Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

A cold wind, carrying coal dust, rushed into the room.

The small, cluttered shack, which was a mess just a moment ago, became deathly silent.

Sun Weidong's hand holding the cigarette froze in mid-air, the mocking smile on his lips frozen on his face before he could even wipe it away.

Da Niu stood there like an iron tower, blocking the edge of the broken door frame.

This man was usually a man of few words, and when he stood guard at the entrance of Workshop No. 1, he was like a lifeless wooden stake. But right now, his dead fish eyes were bloodshot.

Sun Weidong's heart skipped a beat, and a bead of sweat instantly broke out on his back.

But with so many cronies watching, if he didn't dare to utter a single harsh word, Sun Weidong would truly become a laughingstock at the Red Star Factory.

He gritted his teeth, smashed the cigarette butt to the ground, and forced himself to stand up straight.

"Big Bull, what the hell are you trying to do?"

Sun Weidong pointed at Da Niu, deliberately raising his voice to try and hide his nervousness: "This is the factory's staff dormitory! Not your stinking pigsty in Kaoshantun! Who are you trying to scare by kicking the door down? Zhao Shanhe isn't here, do you think you few guard dogs can cause any trouble?!"

Upon hearing this, the young workers in the room, who had been terrified, seemed to have found their pillar of support.

Fueled by alcohol, some people joined in the commotion: "That's right! Trespassing into the dormitory! Believe it or not, we'll report you to security tomorrow!"

Da Niu didn't reply with a single word.

He strode forward, his feet clad in hard-soled work boots, stepping over the coal ash-strewn ground, and walked straight inside.

Sun Weidong felt his scalp tingle and his legs tremble under the gaze of that hungry wolf, but he still forced a smile and said, "What are you looking at? I'm standing right here, what are you going to do—"

The word "dare" just broke the sound.

Da Niu had already closed in on them.

There were no extra movements.

He clenched his right fist tightly and punched Sun Weidong's face, which was still uttering threats.

"Bang!" The punch was heavy and muffled.

Sun Weidong felt as if he had been hit by a hammer; his head snapped back, and his back slammed heavily against the wooden wall.

The two layers of old newspapers pasted on the window were shaken and started to fall off in a flurry.

Before Sun Weidong could slide down, Da Niu stepped forward again.

He grabbed his collar with his left hand and punched him in the stomach with his right fist.

"vomit!"

Sun Weidong instantly arched his back like a boiled red shrimp, his eyes bulging, and he sprayed out cheap alcohol mixed with acid from his mouth.

The room erupted in chaos.

"What are you doing!"

"Someone got hit!"

"Quickly, call for help!"

"You're insane! You're all insane!"

Several young workers screamed and backed away. Some frantically reached for the stove hook on the ground, some grabbed empty wine bottles and tried to fight back, and others turned around and tried to run out the window.

"Shut the fuck up, all of you!"

Erga Zi let out a loud shout, which struck the small shed like a thunderclap.

Immediately following him, three young men from Kaoshantun stepped forward in unison.

"Click".

The crisp metallic clanging sound was extremely jarring in the cramped room.

Without hesitation, the man in the middle raised his Type 56 semi-automatic rifle, the dark muzzle thrusting out steadily towards the few people jumping up and down inside the room.

The person next to him also pulled out a triangular scraper from his waist, the cold light on the blade gleaming in the dim light.

There was no wild waving of the gun, nor any unnecessary shouting or cursing.

But that chilling aura instantly silenced all the shouts inside the room.

The young worker, who had just been touching the furnace hook, froze in mid-air, his face gradually losing all color.

The person who had retreated to the window seemed to be nailed to the ground, not daring to move even one more foot.

With red eyes, Erga Zi uttered two words: "Squat down."

No one dared to move.

Erga Zi suddenly kicked the broken wooden stool next to him away, yelling, "Can't you understand human language? Squat down!"

thump.

thump.

One by one, the few people who had just been mocking Tie Zhu along with Sun Weidong were now squatting in the corner with their heads in their hands like quails. One of the cowards even buckled at the knees and knelt on the broken glass.

In the small shed, only Sun Weidong's heavy, leaky breathing could be heard.

Da Niu grabbed Sun Weidong by the collar with one hand and pulled him up from the wall like a dead dog.

Sun Weidong staggered, dragging his feet on the ground, his face smeared with snot and blood. This time, he truly smelled the scent of death.

"Da Niu... what... what exactly do you want to do?"

Da Niu stared intently at him, his voice low and muffled, like thunder rumbling from his chest: "I'm asking you, wasn't it you, you bastard, who led the men to beat up Zhao Tiezhu?"

Sun Weidong was completely stunned.

That contorted, pained face was instantly filled with utter bewilderment, and he stammered out a single word from his lisping mouth: "Who?"

Da Niu exerted a sudden force with his wrist, almost lifting Sun Weidong off the ground, his teeth grinding together.

"Just now, Tiezhu was beaten up in the scrap heap, and he looks like he's about to die!"

Da Niu suddenly shoved Sun Weidong backward, sending him crashing into the earthen wall, causing mud and debris to flutter down from the window frame.

His bloodshot eyes were fixed on Sun Weidong, and he roared, "Did you, you bastard, do it? Tell me!"

Sun Weidong's pupils suddenly contracted, and he waved his hands frantically, his voice trembling: "I didn't! I really don't know! I've been drinking and playing cards in this room all night, I haven't even left the house!"

Da Niu didn't say a word, raised his rough, sandpaper-like right fist, and delivered another heavy hook punch.

