Thirty seconds later, Li Qinwu wiped the blood off the knife.
His movements were calm, practiced—like this wasn't something new to him anymore.
The young man's body slid off the cart and hit the ground with a dull thud.
No reaction came from the surroundings.
No one was watching.
No one cared.
---
Li Qinwu adjusted the corpse on the cart slightly, making it look more "natural" among the pile.
Then he stood still for a moment.
Listened.
The wind passed through the roadside fields.
Distant voices of rebels faded in and out.
Everything continued as normal.
---
He took a slow drag from his cigarette.
Exhaled.
---
"Too many questions," he muttered softly.
Not regret.
Just observation.
---
He grabbed the cart handle again.
And continued walking.
---
The road ahead stretched deeper into rebel-controlled territory.
The further he went, the quieter it became—but not in a comforting way.
It was the kind of silence that meant something was wrong.
Or worse—
Something was waiting.
---
Li Qinwu's eyes scanned the surroundings without turning his head.
Fields.
Road edges.
Tree lines.
Possible ambush points.
All noted.
All ignored.
---
He kept his pace steady.
No hesitation.
No fear.
Only direction.
---
After a while, the terrain began to shift again.
The soil darkened.
The air grew heavier.
And that familiar smell returned—
Rotting flesh.
Stronger now.
Thicker.
---
Li Qinwu narrowed his eyes slightly.
---
"…So it's close."
---
He pushed forward.
The cart wheels creaked louder as the ground became uneven.
Every meter forward felt like a descent into something deeper.
---
Then—
He saw it.
---
A vast open depression ahead in the land.
Like the earth had been torn open and left to rot.
---
A corpse pit.
---
Li Qinwu slowed down.
Not out of fear—
but observation.
---
Dozens of carts lined the edges.
Rebels moved mechanically, dragging bodies and dumping them without even looking.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
---
The sound repeated like a broken rhythm of the world.
---
Li Qinwu stepped closer.
Blended in.
Just another worker among many.
---
He lowered his head slightly, hiding his expression.
But his eyes moved constantly.
Searching.
Evaluating.
---
Dog tags.
Weapons.
Anything useful.
Everything valuable.
---
This wasn't a burial site.
It was a resource field.
---
A rebel walked past him, shouting lazily:
"Faster! Don't waste time staring!"
Li Qinwu nodded slightly.
Didn't respond.
---
He reached the edge of the pit.
And began unloading.
One body at a time.
---
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
---
Each impact echoed faintly in his mind.
But his expression remained unchanged.
---
When the last corpse dropped—
he paused.
Just for a second.
---
Then his hand moved.
Quick.
Subtle.
---
A small metallic object was pulled free from the body.
Dog tag.
---
He slipped it into his pocket without hesitation.
---
And straightened up.
---
Around him, no one noticed.
No one looked twice.
---
Li Qinwu picked up the empty cart.
And turned around.
---
He was done here.
For now.
---
And as he walked away from the pit—
his eyes stayed calm.
But his thoughts were already elsewhere.
---
"Not bad."
"This place… can be used."
---
And he continued forward.
Deeper into rebel territory.
Deeper into the war.