"Boss, we brought the people here, and they're all a bunch of cowards."
The man at the long table took off his silver-rimmed glasses, and with his bony fingers holding the cigarette, he flicked off the ash and put out the cigarette butt in the glass ashtray on the table. He said calmly:
"Bring it in."
The first one to come in was Mei Xingxian. He walked in with shaking legs and trembling like a chicken.
He couldn't understand how he had offended this ancestor from the East District.
He just had a quarrel with the pig woman at home about going to Taoyang. He didn't know how the pig woman found out, but it made him so angry that he wanted to go out for a walk and get some fresh air. But as soon as he went out, he was put in a sack and kidnapped.
When he woke up, he found himself trapped in the underground garage in Quanhegou, East District.
He was so scared that he lost his soul. This was the territory of Master Chi and his ancestors.
Everyone in Dongyang knows that Master Chi of the East District has very strange abilities. Almost no one can escape when he uses them. He has also gathered a group of talented people under him, occupying the East District, which even the city defense forces cannot control.
Before Mei Xingxian could react, two more people were brought in and locked up with him. One was a disfigured old woman, and the other was a young fire-type mutant.
The three of them were confused and waited in panic for two hours before they were finally called out to meet the ancestor.
When the man at the long table saw them come in, he actually smiled, stood up and gestured for them to come in, looking extremely polite.
But the three of them felt that this smile and this politeness were extremely terrifying, and they trembled their legs and dared not move.
The younger brother next to them kicked the three of them and said, "Master Chi told you to sit down, so just sit down right away! Do you still want Master Chi to pull out a stool for you?"
Mei Xingxian immediately understood that this was the boss of the East District, and he quickly gave in, almost kneeling down and kowtowing:
"Hello, Master Chi. Master Chi, did you ask us to come here to tell you something? Just tell me, and I, Mei Xingxian, will go through fire and water to get it done for you!"
Seeing this, the other two also imitated him and said some polite and flattering words.
Gu Mingchi smiled without any warmth. He sat down and opened the document in his hand. The first page of the document was a photo of Mei Xingxian.
He opened his lips and asked vaguely:
"Mei Xingxian, 26, lives in the shelter. His wife is Tan Fangchun. Two days ago, at Dongyang Hospital, he got into a fight with Su Tao, Guan Zining, and Zhuang Wan from Taoyang. Guan Zining then took him away at gunpoint, is that correct?"
Mei Xingxian was confused and horrified. He was just a nobody, but he investigated so thoroughly. What did he want to do?
I was so scared, but I nodded frantically: "Yes, yes, yes."
Gu Mingchi still maintained a cold smile, turned to the next page, and said to the disfigured old woman:
"Wen Peizhen, 59 years old this year, has a daughter who married a gun dealer from the Shou'an base. She made a little money and applied for a single room for you in Taoyang. Later, because of a conflict with Taoyang, you were disfigured and kicked out of Taoyang, correct?"
Wen Peizhen, her face still bandaged, said with a trembling voice, "Right, right, where is this place? W-What do you want to do by arresting me? Ah!"
The younger brother kicked her in the waist and said, "If I didn't ask you, shut up!"
Gu Mingchi turned to the last page as if he hadn't seen or heard anything.
"Jiang Ze, 19 years old, a fire-type mutant, once shared a double room with others in Taoyang. He was later kicked out of Taoyang and beaten by the people there, right?"
Jiang Ze still harbored a grudge about what happened back then, and he gritted his teeth as he recalled it: "Yes, they bullied the weak with their numbers! They ganged up on me! It took me half a month to recover!"
Gu Mingchi finally smiled broadly, "Very good, don't be nervous, everyone. The reason I invited you all here this time is very simple. If you have any hatred or resentment towards Taoyang, just tell me, and I, Gu Mingchi, will take care of it for you."
The three of them looked at each other for a while.
It was Jiang Ze who spoke out first: "Master Chi, you are an upright man. I have been holding this anger in for a long time, and I am going to let it out today."
Gu Mingchi signaled to his younger brothers and quickly set up a camera in secret.
Jiang Ze was filled with indignation and almost described Taoyang as a hell on earth, as if it was inhabited by a group of robbing and plundering bandits.
Although Wen Peizhen was not quite clear about the situation, it did not prevent her from empathizing with Taoyang. She tearfully accused Taoyang of driving her away and ruining her appearance.
Mei Xingxian was a little smart and knew that this Mr. Chi was definitely not a good person. He thought that making decisions for them was just a cover and that he actually wanted to ruin Taoyang's reputation.
He couldn't guess what the grudge between Mr. Chi and Taoyang was, but he was very happy to see it happen.
He exaggerated the story of how Taoyang kidnapped his father.
He also spread rumors that Taoyang had his father's talent, but he did not keep his word and would not give the other three places, and imprisoned his father in Taoyang.
For a moment, the entire room was filled with resentment towards Tao Yang, as if entangled with Gu Mingchi's cigarette, revealing his faintly smiling face and deep amber eyes behind his silver-rimmed glasses in the hazy air.
——
Because the office building was completed, Su Tao was so happy that she slept on the sofa on the first floor that night.
When I woke up, I heard the communicator ringing, and I heard Zhuang Wan's excited voice on the line:
"Tao, where are you? I saw a small building built in front of our apartment building. Is it an office building? I saw tables, chairs and computers outside the French windows on the second floor! Oh my God!"
Su Tao smiled and said, "Yes, it's the office building. Pack up your documents and ask Xiao Pan to pick up Mr. Mei as well."
"Alright, you're awesome! Mr. Mei must be really fond of them. His tools and blueprints are going to fill up the coffee table in the living room. Now we have a place to put them!"
After a while, Zhuang Wan and the other two appeared in front of the office building.
Su Taoying went out and recorded the fingerprints of Mr. Mei and Zhuang Wan to facilitate their entry and exit later.
The two were very excited when they came in and saw the spacious reception room.
Zhuang Wan, in particular, walked around excitedly: "When new tenants come, I will do convention training here. It's spacious and decent, so great."
Then he went up to the second floor via the spiral staircase and sat down at his desk, his eyes shining as he said:
"My father told me when he was alive that people before the apocalypse had their own workstations and computers. Ours can be compared to the pre-apocalyptic world. The windows are also very grand. You can even see the cafeteria from here."
Mr. Mei slid his wheelchair across the bookshelf, lost in memories, and said with emotion:
"Yes, before the apocalypse, Jianyi and I taught at the university. Our office was pretty much like this, but there was also a leisure exhibition hall at the back of the office building, which was filled with students' model works. During afternoon tea time, my students and I would sit down in the exhibition hall and chat while drinking tea."
Su Tao thought for a moment and said, "Then let's build a leisure exhibition hall, filming every step of Taoyang's development and construction, and turning it into a painting. We can also set up a message board and open it to the public so that people can write down their suggestions for Taoyang, or their living experience."
Elder Mei laughed heartily. "Great! Let's put in some more chairs. If we can put in a bookshelf, I'd like to compile a book about Taoyang's development sometime. Oh, and we can also bind our rental agreement into a book and print a few copies to put here."
"We also have tenants who work in journalism. They can all enrich this bookshelf and form Taoyang's own spiritual civilization."
Su Tao and Zhuang Wan both thought this was a great idea, as it not only focused on building material conditions, but also spiritual conditions.
Taoyang is walking alone step by step out of the quagmire of the end of the world.
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