Siheyuan (courtyard house): My father, Li Yunlong!

"Good! A man should prioritize his career, but starting a family and building a career are not mutually exclusive. It's good that you have this intention; you two can decide the specifics yourselves. If you need your family's involvement, just let us know."

Liu Dashan spoke in a cheerful tone.

"In short, keep a firm grasp on the overall situation and stand firm. If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to contact me."

"Thank you, Uncle."

After hanging up the phone, Li Zhenhua's gaze was deep.

Liu Dashan's information confirmed his judgment: targets like the Lou family had entered the eye of the storm.

At the same time, the wedding must be put on the agenda.

The marriage alliance with the Lin family will be the most solid foundation for his position.

As for the Lou family… he tapped his fingers lightly on the table; that “detailed report” would be the ultimate test of the Lou family’s value and loyalty.

He would use what he could, and cut it off cleanly without hesitation if it was unusable or became a burden.

As for Lou Xiao'e... a cold glint flashed in his eyes. The small courtyard in the suburbs?

It might be a good option, serving as both a form of control and an observation point, but only if it is completely under his control and leaves no hidden dangers.

He picked up the internal phone and connected to the security department.

"Section Chief Wang, come to my office."

He needed to make some arrangements to ensure that even if he couldn't swallow the "fat piece of meat" that was the Lou family, he wouldn't choke on it.

Just as Li Zhenhua was strategizing in his office, Xu Damao was riding an old bicycle issued by the factory, bumping along the dirt road leading to the rural outskirts of Beijing.

He was invited by the commune to show a movie in the countryside today.

The truck was loaded with a heavy projector and film canisters on the back rack, and he also had two packs of "Great Production" cigarettes and a bag of fruit candies given to him by the commune in his arms, which was an extra bonus, so he was in a pretty good mood.

As dusk fell, the afterglow of the setting sun gilded the fields with a layer of broken gold.

To take a shortcut, Xu Damao turned onto a secluded country road. On both sides were cornfields taller than a person, the green corn stalks densely packed, and the leaves rustled in the wind, making it seem somewhat eerie.

"This godforsaken place..."

Xu Damao muttered to himself, quickening his pedaling pace, eager to get through the cornfield as quickly as possible.

Suddenly, four dark figures sprang out of the cornfield and blocked the road!

Xu Damao was terrified and quickly applied the brakes, almost causing the bicycle to tip over.

"What...what are you doing!"

Xu Damao's voice trembled. Upon closer inspection, he saw four young men dressed in tattered clothes with fierce expressions, each holding a stick. The leader had a hideous scar on his face.

"What are you doing? This mountain is mine, these trees are mine! If you want to pass, leave your toll!"

Scarface brandished the wooden stick in his hand, speaking broken underworld slang, his eyes greedily fixed on Xu Damao's bicycle and the things on the back rack.

Xu Damao inwardly groaned; just what he feared most had come to pass—he had run into robbers!

He quickly got out of the car, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Gentlemen...gentlemen, it's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! I'm a worker from the Red Star Steel Rolling Mill who goes to the countryside to show movies, I don't...I don't have much money."

"Shut the fuck up!"

A short, stocky man next to him gave Xu Damao an impatient shove.

"Take out all your valuables! Leave your bicycle and that metal box on the back too!"

Xu Damao stumbled and almost fell, his legs went weak with fright.

He shakily searched his pockets and pulled out a few crumpled coins, along with two packs of cigarettes and a bag of candy.

"That's...that's all, please spare my life!"

Scarface snatched the money and items, weighed them in his hand, and his face darkened.

"That's all? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?"

He grabbed Xu Damao by the collar.

"Looks like you won't know your place unless I bleed you a little!"

"No! Don't do it!"

Xu Damao was so frightened that he almost wet his pants, and said in a tearful voice.

"I...I really have no money! I'm just a poor movie projectionist!"

"Poor workers?"

Another tall, thin man came over and looked at Xu Damao's bicycle and projector.

"This lump of iron looks valuable. Tell me! What else is valuable? If you don't tell the truth, I'll cripple you today!"

Xu Damao's mind went blank. In extreme fear, a vicious thought emerged like a venomous snake!

Li Zhenhua! Yes! Li Zhenhua is rich! He's a government official!

He's his neighbor! If it weren't for Li Zhenhua, I wouldn't be so unlucky!

Yes! Expose him! Let these bandits go find Li Zhenhua!

Not only can they escape, but they might also be able to use someone else to do their dirty work!

Once this idea took hold, it grew wildly like weeds.

Xu Damao seemed to have grasped at a straw and hurriedly shouted.

"Yes! There's something valuable! I know someone rich! Extremely rich! He's a high-ranking official in our factory! He lives right next door to me!"

