116: Arrived at the destination

Just as Xu Ning picked up his water bottle to drink, the truck suddenly braked hard, and he, sitting in the open cargo bed, almost fell out.

What's going on?

Xu Ning leaned out to look ahead and found that a tank with only half a cockpit was blocking the road. The lower half of the tank was intact, but it lacked a gun barrel, turret cover, and hatch, looking like an unfinished product.

However, it was clear they didn't need a hatch.

Two people in work clothes were sitting inside, looking flustered by the sudden stop.

"Are you looking to die! You see a tank and don't get out of the way!" One of them recovered and shouted loudly.

Ivanyafu was already bad-tempered, and hearing this made him furious. He immediately stuck his head out and questioned, "Which factory are you from? What are you doing driving this half-finished tank around on the road!"

"None of your business! If you don't get out of the way, be careful or I'll flatten your broken truck into an iron pancake!"

"You try it! Guards, get out of the truck and drag these two scoundrels out!"

With a command, over a dozen guards quickly jumped out of the cargo bed, leaving only Xu Ning and the Hunter Vulture Squad members looking at each other.

With Kadeyafu and the others there, at least someone was willing to do this rough work, and they looked more intimidating than these people.

The two workers then noticed that a team of fully armed soldiers was also sitting in the back of the truck.

Seeing the guards rushing over with submachine guns, they immediately jumped out of the tank and begged for mercy.

"Please don't trouble yourselves, gentlemen, we'll get down ourselves. Please don't be angry, sirs, it was our fault for being blind."

In fact, it wasn't entirely their fault; the height of the truck was similar to that of the half-finished tank, and coupled with their haste to get on their way, they didn't notice the soldiers behind them.

Facing the gleaming submachine guns, the two men were so scared they knelt on the ground, not even daring to breathe. One should know that anyone who dared to drive such a tank on the road must be quite bold.

If the tank had been complete, the two of them might not have been so scared, but now this half-finished tank lacking a gun and turret made them realize the situation was critical, and not showing weakness might truly put their lives in danger.

Ivanyafu snorted with anger, jumped down from the truck, and walked up to them in a few steps.

"Which factory are you from?" he asked sternly.

Seeing this, the two men dared not hide anything and quickly replied, "Reporting, Officer, we are from the Malyshev Military Factory."

"Hmm?" Ivanyafu raised an eyebrow. "Who told you to drive an improperly assembled tank on the road? Do you know how dangerous that is!"

"Reporting," the two quickly explained, "the factory went bankrupt, and we haven't been paid, so we had no choice but to drive it out to sell it to make up for our losses."

"What did you say? The Malyshev Military Factory went bankrupt?" Ivanyafu exclaimed in surprise.

Not just him, Kadeyafu and Xu Ning, who were present, were also shocked.

They didn't expect the factory to have already closed before they even arrived. Could it be that after Kadeyafu left, no one took over the management?

Xu Ning frowned tightly, looked at Kadeyafu, and watched the changes on his face.

Kadeyafu looked very surprised and quickly got out of the truck to ask the two workers.

"Impossible! Where is your Factory Director Adrian? I need to find him!"

Adrian was the temporary Factory Director appointed after Kadeyafu left, responsible for the factory's daily operations.

The two workers exchanged glances, and one of them replied, "Are you also here to collect a debt from him? I'm afraid there's no hope. He disappeared a few days ago. We went to look for him, but his house was already empty."

"So, that's why we thought of driving this old tank out, but this thing might not even be worth a bottle of good wine," the worker said, his face full of disdain.

Due to resources being heavily skewed towards heavy industry, this was fine during wartime, but it became a burden during peacetime.

The supply of basic necessities was insufficient, and sometimes people would even clash to get a little daily supplies.

At this moment, Xu Ning also got out of the truck. After listening to their conversation, he felt the situation was complicated but still said firmly,

"Get in the truck first. We'll go to the factory to see the specific situation."

Kadeyafu nodded, agreeing to his suggestion.

Ivanyafu, however, had a gloomy expression and ordered loudly, "Get back on the tank and come with us. Don't think about escaping, or I'll make sure you regret it."

"Yes, yes, yes..." The two men dared not resist in the slightest.

Although they weren't sure who these people were, from their attitude, they seemed to be connected to the Malixuefu Factory.

If they went back with them, perhaps the issue of unpaid wages could be resolved.

After all, money was more practical than this dilapidated combat vehicle.

So, behind the truck, they towed an unfinished combat vehicle, and judging by its armor thickness, it was clearly a heavy model.

Despite the distance, Xu Ning could still clearly hear the roar of the heavy combat vehicle's engine.

It wasn't far from the Malixuefu Factory, and they quickly reached their destination.

The guardhouse was already unmanned, and the entrance barrier had to be manually lifted by men sent by Ivanyafu. The entire factory was already deserted.

Almost everything valuable in the factory had been cleared out. The two workers had arrived late and only managed to get this half-finished combat vehicle.

Kadeyafu was very familiar with the place and guided everyone on how to proceed. The group drove the truck towards the factory's office building.

Meanwhile, inside the office building.

In a dilapidated office where even the doorplate had fallen off.

Workshop Director Security Guard Lie was sitting at the desk he had desperately held onto, writing his last words.

He was already sixty-five years old and should have retired according to regulations, but having lost his wife who died young and with no children, it seemed as though only the factory was the entire meaning of his life, so he had persisted in working until now.

He had worked in this factory since adulthood, gradually rising from an ordinary worker to his current position.

He had witnessed the factory's glorious period, watching batch after batch of T-6.4 tanks roll off the production line here, heading to the battlefield and bringing glory to the country.

How spirited and vigorous he was back then.

But now, everything had changed. The workshops were empty, the workers had dispersed, and the entire factory was like an iron giant that had lost its vitality, lying there silently and lifelessly.

"Finally, please help me give the three thousand rubles I hid in the cookie box in the wardrobe to my neighbor's family, to thank them for their years of care..."

Just as he was about to finish his last words, his pen ran out of ink. Security Guard Lie shook it vigorously a few times, but the ink in the pen was indeed used up.

He looked at the empty desktop, smiled bitterly, put down the pen, took out an old weapon from his pocket, closed his eyes, and slowly raised it towards his temple.

"Beep beep! Beep beep!"

Suddenly, the sound of a car horn from outside interrupted his action.

Who's here?

The factory had been deserted since yesterday. Who would come at this time?

He hesitated for a moment, put away the weapon, and shuffled towards the door.