Three modified pickup trucks and several motorcycles formed a crescent-shaped encirclement outside the warehouse. The dark muzzles of guns and the simple machine guns mounted on the roofs were aimed menacingly at their shabby warehouse, which had only just begun to feel like a "home."
"Dammit, this guy really thinks highly of us. He's even brought out his heavy artillery," Chen Shouzhou muttered from the watchtower prototype, holding his binoculars. His words were curses, but his eyes were exceptionally calm.
"Chen-ge, their firepower is too strong. Our defenses..." Lin Mo's face was pale. He was a tech nerd; he had never seen a scene like this outside of a movie.
"Don't panic," Chen Shouzhou said without turning his head. "The quality of a weapon depends on who's holding it. Dr. Su, Old Lin, initiate 'Party Mode,' level one alert!"
"Party Mode" was the name Chen Shouzhou had given their crude defense system.
Su Wan'er immediately sprang into action. She ran to the generator and flipped several key circuit breaker switches. Lin Mo quickly tuned a high-powered loudspeaker he had modified.
Outside the warehouse, Lei Bao jumped down from his pickup truck. He lit a cigarette, arrogantly stomped his foot on the ground, and yelled at the warehouse through a megaphone: "Listen up, you people inside! My name is Lei Bao! If you know what's good for you, hand over your supplies and that female doctor, and I might just leave you with intact corpses!"
The response he received was not a plea for mercy, but... a piercingly loud and rhythmic piece of music!
"The boundless horizon is my love, flowers are blooming at the foot of the green mountains..."
It was "The Most Dazzling Folk Style"!
The music, blasted through the high-powered loudspeaker, instantly echoed throughout the ruins. The ridiculously catchy melody left Lei Bao and his gang of ferocious thugs completely stunned.
"What... what the hell is this?" one of the thugs asked, bewildered.
Lei Bao's face instantly turned the color of pig liver. This was a blatant provocation and humiliation!
"Fire!" he roared. "Blow that damn speaker to pieces!"
Rat-a-tat-tat!
The machine gun on the truck roof opened fire instantly, bullets raining down on the warehouse's iron walls, sending sparks flying.
But Chen Shouzhou had anticipated this. He had hidden the loudspeaker behind a pile of abandoned steel plates, which the bullets couldn't penetrate.
Just as the enemy's attention was drawn to the music and the speaker, Chen Shouzhou gave his second command.
"Dr. Su, turn on the lights!"
Around the warehouse, several police strobe lights he had installed beforehand were activated. Blinding flashes of red and blue light pulsed frantically, turning the entire battlefield into a bizarre, open-air disco.
The intense audio and visual stimulation threw Lei Bao's team into chaos.
"Now!"
Chen Shouzhou slammed the pre-prepared main switch!
ZZZZZAP—!
The simple fence made of wire and rebar surrounding the warehouse was instantly electrified with high voltage! Blue-white arcs of electricity danced wildly along the wire mesh, making a terrifying sound.
A few thugs at the front, who hadn't yet figured out what was happening, ran headfirst into the electric fence. They convulsed violently, foamed at the mouth, and fell down smoking, turning into charred corpses.
"Shit! It's an electric fence!" the thugs behind them screamed in terror, hastily retreating.
Lei Bao watched as he lost several of his men in the first exchange, his eyes turning red with rage. He never expected this dilapidated-looking warehouse to be turned into an electrified porcupine.
"Use the motorcycles! Ram through that fence!" he roared.
Two motorcycles immediately revved their engines and, like two mad bulls, charged towards a weaker section of the fence.
Chen Shouzhou sneered. This was what he had been waiting for.
"Lin Mo, it's time for your 'babies' to shine!"
Lin Mo was already in position. From behind cover, he threw out several unremarkable-looking objects wrapped in oilcloth. They landed precisely in the path of the approaching motorcycles.
They were caltrops! Simple caltrops made from several sharpened steel bars welded together.
Puncture!
The high-speed motorcycles had no time to brake. Their tires were instantly punctured. The riders lost control, and both man and machine tumbled into the electric fence. Amidst piercing screams and flashing arcs of electricity, they joined their comrades in death.
This series of failures dealt a heavy blow to the morale of Lei Bao's team. They had never imagined this small warehouse would be such a tough nut to crack.
Lei Bao's face was terrifyingly grim. He knew that trying to force their way in today would come at a great cost. He stared at the warehouse, which was still blasting that divine music, his expression becoming complex.
He waved his hand, ordering a halt to the attack.
The music also stopped at the opportune moment.
The entire battlefield fell into an eerie silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire and the sizzling sound of the smoldering corpses.
Chen Shouzhou knew this wasn't the end, just an intermission. He picked up a megaphone, climbed the watchtower, and shouted to Lei Bao in the distance, "Bao-ge, want to continue? I've got a second act planned. How about I play 'Love For Sale' for you?"
Lei Bao looked at him without speaking, just giving him a long, deep look. Then, with a wave of his hand, he led his remaining battered forces in a slow retreat.
The convoy disappeared into the night, as if it had never been there.
Inside the warehouse, everyone let out a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground.
"We... we won?" Lin Mo was still in disbelief.
"We won," Chen Shouzhou slid down from the watchtower, wiping sweat from his face. "But only for now. That guy is tougher than I thought."
Su Wan'er silently handed him a bottle of water. She looked at this man who was always creating miracles, her eyes filled with complex emotions.
The next morning, as Chen Shouzhou was inspecting the damaged electric fence, Xiao Hei suddenly barked twice at the entrance.
Chen Shouzhou looked over warily and saw a package placed in the open area outside the warehouse entrance. He cautiously approached it, poked it open with a stick, and found a cleaned and still-warm mutated wild chicken inside. Next to the chicken was a note.
The note had only one sentence: "The song last night wasn't bad. Pick a different one next time. The meat is to cover your electricity bill."
There was no signature, but Chen Shouzhou knew it had to be from Lei Bao.
"What the..." Chen Shouzhou looked at the chicken and the note, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "Is this guy trying to make peace with me? Or is he just showing off that he's a better hunter than I am?"
He couldn't figure out Lei Bao's intentions. The guy was shouting to kill them yesterday, and today he was sending gifts? What was he playing at?
He took the chicken and the note back to the warehouse. Su Wan'er and Lin Mo gathered around, equally bewildered.
"This man... is not simple," Lin Mo concluded, pushing up his glasses.
Chen Shouzhou tossed the note aside, picked up the chicken, and grinned. "Simple or not, having meat to eat is what matters! Dr. Su, Old Lin, we're having a feast tonight. Chicken soup!"
He acted nonchalant, but inwardly, he raised his guard. He knew that an ambitious person like Lei Bao would never do anything meaningless. This "gift" was more like a probe, a psychological game.
This seemingly brutish gang leader was far smarter and more dangerous than he had imagined.