Chapter 667

Ning Chen pulled out a few less dirty cardboard sheets from a tall pile, brushed off the dust, and looked around.

Seeing no one nearby, he chose a relatively clean spot, laid the cardboard on the ground, and sat down heavily.

His new mattress was indeed quite hard.

Ning Chen sighed, touched the ground with his hand, and looked up at the sky.

The sky had gradually darkened; the evening glow had faded, and now not even a sliver of sun remained.

He thought for a moment, then lay down directly.

Though certainly not clean, great men do not fuss over small details.

Ning Chen estimated the time, and around nine at night, he noticed people beginning to arrive one by one.

He hadn't dared to fall asleep; as soon as people came, he opened his eyes instantly and sat up without a sound.

His night vision was excellent—he could see a group of ragged people approaching from the street corner.

Their expressions were indistinct, but Ning Chen counted them—about seven or eight—and they headed straight for his sleeping spot.

Then they all stopped right in front of him.

A foul stench drifted over.

Ning Chen immediately frowned and lifted his head to lock eyes with the leader.

As he expected, these were vagrants—people with nowhere to go to school—who circled him while a few others scanned the area, searching for an ideal place to sleep.

The choking odor pierced Ning Chen's nostrils, making him nauseous; he had planned to wait for them to speak first, but the smell clouded his mind for a moment, forcing him to ask: "What do you want?"

He spoke in Cangbei dialect, which all the vagrants understood; the leader replied: "You're new here?"

Ning Chen did not deny it—he nodded.

"This spot is usually empty, so we won't take it from you, but people come around at night to snatch people up," the vagrant said.

Ning Chen latched onto the words "snatch people up." "What do you mean by 'snatch people up'?"

"Figures you're new!" the vagrant said. "Maybe they're short on hands and want to drag a few laborers off the street—like us. Do you really think sleeping here makes you safe?"

Ning Chen's expression grew complicated. He looked at the seven or eight vagrants and asked: "Then how do you avoid being snatched?"

Actually, Ning Chen hoped someone would come to snatch people—ideally him—so he could infiltrate and gather information.

"They take one person each time, so we pick whoever looks the weakest," the leader stared at Ning Chen's face. "But if they come tonight, I'll push you out."

"Snatch people up"

Ning Chen welcomed this—he glanced around, saw no familiar faces, and said directly: "Fine. I'll sleep here for the night."

The vagrant's eyes shifted. "So you came here to die?"

During this exchange, the others behind the leader dispersed, as if searching for suitable sleeping spots.

Ning Chen felt nothing about his "die" comment—he chose to sleep on the street, which was itself a death wish.

But beyond that, he had other questions: "Do you always sleep here, or do you choose this place deliberately?"

"Who cares about details! We sleep wherever we end up," he said. "But your clothes don't look like those of a homeless person."

Ning Chen looked down at his clothes—compared to the tattered rags of the vagrants, his were neat and ordinary.

He certainly stood out.

Ning Chen gave a dry laugh. "I came from somewhere else. In Cangbei, every household locks their doors at night—I couldn't find anywhere to rest."

The vagrant still eyed him with suspicion, as if doubting his story, but finally said: "Whatever. You don't affect us. In fact, you could be our shield. Come and go as you please."

"They won't come tonight—what are the odds?" Ning Chen shrugged, feigning indifference.

"Who knows?" the vagrant leader said. "They come when they feel like it."

Ning Chen thought he hoped they'd come—but his face showed nothing: "I hope they don't come tonight."

The vagrants moved quickly—in the time Ning Chen spoke with them, they'd already found their sleeping spots.

Their "beds" were just like his—cardboard laid on the ground, no pillows, no blankets; because the street was too narrow, some had to sleep beside trash bins.

People gradually scattered; the night grew fully dark. Fewer people remained on the street—besides their group of homeless, every household had shut its doors tightly, as if blocking something out.

Lying there, Ning Chen suddenly remembered something, rolled over, and faced the vagrants' position.

"I don't know how long you've been here—have you ever met any Chinese people?"

Ning Chen spoke casually, as if asking about something trivial.

Though unfamiliar with him, the vagrants saw value in befriending a newcomer—it lowered their own risk of being pushed out—and someone quickly replied.

"Of course we've seen them—plenty of times."

