80: Chapter 80: The Square with Ten Thousand People - I'll Only Set the Rules Once

Immediately after, the passenger door opened.

Lu Chen, wearing that old black jacket and leather shoes caked in mud, walked to the front of the car.

Song Changming, holding that grease-stained battery, slowly got out from the back seat and leaned against the car door, watching this scene with cold eyes.

The faint street light shone on Lu Chen's face.

His gaze did not linger, sweeping past the stiff Baldy Zhao, glancing at the fifteen security guards cornered against the wall, and then at Old Zhou, who was drenched in sweat and nearly crushing his walkie-talkie.

Then, his gaze fell upon the corridor, which was littered with torn clothes and laundry detergent.

Zhang Xiufang was standing there, while Sister Liu, face streaked with tears, was kneeling on the ground, along with the little girl who was sobbing while clutching her Mother's leg tightly.

Lu Chen's eyes turned cold.

He was too quiet, so quiet that the few punks with yellow hair standing in the front row shivered for no reason, and even slowed their breathing.

When Old Zhou saw Lu Chen, his throat bobbed, and his eyes instantly turned red.

"Factory Director!" Old Zhou shouted, his voice cracking and completely distorted.

Old Zhou's shout instantly drew the gazes of the more than ten thousand people around onto this young man in the old black jacket.

This was the legendary Lu Chen who had brought 200 million in cash to pay off the wage arrears.

Many of these old troublemakers from Tengfei Electronics, who had been arrogant and overbearing just a moment ago, swallowed dryly and involuntarily took half a step back.

Baldy Zhao stood where he was, watching Lu Chen, who was one meter away, cold sweat seeping down his scalp.

He felt terrified inside, but thinking that he had the backing of over ten thousand workers from Tengfei Electronics, and believing that the law could not punish everyone, he braced himself and did not bow.

"Are you Factory Director Lu?" Baldy Zhao put his hands back into his trouser pockets and tried hard to squeeze out a smile. "We're new here and don't understand the rules of the new factory. We were just discussing how to allocate the housing with the supervisors below. There are too many people, so some friction is inevitable..."

Lu Chen did not look at Baldy Zhao.

He did not even lift his eyelids.

"Da Biao." Lu Chen stared at the security door of 101 in front of him. His voice was not loud, but everyone present heard it clearly.

"Boss." Da Biao took a step forward, carrying a steel pipe.

"Go drag the welding machine over here." Lu Chen's voice had no inflection.

"Weld all the exits on the first floor of this building shut, doors and windows included."

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole scene fell silent.

Only then did Lu Chen slowly turn his head, his gaze landing on Baldy Zhao's stiff face.

"Don't you like living on the first floor?" Lu Chen stared into his eyes. "I'll grant your wish and let you live inside forever."

Baldy Zhao trembled all over, and the smile he had forced out instantly froze.

The yellow-haired punk widened his eyes and rushed forward one step. "You Lu, dare you illegally detain us? We have ten thousand people..."

Before the yellow-haired punk could finish his sentence.

Da Biao swung the solid steel pipe in his hand violently.

Bang!

The sixty-centimeter-long steel pipe struck the yellow-haired punk's shin solidly.

The muffled sound of bone shattering and the yellow-haired punk's pig-like scream rang out simultaneously, causing the entire apartment building to tremble.

The yellow-haired punk fell to his knees in front of Lu Chen with a thud, clutching his twisted lower leg and rolling on the ground.

The hundreds of punks were completely stunned, their hands holding wrenches trembling.

Da Biao spat, picked up his walkie-talkie, and pressed the button. "Security team, assemble! Bring the welding machine, get the angle steel, and come over to seal the doors!"

Lu Chen did not even glance at the yellow-haired punk on the ground.

He reached out and zipped up his black jacket, standing on the steps looking down at these hundreds of troublemakers.

"Today," Lu Chen's tone was as calm as if he were talking about what was for lunch in the cafeteria, "I only set the rules once."

Da Biao threw the mud-stained steel pipe onto the ground with a backhand motion, creating a crisp metallic clanging sound. He pulled a black tactical baton from his lower back and swung it hard.

Click.

The three sections of the solid steel baton locked firmly into place.

"Security team! Advance!" Da Biao roared.

A dozen elite security guards wearing black vests rushed out from both sides of the corridor.

They pulled half-human-height riot shields from the car trunks, formed a human wall, and charged directly into the crowd.

The punks on the outer edge holding wrenches had not even reacted before they were hit hard on the chin by the edges of the shields, flipping over into the muddy water.

Da Biao charged at the front, his baton whistling through the air, specifically striking the backs of the troublemakers' knees. After three or five strikes, another circle of them was kneeling on the ground.

Baldy Zhao was forced back two steps by Da Biao, his back hitting the wall tiles. He glanced at the yellow-haired punk rolling on the ground, then looked at the hundreds of "brothers" around him who were shrinking their necks and hiding backward, and forced out a cold sneer.

"Factory Director Lu! What? Are you going to turn against our ten thousand brothers for the sake of a few women?" Baldy Zhao stiffened his neck. "I'm telling you, at Tengfei Electronics, this is the rule!"

Baldy Zhao shouted at the top of his cracked voice to those behind him, "Brothers! If he dares to break the yellow-haired punk's leg today, he'll dare to dock our wages tomorrow! If we ten thousand people stop working for one day, he'll go bankrupt!"

The troublemakers behind looked at each other; no one dared to respond, but a few bolder ones had already tightened their grip on the iron pipes in their hands.

The law cannot punish everyone—this was the confidence they relied on.

Lu Chen did not even glance at Baldy Zhao; he did not listen to such nonsense at all.

He took out the full-band walkie-talkie clipped to his waist and pressed the talk button.

"Old Zhou."

"Factory Director, I'm here." Old Zhou's voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Sound the highest-level alarm for the entire factory." Lu Chen stared at the open space ahead. "Notify those ten thousand new employees to stop whatever they are doing. Within five minutes, everyone must gather at the Number One Square. Those who don't show up, get out immediately."

"Understood!"

As soon as he finished speaking.

Woo...

The three-long, one-short air-raid-level electronic alarm sound instantly tore through the night sky of Chenguang Factory. Loudspeakers hung on every street lamp pole, the sound shaking people's eardrums until they hurt.

Workers queuing for food in the second canteen stood frozen with their aluminum lunch boxes in hand.

Workers who had just dragged their snake-skin bags into the new dormitories stopped in their tracks.

The entire factory area was in chaos; more than ten thousand former Tengfei Electronics employees were terrified, stumbling along with the crowd as they surged toward the Number One Square.

Baldy Zhao listened to the piercing alarm, and his heart began to tremble.

"What do you want to do?" He stared at Lu Chen's back.

Lu Chen ignored him and turned to walk toward the square.

Da Biao raised his baton and pointed it at Baldy Zhao. "Behave! Move!"

Dozens of security guards raised their riot shields, pushing and shoving, driving Baldy Zhao and those hundreds of punks toward the Number One Square.

Ten minutes later, at the Number One Square.

A sea of heads packed the wide-open space until it was impassable.

All the searchlights were turned on, illuminating the open space as bright as day.

Baldy Zhao and those hundreds of troublemakers were squeezed tightly into the front row by the riot shields, pressed against the edge of the high platform.

Surrounded by over ten thousand pairs of eyes, no one dared to make a sound, and no one knew what would happen next. No one spoke; there was only the sound of chaotic breathing.