Sometimes, one's fate depended on one's hard work and the progress of history at this moment.
"Who gave you the courage?"
Li Ke reached out his hand and grabbed the wrench that was thrown at him. He looked at the foreman in front of him in disbelief, but in fact, he was the leader of the underworld and said this sentence with a sigh.
"What?!"
The foreman stared at Li Ke's hand that easily caught the wrench. He knew the strength of his Hex's body. It had monstrous strength that could easily break a human's bones. Its alloy body was harder than ordinary weapons. But now, it was caught by a human with a mortal body. Only now did he have the time to carefully observe Li Ke's appearance and came to the conclusion that he was an Ionian.
"I knew I couldn't underestimate an empty-handed Ionian!"
The foreman who was beaten up by a warrior monk named Li Ke when he was young didn't dare to continue the stalemate with Li Ke. He was afraid that Li Ke would be like that terrifying baldy and kick him in the stomach that could penetrate steel. However, Li Ke saw through his intention to retreat. So the moment the foreman let go of the wrench, Li Ke reached out his hand and grabbed the foreman's steel arm. He mercilessly tore the foreman's arm off.
Blood spurted out instantly. Li Ke's speed and strength were so fast that the foreman saw his own flesh and Hex's arm being torn off. Then, he felt a piercing pain from his shoulder.
"Who told you to start working?"
Ignoring the foreman's screams and struggles, Li Ke threw away the steel arm in his hand and let it fall to the ground with a crisp sound. Then, he looked around at the workers and gang members who pulled out their weapons or gripped their wrenches and tools. They looked at him vigilantly and asked his question.
However, these trembling gang members and workers did not dare to make a sound. They only looked at him nervously. Instead, many of them were ready to move. They wanted to save their foreman who was wailing and struggling in front of them. Moreover, Li Ke also found that although there were obvious gang members here, most of the gang members were actually wearing work clothes stained with oil and holding work tools.
Obviously, even though these gang members were doing gang work, the income brought by gang activities wasn't enough for them to survive. They had to continue working in order to live a decent life. This was a new discovery for Li Ke because he realized that the gangs in this city weren't all about fighting. Instead, these gangs might be an organization that they used to protect their rights.
However, they still needed to be banned. Although they were gangs that maintained their rights, they would still do things that violated the law. It wasn't the will of the gang leader or the members. It was just the way things were in this era. Therefore, Li Ke didn't stop these people from rescuing their foreman. Instead, he silently watched as these people applied a scorching adhesive on the foreman's broken arm. As the foreman screamed in pain, the broken arm was glued shut.
Then, the pale foreman, who was panting heavily, answered Hank and the others' footsteps.
"If we don't work, even I will starve. Why should we not work? Do you think everyone is a lackey like you? The Ionians only need to wag their tails and beg their masters for a good piece of meat. "
He felt that Li Ke was a spy sent by the higher-ups to deal with those who didn't follow the rules. Therefore, there was a high chance that the foreman wouldn't be able to survive. Therefore, he tried his best to stand out as a scapegoat to ensure that after he died, the people behind him, as well as his subordinates, would not bully his wife and children for him so that they could live a little longer on account of this.
However, just as he finished speaking, his eyes caught sight of Hank and the others who were rushing over. Although he didn't recognize most of them, he was certain that Hank was the one who controlled most of the affairs in this city. When he saw Hank's humble expression towards the Ionian, he immediately understood that he had offended someone he shouldn't have. Even if he wasn't killed, these people in formal attire would tear him and the people behind him to shreds. No one would show mercy to them.
It's over. It's all over.
He immediately recalled the scene of his entire family being killed. He knew what those big shots would do to protect their authority. It was because of this that he was incomparably desperate. The only big shot he knew, Hank, wanted to tear him and the people behind him, as well as the owner of this factory to shreds. Therefore, he hurriedly squeezed his way to Li Ke's side. He didn't even care that his shiny leather shoes were stained with blood. He anxiously and angrily asked for instructions from Li Ke. Then, he turned to the panting Bernard and ordered.
"Sir! We will deal with all the illegal activities of this factory! Bernard! Please pass on the message to Mr. Arnold … "
Then, Li Ke raised his hand and interrupted him.
"Hold on, Mr. Hank Appleby. I just heard something interesting. Why don't you let our friend continue?"
Li Ke's request made Mr. Hank's expression stiffen. Then, he quickly adjusted his collar and found a less conspicuous spot to stand in order to calm his emotions and uneasiness. The foreman who thought he was done for stared at Li Ke in astonishment. He didn't understand why this Noxus Ionian didn't order him to be killed. However, after seeing Hank's emotionless gaze, he lowered his head and waited for his punishment.
Li Ke ignored their expressions and walked to the foreman's side. As the surrounding people shivered and avoided him, Li Ke squatted in front of the foreman and patted his broken arm in a friendly manner.
"I'm curious, Sir. You said that if the factory doesn't work, you will starve. I'm really surprised because as far as I know, being a gang member should be a lucrative and very … Hmm, 'glamorous' business. You transport prohibited goods and do all sorts of illegal work. But you just told me that you will starve if the factory doesn't work. Can you explain it to me?"
The foreman opened his mouth and looked at Mr. Hank behind him. Then, he looked at Li Ke and lowered his head, not daring to say anything.
