Chapter 156: The Yellow Oriole Is Us

You must know that although this group of punks is a bit rough, they can still be considered survivors.

In a situation where the other side has not attacked first, they, as official soldiers, cannot just open fire.

Protecting the home and defending the country—even if there are one or two rats in the home and country, there is no helping it.

Seeing the guards not move, Jiang Hanzhong was annoyed, "This is an order! Kill all these bandits, protect the factory!"

He took the opportunity to take off that faded, possibly iron badge on his chest; although he felt this thing lacked class, he still held it up.

But it was this very action of holding up the badge that cost him three fingers.

Bang—

"Ahhhhh..."

The badge was shot off, and Jiang Hanzhong let out a pig-like shriek.

His thumb, index finger, and the middle finger that represented his leadership temperament shattered and broke off.

The severed fingers, under the impact of the bullet, slapped against the concrete wall behind him, leaving three bloodstains before falling.

"Old bastard, you don't know what's good for you! Daring to make a move against our Black Fire Gang, you're courting death!"

"Kill that old bastard!"

Amidst a pile of profanities, the punks got onto their respective vehicles and began firing toward the inside of the factory like madmen.

Each motorcycle carried two people; the one in front controlled the bike to ram the gate, while the one in back opened fire.

As soon as one vehicle failed, another rushed forward recklessly.

"All get out of the way!"

The pure steel gate of the Steel Factory was simply not something a motorcycle could ram open.

After a violent shout, the pickup truck that had turned around roared its engine, tires kicking up dirt and emitting white smoke as it charged over.

"Damn it, idiot!"

Deputy Factory Director Feng Mo, who had just finished arranging the Militia, saw the incident that had occurred a few minutes prior. He didn't go to the wailing Jiang Hanzhong, but instead stopped the factory guards who wanted to shoot.

"Brother, Brother Black Fire!"

Feng Mo was a native of Mei City and had been one of the youths who hung out with Black Fire; the two were even in the same kindergarten class.

When the Steel Factory was hiring, he saw the wages were quite substantial, so he joined the factory. Upon his recommendation, dozens of workers were recruited from the Black Fire Gang.

Although these people had no experience, they were decent people and good laborers.

That was how it was; Liu Mu made him Deputy Factory Director, and when she wanted to build a good relationship with the Black Fire Gang, she would also bring him along.

"Don't be angry, Brother, that, the new guy, the new guy, doesn't know any better!"

The soldiers dispatched to act as guards didn't want to make a move now either; Yang Shuo always advocated for good military-civilian relations, with everyone being one harmonious family.

Who knew that Jiang Hanzhong, who came today, would act like he was possessed? People were kindly coming to deliver a congratulatory gift, and he actually fired the first shot—he was simply pig-brained.

Even if that gift was truly shabby and abstract, come on, it's the apocalypse, who the hell are you putting on airs for?

The ones ramming the gate outside didn't stop; after hearing Feng Mo's voice, they cursed even more viciously, calling him a traitor and saying they would deal with him first once they got in.

"Deal with me, fine! In the world of the rivers and lakes, the rule is, trouble does not, reach the family, family members!"

The reason Feng Mo didn't fear the many rules and still joined the factory for a high-paying job was mostly for his grandmother at home.

His parents had gone out to work years ago and died away from home; his grandmother and he relied on each other, and she was already fifty-nine this year.

During the Ten-Day Burning, he carried his grandmother to hide in a nearby Air Raid Shelter. In order to get food, he fought for his life against others, caught the eye of the Black Fire group, and was taken in as a lackey.

Generally speaking, although this group of Black Fire people didn't have very good brains—they could spontaneously combust for three minutes without even being lit—they were truly loyal. Knowing he was filial to his grandmother and wanted to work at the factory, they didn't stop him, and they even helped with the recruitment.

This was also the reason Liu Mu hadn't dealt with the Black Fire Gang. These young men, with an average age of no more than twenty, weren't as bad as they were made out to be; they were mostly young people huddling together for survival in the apocalypse. They also collected survivors and charged supplies as protection fees, but they wouldn't let these people be bullied by others.

