A dozen or so minutes later, Zhang Guorui laid out the Li family's situation without holding anything back.
Liu Tiezhu then took the chance to ask about the Ming family.
Zhang Guorui also disclosed everything about the Ming family without reservation, even analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of both families.
After hearing it all, Liu Tiezhu had a clearer picture.
In short, both families were pretty much like the Zhang family—none of them were good people.
Compared to the Li family, the Ming family treated their security members a bit better.
But no matter what, in the eyes of these families, security members were just pawns in war.
However, Liu Tiezhu wasn't really planning to fight for these families.
Since none of these families could be relied on, he decided to change his strategy.
They drank until dark.
Seeing that it was getting late, Zhang Guorui didn't dare to keep drinking. He made an excuse and left the tavern.
Liu Tiezhu stayed at the tavern to prepare for the next day's assessment.
After careful consideration, Liu Tiezhu decided to join the Ming family.
The Ming family offered the best treatment among the three major families, but their recruitment conditions were also the harshest.
They only wanted members with real skills.
Many of those who joined the Ming family were veterans from the battlefield.
These people far surpassed ordinary folks in marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and reaction speed.
So, to join the Ming family, one had to pass three rounds of assessment.
The first round was shooting.
The rule was that a person had to stand twenty meters away and hit the bullseye with five out of ten bullets.
Only those who met this accuracy rate would pass; one less shot meant direct elimination with no second chance.
The assessor would assign candidates to teams based on their shooting results.
But this was just the first round.
Passing the shooting test meant nothing if physical fitness wasn't up to par.
After all, on the battlefield, enemies wouldn't just stand still for you to aim at.
They'd run, they'd take cover.
So, team members had to have enough stamina.
The second round was physical fitness.
Applicants had to carry a fifteen-kilogram load and run five kilometers within a strict forty-minute time limit.
This round directly eliminated countless people.
Those who could manage it were either exceptionally strong or had undergone special training.
For ordinary people, these two rounds from the Ming family were simply impossible to complete.
But the Ming family's third round was the hardest.
Those who passed the first two rounds would draw numbers randomly.
People with matching numbers would be sent to the arena for combat.
The combat rules allowed any means, until one side fell.
The fallen would get a second chance.
They'd continue fighting other fallen opponents.
The winner could join, while the loser was directly eliminated.
This brutal assessment from the Ming family was nearly impossible for ordinary people to pass.
But for Liu Tiezhu, these three rounds were no challenge at all.
For the first round of shooting, without interference, he could easily hit the bullseye with all ten bullets.
For the second round of running with a load in forty minutes, he could do it effortlessly.
Only the third round of combat posed some challenge for him.
After all, those who passed the first two rounds wouldn't be weak.
Liu Tiezhu thought for a moment, took out his pistol, and placed it under his pillow before closing his eyes to rest.
One shouldn't have harmful intentions, but one must guard against others.
In this chaotic era, it was hard to say whether the tavern staff might try something against him.
So, he had to stay alert.
Liu Tiezhu dozed off until midnight, when several gunshots jolted him awake.
The shots came from outside the window, with a sharp echo, meaning they weren't far away.
Liu Tiezhu quickly grabbed his pistol, quietly opened a crack in the window, and checked the situation outside.
By the dim light, he saw a man to the left of the tavern running frantically toward it, occasionally firing two shots behind him.
Behind the man were four big men, chasing him relentlessly while firing wildly.
They all used pistols, emptying their magazines in a single breath as if bullets cost nothing.
With no escape route, the fleeing man crashed through the tavern door and rushed inside.
Liu Tiezhu was startled to see that the man being chased was his old acquaintance, Yang Hua.
Yang Hua's chest was heaving, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
Spotting Liu Tiezhu, Yang Hua was also taken aback. He quickly hid behind the tavern door and signaled for help.
Liu Tiezhu pointed at the tavern's lightbulb, then at the large wooden pillar behind the square table.
Yang Hua immediately understood. He shot and broke the lightbulb in the hall.
Then, with a quick roll, he reached the square table and hid behind the pillar.
The four men outside were about to step in, but seeing the pitch-black interior, they backed out.
Yang Hua steadied his racing heart and whispered, "Brother Zhu, what are you doing here?"
Liu Tiezhu waved his hand. "Never mind me. What's going on with you?"
"Who are these people, and why are they chasing you?"
Yang Hua gave a bitter smile. "They're the Li family's personal guards. I'm from the Ming family, so of course they're after me."
"What now? Any way to kill them?"
Liu Tiezhu shook his head. "No way. They're all behind cover."
"Unless we charge out, we can't take them out."
"That's trouble. More Li family people will be here soon. We need to find a way to escape," Yang Hua said.
Liu Tiezhu thought it over, his gaze settling on the window.
"We'll go out through the window."
The window was made of logs embedded in the wall, with two rectangular wooden boards as the outer layer.
Due to age, the wood was starting to rot.
With a few hard hits, the logs would break easily.
"Brother Zhu, you keep watch. I'll break the window."
Yang Hua acted immediately, grabbing a wooden chair from the hall and smashing it against the logs.
He had only hit a few times when Liu Tiezhu quickly pressed him down.
Bang, bang, bang...
At almost the same moment, countless bullets flew in, hitting the wall and sending sparks flying.
The men outside realized Yang Hua was trying to break the window and escape.
After firing a dozen shots, the four of them formed a staggered formation and slowly entered.
Liu Tiezhu quickly drew both pistols and signaled Yang Hua to throw the chair to the left.
Yang Hua swallowed hard, his palms slick with cold sweat.
When Liu Tiezhu nodded, he swiftly hurled the chair.
The four men entering were startled and immediately fired at the chair.
Bang, bang, bang...
Countless bullets tore into the chair, shredding it to pieces.
Seizing the moment, Liu Tiezhu struck.
Both pistols spat sparks as bullets rained toward the four men.
At such close range, no aiming was needed; every bullet hit them squarely.
Inside the tavern, the other guests trembled in fear, none daring to come out and check.
Yang Hua quickly searched the four bodies, pulling out four copper tokens, then led Liu Tiezhu out of the tavern.
They had barely walked ten meters when they abruptly stopped.
Ahead, over a dozen men with guns were rushing toward them.
The sight made Yang Hua's face turn pale.
"Brother Zhu, we're done for. It's the Li family."