Chapter 2 Human Nature

Alexander was momentarily speechless.

"Get inside and grab the food!" the burly man shouted again, waving his hand.

As soon as he finished speaking, the people on the steps surged forward. The children instantly surrounded Alexander, pulling at him and shouting, "Uncle Alexander, give me something to eat. I haven't eaten in days."

"Get lost, all of you!" Alexander, holding a dagger, helplessly shouted at the children, "Or I'll stab you..."

Inside the house, Daniel saw the commotion at the door and immediately stepped forward to block Alexander, shouting to the crowd, "Everyone, calm down. Let's talk this out."

The children were starving and fearless, clinging to Alexander, while the adults in the back were already squeezing through the gaps.

Alexander, being burly, took a step to block the door, glaring and shouting, "I'm just trying to survive. Don't push me!"

The crowd frantically squeezed towards the door, ignoring Alexander's words.

Alexander was being pulled towards the door by the younger children, but he couldn't bring himself to stab them, so he struggled, preparing to deal with the approaching adults.

"Uncle Alexander, just a bowl of spaghetti..." one kid begged.

"Get lost!" Alexander yelled.

A ten-year-old child was pulling hard on Alexander when Alexander, in an attempt to shake him off, didn't expect the child to hit the crowd rushing up. The child then lost his balance and fell backward through the iron railing.

A child's terrified scream echoed, lingering for a long time.

This was followed by the sound of a body hitting the ground below.

Alexander and Daniel were stunned, breathing heavily as they looked at the iron railing, momentarily at a loss.

The crowd went silent, and the stairs steadied.

"The kid fell!" Daniel urgently shouted first.

Dozens of people turned to look down, expressionless. After a brief silence of less than two seconds, they collectively turned their heads back. The child's mother, after a moment of shock, screamed and rushed downstairs.

Alexander was stunned.

"Give me food," that man demanded.

"The kid fell. We won't let them go without food," Another one added."Rob them." The shouts were deafening and imposing. No one turned to check on the child who had fallen downstairs. Instead, they continued to squeeze forward.

Daniel stood at the door, glaring at the crowd, knowing very well that if he didn't give them food today, it would be a fight to the death. So, he licked his lips and shouted, "Alright, I surrender... I'll get you some."

Hearing this, Alexander immediately grabbed Daniel's arm and ordered in a low voice, "Don't give them anything, not a single bit."

Daniel looked at the crowd outside, glared back, and responded, "The news about our food has leaked. If we don't give them something, they won't leave."

"If you give them something, it'll be even worse," Alexander replied very seriously. It's better to fight than to give in."

"Nonsense!" Daniel disagreed, insisting, "We only have one gun, and there are so many people outside. Do you think you can control them? If we can't, we'll be robbed. They've already decided to rob us. Can't you see that?"

"Just listen to me. I'll get the gun," Alexander insisted.

"Alexander, didn't you see? The kid fell, and they didn't leave. These people have lost their minds," Daniel said, pulling his arm away from Alexander's grip. "We have enough food for ourselves, and we've exchanged enough for money. Giving them a bowl of spaghetti isn't a big loss for us, so I don't want to risk our lives. The food belongs to both of us. I have a say in how it's used."

Alexander was speechless at this.

Daniel straightened up and shouted at the burly leader, "Even in the anarchic district, there are rules for survival. Take the spaghetti and leave. Don't cause any more trouble."

"As long as we get the food, we'll leave right away." the burly leader nodded.

Daniel stepped back, went inside, and brought out a large bowl of spaghetti, slamming it on the ground. "Get out."

Dozens of people stared at the spaghetti on the ground, their eyes filled with greed, but no one stepped forward to take it.

The burly leader was silent for a few seconds, then took the cloth bag tied to his waist and poured the spaghetti into it in one go.

"Get out!" Daniel impatiently drove them away.

The crowd stood at the door, unmoving. The burly leader, sweating, tied the spaghetti to his waist but didn't leave immediately.

