Chapter 59: Tang Sanlang's Flashy Operation

"Ouch, damn it, hiss, it burned me to death." He Yuzhu couldn't care about anything else, spitting repeatedly and hissing non-stop.

"Are you alright, Deputy Director He?" A sturdy young man with long hair hurried over with a bowl of cold water and handed it to He Yuzhu.

"Thanks, hiss, do you know me?" After taking a sip of cold water and feeling his tongue improve, He Yuzhu asked, making small talk.

"I know you, I know you. My name is Tang Sanlang, and your apprentice Ma Hua is my cousin, hehe, though we aren't very close on a daily basis." Tang Sanlang stood to the side, speaking in a somewhat ingratiating manner.

"Stealing steel pipes, were you involved in that too?" He Yuzhu, having calmed down, asked in a low voice while looking with the others toward where the gunshot had come from.

"No, but our Section Chief said that everyone in our Security Section, even those who didn't participate, are considered to have shared in the stolen goods, making us accomplices, and we'll all have to eat lead. Master He, could you take some things and a message to my mother for me?" Tang Sanlang scratched his head, pulled some money and ration coupons from his bosom, and looked at him with a pleading expression.

He Yuzhu looked at him and nodded, essentially agreeing, but he didn't let him continue speaking; instead, he looked at the people peering around, lost in thought.

"Are there many people like you who didn't steal things but just followed along to eat, drink, and share the money?"

"About half and half. Those who did the heavy lifting got more, and those who just followed along to eat, drink, and keep secrets got less."

"Then why didn't you do the work? With a build like yours."

"I wanted a bigger share too, but they didn't think much of me."

Looking at the somewhat aggrieved Tang Sanlang, He Yuzhu chuckled, then pulled him to the side and whispered to him.

"Listen to me, accomplices like you won't have to eat lead; your Section Chief lied to you."

"Huh?"

"Even those who participated in the stealing, as long as they confess honestly, undergo reform, and compensate for the losses, at most they'll only be locked up for three years!"

"Huh?"

"But if you keep resisting like this, then there really will be no saving you, understand?"

"Huh?"

"Ahem, why do you keep saying 'huh'?"

He Yuzhu looked speechlessly at Tang Sanlang, who was staring with wide eyes and saying "huh" non-stop. Tang Sanlang scratched his head embarrassedly and said, "But I don't know what to say."

"Then did you understand what I said?"

"No, not really..."

"Fine, let me put it another way: do you want to provide for your mother in her old age and bury her?"

"I do!"

"Good, then listen to me, you do this... understand now?"

"Mm-hmm."

Watching Tang Sanlang, who now wore a look of understanding, He Yuzhu finally breathed a sigh of relief. No wonder people say they would rather have a fight with a sensible person than an argument with a fool.

Tang Sanlang walked quietly to the side and started talking to a few people he was on good terms with.

He Yuzhu braced himself, quietly drew his pistol and tucked it into his waistband, and continued to wait by the coal stove.

After a while, the sound of heavy footsteps from three people approached.

The Section Chief walked in front, while Dazhuang and Erzhuang, covered in blood, carried Zhu Laosi behind him. The two kept their heads down, not knowing what they were thinking.

"It's alright, everyone don't be nervous. Since the food is ready, Master He, you can go back. Tell Zhang Hao and Factory Director Yang that the primary culprit has been shot dead. As long as we negotiate, we will give up resistance and surrender. Hehe, you also know that although we were forced by Zhu Laosi, we did break the law after all, so we still need to strive for leniency from the leaders." The Section Chief looked at everyone, raised his hand, and then said to He Yuzhu with a chuckle.

He Yuzhu looked at the chuckling Security Section Chief, his mind racing. At such close range, he was one hundred percent sure he could kill all three of them.

But...

He, after all, had no law enforcement authority, nor did he have evidence to prove the other party was lying.

The act of killing first and finding evidence later—he might have been able to pull that off in his past life when he held great power, but now...

He sighed. Forget it, this is fine too. Let Zhang Hao and Factory Director Yang have the headache of dealing with the specifics.

No matter what the final verdict is, at least there will be a narrative to save face for everyone, and the factory and machines can be preserved.

As for Zhu Laosi being the mastermind, let alone the people in the Security Section, even if He Yuzhu thought about it with his thumb, it was impossible; he was just a scapegoat.

But sometimes, one really has to turn a blind eye. Adults, after all—where is there so much impulse? It's all just calculating gains and losses.

