Kill the beasts in the courtyard, I fled to Hong Kong, surrounded by beauties on both sides.

"You're talking nonsense!" Liu Haizhong retorted angrily. "I, Liu Haizhong, am an upright and honest person; I wouldn't do such a despicable thing! But you, Lao Yi, did you take my things?"

"What did I take from you?"

"Did you take the two industrial coupons and the bicycle ticket from my drawer?" Liu Haizhong pointed at Yi Zhonghai. "You were the only one who came into my room yesterday!"

Yi Zhonghai was taken aback, then became even angrier: "What would I do with your worthless tickets? I have plenty more!"

"It's your business if you want to take things, but you can't take mine!" Liu Haizhong's voice grew louder and louder. "Old Yi, let me tell you, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're a big shot! Things in the courtyard aren't decided by you alone!"

"That's not up to you!" Yi Zhonghai retorted without mincing words. "Liu Haizhong, don't think I don't know what you've been up to behind the scenes. Writing a whistleblower letter, trying to get back at Deputy Factory Director Li? Take a good look in the mirror, do you even deserve it?"

These words struck a nerve with Liu Haizhong. His expression changed: "You...how did you know?"

"How would I know?" Yi Zhonghai pulled the note out of his pocket—the one Chen Fei had placed. "Take a look at this!"

Liu Haizhong took the note, and his hands trembled when he saw the words on it.

"Who...who wrote this?"

"What do you think?" Yi Zhonghai stared at him. "Besides the person who wrote the whistleblower letter, who knows about this?"

Liu Haizhong's mind raced. The note said, "Yi Zhonghai has obtained the whistleblower letter," but what Yi Zhonghai was producing now wasn't the whistleblower letter, but this note. What did this mean? It meant that someone knew about the whistleblower letter, and even knew that Yi Zhonghai had obtained it, and had come specifically to warn him.

Who is this person?

Could it be... one of Deputy Factory Director Li's men?

Liu Haizhong grew increasingly frightened as he thought about it, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Seeing his expression, Yi Zhonghai became even more certain. It really was Liu Haizhongqian!

"Old Liu, let me tell you," Yi Zhonghai lowered his voice, "Deputy Factory Director Li already knows you're going to report him. Think about the consequences!"

After saying that, he turned and went back into the house.

Liu Haizhong stood there, his face ashen and his body shivering with cold.

It's over, it's over.

If Deputy Factory Director Li finds out, will he have a good time? Forget about getting a promotion, it's hard to say whether he can even keep his job.

He returned to the house dejectedly. His second aunt noticed his pale face and asked, "Old Liu, what's wrong?"

"Stop asking!" Liu Haizhong waved his hand impatiently.

He paced back and forth in the room, finally gritting his teeth and deciding to go find Deputy Factory Director Li to apologize. No matter what, keeping his job was the priority.

Meanwhile, Chen Fei listened to all of this from inside the house, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Dogs fight, and the harder they bite, the better.

He checked the time: 10:00 AM. Time to prepare for the afternoon's operation.

Noon: The final reconnaissance

At noon, Chen Fei ate something simple, then lay down on the bed to begin his final reconnaissance.

He focused his mind, his thoughts penetrating the wall, and found the stick.

Banggeng was eating lunch at home—two cornbread buns and a bowl of cabbage soup. He ate quickly, saying to Jia Zhangshi as he ate, "Grandma, we don't have school this afternoon. I'm going ice skating at Shichahai."

"Going ice skating again?" Jia Zhangshi frowned. "The ice has melted; it's dangerous."

"It's fine, it's still freezing over there," Banggeng said dismissively. "Ergouzi and the others are all going."

"Then be careful," Qin Huairu instructed, "and come back early."

"Okay." Banggeng finished his meal in a few bites, wiped his mouth, and ran out.

Chen Fei snapped out of his daze, a cold smile curving his lips.

We're definitely going to Shichahai.

He continued to scout other targets.

Yi Zhonghai didn't come back at noon; he's probably at the factory dealing with Liu Haizhong's matter. Liu Haizhong didn't come back either; he probably really went to see Deputy Factory Director Li.

Yan Bugui was preparing lessons at home, Xu Damao was drinking alone in his room, and Lou Xiao'e had not returned yet.

everything is normal.