"Bang!"

Sun Weidong's head snapped to the side, his mouth instantly splitting open, blood dripping down his chin.

"Was it you?"

"No, that's not true!"

"Bang!"

Another punch.

Sun Weidong's cheekbones were visibly swollen high; if Da Niu hadn't been holding him tightly by the collar, he would have been a pile of mud long ago.

"Was it you?"

Sun Weidong finally broke down, screaming wildly in his lisping voice, "It really wasn't me! I just said a few hurtful things to him! Lots of people in the factory don't like him, why are they blaming me?!"

Da Niu's eyes grew even colder: "On what grounds?"

He shoved Sun Weidong backward, sending him crashing against the earthen wall, causing mud and debris to fall from the window frame.

"Because you, you bastard, always love to bully him!"

The veins on the back of Da Niu's hands bulged as he approached through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly: "Just because you, you bastard, are the most dissatisfied with us! Just because you caused trouble in the cafeteria yesterday morning!"

Da Niu's lifeless gray eyes were fixed on Sun Weidong's face, and his voice was as cold as ice.

"In this factory area, besides you who bites us like a mad dog every day, who else would go and do something so deadly in the middle of the night!"

Sun Weidong was convulsing in pain, his voice filled with desperate sobs: "I admit I was a smart aleck! I was wrong in the cafeteria yesterday, you can beat me to death and I'll admit it! But I really don't have the guts to hire someone to beat up thugs and rob Workshop No. 1! I wouldn't dare even if you gave me ten lives, Brother Da Niu!"

This statement sounds like a heartfelt truth.

Da Niu squinted and stared intently at him.

The bewilderment in Sun Weidong's eyes, born of extreme fear, truly didn't seem feigned.

This guy has a foul mouth, a bad heart, and bullies the weak while fearing the strong, but to say he has the guts to hire thugs to steal the machine seems a bit off.

But Da Niu couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.

When Zhao Tiezhu was lifted onto the door panel, the sight of him covered in blood and mud, his fingers digging tightly into his stomach to protect the key, was like a thorn piercing his eye.

That honest and clumsy man, even after being beaten so badly, refused to let go.

The more Da Niu thought about it, the more bloodshot his eyes became.

He grabbed Sun Weidong's collar, his teeth grinding together, about to explode.

A young worker who was squatting in the corner suddenly snapped.

This young worker was called Liu San'er. He was a sycophantic and foul-mouthed lackey at the factory.

Before Da Niu and the others kicked down the door, Sun Weidong imitated Zhao Tiezhu's line, "We're all guarding the door," and he was the one laughing the loudest.

He not only laughed, but also spat a mouthful of thick, yellowish-green phlegm on the ground, cursing in an extremely vile and insidious manner.

"That big oaf deserves a beating. If I were to confront him, breaking his legs would be nothing. Tonight, I'd strip him naked, put a dog leash on him, and leave him to freeze outside Workshop Number One for half the night. Let's see if he'll ever recognize the place again!"

But when Da Niu and his gang kicked open the door and pulled out their guns, the cowardice and despicable nature of this bastard were fully exposed.

With the dark muzzle of a gun pointed at him, he watched as Sun Weidong was beaten until his face was covered in blood. Instead of showing any loyalty to his comrades, he suddenly started howling at Sun Weidong like a mad dog in order to save his own life.

"Brother Da Niu! It has nothing to do with me! He did it all!"

Liu San'er knelt on the broken glass, snot bubbles bubbling from his nose. He pointed at Sun Weidong, hysterically tearing at him: "He was the one who led us in cursing Zhao Tiezhu that day! Just now he was saying here that Tiezhu, a fool, shouldn't get a full salary, and that he'd get some thugs to beat him up sooner or later! He's definitely the one who hired the thugs to steal this bastard's money! Brother Da Niu, kill him, but please let me go!"

Sun Weidong, already half-dead from the beating, trembled with rage upon hearing this, spitting out a mouthful of blood and mumbling, "Liu San'er...you beast..."

Erga and his group of mountain folk despise nothing more than spineless cowards who betray their friends for personal gain.

He frowned sharply, slammed the butt of his semi-automatic rifle onto the ground, and the dark muzzle veered off course, locking onto Liu San'er's forehead.

"If you bastard say another word, I'll shoot you dead!" Ergaizi roared. "Shut up!"

Pointed at by that gun barrel radiating intense killing intent, coupled with the extreme panic of a guilty thief, Liu San'er's already fragile rationality was instantly and completely shattered.

He clutched his head, a foul-smelling yellow liquid gushing from his crotch, and muttered frantically, "Don't kill me... I don't want to die... It was all Sun Weidong's idea..."

The next second, he suddenly let out a terrifying scream.

Liu San'er suddenly sprang up from the ground, like a headless fly scalded by boiling water, and frantically rushed toward the broken window on the back wall.

"I'm not here! I didn't see anything!"

"Hold him down!" Ergazi's expression changed, and he shouted.

But Liu San'er had already used both hands and feet to climb out of the rickety window frame.

Outside the window was a desolate ditch in the backyard of the single dormitory, filled with scrap iron, rotten furnace ash, and broken steel bars.

The night was too dark.

He slipped and was tripped by a tattered rope hanging from the window frame, losing his balance instantly and falling headfirst like a scallion.

"Bang!"

A chilling thud came from outside the window; it was the sound of a human skull slamming into a rusty iron lump.

Immediately following was a short, almost distorted, piercing scream.

Then, deathly silence.

All sound in the room was instantly sucked away.