The door of the courtyard house has been welded dead

"Who the hell bragged to me outside that our factory has armored vehicles equipped with anti-aircraft machine guns?"

"This is experimental equipment. You know what 'experimental' means? It means we haven't gotten the production license yet. Production targets and confidentiality are still a concern. You've forgotten about Qin Huairu, haven't you?"

Li Xuewu, with one hand on his hip and the other slamming his hand on the table, was reprimanding people in the large conference room of the security department.

It looked quite angry; the scar on its forehead seemed to have come back to life, twisting its body and baring its fangs.

"The firing range has been shut down for so many years. It was built in 1969, right? It's still not in production, and the technology is already outdated!"

Deputy Director Yang Weimin picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and couldn't understand why Li Xuewu was angry about such a small thing.

If the parameters of the new equipment were leaked, they would be fined and punished. Why bother arguing here? You old man, you're practically toothless. The military doesn't even care about this stuff. Don't make a big deal out of it.

"That's an anti-aircraft cannon, not an anti-aircraft machine gun, understand? If an anti-aircraft machine gun bullet hits a person, it will at most split them in two, but if an anti-aircraft cannon hits a person, it will explode, and the person will turn into mist. You all can't even study your profession properly, you just talk nonsense outside. This thing is very dangerous, it's not for shooting people, it's for shooting down planes in the sky!"

"You've bragged and shown off enough, and now they want to borrow from us. Old Yang, what do you say? Can we lend it to them?"

Li Xuewu sat back down in his chair and glanced around. The team leaders were all focused on their own things, not caring who was bragging about what they were doing. What they were more interested in was which unit wanted to borrow this thing from the factory.

"Pfft, who would want to borrow it? How could that be? This thing is parked at the firing range. Even if it rots, it's not something you can just lend out. Even if it's a failed test, it's still controlled military material. What unit has that kind of ability?"

Perhaps he burned his tongue, or perhaps the news burned Yang Weimin's heart. He spat out the tea leaves in his mouth and shook his head violently. The security department didn't have the authority to hand over such a powerful weapon to others so casually.

He had also worked as a manager of a hazardous materials warehouse. The shells of the 37mm anti-aircraft gun were far superior to those of high-altitude machine guns. If this thing were used to shoot people, Li Xuewu's description just now was not an exaggeration at all.

"Who else could it be? The police contacted Liu Guangqi, the branch captain. If they were just testing the waters by contacting me first, then it's not just this one; there are also the new vans from the headquarters and the trucks from the transportation department—more than a dozen in total!"

Not only was Li Xuewu stunned, but everyone else in the meeting room wearing police uniforms was also stunned.

Good heavens, this is killing two birds with one stone, they don't intend to let any of them go. Is Guangqi still an old hand in the factory, still the former section chief? They're taking advantage of the situation, specifically targeting their old workplace.

There's no reasoning with this; vans and trucks seem insignificant in the face of armored vehicles.

"Why would they ask to borrow these things? Is there some big case involved? I've never heard of any gangs in the capital that would need these things?"

Yang Weimin's expression became much more serious. His first thought was, what do they need these things for? Trucks and vans are one thing, but armored vehicles fall under the category of military supplies. If there were any serious crimes, the armed police would be on the scene now.

"He didn't give specifics, probably because it's confidential. He was too embarrassed to go directly to Secretary Li, so he came to me first to inquire and sound out the situation. I guess it was the bureau's idea too!"

"Even a branch captain like him has been sent to inquire, so it's probably the bureau's doing. It might even escalate to a higher level, or maybe it's a major case under special investigation!"

Yang Weimin scratched his chin. This matter was indeed difficult to explain. After all, Liu Guangqi had been away from the security department for so many years and had entered the public security system. He had long since become an outsider at the Hongxing Factory. But with such a thick skin, he had undoubtedly put the security department in the middle again.

Using them as intermediaries to get the security department to communicate with the factory is considered a private matter. If it were more formal, the two units would have to send letters to each other.