"Oh?"

Scarface became interested and released his grip.

"Who is this person? Are they really rich?"

"They're really rich! Absolutely!"

Seeing that the other party had taken the bait, Xu Damao quickly added fuel to the fire.

"His name is Li Zhenhua, and he's the head of the logistics department at our steel rolling mill! Young and promising, with a high salary, he must have a lot of good stuff hidden at home! And... and he also seems to have some silver dollars and gold bars of dubious origin!"

He was just making things up, trying to shift the blame onto Li Zhenhua.

"An official?"

Scarface and the other three exchanged glances.

Robbing workers is a different matter from robbing cadres; it carries greater risks, but the potential rewards can be astonishing.

"If you don't trust me, I can take you there! I know where his house is! It's a courtyard house over in Nanluoguxiang!"

Xu Damao was afraid they wouldn't believe him, so he swore an oath.

"If I utter even half a lie, may I be struck by lightning!"

The four Zhang brothers.

These were none other than Zhang Laoda, Zhang Laoer, Zhang Laosan, and Zhang Laosi, notorious scoundrels from the surrounding area. They were usually petty thieves and bullies, but this time they had lost money gambling and had taken the risk of robbing people on the road.

Hearing Xu Damao's detailed and convincing account, and knowing that he was a cadre, greed immediately overwhelmed his concerns.

"Boss, wanna pull off a big heist?"

The short, stocky Zhang Lao Er licked his lips.

"The cadre's family... definitely has some goods!"

Zhang Laosan, a tall and thin man, had a bright look in his eyes.

Zhang Laosi, who hadn't said much and had a sinister look in his eyes, whispered.

"Have him lead the way, and then we'll see what happens when we get there. If it's true, then do it; if it's false, or there's a trap, then cripple him first!"

Scarface Zhang nodded and poked Xu Damao's chest with a wooden stick.

"Fine! I'll trust you this once! Take us to that cadre Li! If you dare to try anything funny, or dare to call the police, I'll make sure you don't see the sun rise tomorrow!"

"I wouldn't dare! Absolutely not!"

Xu Damao repeatedly assured him, but secretly he was determined to succeed.

Li Zhenhua, you fucking arrogant bastard! This time, let's see how you die!

So, led by Xu Damao, the four Zhang brothers escorted him, pushing bicycles and a projector, and under the cover of night, they stealthily made their way into the city.

In order to save his life and seek revenge, Xu Damao was completely unaware that he had invited a wolf into the house, bringing a huge crisis back to the seemingly peaceful courtyard.

Along the way, Xu Damao was filled with anxiety, both hoping to get to the destination quickly and get rid of these four menacing figures, and also secretly hoping to see Li Zhenhua suffer.

He kept describing to the four men how rich and powerful Li Zhenhua was, and how he must have hidden treasures at home, inciting their greed.

Late at night, the group finally arrived at Nanluoguxiang.

The courtyard houses had long since fallen asleep, with only a few households still having faint lights on.

Xu Damao pointed towards the backyard and said to Zhang Laoda in a low voice.

"That house...that house, the one with the light on in the west wing of the backyard, that's Li Zhenhua's house."

Zhang Laoda squinted as he surveyed the terrain. The courtyard was quite large, but it seemed very quiet.

He made a gesture, and the four brothers tied Xu Damao up tightly, stuffed a rag in his mouth, and threw him into the shadows in the corner.

"Stay put! We'll release you once we've succeeded. If you dare scream, we'll kill you right now!"

Xu Damao nodded in terror, shrinking into a corner, his heart pounding.

The four Zhang brothers exchanged glances and, relying on their years of experience in petty theft, silently scaled the wall and entered the courtyard, sneaking towards Li Zhenhua's house in the backyard like ghosts.

Li Zhenhua's home.

Li Zhenhua put down the draft document about the distribution of labor protection supplies to the factory next week and gently tapped his fingertips on the cool enamel cup.

Suddenly, Li Zhenhua's ears twitched.

There were several footsteps approaching his house.

At least four people, maybe more.

Li Zhenhua felt a sense of unease.

People who come at this hour don't seem like good people.

Several possible opponents flashed through Li Zhenhua's mind in an instant: Yi Zhonghai?

He didn't have the guts or the courage to organize such a violent act.

Liu Haizhong? He's all bark and no bite; he doesn't have the ability.

The person he made an enemy of outside the hospital? Although Li Zhenhua is resourceful, the possibility of him making an enemy that would require him to seek revenge with weapons in the dead of night is extremely low.

Once all the impossibilities are eliminated, whatever remains, however incredible, is the truth.

This was a premeditated attack targeting him personally!

In the blink of an eye, his consciousness had sunk into that mysterious space deep within his mind.