Mei City was smaller than Haicheng, with fewer than ten thousand survivors, mainly divided into three groups. The Black Fire Gang had the fewest people, but they were the hardest to provoke.

Easily triggered, loyal, and obsessed with "face"—these were the Black Fire Gang's greatest characteristics and weaknesses.

Liu Mu gave them face, so they didn't come to cause trouble when the Steel Factory was being built, and even allowed the survivors under them to go work there.

By comparison, Jiang Hanzhong really didn't know how to conduct himself.

They were even the ones who sent the congratulatory gift first, and this gift had even won first place in the apocalypse art competition hosted by Liu Mu.

"Not giving me face! And not giving my Sister Mu face! You old bastard, if you don't kneel before me today and kowtow to admit your mistake, I'm not Black Fire!"

Feng Mo still wanted to bring up Liu Mu to say some nice words, but Jiang Hanzhong's deputy had returned after hearing the commotion. Seeing the leader he followed injured like this, his eyes turned red.

"Open fire quickly! Can't let them break in! Are you trying to disobey orders!"

The soldiers all looked at Feng Mo, waiting for the Deputy Factory Director and Security Captain to say a word—were they really going to fight with the local gang?

When Liu Mu came, she had actually eaten with the other side; now, who exactly were they supposed to listen to?

Feng Mo gritted his teeth and shook his head firmly, "Wait for them, them, to come in!"

The meaning was that as long as the Black Fire Gang hadn't broken in, they wouldn't open fire first. Anyway, they were all hiding in defensive fortifications; as long as they didn't go out, they wouldn't be hit by the other side.

In fact, Feng Mo was more worried for the Black Fire Gang. The Steel Factory was equipped with regular military weapons; the Black Fire Gang didn't even have many handguns, so coming in would just be serving themselves up on a platter.

"Don't, don't hit vital points, Chief Liu's, instructions, don't, don't forget."

The soldiers were originally wary of the rules Liu Mu established on the first day of building the factory; they just didn't expect Jiang Hanzhong to break the principles the first day he arrived. But if the Black Fire Gang really threatened the safety of the workers, they would still have to take action.

Several hundred meters away, Luo Sanlin put down his binoculars and asked the person dozing off beside him with some worry, "Really let them fight? What if there are casualties..."

The tone of his voice showed his disapproval.

This was a ruin of a building. The person lying on the single military cot had their face covered by a black fisherman's hat and was wrapped from head to toe in a military green Raincoat, having been asleep for a long time.

"Don't be anxious," Liu Mu moved her shoulders, showing no intention of getting up, "The Black Fire Gang doesn't have that much guts. The big fish we are waiting for should already be nearby."

Luo Sanlin had previously stayed at the Mine to lead troops, and was suddenly transferred here two months ago. Except for himself and Liu Mu, no third person knew.

That is to say, he had been staying in Mei City for these two months, posing as a survivor and having contact with all three gangs. After waiting for the right moment, he would give the intelligence to Liu Mu.

He had thought Liu Mu wanted to take down the three gangs and unify them under the official Barrier management, until he saw Jiang Hanzhong come to the Steel Factory; only then did Luo Sanlin confirm that the one Liu Mu wanted to deal with was the one surnamed Jiang.

The head of the team that had been taken to support the Coal Mine was also surnamed Jiang, and was someone sent directly by the Jiang Family; he was still being held and forced to dig for coal.

This Jiang Hanzhong is different; his eldest brother is the person in charge of this generation of the Jiang Family. Although he failed in the power struggle, he himself remains a person of substance.

Luo Sanlin also asked Liu Mu if it was a personal vendetta, and the latter replied that there was a grudge, but a more important reason was that Jiang Hanzhong had contacted people to plan an ambush on Yang Shuo's group halfway. If they had succeeded at the time, a bloody battle would surely have broken out at the Haicheng Barrier again, and as for whether Liu Mu could still hold power... it would have been almost impossible.