Silence shrouded the area. The foreman wasn't stupid. He knew that the best ending for him now was a quick death. However, he didn't dare to kill himself in front of Li Ke because that would offend Li Ke. Only God knew if Li Ke would vent his anger on his family. That was why he remained silent and prayed that he would be suppressed and killed. For Li Ke, this was the disadvantage of bringing Hank and the others along. Their identities would prevent him from obtaining a lot of information.
But it didn't matter. He learned how to deal with this kind of thing in school. He patted the foreman's shoulder again and used a frivolous tone to tell him the knowledge he learned from the textbooks.
"Ah, since you don't want to answer, then I'll guess. Either because you want to make more money, you can't get any income from the wages of these workers if they don't work, and you can't get your commission from the factory owner. Then, because of your greed, you let these workers return to work, right? "
For Li Ke's explanation, the foreman didn't answer but remained silent.
"It seems that you don't deny it."
Li Ke turned his head and looked at Bernard, who had become restless, and Hank, who was hiding his anxiety. Then, he turned his head and continued.
"Then I'll take it as true. In that case, since you've confessed, I'll execute you by hanging. Tell your gang members, the leader and the owner of this factory to go to the square and pick a street lamp that looks pleasing to the eye. After I'm done with today's trip, I'll hang all of you."
He stood up and patted the shoulder of the foreman who was kneeling on the ground.
"Be good, or your whole family will be hung by the street lamps."
In the past few days, Li Ke had hung up the street lamps of many families with conclusive evidence. However, it was clear that there were still many people who didn't see the situation clearly. So if the foreman really didn't cooperate, then Li Ke could only turn him into a dried corpse hanging on the street lamp. Anyway, he wouldn't be lonely there. Not only were there the corpses of the past nobles, there would also be an endless stream of upper-class people appearing there in the future.
In any case, there was always the scorching sea breeze blowing by the seaside and a large number of small creatures helping to deal with it. Therefore, Li Ke felt that this scene could be maintained for a period of time.
Therefore, there were now three paths in front of the foreman. One was to fight to the death and die together with his gang and the owner of the factory. The second was to cooperate with Li Ke and face the aftermath. The third was to completely cooperate with Li Ke and find a way to become his tool to prevent the death of his family.
One was to die with his friends, brothers, and his whole family. The second was for his whole family to die after a period of time. The third was for his whole family to die with him, but there was a chance for his whole family to continue living. Therefore, he immediately made his choice.
"The wages in the factory are paid daily. This is to prevent the workers from suddenly not being able to work and taking their wages for nothing. Therefore, as long as the factory stops working for a day, then they won't be paid for a day. If they don't work, they will starve. Therefore, it's impossible to stop working. Only by working hard can they survive. "
He paused for a moment, then continued under the murderous gazes of some people.
"Moreover, the price of food has suddenly increased by three times. Many people who don't have much food in their homes are now eating the leaves and barks that you used magic to produce. Take a look."
At this point, the foreman used his remaining hand to open his lunch box, revealing a certain kind of algae that occupied half of the box, as well as the willow leaves that he produced himself. As for the rest of the food, Li Ke also took a look. He found that the foreman still had a few pieces of black and dry bread, a finger-sized piece of smoked meat that had turned black, and a bottle of wine. However, Li Ke's eyesight allowed him to easily see the small gravel on the cuts of the bread, as well as the coarse wood shavings.
"You should be one of the leaders of this gang, right? You should be collecting protection fees, right? Why are you still eating these things? "
Li Ke took a deep breath because he clearly remembered that when he was in Demacia, although the lives of the commoners weren't considered rich, at least there was enough black bread. When giving alms to the beggars, the slightly richer families would even give a few pieces of smoked meat or some fruits. Those who had a little bit of status would definitely not lack various kinds of vitamins in their food. However, this guy's food was only a bottle of wine and a piece of meat that was passable.
"This is already a big meal, sir."
However, the foreman acted as if it was a matter of course. Li Ke reached out his hand, took a piece of bread that looked just right, and stuffed it into his mouth. As a result, he tasted a familiar taste amidst the surprised gasps of the crowd.
What kind of taste was that? It was probably a dead mouse that fell into the kitchen, but the chef didn't care. After burying the mouse in the flour with stones and soil, he directly mixed the flour with sour swill and baked it until it was as hard as a rock. Then, he put it in the cupboard with the rotten cake and cheese for two months.
In short, it was not something that humans could eat.
"That's all for a meal?"
And Li Ke even ate a large piece of bread that was hollow in it. In other words, not only was the bread unpalatable, it was also f * cking hollow.
"This is my meal for the day, sir."
The foreman still gave Li Ke a piece of news that surprised him.
"Then why are you still in a gang?! You got it illegally. Where did your protection fees go? "
Li Ke couldn't help but want to slap the head of this shameful guy, but the foreman showed a wronged expression and pointed to Hex's arm that he tore off to Li Ke.
"It's there, sir. Without this thing, if I don't join a gang, I can only eat salt and bread. "
Then why are you still in a gang?! Li Ke was speechless.
He knew that this was because of capital, and this was also a new knowledge that he discovered again. What made him feel helpless was that he felt that the gangs he encountered in the future would be like this.
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