98: The rich are heartless, and divine soldiers descend from the sky.

As it turned out, Lu Fan's worries soon became reality.

Early the next morning, not long after the porridge shed opened, sharp wails and curses suddenly erupted from the crowd:

"They're hitting people! The relief workers are hitting people!"

"There's sand in the porridge! It's gritty! It's inedible!"

"Heartless relief workers! They're fooling us with moldy old rice! And they're hitting people!"

A few "refugees," raggedly dressed but with flickering eyes and strong voices, were jumping around in the crowd, inciting them at the top of their lungs.

While cursing, they deliberately shoved the people around them.

They even intentionally smashed broken bowls against the large porridge pots, and some even tried to overturn the porridge barrels!

Panic and anger were instantly ignited.

The refugees, already on the brink of collapse, grew agitated, and order was about to spiral out of control.

The guards Lu Fan brought tried their best to stop them, but they were too few and were pushed around by the surging crowd, creating a scene of total chaos.

"Everyone, quiet down! Listen to me!" Lu Fan jumped onto a wooden crate and tried to speak.

But his voice was instantly drowned out by the boiling curses and cries.

At this critical moment, a cold light flashed in Lu Fan's eyes.

"Everyone, stop!"

An M1911 pistol appeared in his hand, and a gunshot rang out, intimidating the crowd and temporarily suppressing the noise.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

This group coming to cause trouble was undoubtedly sent by Ma Dahong.

Lu Fan scooped up a spoonful of steaming porridge and shouted sternly, "Look closely.

This porridge is so thick that a chopstick can stand upright in it. The rice is fresh rice brought from Shanghai, and there isn't a single moldy grain."

His gaze was like lightning as it swept over the refugees leading the disturbance. "As for the sand, humph!

I'm telling you, I personally ordered that a handful of clean river sand be mixed into every pot of today's porridge!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd erupted in an uproar.

Even the real refugees were stunned, looking at Lu Fan in confusion.

Lu Fan sneered, pointing at the fellows who had just been shouting about the sand being gritty.

"To someone truly starving, let alone a handful of clean river sand, even if it were mixed with dirt, as long as they could survive, what would it matter?

Only those scumbags who have food in their bellies and were sent to cause trouble would complain about sand being gritty and be so picky!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the faces of the ringleaders turned extremely ugly. They instinctively covered their mouths, their eyes darting around.

To incite the crowd, they had indeed shouted about it being "gritty," and now that Lu Fan had exposed them, they were immediately revealed.

"Seize them!" Lu Fan ordered.

The guards and some local youths who had come to their senses immediately lunged at those pale-faced fellows!

The crowd also realized the truth and angrily surrounded them, cursing them as "lackeys" and "troublemakers"!

The men were scared out of their wits and tried to scramble away, but they were quickly pinned to the ground.

Seeing the incitement exposed, someone else in the crowd shouted.

"The food is almost gone! Their own people are looting it first! If we don't grab it now, there'll be nothing left!"

"Loot! Loot the food!"

"Loot or starve!"

Even more vicious incitement rang out again.

This time, despair completely overwhelmed reason.

Countless pairs of hungry eyes instantly turned blood-red. Like a bursting dam, they frantically rushed toward the temporary warehouse where the food was stored.

The human wall formed by the guards was instantly broken through.

Iron pots were overturned, and scalding porridge spilled everywhere, burning several nearby women and children who let out piercing screams.

Rice bags were torn open, and white rice spilled out. Countless people crawled on the ground in a frenzy, trampling each other.

The scene was completely out of control and chaotic! Lu Fan and the guards were shoved around by the frantic crowd, unable to stop them at all!

"It's over..." Lu Fan looked at the hellish scene before him, his heart sinking to the bottom.

The food couldn't be saved, order had completely collapsed, and it might even lead to more casualties.

The force he brought was simply no match for a riot of this scale and Ma Dahong's sinister schemes.

At this moment of extreme peril, just as the relief point was about to be completely destroyed.

"Da... da... da..."

The crisp rattle of a machine gun cut through the chaotic sky.

Then, a thunderous roar erupted: "Everyone, stop!

If anyone dares to steal another grain of rice, don't blame my bullets for being heartless!"

The chaotic crowd seemed to have been hit by a pause button, looking toward the source of the sound in terror.

At the end of the dirt road, dust was billowing.

A squad of soldiers, fully armed, was running toward them.

They wore grey cloth uniforms and puttees, moving swiftly.

Leading them was a burly officer with a dark complexion and eyes sharp as knives, with smoke still rising from the muzzle of the machine gun in his hand.

Behind him, hundreds of soldiers had fanned out, their cold bayonets gleaming in the sunlight as they quickly took control of the main thoroughfares.

They forcibly separated the chaotic refugees from the looting crowd.

The officer strode into the center of the field, his sharp gaze sweeping over the now-silent crowd.

Finally, it landed on Lu Fan, who was being protected by guards and whose clothes were somewhat disheveled.

He gave a military salute and said in a booming voice, "Sir, are you Mr. Lu Fan from Shanghai?

I am Luo Lie, a battalion commander under Division Commander Wang Mingzhang of the 122nd Division in Yongzhou.

By order of the Division Commander, I have brought my troops to assist Mr. Lu in maintaining order and protecting the relief grain.

Anyone who dares to cause trouble or loot again will be dealt with by military law!"

His voice was like a stabilizing force, instantly calming the entire scene.

The glint of the bayonets and the soldiers' stern aura completely snapped the looting crowd back to their senses, and they huddled together in fear.

The Ma Family servants who had incited the looting were even more terrified, turning pale and trying to hide in the crowd.

Looking at the army that had appeared just in time, the heavy weight in Lu Fan's heart finally lifted.

He straightened his clothes, cupped his hands in return, and said gratefully, "Battalion Commander Luo, you've arrived just in time.

I thank Division Commander Wang and all the soldiers. Battalion Commander Luo, please take control of the scene immediately, suppress any illegal acts, and restore order."

With the strong intervention of the military, the relief point, which had been on the verge of collapse, finally stabilized.

Ma Dahong's conspiracy was completely thwarted in the face of the bayonets.

After the turmoil, the relief efforts became orderly once again.

Luo Lie stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Lu, how should we handle these people?"

"Battalion Commander Luo, it's not convenient for me to handle this. You decide," Lu Fan said, waving his hand to hand over the authority.

As an outsider, he had no standing, no time, and no interest in managing such matters.

So, he changed the subject: "Who are these people?"

Luo Lie frowned and replied, "Most likely, these people were sent by Ma Dahong.

This Ma Dahong is the largest rice merchant in Yongzhou. He's currently hoarding grain to drive up prices and make a huge profit.

Your appearance happened to block his path to wealth, so he'd find ways to cause trouble."

Hearing this, Lu Fan couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.

He hadn't expected that in a year of such disaster, someone could be so profit-driven, disregarding the lives of the people.

"Since you are heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless."