Chapter 98: Work Stoppage

"Yo, Officer!"

By the rickshaw, the lean, dark-skinned man grinned. "Where are you headed?"

Chen Ling casually took a few copper coins from his pocket and stuffed them into the man's hand. "To Factory Street."

"You got it!"

The man's eyes lit up as he took the money. Without a word, he picked up the rickshaw and ran toward the edge of the Third District.

"I haven't seen you in a few days, and now I should call you Officer." The man couldn't help but exclaim. "I've never even heard of a law enforcer being promoted as fast as you..."

This man was the same rickshaw puller who had taken Chen Ling to Ice Spring Street in the Second District when he first became a law enforcer. Back then, thanks to Chen Ling's "directions," he had earned double the money from Han Meng. Seeing Chen Ling now, he was as enthusiastic as if he were seeing a relative.

"Just luck." Chen Ling smiled.

"Are we taking the long way this time?"

"...No."

Chen Ling was spending his own money this time, so of course, it couldn't be like before... Hearing this answer, the man sighed with some regret.

Faint mist covered the streets. The man carried Chen Ling forward quickly. The houses around them became fewer, replaced by the looming outlines of factories in the distance, which looked like crouching black beasts at the edge of the aurora.

Factories were the core existence of every district, not only solving the employment of most residents but also continuously transporting large amounts of supplies to Aurora City. However, because they produced pollution, the factory district was located at the outermost edge of the area, near the domain boundary.

Chen Ling got off the rickshaw and gave the man a few extra coins as a tip before leaving. Now that he was a Law Officer, he naturally wasn't short of money, and the man thanked him respectfully.

"As expected..." Chen Ling looked at the dense rows of factories, thoughtful.

"More than half of them have stopped working."

Chen Ling had been to the factory district before. If nothing else, the exhaust gas from the chimneys alone was enough to dye the entire sky gray. But this time, most of the factories didn't seem to be operating, and the air was surprisingly fresh.

Chen Ling walked straight into the factory district. As soon as he approached, he saw a large number of people crowded in front of the factory, holding banners and shouting in unison:

"We want to resume work!!"

"We want our wages!!!"

"We want to resume work!!"

"We want..."

There were at least a hundred people crowded in front of the factory. Most of them were young or middle-aged, wearing worn-out cotton clothes, waving their fists, and roaring with anger.

In the crowd, Chen Ling saw a familiar figure. He was carrying a large flag with the words "Resume Work" written on it with both hands, gritting his teeth and waving it desperately, while cursing in the crowd:

"Why won't you let us work?!"

"The steel mill is closed, what are we supposed to eat?!"

"Resume work!! We want to resume work!!!"

The person was none other than Zhao Yi, whom he had seen last night.

The crowd blocked the entrance of the factory so tightly that if the iron gate hadn't been sturdy enough, it would have been smashed to pieces. At this moment, several figures behind the gate were whispering, their faces looking quite ugly.

"We want to resume work!! We want to resume work!! We want..."

Under the roar of the crowd, a figure walked over from behind. The crowd behind saw the black trench coat and were all startled, then consciously closed their mouths and moved to the sides.

The shouting grew quieter. The people in front seemed to feel something was wrong. Zhao Yi stared and looked back, about to curse them for being useless, when he saw that familiar face.

"...Chen Ling??"

The crowd, which had been angry and crowded, automatically cleared a path several meters wide. The look in their eyes as they looked at the black trench coat was full of awe and fear.

For the ordinary people of the Third District, a law enforcer was already the sky... let alone a Law Officer?

"You became a Law Officer?!" Zhao Yi finally reacted, shock appearing in his eyes.

Wasn't he just a law enforcer last night? Did he really step onto the Divine Path in the Soldier Path Ancient Treasure??

"Yes." Chen Ling nodded calmly. "Move aside, I'll handle this."

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhao Yi's expression changed repeatedly. He looked at Chen Ling, from shock to doubt, and finally to helplessness... He took a deep breath and still spoke firmly:

"Chen Ling, you'd better be able to get justice for us!"

After saying this, he temporarily put down the flag and stepped aside.

Chen Ling stood at the door and looked at the people inside. "Open the door."

Seeing this, several people immediately stepped forward to open the door. They didn't dare to be the least bit negligent toward a Law Officer. The leader spoke respectfully to Chen Ling:

"I am Meng Shi, the deputy director of the steel mill... what should I call you?"

"Chen Ling."

Chen Ling walked into the factory and got straight to the point. "What's going on?"

Meng Shi looked bitter and said helplessly, "The factory has stopped working, and they insist on resuming work... I told them it's impossible, but they won't listen. They've been surrounding the place for half a day."

"I'm not asking about them, I'm asking about you."

"We..."

"Why did it stop working?"

Meng Shi looked at his followers behind him and sighed deeply. "Please come with me."

Meng Shi and the others led Chen Ling straight into the factory. As soon as they entered, several gilded characters were engraved on both sides of the steel mill.

On the left: [Tempered through a thousand hammers to forge a steel bone];

On the right: [Hard work and endurance are the most glorious];

On the top of the factory, several large horizontal characters were the most conspicuous: [Everything for humanity];

These fonts were clearly old, blurred by the erosion of wind and snow. Some characters were even missing strokes. The outer walls of the factory were also mottled and damaged, with a faint smell of rust.

This was Chen Ling's first time entering the steel mill. Perhaps because of the fog, everything was damp. He walked into the workshop, where several huge machines were set up. None of them were started; instead, they were artificially covered with plastic sheets, like several small black mountains.

"Officer Chen, look there." Meng Shi pointed to an empty space at the back of the workshop.

Chen Ling looked carefully.

"What's there?"

"Originally, that was where we stored ore, coke, and other raw materials for steel forging." Meng Shi spread his hands. "Now Aurora City has taken away all the raw materials. I know the people outside want to resume work, but what are they supposed to resume with? Can I make them produce steel out of thin air?"

Chen Ling frowned slightly. "Why did Aurora City take away the raw materials?"

"I don't know, the order came directly from the city to the factory director." Meng Shi said bitterly. "Officer Chen, you know... the factories in the Seven Districts are directly managed by Aurora City, and even the factory directors are appointed by them. If they want to take the raw materials, we can't stop them."

"What about the factory director? Call him over."

"He went into Aurora City with the raw materials yesterday." Meng Shi paused for a moment and added, "It's not just our steel mill... all the other factories are in the same situation. The raw materials and finished products were all transferred away, leaving us with a pile of waste.

We don't want to stop working either... but we really have nothing left."