Rebirth 08: Equipment God

Chapter 333 One for each person

If reunion is the final stroke of a long journey.

So, erasing the traces of this time will leave a lingering mark that lasts a lifetime.

Most reunions in this world are not as pleasant as they seem.

But it's better than all the long separations.

While Zhai Da witnessed a reunion, a reunion was taking place not far away, just a few kilometers away.

A union of evil and power.

Harbin is a very large area. The core five or six districts are Harbin, as are the surrounding undeveloped areas and even some surrounding towns.

A former railway station has been gradually abandoned due to technological advancements and its increasing encirclement by the city. However, nothing can be built around it, and the low courtyards that were originally used to store equipment and provide rest areas for railway workers have been gradually occupied.

They're not exactly famous, but they're somewhat corrupt and unsavory.

Even though the newly developed residential area is just a few hundred meters away, this place feels like two completely different worlds.

In a secluded courtyard, a group of people were gathered together eating hot pot. Beef and vegetables were stewing in the boiling broth, and they were slurping it up with great relish.

Little did they know they were being watched.

Several hundred meters away, Qin Yang emerged from the shadows: "Brother Yue, I checked, there are two men and one woman outside, but I don't know what's inside."

He came from a proper armed police background, and there were several other brothers in the company who were similar. Investigation was a basic skill, but it couldn't exceed the laws of physics.

Without a thermal imager, and not wanting to alert the enemy.

Wu Yue stood under the streetlight, leaning against the wall, but deliberately avoiding direct sunlight, toying with a metal playing card in his hand: "Have you seen any children?"

"No, they're probably all inside."

At that moment, Wu Yue's phone vibrated. He took it out and saw that it was Zhai Da calling.

After a brief conversation, Wu Yue hung up the phone and exhaled a sigh of relief: "There were five people in total, three men and two women. If one died, that would be two men and two women. There should be one woman and two children inside the house."

Clearly, Zhai Da had gotten some information out of Pengpeng and immediately notified Wu Yue, also informing him that the boy had been found.

Although we don't know how Zhai Da did it, this is definitely good news.

Qin Yang immediately said, "Brother Yue, there are only a few of them. I'll take three brothers in and sneak in. We can take them down easily."

Wu Yue shook his head and said, "There's no need to take the risk."

Qin Yang: ? ? ?
Boss, do you have some misunderstanding about your company's fighting strength?
We, the 30th soldier, can't even handle four scumbags?

In the past, this would have been enough for a platoon, enough to storm a command post in an exercise! Why couldn't they take this small courtyard?

Wu Yue said, “I’m not saying you’re at risk. I’m worried about the trouble of cleaning up the mess. We are a legitimate company. While we are operating our business, paying taxes legally, creating hundreds of jobs for society, and becoming a model of military-civilian integration, it’s a good thing to also contribute to the community and actively participate in security and crime prevention.”

"But there's no need to use force to rush in. Ordinary people can do that, but you should hold back. What's the rush for something that's already decided? Let me make a call."

He is more accustomed to utilizing the different rules of the underworld and the legitimate world, rather than resorting to violence like a brute.

Although he knew the company was very powerful.

Just as they were about to notify the familiar police station, a scream suddenly came from a small courtyard not far away.

"Ah! I was wrong, no!"

The voice sounds like a child's.

Qin Yang's walkie-talkie immediately crackled to life: "Brother Yang, they dragged a kid out of there. They seem to be planning something."

This is a brother from an observation point on a distant rooftop, holding binoculars, able to get a general view.

"Be specific."

"It's not visible due to the angle."

Before he could finish speaking, another scream, tinged with sobs, came from the courtyard, but this time the mouth had been covered.

Wu Yue's eyes instantly darkened. He held his phone in his hand, his contacts already frozen on the police station chief's number.

Qin Yang looked at Wu Yue anxiously, but didn't say a word.

A third scream followed.

A new channel came through the walkie-talkie, the sound very soft because it was closer: "Brother Yang, I heard something through the wall. Someone inside was saying something about tongues."

Wu Yue cursed under his breath, "Damn it!"
He waved his hand and shouted, "Quick! Charge in!"

