35: Chapter 35 Wouldn't it be better to just rob something else?

Night deepened within the factory.

The tireless, monotonous chirping of cicadas made the already stifling summer night feel even more sweltering.

Hu Gualing marched in goose-steps for some unknown reason. After walking for a long time without spotting any figures through the Office Building's glass windows, he gradually grew too lazy to continue.

Suddenly, he realized something: why couldn't he hear the shouting of slogans at the factory gate anymore?

As the saying goes, if you're going to put on a show, you have to go all the way. Since Captain Tiao Zi wanted to show off in front of Wu Yingying, and she was still in the Office Building, there was no reason for him to stop shouting now.

Could something have happened?

But what could possibly happen?

Although the security guards were a ragtag bunch, they were still a group when gathered together. Even if thieves or robbers were passing by, they wouldn't dare to act recklessly upon seeing such a crowd.

Hu Gualing couldn't figure it out and instinctively reached for his walkie-talkie to ask.

He ended up grasping at air.

Then he remembered that he had given the walkie-talkie to Captain Tiao Zi earlier.

With no other choice, Hu Gualing walked toward the factory gate, filled with doubt.

As he drew closer, the confusion on his face deepened.

He also had a bad premonition in his heart.

Because, in the entire lit-up open space next to the security room at the factory gate...

Not a single soul could be seen!

Could it be that eight grown men, including Captain Tiao Zi, had vanished without making a single sound?

Had they encountered some notorious bandits?

Or was it... a supernatural event?

Forget it, forget it. Better not meddle. My mission tonight is to patrol.

With his heart pounding like a drum, Hu Gualing comforted himself while tiptoeing backward.

Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out from the darkness and lightly tapped him on the back.

The sudden touch made his heart race, and his body jolted.

He instinctively wanted to turn his head to look.

But in an instant, he forcefully suppressed his curiosity.

Because he had heard from adults since he was a child that if something taps you from behind while walking at night, you must never look back.

Even if the owner of these hands wasn't "that thing" but an ill-intentioned person, it was still best not to look back.

The best response was to bolt.

He was wearing Nadi sneakers; once he started running, an ordinary person wouldn't be able to catch him.

Hu Gualing was about to bolt when he found his legs no longer obeyed him.

His body leaned forward, and his feet went weak.

It's over, it's over. I can't run now...

"I didn't see anything, don't kill me! Rob me or ravish me, I don't care..." Hu Gualing closed his eyes tightly and was about to kneel with his hands over his head.

The hand steadied his body, and a voice came from the darkness.

"It's not even the New Year yet, why are you kneeling?"

Hearing this voice...

Hu Gualing immediately found it familiar.

He mustered his courage and turned to look.

The face in the darkness belonged to one of the night shift security guards, Old Liu.

Hu Gualing's fear vanished instantly, and he stood up cursing: "Damn it, Old Liu, are you trying to scare me to death in the middle of the night?!"

As he cursed, he saw Old Liu fumbling with his belt under the dim streetlights, and his heart skipped a beat again. "What... what are you doing?"

"What do you mean 'what'? I'm fastening my pants after using the bathroom." Old Liu tightened his belt, gave it a tug, and then asked Hu Gualing, "What about you? Instead of patrolling properly, what are you doing creeping around?"

Hu Gualing laughed awkwardly and explained: "I just didn't hear you guys shouting slogans anymore, so I came over to see what was going on."

Old Liu shook his head helplessly. "It's all because of Captain Tiao Zi himself. After tossing and turning for so long, he couldn't take it anymore. He claimed to be looking out for everyone and took them to rest in the security room. He told me to stand guard outside and notify him as soon as the lights in the Office Building went out. So, I'm not part of 'everyone'? Who did I offend?" Old Liu grumbled, his heart filled with frustration as he aired his grievances.

Hu Gualing didn't care to listen to Old Liu's complaints and gave a couple of perfunctory responses.

Out of caution, he followed Old Liu to the security room and peeked inside.

He found that it was exactly as Old Liu had said. Captain Tiao Zi and the other guards were sprawled out resting in the security room; Captain Tiao Zi was even snoring.

Hu Gualing couldn't help but laugh. "Heh, the captain is indeed different, leading everyone to sleep right under the surveillance cameras."

Looking at Old Liu, standing guard alone outside, he seemed quite pitiful.

But what did that have to do with him?

Confirming nothing was wrong, Hu Gualing walked toward his 'feng shui treasure land' with a light heart.

Patrol? Even the captain is asleep, why the hell should I patrol!

Reaching the surveillance blind spot, he felt a bit uncomfortable as soon as he sat down.

Why is it poking my butt?

But he didn't care much. He shifted his position slightly, sat comfortably, and took out his phone.

