforted. The soldiers began to search for the explosives on the ground.
"The explosives are pretty weak. They probably didn’t have enough materials or didn’t make them properly. Still, if two hundred of these went off at once, the main square could be leveled."
"So many Silver-banded Kraits... I have no idea where he was raising them. It’s terrifying. Let’s kill these snakes quickly."
Evelyn Ford walked over to Ronan Kendrick and gave him a thumbs-up. "That was amazing just now. Super cool."
Ronan Kendrick pursed his lips into a smile. "It’s been a while since I held a gun. My aim was just average."
’If he had a tail, it would probably be wagging to the heavens.’
Soldiers had already dug up two packs of explosives from under the tents. The residents didn’t dare move a muscle, all squatting obediently on the ground.
The troublemakers were taken away by Rhys Chase’s men. Rhys Chase still had some questions for Chester Warren. As for the others, they were dragged off to be executed immediately.
A short while later, several corpses were carried out and hung on the nearby corpse pillars.
Some of the more timid residents were scared to the point of crying and wetting themselves. This was Rhys Chase’s warning to all the residents.
If they wanted to live, they had to behave themselves and follow orders.
This was the fate of all troublemakers.
In the afternoon, Evelyn Ford and Wendy returned to the space and told everyone what had happened.
Quincy was filled with regret. To think there was such a spectacle to watch! If he had known, he never would have gone into the space to rest.
"What was that guy thinking? Using such a pathetic method to threaten Rhys Chase... The base is full of soldiers. Did he really think he could control the life and death of a base commander just by burying two hundred packs of explosives? That’s ridiculous."
Wendy was also furious. "They’re just animals! Using helpless children as hostages... Two of the hostages were only two months old. They were almost strangled to death."
"Alright, the situation is resolved, so no need to worry. Oh, by the way, I need to tell you all something. In five days, all residents will be evacuating to the southeast. We’re leaving this place."