The spring evening came early, darkening the sky. It was March 14th, and in the woods near Little Leaf Village, birds chirped and flew away as lights flickered on in the village.

The horses were tethered in the woods about a mile from the village and the 223 Institute. Two scouts had gone ahead to reconnoiter in the last light. One of them, not in uniform, went to the village and asked the village chief a few questions. He presented official documents from the China Army, claiming to be passing through on official business. He asked for a drink of water and casually inquired about the 223 Institute before leaving before the chief became suspicious.

The other scout had roughly located the composting area of the Institute.

More men arrived later.

“How’s it here? Did we stir up anything?”

“Confirmed the composting area, found the manure cart. The guy should be in the house next to it, but it’s not safe to go straight there, not fully confirmed.”

“Had a few words with the village chief. The guy hauling manure seems to be in disgrace… There’s something, he usually leaves here in the afternoon to return to Wenpu, but look, he hasn’t left yet. That's suspicious. We didn't make a move. What's the situation in Wenpu?”

In the dark woods, none of them lit torches. Fortunately, it was mid-month, and the moon had risen early, so they could see each other's figures clearly. The leader was a middle-aged soldier with a dignified appearance and scars on his lips and around his eyes. His gaze was steady and convincing. The others also showed signs of military service, some wearing formal uniforms.

After the two scouts had given their reports, the middle-aged soldier nodded: “Seems like it's him... We searched the surrounding areas, found obvious traces near the manure shed. This guy lectured a bunch of kids nearby this morning, read the newspaper. And... confirmed he bought wound medicine this morning.”

“Then it’s probably him… The manure cart reeks, that Qiu is really going all out…”

“…Do we move? Do we just do it, or capture him?”

“The question is, who is this guy? Boss, did you find out anything over there?”

“Who is he… A manure collector…”

“Shut up. Little Yan said today, he doesn’t have fingernails, and he wasn't intimidated when he saw people yesterday. This kind of person… probably did something outside and came back…”

“Fingernails all torn off, and then exiled to haul manure?”

“Then it’s even more troublesome…”

The men in the woods spoke in low voices. The leader frowned and thought, then said, “Did the village say anything?”

“You told us to be careful, not sure about his connections here, so we were afraid of stirring things up. Only mentioned the manure yard slightly, the village chief didn't say anything special, doesn’t seem to know him well. If we want to ask clearly, we have to make our intentions known.”

The leader nodded: “223 is just an agricultural research institute, there’s no big shot there, but even a small place has a few shrewd people. Time is short, so it's not good to ask people casually. Wenpu didn’t find out too much either, only that this manure collector reads books and newspapers every day, knows a lot of principles, fingernails were torn off, and he was exiled to this kind of place… We can only guess, he must have been captured and couldn't withstand the torture, spilled the beans, and then came back alive… Someone from the intelligence line…”

“He's a coward, then it's not wrong to deal with him!” Someone hissed.

“…This kind of person is very cunning!” Someone else said, “If that Qiu fell into his hands, he'd have figured out a lot of things in a day and a night!”

“So we can't let him live! Are we going to wait for him to figure things out and go to the top to confront us?”

“……”

The men in the woods fell silent, looking at each other. The leader rubbed his nose and mouth, frowned, and walked back and forth a few steps, finally saying, “Do you think, is it possible to talk to him?”

“…Someone who was tortured on the outside and spilled the beans isn’t necessarily a tough guy,” someone said.

“We still have to capture him first and then talk, and unless he can kill that Qiu himself, we can’t believe him…”

“The best thing is for Qiu's family to die. It's best not to create any trouble, otherwise, even if a manure collector dies, who knows if it will be investigated…”

“If he’s willing to talk, a little blood is worth shedding…”

The matter was temporarily settled. The leader nodded, the light in his eyes gathering, and began to give orders.

“Then that’s the best plan now. Alright, Little Yin, you go around to the front of this farm, find the person in charge here, roughly tell them about the landlord running away and that Tang Minjie might be harboring him. Say that our comrade died, and we have to act quickly, that we are arresting people, and they can’t come over. We'll do our work here. Xu and Huzi, the left; Lefty, Yu, go to the right; Little Zheng and I will go from the front… Two things, first, make sure to find Qiu, but don't attack him immediately, second, control this Tang Minjie. It's best if he can kill Qiu. If we can’t negotiate, we can’t leave either of them alive. Got it?”

His words were swift and firm. After he finished speaking, the men in the forest saluted: “…Yes.”

“Little Yin, you go first.”

The soldier named Little Yin ran towards the side of the trees and disappeared from sight in a blink of an eye. In the forest, six people stood there silently, watching the moonlight fall down like water. After a moment, another firm command rang out.

“…Action.”

Six figures melted into the night, passed through the woods, and headed towards the house on the edge of the 223 Institute.