Text Jianghu, launch!

However, after playing for a short while, he quit the game, his interest waning.

It wasn't just because he had become the undisputed number one in this game and reached the peak of the martial arts Realm.

It was more because while playing, scenes from Fantasy Jianghu kept flashing through his mind.

Compared to that, no matter how interesting this game was, it was just a text-based game. Compared to a 100% realistic holographic game, it could only be described as a pile of dog shit.

Unfortunately, he didn't understand the principles behind the login or operation of that holographic game called Fantasy Jianghu at all.

He could only infer from his two gaming experiences so far that he could log in by falling asleep and would automatically log out upon waking. He couldn't play it right now even if he wanted to.

Bored, he simply started scrolling through short videos.

"Suggestive videos? Boring."

"Dancing? Dull."

"Twerking? Vulgar."

...

Before he knew it, his phone was almost out of battery.

Only then did Hu Gualing reluctantly close the video app, tuck his phone into his pocket, and stand up to stretch.

Looking up, he saw that the lights were still on in the Office Building.

It's so late, and Wu Yingying still hasn't left?

Could she have fallen asleep in the office?

Whatever. I'll head back to the security room to charge my phone and see how Captain Tiao Zi is sleeping.

Hu Gualing walked to the factory gate and saw no one outside the security room.

"As expected, they're still sleeping."

"But what's with Old Liu? He was told to keep watch, but he's nowhere to be seen."

"If Wu Yingying comes out now, you guys are in for it!"

Thinking malicious thoughts, Hu Gualing walked into the security room.

Suddenly, two hands patted his shoulders from behind.

"Stop it. Don't you know people scaring people can scare someone to death?"

Since he had already been scared by Old Liu in this manner earlier tonight, Hu Gualing didn't react much, merely brushing the hands off his shoulders with slight annoyance.

At that moment, he also saw the scene inside the security room clearly.

Everyone was lying or sitting against the wall—Captain Tiao Zi, Old Deng, Old Liu... eight people in total.

Eight people?

Then who is behind me?

Hu Gualing suddenly realized something was wrong.

Before he could think further...

...a foot kicked him from behind, sending him stumbling into the pile of people.

Eight security guards and one security captain gathered together; this close bond immediately boosted Hu Gualing's courage. He turned his head to look and saw five Black-Clad Men at the door.

The five Black-Clad Men were all wearing black clothes and pants, black masks, and black headscarves. Their uniform attire made them look very professional.

However, the moment he saw the five of them, Hu Gualing actually felt relieved.

Because at least they were human. What's there to be afraid of from humans?

Besides, none of the five looked particularly tall or sturdy.

Especially one of them, who only reached his stomach, looking like a dwarf.

Such a combination really wasn't intimidating.

On the security side, there were nine of them. Nine against five—shouldn't it be easy?

After sizing up the five Black-Clad Men and comparing the combat strength of both sides, Hu Gualing felt at ease.

At this moment, Old Liu beside him pulled out a length of rope from somewhere and looped it around his hands.

"Old Liu, what are you doing?" Hu Gualing didn't react in time.

Old Liu pouted as he tied the rope.

Only then did Hu Gualing see a long rope starting from Captain Tiao Zi's hands, binding everyone's hands together like a string of grasshoppers.

Looking at everyone else, there wasn't a single injury, and even their hair wasn't messed up.

He instinctively asked, "Wait, didn't you guys resist?"

Old Liu whispered, "Resist what? They're not here for us. If we weren't waiting for you, they might have finished looting and left by now."

This...

Hu Gualing wanted to say, we're security guards! Finally, something happens, and we tie ourselves up? What's that about?

But he looked around and saw everyone burying their heads like wooden blocks. Forget resisting, they were practically burying their heads in their crotches!

Fine, fine. The minority follows the majority.

Thinking this, Hu Gualing let Old Liu tie the rope and lay against the wall, focusing inward.

One of the Black-Clad Men glanced at him, nodded with satisfaction, and asked calmly, "Is everyone here?"

"All here, all here!" Captain Tiao Zi sat against the wall hugging his legs, nodding hurriedly.

The Black-Clad Man nodded. "Good. We're all from poor backgrounds, so we won't make it hard for you. We're just looking for some valuables in the factory. Just stay lying down and keep quiet."

"Brother, you're so righteous! The valuables are all in the warehouse. The warehouse door is just a regular rolling shutter; just smash it open. I've already turned off the surveillance. Brothers, feel free to act. I wish you all a bountiful harvest!" Captain Tiao Zi blurted out everything like beans falling from a bamboo tube.

Even the five Black-Clad Men were stunned and burst into laughter in unison.

"You as a security captain... you're really something."

