If Heaven Doesn't Care, Why Should I?

Empowered by the Wild Wolf Gang leader's token, that crumbling stretch of city wall held firm once more. Yet... it had cost a precious exotic treasure. Such exotic treasures capable of temporarily boosting the wall's defenses were exceedingly rare lifesavers. "Has the Chen family's architect still not arrived?" the Wild Wolf Gang leader bellowed into the torrential downpour, turning toward the subordinate beside him. "We've already sent several men to the Chen Manor, but there's been no reply yet!" shouted the subordinate at his side, wiping rainwater from his face as he clutched a broadsword. "Fuck them!" Ruffian aura radiating from every pore, the burly man stared out at the nearly endless tide of ghost creatures beyond the wall. His face contorted with fury as he gripped the hilt of his blade, rage burning in his eyes. Tonight, as Jiangbei City hung in the balance, the only ones standing upon the battlements were the brothers of his Wild Wolf Gang and scattered factions such as the Jiangbei Market. He had even seen ordinary merchants digging out the ghost stones they had hoarded at the bottom of their chests, handing them over to architects to erect arrow towers, all merely to survive the night. Yet... neither the Jiangbei Chen family nor the Qiuhe Wang family had sent a single soul to defend the walls. He knew full well what those two houses were thinking. Both families had higher-grade walls guarding their own estates. What did the fall of Jiangbei City's outer wall have to do with them? As long as they guarded their own little patch of land, they were safe. They simply refused to waste their ghost stones and exotic treasures on defending Jiangbei City. As one of the three major factions, the Wild Wolf Gang also had its own territory and its own defensive walls. He, too, could easily pull back and hold his ground. However— he had never controlled any grand enterprises over the years. His gang was a newly risen faction born thirty-seven years ago, after Jiangbei City fell during that previous rainy season. Kept out of the lucrative trades, they made their living primarily by collecting protection fees from the local shops. Since he had taken their money, he had to protect them. Those were the rules. You take someone's coin, you do the job. "Boss, what do we do now?" a confidant beside him urged anxiously. "The Chen and Wang families clearly aren't coming. Maybe we should pull back too. We can't hold this alone!" "...Hoo." The Wild Wolf Gang leader turned to look at an elderly man standing behind him on the rainswept wall. This was the gang's architect—an outside consecrated elder, a Level 5 architect whom the leader had once saved from death in the wilderness, who had followed him ever since. Drawing a deep breath, suppressing the burning fury in his eyes, the leader rasped, "Old Zhu, what do you think?" "I follow your lead, Gang Leader." There was hardly a ripple in the old man's eyes. He only offered a faint smile. "Whatever order you give, this old man will carry out." "Good!" Gazing out at the flesh worm ghosts relentlessly charging through the deluge, the ruffian suddenly laughed aloud. "I reckon that since we took their protection money, we damn well better protect the people behind us." "Taking money and doing nothing isn't how our Wild Wolf Gang operates. What do you all say?" A flash of lightning cracked across the sky, casting a bloody glint across the man's pale face. "Erhu!" "Here, Boss!" "Open the vault! Bring out every last ghost stone and exotic treasure the Wild Wolf Gang owns! Today, I'm going to hold this fucking city to the death!" "Yes, sir!" Opening the vault meant laying their entire foundation on the line. After this battle, even if Jiangbei City survived, the name of the Wild Wolf Gang would be wiped from its history. Word of his command spread swiftly across the battlements. Down in the city, anyone with a ghost stone to spare rushed out into the driving rain the moment they saw anyone in Wild Wolf Gang attire, pressing their life savings into the gang members' hands. Everyone understood: the Wild Wolf Gang was fighting for their lives. Even if the Wild Wolf Gang chose not to defend the wall, they still had a retreat. But the common folk had nowhere to go. If the city fell, they died. "Dad." Inside a wooden cabin nestled in an alley of Jiangbei City, a man in coarse hemp clothes, gripping a broadsword, grinned at his frightened, tearful parents. "You always used to say I was a good-for-nothing for joining a gang. You kept telling me to land a post with the Chen family, calling that the proper path." "Do you see now?" "When the city is on the verge of falling, we are the ones protecting the people." Just then, a burst of fireworks blossomed into the rainy sky over the city. The man lingered no longer and gave a hurried farewell. "The gang leader has issued an emergency muster order. I have to go. I'll be back at dawn." ... Jiangbei City, the Chen Manor. Inside the council hall, several elders were gathered. "The Wild Wolf Gang leader certainly has backbone, but he lacks sense. Win or lose, after tonight, the name of the Wild Wolf Gang will cease to exist in Jiangbei City." The Great Elder of the Chen family let out a complicated sigh. The Wild Wolf Gang was a faction that had risen later. They had never lived through the rainy season thirty-seven years ago. They simply failed to understand that the fall of the outer city was inevitable during such a season. Even if they held it tonight, what of it? The rainy season still had over twenty days to go. It was an exercise in futility. Hoarding every scrap of resources, retreating to their own estate, and weathering the storm was the only rational path. The Second Elder sat in silence. He merely felt that... the family had grown increasingly chaotic in recent years. On the ghost-skin map, one could clearly see that Jiangbei Chen Family Outpost No. 37 had still not fallen. The plain truth was that Chen Fan had awakened as an architect of no small caliber, yet an architect who rightfully belonged to the Chen family had been driven into the wasteland by internal strife. Only... no one in the family dared mention the matter again, all pretending to know nothing. Right then— the Chen Family Head pushed the doors open, strode into the council hall, and spoke the moment he took his seat. "The Wild Wolf Gang opened their vaults, wagering their entire foundation to defend Jiangbei City to the death, choosing to live or die with hundreds of thousands of common folk." "Commendable courage." "I admire him for being a man of conviction." "Right now, the people in the city are united. Anyone with a ghost stone in hand is running into the streets, shoving them onto the Wild Wolf Gang. With such momentum, they might actually hold tonight." The Great Elder murmured thoughtfully, "Family Head, do you mean we should also go defend the wall now, riding this wave to salvage some of our reputation?" "No." The Chen Family Head shook his head in rejection. "Whether my actions over the years have been right or wrong, I leave to posterity to judge. But one thing is certain: everything I have done has been for the greater prosperity of the Chen family. In that regard, I have nothing to be ashamed of before our ancestors." "I have done no disservice to the mantle of Family Head." "Even if they can hold tonight, there are still over twenty days left in the rainy season. How are they going to hold out in the second half?" "They are squandering the city's resources." "Order all Chen family disciples and retainers to change into the attire of the Wild Wolf Gang immediately. Go out and accept the ghost stones and exotic treasures offered by the merchants and common folk." "Focus especially on the area around the Jiangbei Market." "As for the lives of the people throughout the city, I couldn't care less." "Since Eternal Night invaded, how many people have perished across this continent? How many have begged the heavens for a way out? Did the heavens ever bat an eye?" "If Heaven doesn't care, why should I?" "I care about only one thing:" "The Chen family's rise." "Everything... for the Chen family." "..." The elders exchanged glances, seeing the complicated emotions in one another's eyes. But after a long silence, they all bowed their heads together. "We obey the Family Head's command."