Chapter 272: Argument
Translator: Insignia Editor: Svjohn
Wang Shishi opened the door. There was a middle-aged guy in a colonel's uniform behind Huo Dong.
"Brother Luo, this is Officer Liu," Huo Dong introduced them, standing aside helplessly.
Luo Yuan was surprised that such a great man would visit him. He walked over and said, "I did not expect your visit, but I’m glad you’re here."
"I’ve been wanting to meet you, but I haven’t gotten the chance. I heard that there was a super-evolved man from Desert City, and I just couldn’t help visiting when I saw you guys pass by earlier. Please accept my apology for acting on my impulse," Officer Liu said with a smile. He walked into the room, shaking hands with Luo Yuan.
"We are pleased to welcome you, Officer Liu. We have nothing to serve you though. I hope you don’t mind," Luo Yuan replied as he made room for him to enter.
"Indeed, this place is too simple. There’s nothing much here. Little Huo, go bring a few cartons of canned food. I’ll write an approval for you later," Officer Liu turned and told Huo Dong as he looked around the place.
Luo Yuan’s expression changed as some thoughts formed in his head. Officer Liu seemed quite dominant.
"Yes, sir!" Huo Dong said quickly, looking pointedly at Huang Jiahui before leaving the room.
Huang Jiahui got his message right away. She made an excuse and then left the room along with everyone else, closing the door behind her.
"How can I help you, Officer Liu?" Luo Yuan asked directly when he saw everyone leave.
The man stopped smiling and sat down. Staring at Luo Yuan, he said, "Since you are being so direct, I’ll just say it frankly. I heard that you haven’t found a job yet, and it would be wasteful for you to have a normal job anyway. I’d like to know whether you’d be keen on joining the army."
Officer Liu was plump with a round face, and he looked kind when he smiled. However, his ordinary features made him look like a man with powerful military authority when he wasn’t smiling. An ordinary person would have felt their limbs go numb and started to sweat when they saw him.
"Is this considered a recruitment?" Luo Yuan asked seriously.
"You may call it that, or you can consider it an invitation," Officer Liu said with a frown.
"I’m not sure if I can," Luo Yuan said calmly.
"Military service is an obligation for every male adult, and rejecting it is considered to be a betrayal of the country. Are you sure you want to say no?" Officer Liu said, clearly upset.
Luo Yuan felt furious, but he was not an ungrateful person. Captain Zhou, Commander Xia and several soldiers had helped him a lot along the way, and all of them had gained his respect.
The battles during the end of the world were a lot crueler than the battles during the First and Second World War had been. That was because their opponents were not humans anymore, but beasts. It was impossible for them to surrender, and they could not negotiate either. As soon as one joined the army, their chances of dying increased dramatically.
However, ever since he had entered the rehabilitation base, he had been influenced by the positive spirit of Desert City; the labor workers, as well as the hardworking students and the dedicated researchers. He had been affected by the environment, despite the fact that he used to be selfish.
If Officer Liu had been sincere, he would have said yes. After all, it was his responsibility to his family and the human nation, even though he did not like the army or wish to give up his freedom.
However, the man had acted dominatingly and tried to threaten him. Did he think Luo Yuan was some kind of pushover he could order around whenever and however he wanted?
Although Luo Yuan did not know much about the army, he had heard from Huo Dong that the third line did not have any good evolved men. Any men that they had were transferred to the front line. As a result, Luo Yuan knew Officer Liu’s intention was to recruit him and hand him over to his superior in exchange for a favor.
He was scum compared to the soldiers who died to protect their country.
"Get out!" Luo Yuan yelled angrily, his expression changing. The emotions bottled up inside him suddenly exploded.
Officer Liu turned pale immediately, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. Luo Yuan had unconsciously released his anger. He did not actually see him as an enemy. Otherwise, his soul would have been scattered and he would have fallen into a coma.
Fearful, Officer Liu felt a pain in his chest. He wanted to scare Luo Yuan again, but after witnessing his cold glare, he realized that this was not an evolved man trained by the military, but someone who had traveled through half of China and killed numerous mutated beasts along the way. According to Huo Dong, he could be a sixth level evolved man. There was a comment in one of the reports about him stating, "Extremely dangerous!"
He had to be insane to threaten Luo Yuan. Officer Liu did not dare stay any longer. He stood up and quickly left the room, forgetting to even say goodbye.
He opened the door and saw Huo Dong and the others standing there with a shocked expression on their faces. There were a few wooden containers set aside. Obviously, it was the canned food. Officer Liu smiled reluctantly before quickly walking away and disappearing from the corridor.
Zhao Yali quickly entered the room and asked anxiously, "Why did you insult him?"
He had been too loud, so everyone had heard him clearly. Officer Liu was the Guardian Officer, one of the decision makers in Desert City. Zhao Yali panicked at the thought of Luo Yuan offending such a powerful person.
"Brother Luo, Officer Liu is no gentleman. He will seek revenge. You should watch out," Huo Dong warned him.
"You’re joking, right? You’re the one who brought him here," Wang Shishi said angrily when she saw Huo Dong act like it was no big deal.
Huo Dong smiled awkwardly. He could not do anything because of his position. He would seem like a traitor no matter what he did. His happy days were over now that Officer Liu had been insulted.
"It’s alright, Shishi. We can’t blame Huo Dong this time. He had no choice. Perhaps I'm the one who caused him trouble," Luo Yuan said with a smile.
Huo Dong felt touched that Luo Yuan had defended him. He quickly said, "He is not the only decision maker. There are several more powerful people. He can't do anything to me. I’d rather he transferred me to the frontline anyway. I’ll get rusty here."
"Luo Yuan, I think that you should go and apologize. Perhaps he would forgive you. You know Mayor Wu, right? Could you ask him for help?" Wu Xiaoxiao said.
"You’re right. We could ask some more people if you don’t have enough money," Sun Youde said, although he was actually feeling happy about the situation.
"Why would we beg others?" Wang Shishi said, clearly upset. "We might as well kill him. You know where he lives, Huo Dong, right?"
The room suddenly became quiet.
Sun Youde looked frightened at the words that had come out of her mouth. Are you kidding? He secretly observed everyone else. They did not seem to be joking. Everyone looked thoughtful, including Zhao Yali. She had furrowed her beautiful eyebrows. Who the hell are these people?
Wu Xiaoxiao looked frightened as well. Her face had turned pale. She was looking at their anxious expressions until Luo Yuan started to speak again.
"You think we’re still in the outskirts or in the forest? We have to obey the rules of the rehabilitation base," Luo Yuan lectured Wang Shishi before he continued, "They would know we’re the murderers if Officer Liu died right after visiting me."
"Besides, you can’t just kill people whenever you have an argument. Let's see how things go. Hopefully, he can be slightly more rational," Luo Yuan said. He was not worried about the issue at all. He believed Officer Liu had forgotten all about the argument and could only remember his fear of Luo Yuan.
Wu Xiaoxiao was stunned as she listened to how calmly Luo Yuan talked about killing someone. She suddenly felt awkward being with the high school friend she had once been so familiar with.