“These kinds of things aren’t something we can decide on our own. It’s fine if military equipment rots in the factory, but when it comes to going out, we have to ask our superiors for permission. This is Beijing, after all, so it’s best not to get involved. Ideally, we should let Liu Guangqi come over by himself.”

“If the case is indeed confidential, then we should talk to Secretary Li alone. Guangqi should understand our difficulties!” Yang Weimin’s words were quite fair, and he still spoke from the factory’s perspective, saying what Li Xuewu, the top leader, was not comfortable saying.

The police can't go too far. Borrowing bread or trucks are minor issues, but borrowing armored vehicles based solely on private connections would be putting the security department at fault.

Li Xuewu's plan was similar, and he nodded in agreement. This was also the reason for the group discussion. It wasn't just his unilateral rejection of the police, but a collective decision made after discussion.

"I remember that batch of anti-aircraft ammunition in the hazardous materials warehouse was also expired. If we really want to fire a few shots, we'll have to coordinate with the General Logistics Department."

After the meeting ended, Yang Weimin pulled Li Xuewu aside and explained the other matters.

When Liu Guangqi received the call from the security department, he could tell that Li Xuewu was making excuses. Having no other choice, after reporting the situation, he still had to come to the factory in person to communicate with Secretary Li.

Although he still lives in a house in Hongxing Community, he transferred to the public security system after the Hope School project ended, and has not been to the factory since.

With the development of the times, the workshops of Hongxing Factory have become completely different from before. By the 1980s, some of the old workshops and factory buildings had been demolished and replanned into new ones.

Liu Guangqi's visit did not attract much attention. More than ten or twenty years had passed, and many of his former subordinates when he was a section chief had retired. Even Li Xuewu, the security officer, had become the head of the security department.

He was a squad leader, but his rank was not as high as the clerks under his command back then. It can only be said that he was held back by Qin Huairu.

But one should also be content. When Li Feng first met with him, he was just a lazy office worker with a predictable future. If nothing unexpected happened, it would be quite an accident that he was able to become the branch captain.

Li Xuewu's situation was a special case under special circumstances of a special era. He had to leave sooner or later. The two brothers could not work in the same unit because of their superior-subordinate relationship, so they needed to recuse themselves.

"The situation is quite complicated; gang-related criminal activities in Tangshan are becoming increasingly rampant!"

Facing his former leader, Liu Guangqi had no intention of hiding anything and told him everything.

Holy crap, Li Feng was shocked to hear these words come out of Liu Guangqi's mouth. How dare they be so bold?
"We certainly cannot sit idly by and let them continue to grow stronger, endangering the lives and property of ordinary people."

"After investigation, it was found that there were quite a few people involved, mostly entrenched in old factories in the old city. Because of the large number of people involved, and to avoid local interference, the higher authorities decided to use police from other areas to bring them all down in one fell swoop."

"Among these people, it is possible that some may be carrying firearms. The armed police will also provide support. However, given the complex environment of the factory area, the leadership believes that vehicles may be a safer option. If the factory is willing to lend them, we can coordinate and communicate with the military."

Once Li Feng understood the whole story, he realized that if it was for a major case and to crack down on organized crime, it wasn't impossible. Didn't the armed police have vehicles?

Doesn't that mean that we can help Baotou No. 1 Machinery Plant to develop wheeled infantry fighting vehicles suitable for use by the Armed Police Force?

"By the way, the matter also involves the criminal suspect Jia Geng."

"A few days ago, the Chaowai Street Police Station arrested a guy who was just there to make up the numbers for a brawl. His fingerprints matched, and after interrogation, it was revealed that Jia Geng and the other suspects were responsible for the burglary at Xu Damao's house. After dividing the loot, Jia Geng probably went to Tangshan!"

Liu Guangqi sighed and exchanged a glance with Li Feng. The world was so vast that they all thought they would never see each other again.

But the world is so small, so small that it has delivered itself to my doorstep. This year is different from previous years. (End of Chapter)