Seeing Xu An’s strange expression, Qin Chuan couldn’t help but chuckle.
“What, you think I’m the kind of heartless person who kills everyone I see? Am I that insane in your eyes?”
Xu An quietly grumbled, “Aren’t you?”
Clearly, they both recalled the day the populace rioted.
Qin Chuan looked at Xu An’s disbelieving eyes, feeling helpless, but not knowing how to explain.
“Even if you don’t believe me, I’m really not the kind of bloodthirsty person who kills indiscriminately.”
“My actions that day were purely out of necessity. In that situation, no one dared to open fire. Whoever dared to fire the first shot at the civilians would be condemned as a sinner.”
“But you still fired,” Xu An said, looking at Qin Chuan and silently adding in her mind.
“Not only did you fire, you used heavy machine guns.” However, she didn’t finish this sentence to spare Qin Chuan some face.
Qin Chuan gazed at Xu An with deep eyes, then looked at the extinguished stove beside them.
Lost in thought, he pondered for a long time before speaking to Xu An.
“Someone always has to fire the first shot. You know this, and I know this. If no one dares to do the dirty work, then I have to do it.”
Xu An didn’t contradict him on this.
Although Qin Chuan appeared cruel then, Xu An knew it was a necessary evil.
As Qin Chuan said, someone always had to fire. If it wasn’t Qin Chuan, it would have been someone else.
The people who arrived that day far exceeded the lighthouse’s capacity.
Whether it was to ensure the quality of life for those on the lighthouse or to avoid being overwhelmed by the approaching zombie horde, the riot was destined to be quelled.
The people on the lighthouse could not stand by and watch as the rioters jeopardized the lives of thousands.
Their own lives were also at stake on the lighthouse.
Therefore, regardless of whether it was an order from above or Qin Chuan’s own initiative, his actions had stopped the riot and saved countless lives.
“Although I killed a few people back then, whether you admit it or not, those people the lighthouse couldn’t accommodate truly gave up and sought other ways out.”
“People are dependent. They thought the lighthouse would never abandon them. They thought we wouldn’t actually shoot at them. They thought too much, believing the lighthouse was lying to them.”
“They thought that as long as they were sufficiently unreasonable, the lighthouse would eventually take them in. This is the inherent flaw of some people; they lack a sense of the bigger picture and thus cannot understand that the lighthouse was sacrificing the majority to preserve a minority, in order to maintain human survival.”
Xu An listened, looking at Qin Chuan with a blank expression. Despite not wanting to admit it, she had to concede that Qin Chuan was right.
“But I still believe that survival is a human instinct, and you can’t dismiss it all as an inherent flaw.”
Xu An looked directly into his eyes, showing no sign of backing down.
“Just as you said, someone had to fire eventually. Since you took on that risk, don’t blame others for blaming you or having prejudice against you.”
“We must bear the consequences of the choices we make.”
Qin Chuan’s expression stiffened. He felt as if Xu An had seen right through him.
After that day ended, the tragic scenes of those people before their deaths replayed in his mind, like a curse broadcast repeatedly in his brain.
Even though he knew he had done the right thing.
But the countless wronged souls seemed to be seeking him out, coming for him night after night.
Yet, Xu An’s words, while seeming to chide him for being sentimental, were actually like a form of comfort.
He was, for a moment, at a loss.
Xu An continued, “Just as you made this choice, you must bear whatever consequences follow. Don’t make excuses for yourself or for others. If you yourself believe it’s right, then no one can sway you.”
Qin Chuan looked at Xu An’s earnest face and suddenly found her somewhat endearing.
Where Xu An couldn’t see, Qin Chuan’s lips curved upward.
“And then, they used the women and children to threaten you, and you just surrendered?”
Qin Chuan gave a wry smile. “You should have noticed that the people who came down this time are not my trusted subordinates. Many of them are just people thrown together.”
Xu An nodded. She had already noticed this without Qin Chuan needing to point it out. When she was in the enforcement team before, Qin Chuan’s word was law wherever they went.
But the group that descended with them from the lighthouse this time was clearly not right.
In fact, at the beginning, when Qin Chuan was in danger, someone even suggested carrying out the mission without him.
It was then that Xu An noticed the strangeness of this team, but she hadn’t expected Qin Chuan to be so frank in telling her everything.
Qin Chuan continued, “Although I had issued clear orders for them to go out to sea for reconnaissance and to ignore these villagers, a faction within the group opposed me. I didn’t pay much attention at first.”
“Later, a woman approached them, and they became even more soft-hearted. As a result, more and more people opposed my decision, until fewer than ten people were willing to follow my orders.”
“But if we split up, the ten of us wouldn’t be enough for the investigation. The lighthouse only provided a general location at the time, but we had to scout for specific resource locations and explore the sea ourselves. Only by reporting the specific data to the lighthouse could they accurately descend for extraction.”
Xu An listened thoughtfully. No wonder they had sent a hundred-person team this time.
“Not to mention, most of the technical personnel and exploration tools were in the hands of those who opposed me, so I had no choice but to endure.”
Xu An actually wanted to complain that people have names, but Qin Chuan kept referring to them as “that faction.”
However, after thinking for a while, she held back.
Qin Chuan probably didn’t bother to remember their names specifically.
“The woman you mentioned, wasn’t it the mistress of the household we encountered yesterday?” Xu An asked tentatively.
To her surprise, Qin Chuan nodded with firm conviction.
“Yes, it was her!”
Xu An’s interest was instantly piqued.
“What exactly happened?” she asked Qin Chuan with a gossip-like expression.
Qin Chuan looked at Xu An and no longer kept her in suspense.
“The woman cried and said that all the women in this village were brought here through deception and underhanded methods.”