Volume One, Chapter 15: Should Good People Be Held at Gunpoint?

At that moment, the tattooed man gave Er Gou a knowing glance. Er Gou understood immediately and hurried to the hotel entrance, opening the door.

A cold wind swept in, biting to the bone.

A flicker of despair crossed the young couple’s faces, but their steps did not falter; there was a certain resolute acceptance of death in their demeanor.

Chu Ge watched them, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

Good and evil reside in human nature; they are not bound by chaotic times but stem from the heart.

“Heh heh, come back,” he said.

Just as the couple was about to step out of the hotel, Er Gou pulled them back, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.

The tattooed man stepped forward, casting a cold glare over the young couple.

“You really have guts, but dying isn’t that simple!”

“I’ve set my eyes on your woman. If I don’t make her comfortable, I’ll make your lives worse than death!”

With so many monsters falling from the sky, no one could predict if the future would be even bleaker.

The tattooed man took things as they came, living day by day.

Controlling the hotel made him its king: he decided who lived and who died.

“You bastard!” the young man shouted angrily, rushing at the tattooed man and swinging a fist toward his face.

But he was skinny and weak, no match for the tattooed man, who slammed a fist hard into his chest, bending him like a bow.

Clatter! Clatter! Clatter!

Clear footsteps echoed.

Chu Ge stepped forward, voice firm: “Let them go.”

He didn’t step in out of charity.

Without the journal, the future Chu Ge would also be a pitiable victim; had he not met Su Ran, his fate wouldn’t have been much better than this couple’s.

Those who have been drenched in a storm know how to hold an umbrella for others.

Helping out was a small act with no great loss.

As soon as he spoke, all eyes in the crowd turned sharply to Chu Ge.

Su Ran’s gaze flickered uncertainly toward him.

The young woman’s expression shifted, and she made a quiet decision.

“Heh heh,” the tattooed man sneered coldly, still angry. “Meddling in other people’s business?!”

Chu Ge shrugged. “You can do whatever you want in this hotel, so why can’t I? I don’t like the look in your eyes, so I’m targeting you. What’s the problem?”

“All right, all right!” the tattooed man snapped.

“Brothers, skin this guy and hang him in the lobby.”

The tattooed man prepared to torture Chu Ge as a warning.

Otherwise, if reckless fools kept popping up, how could he remain the boss?

***

“But you’re just an insignificant ant.”

Chu Ge pushed off the ground and suddenly appeared before the tattooed man, delivering a swift kick.

The tattooed man was shocked, trying to block, but his body wouldn’t respond fast enough.

Boom!

The kick sent him flying into the wall, his chest crushed and deformed, coughing up blood.

Within seconds, he was dead.

The dozen or so henchmen charging at Chu Ge were stunned.

One kick to kill.

Was this man some kind of battle wolf?

Chu Ge burst into the crowd, throwing punches and kicks. Within moments, seven or eight henchmen lay on the ground, leaving six standing dumbfounded.

“Your boss and brothers are dead by my hand. Want to avenge them?”

“No, no way,” the thugs shook their heads violently, some even wetting themselves in fear.

Avenge them?

What a joke.

Avenging the dead is pointless.

Besides, this guy seemed possessed by a battle wolf spirit; seeking revenge would be suicide.

“Clean up the lobby and throw all the bodies outside to feed the beasts,” Chu Ge ordered coldly.

“Yes, sir!”

The six thugs quickly complied.

Chu Ge nodded in satisfaction and then headed to the storage room where the tattooed man kept supplies.

There was food, drink, daily necessities, but mostly miscellaneous items.

He pulled out a red orb—the tattooed man had collected it earlier, and Chu Ge had noticed it.

It was a Vitality Fruit, akin to the Spiritual Power Fruit Chu Ge had found before—both rare treasures of nature, though with different properties.

Besides this, there were two other types of fruits.

A white Spiritual Fruit and a golden Supreme Treasure Fruit.

Unlike consumables like demon pills or corpse beads, which could be looted from monsters, these fruits originated from ancient relics or fell from the heavens—precious and rare, encountered by chance.

The tattooed man had been lucky to get a Vitality Fruit on the very first day of the spiritual revival.

But his luck ran out when he met Chu Ge.

Chu Ge silently pocketed the Vitality Fruit and turned to the crowd, tentatively asking, “Who here has these orbs—white, red, blue, or gold? Bring them out, and I’ll trade for supplies.”

Just then, a middle-aged woman stepped forward.

“Young man, that orb in your hand was robbed from me by those people.”

“So you mean...” Chu Ge’s lips curled into an amused smile.

“Either give me that orb or some food,” the woman demanded confidently.

***

Chu Ge’s gaze fixed on the woman, murderous intent surging within.

When bullied by thugs, she dared not fight back.

But once the trouble was over, she boldly stood up to make demands.

She was courting death.

She thought Chu Ge was a good man for defeating the thugs and wouldn’t harm her, so she was reckless.

No wonder good people often have guns pointed at them.

It was unclear when “good person” had become a derogatory term.

But the woman did not know that Chu Ge was far from a good man; his killings were not for justice but to prevent the hotel from being taken over.

Everything he did was for himself.

“You’ve lived long enough,” Chu Ge said, eyes narrowing as golden flames sparked from his fingertips, instantly engulfing the woman.

“Ahhhh!!!”

The woman screamed like a slaughtered pig, consumed by the golden fire.

Within seconds, she turned to ash.

“The tattooed man robbed you, I robbed the tattooed man—that orb is mine. If you want it back, take it up with him.”

“I’m merciful; I’m just sending you on your way.”

Chu Ge said coldly.

The crowd in the lobby shuddered.

Partly because of Chu Ge’s ruthless decisiveness.

Partly because of the mysterious golden flames.

Such power was clearly beyond ordinary men.

In an instant, Chu Ge’s threat level in their eyes soared to its peak.

Those who had once thought him approachable immediately discarded such illusions.

“Young man, I have an orb. If you want it, take it,” an elderly man with a cane stepped forward, trembling.

Chu Ge glanced at the orb in the old man’s hand and his eyes widened.

A golden fruit?! Inside was a supreme treasure.

He took a deep breath, restraining his excitement, and said calmly, “Sir, feel free to take whatever you want to eat from now on. Don’t be shy.”

The old man only took a day’s worth of food from the table and smiled encouragingly, “In these times, my old bones won’t last long. You young people are the hope of humanity—live well.”