Chen Yifei's brows furrowed deeper.
"If it's just the raw materials from one steel mill being taken away, that might be manageable, but if it's happening to all the factories in the industrial zone, then this is a major issue... Factories are the heart of the seven districts, what does it mean that Aurora City is draining their lifeblood?"
Chen Yifei's heart sank. Although he didn't know what was happening specifically, it was clear... Aurora City was targeting the seven districts.
"I understand," Chen Yifei said immediately. "I'll contact Aurora City to see what the situation is."
Meng Shi nodded. Chen Yifei asked again,
"What about the workers' salaries? Aren't you going to take care of that?"
Meng Shi opened his mouth, but ultimately smiled helplessly. "Mr. Chen... there's nothing left in our factory. The little cash we have left on the books isn't even enough to pay their salaries."
"Not enough?" Chen Yifei looked at his face. "How much can it cover?"
"Maybe one-tenth at most... and that's also the money for machine maintenance. If we use that money to pay them, the machines will break down due to lack of maintenance, and the loss will be severe."
Chen Yifei didn't respond. He still calmly gazed into Meng Shi's eyes, as if he wanted to see through him completely.
Seeing this, Meng Shi felt somewhat uneasy. Just then, Chen Yifei spoke slowly.
"You're lying."
"...What?"
"I'll give you another chance."
Chen Yifei reached one hand into his jacket, and in the next moment, the black barrel of a gun was pressed against Meng Shi's forehead. His voice was ice-cold. "I'll ask you again, how much of the funds on the books can cover the salaries?"
This scene directly frightened the others. They didn't understand why Chen Yifei, who was talking calmly, suddenly pulled out a gun, but he was the law enforcement officer of District Three. They were both afraid and cowardly. Even though their leader was being threatened with a gun, they didn't dare to take a step forward.
As for Meng Shi, he was terrified. His face turned pale, and his legs started to shake.
Chen Yifei naturally wouldn't suddenly make things difficult for Meng Shi. The reason he did this was because of the extreme detail observation ability of his [Secret Eyes], which allowed him to see that Meng Shi was lying at a glance.
"Enough... enough for half," Meng Shi hurriedly said. "When the factory manager left, there really wasn't much cash left on the books. It's only enough to pay them for five or six days."
Chen Yifei gazed at Meng Shi for a moment. After not seeing any signs of lying from his micro-expressions, he slowly said, "Then pay them first."
Without jobs and without salaries, how could these workers who were besieging the factory possibly give up?
Facts proved that the identity of a law enforcement officer was extremely useful in District Three. After all, Chen Yifei had absolute law enforcement power. If he wanted, even if he shot Meng Shi just now, he wouldn't face too much punishment.
Meng Shi, who had escaped from a near-death experience, didn't dare to delay. He hurriedly took the remaining cash from the safe and took it to the workers gathered at the gate with his subordinates.
Chen Yifei walked to one of the large machines and lifted a corner of the plastic sheet covering it, revealing the bulky, steel-filled body underneath. He touched its surface lightly, feeling the dampness and coldness.
Chen Yifei looked at the faint layer of water on his fingertips, and confusion flashed in his eyes.
Just then, a commotion came from the gate.
Seeing this, Chen Yifei walked straight to the gate. He saw that the crowd that had been besieging the iron gate was now surrounding Meng Shi and the others who had gone out to distribute money. The sentiment was high.
"What use is this little money to us??"
"Yeah, without jobs, this money is only enough to live for a few days... We want to resume work!"
"..."
A small portion of the people took the money, and their faces clearly looked better than before, but the others were still unwilling. One was just a few days' salary, and the other was a job that could continuously support their families. No matter how they 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 Yifei's cold gaze in the factory, he still forced himself to persuade them,
"The factory really doesn't have any raw materials now. Even if you make a commotion here, you can't resume work... I'll contact Aurora City. Once the raw materials are available, I'll definitely let you come back to resume work as soon as possible..."
"When can we resume work?"
"This... should be in the next two days?"
Hearing this, the crowd's expressions finally eased somewhat. They counted the money in their hands, looked at each other, and then turned and walked towards the street.
Zhao Yi, carrying the flag, was about to leave, but he turned back and added menacingly,
"We'll be back tomorrow."
Seeing that this group had finally left, Meng Shi let out a long sigh. He looked bitterly at Chen Yifei who was walking out of the factory, wanting to say something but hesitating.
"I'll negotiate with Aurora City," Chen Yifei spoke up. "You guard the factory and prepare to resume work at any time."
After saying this, he walked out of the steel mill and headed towards the several large factories nearby...
In the misty fog, Meng Shi stood at the gate of the steel mill, surrounded by dead silence.
"Sigh..."
"Meng Ge, what should we do now?"
Meng Shi frowned. He looked at the backs of the people who were leaving and gritted his teeth as he spoke, "What can we do? We can't stay here anymore. Let's go."
"What about the factory?"
"Forget it. The factory manager left us behind and ran away. Can this factory still operate?" Meng Shi hurried into the factory. "Fortunately, there are still some valuable things. It should be no problem to exchange them for a ticket..."
As he spoke, he searched through the factory manager'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 busy searching, looked annoyed. He raised his head and looked towards the window.
Through the glass, he could see that the dim workshop was empty. Those few followers who had been behind him were now gone.
Meng Shi's eyes flashed with confusion. He slowly stood up, intending to open the door. A cold, steel-like friction sound, raspy and eerie, came from outside the door,
"I came... to find someone..."
"I already said the factory manager is in Aurora City. Is it fun for you to keep pestering here??" Hearing this sentence, Meng Shi immediately thought it was the group who wanted to resume work earlier and felt somewhat annoyed.
"I came... to find someone..." The voice sounded again, and it seemed to be getting closer to him.
"Fuck!" Meng Shi couldn't hold back the anger in his heart anymore. He walked to the door, pulled it open, and said, "Will you stop? Who are you looking for..."
Meng Shi's voice suddenly stopped.
Outside the office door stood a black, faceless shadow, like a centipede standing upright, with countless thin claws spreading out to the sides. In the position of its mouth, a dark red blood hole was slowly moving...
And the voice was raspy and came out of that blood hole.
"The Crimson Dominator of the Ghost-Mocking Abyss;
"The Faceless King who Teases Fate."