339 Conceited bandits (1/2)

There were only a few hundred refugees in this small settlement. Ren Xiaosu saw a child running around the entrance of a mud shelter a distance away. By the looks of it, this small settlement was formed only a short time ago.

There were many rivers in the valley. In Ren Xiaosu's opinion, places near rivers should be lush with vegetation. However, the valley here was not like that.

Most of the sand here had turned into soil, and where the rivers cut through, the flow of water would sweep away the soil from the two banks. Perhaps in another few years when the rivers dried out or changed course, the riverbed here would turn into a new valley like a scar running across the ground. Across the land here, the formations all looked to have been carved out by rivers.

The area the refugees chose to settle was relatively flat and suitable for planting crops.

Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin had planned on staying here with the refugees for some time to get a better understanding of the banditry in the region.

As they were talking, a cloud of dust suddenly emerged in the distance. From afar, it could even be mistaken as a small sandstorm.

An older woman said nervously, ”Why are they here again? Which group is it this time?”

Ren Xiaosu asked, ”Are those the bandits?”

”Definitely. That dust cloud is made by the motorcycles they ride.” As the older woman spoke, she ran towards the mud shelters and shouted, ”Take the children back into the houses.”

But the bandits in the distance were rapidly approaching. Everyone could already see their figures. The motorcycles they were riding were like taut and muscular beasts, while the rumbling of the engines and exhaust sounded like their roars.

This was an especially rough and savage sight to behold.

Even from afar, the refugees could hear the excited cries of the bandits. When they saw the refugees, it was as though they had spotted their prey.

Ren Xiaosu and Yang Xiaojin looked at each other and blended in with the refugee group. They wanted to observe the situation first.

The refugees seemed to already have experience in dealing with such situations. After hiding their children away, they stood in line on the flat ground as though they were about to welcome their superiors. The only difference was that their line was rather crooked, and everyone in the group had starkly different moods.

Ren Xiaosu did a count and found slightly more than 20 bandits in this band. A group of this size would not be considered a very powerful force in this valley. However, he did not know how many other members they had back at their lair.

The gang of bandits rode their motorcycles and circled around the refugees while roaring. This was a show of force by the bandits. Round after round, the circle became smaller, and the refugees cowered together in fear.

When the refugees became visibly scared, the bandits slowly came to a stop. One of them jumped off his motorcycle and pulled down the scarf covering his mouth. ”You people are farming here?”

”Yes, that's right!” One of the refugees said in fear, ”We've been farming here for several years already!”

”What's so interesting about farming?” the bandit said as he spat out the sand in his mouth onto the ground. Then he smiled and said, ”I see quite a few men here. Men are born to do lofty deeds. How can you call yourselves men when you're cowering here and farming every day?”

”But what are we gonna eat if we don't farm?” The refugee said meekly, ”We only want to grow some crops to feed ourselves with.”

”From today onwards, all of you will become my subjects.” Patting the face of the refugee in front of him, the bandit boss said, ”Follow me and you'll have meat to eat and wine to drink. In the past, the consortiums bullied you. Join me and we'll go bully them in the future!”

Ren Xiaosu observed these people and thought about what Yang Xiaojin had said. There was an 80% chance their motorcycles were new, while the automatic weapons in their hands were even newer than the motorcycles. It was obvious they had just changed their equipment.

Even more ridiculous was how many of these people were carrying two guns on their backs. It was as if they had too many guns and nowhere to use them.

Perhaps the new equipment had given additional confidence to these bandits. With only a few more than twenty people, they even boasted about bullying the consortiums!