Chapter 521: Even God Would Get Punched and Hit with a Combo

Most bars in the Upper District (Starlight District) played relatively trendy or relaxed music, and quite a few bars had live singers.

The little experts at picking cotton had finally ushered in complete freedom after experiencing untold hardships, but freedom made them feel lost and at a loss.

In the past, although the farm owners and plantation owners would sometimes whip them, making them always work, work, work.

But at least the plantation owners would let them eat their fill. Even if the food didn't taste good, they would let them eat their fill.

Even those plantation owners would arrange marriages for them; they didn't need to consider any other external conditions to get a female slave and build their own little family.

They only needed simple labor, and they didn't need to think about anything else in their brains; their whole family could eat their fill and have clothes to wear.

Their children were the same; from the moment they were born, they possessed work and a future.

Although they were exhausted every day, wasn't that just what life was?

But now?

They would no longer be whipped, they wouldn't be forced to pick cotton, and no one would demand they do this or that, but what did they get?

Freedom?

No, they got something even more terrifying—the shackles of life!

When these people needed to pay currency to fill their stomachs, some of them felt anger and shame toward those ancestors who had launched the abolitionist movement under the slogan "We need freedom"!

They only sought their own fleeting happiness and ease, yet they caused people like them to lose a life that was secure regardless of drought or flood.

They had to develop new professional skills to make a living, besides picking cotton and planting crops.

Singing was the new specialty they had excavated.

Perhaps those little experts who were curled up in the dark under bridge arches, hungry and not knowing where tomorrow would be, would infinitely miss that great era their elders described with hateful tones, the one they yearned for!

Everyone had a job, and everyone could fill their stomachs!

In the bars of the Upper District, those guys would gently sway their bodies, using low, textured voices to smooth out the wrinkles on people's souls. At this time, having another drink, the whole person would become relaxed.

But in the Lower District, the Port District, or the Imperial District, the bars were filled with that trendy music that the upper-class people looked down upon very much.

Common, easy to understand, and carrying some lyrics that made one's scalp tingle, just like right now.

A middle-aged man in his forties stood on the stage, holding a guitar and singing a song that had been very popular recently—

I can't pee, oh, because I caught an STD.

I love that girl, but she passed that terrible disease to me. If this is love, it must be love with poison...

When Lans first heard that this kind of song was actually a "pop song," his whole brain was a blank.

What made him feel even more incredible was that the young guys around him could actually hum along to a few lines.

It was Aierwen who explained it to him: this was music about the current young generation reflecting on promiscuity and love. It was very avant-garde, very progressive. Perhaps the original singer hadn't even expected that this song would actually be fucking popular!

In fact, besides this song, there were also songs similar to the feelings between gay men.

This era was an important time when passion was accompanied by immune system diseases moving from underground to the surface. Because of this new super virus, plus the propaganda and misleading of some people, this made the whole society believe that it was the wrong choices of gay men that had angered God, so God had sent down punishment to take away all the heretics who had violated the Bible!

They crazily suppressed and attacked this group that violated the norm, and the pressure on this group also became very great. The conflict between the two sides was also constantly heating up.

They produced some cultural works, such as pop songs, in which the lover in the songs was no longer the opposite sex. Equally unexpectedly, the songs also gained the support and love of quite a few people.

Love is pure; in God's eyes, we only have the black and white of the soul, not the left and right of the body.

Young people thought it was cool, so they would sing it, just like this song in the bar right now that linked sex, STDs, and love together.

Grotesque culture began to erupt along with the economic depression; this was also something that could always be seen when almost every round of the Great Depression broke out.

Society would become absurd, people would become absurd, and culture would too.

In the bar, both men and women were humming along in a state of being drunk. The bartender was wiping those wine glasses while observing the situation in the bar.

Most of the people in the bars of the Port District were at the bottom of society. They not only had to carry the weight of their own lives but also the weight of the upper and middle classes of society. These weights pressed them so hard they were almost unable to stand.

Alcohol would make them become loose, and it was also possible for them to lose control of their emotions and become crazy.

Controlling them before they caused greater destruction was what the bartender and the security guards needed to find and do.

Tonight, as always, there were many people. People were drinking, chatting, and singing loudly along with those damn lyrics. Some girls even exposed their breasts and burst into loud laughter.

All the pain, whether physical or spiritual, at this moment, under the influence of alcohol, seemed to become not so heavy.

No wonder people liked to drink; the more bitter a person was, the more they liked it. Not only did they like it, but they would also drink themselves into a stupor.

Because only in this state could their short lives not feel the pain and the weight.

During this period, because of the "war" with the Koda family, everyone was very careful and vigilant.

After watching for a while and seeing no problems, the bartender put away the glass that had been wiped as clean as it could be, and then picked up another one.