This was the location of the composting area, which stank terribly. The simple fence was broken and dilapidated, barely providing any protection. Tang Minjie lived in a few old houses, which were tidied up neatly. The mule cart and mule were housed in a shed next door. Under the moonlight, there seemed to be figures moving in the main house. Several soldiers quietly moved to the vicinity and exchanged hand gestures. About three breaths later, the sound of a wooden mechanism creaking suddenly rang out in the night, sounding particularly abrupt.

Behind the house, a wooden lever rotated in the air, and a fishing net scooped a person up and dragged them into the air.

A cry rang out immediately.

“Ah–”

“The traitor’s been discovered!”

“Catch the traitor!”

“You can't escape, Tang…”

The people around, both front and back, were all experienced in big events and didn’t panic in the face of battle. Although bricks and other things were suddenly thrown out of the back window of the room, they were dodged in the darkness. The leader shouted, “You can’t escape, Tang.” Then he leaned against the wall beside him and said, “Lefty, are you okay?”

The Lefty, who had been scooped up by the fishing net, responded from behind: “Damn it, I'm fine, kill this traitor!” Another soldier named Yu had already pounced in through the window, followed by a burst of chaotic sounds. It seemed that some kind of shelf had fallen down in the room. Yu cursed and was forced to retreat out of the house.

In the darkness, the leader gestured to the side, telling his companions on the left to search other places first, trying to find the runaway Qiu. He himself leaned against the door of the main house: “Tang Minjie, we know everything about you, we are all our own people, can we talk?”

Under the moonlight, there were figures sneaking around on the left and right sides of the composting yard. After a moment of silence in the room, a voice was heard: “I was wondering if you would take such a risk… What's the difference between this and confessing without being beaten?”

The leader was also silent for a while. After a moment, he saw lights lit up in the distance and smiled: “What do you mean confessing without being beaten? Yesterday, the landlord Qiu Zishu from Erqing Village brandished a knife and killed our team's comrade. We investigated and found that you were harboring him. Tang, we investigated you. You used to work outside, right? Your fingernails are gone, and you came back to haul manure. Who did you betray… Did you betray your comrades? If you come out and surrender now, you still have a way out…”

“…Qiu reported you,” the voice inside said after a while.

“These landlords will say anything.”

“You forced him to sign problematic land deeds, colluded with people to divide the land and enrich yourselves.”

The middle-aged soldier frowned and began to gesture to his companions, then said: “No evidence, all nonsense.”

“It can’t stand a serious investigation… You even planned to force his whole family to death a long time ago.”

Under the wall outside, the middle-aged soldier turned his long knife and took a breath: “Have you heard of the discussions in Chengdu?”

“……What?”

“If you want to divide the land, you have to do it thoroughly. If you don't kill people, and just do some kind of redemption, these people will harbor resentment and eventually fight against our China Army. Mr. Ning is too soft-hearted, this was a mistake, we have to help him correct it… So what you said is correct!”

His words were decisive, seeming to startle the person in the room. Before he finished speaking, his companion rushed into the house like a leopard. In the darkness, there was a loud rumbling noise in the room, but the room was filled with all kinds of furniture and sundries. He hadn't even had a chance to stretch out after rushing in when some stacked old tables and chairs collapsed, immediately creating obstacles everywhere.

Behind the house, Lefty had cut open half of the fishing net and shouted loudly in the darkness: “He's running–” The middle-aged soldier quickly chased after him, shouting in a low voice: “Intercept him.” His eyes unconsciously looked at the surrounding rooms or the manure cart. He had just had a few words with the other party, and the two companions responsible for searching the area around for Qiu had roughly searched this place, but hadn't found him after a quick search. At this moment, that Tang Minjie seemed to be preparing to break out from the back of the house. The soldier named Yu was rushing to intercept him. The middle-aged soldier was still shouting, “Keep him alive.”

A little further away, on the edge of the composting square, one of the two figures searching for Qiu waved in the moonlight, seemingly having discovered something: “There’s a kiln here…”

The matter of pursuing the landlord Qiu Zishu was related to everyone’s lives, so he was particularly anxious, flicked open his flint, and pushed open the covering stone slab.

"Don't..."

From behind the house, the manure collector being pursued shouted. The soldier named Yu had already slashed him with his knife. The middle-aged soldier saw sparks falling in the air, and then, in front of his companion, a wave-like distortion rippled.

With a deafening boom, flames soared into the sky, the earth shook, and two figures, along with tumbling earth and stones, were blasted into the night sky. The middle-aged soldier covered his head and face, leaning against the wall, his ears ringing. Everyone inside and outside the room was stunned for a moment. The bodies of the two soldiers and the flying earth and stones all fell down, and the stench of feces mixed with the burnt smell of the explosion. After only a moment, someone shouted from behind the house: "I'll kill you–" The middle-aged soldier had already raised his knife, his face twisted in a ferocious grimace, and roared: "Kill him, kill him, kill him–"

Tang Minjie was already running towards the nearby mountains with blood on him…

At this moment, the entire farm and the nearby villages in the night had been awakened by this violent methane explosion.