Chen Fei sat up and began to change his clothes. He found the most worn-out cotton-padded coat—dark blue, patched, and inconspicuous. He also found an old hat that covered most of his face when he put it on.

Then, he took out the stone from his system space—the same stone he had used to threaten the beasts that day. He also took out the thin rope and the scraps of cloth.

He tied the thin rope around his waist, stuffed the scraps of cloth into his pocket, and also carefully tucked the stones away.

Finally, he checked the system space. Inside were: the money and grain coupons he'd retrieved from the Jia family, a small family photo of the Chen family, and some miscellaneous items bought from the black market.

After confirming that everything was correct, he lay back on the bed and began to adjust his breathing to get himself into the best state.

The operation began at 2 PM.

Afternoon: An "Unexpected" Incident at Shicha Beach

2:30 PM, Shichahai.

In early spring, the willows along the shore of Shichahai Lake have already sprouted tender buds, but the ice on the lake has not yet completely melted. Near the shore, the ice layer is still quite thick, and many children are skating there.

Banggeng and several friends were chasing and playing on the ice. They were wearing thick cotton-padded coats and hats, and their little faces were red from the cold, but they were having a lot of fun.

"Hey, come chase me!" A boy named Er Gouzi shouted as he glided away.

"Wait!" Bang Geng sped up and caught up.

Not far away, Chen Fei stood behind a willow tree, his hat brim pulled low, revealing only the lower half of his face. He stared intently at Bang Geng's figure, his eyes icy.

it's time.

He concentrated his mind, extending his thoughts to cover a ten-meter radius around the stick.

The ability to retrieve objects remotely not only allows one to take things but also to "sense" the state of objects. At this moment, Chen Fei could clearly "see" the situation under the ice: the ice near the shore was thicker, about 20 centimeters; but five or six meters further out, the ice began to thin, only about 10 centimeters; the thinnest part was only 5 centimeters, and there was an undercurrent underneath, making the ice structure very unstable.

That's it.

Chen Fei locked onto the thin ice area and began calculating the gliding path of the stick.

Banggeng was chasing Ergouzi, the two of them gliding towards the center of the lake, one after the other. At this speed, Banggeng would pass the thin ice area in about thirty seconds.

Chen Fei took a deep breath and began to act.

He first used his mind to create a small vortex beneath the thin ice zone—a new technique he had learned from the system, which allowed him to slightly influence the water flow with his mental power.

Although the impact is small, it is enough to cause subtle vibrations in the already unstable ice layer.

Next, he targeted the most vulnerable points in the thin ice and applied pressure with his mind—not by directly destroying it, but by causing tiny cracks to appear inside the ice.

This process was mentally taxing. Chen Fei felt sweat starting to bead on his forehead, but he gritted his teeth and persevered.

Twenty seconds... fifteen seconds... ten seconds...

The stick is getting closer and closer.

Five seconds... three seconds... one second!

Just as the skating stick reached the top of the thin ice zone, Chen Fei suddenly urged it forward with his mind—

"Snap!"

With a soft cracking sound, the ice suddenly split open, creating a hole about half a meter in diameter!

"Ah—" Bang Geng screamed as he fell into the ice hole!

The icy lake water instantly submerged him. He struggled desperately, trying to grab the edge of the ice, but it was too slippery to hold on to.

"Help! Help... glug..." He had barely uttered a sound when he choked on a mouthful of water.

The other children were terrified. Er Gouzi was the first to react, shouting, "Bang Geng fell into the water! Help!"

But none of the children dared to go near the ice hole—the ice looked flimsy, and what if they fell in themselves?

Chen Fei stared coldly at the stick struggling in the water.

He didn't act immediately, but waited for ten seconds.

Those ten seconds felt like an eternity to Banggeng. He struggled desperately in the icy lake water, but his cotton-padded coat, soaked with water, became incredibly heavy, dragging him down. He felt his limbs growing increasingly stiff, and his breathing becoming more and more difficult.

"Help... glug..." He choked on another mouthful of water, and his consciousness began to blur.

Right now.

Chen Fei rushed out from behind the tree, shouting as he ran, "What happened? Someone fell into the water?"

He rushed to the edge of the ice hole and saw that Banggeng was no longer struggling much, only his hands were still weakly slapping the water.

"Hold on!" Chen Fei shouted, then carefully lay down on the ice—this would distribute his weight and prevent the ice from breaking further.