Once again, the drizzle began falling from the sky, accompanied by distant thunder.

Under the erosion of cold and dampness, the crowd gathered in the mud grew more frantic, with those at the front shaking the barbed wire fiercely. Faces twisted in agitation, their original appearances obscured beyond recognition.

"Come on, big brother, give us a break!"

"I was just here yesterday."

"We're visiting relatives, really, if you don't believe, I can call him out..."

"What are you up to? I'm here to place an order!"

Screams, shouts, even low cries and calls, merged into a wave of noise that annoyed everyone. At the gap between the barricades and the wire, the management team was being pushed and pulled, constantly shouting back, repeatedly pushing away the hands that reached out, nearly overwhelmed.

At last, they saw Old Gou appear, and for a moment, it seemed like a sigh of relief.

In front of the barricades, Old Gou commanded a few people to stack some boxes, turning them into a small platform by force, standing up but remaining silent.

Just weighing the megaphone in his hand, quietly waiting until pairs of eyes finally fell on him. As the sounds of the crowd slightly softened, he opened the microphone, putting on a simple-minded smile, shouting: "Fellow villagers, dear friends... This is Xinquan's city management team..."

"Make way! Clear the path!!"

Before he could finish, an angry voice erupted from the crowd, the shouting caused a renewed surge in the crowd, clamoring: "Give us a way to live!"

"Old Gou, it's me, you know me..."

"What the hell are you people trying to do!"

"Doctor, I need a doctor!!"

"You can't just leave us to die here..."

Bzzzz——!!!!

An ear-piercing shriek suddenly erupted, as Gou Er suddenly turned up the megaphone's volume to the maximum, the sharp buzzing pain pierced numerous eardrums, causing the voices to pause momentarily.

"Please cooperate with our work and maintain order."

Gou Er, still wearing his simple-minded smile, soothed the crowd: "Don't worry everyone, the rainy season has come early, we're just conducting an exercise to prevent chaos. The blockade is temporary, it will be lifted by afternoon, please bear with us.

Friends with permits, please move to the right. If you're here for recruitment, wait here on the left, Xinquan surely..."

"Liar! Liar!!"

Several loud voices suddenly emerged from within the crowd, stirring them up, yet their source was nowhere to be found: "Don't believe him, they're going to take us to be slaves on the Coast, don't believe them!"

For a moment, angry voices and shouting reached another climax.

With even more people suddenly agitated, inciting chaos, some began throwing rocks this way, mud landed on Gou Er's face, instantly making him dirt-covered.

"You damn dogs, don't—"

Gou Er was instantly furious, roaring, but in a moment, his expression changed, instinctively placing a hand over his ear, listening to orders on the other side, his facial muscles began to twitch.

In front of everyone, he gradually stooped, obsequiously nodding and bowing.

The megaphone he hadn't turned off broadcast his voice.

"Alright, alright, alright, immediately."

After a brief pause in communication, his face twitched, glaring at the crowd, a vague trace of instructions through the megaphone could be heard directed at his side.

"Move away the barrier, let them through."

In an instant, those at the front couldn't help but beam with joy, cheering and celebrating.

But among them, a few froze, seemingly unprepared for such a situation, instinctively and reflexively turning, looking behind them...

In the crowd, a face froze as well.

Then, suddenly, panic set in.

For he saw the gaze cast towards him from the high platform by Gou Er.

The stooped man's smile had vanished.

On a face riddled with wrinkles and mud, devoid of expression, there was a kind of sinister fierceness gleaming in those dark eyes.

"A Nao, the one with the gray hat!"

Gou Er abruptly shouted: "It's him!"

Where's the damn headset? Ear wax more likely!

If such a trivial matter were to bother the boss, what would be the point of him even being there... Besides, those he spoke to were from the security department, not the management team, how could they follow his orders?!

In that instant amidst the sudden change, he had already spotted the commander hidden in the crowd. At his side, A Nao did not hesitate, pulling a gun from his pocket, aiming at that face yet to experience fear.

The finger bent, about to pull the trigger...

But no gunshot rang out.

Before it happened, he was kicked aside by someone waiting nearby, who had been there for who knows how long.

"Stay out of the way—"

Amidst the clatter of metal, a giant broke into a sudden sprint, crashing through the barbed wire, raising a baton high to smash down — amidst its descent, the tip of the baton suddenly expanded, revealing blindingly bright electric sparks.

An electric baton!

Relentlessly slammed into the face of one inciter, terrifying power and fierce electric light exploded, smoke rising as violent convulsions ensued.

The inciter fell, fate unknown.

And the 'giant' was already striding forth, breaking through the crowd, step by step towards the commander!

It was... it was...

——The security department's specially equipped exoskeleton system!

A terrifying weight of six hundred pounds layered like scales, bulletproof armor guarded vital spots, even the face was wrapped within, force-feedback operation system and electromagnetic transmission spine, battery pack function, sixteen motors driving the whole system... more than enough to turn any feeble individual into an unstoppable giant of steel.

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