Chapter 123: But What About the Third Time?
The moment Cass gave the warning, Jack headed toward the entrance, with Henry and Mort close behind. Elias ordered everyone else to remain at their positions.
Before long, a scattered mass of figures appeared in the distance.
The refugees crossed the dark wasteland and gradually entered the light outside the entrance. Their line was loose and uneven, with metal pipes, wrenches, and brackets clattering together as they approached.
The guards raised their weapons.
The man leading the refugees walked at the front. He had just reached the entrance and was about to speak when he noticed Johnson sitting outside the fence, with a bottle of water, a cup, and half-eaten food beside him.
He stared in disbelief before erupting.
“Johnson, you fucking traitor!”
The refugees behind him quickly realized what had happened. Curses rang out from every direction. Some pointed at the Poison King and shouted abuse, while others tightened their grips on their metal pipes and moved toward him, demanding to know why he had pretended to search for water only to sneak off and join Jack.
The Poison King offered no defense. Instead, he recoiled in apparent panic, retreating several steps as though genuinely afraid they might rush forward and kill him.
Their accusations immediately revealed a problem.
The Poison King had claimed that he opposed them. Yet according to the refugees, he had originally been one of them. The two stories didn’t match at all.
Jack said nothing and gave him a brief glance.
The Poison King remained off to one side with his head lowered, wearing just the right amount of fear to look like an innocent victim who had risked everything to escape and warn them.
The shouting outside grew louder. Several refugees tried to move closer to him, and the people behind them pressed forward as well, forcing the scattered crowd into a tighter group.
Jack signaled to Henry.
Henry raised his revolver and fired into the sky.
Bang!
The gunshot drowned out every curse. Those at the front stopped instinctively, and the people behind them no longer dared push forward. Silence quickly settled over the entrance, broken only by the fading echo.
Jack stepped forward and faced the refugees holding pipes, wrenches, and pieces of metal.
“So you really came all this way to rob us?”
The crowd remained quiet until their leader tightened his grip on the pipe in his hands.
“Yeah, we did! You left us no choice!”
Jack scoffed.
“You come here armed and ready to rob us, then act like you’re the victims?”
“Have you people got no shame?”
The leader’s face darkened, but he refused to back down.
“We’re about to die. What good is shame?”
Several refugees voiced their agreement. The man stepped forward and pointed his pipe at Jack through the entrance.
“You’re giving us what we need tonight, whether you like it or not!”
“And who the hell are you?” Jack asked coldly. “You think you can come here and give me orders? Do I look like a pushover?”
“Enough talk. If you’ve got the guts, kill me.”
“Kill you?” Jack gave a cold laugh. “You’re not worth dirtying my hands over.”
He dismissed the man and addressed the refugees behind him.
“I was going to tell you that we had found the Poison King and that you could continue bringing things here to trade.”
The aggression on their faces immediately faltered.
Jack’s voice turned cold.
“But after seeing this? Forget it. You clearly don’t have any shame left to save.”
After a brief silence, the leader recovered first. He sneered and called to the people behind him.
“First, he claimed the Poison King was hiding among us. Now he suddenly says he’s found him. And you’re actually buying this bullshit?”
Jack ignored him.
“Believe me or don’t. I don’t care. The Poison King is one of you.”
The voices of agreement behind the leader quickly faded.
The refugees began checking the people around them. Some quietly put more distance between themselves and their neighbors, while others tightened their grips on their makeshift weapons and searched the crowd.
Seeing their hesitation, the leader raised his voice.
“Don’t listen to him! He made the whole thing up because he’s scared we’ll force our way in!”
“Scared of you?”
Jack made no attempt to hide his contempt.
“You think I’m afraid of this pathetic mob?”
The leader’s expression stiffened, but he forced himself to keep shouting.
“Enough talk! Everyone, charge the entrance! He won’t dare shoot us all!”
The crowd stirred again. Several people at the front leaned forward with their weapons ready, but those behind them were still scanning the people nearby, unable to shake the fear that the Poison King might truly be among them.
The Poison King watched it all with growing satisfaction.
None of it showed on his face. Instead, he made himself appear even more frightened and hurried toward the fence.
“Jack, let me in! They really are going to kill me!”
The leader immediately spotted him, and his anger overwhelmed whatever hesitation he had felt.