"Yang Shuo said the Jiang Family has already cooperated with the Sky Viper, and the greatest credit goes to Jiang Hanzhong and Jiang Xue, who was greeted by the Mutated Rat. Damn it, if I had known they were attacking me back then, I should have slaughtered that woman."

"She attacked you too?" Luo Sanlin naturally did not know about the incident at the Huoshan, and was only surprised that Jiang Xue, a girl who looked quiet and gentle, actually had such a sinister side.

"She did, otherwise I wouldn't have held a grudge against her over such a small matter. That idiot Xing Tianyang actually exposed himself on the road; I really have no hope for his emotional intelligence. Sigh, Yang Shuo can't come back for the time being, and Zhuo Qing has to protect him. I don't know what they are planning, it's so annoying!"

Seeing that Liu Mu was about to start complaining again, Luo Sanlin silently shifted his gaze back to the binoculars, not forgetting to comfort her, "Think about today, four birds with one stone. You've been laying this out for so long, when did you become so patient, kid?"

"Stop calling me 'kid' every single day, old classmate. I'm 36D... forget it," Liu Mu pulled at her hat and tied all the hair that had fallen onto her face behind her head, "Only when I find a few more handsome Little Brothers to keep will you guys wake up."

"You're full of nonsense. Let me tell you, although times are tough now, if you really want to get married, you still need to find a decent person properly. You must never have that pretty boy with the surname whatever. I've seen that kid's family a few times at the Barrier, and none of them are easy to deal with. You need to learn your lesson."

When Luo Sanlin lectured people with a straight face, it immediately reminded Liu Mu of her middle school bald head homeroom teacher, who had a whole set of lectures whenever he put on a stern face.

"Sanlin, have you seen Teacher Li's family in the Barrier?"

Hearing this form of address, Luo Sanlin fell silent. It was a long while before he put down the binoculars and sighed, "No. The area around our school burned down, and there was no underground parking lot, nor any Air Raid Shelter or the like. The teachers and the children... nothing was left."

This time, it was Liu Mu's turn to be silent. In the process of her growing up, there were actually not many people she was truly familiar with. Especially after the orphanage moved away, the only people she was still somewhat familiar with could be counted on one hand.

After her rebirth, she had the thought of going back to the school to see her teachers, but she was too busy, and later she forgot.

"That's true, it had been many years since I last saw them anyway. I thought they hadn't stayed at the school after retiring."

"When the school built the teacher dormitory building back then, there was no money, so the teachers paid in advance to purchase them. The couple had to support two children and had bought a house, so where would they have any spare money to go anywhere else?"

As a community police officer, Luo Sanlin had taken some care of his former homeroom teacher, "After retiring, old Li got a re-employment position teaching the first year, and his wife also helped out in the infirmary. Life was actually quite good back then; they weren't lonely, and they weren't tired. Don't think too much about it. After all, they were old; even if they had survived the disaster, it would be hard for them to endure now."

"You can actually see it that way," Liu Mu knew that Luo Sanlin's parents both had underlying conditions and needed to take medicine every day; thinking about it now, his pressure was truly not small.

"I have people looking after my aunt and uncle, so don't you worry. As long as humanity is not extinct, difficult environments will actually make technology in all aspects develop faster. Perhaps before long, a way to completely treat them will be researched."

"I'll take your word for it," Luo Sanlin's face was much more resolute than before the disaster, and he had also shed that bureaucratic air; it was just that his saintly heart was still alive and well.

However, the two quickly put aside this heavy topic. Luo Sanlin looked at the two groups of people who had suddenly appeared and revealed a look of surprise, "The Fierce Man Gang has shown their heads. The Thunder Snake Gang that Jiang Hanzhong was waiting for has also arrived. Judging by the numbers, they have all come out. The two gangs must have joined forces, wanting to swallow the Steel Factory in one bite."

"Jiang Hanzhong knows how to persuade these people, but unfortunately, we are the oriole." Liu Mu stopped trying to sleep, pulled out a Sniper Rifle, and looked through the scope at the target she was waiting for, "Good grief, the Black Fire Gang is slipping away too fast. Didn't they have to hold them off for a quarter of an hour? A bunch of cowards!"