The door of the courtyard house has been welded dead

An old-fashioned wire bed; I wonder if anyone has ever seen one.

Similar to a camp bed, the middle bed frame does not use a template, but instead uses steel wire to simulate a mesh-like spring.

Wooden beds aren't very hard to lie on, but they can be quite uncomfortable. When you get in and out of bed or turn over, they make a metallic scraping sound.

This sound is comparable to fingernails scratching glass; it's very unpleasant to listen to.

The beds that Banggeng sleep in at night are like this. It may be related to the fact that there is a lot of steel production here. There are even more of these steel wire beds than wooden frame beds.

After sleeping on it for so many days, I still can't get used to it. The springs at the head and foot of the bed either tighten or contract as I change my sleeping position. The mattress isn't thick enough, so I don't feel secure sleeping on it; it feels shaky.

In the two-story office building next door, there are single beds like these. In the summer, with the windows and doors open, all you can hear is snoring and teeth grinding all around.

Mosquitoes are no longer important. After a night of drinking, people just lie down in bed and fall asleep. That's the lifestyle here.

As long as it's better than farming, it's fine. They even provide meals here, whether you steal them or buy them, the food is always good. You can also act powerfully when you go out, and with a strong backbone, you can bully others.

But for Banggeng, it was still a bit of an adjustment. Under his pillow was about twenty yuan, which represented nearly half a month's "income" and was better than farming.

However, compared to the wealthy and powerful in Beijing, this amount of money is somewhat disrespectful, especially considering that it involves a life-threatening business.

But for many unemployed people, or those who come from rural areas and lack skills, this amount of money is considerable.

In the darkness, bright eyes stared at the ceiling, where dusty spiderwebs swayed in the wind.

He felt like he had no hope for the future. As for his perspective, ever since he broke into Xu Damao's house, he had been elevated. If he hadn't been there, he might have been more well-behaved here, but now he couldn't stay still.

They were thinking of gathering people to pull off another big heist, but saving money little by little like this was too slow.

“Crack~!”

He rolled over on the steel mesh bed, shirtless, and went to the back of the building to urinate. There were no guards here at night; only the older men's quarters in the factory building had one or two people on watch.

"Pitter-patter~!"

I drank a bit too much beer tonight and didn't eat much of a meal; I peed it all up. After a few pees, I started to feel hungry.

I have no idea what time it is. There are very few nighttime activities here. These days, I've been busy hijacking cars on the surrounding national highways. I don't even know which way the doors of the movie theaters and video arcades in the city face. It's so boring.

The division of labor within each team is quite clear, and no one is allowed to overstep their boundaries. For example, those who hijack cars are not allowed to collect protection money. Bang Geng has done the job of stalking drivers a few times, and this job has now been assigned to him in the team.

When people are having a hard time, they often reminisce about the past.

Back then, when we were fighting over territory with Brother Pi and his gang, we were all incredibly passionate.

As time went on, the number of children who came from the orphanage gradually decreased until only his brother Pi and his brother remained, still leaving without a care in the world.

Under the moonlight, Banggeng sat on the steps by the door, thinking of his mother. If his mother, Qin Huairu, were still alive, he wondered what she would think if she saw him living this kind of life.

Suddenly, the chirping of cicadas and croaking of frogs around him seemed to be paused. Banggeng wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but he thought he saw the light of a flashlight.

But the lights disappeared in an instant, as if they had vanished suddenly.

I don't know if I saw it wrong or if my eyes were playing tricks on me in the middle of the night. I shook my head, put my right hand on the step, and prepared to get up and go back to my room to sleep.

But the vibration from the ground was clearly transmitted from my right hand to my brain.

"Was it an earthquake?" This was Bang Geng's first instinctive thought, after all, this city became famous for this very thing seven or eight years ago.

"Buzz, boom, boom~!"

Before Banggeng could react, the surrounding environment became even quieter, but he could clearly hear the sound of an engine.

"Splash, splash~!"

The friction sound, growing clearer as it approached, accompanied by the hum of an engine, sounded like a colossal machine getting closer and closer to the abandoned factory area.

“Crack~!”

The sound of steel rubbing against the cement floor was exceptionally piercing; hearing it made my teeth ache.

"what happened?"

"What's that noise? It's so late at night, can't a person get any sleep?"

The celebration had just ended that night, and many of the people who had drunk baijiu were still sound asleep. But those who had only drunk beer, and those who had been watching over the valuables at night, came out of the house or factory with their chests open, cursing and swearing.

However, before they could walk to the factory gate to see what had happened, they saw several unusually bright lights suddenly turn on, illuminating the factory area, which had been mired in darkness, as if it were daytime.

The lights were unusually glaring. Bang Geng, who had also come out to see what was going on, instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes and leaned slightly to the side to avoid the strong light, just like everyone else.

But the eyes that had just been illuminated by the bright light were already filled with tears, and fear and unease filled everyone's hearts.

As the camera rolled, a massive behemoth crashed into the iron gate at the intersection of the factory area and the road amidst the roar of its engine.

"Boom~!"

The iron gate, made of woven wire mesh, collapsed upon impact.

The two tracks of the colossal beast crushed directly onto the iron gate, producing an exceptionally violent sound that echoed throughout the entire factory area.

Many more people were awakened from their dreams. Big Lockhead, wearing a coat, walked out of the dilapidated factory and was also shocked by the blinding searchlights.

"Crunch~!"

The tracks of the armored infantry fighting vehicle rolled over the cement road in the factory area. The cement road, which was already in disrepair, was immediately overwhelmed, stones flew everywhere, and the cracks in the ground deepened.

When two cannon barrels, each as thick as a baby's arm and over a meter long, were pointed at him, Bang Geng felt like his soul was about to leave his body.

"Tanks! Tanks! Run! The mines are coming!"

The shouts, delivered with all their might, echoed throughout the factory area. Even though the night watchmen were terrified, they still fulfilled their duty and served as a vigilant guard.

This threw everything into chaos; the people in the factory were acting like they'd gone mad.

Everyone, whether dressed or shirtless, woke up. Even those still a little hungover scrambled out of their hideout, running aimlessly without knowing where to go.

Besides the main entrance, other areas were also illuminated by blinding searchlights, making the entire abandoned factory area look like a small boat adrift in a vast ocean.

Bang Geng was completely numb. His mind and thoughts were in a complete mess. The vibrations from the tank that came in through the door and the ground it was crushing made him feel like his legs were filled with lead, and it was extremely difficult to lift them.

"Listen up, everyone inside! You are completely surrounded by police officers. You now have only two choices: either resist to the bitter end, but this will come at a heavy price, or lay down your weapons, surrender immediately, and await lenient treatment!" (End of Chapter)