Chapter 43: Chapter 43: The morals of society are deteriorating, and people are no longer following the old ways [First update]
That word...
It echoed by the water’s edge, exceptionally clear.
"You... you all..."
The few anglers who had come to mediate blushed, their bodies trembling with anger. They hadn’t expected that Zheng Liang, whom they saw as "magnanimous," was even worse than Qin Mu and had actually told them to get lost. Their previous good impression of Zheng Liang vanished in an instant. Instead, what filled them was a surge of grievance and disillusionment. Acting on the principle that all anglers are one family, they had stepped up to mediate, only to find that neither party appreciated their efforts.
"So much for good intentions! Our kindness has been treated like dirt! We’re not dealing with your mess anymore!"
"These days, it’s true that no good deed goes unpunished. Just keep on fighting! We were just meddling where we shouldn’t have been!"
"Morals decline with each passing day; people’s hearts aren’t what they used to be. These days, people are just one ruder than the next!"
"We were genuinely trying to help you. Continuing this fight doesn’t do anyone any good, and it disturbs our fishing..."
"Forget it, forget it..."
The anglers muttered to themselves and shook their heads, then walked back into the crowd.
The onlookers surrounding them had also witnessed everything and began whispering amongst themselves, pointing fingers.
However, Zheng Liang naturally didn’t care about any of this.
His mind was now entirely consumed with how to take the Ancient Wood.
His gaze remained fixed on the Ancient Wood under Qin Mu’s feet. He took a deep breath, looked up at Qin Mu, and, deciding to try once more, said with utmost sincerity, "We really want to do you this favor. You have no use for this wood; it’s large, and you can’t move it yourselves. We’ll help you clear it away, so you old folks can fish in peace."
HAH—
Upon hearing this, Qin Mu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
If it weren’t for Old Song, who had fished for decades, reminding him, he might have been deceived by the Zheng Liang standing before him. They had first recognized the value of the Ancient Wood but deliberately chose to conceal it. They even postured as good Samaritans in front of the onlookers, feigning benevolence, all while trying to greedily claim the Ancient Wood for themselves.
Prestige, wealth—they wanted it all.
Do such good deals exist in this world?
Besides, this was a public fishing area, not privately owned. The Ancient Wood was something he had incidentally fished out of the water, not dug out of the earth. Legally speaking, the ownership of the Ancient Wood belonged entirely to him.
But this group of people wanted to take it by force, to deceive and manipulate their way into possessing it.
He obviously couldn’t let them get their way.
With the physique of a special forces soldier, I should be able to take down these six men, right?
Qin Mu secretly sized up Zheng Liang and the several strong men accompanying him.
On his own side, apart from himself, most were like Old Zhang—frail and lacking in combat strength. They could hardly be counted on.
If the other side decided to use force, he wouldn’t mind showing them what the limits of legitimate self-defense were!
DING! Host has encountered a new event, triggering a new mission.
At that moment, the system’s voice quietly sounded in his mind.
Immediately following, three distinctly different mission lines appeared in mid-air, visible only to him.
"One, retaliate resolutely, legitimate self-defense, protect your rightful property.
Two, expose the truth, let the surrounding anglers see the six men’s true colors and face everyone’s condemnation.
Three, find a way to teach the six men a lesson they’ll never forget."
"Please note, there are different rewards and levels of difficulty for the different mission lines. The system will distribute rewards randomly based on the level of mission completion."
Seeing these three mission lines, Qin Mu hesitated for a moment.
The first one was just as he had originally thought. If Zheng Liang and the others intended to seize it by force, he planned to walk the fine line between legitimate self-defense and excessive defense—that is, somewhere between legitimate and excessive, beating someone half to death without having to take responsibility for it.
As for the second option presented by the mission, he rejected it without a second thought. For people like Zheng Liang, moral condemnation was like water off a duck’s back; it had no effect whatsoever. Their eyes only saw money.
Ultimately, Qin Mu’s gaze fell upon the third mission option. This option was the most difficult, but also the one he most wanted to undertake! For people like Zheng Liang, who were blinded by greed and relentlessly aggressive, choosing options one or two would, at most, mean beating them up and subjecting them to public condemnation, with no real lasting impact. That would be letting them off far too easily.
I choose three!
Qin Mu quickly made his choice, selecting the most challenging and the most serious one.
Repay malice with kindness? Then with what does one repay justice? As for people like Zheng Liang, every last one of them, since I’ve encountered them, I can’t continue to indulge them!
Society is not a charity hall.
"Are you really not going to move?" Zheng Liang, seeing that Qin Mu still had his foot on the Ancient Wood, asked with a grim face once more.
Both parties had been at a standoff for so long. He was close to losing his patience.
The Ancient Wood in front of him was pitch-black, having soaked in water for who knows how many years without any deformation. If sold on the market, its value was absolutely incalculable! A volume of one cubic meter could be worth at least a million.
Today, he would get his hands on this piece of wood no matter what!
At this moment, Song Tiancheng, who had first recognized the Ancient Wood, also stepped forward, looking at the six men. He frowned and said with disgust, "We’ve told you people countless times, we’ll find someone to move this wood ourselves. We don’t need your help."
This kind of behavior, taking advantage of someone else’s situation, truly disgusted him.
But since the other party wouldn’t leave, he was somewhat at a loss. Fishing requires a quiet and peaceful environment. The surrounding anglers had been watching all along; if they kept up this standoff, no one would be able to fish.
"Today, we’re making our stance clear: we *are* helping to move this wood! Not even the King of Heaven himself could stop us!" Zheng Liang snorted coldly.
Seeing that Qin Mu’s side still wasn’t giving in, and blinded by his own greed, his temper began to flare. The six men surrounded the Ancient Wood and Qin Mu, looking like they would resort to violence at the slightest disagreement.
Song Tiancheng and Zhang Qingyuan were startled by the scene before them. They had not expected that Zheng Liang and his gang would actually drop all pretenses in front of so many onlooking anglers, ready to openly use force.
"TSK TSK TSK, what kind of world is this? Getting angry over offering help? Why so worked up when they don’t want your help?"
"This is really a rare sight, someone forcibly trying to help."
"I guess both parties are hot-tempered; one refuses help, the other insists on giving it."
"No way, I’ve got to record this and post it on my feed..."
"..."
The surrounding onlookers wore peculiar expressions, dumbfounded as they watched the scene unfold.
Although Zheng Liang and his men were preparing to use force, no one stepped forward to stop them. In their eyes, Zheng Liang and his group were just getting agitated from being overly eager to help.
"You won’t let us move it, so are you planning to try and take it by force?" Qin Mu kept his foot on the Ancient Wood. Seeing the actions of Zheng Liang and the others, his lips gradually curled into a faint smile.