The screen of the "Pinduoduo system" lit up silently, and data flowed by like a waterfall. He didn't browse the products that required "group buying" or "flash sales," but instead went directly to a deeply hidden, encrypted section that required specific permissions to access.

"Personal arsenal".

This was his trump card, which he dared not use lightly. Inside, besides the well-maintained Type 54 pistol that his father, Li Yunlong, had given him for self-defense and repeatedly warned him not to use unless absolutely necessary, were a small amount of equipment that had been obtained through special channels and was considered taboo in this era.

The cold, metallic touch instantly fell from nothingness into my palm, heavy and carrying the aura of death.

The moment the pistol was in hand.

"Bang!!!"

A loud bang shattered the tranquility of the courtyard at night!

The flimsy door was kicked open from the outside.

Four dark figures suddenly rushed into the house!

The leader was a burly man with a hideous scar running diagonally from his brow bone to the corner of his mouth, which looked even more terrifying in the dim light. He held aloft an iron rod as thick as a child's arm, about to smash it down on the target who was expected to be startled awake from the bed!

However, the panic, fleeing in panic, and even fighting that they had envisioned did not materialize.

They were greeted by a pair of deep, icy eyes, and the muzzle of a pistol that gleamed with a dark blue metallic sheen in the dim light!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The four men who rushed in froze in mid-air, their fierce expressions instantly replaced by extreme horror.

You have to understand, gun control is very strict in Beijing. How could a logistics officer in a factory possibly...

How could there be a gun?

And it's a standard-issue pistol!

The immense psychological gap and the fear brought by the threat of death were like an invisible hand choking them, preventing them from even uttering a cry of alarm.

The once menacing fugitives have now turned into four comical clay and wooden sculptures.

Deathly silence, a suffocating deathly silence.

Only their heavy, bellows-like breathing revealed the turbulent emotions within them.

"Who sent you?"

Li Zhenhua's voice broke the frozen air, steady without a ripple, yet carrying a cold, penetrating power; every word struck the Zhang brothers' hearts like a hammer blow.

Explain yourself clearly, and leave me a way out.

His gaze, like a scalpel, slowly swept across the four men's faces, which were contorted with fear, before finally settling on the leader, Zhang, the scarred-faced boss.

Zhang felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

It's over! It's completely over! Breaking into a house and committing murder, caught red-handed, this is already a serious crime.

The other side has a gun, and they're officials!

If this gets out, I'll definitely be shot!

His survival instinct gnawed at his reason like a venomous snake.

We can't accept it!

Absolutely must not admit it!

Admitting it means certain death!

In despair, a wicked thought flashed through my mind like lightning.

Sacrifice the pawn to save the king!

If someone can hold him off for a moment and create chaos, perhaps... perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope!

Once the thought arose, it could no longer be suppressed.

A flash of madness crossed his eyes. He suddenly raised his foot and kicked Zhang Laosi, who was standing to his side and was stunned by the shock, hard in the lower back with all his might!

"Run!!!"

With a hoarse, distorted roar, Zhang Laosi was completely caught off guard by the attack from behind. He felt a tremendous force coming from behind, and a sharp pain shot through his lumbar spine. He staggered forward uncontrollably, just in time to meet Li Zhenhua's gun barrel!

Meanwhile, Zhang Laoda and the other two, Zhang Laoer and Zhang Laosan, were like wild dogs whose tails had been stepped on. They unleashed all their potential, turned around and rushed desperately toward the open door and into the endless darkness outside!

Brotherhood and loyalty are all bullshit when it comes to survival!

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

Li Zhenhua's eyes suddenly turned cold!

He never expected the other party to be so decisive and ruthless, actually using his own brother as a human shield!

Faced with Zhang Laosi rushing towards him and the backs of the other three figures about to disappear through the door, he knew that hesitation would mean letting the tiger return to the mountain, with endless troubles to come!

"Bang!"

The crisp gunshot, like a thunderclap, suddenly exploded in the small room, making everyone's eardrums buzz!

"what!"

A bloodcurdling scream rang out!

Zhang Laosi, who lunged at Li Zhenhua, had a burst of blood on his thigh. He was hit as if by a speeding truck and fell to the side, clutching his injured thigh and howling like a pig being slaughtered. He instantly lost the ability to move.

At the very instant the gunshot rang out, Zhang Laoda, Zhang Laoer, and Zhang Laosan scrambled out of the house, not even bothering to look back at their wounded brother. Like stray dogs, relying on their familiarity with the terrain and their will to survive, they used both hands and feet to scale the courtyard wall, staggering and pulling at each other, frantically fleeing into the depths of the alley, towards what they considered a safe direction. Their chaotic footsteps quickly faded into the thick darkness of the night.