CHAPTER 1222: CHAPTER 1192: XU DACHENG

"James, you will definitely face off against Ye Chen in the future!" The Old Madam smiled calmly and then said, "But not now!"

"Why?" James asked, puzzled.

"Because it’s not the right time yet!" The Old Madam chuckled and then assured James, "Don’t worry, you will definitely find your place!"

"Alright!" James saw that the Old Madam was unwilling to agree, and finally had to comply.

...

The student activities seemed to have quieted down all over the country. Social order quickly returned to normal. After meeting with Chen Zhongjian, Ye Chen took the soldiers back to the barracks. Xu Dacheng and his group of subordinates were all locked up in the dungeon of the barracks. This dungeon is usually empty; the only time it’s used is when the warriors are being confined.

This time, Xu Dacheng and his group of little brothers were all locked in the dungeon, with only a dim light shining inside. Everyone gathered under that single light. The little brother who was slapped hard by Xu Dacheng asked, "Big brother, are we going to be locked up here for the rest of our lives?"

"That’s uncertain!" a person beside him hurriedly said, "I reckon we’ll soon be out!"

"Why?" the little brother asked curiously.

"Think about it, what kind of person is big brother?" said the little brother with a mocking tone, "Big brother’s old man is the Chief Commander of the Shenyang Military Region. Who does Ye Chen think he is? Just a small team leader with the rank of Major General, what’s he worth?"

"Exactly, Commander Xu will definitely come to save us!" The little brothers were full of confidence; they couldn’t believe Commander Xu would abandon his son.

"Shut up, all of you!" Xu Dacheng glared at his little brothers and said angrily, "Relying on others is worse than relying on yourself. These days, you should depend on yourself, not on others!"

"Big brother..." the little brother hurriedly said, "We’re on their turf, and we even killed one of their deputy team leaders. I guess we’re in deep trouble!"

"Hmph, what, are you afraid to die?" Xu Dacheng sneered.

"Not afraid, not afraid!" The little brother quickly waved his hands. He wouldn’t dare say he was afraid to die; if he did, Xu Dacheng would likely be the first to make sure he did.

Soon, the dungeon fell silent, and the little brothers dared not make a sound, remaining obediently in place without moving. However, before long, the dungeon door was opened, and more than a dozen soldiers armed with real guns walked in. They stood at the entrance of the iron bars of the dungeon, looking inside. Their gun barrels were aimed at those guys.

"Oh no, they’re going to kill us to silence us!" The little brother was so scared he quickly retreated.

The dungeon was in chaos, and Xu Dacheng roared angrily, "Bastards, let Ye Chen come to see me. I’ve met his demands, he should let me go!"

"Shut up!" A soldier stepped forward swiftly, raised the rifle in his hand, and struck Xu Dacheng’s head hard.

Bang...

A dull noise sounded, and Xu Dacheng’s forehead split open, with blood flowing instantly. He collapsed on the ground, sitting motionless. After a while, Ye Chen walked in leisurely, looked at Xu Dacheng, and said, "What? You want to see me?"

"Ye Chen, let me go!" Xu Dacheng stared blankly at Ye Chen, despondent and dispirited.

"Let you go?" Ye Chen paused, then laughed, "Why should I let you go? Why do I need to let you go?"

"You must let me go, or you’ll suffer the consequences!" Xu Dacheng roared angrily.

"Haha, if there really are consequences, they should be for you!" Ye Chen laughed heartily, "Only you’ll face the consequences. You’ve done so many bad things, wreaked havoc, the entire Beijing City hates you to the core. If heaven doesn’t punish you, then heaven really has turned a blind eye!"

"Ye Chen, what do I have to do for you to let me go!" Xu Dacheng asked hurriedly.

"Reveal the mastermind behind you, and I’ll let you go, how about that?" Ye Chen walked over with a smile on his face, but behind his smile, there was a sinister thought.

"I... I don’t have any mastermind behind me, I did everything on my own!" Xu Dacheng’s eyes flickered, deeply shocked inside, wondering how Ye Chen knew he had someone behind him. Could it be that others were caught and gave him away? Impossible, Xu Dacheng immediately denied his own thoughts. If Ye Chen had caught others, why would he still be asking him? So, Xu Dacheng decided to keep his act up.

"You’re refusing to confess?" Ye Chen curled his lips into a sinister smile and said, "No worries, I won’t punish you. Just wait and see!"