“You’re the one who should fucking die, you traitor!”
He charged at the Poison King with his pipe raised.
Henry fired into the air again.
Bang!
The shot exploded across the wasteland.
The man stopped short and shouted at Henry, “Go ahead, then! Shoot me if you’ve got the guts!”
Henry said nothing.
The barrel of the revolver slowly lowered until it pointed directly at the man’s chest.
The anger vanished from his face.
Henry kept one finger on the trigger, his expression leaving no doubt that one more step would end with a bullet through the man’s body.
The refugee tightened his grip on the pipe but no longer dared move.
Jack regarded him with even more contempt.
“Coward.”
The man’s face turned red, and the veins on his forehead stood out, but he couldn’t force out a single word.
Jack dismissed him and addressed the refugees now keeping their distance from one another.
“Still don’t believe me? Fine. Watch this.”
He raised a hand and pointed at the Poison King.
Every refugee followed his finger until all eyes settled on Johnson. Even their leader hesitated, his anger giving way to suspicion.
A cold weight settled in the Poison King’s chest, but his expression remained confused and frightened.
Jack spoke slowly.
“You told me you ran because you tried to stop them.”
He indicated the refugees around them.
“They’re telling a different story.”
The Poison King opened his mouth to explain, but Jack gave him no chance.
“And sneaking over here two nights in a row in this godforsaken heat must have been exhausting, right?”
Alarm shot through the Poison King, though nothing changed on his face.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t?”
Jack smiled without taking his eyes off him.
“Ever since you arrived, you’ve kept trying to get closer to us. Did you really think we wouldn’t notice?”
The Poison King maintained his bewildered expression, though his grip tightened slightly around the water bottle.
“Once could be a coincidence. Even twice might have an explanation.”
Jack let the words hang for a moment before his smile widened.
“But what about the third time?”
The entire entrance fell silent.
The Poison King held Jack’s gaze. The fear and confusion slowly disappeared from his face. Then he threw back his head and burst into laughter.
“Impressive! Brilliant!”
He raised a thumb toward Jack, openly displaying his admiration.
“I really did underestimate you!”
Jack paused.
“So it really is you.”
The Poison King’s smile froze.
“You were bluffing?”
The refugees stared in disbelief. Several slowly lowered the pipes in their hands.
Johnson, the timid man who had stayed with them at the agricultural supply center, truly was the Poison King.
Those nearest to him scrambled backward. The crowd split apart, leaving a wide empty space around him within seconds.
Jack regarded him calmly. “Would you have admitted it if I hadn’t?”
The Poison King’s expression darkened.
“So what if you figured out who I am? What are you going to do about it?”
“I can kill you,” Jack said seriously.
The Poison King laughed again as though he had heard something absurd.
“Kill me? With that gun?”
“Bingo,” Jack said. “Still no prize.”
The laughter stopped.
The Poison King surveyed the people near the entrance with open disdain.
“You really think you can stop me from leaving?”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
Ignoring Jack, the Poison King faced the refugees who had retreated far from him. The people who had been shouting so boldly only moments earlier were now pale, and not one dared meet his eyes.
“Useless idiots. You can’t do anything right.”
The insult darkened their faces, but no one dared answer.
Elias watched him for a moment before leaning closer to Megan.
“Didn’t he already drink it? Why isn’t anything happening?”
Megan looked slightly embarrassed.
“I’m a doctor. I was worried about giving him too much.”
Elias regarded her helplessly, but before he could respond, Jack called out again.
“Done with the threats?” Jack asked. “Good. Then it’s my turn.”
The Poison King glared at him.
“You caught me this time, but killing me won’t be so easy. I’ll be back. From now on, you’d better sleep with one eye open.”
The moment he finished, the Poison King drove one foot against the ground and bolted.
By the time the people nearby reacted, he had already passed beyond the edge of the lights and was seconds away from disappearing into the darkness.
Jack remained perfectly calm. He simply raised a hand and swung it forward.
Blinding lights came alive across the settlement.
All thirteen CUEVs switched on their headlights at once. Bright beams swept across the wasteland from multiple directions and quickly found the Poison King’s fleeing figure.
The drivers immediately accelerated.
A chorus of low electrical hums surged through the night as all thirteen CUEVs raced after him.