"Protest! Protest! Protest!!"

"Political Affairs Department, give us justice!"

"Pay up! You have to compensate us!!"

A furious roar of voices grew closer, quickly becoming a tidal wave of sound that surged down the entire street.

On stakeout, Lu Chao and Chen Xiao froze for a moment. Then, with a shift in their expressions, they looked in the rearview mirror and saw the chaos unfolding on the street behind them.

"What’s going on?"

They exchanged a look, their faces grim.

Forgetting about their stakeout on the pharmacy, they threw open the car doors. A blast of cold wind hit them, carrying with it the deafening shouts!

Dozens, then hundreds of people poured out from the alleyways, converging on the main road. Countless arms waved in the air, holding crude red cloth banners aloft.

PROTEST!!

CONDEMN THE INHUMANITY OF LIANWEI HEAVY INDUSTRY!

PROTEST THE BIOTECHNOLOGY COMPANY’S LATEST ANNOUNCEMENT...

The shouts were a cacophony of different voices, but the slogans on the red banners were strikingly clear.

"Is this... a protest?"

Lu Chao and Chen Xiao looked stunned, finally understanding what was happening.

The turmoil from the layoffs was still ongoing. They had heard of similar incidents over on West Street, but nothing on this scale.

STOMP STOMP STOMP!!

Amidst the thunder of footsteps, the crowd swelled, surpassing several hundred people in the blink of an eye!

Roars of anger, cries of sorrow, and shouted curses... The chaotic sounds were everywhere, worming their way into one’s mind and fraying the nerves. The raw emotion seemed infectious, and even some passersby were swept up in it, joining the procession.

"We can’t let this happen! We have to stop them!"

Chen Xiao said urgently as he rushed to report to the Patrol Department branch.

Lu Chao’s first instinct was to move forward and block their path, but as he looked at the angry faces, crushed by the heavy burdens of life, his legs felt like they were filled with lead. His steps became inexplicably heavy.

But soon, more people streamed past them, an unstoppable tide.

People shoved against one another as the crowd began moving toward the river-spanning bridge, as if trying to vent their frustrations and finally get the true attention of the Political Affairs Department.

In an instant, the atmosphere shifted.

At the bridge, the members of the Mechanical Violence Team grew grim. They raised their guns, took aim, and reported to headquarters.

Caught in the jostling crowd, Lu Chao and Chen Xiao exchanged a glance. They both had a bad feeling.

’Something’s about to go wrong.’

...

...

WHIR!

「Ten-odd minutes later.」

The faint afterglow of the setting sun fell weakly upon the streets. The once tidy and peaceful neighborhood was now a scene of utter chaos and devastation.

Shop windows were shattered, apparently smashed by looters who had taken advantage of the chaos to steal merchandise.

The walls along the street were smeared with filth. All sorts of bottles and cans had been thrown to the ground, leaving a carpet of debris and shattered glass.

A riot had erupted as suddenly as it had dissipated.

With the forceful intervention of the Patrol Department, the crowd scattered like frightened birds, dispersed by tear gas. All that remained was the wreckage and a few people groaning on the ground, injured in the stampede.

A dozen black drones swept across the sky, diving into every corner of the street to search for any remaining traces of the rioters.

White contrails could be seen descending from high above as several hovercrafts from the Mechanical Violence Team arrived as reinforcements from the inner city. Well-equipped elite soldiers leaped out to take control of the scene.

Witnessing this scene from their private room in the Fuman Building, the expressions on the faces of Shen Tianchen and his companions flickered. The haze of alcohol was instantly dispelled.

The antique-styled room was warm and luxurious, a stark contrast to the chaos and noise outside the window.

"That was close."

Fang Jingyi had a complicated look in her eyes; she never expected to witness such a scene.

She could already guess what tomorrow’s headlines would be.

"Honestly, with these people..."

The young man they called Brother Guo looked down imperiously, surveying the troublemakers being scattered or detained by the Patrol Department.

"So they lost their jobs. So what? Ring City is a huge place. They have hands and feet, can’t they just go find another one?"

"Kicking up such a huge fuss over it... they’re just asking for trouble."

His tone was full of annoyance, and his face was irritated.

He had gone to the trouble of organizing today’s gathering, and now this had to go and ruin the mood.

Fang Jingyi and the others were taken aback at first, but then they seemed to come to their senses. Instead of arguing, they nodded in agreement.

"It’s true. They brought it on themselves."

"If they were truly exceptional, they wouldn’t have ended up in this situation."

"He’s not wrong..."

They couldn’t comprehend the impulse to gather and cause a scene just to secure a so-called livelihood.

Standing at the center of the group, Shen Tianchen frowned slightly. It was as if their words had stirred a corner of his heart he had deliberately tried to forget.