After speaking, Ye Chen turned and left. Xu Dacheng sat motionless in his place, while the little brothers curled up in the corner of the dungeon, not daring to move.

When Ye Chen left, the only light in the dungeon was extinguished, leaving the entire dungeon as dark as midnight, where you couldn’t see your own hand. The little brothers immediately panicked, even the only light was gone.

"What should we do? Are they going to kill us in the dark?"

"Let’s rush out and fight them!"

The little brothers jumped up, scared that Ye Chen might eradicate them all. Xu Dacheng, on the other hand, got angry and gritted his teeth, saying, "All of you shut up, or else I’ll be rude!"

With Xu Dacheng’s words, they immediately quieted down. Everyone squatted motionlessly on the ground. Xu Dacheng lay on the straw mat and then said, "As long as they don’t starve us, we can survive. It’s just no light, what’s there to fear?"

The little brothers were speechless once more.

Days and nights passed in a blur, and food was delivered on time every day. It was only then that they could see a bit of light, and whenever they saw the light, the soldiers could see their greedy eyes, as if they wanted to devour everything.

However, in these few days and nights, they almost inverted time, losing their daily routine, and their biological clocks were in disarray, even their metabolism was out of whack, causing some to start collapsing, first mentally, and there were incidents of random attacks among the little brothers. Later, some people’s immunity dropped, leading to illness.

"Big brother, please just confess, look at what we’ve become?"

"Big brother, look, Erzi is sick, his whole body is covered in pustules, if this goes on, he’ll die!"

...

The little brothers all tried to persuade him, but Xu Dacheng was indifferent. He lay motionless on the ground, constantly recalling certain things in his mind. Remembering the words of a silver-haired old madam. She told him that as long as he could complete the task for her, he could become the head of the Xu Family and succeed Mr. Qian’s position.

In the Xu Family, Xu Dacheng’s status wasn’t high. He idled around all day, which made many look down on him, including his family and even his parents. They were extremely annoyed by such a troublemaking brother. This made Xu Dacheng even more rebellious, often doing extreme things. Naturally, he wanted to attract his family’s attention through such actions, but instead, it only made them dislike him more, resulting in a vicious circle where he became a disgrace to the Xu Family.

Xu Dacheng very much wanted to change his status and his family’s view of him. Later, he realized that without power in his hands, he would never get his family’s attention and respect, so he set his eyes on Mr. Qian. Xu Duqian was already over eighty, not far from a hundred. Many in the Xu Family had their eyes on the position of Family Head.

Xu Dacheng naturally wanted to ascend to the position of Family Head. Unfortunately, achieving that was no easy task, as there were many more qualified than he was, so it seemed less likely for him. When he encountered this silver-haired old madam and witnessed her power and capabilities, he didn’t hesitate to believe her and slavishly followed her.

Xu Dacheng knew that if he exposed the old madam, he’d lose, and thoroughly so. With the old madam’s abilities, she would never spare him and would definitely hold him accountable. He understood the gravity of the situation too well. Whether these little brothers became sick or mentally broke down to the point of death, he wouldn’t bat an eye.

On the tenth day in the dungeon, Ye Chen came once again.

"Xu Dacheng, have you thought it over?" Ye Chen asked coolly.

"I’ve said before, this operation was organized by me, and no one instructed me!" Xu Dacheng seemed resolute in his conviction. Ye Chen nodded and smiled, "Alright then, keep thinking!"

"Wait!" Xu Dacheng immediately cried out.

"What? Remember something?" Ye Chen curled his lips into a smile.

"No, I’m just begging you to leave us one light!" Xu Dacheng pleaded.

"No way!" Ye Chen snorted coldly and turned to leave. Ye Chen’s appearance had brought the crushed little brothers a glimmer of hope, but as they watched Ye Chen leave, that glimmer of hope transformed into despair. They wept, "God, do you really want us to die?"

"Big brother, spare us!"

The little brothers began to beg Xu Dacheng, hoping to persuade him to confess the mastermind early so they could gain their freedom. But Xu Dacheng had already made up his mind; he would not betray the mastermind.

"Shut up!" Xu Dacheng angrily scolded the group of cowardly little brothers. He couldn’t believe they were so fearful of death. Of course, he feared death too, but he had his own purpose, his own interests, and so he acted as though he wasn’t afraid of dying.