61: Conflict brewing (3.1K, please support!)

On the holographic TV, council members were speaking passionately.

On the living room coffee table sat a few cups of clear tea. Lin Xiaoyu took a sip and set her cup down.

"We must understand that there is a period of adjustment between the traditional economic models of certain ethnic groups and modern society."

The female council member spoke righteously: "The excessive concern for public security among some citizens is, in essence, a lack of openness rooted in cultural conservatism."

"Crime statistics are exaggerated by the media... To protect cultural diversity, we should accept the viewpoint that..."

"People do not commit crimes out of free will, but rather out of momentary impulse; they need help, not condemnation..."

"People will soon have a change of heart and view each other as brothers and sisters..."

"...We must protect the traditional business models of minority ethnic groups; this is our future..."

"Breaking news."

"The council today rejected the Public Security Bureau's annual budget proposal. The spokesperson emphasized that this resolution aligns with the principle of cultural inclusion..."

Lin Zhenhua snorted coldly and slammed his palm onto the sofa armrest. "Bullshit!"

The old man was filled with righteous indignation, roaring: "These parasites talk a big game, but the result is gangs running rampant! The Great Leader has made a deal with criminal organizations! You can't even catch a glimpse of the Public Security Bureau!"

Lin Xiaoyu didn't respond, just staring at the TV, her fingers unconsciously stroking Iron Clad Gold's iron heads.

The Robot Dog lay quietly at her feet, its electronic eyes flickering slightly, its tail struggling with the power socket. Charging—not charging, charging—not charging.

After ranting to his heart's content, Lin Zhenhua picked up his water cup for a sip, glanced at her, and suddenly asked, "What exactly is going on between you and Jiang Feng right now?"

"What do you mean 'what's going on'?" Lin Xiaoyu frowned. "We're doing just fine."

"Fine?" Lin Zhenhua scoffed. "Last time you said he took a big job and was doing well for himself."

"Yeah." Lin Xiaoyu responded curtly, not wanting to talk about it further.

"Men, once they have a career, they have more women around them." Lin Zhenhua's tone was low. "Look at you, you're not by his side all day, you don't even call often. What if..."

"Dad!" Lin Xiaoyu interrupted him. "Jiang Feng is not that kind of person!"

"Not that kind of person?" Lin Zhenhua shook his head. "How much money is he making now? And you? You don't even have a job. When the wealth gap widens, marital relationships easily run into problems. Let me tell you, this is my decades of experience; I can't be wrong!"

Lin Xiaoyu's heart sank. She felt uncomfortable listening to this and instinctively resisted her father's words, but... 'Maybe, there's some truth to it?'

She didn't want to admit she was worried, but her fingers had already uncontrollably swiped open her wristband to log into Jiang Feng's account.

Then, she froze. [Account Balance: 1,245,362.2 earth federation coins.]

When she checked last time, it was clearly just over 120,000...

Lin Zhenhua noticed her odd behavior and leaned in. "What's wrong?"

Lin Xiaoyu abruptly closed her wristband and blocked his line of sight. "It's nothing."

"Let me see." Lin Zhenhua frowned. "I'm your father, would I harm you? I'm helping you with some perspective; that's better than you just overthinking things on your own!"

"No!" Lin Xiaoyu said firmly.

She realized that if she kept listening to other people's nonsense, her head would get even more confused, and she'd be more prone to overthinking. Is that perspective? That's just making things worse! 'Matters between us as a married couple, we can solve ourselves!'

Lin Xiaoyu felt resolute in her heart, making up her mind not to accept any of her father's "perspective."

Lin Zhenhua wanted to say something else, but seeing her tense expression, he finally just sighed. "Fine, it's your call."

Lin Xiaoyu stomped into the bedroom, quickly scrolling through the transaction history, her eyes widening more and more. Her mouth fell open, wide enough to fit two walnuts.

Her mind was racing. It was full of transfer records of tens and hundreds of thousands, including 300,000 for purchasing virtual currency, split into two transactions. Most suspicious of all was the 760,000 that came in half an hour ago!

Where did Jiang Feng get so much money? She wasn't doubting him, but this number... it was too sudden.

Iron Clad Gold gently rubbed against her leg, as if comforting her. Lin Xiaoyu stroked its head, but she couldn't calm down no matter what.

The noise outside suddenly exploded, followed by a loud "bang," as if something had smashed against the glass window.

Iron Clad Gold suddenly stood up. Lin Xiaoyu looked at it, then rushed out the door.

Just as she came out, she saw Lin Zhenhua stand up abruptly, grab the baseball bat displayed on the wall, his face grim. "Let's go, let's go see."

"What happened?"

Before Lin Xiaoyu could react, Lin Xiaomeng and Lin Xiaoxue had already rushed out of their room upon hearing the commotion. Lin Xiaomeng's eyes were wide, and Lin Xiaoxue was being dragged along, nearly hitting her head on the doorframe.

"What's wrong? A fight?" Lin Xiaomeng clawed at the window to look outside, while Lin Xiaoxue looked disgusted, adjusting her sleeve that had been pulled out of shape.

"Stop looking and stay close to me." Lin Zhenhua's tone brooked no argument as he pushed open the security door and walked out.

Lin Xiaoyu gritted her teeth. She looked at Iron Clad Gold, and the Robot Dog happened to turn back to look at her. In this moment, all the doubts in her heart vanished. If not for the Robot Dog, she would probably be living a life worse than death right now.

