I searched and fought in America.

As the execution took place, the priest's smile grew even more amiable. However, a sudden roaring sound came from the right side of the pipe.

The priest's face turned grim. He looked up and saw that the various rock obstacles he had set up had been blown up by the armed forces using some low-quality explosives!

This was unexpected, after all, who would bring explosives into the sewers?! Aren't they afraid of burying them directly in the sewers?!

The original intention of informing the other party in advance was to watch them slowly die, but now it seems that being too clever for their own good has backfired.

"Sigh~"

The priest sighed. Well, the ceremony was now complete.

He pulled the detonator out of the human skin robe, and then pressed a switch on the side.

"drop--"

An electronic voice came from below.

Immediately following was a mechanical "click-clack" sound, the sound of the timer on the gas cylinder starting to tick.

The priest put away the detonator, took one last look at the "altar" he had cultivated for so many years, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.

He turned around and shouted to the still-celebrating believers below:

"Children—"

His voice, kind and gentle, echoed throughout the hall through the loudspeakers.

"Kochina is calling us! Come with me, let's go outside and watch this spectacular fireworks display!"

The cultists were stunned for a moment, then erupted into an even more frenzied cheer.

"Bravo, Mamikochina!"

"Watch the fireworks!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

They receded like the tide, quickly disappearing into the various pipes, laughing wildly as they ran.

After they left, the entire hall fell silent, with only the ticking of the timer remaining.

Only—

The children who were dragged out lay on the cold ground, while their mothers knelt before them.

Only—

Those survivors.

Only—

And there's Rosen, and his squad.

---

Cade was the first to rush to Rosen's side.

He grabbed Rosen by the collar, his face flushed with anxiety: "Go! Go! It'll be too late if we don't leave now!"

Caesar followed closely behind: "Father! Quickly, we'll protect you and get you out of here! There's an exit to the southwest!"

Wang Ling calmly scanned the area, his mind racing:

"Father, the nearest exit is to the southwest, about 150 meters away as the crow flies."

"Run at full speed, and we'll be out in less than a minute. If the impact is small, we might even escape unscathed."

Gabak, already carrying the chief's son on his back, shouted to Rosen, "Father, hurry! I can keep up with the child on my back!"

All four people's eyes fell on Rosen.

Awaiting his command.

Waiting for him to take that step.

however.

Rosen did not move.

He stood there, his gaze passing over his brothers' anxious faces and landing on the group of survivors in the distance.

The group of people remained huddled together, like a herd of abandoned livestock.

No one ran away, no one struggled, and no one even moved.

They were just waiting to die.

Only the old man seemed to sense Rosen's gaze.

He looked up and, from a distance of more than ten meters, met Rosen's gaze for a second.

Then, the old man smiled.

He waved gently at Rosen.

That means: Go away, leave us alone.

Rosen's gaze shifted to the children who had been abandoned by the fanatics.

A boy, about seven or eight years old, was curled up on the ground, his body still twitching slightly. His head had been hit so violently on the ground that no one knew if he would survive.

His youthful face was also covered with strange runes carved with a knife.

The smaller one, perhaps only five or six years old, lay motionless on the ground; it was probably not going to survive...

There was one little girl who was lucky; the cultist threw her and she landed on her body.

She lay on the ground and struggled to lift her head.

It met Rosen's eyes perfectly.

In those eyes—

There was no fear.

There is no hope.

There weren't even any tears.

There was only an empty space.

That was a look in his eyes that had given up everything.

That's the look in someone's eyes who knows they're not needed by the world and will never be saved.

A five or six-year-old child.

That look is already there.

Countless images flashed through Rosen's mind—

Richis knelt on the ground, burying his head in his hands and weeping about his daughter's illness.

The old man spoke with a bitter smile about the scenes they no longer cherished.

The mother strangled her own child with her own hands while she was crying.

And now.

The five or six-year-old girl looked at him with those lifeless eyes.

She was waiting to die.

She didn't even know what else she could wait for.

Rosen took a deep breath.

That breath was taken very long, as if to inhale all the stench, all the blood, and all the despair of the world into his lungs.

Then, he looked at the rest of the team.

"You're probably wondering why I'm not leaving? Okay, I'll tell you."

Rosen turned around to face his brothers.

Behind him were the survivors waiting to die, the abandoned children, and the mother holding the corpse of her infant.

He stretched out his hand and pointed at the group of people.

"Did you see that? There are old people, women, and children inside."

Just now, a mother smothered her own child to death.

Because she felt that dying by her own hand was "warmer" than dying at the hands of those lunatics.

Caesar was stunned. He hadn't noticed any of this, but looking at the wanderers in that direction, he fell silent.

"Aren't such tragedies rare enough?"

Rosen's voice was deep.

Richis, a software engineer and senior programmer at Microsoft.

To save his daughter, he now has no choice but to sell scrap metal to survive.

His daughter is still lying in the hospital waiting to die, waiting for the $20,000 surgery fee, but he doesn't have it.

Old White, an ordinary construction worker, was tricked into going to prison. After his release, he had nothing and could only hide in the sewers, surviving by scavenging for garbage.

The only thing he could still do was yell at a complete stranger he had just met, cursing the immigrants who had cheated him.

Then someone reminded me, "Don't be so loud, you'll be recorded."

"And these people—"

Rosen pointed again at the group of survivors, his voice beginning to tremble slightly.

That wasn't fear, but anger—anger that had been suppressed for too long and finally erupted.

"They were human beings once too!"

They also have jobs, families, and dreams!

But this country, this messed-up world, has turned them into this!

"Look into their eyes, they are dead—dead while they were alive!"

Everyone else remained silent, but Cade spoke up:

"So, what are you trying to say, uttering these noble and righteous words at a critical moment of life and death?!"

During my service, I saw too many things like this: in villages ravaged by war, there were refugees everywhere, abandoned and like that.

Do they deserve pity? Of course they do. But what can you do? Who are you to put it bluntly?

You're just playing around with your naivety, your self-righteous enthusiasm, and the lives of us brothers!

We're about to be blown up!

This is reality, and reality is just that cruel!

You have no choice but to accept it. Only by accepting reality can you live a good life.

You can't change anything!

Caesar's words were sharp and incisive, and his perspective was exactly what those present were thinking.

This is a matter of life and death, and it's completely meaningless for you to bring this up at this time!

"Is it really right to always do things this way?!"

Rosen stared directly at Caesar.

"Are they born to be discarded like trash in this sewer, to be humiliated by those who abuse them?"

"To be used as a sacrifice by those lunatics, to be ignored like a rat by those so-called 'elites,' does that mean I should just die?!"

"Yes, this is America. If you don't have money or power, you're not human!"

You don't deserve to live like a human being; you should live worse than a dog!

Cade took a step forward and roared angrily.

---

My darlings, this part was really hard to write, it's driving me crazy! I reckon it needs some polishing. If you guys think it's alright, please give it a monthly pass to support me!