Watching the flesh on the face of the living person gradually blacken and fall off, this highly shocking image made Wei Tianyang's facial skin tremble.
The creaking sound of bones deforming, and the squeaking of human body fats and fluids evaporating in a great fire, echoed in the darkness, one after another.
Meanwhile, the strong, pungent smoky smell of burning wood and the greasy, burnt smell of cooked meat rushed into his nostrils all at once, nauseating him as if he were at the fire scene of that day.
He suppressed the terror in his heart, not daring to imagine the horror of those people being burnt alive while locked inside the large hotel.
As if in a dream, in the blink of an eye, everything returned to normal, and the foul smell also dissipated.
"You see, he wasn't scared away," the woman said.
"But he is afraid," the man added.
"No, I just feel nauseated," Wei Tianyang shook his head.
"Wei Tianyang, I remember this name now. I am Du Yan. We lead the last living forces of the Chicken Snake Liberation Front...although, we are all dead," Du Yan said.
She flipped her ponytail and leaned the scorched AK47 against the wall.
Li Bin also stood up at this time, circling Wei Tianyang twice, closely examining the young man before him.
Then, he extended his right hand towards Wei Tianyang.
"My name is Li Bin. I'm the leader of this group. Let's shake hands."
The man's voice was calm, his face nonchalant, but his eyes held an inextinguishable flame.
Du Yan laughed out loud beside them, "Are you going to play the squeezing hand game with him? He's still just a kid."
Wei Tianyang extended his left hand but grabbed thin air, leaving Li Bin somewhat disappointed.
He extended his right hand again, signaling for Li Bin to try once more.
This time, they switched hands and firmly grasped each other.
Li Bin's right hand was wide and rough, his palm slightly calloused, while Wei Tianyang's right hand was gaunt and wrapped in some bandages.
He could feel that Li Bin was gradually increasing his grip, slowly squeezing his four fingers together.
Li Bin smiled as he looked at Wei Tianyang; his skin was dark and rugged, with a disheveled beard and a bullet graze scar on his face, yet despite all this, his beret trapped his untidy hair and his gaze was as sharp as a knife, reflecting the agility and fierceness of an old guerrilla.
Wei Tianyang exerted a bit more strength with his right hand, whitening Li Bin's "tiger's mouth."
"You lad, you've got a strong grip...sss..." Li Bin said with a laugh.
After releasing their hands, they acknowledged each other.
Du Yan seemed surprised, but quickly regained her composure, laughing, "That's really something, you actually lost?"
Li Bin gave a wry smile, "I'm just an ordinary person. Isn't it normal to lose to someone with superpowers?"
"An ordinary dead person," Du Yan added.
Li Bin shook his left hand and said, "This kid is not bad; I don't mind being neighbors with him. Perhaps, he could even help us out."
Wei Tianyang looked into Li Bin's eyes, seeing that flame and immediately understood the implication in his words.
"Help? You have been dead for over a decade, the situation in Chicken Snake Country is settled, and your revolution is over," he shook his head.
"I don't think so. Logically, we should have been long gone, but why are we still here? Why did we meet you tonight? All this, perhaps, has a meaning," Du Yan said.
"We still exist, just unseen; the people of Chicken Snake Country need to be reorganized. Not to remain as slaves to radical warlords and comprador governments. We have not given up, so the revolution is not finished!" Du Yan declared.
"We only have a few dozen people; we can't help you fight a war of liberation," Wei Tianyang said.
"We don't need you on the battlefield, but the seed of revolution still exists. We just need your help to ignite it," Du Yan said.
She took a mottled photograph from her jacket pocket and handed it to Wei Tianyang.
He reached out with his left hand but grabbed nothing. Switching to his right hand, he finally pinched the photo.
The photo showed a black-haired young girl wearing a red vest and carrying an AK-47, similar in age to Wei Tianyang. She was standing with Du Yan, both smiling, photographed together at a command post in some woods.
"Is she... your daughter?" Wei Tianyang asked.
Du Yan shook her head, saying, "She is the daughter of a leader of the Liberation Front, Li Fei. She was only 17 at the time but gave up the chance to study abroad to stay in her homeland and join the revolutionary cause."
"Only 17 at the time? How old is she now?" Wei Tianyang asked.
"She must be almost 40 by now," Li Bin remarked.
"After our mishap, Li Fei led a team to the Red House for rescue, but when she arrived, the fire had been out for nearly two days. Those traitors had already cleaned up our bodies," Du Yan said.
"We could only watch her crying in the lobby. She couldn't see us, and we couldn't touch her," Du Yan said.
"Didn't the radicals harm her?" Wei Tianyang wondered.
"They needed to use her identity to legitimize themselves, claiming to be the rightful successors of the Liberation Front, a typical case of picking low-hanging fruit," Du Yan said.
"Find her and tell her that we are still here, the seeds of revolution are still alive, and she will complete our unfinished business. She will help us take revenge!" Du Yan declared.
Wei Tianyang looked at the photo again before saying, "Help is mutual, I can do this favor, but you also have to help me."
"Help should be reciprocal," Li Bin said.
Wei Tianyang nodded, saying, "I understand, of course. But I have another proposition. In a sense, we all share the same goal, which is revenge."
The group looked at him, some nodding quietly.
"My proposal is... neither the radicals nor the conservatives are good people, and the pharmaceutical companies, hiding behind them, experiment on the people of Chicken Snake Country. We are all victims and resistors."
"We help Li Fei win this battle, and you help us eliminate Tiantai Pharmaceutical. This land will no longer be poisoned by war and pharmaceutical companies,"
Wei Tianyang proposed.
Li Bin and Du Yan looked at each other and smiled, saying, "That sounds fair."
Then, Du Yan picked up her charred AK-47 and handed it to Wei Tianyang.
"A soldier shouldn't be without a weapon. You're strong, but bullets travel farther and faster than fists," Du Yan said.
Wei Tianyang was in a difficult position, receiving something from the deceased; he could only use his right hand...
He tried to tuck the photo into his trouser pocket, but it passed through the pocket and trousers and landed directly on the ground.
How to store these things...
He pinched the photo with his right hand, thinking of ways, his mind filled with the thought, "Put it away."
The next second, the photo in his right hand burst into flames, starting from the edges; sparks flew without an open flame, resembling sparks from a metal rod scraping against concrete.
The sparks gradually consumed the photo, disappearing into Wei Tianyang's right hand.
Gone...?
Could it have been annihilated?!