On the roof outside the bar, two guys holding weapons were huddled together smoking.

Although the temperature had risen now, it was still somewhat cold at night, plus the wind at the port was strong, blowing *whoosh, whoosh*. If you stood still for a little while, you could feel the bone-chilling cold.

The two were chatting about some very ordinary things. There were also many interesting things in the gang, such as who was likely to be promoted to team leader, who could get the operating rights to a certain bar, and who had done what.

For them, who were young, the gang and the family were almost everything they had!

They could obtain everything they needed on their life's path here: wealth, status, and the affection of girls.

Gang members were more easily pursued by young women with low education levels, and this also became one of their topics: women, and sex.

The two were just talking when suddenly the sound of cars came to their ears. They bent down, put out their cigarettes, and then stared at the cars at both ends of the alley.

"Doesn't look like our own people," one of them said.

After waiting for another dozen seconds, watching those people get out of the cars holding weapons, the other person ran hard to the door of the rooftop entrance and heavily pressed a red button.

The music in the bar suddenly stopped. The bartender frowned, there was a sudden commotion in the bar, and the manager also came out from the office holding a weapon.

Someone said through a microphone, "We've encountered a little trouble. There's going to be a firefight here soon. Please leave through the door on the right. Thank you for your cooperation!"

Some people hadn't drunk too much and soon calmed down. They finished their drinks in one gulp and left with their friends through the door on the right.

But there were also some who clearly didn't quite believe what they said, or felt... at this moment, even if God came, they would have to punch them a few times before leaving!

These people clamored to make the people who came to cause trouble suffer a little. Regarding the stupid ideas of these people, the bartender had the security guards drive them away with sticks.

In the end, there were still a few who refused to leave no matter what, even when beaten with sticks.

Encountering such people, the bartender didn't stop them anymore.

A person's life is a large-scale exam, one multiple-choice question after another.

Almost ninety-nine percent of the questions can be scored if you get them wrong, but occasionally there will be a few questions where, once you choose wrong, you will be directly eliminated.

As the bar's door was broken open, the bartender grabbed a submachine gun and fired wildly at the entrance.

In an instant, bullets flying everywhere, wood chips, and shattered glass finally made those drunkards sober up.

They shivered and lay flat on the floor, unable to tell if what had wet their pants was the alcohol they had accidentally knocked over or their own urine, and they no longer had the bravado of wanting to punch God a few times!

In a firefight in this kind of environment, the defending side definitely had more advantages than the attacking side.

Those people outside rushed in from the bar's door and had to face fire from multiple directions; it was difficult for them to organize an effective attack.

On the contrary, those people in the bar had long since chosen favorable positions: behind the bar, behind tables, in the loft on the second floor... Originally, their plan hadn't been like this. They thought there were still many people in the bar, and when they rushed in, the bar side would definitely find it difficult to organize an effective counterattack.

They only needed to fire wildly; it didn't matter if they killed the guests in the bar or the people of the Lans family, they could achieve the effect they wanted.

But they hadn't expected that the people in the bar would be evacuated so quickly!

The firefight didn't last long, about five minutes or so. Seeing that they really couldn't rush in, the Koda family people finally gave up.

They threw two grenades inside and then turned and ran. The two people on the roof shot and knocked down two or three people, and the remaining people dragged some wounded and ran to the alley entrance, eventually driving away in cars.

When the manager and the bartender heard that the people had already retreated, they had just let out a sigh of relief when they heard the sound of police cars. The two looked at each other, handled the weapons in their hands as much as possible, and then escaped through the side door, leaving behind only a group of drunkards who didn't even have the strength to stand up.

Without a doubt, they had joined forces, and this was also within Lans's expectations.

Otherwise, the police wouldn't have come so promptly. They might have arrived long ago but had been waiting, waiting for the other side to leave, and then suddenly sounded the alarm and rushed over.

If the people in the bar resisted, then they would have to bear the charge of a firefight with the police.

If they didn't resist, then operating a bar and the possible "murder" would be enough to make them sit in prison until they rotted.

It was just that this time the police's arrangement was very rigorous; they had blocked almost all the channels for leaving. Not long after, some of those who ran slowly were pressed down in the alley by the police.

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This time they didn't resist, nor did they struggle; they just calmly accepted the fact of being arrested.

The bartender's face was pressed against the damp, cold ground, looking at the manager whose face was also pressed against the ground. The two revealed expressions of helplessness.

At the same time, Lans put down the phone in his hand, his hands crossed, pressing against his chin. "Another bar has encountered the same thing."

He looked at those familiar faces in the office. "The bar was attacked, then the police immediately launched a surprise attack, and now the Hazardous Materials Bureau has also begun to intervene."

He said, shaking his head, "They seem to have all joined together."

Actually, it didn't just "seem," because this was the truth.

