The carts slowly disappeared beyond the entrance of Unit 50 while dust rose heavily behind them.
Cries echoed through the streets long after the soldiers had already left.
Won ran after the carts barefoot, screaming the nas of their sons while soldiers shoved them away without rcy.
"My son!"
"Please bring him back!"
"He is only seventeen!"
One elderly woman collapsed directly onto the ground while beating her chest repeatedly.
"They are taking my only child away!" she cried brokenly. "How am I supposed to live now?"
Nearby, a young girl clung desperately to her older brother’s arm while soldiers dragged him toward the carts.
"Brother! Don’t leave !"
Her voice broke completely from crying.
The young man looked back helplessly while trying to pull free.
"Take care of Mother!" he shouted desperately before a soldier slamd him forward again.
Another woman held onto a soldier’s sleeve with trembling hands.
"My husband is sick already," she begged. "If you take my son too, our family will die!"
The soldier kicked her hand away coldly. The streets of Unit 50 had completely fallen into despair.
I stood there watching everything silently while anger slowly rose inside .
Around , people cried, but no one dared to fight back.
And suddenly, I could not take it anymore.
"How long are you all going to keep crying?"
My voice cut sharply through the chaos.
The entire street slowly quieted.
People turned toward one after another. Even the won crying on the ground froze briefly.
I stepped forward slowly, my gaze sweeping across the crowd.
"You stand here watching your family mbers get dragged away," I said coldly. "And all you do is cry."
Several people lowered their heads imdiately.
A middle-aged woman suddenly shouted back through tears.
"What else can we do?!"
Her eyes were red from crying.
"We are powerless!"
Another man clenched his fists tightly.
"We don’t even have a leader in Unit 50!"
"That’s right!"
Soone else spoke bitterly from the crowd.
"Other units are protected because they have people backing them!"
"But nobody cares about us!"
An older woman wiped her tears roughly.
"If we resist, they will kill us too!"
The crowd slowly beca restless again.
Everything mixed together heavily in the air.
I looked at them quietly for a mont.
Then I spoke again.
"So because you are powerless, you will just stand here quietly until every young man in Unit 50 disappears?"
Silence fell instantly.
Nobody answered .
Because deep down, they already knew the truth. Crying alone would never save anyone.
Fu Sheng stood quietly beside while the crowd remained silent around us.
His eyes stayed fixed on for a mont, as though even he had not expected to speak out like this in front of the entire unit.
Then suddenly—
"Brother!"
A familiar voice ca from behind us.
I turned slightly and saw Han Fuji, Fu Tong, and Fu Teng finally arriving through the crowd. The three of them looked tense from rushing over quickly after hearing what happened in Unit 50.
But the mont they noticed the scene before them—
All three froze slightly.
Because nearly everyone in the street was staring at .
And listening.
Fu Tong blinked twice.
"What happened here?" he muttered under his breath.
Han Fuji looked even more shocked.
"When did my Su Long suddenly beco the leader of Unit 50?"
Fu Teng frowned slightly but stayed quiet while observing the crowd carefully.
anwhile, the villagers continued looking toward expectantly.
The fear in their eyes was still there.
But now, sothing else had appeared too.
Anger.
I slowly looked around at all of them before speaking again.
"You cry because your sons are being taken away."
I pointed toward the direction the carts had disappeared.
"You panic because your brothers and husbands are being dragged to die."
Several won imdiately lowered their heads while wiping tears from their faces.
A young man clenched his fists tightly.
An elderly man suddenly spoke bitterly.
"But what can common people like us do?"
I looked directly at him.
"You can fight."
The words stunned the crowd instantly.
Murmurs spread everywhere.
"Fight?"
"Against soldiers?"
"That is impossible..."
One woman shook her head fearfully.
"They have weapons."
"And what do you think farming tools are?" I asked coldly.
Silence fell again.
I slowly stepped forward.
"You think those soldiers are gods?" I continued. "They are just n."
Several people exchanged uncertain looks.
Fu Sheng quietly watched without interrupting.
I pointed toward the hos around us.
"Grab your farming hoes."
"Grab your axes."
"Grab your knives."
My voice beca sharper.
"If people are coming to drag your family away to die, then fight for them!"
