33: Chapter 33 The Concession
However, compared to the speed at which the flames were spreading, their running speed was still much slower.
Li Cheng never imagined that the Little Devils would actually bring in gasoline to use fire as a weapon.
At this moment, the audience in the livestream room was dumbfounded upon seeing this scene.
"Damn, these Little Devils are too vicious."
"Burning the Sewer, it's all over now."
"The Little Devils are even burning their own corpses!"
"It's so anxiety-inducing to watch! I can only pray that the streamer and his group can escape this disaster."
While running, Li Cheng took out a piece of paper.
It was a map of the Sewer.
Using the headlamp he had just scavenged from a Little Devil, he checked the route.
As long as they ran fast enough, there was still a chance to escape this disaster.
Everyone was running for their lives at this moment; no one wanted to be burned to death.
They would rather charge forward and be shot to death by machine guns than be burned alive.
Just then, a scream suddenly came from behind.
It turned out that one person had been caught by the fire.
Soon, the flames spread to the second person.
Then the third, the fourth...
Li Cheng saw this scene, his eyes wide with rage, his teeth clenched in fury.
The flames first spread from their feet, then ignited their clothes.
The person at the very back suddenly fell and soaked in the water.
The gasoline floating on the water surface instantly engulfed that person.
Then, he was completely enveloped by flames.
Unable to bear the burning of the flames, he pulled out his pistol and ended his own life.
Even so, Li Cheng dared not stop.
Just then, they reached a cross-junction. Li Cheng checked the direction of the water flow by the light, and immediately turned to the right.
Watching the flow of fire pass by his side, the scorching heat wave rushed towards him.
The firelight illuminated the entire Sewer.
Li Cheng gasped heavily.
He felt like he had just escaped death.
But at this moment, he felt some difficulty breathing; the burning gasoline had caused the already scarce oxygen in the Sewer to decrease even further.
They could not continue to stay here, or else they would either be burned to death or suffocated to death.
The combustion of gasoline produced a large amount of exhaust gas, while also consuming a significant amount of oxygen in the air of the Sewer.
"Keep moving." Li Cheng gritted his teeth and continued to move forward.
Behind him, only about a dozen people remained following.
Thinking back now, Li Cheng felt that returning to the Sewer was a wrong decision.
Who knew that these Little Devils would be so deranged, directly setting fire to the Sewer and not even caring about their own corpses.
Li Cheng and his group did not know how long they had been running, or where they had run to.
After they found an exit and went out, heavy rain was pouring down, but the area was brightly lit.
"Where is this?"
Seeing this scene, Li Cheng and the others were completely dumbfounded.
At this moment, their faces were still covered in soot.
There were almost no pedestrians on the road, but the shops on both sides of the street were lit up.
They had just emerged from a Sewer manhole on the street.
At this moment, a black vintage car drove past.
Li Cheng immediately took his men and hid in a nearby alley.
The alley was very dark, and the people in the car did not notice them.
At this time, Li Cheng and the others did not know where they were, but they knew clearly that this place was definitely not a battlefield.
"Where is this, Captain?"
"This is the International Settlement..." A voice suddenly sounded in the alley.
Li Cheng held his gun and looked towards the source of the voice with great vigilance.
It came from under a rain shelter in the alley.
A person was sitting under the rain shelter.
"You must be the National Revolutionary Army from across the way, right? Why did you run over here? Leave quickly, otherwise, if you are discovered by the Foreign Masters, you will be arrested," the person continued.
"Foreign Masters? Who are the Foreign Masters?" Li Cheng frowned.
"Haha, the Foreign Masters are just the Foreign Masters! The ones with the most power in the International Settlement are the Foreign Masters," the man said in a raspy voice, smiling bitterly.
"We came here by accident and don't know how to leave. Can you tell us what the International Settlement is?" Li Cheng asked curiously.
Compared to worrying about being arrested, he was more curious about what the International Settlement and the Foreign Masters were that this person spoke of.
"Ahem, since you want to know, I will reluctantly tell you. However, I can't tell you for nothing." As the man said this, he stretched out his hand and made a gesture asking for money.
Seeing this, Li Cheng didn't say anything and patted his body.
He took out a few silver dollars, which he had found on himself earlier.
At first, he thought it was something important, but later he realized this stuff was money.
Although he had no use for this money, he hadn't thrown it away.
Now that he saw this person wanted money, he threw the silver dollars over.
The man picked up the few silver dollars, looking somewhat stunned.
"I didn't expect you soldiers to be so generous."
"The International Settlement is exactly what it sounds like: a place that has been rented out. The Foreign Masters are those foreigners. This place has been occupied by foreigners; it is the foreigners' territory," the man said lazily.
"Doesn't anyone manage this? Just let them occupy it for no reason?" Li Cheng frowned and asked.
"Manage? Who is going to manage it? The officials? They won't care."
"Usually, they don't allow us Chinese people to enter. They even put up a sign that says something like 'No Chinese or Dogs Allowed.' It's only because of the war that I was able to get in; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to enter."
Upon hearing the phrase 'No Chinese or Dogs Allowed,' a surge of inexplicable anger suddenly rose in Li Cheng's heart.
The others nearby were equally indignant.
"Are these foreigners really this arrogant? Insulting us on our own territory?"
"Good grief, hearing this sentence, my blood pressure went up."
"What kind of plot is this? Why is it so stifling everywhere?"
"Where did they hire this plot planner from? Why are they smearing China like this?!"
The audience in the livestream room was almost driven mad with anger upon hearing this person's words.
For a time, the footage from this livestream was recorded and edited into videos by them, then uploaded to the internet.
At this moment, Li Cheng's brows were tightly furrowed. "What is going on?"
"What else could it be? Those Foreign Masters are high and mighty, looking down on us Chinese people."
"Which countries are those Foreign Masters you speak of from?"
"Which countries? All of them."
"This is bullying us too much." Beside him, a member of the Suicide Squad had a face full of rage.
"Heh, what's this? Compared to the Little Devils, they are still considered better." The man shook his head.
"Alright, I've finished telling you. You should go now. If the foreign police come later, don't implicate me." The man urged them to leave.
Seeing this, Li Cheng did not continue to pester him.
Just after they walked into the alley, a huge roaring sound came from afar.
Seeing this, Li Cheng and the others hurriedly ran towards the place where the sound came from.
The first roar had just subsided, and another one rang out behind it.
They arrived at an open area where they could see fire soaring into the sky in the distance.
In the distance, artillery fire soared to the sky.
Behind them, however, neon lights were bright, and there was singing and dancing.
"Who's there?"
At this moment, a shout came from behind them.
Li Cheng turned his head to look and saw several people wearing black and white uniforms, looking like police officers.
Seeing the guns on the backs of Li Cheng and the others, these police officers immediately became vigilant.