Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

12:30 a.m.

The searchlights in the Dafeng Factory area cast a dim yellow light, illuminating the mottled walls and making even the half-painted factory sign at the entrance look precarious.

Wang Wenge, the leader of the factory security team, squatted at the entrance of the gatehouse, a cigarette between his fingers, the butt of which glowed intermittently.

The pager in my pocket suddenly vibrated.

Wang Wenge glanced down and saw that the number was sent by Lao Li, who was assigned to Chang Chenghu's demolition team by the factory.

Four numbers – 1111.

The pre-arranged signal signaled that the demolition team was about to begin!

The cigarette butt was stubbed out hard on the cement floor. Wang Wenge stood up, rushed into the guard room in two strides, and ripped the hand-cranked air raid siren off the wall.

"Waaah————"

The alarm ripped through the silence of the entire factory area, its sharp, piercing sound echoing from the workshop rooftops all the way to the tin sheds of the dormitory area.

One by one, the lights in the dormitory area came on.

The sound of doors being kicked open echoed one after another, and workers wearing vests and shorts rushed out barefoot. Some were pulling up their pants as they ran, while others came out clutching wrenches from under their pillows.

"They're here! Those bastards are here!"

"Hurry up, all of you!"

Wang Wenge stood inside the factory gate and shouted at the top of his lungs.

In less than five minutes, hundreds of workers gathered behind the gate, armed with shovels, steel pipes, wooden sticks, whatever was at hand.

"Sandbags! Pile up the sandbags!"

A dozen strong laborers carried the woven bags they had prepared in advance and stacked them at the gate, layer upon layer, and a temporary roadblock half a person high was quickly formed.

Several young workers carried three cardboard boxes from the warehouse. When the boxes were opened, glass bottles half-filled with gasoline were neatly stacked inside, with strips of cloth plugging the bottle openings.

Box after box was dumped in front of the sandbags, and the smell of gasoline immediately spread.

Wang Wenge turned around and glanced around.

The hundreds of faces were sharply defined by the searchlight, and not one of them shrank back.

"Brothers, this factory is our lifeline!"

"Shanshui Group wants to seize our shares? They're dreaming!"

A roar erupted from the crowd, and the steel pipes slammed into the ground with a synchronized clang.

"Make a phone call! Go call Chairman Zheng!"

Wang Wenge shouted something at a young man next to him, and the man took off running towards the gatehouse.

It was exactly 1 a.m.

A row of car lights illuminated the end of the road.

Three heavy bulldozers rumbled over, their diesel engines roaring so loudly the ground trembled. Their headlights were on high beam, illuminating the metal gate of the Dafeng Factory as if it were daytime.

Behind the bulldozer, more than a dozen white vans came to a stop in succession. The doors opened, and nearly two hundred demolition workers jumped out, each carrying a galvanized steel pipe.

Chang Chenghu jumped off the tracks of the first bulldozer, a loudspeaker hanging around his neck, and snapped the switch on.

"Listen up, you inside—"

The audible hum from the loudspeaker was so sharp it made your teeth ache.

"The equity and factory buildings of Dafeng Factory have been legally transferred and now belong to Shanshui Group. You have twenty minutes to evacuate! Otherwise, you will bear all the consequences!"

Wang Wenge stepped onto the sandbag stack and started cursing at the outside.

"Bullshit! What do you mean by 'legally transferred'? Cai Chenggong sold land worth over a billion for 50 million, and the court issued a verdict in just 48 hours. Your Shanshui Group's face is thicker than a city wall!"

"Without resolving our resettlement compensation and equity issues, no matter who comes, it won't make a difference."

"If you dare to forcibly demolish our property, we'll fight you to the death!"

Chang Chenghu turned off the loudspeaker and spat.

His original backer was his cousin Cheng Du, and with Cheng Du's power, he was quite successful in the Guangming District.

But not long ago, Cheng Du was shot and killed without cause. The reason given was that he was using excessive force and wanted to kill someone to cover it up. He was shot and killed on the spot, and the news spread to every corner of Jingzhou.

Chang Chenghu had been in the underworld for twenty years, relying on Cheng Du as his powerful backer. When that backer fell, most of his followers scattered.

Tonight's job was personally requested by Zhang Tianfeng of the Shanshui Group.

If I succeed, I'll work for the Shanshui Group and live a life of luxury. If I fail...

Chang Chenghu glanced back at the black minivan parked a hundred meters away.

Zhang Tianfeng was sitting inside, the car window rolled down halfway, and a hand holding a cigarette rested on the window frame.

Zhang Tianfeng's voice came through the walkie-talkie, lazy and slightly nasal.

"The perimeter has been cordoned off by the police. Hurry up and don't dawdle."

Chang Chenghu tucked the walkie-talkie back into his waistband and waved to the demolition team members behind him.

"Get your act together, all of you!"

at the same time.

The intersection is two streets away from Dafeng Factory.

More than a dozen police cars were parked across the middle of the road, their flashing lights turning the entire street into a mix of blue and red.

Yellow and black striped warning tape stretched from the lampposts to the utility poles, completely blocking off the intersection.

Traffic police stood in a row, stopping every car and blocking every person they encountered.

"There has been a traffic accident ahead, and the road is closed. Please take an alternate route."

A bicycle braked suddenly in front of the warning line. Zheng Xipo jumped off the bicycle, his hair a mess, and he hadn't even buttoned up his coat.

"I'm the union chairman of Dafeng Factory! Someone's trying to forcibly demolish our property, let me through!"

Two traffic police officers stepped forward and blocked him outside the cordon.

"Sorry, no one is allowed to pass."

"You—do you know Chief Prosecutor Chen Yanshi? He's our Dafeng Factory's legal counsel! This is an illegal road blockade!"

Upon hearing this, two plainclothes police officers came out, expressionless, and reached out to grab Zheng Xipo.

Zheng Xipo was forced down onto the hood of the car, his face pressed against the metal, and one of his arms was tied behind his back.

"You are suspected of drunk driving and violently resisting arrest!"

"Stay put, cooperate with our investigation, and don't cause trouble for yourself."

Zheng Xipo lay on the hood of the car, his face flushed red, still shouting.

"You'll regret this! You'll definitely regret it!"

Nobody paid any attention to them.

Outside the gate of Dafeng Factory.

Twenty minutes have passed.

Inside the van, Zhang Tianfeng stubbed out his cigarette and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"push."

In short, it was decisive and efficient.

Chang Chenghu licked his lips and waved to the bulldozer driver.

The first bulldozer spewed out a cloud of black smoke, its tracks gripping the ground, its bucket rising half a meter high, and it rolled over the metal gate of Dafeng Factory.

The ground is shaking.

The workers behind the gate began to tremble as they held torches. Gasoline bottles lay at their feet, and one end of a strip of cloth was already soaked through.

"Or not?"

A young worker turned to look at Wang Wenge, his voice strained.

Wang Wenge stared intently at the approaching bulldozer bucket, his teeth grinding together.

In Shen Zhong's office at the Handong Provincial Military Region, Zhou Weiguo's voice came through the phone, sounding extremely anxious.

"Boss! The demolition team is about to carry out a forced demolition. The workers are very agitated, and there's a high possibility of bloodshed. I request intervention!"