Qin Yang breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ran forward; he had already devised a surprise attack strategy.

He pulled down the mask around his neck and plunged into the darkness.

Less than two minutes later, before the fourth scream could be heard, several figures jumped into the courtyard from all four directions.

Agile, with a clear target, and able to subdue with a single blow.

What children see as an invincible demon is nothing more than a tattered sack that can't even scream in the face of real force.

Wu Yue calmed his complicated emotions and walked towards the courtyard gate at a normal walking pace, his face ashen.

When he reached the door, it had already been opened from the inside, without delaying him for even a second.

Wu Yue pulled her turtleneck sweater up to cover most of her face.

Even Zhai Da always thought that Wu Yue's current love for wearing turtlenecks was purely for showing off, but in fact, this garment with its rather unique structure has other uses as well.

Wu Yue glanced at the employees standing guard on either side, signaling them to be on their guard, and then went inside.

In the filthy, garbage-strewn courtyard, four adults had been completely subdued, their mouths stuffed with something, and were pressed face down on the ground.

Wu Yue didn't care what these people looked like, or what they wanted to say; he simply turned his head to look to the side.

There was a wooden frame there, and one of their employees was untying a little boy from it. Next to the frame was a red-hot charcoal stove and a pair of red-hot scissors.

The scissors have a rather unusual appearance; they are huge and have very long handles, so calling them pliers would be a reasonable interpretation.

There were also some things like alcohol, gauze, and painkillers.

"Boss, these bastards are trying to cut off the child's tongue! If we'd been a minute later, those scissors would have been in the child's mouth, damn it!"

Wu Yue's cheek muscles twitched. He could tell what was going on, and he even guessed what the "scissors" had done before.

I'm afraid Pengpeng lost his fingers in the same way.

Just as he was about to say something, an even more suppressed voice came from the inner room: "These scumbags!!"

The voice came from Qin Yang.

Wu Yue walked inside without glancing at the beggars kneeling on the ground.

Entering the inner room, the first thing you see is Qin Yang, who is taking deep breaths and seems to be losing control of his emotions.

Then, he saw the thing that had caused the man to break down emotionally.

In the corner, two children huddled together, looking at them timidly. There was a wooden board, and on the board, a little girl was "alive".

Her body was completely deformed, like a folded-up recliner, with her two thin, bony legs twisted behind her neck.

"Uncle, you've come to rescue us."

Wu Yue remained silent for a long time without answering the question. Instead, he walked out of the house and picked up the red-hot long-handled scissors.

The voice carried an icy chill: "Make them open their mouths."

Those members of the Beggars' Sect tried to raise their heads and beg for mercy, twisting and turning erratically and whimpering.

Seeing that Wu Yue was about to take action himself, someone immediately stepped forward to stop him: "Boss, let me do it."

There was no pretense involved; it was purely spontaneous. I didn't want to dirty Brother Yue's hands.

There was even a hint of anticipation.

Any normal person who sees the scene in the yard would want to torture these people with their own hands.

Wu Yue took several deep breaths and finally calmed down, then stuck the scissors back into the charcoal stove.

Reason has finally returned.

"Forget it, these people's mouths might still be useful; they could probably dig up some information about our peers and upstream suppliers."

The Beggars' Sect breathed a sigh of relief. That's more like it. Even if they were caught, they would have to go back and forth and make excuses for a few years.

Even if it's the death penalty, it's not something that can be sentenced in a year or two. With some clues hanging over their mouths, three to five years is not too many, seven or eight years is not too few. If they're lucky, they might escape with their lives.

Although they still don't know what this group of people do.

But then they heard the man say:

"But it's not very useful elsewhere."

What happened in the courtyard late at night became Wu Yue's little secret, and everyone involved kept it a secret.

They had a whole night to clean up the mess.

In the middle of the night, when Zhai Da saw Wu Yue again, she was already in the mediation room of a police station.

The meeting room was spotless. Pengpeng sat in the corner, while his father, Lin Haixiang, was gently persuading him. The police were also trying to talk him out of it, urging him to trust the adults and believe that the person in front of him was his father.

Lin Haixiang presented a lot of evidence, such as photos of himself as a child and photos of him with his parents.

