Chapter 99: Looking for Someone

Chen Ling's frown deepened.

It would be one thing if the raw materials of one steel mill were dragged away, but if the raw materials of all the factories in the district were like this, then the problem was huge... Factories were the heart of the Seven Districts. What did it mean for Aurora City to drain their blood?

Chen Ling's heart sank. Although he didn't know exactly what was happening, it was clear... Aurora City was targeting the Seven Districts.

"I understand." Chen Ling said immediately. "I will contact Aurora City to see what's going on."

Meng Shi nodded, and Chen Ling asked again:

"What about the wages of these workers? Are you not going to pay them?"

Meng Shi opened his mouth, but finally smiled helplessly. "Officer Chen... there is nothing left in our factory. The little cash left on the books isn't enough to pay their wages."

"Not enough?" Chen Ling looked at his face. "How much is enough to pay?"

"At most one-tenth... and this is money used to maintain the machines. If this money is paid out and the machines break down from lack of maintenance, the loss will be catastrophic."

Chen Ling didn't answer. He continued to stare calmly into Meng Shi's eyes, as if he wanted to see right through him.

Seeing this, Meng Shi felt a chill in his heart. Just then, Chen Ling spoke slowly.

"You're lying."

"...What?"

"I'll give you one more chance."

Chen Ling reached into his coat, and the next moment, a black muzzle was pressed against Meng Shi's forehead. His voice was icy. "I'll ask you one more time, how much is the money on the books enough to pay?"

This scene scared the others silly. They didn't understand why Chen Ling had suddenly pulled a gun while chatting, but since the other party was a Law Officer of the Third District, they were both afraid and cowardly. Even with their leader being held at gunpoint, they didn't dare to take a single step forward.

And Meng Shi was scared out of his wits. His face turned pale, and his legs began to tremble.

Chen Ling naturally wouldn't make things difficult for Meng Shi for no reason. He did this because the extreme detail-observation ability of [Secret Eye] allowed him to see at a glance that Meng Shi was lying.

"Enough... enough for half." Meng Shi said hurriedly. "When the director left, there really wasn't much cash on the books. At most, it could pay them five or six days of wages."

Chen Ling stared at Meng Shi for a moment. After seeing no signs of lying in his micro-expressions, he said slowly: "Then pay the money first."

If they couldn't solve the work issue and couldn't pay the wages, how could the workers blocking the door give up?

Facts proved that the status of a Law Officer was extremely useful in the Third District. After all, Chen Ling had absolute law enforcement power. As long as he wanted to, even if he had shot Meng Shi just now, there wouldn't be much punishment.

Meng Shi, who had escaped death, didn't dare to be slow. He hurriedly took the last of the cash from the safe and took his men to give it to the workers gathered at the door.

Chen Ling walked to one of the large machines, uncovered a corner of the plastic sheet, revealing the heavy, steel-scented machine body underneath. He wiped the surface with his hand; it was damp and cold.

Chen Ling looked at the faint layer of water on his fingertips, confusion flashing in his eyes.

Just then, a commotion came from the door.

Seeing this, Chen Ling walked straight to the door. He saw that the crowd that had been blocking the iron gate was now surrounding Meng Shi and the others who had gone out to distribute the money, their emotions running high.

"What's the use of this little money??"

"Yeah, without work, this money is only enough to live for a few days... We want to resume work!"

“……”

A small portion of people took the money, their expressions clearly better than at the beginning, but the others were still unwilling. One was wages that could only be used for a few days, and the other was a job that could continuously support their families. No matter how you thought about it, the latter was more important.

Meng Shi was sweating profusely. He wanted to go back and close the door, but seeing Chen Ling's cold gaze in the factory, he gritted his teeth and persuaded:

"There are really no raw materials in the factory now. Even if you make a scene here, you can't resume work... I will contact Aurora City. Once the raw materials arrive, I will definitely let you come back to resume work immediately..."

"When can we resume work?"

"This... should be in the next two days?"

Hearing this, the crowd's expressions finally softened a little. They counted the money in their hands, looked at each other, and turned to walk toward the street.

Zhao Yi, carrying the flag, was about to leave, but turned back and added viciously:

"We'll be back tomorrow."

Seeing that this group of people finally left, Meng Shi sighed deeply. He looked bitterly at Chen Ling, who was walking out of the factory, wanting to say something but stopping.

"I will negotiate with Aurora City." Chen Ling took the initiative to speak. "You guard the factory and be ready to resume work at any time."

After saying this, he walked out of the steel mill and walked toward the other large factories nearby...

In the misty fog, Meng Shi stood at the gate of the steel mill, and the surroundings fell into silence.

"Sigh..."

"Brother Meng, what should we do now?"

Meng Shi frowned. He looked at the retreating backs of the crowd and gritted his teeth. "What can we do? We can't stay in this place anymore. Let's go."

"What about the factory?"

"Forget it. The director abandoned us and ran away. Can this factory still be opened?" Meng Shi hurried into the factory. "Fortunately, there are still some valuable things. Exchanging them for a train ticket shouldn't be a problem..."

As he spoke, he searched in the factory director's office. Just then, a dull knocking sound came from the workshop.

Knock, knock, knock—

"Who is it? What are you knocking for?"

Knock, knock, knock—

Meng Shi, who was buried in looting, felt anger on his face and looked up at the window.

Through the glass, he could see the dim workshop was empty. The followers who had been following him were nowhere to be seen.

Doubt flashed in Meng Shi's eyes. He stood up slowly and was about to open the door when a cold voice, like steel rubbing together, came hoarsely and eerily from outside the door:

"I'm here... to find someone..."

"I already said, the director has gone into Aurora City. Is there any point in you pestering us here??" Meng Shi heard this and immediately thought it was the group that wanted to resume work, feeling a headache.

"I'm here... to find someone..." The voice sounded again, and it seemed to be getting closer to him.

"Damn it!" The anger suppressed in Meng Shi's heart finally couldn't be held back. He walked to the door and pulled it open. "Are you done yet? Who are you looking for..."

Meng Shi's voice stopped abruptly.

Outside the office door, a black, faceless shadow was standing there, like a centipede standing upright. Countless slender claws spread to both sides. Where its mouth should be, a dark red blood hole was slowly squirming...

And the voice came hoarsely from that blood hole.

"The Scarlet Sovereign of the Ghost-Mocking Abyss;"

"The Faceless King who mocks fate."