Qiqi took a closer look—well, well, it was Director Liu from the Demolition Office. Judging by his energetic demeanor, could the real purpose tonight be demolition?
She quickly scanned the scene and noticed that one side of Emily’s house was already badly damaged. If not for Emily blocking the door, the rumbling bulldozer would have already flattened her home, wouldn’t it?
She knew she couldn’t fight them head-on now. Her phone had been snatched away, but she didn’t care about that anymore. The most important thing was to rally the crowd.
So, Gu Qiqi swiftly stepped back a few paces and bolted in the opposite direction. As she ran, she shouted at the top of her lungs, “The invaders are coming! The invaders are coming!”
The girl’s crisp voice carried far into the night. Some neighbors had already been roused by the bulldozer’s noise, and now, hearing Qiqi’s alarm, they gathered in small groups, flashlights in hand, and rushed toward the alley entrance.
Director Liu was so furious he nearly coughed up blood. He viciously slammed Qiqi’s phone to the ground, shattering it into pieces, then barked at the city management officers, “Quick, go shut her up!”
He turned back and muttered to the leaders on site, “Hurry up and tear down the house. If more people show up, it’ll be trouble.”
The city management officers split into three groups: one to chase Qiqi, one to surround Emily, and one ready to demolish the house at any moment.
The man attacking Emily was an elite among the city management team. He strode forward and executed a close-quarters grappling move, snatching the kitchen knife from Emily’s hand. Then, with a backhanded slap, he sent Emily crashing to the ground with a loud thud. Seeing her daughter hit, Emily’s mother abandoned her husband and crawled wailing to her daughter’s side. Emily’s younger brother, seeing his sister fall, cried even harder. The elite officer, apparently annoyed by the child’s noise, kicked out, striking the boy square in the chest. The child immediately crumpled to the ground, silent.
With the family of four subdued, the entrance to Emily’s house was wide open. Director Liu raised his arm in a signal, and the rumbling bulldozer rolled toward the gate.
Qiqi’s situation wasn’t much better.
As she ran and shouted warnings, the men chasing her were also elite members of the city management team. She hadn’t even made it fifty meters before she was tackled to the ground. One man pinned her down, clamping her arm with one hand and covering her mouth with the other. Qiqi bit down hard, and the man yelped, releasing his grip. She struggled to break free, but the man, enraged, grabbed a brick from the ground and swung it at her head.
Oh no, don’t ruin my face!
Qiqi shut her eyes in terror, managing only a whimper at this critical moment. But luckily, the man’s right hand, holding the brick, suddenly convulsed, as if his wrist were about to snap. He screamed in pain, his curled fingers losing their grip, and the brick dropped from his hand, landing squarely on Qiqi’s chest. It still hurt a bit, but it was far better than taking a brick to the face.
Suddenly, Qiqi felt a weight lift off her. The man pinning her down was kicked flying, hurtling over ten meters before crashing into the other city management officers chasing behind. Seven or eight men tumbled in a heap, with the kicked man wailing in agony, his head bloodied.
Before Qiqi could react, she felt herself lifted again, cradled in someone’s arms. Recognizing the familiar scent, she let out a huge sigh of relief. “Rong Yi—”
Rong Yi held her close, panting heavily, having apparently sprinted all the way from their doorstep. Worried, he instinctively pressed his hand against the spot on her chest where the brick had hit. “Qiqi, are you okay? Does it hurt?”