Zhai Da would occasionally chime in with a few words of support; this kid was truly stubborn, or perhaps he had been hurt too deeply.

Wu Yue had acquaintances here, so he walked right in, but didn't stay long. He just took a deep look at Pengpeng's missing finger and huge scar.

After the two came out, they stood at the entrance of the police station at three in the morning.

Zhai Da stretched and asked, "All done?"

Wu Yue nodded.

"They've been arrested?"

Wu Yue glanced at his watch and shook his head.

About an hour later.

Zhai Da observed for a while and said, "I sense that you have something you want to say but don't want to say."

Wu Yue smiled and said, "I sense that you also have something you want to ask but don't want to ask."

"Then you won't tell me, and I won't ask. Let's just leave it at that."

"I think it's appropriate, and everything is settled."

The two were speechless for a moment.

The police station was still noisy late at night. Drunkards were brought in every now and then, and there were also young men and women arguing and committing domestic violence. It was a chaotic mess with lots of noise.

After a long silence, Zhai Da broke the silence first: "I was originally thinking of not publishing any new books this year, but an idea just popped into my head."

"what idea?"

"Human trafficking, beggar gangs... I know these things will become less and less common in the future, but they're not rare enough right now. If I have some free time and inspiration strikes, I might write a book on this subject."

Wu Yue said thoughtfully, "I think it's pretty good."

It has to be said that Zhai Da's influence is quite significant now.

Many people are not indifferent when they see those disabled beggars, but rather they don't react at first.

They were even frightened by the gruesome wounds.

By the time they realized what kind of people they were and what kind of evil was behind it, they could no longer be found in the vast sea of ​​people.

Only a very few people have the courage to deal with such a situation immediately and with the most "impulsive" attitude.

It's better to let everyone know how to handle this than to be ignored time and time again.

Not only should we refrain from giving handouts that encourage such evil deeds, but we should also provide methods to help ordinary people safely and discreetly curb these activities.

Zhai Da felt that Wu Yue could definitely tell him some effective methods.

There have been works that have written about similar events in the past, but they often focus on the suffering itself and do not write about how to fight against it. Perhaps the authors did not know this, which is a common problem in many literary works.

This idea is quite difficult, and it can't be written in a dry and harsh way. Pengpeng's father has a "child search club" which is full of parents of abducted children. Maybe we can draw inspiration from that.

As usual, he looked for inspiration from movies he had seen in his previous life, and then modified them. Zhai Da quickly recalled one.

Zhai Da glanced back at the mediation room one last time and said to Wu Yue, "Everything's alright for now. Let's go back, or do you have something else to take care of?"

After thinking for a moment, Wu Yue shook his head: "I'll wait for news."

Zhai Da sighed, but couldn't help asking in a low voice, "Will we need to destroy the evidence?"

If all else fails, he has a "Mr. Tree" who can introduce you. He guarantees cleanliness.

Wu Yue was taken aback and immediately said, "What kind of person do you think I am?! Would I do anything wrong?!"

I just left them one finger to scratch an itch.

One for each person.

Hearing Wu Yue's answer, Zhai Da breathed a sigh of relief. He had mixed feelings about the matter, but hearing it this way made him feel much more at ease.

He patted Wu Yue on the shoulder: "Where are the children?"

"I've made all the arrangements. Otherwise, what do you think I'd be waiting for? By the way, what's that wonderful smell on you?"

"Beef noodles".

Wu Yue: ?
Zhai Da stretched again, finally feeling completely relaxed: "Alright, I'm going back now. I don't want to skip class tomorrow. You can stay up, students can't take it anymore."

Just then, the sky began to lighten, and dawn was approaching.

The night is over.

Three days later, rumors began to circulate that some scoundrels from the Beggars' Gang had come to Harbin and acted inhumanely, only to be killed by a local bigwig overnight.

The specifics of how he was "suppressed" and which big shot he was are unclear to those who don't know, and those who do know are extremely reluctant to discuss them.

Even the police did not publicize the matter, but quietly took in several children in terrible condition and a beggar gang with no external injuries, but whose four members could not even make up five fingers.

This matter is unsolved, and no one in their right mind would want to investigate it. There is a tacit understanding from top to bottom: they only care about whether these people have any clues about other abducted children.