"I told you to leave. Don't you understand?" Daniel frowned and drove them away again.

After a moment of silence, someone in the crowd shouted, "If he can give us a bowl of spaghetti, he must have a whole bag of it!"

"Give us more. There are too many people. This isn't enough," Another added.

"Give us the rice. Or we'll just go in and take it. What's the point of talking?" Their leader demanded.

The shouts and curses echoed through the six-story building. This time, some people in the crowd secretly took out knives and weapons, looking at Daniel with cold, ungrateful eyes.

The burly leader spread his hands and said in a low voice, "You see, these people are starving and crazy. I can't control them. Why don't you bring out the bag of spaghetti, and we'll take half."

"You!" Daniel was anxious, pulling out a knife from his pocket.

"Do you want to fight?"

"We don't be scared of you. We're starving to death. Do you think we're afraid of knives and guns?" The crowd wasn't afraid of Daniel and followed the burly leader into the house.

Daniel was stunned, standing there, not knowing what to do. He wanted to fight, but he wasn't confident he could handle these crazed people. But if he didn't fight, he clearly couldn't protect his belongings.

At this moment, Alexander pulled out a large handgun from the cabinet, immediately turning the cylinder and loading the bullets.

Seeing the gun, the crowd instinctively stopped.

Alexander, expressionless, pulled out a large bag of spaghetti from the cabinet and threw it on the floor, shouting, "All the food is here. If you want to eat, come and get it."

The crowd was silent.

"Who are you trying to scare?" The burly leader, with bloodshot eyes, shouted, "We're starving to death. Do you think we're afraid of your gun?"

Alexander tilted his head, pointing at the bag of food with his left hand and shouting, "The food is right here. You can take it if you want. Come on!"

The burly leader hesitated for half a second, then turned and shouted, "There are so many of us. He only has one gun. I don't believe he can kill us all."

With that, the burly leader stepped forward, reaching for the bag of food.

The gun fired, and the cylinder turned.

The burly leader flew half a foot away, blood splattering on the floor, and a large hole blasted in his chest.

Alexander, holding the gun in his right hand, shouted expressionlessly, "Without food, you might starve to death in a few days. But if anyone reaches for it now, I'll shoot him dead on the spot."

Hearing this, the crowd looked at each other, silent.

"I still have two bullets left. Are you going to take it?" Alexander suddenly shouted.

The crowd took two steps back.

Alexander stepped forward, bent down, and untied the food bag from the burly leader's waist, shouting quietly, "Daniel, grab our stuff. We're leaving."

Daniel immediately went back inside.

Alexander, holding the gun in his right hand, shouted, "Line up in two rows and make way."

The crowd didn't move.

Alexander raised the gun, pointing it at the nearest person, and shouted, "Move!"

The person hesitated for half a second, then immediately stepped aside. The others followed suit, clearing a path downstairs.

Five minutes later, Alexander reached the ground floor and saw the mother holding her injured child, crying.

Alexander was silent for a few seconds, then threw the spaghetti he had given to the burly leader and said, "Hide the food. They're coming down soon."

The mother was stunned, then quickly took the bag of spaghetti and said, "Thank you. With food, we won't die..."

Alexander led Daniel, quickly disappearing into the night.

At around 3 AM, in the vast desert, Alexander divided the food and threw some to Daniel, saying, "Take your stuff; we're parting ways."

Daniel, stunned, asked in confusion, "Is it really necessary? Just because we disagreed earlier... I don't think I..."

Alexander interrupted, "Daniel, if we aren't on the same path, we shouldn't stick together. It could harm both of us. I'm heading to the Ninth District... Take care of yourself."

With that, Alexander turned and left without any hesitation, heading towards his new beginning, Ninth District.

In the military camp on the left side of the anarchic district , a black man with big white teeth asked, "There was gunfire earlier. Should we check it out?"

"No, there's always fighting over food here, people dying every day. They even ambush military vehicles. No need no make another fuss." An old soldier, smoking a cheap cigarette, lazily responded from his broken wooden bed.