Police didn't respond that quickly. For the current Federation, as long as a police car arrived at the scene within thirty minutes, it wasn't considered too slow!

Many patrol officers wouldn't take the initiative to respond to calls, especially cases like this where a firefight had occurred.

When the radio broadcast these cases to the police cars on the street, it would also include the code for "firefight," which was also to protect the safety of the officers.

Many officers, as soon as they heard the two key codes "gang" and "firefight," would pretend they didn't hear it.

They also indeed didn't encourage ordinary patrol officers to touch these cases, to avoid unnecessary casualties.

Usually, it was the police station that dispatched specialized heavy-duty police to handle the cases, so the time required was even longer.

Like this situation where the Koda family people had just retreated, the alarm suddenly sounded, and the bar was surrounded, it could only be said that they had joined forces.

The expressions of the people in the room were all very ugly, but none of them expressed any opinions, just looking at Lans.

Lans released his hands, held the armrests of the chair, and leaned back. "To be honest, when they are shameless, they really have caused us a lot of trouble and annoyance."

Problems between individual gangs, just like the result of the bar firefight just now, were either they beat Lans's people down, or they beat the other side down.

Then do what they should do; operate what they should operate, and go back to the hospital if they should go back to the hospital.

But after adding the police, and even the Hazardous Materials Bureau, it became very bad.

Lans would not only lose this group of his own people, but at the same time, the bar would also be sealed, and he would have to lose a sum of money.

Because they had completely broken through the bottom line and joined together, but because of this, it could be seen that Lans had really pushed them all to the limit.

"Let the other bars suspend business first."

Thinking and thinking, it seemed that was the only way.

And now he didn't know what the situation was at the bars that had been attacked. If some "innocent citizens" had died, I'm afraid the problem would become even bigger and more troublesome.

There was another problem: would those who were caught betray him, would they betray the family?

This was also something he couldn't guarantee. Never underestimate people's loyalty, but also never overestimate it.

If those people were all people in this room, and their interests were highly tied to Lans and the Lans family, Lans wouldn't worry, because betraying the family was equivalent to lying in a coffin themselves first.

But those small characters, some of them might waver between heavy sentences and being a state's witness, finding it difficult to make a decision.

Hailamu picked his nose and asked, "Are we just going to avoid their edge like this?"

He said, sticking the booger under the table. Lans rolled his eyes. "You'd better use a tissue to clean up your booger for me, otherwise I'll dig your nose out with a knife sooner or later!"

Hailamu shook his head, took out a tissue, wiped the place where he had stuck the booger, and threw it into the trash can.

Lans glared at him again. Aierwen laughed from the side. "He's just like this... what are we going to do next?"

He steered the topic back to the main point. Lans lit a cigarette. "If they join forces, we definitely aren't their opponents. The referee and the players are beating us together. Even if God came, he'd have to take two punches!"

"First, find a way to split them apart."

"Have people watch those people from the Koda family, and also Hunter."

"Are we going to make a move on Hunter?" Aierwen asked.

Lans didn't deny it. "Hmm, since he's determined to go against us, then replace him!"

"As for the others, don't worry about them for now. Our money is enough for us to use for a long time. In the short term, the bars stopping business won't affect our capital problems."

"The shipments from the valley and the farm won't be affected either, so our main work right now is to deal with this small handful of 'rebels'."

"Of course, the most important thing now is to let Lawyer Luo Ben provide them with help, so that those brothers don't have to worry. Even if they are going to be locked up, I will let them come out as soon as possible."

The purpose of them notifying the Hazardous Materials Bureau this time was actually to make the sentencing of these people heavier and longer.

For the sake of prohibition, the Prohibition Committee allowed local courts to sentence with overweight sentences.

What's funny is that first-degree murder might not be the death penalty, but if you transport and sell smuggled alcohol, there is a considerable probability that the sentencing will exceed that of first-degree murder, and there is even a certain possibility of being sentenced to death!

For one night, the Imperial District and the Port District were full of the sounds of sirens and red and blue flashes. Everyone was guessing what had happened.

However, no matter how they guessed, there was only one "protagonist" of the story, and that was Lans and the Lans family.

The Imperial District and the Port District now only had one gang, the Lans family. With so many police cars acting, it must be targeting them.

For a time, many people were inquiring whether the Lans family was finished...

After eleven o'clock at night, Director Chief Bulu—there was only one Forest Police Bureau in New Jincheng, so he was now the full-fledged director.

But this director was not as good as being a branch director in New Jincheng.

He drove to Lans's company. The company was brightly lit, and there were quite a few people still here, even coming in and out.

In Lans's office, Director Chief Bulu sat opposite Lans.

He already knew what had happened and was also very worried, worried that Lans would really fall in this round.

So as soon as Lans summoned him, he came immediately.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 522 =====