As the militiamen hurried toward the snow pit, Lei Tao also walked quickly over.

Zhang Qiang followed closely behind, watching Lei Tao's back, a barely perceptible sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

Upon reaching the edge of the snow pit, Lei Tao looked down at the frail bodies of the captured laborers, who appeared to be on the verge of collapse from the intense labor. A deep murderous intent flashed in his eyes.

Zhang Qiang, standing behind Lei Tao, failed to notice the murderous intent in his eyes. Upon seeing the listless appearance of the laborers below, he immediately shouted angrily, "Have you not eaten? The leader has come to see you in person, and you're still acting like you're half-dead. Who are you trying to fool?"

After saying that, he looked at Lei Tao and said, "Boss, don't be angry. These troublemakers are just despicable. Killing one or two of them will make them behave."

Without waiting for Lei Tao's reaction, he took the composite bow off his back and drew it to shoot towards the bottom of the snow pit.

Lei Tao reacted quickly, shoving him away the instant he released the arrow.

The arrow lost its direction and missed its mark, landing at the foot of a laborer.

Upon seeing this, the group of laborers immediately glared angrily at Zhang Qiang, Lei Tao, and the others above the snow pit.

Upon seeing that the newly arrived guards were unarmed, a glimmer of hope and determination flashed in their eyes.

Although Zhang Qiang's plan to shoot the laborers was disrupted by Lei Tao's earlier attack, seeing that his objective was almost achieved, he ignored Lei Tao's words and instead shouted at the laborers in the snow pit who were on the verge of anger: "Damn it, what kind of looks are those? Do you want to rebel? A bunch of lowly bastards!"

He planned to further inflame the anger of the laborers below, igniting their fury so that they would rise up in resistance.

Faced with the wrath of thousands of laborers, Lei Tao and his nearly 100 unarmed men were simply no match for the situation. Wouldn't Lei Tao have to flee in panic? That would have been incredibly humiliating.

Of course, he wasn't afraid that these laborers would completely get out of control, since his "joint defense team" brothers were in the factory not far away. As long as he raised his arm, they would rush over with weapons to quell the rebellion.

Lei Tao just gave him a hard time, so this time he's going to completely humiliate Lei Tao!

Sure enough, upon hearing Lei Tao's provocation, the laborers in the snow pit were instantly enraged, their anger spreading like tinder.

Their eyes no longer held only anger, but also a yearning for freedom and a resistance against oppression.

"We are not cattle or horses, we are people, we are not cattle or horses, we are people..." As one laborer began to hum, the others joined in the chant.

This simple yet powerful melody echoed through the snow pit, like an irresistible force that awakened the dignity and hope deep within the hearts of the laborers.

Their singing gradually turned from low to passionate, with every syllable filled with accusations against unjust fate and a yearning for freedom and equality.

"We're all going to die anyway, folks, let's fight them!"

As one of the laborers raised his arm, the others seemed to be driven by an invisible force, responding one after another, their eyes gleaming with determination and courage.

Although their bodies were exhausted from long hours of labor, their hearts were filled with unprecedented strength because of their shared beliefs.

The laborers began searching for anything they could use as a weapon—broken sticks, sharp stones, even ropes binding them. Supporting and encouraging each other, they made their way step by step to the edge of the snow pit. Tension and unease filled the air, but even more so, there was a steadfast pursuit of freedom.

"Rebellion! Rebellion!" Zhang Qiang roared.

He then looked at Lei Tao and said, "Boss, quickly have the brothers suppress them, or the consequences will be unimaginable!"

"Get lost!" Lei Tao shoved him away.

He then ordered the "militiamen" beside him, "Tie him up!"

The militiamen had long been unable to suppress their anger. Upon hearing Lei Tao's order, two militiamen quickly pinned Zhang Qiang down.

"What...what are you going to do?" Zhang Qiang panicked.

Originally, he only wanted to provoke the workers' anger and embarrass Lei Tao. According to his plan, Lei Tao should have fled in panic at this time, and then he could have instructed his "joint defense team" to suppress the riot and make Lei Tao lose face.

But what's going on now?

Is Lei Tao planning to hand him over to the laborers so they can vent their anger and thus resolve this labor riot crisis?

Zhang Qiang knew what he had done to these laborers, and he also knew how much they hated him. If he fell into their hands, he would probably be torn to pieces on the spot by the angry laborers.

Thinking of this, Zhang Qiang's heart trembled, and he shouted angrily, "I am the 'Captain of the Joint Defense Brigade' personally appointed by Director Yu! You can't treat me like this!"

"If you dare to do this, Director Yu will definitely not let you off! Even if you are from the 'command center,' you will not escape punishment!"

Seeing Lei Tao's exasperated expression, Lei Tao sneered, unconcerned.

Seeing that he couldn't threaten Lei Tao, Zhang Qiang turned to look at the factory not far away and shouted, "Brothers, come out quickly! There's trouble here!"

…………

Lei Tao ignored Zhang Qiang and instead looked at the laborers climbing out of the snow pit, shouting, "Everyone calm down! We're not with them! Now, we have a common enemy!"

"Haha! Scared now? Want to break off relations? Let me tell you, it's too late!" a laborer shouted. "Brothers and sisters, we can't let these people continue to oppress us, we can't be deceived by their sweet words anymore. Only by overthrowing them can we gain true freedom!"

Hearing his shout, the crowd became even more excited and roared. Instead of stopping, they climbed up the snow pit at an even faster pace.

"Haha! You idiot! You think they'll let you go like this? You're so naive." Zhang Qiang sneered from the side.

However, he was not flustered at this moment, because his "joint defense team members" were already rapidly assembling in this direction.

These past few days have been the first time they've suppressed riots, and they're not afraid that these laborers can really cause any trouble.

"Brothers of Qingshan Town, we are from the 'Anti-Cold Disaster Relief Militia Corps'! We are here to rescue you on the orders of our commander!" Lei Tao revealed his identity.