Ning Chen pressed: "After foreign intellectuals come here, what work can they do?"

The vagrants had only wanted to chat before sleep; hearing this, some suddenly woke up. A talkative one asked: "Are you an intellectual yourself? Or do you know someone?"

Ning Chen brushed it off: "Just curious. Their treatment must be different from ours."

Someone quickly replied: "Oh, I get it—you're dreaming of a good night? Doesn't matter. Even intellectuals here still do hard labor—some are even worse off than us vagrants."

Others quickly chimed in.

"We all know what this place is. Foreign smart people won't touch us—we're the ones who do the hard labor. In strength, they can't even match us."

The tone carried a hint of pride.

Ning Chen felt strangely uneasy, but he was no longer the kind of compassionate, sentimental man he once was. After hearing this, he shifted topics: "Are we doomed to sleep on the streets forever?"

"..."

As the night deepened, fewer people spoke. Ning Chen didn't think they were sleepy—he sensed they were deliberately lowering their voices, as if afraid of something.

The atmosphere grew heavy. Ning Chen fell silent, and soon no one spoke at all.

Ning Chen had no blanket—he lay with his eyes open, staring at the sky. This was his first night sleeping on the street.

To be honest, it wasn't pleasant.

Without a blanket, the temperature dropped unnoticed by midnight—even in Cangbei, nights carried a chill.

Ning Chen had not slept at all; he kept a sliver of consciousness, and at the slightest sound, he could react instantly.

In contrast, the other homeless men were already fast asleep by then, with one or two even snoring loudly as if no one were around, their snores like thunder.

Nothing happened during the first half of the night; Ning Chen feigned sleep for a while, and by the second half, he was even growing drowsy, but just then, he suddenly heard footsteps.

They were not footsteps deliberately lightened; rather, it sounded like a group of people purposefully walking toward this street, their shoes clattering, the noise not particularly small.

Ning Chen opened his eyes almost immediately.

Glancing to the side, where were the sleeping homeless men? Almost everyone had instantly sat up, their eyes wide open, staring at the nearby darkness where no lights shone.

The footsteps grew faster; Ning Chen realized this must be the "rounding up" those people had spoken of.

Ning Chen no longer knew whether to count this as good luck or bad luck; sitting on a piece of hard cardboard, he tapped the ground with his fingers, one beat after another.

He knew that soon those people would walk over, seize one person from among them, and that person would be only himself.

The footsteps stopped right before him.

The next second, someone switched on a flashlight; the intense beam swept across the unlit street, dazzling their eyes, and they were forced to squint shut.

Rustling sounds quickly came from behind Ning Chen; he guessed someone behind him had stood up, and sure enough, a figure soon approached his side.

Ning Chen looked at the person's shoes and confirmed this individual was the homeless gang leader.

The homeless gang leader seemed terrified at that moment, his body trembling; when facing those opposite, he did not even dare to lift his head.

Ning Chen saw about ten people standing opposite him, each holding a weapon, such as controlled knives and guns.

Before the opposite side could speak, the homeless gang leader said in a trembling voice, "Are you short of people again over there?"

The opposite side did not answer immediately; a few seconds later, a low voice came through.

538. Relocating the site; executions inside the factory.

"We are short of people, and you just happened to return here today."

The homeless gang leader opened Zhang Zui, his voice somewhat hoarse; he lowered his head to look at Ning Chen, seeming somewhat reluctant, but finally said, "A new arrival joined us today..."

"Oh?" A laugh came from the opposite side, and all gazes converged on Ning Chen. "What, do you want to push this new arrival out to us?"

Ning Chen instantly felt a very oppressive gaze.

Ning Chen's expression did not change; he heard the homeless gang leader above him say, "Yes..."

The opposite side seemed to have only one person speaking throughout; after hearing the homeless gang leader say this, that side replied, "Fine, one person is one person. Let me see which eyeless fool chose to come here to sleep."

After he finished speaking, Ning Chen felt a pulling force; someone grabbed his sleeve and dragged him up from the ground.

Ning Chen also rose using Seeing Gu Li; he turned his head and saw that the one pulling him was indeed the homeless gang leader.

Ning Chen's expression remained calm throughout; the light shone on his face, but at this very moment, he no longer wished to pretend to be a harmless college student.

Instead, he said directly, "My luck is truly terrible."