Chapter 24: The Unexpected
He waved his hand, signaling Jones to come in. Jones, with an obsequious smile, suggested, "Charles, why not come to my place? It has a thermal layer, much warmer than here." They had been business partners before the apocalypse and had met a few times, so they recognized each other.
"Oh," Charles raised an eyebrow, "You really know how to enjoy life. Let's go to your place then." He turned to the dozens of people who had come with him, "Don't just stand there. Get ready for work."
The group undressed, revealing an alarming sight: each one of them was armed. The assortment of weapons was not uniform; some had pistols, others submachine guns, and still others rifles. Besides, some were carrying large boxes with unknown contents.
This sight made Jones a bit uneasy. To break down David's door, even if heavy weapons were needed, was it necessary to bring so many guns? The other people, too, were frightened by the sight of the guns, and some even sneaked back to their rooms. Charles didn't intervene, and neither did Jones, so the hallway soon emptied.
Charles followed Jones into his home, which indeed felt much warmer. He expressed his surprise, "Jones, your place is really nice."
Jones explained that he had it renovated on the first day of the extreme cold, back when he had some money. "Now it's different. Money is useless; can't do anything anymore," he said.
Charles laughed heartily, "You missed the opportunity, Jones. Humans are creatures driven by inertia." Despite being an outsider, Charles took the seat of honor, even pulling out a pack of cigarettes, lighting one, and exhaling white smoke rings.
He continued, "Even when everything is gone, people initially act according to their old ways, giving you control over your former employees."
"But that changes over time. Inertia fades, and the old job positions and relationships lose their effectiveness. It becomes much harder to get people to work for you," Jones said with a hint of regret.
Jones said with a touch of regret, "You are right, but I don't really have any ambitions; I just want to scrape by with enough to eat."
He was smart enough to realize that if he agreed with Charles in front of him, wouldn't that just show how deeply he regretted losing his power? Why would Charles welcome someone so ambitiously driven?
He knew that the food in his house wouldn't sustain him for long. To survive, he needed the ability to explore beyond his home. Otherwise, no matter how much food he had, there would come a day when it would all be gone.
Charles chuckled, "You all go out; I need to talk to Mr. Jones privately."
He waved his hand at the guards who had followed him in, and they nodded, stepping out of the room. Of course, they were just outside the door, ready to enter at a moment's notice if Charles called.
Unbeknownst to them, there was an invisible observer: David, who had infiltrated the room with his floating surveillance.
"Come on, tell me about this David," Charles said, showing keen interest. "I heard he might have known about the apocalypse in advance?" He gave Jones a meaningful look, "Jones, you can't lie to me. You know I hate being lied to, especially by a brother."
With that one sentence, Charles effectively labeled Jones as a brother. Although the latter knew it was just Charles's rhetoric, he couldn't help but feel somewhat moved at that moment. He sighed, "Well, it's actually like this."
He then recounted the events that had transpired since the disaster. He described how David was deceived into opening his door, how everything was taken from him, and how, in the end, David miraculously came back to life and constructed a 'fortress' in his home.
Charles's eyes flickered with intrigue and he abruptly stood up, "Alright, Jones, gather the people in the building. We're going upstairs to break down the door."
"You'll earn a great merit for this," he promised.
"Okay, okay!" Jones said excitedly and quickly left, presumably to gather people.
After Jones left, another person entered the room and asked Charles, "How's it going?"
"It's damn mysterious," Charles replied, taking another drag of his cigarette. "David's stuff seems to appear out of nowhere."
"We should..." the person started.
"Yes, proceed as planned," Charles said, his eyes glinting coldly. He extended his hand, and the man immediately handed him a gun.
They walked majestically to the seventeenth floor. Facing the door with no lock, Charles commented, "It's tough!"
"No wonder they're pinning their hopes on us," he said.
"Hmm," was all Charles replied before falling silent. Soon, Jones returned with others, dozens of people gathering below in the hallway. "Charles! We're all here!" Jones announced.
"All here?" Charles inquired.
"Yes, everyone!"
"Good," Charles responded. "By the way, where is Samuel?"
Among those who came with Charles, Samuel was not present. "You're about to meet him," Charles said coldly.
Jones was initially confused, but then he saw Charles raise his hand, holding a submachine gun. Was he going to shoot the door? Such madness, the bullets would scatter wildly! But then he realized, to his horror, that the gun was aimed at them.
Jones exclaimed in shock, "Charles, what are you doing?"
"You're such fools," Charles sneered. "You think you're worthy of being my brothers?"
He pulled the trigger, and a barrage of bullets rained down. The other men with Charles also opened fire, shooting into the crowd below. The people's eyes showed disbelief, resentment, confusion, anger, and a hint of relief as their lives slipped away.
Jones's eyes were particularly intense with emotion. He still couldn't comprehend why Charles was doing this. It wasn't supposed to be like this – he was supposed to join Charles's group and survive in this apocalyptic world. It was supposed to be David who was meant to die today.
Taking a deep breath, Charles said, "Brother David, I've taken care of those who oppressed you. Can we talk now?"
Weekly Power Status
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