"Alright, then everyone calm down, don't have an accidental discharge. I'll go out and say it now." He Yuzhu's thoughts turned rapidly; he smiled, nodded, took off his apron, and turned to walk outside.

Tang Sanlang, who had just finished connecting with about half the people, was stunned. Wouldn't his hard work be for nothing? He looked at He Yuzhu walking toward him and kept winking, meaning that he had gotten his side ready, so were they just giving up like this?

He Yuzhu was taken aback; he had forgotten about this brother. He could only twitch the corners of his mouth and give him a look to wait calmly; after all, everyone was watching, and it wasn't appropriate to talk.

Who knew that Tang Sanlang would open his big mouth and misunderstand the signal? With a 'bang', he kicked the coal stove that was cooking chicken in the corner, scaring everyone into hurriedly dodging the sparks.

"It's now, brothers..." Tang Sanlang shouted, took out his pistol, and was about to aim at the Security Section Chief.

He Yuzhu, who had been shown a face full of this sudden, flashy operation, looked shocked as he quickly lunged toward the coal sparks on the ground. One had to know that the machines were doused in oil; if this caught fire, the consequences would be huge.

With a "thud," He Yuzhu lunged onto the coal cinders that had been kicked and were rolling toward the machine, immediately grimacing in pain from the burns.

At the same time, the Security Section Chief quickly drew his gun, aimed at Tang Sanlang, and was about to fire.

He Yuzhu, grimacing, ignored the burns on his chest and hurriedly drew his pistol from his waistband, hitting the wrist of the Security Section Chief with a "bang."

The Security Section Chief screamed, his pistol fell to the ground, and he retreated quickly, clutching his right hand with his left, hiding behind the machine.

Dazhuang and Erzhuang also dropped Zhu Laosi's corpse and retreated quickly.

Tang Sanlang held his gun, stunned by the events that had happened in an instant; he didn't know how to continue with what he was going to say next.

"Bang!"

Another gunshot rang out, and Lengzi, who had been mingling among the security personnel, shot Tang Sanlang in the chest.

Tang Sanlang retreated two steps as if struck by a heavy blow, looked down in disbelief, and then lay on the ground, muttering to himself: "Mother, I still can't provide for you in your old age..."

He Yuzhu was startled and quickly turned his pistol, but who knew that after shooting Tang Sanlang, the person lowered their body, used the figures of the crowd to change positions, and aimed at He Yuzhu.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang."

With one gunshot, three flowers of blood bloomed on He Yuzhu's body. His right shoulder, abdomen, and left thigh were hit in succession. His body trembled as if struck by a sledgehammer, and he lay completely on the ground, gasping for air. At the same time, enduring the numbness in his body after being shot, he transferred the gun to his left hand.

The person who had been peeking around in the crowd was hit squarely in the center of the forehead and fell to the ground.

The rest of the people were shocked and scattered to hide, and for a moment, the scene was somewhat chaotic.

Outside, Zhang Hao shoved Factory Director Yang aside and said hatefully, "Damn it, I must have been bewitched by He Yuzhu to let him go in. We can't wait any longer. Watch your safety, cover each other, and advance alternately!"

"Yes!" The security officers nodded one after another, hunching their bodies and treading lightly, quickly advancing toward the factory gate.

Lying on the ground, He Yuzhu thought of that nursery rhyme. How similar this scene was—also shot in the leg and shoulder, also three shots—and he began to hum with a faint smile.

"On the side of the road, I picked up—cough, cough—I picked up a penny."

"Good, good, good. I never expected Master He to be so full of hidden depths; your Marksmanship is truly remarkable." The Security Section Chief walked up slowly, clutching his right hand while holding his pistol in his left, his eyes burning with rage. Now that it had come to this, how would it end?

The Security Section Chief, who had assumed everything would go according to his plan, suddenly grew to hate He Yuzhu and Tang Sanlang to the bone.

But who was a fool?

Even if they gave up resistance, would things really go as he imagined?

Was everyone a fool, to believe whatever he said?

It was nothing more than self-deception and comfort born of fear.

"Surrender, stop deceiving yourself. Even someone like me in the kitchen knows that Zhu Laosi is loyal to you. He is the mastermind? You think everyone in the world is Xu Damao, right? Cough, cough." He Yuzhu lay there, feeling his eyelids growing heavier and heavier, gathering his remaining strength.

