Chapter 9: Chapter 6: Hot Topics
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The Drone Upgrade to Level 2 resulted in a qualitative leap in combat power, while the Energy Points and Steel Ball Bullets also returned to 100%. Yet, Yan Fei decided against going out at night to play hero anymore, as the Level 2 Drone was somewhat bulky. Although it remained black, it was much more conspicuous than before and could easily be spotted.
The next morning, Yan Fei’s appetite had increased once again. Fortunately, he had brought back ample buns and steamed bread to eat at home, so as not to alarm others. There was no choice, as his body had just been transformed by the Mysterious Power and needed a lot of nutrition to make up for the deficit, forcing him to eat more. However, he believed that his appetite would return to normal in a few days.
After breakfast, Yan Fei returned to the gym for physical training. With his previous experience, he quickly became accustomed to his body’s strength. Although he hadn’t completely mastered the power, at least he no longer unintentionally exerted too much force.
Around ten o’clock in the morning, there was suddenly a commotion downstairs from Yan Fei’s building. A shrill cry of a woman started to ring out, as she wept and shouted simultaneously, “Injustice! Injustice… The Yan Family are swindlers, they took away our land through deceitful means, making us lose our livelihood. How can I and my grandson survive now? We want our land back, we need to eat.”
Yan Fei peeked out and saw at the entrance of the courtyard downstairs a middle-aged woman in her fifties sitting on the ground, wailing and disheveled. Next to her stood a dirty little boy about five or six years old who, seeing the woman crying, also started to cry loudly. Passersby, seeing the scene, immediately gathered around, and soon a crowd formed.
Yan Fei frowned, he had no idea what had happened, as he didn’t recognize the middle-aged woman. Then he saw a man nearby ask curiously, “Big sister, what injustice have you suffered?”
The middle-aged woman halted her sobbing and pointed at the Yan Family building, saying, “Brother, you don’t understand. The Yan Family took advantage of my family head who couldn’t read, tricked him into signing the land transfer agreement, and forcefully occupied our land, forcing us to move out. Then they built this building on it, living the good life. After we were forced to move because we had no land, we had no way of making a living, and life became very difficult. My family head, my son, and daughter-in-law all passed away due to poverty, leaving behind only my grandson and me. We’re running out of money and soon won’t be able to survive. We’re so miserable!”
Yan Fei’s mind raced. Their family’s building was constructed in the ’80s, before he was born, but he had heard his parents mention this incident. Before liberation, their family was a large capitalist and had their own Company. After the founding of the new state, their Company was nationalized, and they lost everything. Following the Reform and Opening up, the state began to rectify some of the past wrongdoings, compensating them with a piece of land and a large sum of money, which Yan Fei’s father used to build this apartment building.
Back then, the construction of this building utilized the land they received as compensation. Yet, after the building was completed, in order to facilitate access, less than five square meters of land from a neighboring farmer was used to construct a road connecting to the main street. This occupied land was formally processed with a generous financial compensation – 10,000 yuan per square meter, amounting to a total of 50,000 yuan for the five square meters, a lofty sum at the time. The Government notary department had even issued a certificate. Therefore, from a procedural standpoint, there were absolutely no issues with the Yan Family’s building. Morally speaking, the compensation of 50,000 yuan in those days was more than fair for the land that was taken. Moreover, the family that had their land occupied moved away early on, and Yan Fei had never even seen these people. So why would someone suddenly show up claiming injustice?
All of a sudden, Yan Fei spotted a burly figure among the onlookers and recognized him immediately; it was Second Xie, Zhang Baocheng’s henchman from the previous night. Second Xie appeared to be watching the middle-aged woman’s lament with great interest, then he noticed Yan Fei watching him. He gave a secretive smile, made a throat-slitting gesture at his neck, and walked away.
Seeing Second Xie, Yan Fei had an epiphany. This middle-aged woman was likely brought here by Zhang Baocheng to stir up trouble, then coerce him into selling his house to them at a low price. After all, the building was worth over a hundred million, and it would be strange if no one targeted him, especially when it seemed like he was on his own. What surprised Yan Fei was that Zhang Baocheng had extensive resources at his disposal to investigate an incident from 30 years ago and quickly thought to hire someone to put pressure on him with a performance.
The middle-aged woman’s crying was so loud that the tenants of Yan Fei’s apartment were disturbed. Upon discovering the noisy middle-aged woman, they all became uncertain. A couple preparing to go out was grabbed by the woman who, with a mix of snot and tears, cried out, “You heartless Yan Family, you seized our land and took away our fields, making it impossible for us to survive. Return our land to us, we need to live, we need to eat…”
The couple was seriously frightened and ran away as soon as they broke free. Subsequent onlookers who inquired about the situation were greeted by the crying woman recounting the Yan Family’s alleged crimes and demanding her land back for survival. Consequently, some bystanders uploaded the scene to the Internet, adding sensational titles to attract online attention.
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