Chapter 43 Chapter Forty-Two

Fusheng hid in an alley and listened to tanks and military trucks rumbling by on the nearby Horsley Street.He shuddered at the thought of how much fuel they would consume.The fuel must have been a sizable portion of the kingdom's diesel reserves, which had been burned in just one act of unbridled violence.Tanks sped forward on clinking tracks, belching clouds of soot that filled the streets.Fusheng crouched beside the garbage dump in the alley.The crisis has developed to this point, and all his previous plans have been useless.He was still not cautious enough to wait patiently for the opportunity to move north.For the sake of the future, he wanted to take a risk, but all his property was burned to ashes in the flames.

Stop complaining, you old fool.If you don't, you'll be in the fire with your purple bills and yellow card friends. Even so, he still felt that he should have a little foresight, and at least he should take part of the long-term accumulated property with him.He thought, maybe his karma is really so poor that no matter what he does, it will be difficult to succeed. He peered down the street again.The offices of the Strong Spring Company were close enough to be seen.Best of all, there are no guards there now.Fusheng allowed himself a smile.The white shirt is now too busy to take care of itself.He pushed his bicycle through the streets, using it as his crutch.

There was chaos in the factory yard and what appeared to be a brief fight.Three bodies lay against the wall, seemingly executed.The yellow armbands they were wearing were pulled off and thrown aside.It's these stupid kids playing political games again... There was a rustling sound behind him. Fusheng turned around abruptly, pointing his spring-loaded pistol at the person who was sneaking up to him.The muzzle of the gun was against Amai's abdomen. She panted in panic, sobbed in fear, and looked terrified. "What are you doing here?" Fu Sheng asked in a low voice. Amai struggled to avoid the gun. "Come to you. The white shirts found our village, and the people there were sick," she sobbed. "Your house was burned."

Only then did he see black ash and cuts all over her body. "You were in Yaowarat just now? You went to the slums?" he asked in shock. She nodded. "I'm lucky." She fought back a sob. Fusheng shook his head, "Why are you here?" "I can't think of anywhere else to go..." "Are more people sick?" She nodded apprehensively, "The white shirt questioned us. I don't know what to do, I tell them..." "It's okay." Fusheng put his hand on her shoulder and comforted her, "The white shirts won't bother us anymore. They have their own problems."

"Did you..." she paused, and said after a while, "They burned my village. Everything burned." What a poor little thing.So small, so fragile.He imagined how she would flee her devastated homeland, seek the only place that could hold her, only to find herself in the middle of a battle.He wanted to get rid of this trouble in his heart, but too many people had died around him, and her company also made him feel an inexplicable joy.He shook his head. "Silly boy." He motioned her to enter the factory, "Come with me." The two walked into the factory hall and were immediately surrounded by a strong stench.Both of them covered their faces with their collars in unison, trying to prevent their noses from smelling the stench.

"It's a seaweed cultivation tank." Fusheng murmured, "The energy of the kink spring is exhausted, the fan doesn't turn anymore, and the air inside can't get out." He climbed the steps and pushed open the office door.The room was just as stuffy and stinking like the manufacturing workshop below.For so many days, there was no air flow in the whole plant.He opened the shutters to let in the night wind and the smoke of the burning city.The top of the opposite roof is flickering with fire from time to time, and sparks gradually rise in the night sky, as if praying to God.

Amai also came in and stood beside him, her face was sometimes darkened and brightened by the flickering firelight from time to time.A methane lamp with a broken shade burned wantonly in the street below, as presumably all methane lamps in the city did.To Fusheng's surprise, no one cut off the methane pipeline.Someone should have done this a long time ago, but until now, this one is still burning.The green light from the burning illuminated Amai's face.He suddenly realized how beautiful she was: slender, with a delicate face, an elf trapped among war beasts. He turned and crouched in front of the safe, staring at the combination dial, heavy lock and operating lever.This monster used so much steel that it would have cost a fortune to build.When he still owned his own company, when his company controlled the trade of the whole South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, he himself had this iron guy in his office, a relic of the old days, from the vault of a bankrupt bank, It took two giant elephants to transport it to the office of Sanrong Trading Company.Now that the safe was there, he had to break its hinges, but it was time consuming. "Come with me," he said.

He led her back to the manufacturing workshop below.Seeing that he was about to enter the purification room, Ah Mai backed away in fear.He handed her a face mask used by a production line worker. "That's enough." "are you sure?" He shrugged, "Then you stay here." But she still followed, and the two walked to the place where the strong acid was stored, that kind of thing should solve the problem.They walked forward cautiously.Fu Sheng wrapped his hands in a rag and pushed aside the curtain of the purification room, carefully avoiding touching anything.His increasingly uneven breathing echoed through the mask.The manufacturing workshop is messed up, White Shirt must have done some research here.The seaweed cultivation tank emits a strong rancid smell, which even the mask cannot cover.Fusheng took shallow breaths, resisting the urge to vomit.The algae on the hanging drying curtains had turned black.A few unidentified things hang down, like shrinking black tentacles.

"What are you going to do?" Amai asked breathlessly. "Finding my future." He smiled at her, but soon realized she couldn't see his expression through the mask.He found two pairs of gloves from a tool cabinet, handed her a pair, and gave her an apron. "Hold this thing for me." He nodded towards a bag of powder. "We're working for ourselves now. No foreigner interference, understand?" She held out her hand to the bag and he stopped her immediately. "Keep it off your skin," he said, "and keep your sweat off it." He led her back to his office.

"what is this?" "You'll see it in a minute, boy." "Yes, but..." "It's magic. Get some water from the ditch outside." When she returned, he took out a pocket knife and carefully cut the string at the top of the bag. "Give me the water." She pushed the bucket over.He dipped the knife in some water and plunged it into the powder.The powder hissed and began to foam and churn.When he pulled out the knife again, half of the metal blade was gone and completely dissolved. Amai's eyes widened.A thick liquid dripped from the knife. "what is this?"