This is a long road of evidence gathering, involving people who have moved around to many places, are vicious and ruthless, and require a nationwide joint investigation. It will take several years to unravel the truth.

This is just a preliminary speculation, but it's already at the level of the death penalty, because they kidnap children not for buying and selling, but to use them as tools.

When the tool loses its value, it will no longer be worth selling, and the outcome is not hard to predict.

These people had imagined countless times that if they were caught, they could just wait a few years and recoup their losses. But someone's small punishment made them suffer for every extra year.

He can't even hold utensils with just one finger; he has to lick his food to eat.

These three children are undoubtedly lucky. The luckiest of them all is Pengpeng, or rather "Yangyang," who was able to find his parents directly. The other two children were given free surgery and treatment to help them regain some quality of life.

A local philanthropist expressed his willingness to cover all medical expenses, upgrading the treatment to a higher level. The civil affairs department will arrange for the two children to receive the best treatment in northern Beijing.

Doctors in northern Beijing are indeed far superior to those in Harbin. The doctors at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, after examining the patient, offered a conclusion far more optimistic than initially anticipated.
As the dust settled, everything began to move in a positive direction, and the influence of a certain company on both the legitimate and criminal worlds deepened.

People have their own scales of judgment. There are some things that men can't say out loud, but they admire in their hearts. This adds another layer to the collective perception that the three northeastern provinces are "high-risk areas for human traffickers."

Whether by coincidence or for some other reason, these subsequent events rarely reached Zhai Da's ears.

He received a package just one week later.

Lin Haixiang and his son, who had returned to Dongguan, sent back the two items that Zhai Da had mentioned during their casual conversation that night as a gift to thank Zhai Da.

【Guardian Cloak】, 【Guardian Flag】.

Inside the Shenzhou Mansion, Zhai Da opened the package. Besides two items, the large box was also filled with local specialties.

Lu Wei glanced at it and wondered how to incorporate it into her daily diet.

The cloak had clearly been washed and mended, revealing its original yellow and white color. The tattered ends had also been patched, showing that Yangyang's mother was very skillful.

Zhai Da picked it up and saw that the words "Great Sage" were embroidered on the back, but they were too dirty to see before.

Even off-white has turned into black and gray.

"No wonder Pengpeng called it the Great Sage's Cloak; there was really no need to repair it. Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have affected the equipment's effectiveness."

Zhai Da took out the local specialties and asked Xiao Mutou to put them in the refrigerator.

The two pieces of equipment were then neatly stacked and put back into the box.

As he expected.

These two can be combined!
　It's hard to write, I don't know if it will pass the review, but it's only two updates and nearly 10,000 words.

　　I won't go into the details; I've tried my best to maintain a balance. I'll just share some of my own experiences.

　　In 2011, Xiao Xin was taking the subway in Shanghai. I remember it very clearly, it was near the train station on Line 1. I encountered a group of beggars. A boy had his eyelids cut off. I was playing on my phone at the time. When I suddenly looked up, I was really scared. My first feeling was fear.

　　That was in a timeline even later than in the novel, but this kind of behavior still existed, even in a metropolis like Shanghai, very openly, with children followed by adults.

　　After I was frightened, the group of people walked away, and the carriage was full of people. I got off the train in a daze, and only then did I belatedly realize that the double eyelids had been cut too neatly. How could it be an accident? At that time, I didn't know about the Beggars' Gang.

　　But by the time I overcame my fear of "creating trouble for myself" and contacted the subway staff, it was already too late. I felt terrible for several days, blaming myself while also finding it unbelievable.
　　With hundreds or even thousands of people begging along the subway car, did no one really call the police? Was there anyone who reacted faster than me or had more courage than me?

　　But later I realized that sometimes people aren't indifferent, but rather slow to realize things and don't know the right approach.

　　Now, Xiao Xin has grown up and is stronger, and the social environment has changed. If I encounter something like this again, I will be able to react and have the courage to intervene.

　　But if there had been some information channel that allowed Xiao Xin to know in advance, she would have known what to do.

　　Perhaps then, that child wouldn't have disappeared into the crowd.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)