To tell the truth, having been shot three times, he didn't feel pain right now; he just felt as if his body had been struck by a sledgehammer, an indescribable numbness, a bit like the feeling when you sleep with your head on your desk during a lunch break at school and your arm goes numb.

"Hahahaha, it's too late to say anything. This situation now is all because of you! Die!"

The Security Section Chief raised his left hand, aimed at He Yuzhu's head, and was about to fire.

A flash of brilliance flickered in He Yuzhu's eyes; he tilted his head and suddenly raised his left hand.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Two gunshots rang out, one near and one far.

He Yuzhu curled his lips: "Forgot to tell you, my left-handed shooting is also a perfect score!" Then, harboring a great sense of speechlessness toward Tang Sanlang, he fell completely unconscious.

The Security Section Chief's pistol dropped to the ground; he let his left hand, which had been precisely wounded by He Yuzhu, hang down, lowered his head to look at the bullet wound on his lower back, and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

In the crowd, Dazhuang, who had snuck up to the side at some unknown time, blew on the smoking muzzle, threw the gun to the ground, sat down limply, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Don't move!"

"Raise your hands, put your hands on your heads!"

"Drop your weapons!"

With a "bang," the gate was pushed open, and more than twenty security officers in helmets and holding guns rushed in, shouting one after another.

The security guards who had been persuaded by Tang Sanlang obediently threw down their pistols, held their heads, and squatted on the ground.

Everything is fine until there's a leader; the rest of the group hadn't yet recovered from the series of shocks just now when they saw their colleagues surrender and hand over their weapons, so they immediately followed suit and squatted down.

After the weapons were confiscated and everyone was squatting in a row with their heads held, Factory Director Yang followed behind Zhang Hao and walked in, clutching his chest.

"Zhuzi, Zhuzi!" Zhang Hao was shocked to see He Yuzhu lying on the ground with a pool of blood beneath him, and he walked over quickly.

Ma Hua, Ma Jian, and Yu Xiaokang also rushed over one after another.

"Master, what's wrong with you, Master?"

"He's still breathing, quick, send him to the Hospital!" Zhang Hao checked and shouted hurriedly.

"Cough, cough, I, I'm injured too, send me too." From the side, the Security Section Chief's groaning voice came; Factory Director Yang was so furious that he went up and kicked him hard in the waist before being pulled away by Zhang Hao.

"What are you doing?!" Zhang Hao complained irritably, then watched as He Yuzhu was carried out by the others and shouted: "Use my car, hurry!"

The Security Section Chief, wanting to cry but having no tears, kept enduring the pain as he lifted his right arm to strike Zhang Hao's calf, which was stepping on the wound on his left wrist, screaming incessantly.

Watching the people being taken away, Zhang Hao and Factory Director Yang both breathed a sigh of relief; fortunately, the matter was finally over.

"Hey, wake up, wake up!" A security officer slapped the snoring Tang Sanlang hard, speechless as he woke him up.

"Ah?!" Tang Sanlang was startled, looked around quickly, and then began to grope his body with both hands, finally pulling a metal flask from his chest pocket.

A bullet was stuck right in it!

"Oh, mother! I can still provide for your old age and bury you." Tang Sanlang's mouth was just about to stretch wide when he was slapped on the head by the security officer and shoved into the car.

Zhang Hao looked over, turned to Factory Director Yang behind him, and said: "I have to go report to our leader first, what about you?"

"I also have to go report to the Big Leader."

"Good, then I'll drive. Give me your keys, I'll take you first."

Taking the keys, Zhang Hao walked out. Factory Director Yang carefully took the coal stove out, confirmed the power switch was off, turned off the lights, closed the factory door, and instructed a few non-smoking workers to keep watch nearby before walking out the gate.

"Factory Director Yang, where are you going?" Zhang Hao's car stopped, and he rolled down the passenger window.

Factory Director Yang stood outside the car, rubbed his somewhat numb face, and said: "Where else, the Big Leader's house, of course. You?"

"Oh, that's fine, I know now. Let's go, I'm going to find my leader; I'll probably get scolded, sigh." After speaking, Zhang Hao stepped on the gas and zoomed off.

Factory Director Yang stood where he was, watching Zhang Hao disappear in a puff of smoke, and turned in a circle, completely bewildered.

Hey? Wasn't that my car? Didn't we agree to take me first? Didn't we say we were going together?

"Hey, Section Chief Zhang, I didn't get in the car! I didn't get in the car!"