The crowd beca restless imdiately.
A young woman suddenly raised her voice emotionally.
"She is right!"
Tears still filled her eyes.
"They already took my younger brother anyway! If we stay silent, they will keep taking more people!"
Another man gritted his teeth.
"My son was taken this morning too..."
An older mother wiped her tears roughly before speaking.
"They cannot keep treating us like animals forever."
More voices slowly began rising one after another.
"That’s right!"
"If we stay silent now, next ti they will co again!"
"They only bully Unit 50 because nobody fights back!"
The atmosphere slowly changed.
The fear that had filled the streets earlier was slowly turning into anger instead.
Even Han Fuji looked surprised now.
Fu Tong leaned closer to him slightly.
"...She really stirred them up."
Han Fuji swallowed slowly.
"No," he muttered while staring at . "She woke them up."
anwhile, more villagers began gripping their tools tightly.
An elderly man lifted a wooden stick with trembling hands.
A young boy picked up a farming hoe from nearby.
Even so won stepped forward with determined expressions.
anwhile, Han Fuji, Fu Tong, and Fu Teng finally pushed through the crowd and arrived beside Fu Sheng and .
Han Fuji looked around at the furious villagers before staring at in disbelief.
"I leave for a short while," he muttered dramatically, "and suddenly Su Long starts a rebellion."
Fu Tong imdiately elbowed him.
"Can you stop joking for one mont?"
Han Fuji rubbed his arm before looking back at again.
"But seriously..." he lowered his voice slightly, "what exactly happened here?"
Fu Sheng answered calmly before I could speak.
"She got angry."
Fu Tong looked speechless for a second.
"...That explanation sohow makes sense."
Even Fu Teng looked toward with slight surprise before shifting his attention back toward the crowd ahead.
The villagers continued marching while angry voices spread through the streets.
Several mothers clutched farming tools tightly despite trembling badly.
One old man muttered through gritted teeth,
"They think Unit 50 is weak because we have no leader."
Another villager responded imdiately,
"Then today we show them we are not weak."
Han Fuji stared quietly at the crowd for a mont.
"...They really changed fast."
Fu Sheng’s gaze landed on briefly.
"No," he said calmly. "They were always angry."
His voice lowered slightly.
"They just finally found soone willing to say it out loud."
For a mont, nobody spoke again.
Only the sound of countless footsteps filled the road.
Then suddenly—
"We see them ahead!"
The shout ca from the front of the crowd.
The villagers instantly beca restless.
Everyone quickened their pace imdiately.
Far ahead on the road, the soldiers escorting the captured young n had finally co into view.
The escort slowly began stopping after noticing the approaching crowd.
Several ard soldiers stepped forward defensively while the captured young n looked back with widened eyes.
"What are they doing?" one soldier muttered nervously.
The commander riding at the front quickly turned his horse around.
The mont he saw dozens of villagers marching toward them carrying weapons and tools, his expression darkened imdiately.
"Stop right there!" he shouted coldly.
But this ti—
Nobody stopped.
The villagers continued advancing despite their trembling legs.
The commander’s face turned ugly instantly.
"Have all of you gone mad?" he barked. "Do you think common villagers can oppose military authority?"
A few villagers instinctively slowed after hearing his furious voice.
Fear still existed.
After all, these soldiers represented the governnt forces that had oppressed them for years.
But before hesitation could spread—
One woman suddenly stepped forward while gripping a farming sickle tightly.
"You already took my son last winter!" she shouted angrily. "And he never ca back!"
Another villager raised his wooden stick.
"You said the sa lies before!"
"We won’t believe you anymore!"
The crowd instantly erupted again.
"That’s right!"
"Release them!"
"You cannot keep taking our families!"
The soldiers visibly stiffened after realizing the villagers were still advancing instead of retreating.
The commander’s expression darkened further.
"You dare challenge us?" he roared. "Anyone who takes another step forward will be treated as a rebel!"
Several soldiers imdiately raised their rifles threateningly.
The atmosphere instantly beca tense.
So villagers paled slightly at the sight of the guns.
But this ti—
No one turned back.
An elderly man stepped forward despite shaking badly.
"If we kneel forever," he said hoarsely, "then our children will suffer forever too."
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