"A special kind of bacteria. It's something Fran created." "Not acid." "No, in a way, it's alive." With a knife, he smeared the liquid on the surface of the safe.Not long after, the metal part of the knife completely melted away.Fusheng frowned, "I have to change the tool, it should be long enough, so that it won't melt before it's finished." "Pour water on the safe," suggested Ahmai, "and then pour the powder on it." He laughed. "Smart." The safe was quickly doused.He poured the powder over the safe with a paper funnel.The powder turns into a viscous, boiling liquid on contact with water.Fusheng took a step back in fright, and resisted wiping his hands on his pants. "Don't get it on the skin," he whispered, looking down at his gloves again.As soon as a little powder gets on the glove, and the glove gets wet... he gets goose bumps.Ah Mai even hid at the far end of the office long ago, looking at this side in horror. The metal began to melt and deform, falling off the safe's surface one by one, like leaves swept away by the autumn wind.Melted iron fell to the teak floor, glistening and hissing, expanding in scope.Pieces of iron continued to burn the floor, and the wood was soon blackened. "It didn't stop." Ah Mai was a little scared.Fusheng watched all this, feeling more and more uneasy.He wondered if the yeast-like thing would eat up the floor too, causing the safe to fall into the production line below.It was hard for him to speak: "This thing is alive. It won't be able to digest it after a long time." "This was made by Farang?" Amai's voice was full of awe. "My compatriots can also create such things." Fusheng shook his head, "Don't think so badly about Falang." Safes are melting.If he had been brave enough, he could have done it long ago, and he didn't have to wait until the battle broke out around him to muster up his courage.He wished he could go back to the old man who was delusional, worried about being deported, worried about angering foreign devils, and wanted to keep his good name, and just told him one sentence: You have no hope, just steal and leave Well, things can't get any worse anyway. A voice interrupted his thoughts: "That's great, Chen Fusheng, I'm so glad to see you here." Fu Sheng turned around.It was Dog Day's and Old Bones, and six others, standing in the doorway of the office, all armed with spring-loaded pistols.They were injured in the melee outside, and they still had black ash on their bodies, but all of them were smiling and confident. "It seems that we want to go together." "Gou Ri De" pointed out. The flames from the explosion lit up the sky and cast an orange-red color on the office.The rumbling explosion shook Fu Sheng's feet.It was difficult to tell how far away the blast site was, as the shells seemed to fall in various places at random.Even if the shelling had a specific target, they didn't know it.Another explosion, this time apparently much closer.The target is presumably the white shirts guarding the seawall.Fusheng suppressed the urge to run away.The bacteria that can digest steel are still working, making a crackling sound, and the metal debris falls to the ground. Fusheng tentatively said, "I'm glad you are here. Then, come and help me." "Old Bones" smiled, "I don't think so." This group of people walked past Fusheng.All were bigger than him and armed.They ignored him and Ah Mai and pushed Fusheng aside.Fusheng staggered and almost fell. "It's mine," he protested, "and you can't take it away! I told you where it is!" They ignored him. "You can't take it away!" Fusheng wanted to pull out his pistol.Suddenly, a gun was held to his head.It's "Old Bones" with a smile on his face. "Dog Day" watched this scene with great interest, "Killing one more person won't affect me too much, don't test my patience." Fusheng could hardly control the anger in his heart.He really wanted to shoot and hit this person's arrogance severely.The metal on the safe was still bubbling, hissing, and slowly peeling off, and Fu Sheng's wish was about to come true.The gangsters all looked at Fusheng and "Old Bones", smiling easily, without any worries.They didn't even raise their pistols, but just looked at Fusheng with interest, even though his pistol was pointed at them. "Goofy" grinned, "Go away, yellow card people. Before I change my mind." Amai took La Fusheng's hand, "No matter what it is, it's not worth your life for it." "She's right, Yellow Card Man," said Bones. "You have no hope of winning." Fusheng put down the gun and allowed Ah Mai to take him away.They walked towards the office door.The manure giant's men watched them with a smile, and then Fusheng and Ah Mai walked down the stairs, leaving the factory and onto the rubble-strewn street. In the distance a giant elephant wailed in pain.The wind was blowing hard, bringing the smell of burning ash, political pamphlets, and weatherproof wood.Fusheng felt that he was really old.He was too old to continue wrestling with a fate that clearly wanted to destroy him.A flyer was tumbling through the air with the headline The Clockwork Girl and the Murder on the front page.It is amazing that Mr. Lake's Clockwork Man can cause such a commotion.Fusheng is a yellow card person, but he feels that even his own situation is much better than that poor thing.He should probably thank her.Had it not been for the news that she had led to Mr. Lake's arrest, he would probably be dead, reduced to ashes in the slums with all his emeralds, cash, and diamonds. I should thank God. Still, he felt his ancestors oppressing and suffocating him.He had taken over what his grandfather and father had started in Malaya, and in his hands they had all been wiped out. He cannot afford this kind of failure. Another leaflet was blown off the factory wall.It was the Clockwork Girl again, and the leaflet still had accusations against General Pracha.Mr. Lake has a crush on the Clockwork Girl.The two of them used to do that dirty thing, and Mr. Lake would take her to his bed for the night whenever he could.Fusheng picked up the leaflet and suddenly had an idea. "What's that?" Amai asked. I am too old. Even so, Fusheng felt his heart beat faster. "I have an idea," he said, "that might be an opportunity." This hope is so absurd, so remote.Even if he has nothing, he will fight on, this is his irrepressible nature.