Xu Damao and several female comrades were walking and chatting on their way to the conference room. When they passed through a dark section of road, a dark figure suddenly rushed out from the side.
As the dark figure rushed towards the group, it shouted, "I'll make you all pay with your lives," and seemed to be waving something in its hand.
A group of women, who had been chattering excitedly, were startled by the sudden appearance of a figure. They screamed in place, completely forgetting how to dodge.
Xu Damao was walking with the group, listening to their conversation, but his mind was preoccupied with the impact of today's events on the steel mill's situation. He was thinking about reporting to Li Xuewu's house before dawn and didn't pay any attention to the figures appearing on the roadside.
Xu Damao was brought back to his senses by the screams of several women. He looked ahead and noticed the dark figure.
Xu Damao only saw the other person rushing towards him with something in their hand, but he had no idea what it was. At this critical moment, Xu Damao could not think about anything else; protecting his own life and the safety of the female comrades was the top priority.
In the nick of time, Xu Damao pulled out his Browning pistol and fired several shots at the shadowy figure. After the gunfire, the figure collapsed in front of them, his fate unknown. The women, who were already screaming, screamed even louder and then huddled together, seemingly for safety.
"Stop shouting! You all hurry to the branch office comrades at the entrance, just in case there are other people around," Xu Damao said, pushing several female comrades toward the entrance.
Xu Damao remained relatively calm at this point, showing no signs of nervousness about firing a gun. As the only male present, and a leader at that, he had to ensure the safety of everyone. He didn't yet know if any other security personnel remained in the factory area; only the branch office was truly safe.
He had only taken a few steps when a group of people from the branch office ran over, with Lu Xiangyang at the very front.
"Da Mao, what happened? Is anyone hurt?" Lu Xiangyang asked anxiously.
As the commander of the entire operation, everything had gone smoothly so far, and it should have been a perfect ending. But the sudden gunfire made his heart tighten. If there were still enemies present and casualties had been incurred, then he would have seriously failed in his duty.
Those who should have been rewarded for their merits would instead face punishment, or even imprisonment.
“We’re fine. We were walking ahead when a guy suddenly jumped out, yelling at us and then ran towards us, seemingly holding something in his hand. I fired a few shots at him; I don’t know if he’s dead,” Xu Damao said.
After hearing Xu Damao's words, Lu Xiangyang breathed a heavy sigh of relief. It was good that everyone here was alright.
"This gun was given to me by Tong Shuai before, and I have a gun license," Xu Damao explained when he saw Lu Xiangyang looking at his pistol.
"Quickly, a few people come and check if that person is dead. The rest of you, conduct a thorough search of the factory area to see if there are any others who have escaped." Lu Xiangyang probably remembered as well, and began making arrangements at the scene.
At this point, he could only try to salvage the situation by checking if anyone else had escaped. The security personnel on duty that day had already apprehended them all; regardless of whether they were involved in the theft that night, they were to be detained and interrogated. But he never expected how this person had gotten there.
After settling the female comrades in, Xu Damao returned to the spot where he had encountered the shadowy figure. He saw the officers from the branch office conducting an investigation with flashlights. Xu Damao looked ahead, and in that instant, the loose substance caused the contents of his stomach to uncontrollably rush out.
"Ugh, ugh," Xu Damao vomited up all the food he had eaten the night before.
After vomiting, the image from before remained in his mind, and then Xu Damao felt his hands and feet go numb and he couldn't muster any strength at all.
"How is it? It's always like this the first time." Lu Xiangyang felt terrible seeing Xu Damao like this.
"Don't laugh at me, help me move over, I'm weak in my arms and legs," Xu Damao said.
With the help of Lu Xiangyang and others, Xu Damao was able to move to a bright spot. After inquiring, he learned that the area was lifeless. He also learned that the shadowy figure was holding a military dagger, which was extremely lethal. This lessened Xu Damao's guilt about firing the gun considerably.
"Old Lu, come here, I want to talk to you alone." Xu Damao called out when he saw that Lu Xiangyang had almost finished his work.
"What's wrong? Are you still not feeling well? Should I find someone to take you home?" Lu Xiangyang thought Xu Damao was embarrassed because there were so many people around.
"No need, I'm much better now. It's like this, you know I'm different from you guys, firing a gun isn't something to brag about, and besides, the other side might have accomplices, I'm worried about retaliation."
Here's what I'm thinking: when you write the report, say you discovered remaining personnel, invited our cooperation, and then killed them. Don't put my name on the report; we were just ordinary workers assigned to you.
"I'll talk to those women later and make sure they don't talk nonsense," Xu Damao said.
Xu Damao's words weren't actually out of genuine fear of retaliation. With just these few people, and even the section chief arrested, what remaining influence could they possibly have? If there were any survivors, they would have fled as far away as possible and would never have appeared in Beijing.
He was worried about how to explain it to Lu Xiangyang. This oversight at work would inevitably have some impact on him. But if he claimed it was an arrest arranged by Lu Xiangyang, the nature of the incident would be completely different. Even if his superiors knew the truth, no one would deliberately investigate.
Lu Xiangyang considered Xu Damao's suggestion, then patted Xu Damao on the shoulder, said thank you, and left. This period was also crucial for him; he couldn't afford to make any mistakes.
If things aren't handled well tonight, he'll be delayed for at least two years. He had originally planned how to deal with it, but Xu Damao had considered it first, so he accepted it. Between brothers, saying too much only seems pretentious.
After easing his tension for a while, Xu Damao walked over to the woman.
"Xu Damao," "Factory Director," several female comrades rushed to his side when they saw him approaching. If it hadn't been for Xu Damao, they might have been injured. And that "Xu Damao," needless to say, was Li Tong.
“Come here, I have something to tell you,” Xu Damao said.
Seeing Xu Damao like this, the others gathered around and listened to him speak.
"Everyone was frightened by what happened tonight. After you cooperate with the investigation, you can go home and rest tomorrow morning. You don't need to come to work for the whole day."
"Besides, what we just discussed was actually a plan between the branch office and me to lure out the remaining members. Before we left, the branch office gave me a gun, and there were also people from the branch office protecting us from behind. So, I hope you won't talk about what happened tonight. If anyone from the authorities asks, just say this," Xu Damao instructed.
The group was still immersed in the atmosphere from earlier and didn't bother to consider the flaws in Xu Damao's words, all saying they understood.
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