Li Ke knew that the current management of the shelter was a collaboration between the government and businesses, but the sovereignty still rested with the government. However, given the limited number of people left behind by the government, it was uncertain how long they could sustain the operation.
After all, many supplies are in the hands of these merchants, and the government only has a limited amount left, which will eventually run out.
These businessmen are profit-driven and always have to think about their future. Blindly giving is not their style. Therefore, they want to gain more power.
"Are they making these little moves because they heard something?" Li Ke asked Xia Qing and Meng Yu.
Xia Qing's expression turned somewhat grave: "The border is extremely turbulent, with constant warfare outside. We are truly grateful for the strength of our motherland and the silent protection of our soldiers to have the peace we enjoy today. But now, natural disasters are frequent, and there are quite a few lunatics abroad. Our situation is also very precarious, and we don't know how long this peace will last. These people are afraid that the rear cannot hold out, so their minds are starting to waver, and they want to get some special privileges for themselves. After all, although we don't have many supplies, we have enough hard weapons. Without these, we wouldn't be able to keep them in check."
Li Ke didn't say anything more. The three of them went to the handover point, took their respective jobs, and went their separate ways. Li Ke walked into the wind and snow and headed towards the area he was responsible for that day. He was accompanied by two security team members, one of whom was a newcomer.
I had just entered the building I was responsible for and checked the personnel registration and entry/exit records of the management office, as well as the reporting of various emergencies, when someone came looking for me.
Two people stood at the edge of the hall, looking like they wanted to come over but didn't dare. They were wearing many layers of clothing, covering only their eyes, but their posture and movements clearly indicated that they were women.
The new security guard pointed to the two people and his colleague. The older colleague then told Li Ke about the situation and asked her if she wanted to call the people over to ask them.
This was Li Ke's job, so she naturally didn't find it troublesome. She beckoned the two women over to talk, but they still dawdled, so Li Ke strode over directly.
"Are you in some kind of trouble? I'm from the law enforcement team. You can report any problems to me," Li Ke asked as he walked up to the two men.
One of the women took off her homemade cotton mask. Li Ke felt that her face looked familiar. The woman said directly, "Are you Li Ke? I am Sun Ting and this is Zhang Panwen. We used to live in the same building, on the seventeenth floor. We even exchanged a few words before."
Li Ke then remembered that this was the female college student who lived downstairs from her. She nodded and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Sun Ting glanced at the two security guards behind Li Ke and said somewhat awkwardly, "Could we just talk to you?"
Seeing that they seemed to have something difficult to say, Li Ke asked her two colleagues behind her to check other areas for problems first, and that she would come to find them later.
“We were eight classmates together before, but after moving into the shelter, we separated due to some personal issues. Now, the two of us are living with another female classmate, Gao Xiaoxiao. A couple of days ago, Xiaoxiao found a job with a high salary, and she brought Panwen with her.”
"Panwen came running back today saying Xiaoxiao is missing. The people there said they took her somewhere else to play, but Panwen didn't believe it, so she came back to discuss it with me. We saw your name in the signature of the person in charge in the work log in the lobby, so we thought we'd ask you for help to check." Sun Ting explained the situation with a bitter expression.
Li Ke asked, "What kind of work do you do? Where are you located?"
Sun Ting turned her gaze to Zhang Panwen, whose eyes darted away for a moment before she mustered her courage and said, "It's a job accompanying people. We girls have no savings, and our belongings were always being stolen from our previous place. We had no other choice but to do this. This time, the job is in the Seventh District. There were twelve girls who went together, but only seven came back. The others who didn't come back said they were somewhere else and would be back in a few days. But Gao Xiaoxiao always tells us in advance if anything happens, and those people won't let me see anyone. I'm a little worried."
Li Ke then asked, "Aren't there any four who haven't returned yet? Has no one asked about them?"
Zhang Panwen replied, "They have all registered to work outside the area, and most of them, like us, do not have family here, so no one will specifically ask them about it."
"Do you remember where your workplace is in District Seven?" Li Ke asked.
Zhang Panwen: "Behind a villa area, there are several small buildings. We went to a row of terraced villas on the hillside. It was quite cold inside, but the room we were accompanying had been insulated."
Li Ke stared at Zhang Panwen, who had been keeping her eyes downcast, and said, "Okay, I'll go and notify the enforcement team now, and arrange for someone to come with me to help you find the person."
Zhang Panwen trembled upon hearing this and hurriedly said, "No, we don't want too many people to know about this. Could you help us find someone quietly?"
Sun Ting, standing nearby, said with some concern, "It would be good to find a few more people. Didn't you say there were quite a lot of people there? What if a conflict breaks out if Li Ke is alone?"
Zhang Panwen glared at Sun Ting anxiously: "They wouldn't dare. Li Ke is a member of the law enforcement team; having that status is enough."
Li Ke had some doubts about Zhang Panwen's intentions and emphasized again, "Are you really sure I can do this alone?"
Zhang Panwen stammered and said somewhat incoherently, "I just wanted to check on Xiaoxiao's safety. She might not be in any danger. Our work is prone to gossip, and those people are quite aggressive. I wanted to ask you for help quietly, without making a big fuss, otherwise it would be difficult to find work in the future."
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