"Thank you for the compliment, Brother!"

Hu Gualing couldn't help but look at Captain Tiao Zi. His current attitude toward the Black-Clad Men was exactly the same as when he saluted the passing leaders at the factory gate in the morning, once again lowering the bar for Captain Tiao Zi in his mind.

However, one couldn't say Captain Tiao Zi was wrong.

After all, these five Black-Clad Men didn't seem too bad; they were considerate of the guards and only went for the factory's goods.

On the contrary, that guy General Manager Wu Jinkai made so much money but wouldn't even change their bed slats.

A black-hearted capitalist like him deserves to have his wealth redistributed.

In any case, Hu Gualing would never risk his life against these five Black-Clad Men to protect General Manager Wu Jinkai's property. For what? A monthly salary of 2,800 yuan?

As for accountability afterward, Captain Tiao Zi would take the heat.

Who told that kid to love brown-nosing so much? He was supposed to be resting but still came to the security room to make a fool of himself. Getting caught in this mess is his own fault.

Thinking it through, Hu Gualing felt much more relaxed.

Just when he thought it was over, Captain Tiao Zi seemed to notice him. His eyes darted around as he pointed at him and shouted to the Black-Clad Men: "Brother, Little Hu has money on him! Cash! Take it as a token of our gratitude!"

Hu Gualing was dumbfounded.

If you want to thank them, use your own damn money! Why are you eyeing my wallet?

But speaking of which, he did have 1,000 yuan in cash in his pocket.

It was the compensation from the truck driver.

He hadn't had time to deposit it in the bank and was afraid of losing it in the dorm, so he carried it with him.

He hadn't even warmed it up yet, and he had to hand it over?

Hearing Captain Tiao Zi's accusation, the Black-Clad Man glanced at Hu Gualing's pocket and indeed saw a thin stack of bills.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Forget it. There's honor among thieves. We only rob the rich to help the poor. We appreciate the sentiment, but keep the money for yourselves."

Honor among thieves?

Robbing the rich to help the poor?

Hearing this, Hu Gualing's worry turned to joy.

The image of the Black-Clad Men in his mind suddenly became much grander.

If he hadn't remembered they lived in a society ruled by law, he would have wanted to ask if he could join them.

Captain Tiao Zi wouldn't let it go, pointing at Hu Gualing's shoes: "Brother, he's wearing authentic Nadi shoes! Original price 2,499! Robbing the rich to help the poor—he's the rich one! Robbing him is exactly right!"

"Authentic Nadi?" the Black-Clad Man asked.

"Authentic Nadi," Hu Gualing replied helplessly, cursing inwardly.

"Alright then."

Although the Black-Clad Man didn't know how this silly kid had offended their captain, since things had reached this point, it would be a bit unreasonable not to take the money.

He stepped forward, pinched the stack of bills from Hu Gualing's pocket, and handed them to the short, dwarf-like Black-Clad Man.

The dwarf glanced at it and said stiffly, "Don't waste time."

"Yes." The Black-Clad Man tucked the bills into his chest pocket and followed the dwarf toward the door.

While aching over his 1,000 yuan, Hu Gualing stroked his chin and began to ponder, not even bothering with the provocative smile Captain Tiao Zi threw his way after succeeding.

Something's wrong, very wrong.

That's 1,000 yuan. In today's society, an ordinary person working hard for a month might not even save that much.

But how could these Black-Clad Men completely disregard it?

Not just the dwarf leader, but even the other Black-Clad Men didn't show the slightest reaction when they saw the money being tucked away by their companion.

It was as if the only reason they took the money was to avoid raising suspicion—

Could it be they aren't here for money?

Hu Gualing suddenly realized that he had felt something was off the moment he saw the five Black-Clad Men.

He just hadn't thought much about it due to nerves.

Now he finally understood what was wrong.

It was because there was a stone wall nearly ten meters long at the entrance of Jinkai Factory, with the sign "Jinkai Sports Equipment Factory" carved in gold letters. It could be seen from afar even at night.

Even if these Black-Clad Men weren't locals, as long as they reached the entrance, they would know this place produced sports equipment.

What is sports equipment?

Barbells, treadmills, power racks, spin bikes... they're all bulky items that require several people to move.

Even the lightest items like rackets or basketballs are inconvenient to carry.

Unless this group brought a large truck, the most they could get for the items they carried out would be ten thousand yuan or so after reselling.

It's not that ten thousand yuan isn't a lot.

But for a professional gang where everyone wears night-ops gear to exhaust themselves for just that much money? Wouldn't they be a laughingstock?

There are plenty of digital electronics stores and jewelry shops outside.

Wouldn't robbing anything else be better than this?

Unless... they aren't after money at all!