But the feeling passed quickly.

He picked up his glass and took another sip of the warm, medicinal wine.

A gentle warmth spread through his body, nourishing his muscles and bones.

He then shook his head, letting it go.

’I’m not an ordinary person like that anymore.’

’What does any of this have to do with me?’

...

「Night fell.」

Though it was dark outside, the Patrol Department’s Second Branch was still bustling with activity.

Under the glare of the fluorescent lights, panicked and anxious faces rushed to and fro.

They were almost all family members of the rioters, who had rushed here to plead in low voices at the processing desks and handle the necessary paperwork.

As for the rioters themselves—the same ones who had been roaring with righteous indignation on the streets that afternoon—most were now downcast and grimy. Their faces were pale, filled with shame and exhaustion as they left, trailing behind their complaining family members.

"We finally got it under control. No major disaster."

Chen Xiao stood at the end of the lobby’s main corridor. He grabbed two sodas from a vending machine and said, "But a few people were injured in the stampede, and four street-front shops were smashed up. They lost tens of thousands worth of merchandise."

"The situation’s pretty bad. The higher-ups must have had a lot to consider, which is probably why they only arrested the ringleaders. The rest paid a fine and were let go, for now. They’ll be monitored and summoned later if necessary."

His voice was a bit hoarse as he handed one of the sodas over.

Lu Chao accepted it readily, twisting off the cap and taking two long, thirsty gulps.

The cool liquid was a welcome relief to his parched throat.

A glance revealed that his blue patrol uniform was soaked through, feeling cold and sticky against his skin.

"Hah."

Letting out a heavy breath, Lu Chao finally started to recover.

Everything today had happened so suddenly. He and Chen Xiao had ended up working with the Mechanical Violence Team to control the situation, barely holding on until the final reinforcements arrived.

His gaze drifted toward the rioters leaving the lobby one by one.

Most of them were middle-aged.

Some wore relatively decent shirts and slacks, but their faces were covered in stubble and their hair was a mess, clearly unkempt for some time. Others wore tattered jackets, their skin dark and faces wrinkled, bearing the marks of long days spent out in the elements.

There was an unspeakable, haggard gloom in their eyes. Lu Chao even recognized a few of them as neighbors he’d occasionally run into on Factory Street.

"The higher-ups... did they say anything else?"

Lu Chao asked in a low voice. He knew something like this didn’t just happen overnight.

Besides, he had once been one of them. He could vaguely understand the complex and heavy emotions they must be feeling.

"Not yet. All the captains and squad leaders have been called into a meeting."

Chen Xiao shook his head, indicating he didn’t know either.

The two chatted for a bit longer as the temporarily detained protesters continued to file out of the lobby. Soon, most were gone.

Finally, when the lobby had mostly cleared out, Lu Chao and Chen Xiao exchanged a look. They nodded in silent agreement, planning to head back to their squad office for a break.

CLOMP! CLOMP!

However, they hadn’t taken more than a few steps before they saw a team of plainclothes patrol officers approaching at a brisk pace. They were escorting a staggering, skinny man who looked like a suspect.

The officer in the lead was of average height and build, wearing a black jacket.

He seemed to notice Lu Chao and Chen Xiao. He stopped, his gaze lingering for a moment on their soaked uniforms and somewhat disheveled state.

"Well, well."

He raised his voice and sauntered closer. The two officers escorting the suspect behind him also looked over.

"Young Master Chen, looking a little worse for wear. Looks like you’ve been busy."

"Tsk, tsk. What, were you helping out the Mechanical Violence Team?"

He glanced dismissively at Lu Chao and the detained protesters in the lobby, then turned his focus back to Chen Xiao, a grin spreading across his face. "Not bad, not bad at all. Just what I’d expect from Young Master Chen. Always so eager to help."

"Even when you have your own assignment, you still find plenty of time to poke your nose into other people’s business."

He deliberately stressed his words, causing Chen Xiao’s brow to furrow. Chen Xiao stared at him, his voice hostile. "Qian Hu, I don’t need you telling me how to do my job."

"Oh, you’re right, you’re right. It’s certainly not my place."

The man, Qian Hu, kept his smiling expression. He then gestured with his thumb toward the suspect they were escorting.

"As you can see, our Captain Ruan’s foresight is impeccable. We just caught another suspect connected to the wanted case."

"And what about you two?"

He leaned in, glancing at the empty space behind them, and feigned a look of confusion. "I heard you guys in Squad Three have been running investigations and stakeouts for days. So, what gives? Haven’t found a single thing?"

"Don’t tell me..."

He looked at them with a chuckle. "...that everyone in Squad Three is completely useless?"