Chapter 178: Conflict on the Verge of Eruption

As the night deepened, fog began to roll in at some point, shrouding the whole world in a light veil, dreamlike and illusory. The nearby Ganjiang River, like a black jade belt, traversed the ethereal mist, winding and extending into the distance.

At the entrance of Lishui Village, Xu Ziwai and Wu Cheng were squatting under an old poplar tree smoking, occasionally pulling their cotton coats tighter. Although it was already May, the nights were still quite cool.

"This fog is getting thicker and thicker." Wu Cheng spat, tilted his head, and spat the cigarette butt onto the ground. "Do you think they'll really come tonight?"

Xu Ziwai shook his head: "Even if they don't come tonight, they'll come within these next few days."

Wu Cheng tilted his head and looked at Xu Ziwai: "Are you afraid?"

"Afraid of what!" A fierce glint flashed in Xu Ziwai's eyes as he took a hard drag of his cigarette. "Once things get chaotic, especially in the pitch black of night, who knows who is who?"

Suddenly, a rumbling sound came from the night. Wu Cheng stood up abruptly: "What's that sound?"

Xu Ziwai tilted his head to listen: "The sound of an engine."

Wu Cheng said: "What kind of vehicle engine could make such a loud sound?"

"No matter what vehicle it is, it's definitely them." Xu Ziwai pushed Wu Cheng: "Go quickly to the brigade headquarters and notify the section chief."

Wu Cheng took off running. Xu Ziwai wrapped his arms around the tree trunk, kicked off with his feet, and climbed up the tree in a few movements.

The rumbling sound became clearer and clearer. Because the fog was too thick, he couldn't see what it was, but he had already guessed it should be bulldozers or excavators, the sound caused by the tracks pressing against the road surface. And with such a loud sound, it definitely wasn't just one.

It didn't take long before dim yellow lights appeared in the thick fog, slowly moving toward this direction.

Xu Ziwai finally saw clearly; it was indeed bulldozers and excavators, four in total, followed by more than a dozen vans.

Soon, the convoy passed right under his nose and slowly drove into the village.

"Bang!" Xu Ziwai jumped down from the tree and followed the convoy into the village.

The households near the village entrance also heard the commotion and turned on their lights one after another.

The loudspeaker at the brigade headquarters suddenly blared; the crackling sound of electricity was very harsh. After the electrical noise disappeared, Yao Jun's voice rang out.

"Well, everyone stop sleeping. Our friends have arrived. Everyone get up and welcome them."

As the lights in every household in the village turned on, the brigade headquarters' loudspeaker began playing music.

"Friend, you are leaving today, drink this cup of wine. Forget the sorrows of the lonely journey to the ends of the earth, drunk until the end of the world..."

Hearing the song playing on the loudspeaker, Xu Ziwai chuckled: "The section chief is the section chief. No matter where he goes or when, he never forgets to promote the liquor."

The convoy stopped. Yan Shi got out of a van. Seeing the lights on in every household and hearing the chaotic and noisy cursing, a look of contempt appeared on his face.

He really hadn't expected these villagers to be prepared, but so what? The more than one hundred people he brought were all "rich in practical combat experience." What was the use of these mobs of mud-legged peasants having numbers? In a while, they would know why flowers were so red.

One by one, the little thugs got out of the dozen or so vans, carrying steel pipes and cursing. One guy glared and said.

"Brother Yan, what are we waiting for? Let the bulldozers get to work. If anyone dares to block us, the brothers guarantee we'll have them spending the rest of their lives in bed."

Yan Shi nodded. He wasn't stupid; how could he let the villagers gather before taking action? Besides, it was already past one in the morning, and all the houses had to be pushed down before dawn.

"Get to work!" Yan Shi waved his hand at the bulldozer and excavator drivers and shouted.

The four big machines roared, their exhaust pipes spewing black smoke as they each charged toward the nearest residential house.

These houses didn't have any reinforced concrete; whether it was the courtyard walls or the houses themselves, they were all built of stone. If you said they weren't sturdy, families had lived here for generations, standing through decades or even a century of wind and rain without falling. If you said they were sturdy, they were easily knocked down by the four big machines.

Amidst the rumbling, dust filled the air. The heart-wrenching wails, angry curses, and the roar of machinery intertwined, making people feel cold in the deep night.

"Fuck your mother, I'll fight you to the death." A man in his forties, carrying an iron pickaxe, charged toward an excavator regardless of anything. With a *clang*, the pickaxe smashed hard against the excavator's cab door.

Sparks flashed, and the pickaxe flew out of his hand. The middle-aged man ran over, and just as he picked up the pickaxe, a group of people rushed over and gave him a round of punches and kicks.

"Dad!" A teenager of eighteen or nineteen grabbed a rock from the ground and charged up, roaring in anger.

"Little bastard!" A little thug swung a steel pipe and smashed it hard against the teenager's leg.

With a *crack*, the terrifying sound of bone breaking rang out, followed by the teenager's miserable scream as he fell heavily to the ground.

"Son, son!" A woman crawled up from the ground and threw herself onto the teenager.

The little thug sneered, swung the steel pipe, and smashed it heavily onto the woman's back, one blow after another. While hitting her, he laughed loudly.

This scene was all seen by Xu Ziwai, who was hiding in the dark. His eyes were fixed on the little thug's face, and the murderous intent in his eyes grew stronger and stronger.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

House after house was pushed down; they didn't care at all whether there were people inside.

Yan Shi leaned against the car window, lit a cigarette, and then pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose with his finger: "Damn it, I gave you respect, but you didn't want it. Now you know how to cry? It's too late."

"Ah!"

As another house was pushed down, an angry cry rang out: "I'll fight you to the death."

A lit gasoline bottle flew in the night sky, spinning toward the excavator. With a *pop*, the excavator's window glass shattered, followed by a *bang* as a fierce fire erupted.

The guy driving the excavator was instantly set on fire. The shrill, miserable screams startled everyone, including the three bulldozers, which stopped.

Just as the excavator's cab door was pushed open, a human-shaped fireball jumped out and then rolled desperately on the ground.

Yan Shi was startled: "What the hell are you looking at? Hurry up and save him."

"Whoosh!" A group of people ran over; some took off their clothes to pat the fire, others threw dirt on him. After a busy while, they finally extinguished the fire, but the person had already been burned to charcoal, though he was still breathing.

A guy shouted: "Sanlu is still alive! Hurry up and send him to the hospital."

Everyone scrambled to lift this Sanlu onto a van, which then sped away.

A fierce glint flashed in Yan Shi's eyes as he pointed at the villager who had thrown the Molotov cocktail and roared: "Beat him to death for me."

Yao Jun had already brought people over. Hearing Yan Shi's shout, he no longer hesitated: "Fellow villagers, you've seen it, right? The next one to be targeted will be you. If you don't want to be beaten to death and don't want to be homeless, then pick up the weapons in your hands and let these thug little gangsters know that we people of Lishui Village are not to be bullied."

As Yao Jun's voice fell, the conflict was on the verge of eruption. ===== CHAPTER 179 =====