'Brother Feng!' Her gaze steadied. Having Iron Clad Gold by her side was Jiang Feng's greatest care for her. This kind of care was something she believed she could trust.

After all, no matter what, a married couple should be one, standing against the whole world outside! "Let's go, Iron Clad Gold." She called out sharply, grabbed a stainless steel pot lid, and followed.

The Robot Dog entered alert mode, its electronic eyes turning yellow, following quietly by her side.

The hallway was already crowded with people, with curses and shouts blending together.

"Why the sudden price hike! Where are we supposed to get that much money!" "What the hell is the Garol Gang, why should we be the ones supporting them!" "We used to pay the Iron Hand Gang, it was only 1,500 a month!"

Outside, it was even worse. Dozens of residents were blocking the property management office door. Several people in uniforms were sweating profusely as they tried to explain something, their expressions twisted, it was hard to tell if it was fear or embarrassment turned into anger.

"What's going on?" Lin Xiaoyu caught a few words and grabbed a neighbor to ask.

"The Garol Gang!" The neighbor gritted his teeth. "They issued a notice forcing property management to collect an additional 'cleaning fee,' 1,000 earth federation coins per household! Plus what we pay the Iron Hand Gang... isn't this just daylight robbery? We poor folks, how can we withstand this kind of torment!"

"What about the Public Security Bureau? Did you report it?" Lin Zhenhua asked anxiously.

"The Public Security Bureau?" The neighbor sneered, his eyes filled with despair. "The Public Security Bureau claims budget cuts and is preparing to cut patrol forces! Now it's great, gangs are running rampant, and we commoners are just waiting to be slaughtered!"

Before he could finish, a commotion suddenly erupted in the crowd. A fat, pig-headed property manager squeezed out of the crowd, his fleshy face trembling with anger.

"Don't be ungrateful! This money is what the Garol Gang wants; if you have the guts, go find them! If you don't pay, get the hell out of the community!"

Lin Xiaoyu's heart sank. She had experienced this scene not long ago, and thinking about it now, her heart was still pounding. If it hadn't been for Jiang Feng back then, perhaps... things wouldn't have ended so easily.

And recently, the chaos of the times was even worse than before, and she didn't know what would happen today. But when she looked down at Iron Clad Gold, she knew that she would definitely be safe.

Beside her, there was movement; it was Lin Zhenhua. Lin Xiaoyu reached out in a hurry, but unfortunately, she couldn't grab him. Lin Zhenhua had already squeezed to the front of the crowd, slamming the baseball bat heavily onto the property management desk, causing the terminal on the desk to jump.

"Are you hired by the residents? Or are you just dogs raised by the gangs?" His roar could be heard throughout the street, and many people cheered. "Well said!" "Old Lin is right!"

The property manager's face turned red. He looked warily at the baseball bat swinging in front of his nose, and his tone softened. He stammered, "Mr. Lin, we are also forced into this; the Public Security Bureau doesn't care, what can we do?"

"Bullshit!" Lin Zhenhua sneered. "If you guys had some backbone and united with the residents to resist, would the gangs dare to be this arrogant? Now, instead, you want us to kneel and serve them?"

The property management staff were scolded until their faces turned blue, but they didn't dare to refute. The surrounding residents were also filled with righteous indignation, gathering around and surrounding the property manager.

Just then, the roar of engines came from the end of the street. The crowd instantly stirred; many residents' eyes darted away, clearly not wanting to cause trouble. The Garol Gang had arrived.

A dozen or so dilapidated hover cars screeched to a halt, ramming into place. The doors opened with a crash, and over twenty thugs jumped out, most of them dark-skinned with fierce eyes. They carried machetes and chains in their hands, and some even held homemade Molotov cocktails.

These low-caste thugs were used to being bullied by the high-caste, so when they finally had the chance to bully others, they wouldn't hold back at all. They cursed and swore, speaking with a heavy accent, and whenever they saw someone in their way, they would unceremoniously slap them across the face.

"Where's the money?" The leader of the thugs kicked over a trash can at the entrance, grinning to reveal gold-plated teeth. The property manager's legs went weak, his fat face flushed red, and he stammered, "It's, it's being collected..."

"Collecting my ass!" The thug slapped him, and the manager stumbled backward, his face instantly swelling up.

Lin Zhenhua instinctively wanted to rush forward, but was held back tightly by Lin Xiaoyu. The two sisters, Lin Xiaomeng and Lin Xiaoxue, also tugged at their father's shirt, refusing to let him go up and act recklessly.

'If only Brother Feng were here!' 'If only Brother-in-law were here!' Lin Xiaoyu and her two sisters exchanged glances, both seeing the worry in each other's eyes.

The old man was over sixty and had to take sleep aids year-round just to fall asleep; if a conflict broke out, he might just end up on the ground.

Iron Clad Gold was at Lin Xiaoyu's feet. It restrained all its movements and sounds, its electronic eyes glowing slightly red. In just one second, it could lunge out, take care of the nearest thug first, then the one with the Molotov cocktail, and then the few men with machetes.

Its processor set the task sequence; for over twenty thugs, the estimated time required was about two and a half minutes. [Estimated power consumption 85%, burst mode ready.] [Video signal transmitted.] [Command received: Protect the target at all costs.]

But before the Garol Gang could make any further moves, a sharp engine roar suddenly came from the other end of the street. The Iron Hand Gang had arrived too.