Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 528 527 Bandit Attack
The noblemen fled in panic, like a swarm of headless flies; the ladies lost their high heels and cried, ruining their makeup.

When their carefully constructed facade of dignity is ruthlessly torn away, they become no different from the workers on the ground floor.

Feng Xiuhu, with his sharp eyes, noticed that the steward who had led the way for them was also mixed in with the crowd, so he pulled him out: "What's going on here? Is this a regular feature of your banquets?"

Unable to break free, the manager shouted, "What a load of rubbish! It's bandits—bandits have broken in!"

Fang Youliu went to the second-floor railing to investigate first, and then returned to say, "The first floor is also in chaos. The bandits haven't broken in yet. Second Master and Third Master's men are fighting them outside, but judging from the noise, the bandits have a lot of muskets and are carrying explosives. It's only a matter of time before they break in."

Feng Xiuhu abandoned the steward and strode outside, reaching the railing and peering down to the first floor.

The workers were almost all huddled together, their screams and cries of pain mingling together, nearly lifting the roof off.

Some of them tried to rush up to the second floor, but were stopped by the Divine Guards at the stairwell. After shooting down a few people, no one dared to approach.

Feng Xiuhu frowned deeply: "How dare the bandits?"

"Leaving aside how the bandits managed to get here, are the Great Xuan Army and the Patrol Division just sitting around doing nothing?"

Fang Youliu's eyes darted around rapidly, and he had already planned out his escape route: "If you can't figure it out, then don't think about it. Let's get out of this place of trouble first."

So the three of them walked along the railing toward the stairs. Just as they were about to go down, a fair arm suddenly reached out from behind and grabbed Feng Xiuhu.

Feng Xiuhu turned around to look—it was actually Shen Morou.

Shen Morou frowned and glared at Feng Xiuhu: "What are you doing here? Did you succeed?"

Feng Xiuhu was baffled: "What do you mean 'how did we get here'? Didn't you let us up here?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Morou's expression changed drastically: "What did you say?!"

In a brief moment, she seemed to understand something, turned around and hurriedly left, her figure disappearing into the chaotic crowd.

Only after Shen Morou left did Feng Xiuhu belatedly realize something was amiss—the emphasis in her earlier statement, "Why are you all here?", was on the word "here," not "at."

Feng Xiuhu scratched his head, muttering to himself in confusion, "If not here, then where should it be?"

This brief incident did not distract Shunzi. He rushed downstairs and forcefully pushed his way through the crowd.

Feng Xiuhu and Fang Youliu followed closely behind Shunzi.

Fang Youliu seemed to be deep in thought: "That Miss Shen..."

Feng Xiuhu gave him a disdainful look: "That's a branch you could never reach in eight lifetimes, don't even think about it."

Fang Youliu opened his mouth and said, "Is that what I meant? And why does that sound so familiar?"

Feng Xiuhu feigned sudden realization: "You're not interested in her?"

Fang Youliu said irritably, "You're the one who's interested in her."

Feng Xiuhu nodded: "I do have feelings for her."

Fang Youliu's eyes widened: "What do you mean?"

Feng Xiuhu replied, "I think she's a very interesting person."

Fang Youliu was a little confused: "What exactly is so interesting about it?"

Feng Xiuhu stroked his stubble: "She actually has calluses on the back of her hand. Isn't that interesting?"

Fang Youliu suddenly turned his head and looked: "...A gunman?"

Feng Xiuhu narrowed his eyes slightly: "It can't be held by the penholder."

At this moment, Shunzi finally squeezed out of the crowd, and the space in front of him suddenly became wider.

From here to the factory gate, the path is flat and there are no further obstacles.

The three men hurried closer, and just as Shunzi was about to push the door open, a loud thud was heard. A figure smashed open the iron door and fell at their feet. As the iron door swung open, the evening wind rushed in, and the gunshots became clearer.

The three looked down and saw that the person lying on the ground was "Third Master". At this moment, there were several bloody holes in his chest from bullets, and blood was gushing out, quickly soaking through his clothes.

From not far away, someone shouted with ecstatic joy: "I killed Ye San! It was me—it was me who fired the shot!"

Shunzi was furious upon hearing this: "I'm not fucking dead!"

Clearly, now is not a good time to be the first to stick their neck out. The bandits are closing in on the factory gate, while Feng Xiuhu and his two companions are blocking their way.

Fang Youliu took a step back without leaving a trace and hid behind Shunzi.

Shunzi picked up the Mauser pistol from "Third Master's" corpse, ready to get serious.

Only Feng Xiuhu was absent-minded—the bandits in front of him had sparked his thoughts, and he thought of Shen Morou again.

The two sides were locked in a fierce standoff, and at the critical moment, three sharp, urgent whistles suddenly rang out from above the factory. The bandits were startled at first, but after exchanging glances, they scattered and quickly disappeared into the night.

Shunzi stood there, stunned: "What's going on?"

Fang urged repeatedly, "Why worry about all that? Let's go now."

……

The streets of Fornes City are lit by streetlights, and unlike the gas lamps used in most other cities, the streetlights here are state-of-the-art electric lights.

The streetlights are powered by the same power plant that powers the city’s trams. The power plant supplies electricity to the trams during the day and uses the surplus capacity to power the streetlights at night.

But the streets were pitch black tonight, and Feng Xiuhu and his two companions walked out into the street in the dark.

"Did the bandits cut off the power?"

Feng Xiuhu offered a guess, but expressed skepticism: "Are they really that professional?"

Fang Youliu chimed in, "I told you long ago, Hei Sanniang is a real talent."

Feng Xiuhu smiled meaningfully: "She's more than just a talented person."

Shunzi shook his head: "What kind of talent or genius is he? In the end, he's still just a bandit."

Having escaped the dangerous environment, Fang Youliu gradually came to his senses. He smacked his lips and said, "The bandits' actions tonight were extremely strange. They had guns, men, and explosives. They could have stormed in much earlier, but instead, they spent so long dealing with a bunch of rabble outside. Rather than coming to kill Abbot, I think they were more like..."

Feng Xiuhu replied in a low voice: "Deliberately creating chaos."

Fang Youliu snapped his fingers: "That's the idea."

Shunzi, unable to think straight, asked in a low voice, "Where are we staying tonight? Are we going back to the village tower?"

Feng Xiuhu remained silent, while Fang Youliu said, "Don't you think there's enough trouble already? Hurry up and leave under the cover of night. I don't want to smell this whole city of engine oil for even a second longer."

Shunzi rubbed his hands together: "But my gun is still being held by the police station."

Fang Youliu almost forgot about this: "Then you two go get the guns, and I'll go to the car dealership to pick up the car. We'll meet at the city gate."

He looked at Feng Xiuhu in the shadows—Feng Xiuhu remained silent.

"elder brother?"

Shunzi leaned closer and noticed that Feng Xiuhu's eyes were fixed intently on something across the street.

"What are you looking at?"

Feng Xiuhu impatiently pushed his large face away: "You're blocking my way."

(End of this chapter)