168: Chapter 165 Conflict

Li Changsheng quickly descended the stairs to the second floor, intending to head to the first floor to ask everyone what they wanted to eat so he could bring them something.

However, just as he reached the corner of the staircase, a violent explosive sound suddenly erupted from below.

A sudden, intense blast rang out, giving Li Changsheng a start.

There were many cars parked below that were still in the process of being repaired, but there was no one around at the moment.

Li Changsheng had just descended the stairs and poked his head out when he heard a "bang" right beside his ear!

This time, it was very close. Li Changsheng immediately recognized the familiar sound: it was a gunshot!

Li Changsheng hurriedly ducked his head and quickly threw himself to the ground.

Immediately after, the crisp sound of bullets colliding with metal rang in his ears; the railing by the stairs was warped by the gunfire, sending sparks flying everywhere. Many of the sparks even landed on Li Changsheng.

Lying on the ground, Li Changsheng couldn't help but curse under his breath, "Damn it!"

He didn't need to think twice to know that this group at the repair shop must be facing revenge.

It was likely that their big, noisy operation last night had pissed off the group on the other side.

Gunfights were not rare abroad; they were commonplace a dozen years ago, and even now, they still occurred.

It was said that even nowadays, in the US, there were shootings on nine out of every ten days.

And not long ago, in '21, the US recorded 45,079 deaths from shootings in a single year.

Among them, there were over three thousand mass shooting incidents.

The largest incident in history slaughtered over six hundred people in one go, and in '12, a gunman rushed into an elementary school and massacred twenty children and school staff.

In '18, a student even turned on teachers and students, causing 17 deaths and injuring many more.

This is the US, the free America, where shootings happen every day.

Therefore, seeing this scene, Li Changsheng wasn't actually surprised; in fact, after the initial shock passed, he became rather interested.

Next, Li Changsheng felt like he was watching an action movie, with the sounds of gunfire—bang, bang, bang—ringing constantly in his ears.

Li Changsheng found a comfortable position to lie on the ground.

He saw several people suddenly dash out from beside the vehicles parked outside the repair shop. Using the vehicles as cover, several gunmen wearing short sleeves and with their faces covered by colorful scarves held handguns and fired continuously into the repair shop.

Li Changsheng also felt the area to his left come under heavy fire.

Lying there, Li Changsheng heard bullets whistling continuously from the firearms, the sound of gunfire like rain. After a dense burst of fire, like popping beans, the sounds of shattering glass and metal colliding became even more intense.

After a fierce exchange of fire, the scene entered a brief calm.

Li Changsheng watched and observed silently.

He discovered that although the group on the other side had their faces covered, they were mostly white, but they didn't look like pure white people; they had white facial structures but darker complexions, with many indigenous features.

From where Li Changsheng was lying, he could just see to his right—inside the repair shop—that behind several vehicles already riddled with bullet holes, quite a few people were crouching. They were all employees of the repair shop, but now they were each holding firearms, their faces filled with a fierce glint.

After the scene had been quiet for only a moment, Li Changsheng heard those people outside shouting something loudly again.

It didn't seem to be English; Li Changsheng hadn't heard this language before, but it was definitely swearing, the tone exceptionally agitated and angry.

Mexicans?

At this moment, an old voice from inside the repair shop immediately cursed back: "Damn you bunch of sons of bitches! Trying to pull a double-cross on me? I was able to make you suffer a huge loss yesterday, and I can do the same today, you bastards!"

Hearing this resonant voice, Li Changsheng knew it was Third Master.

The situation was clearly a Gang war between the Mexican Gang and the Xia Country Gang on Third Master's side, with both sides attacking each other's lairs due to some interest-related conflicts.

It was fortunate that this place was still some distance from Chinatown and the area was mostly old factory buildings; otherwise, it would have caused an even bigger commotion.

After a round of verbal sparring, another burst of intense gunfire was heard. The bang, bang, bang of gunfire from both sides continued incessantly.

But listening carefully, one could notice that the gunfire from Third Master's side was gradually becoming sparse.

Out of ammo?

Li Changsheng was suspicious, but that shouldn't be right; this was considered the lair of Third Master and his group.

They should definitely have plenty of firearms and ammunition stocked here.

"Damn it, if it weren't for moving the gear to the other side yesterday for the operation, we wouldn't have to put up with this crap!"

Li Changsheng vaguely heard a repair employee nearby, hiding behind a vehicle, grumbling.

So, they really were out of ammo?

Li Changsheng was speechless; these people didn't seem very reliable in how they handled things.

Of course, through this person's words, he figured that Third Master's group probably had several strongholds, and this was just one of them.

Yesterday's operation might have involved temporarily moving the firearms and ammunition to another stronghold for convenience, but they hadn't expected the Mexican Gang's counterattack to come so quickly.

Sure enough, the Mexicans soon realized this; one bold fellow poked his head out from behind a car, then lowered his body and began charging into the factory.

Seeing this, several of Third Master's brothers cursed endlessly: "Damn it, how did these Mexicans time this so perfectly?"

Li Changsheng had been lying on the ground by the stairs the whole time.

This spot was relatively hidden, because there was a metal storage cabinet next to the stairs, and Li Changsheng was just lying behind it.

However, if the Mexican came inside, he would definitely spot Li Changsheng.

At this moment, the angle of the Mexican who had rushed in didn't allow him to spot Li Changsheng.

And Li Changsheng was hesitating whether to help or not.

Personally, he definitely didn't want to get involved; publicly, they were all compatriots, and he had noticed over the past few days that these people were all quite warm-hearted.

Once, when he was eating out, he saw this group acting without any airs in front of their compatriots in Chinatown. He had asked a few shop owners and hadn't found any habit of them collecting protection money here.

Once, when he was going downstairs, he even heard a guy being fiercely slapped across the face several times.

It seemed this person had sold goods to a young female compatriot in her twenties, and as a result, he was beaten severely by a few people in the shop. A few of them, with red eyes, had picked up wrenches and steel bars, preparing to finish him off completely.

Later, this matter even alarmed Third Master. Third Master said that their goods could be sold to anyone else, but never to their compatriots.

If there was a next time, they would be fed to the fish.

However, even so, the person had one of his hands chopped off, and then Third Master reattached it himself, though the results weren't ideal.

So Li Changsheng felt that while these people were bad, they weren't entirely bad.

However, just as Li Changsheng was pondering, that Mexican cautiously took a few more steps inside, swept his gaze, and at this angle, just happened to see Li Changsheng.

His expression changed in shock, and he raised his hand to shoot.

But almost the instant he reacted, Li Changsheng had already sprung up with a carp-flip, his arm like a whip. The moment he swept past the storage rack, a wrench was already in his hand, and the next moment—bang!