Chapter 122: Knowing the Consequences

Hu Hao had his soldiers escort the manager to the power plant. The plant was located in the suburbs of Late City, effectively between Late City and Bopa City. It didn’t take long for them to drive there.

Upon arriving at the office building, Hu Hao led his men inside. The employees stared in shock at the sudden influx of armed soldiers.

“Which floor is the manager’s office on?” Hu Hao asked. No one answered, so he turned to look at the manager they had brought with them.

“Second floor!” the manager said quickly. He had been kicked a few times in the car and was now much more cooperative.

“Move!” Hu Hao ordered. His soldiers secured the entrances while he led the way to the plant manager’s office. He kicked the door open, revealing a man and a woman who stared back in stunned silence, both completely undressed.

“Who the hell are you? Do you want to die!” a balding middle-aged man shouted, grabbing clothes to cover his lower half while glaring at Hu Hao.

Hu Hao took a rifle from one of his soldiers and aimed it at the man.

“Wait! Let’s talk this out, let’s talk this out!” the plant manager stammered as soon as he saw the gun.

“Get dressed. Quickly,” Hu Hao said, stepping back outside while his soldiers cleared the way. Two minutes later, he re-entered. The woman stood in the corner, head bowed.

“You, get out,” Hu Hao told her. She grabbed her things and sprinted out of the room without looking up.

“So, officer, what is this about?” the plant manager asked cautiously.

“I’m with the Bopa City garrison. The frontline positions are boiling, and we want to install air conditioning, but the electricity is too expensive. We soldiers are poor and don’t have that much money to give you, so we want some free electricity. This shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

Hu Hao sat down on the sofa and looked at the manager. The air conditioning in the office was running at full blast, making the room very comfortable.

“But we already gave you a 5,000-unit free quota!” the manager argued.

“5,000 units? I have a division of over 12,000 men. That’s not even half a unit per person. Are you looking down on us or what?” Hu Hao asked, staring him down.

“Officer, it’s not up to me. This is just a job; I’m not the one who makes the decisions!”

“I know. Call your boss. Tell him I want free electricity for as long as my troops are in Bopa City. It’s hot, and my men need air conditioning. It might be a lot of power, but for a plant like this, it’s a drop in the bucket. Call him now!” Hu Hao commanded.

“Alright!” the manager agreed immediately. He saw that the other manager’s face was swollen, and he didn’t want to suffer the same fate. He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed.

“Young Master, a group of officers is here. They’re demanding free electricity. Could you come over?”

“It’s the Bopa City garrison. They say they’re installing air conditioning and need free power!”

“Yes, yes, but they’re insisting. They brought guns!”

The plant manager continued to struggle with the conversation; clearly, the person on the other end was not agreeing.

“Tell him I brought explosives. If he refuses, I’ll blow this plant to hell!” Hu Hao interjected.

“Yes… Young Master, the officer says they brought a lot of explosives. If you don’t agree, he’ll blow up the power plant!” the manager repeated into the phone.

“Okay, okay. You’re coming? We’ll wait for you. Yes!” the manager finished and hung up.

“He needs to be here within half an hour, or I blow it,” Hu Hao said. He didn’t want to wait around forever.

“The Young Master said he’ll be here in thirty minutes!”

“Good. Huan Xingtao, go. Have our men take over this building. Our armored vehicles should face the entrance. If anything happens, open fire. If you see troops approaching, tell them to wait outside!” Hu Hao ordered.

“You got it!” Huan Xingtao replied and left immediately.

Hu Hao knew the “Young Master” was the son of the Central Combat Zone Commander and would likely bring soldiers. He needed his men ready for a fight.

“Officer, if I can say something off the record… you can’t afford to offend the owners of this plant. You’re in the military too; don’t go looking for trouble for yourself,” the plant manager advised.

“I’m not afraid of trouble! I said if I don’t get the power, I’ll blow it up. Right?” Hu Hao asked the other manager standing nearby.

“Yes, yes!” the manager with the swollen face nodded frantically.

“Officer, I think you might not know who owns this plant,” the manager persisted.

“I know. It belongs to the family of the Central Combat Zone Commander,” Hu Hao replied calmly.

“Since you know that, there’s no need to push so hard. How about I increase your quota to 10,000 units?”

“Hah! I want ten million units! Can you make that decision?” Hu Hao laughed.

“Now, let’s not be too greedy. It’s not good!”

“To hell with you! Who gave you the right to talk to Hao-ge like that!”

A platoon leader standing nearby suddenly kicked the manager, sending him sprawling to the floor.

“If you say another word, I’ll kill you!” the platoon leader snarled, pointing his gun at the man on the ground.

Wang Yao watched in a daze. He didn’t understand why the platoon leader had hit the man. Hu Hao hadn’t even given the order. Striking someone on their own territory could be hard to explain later.

“Fine, get up. Watch your mouth,” Hu Hao said with a smile.

“Yes, yes!” The manager finally learned his place.

“Go find that fridge. See if there are any cold drinks. If there are, hand them out to the brothers!” Hu Hao said, pointing to a unit against the wall.

“On it!” The platoon leader opened the fridge. “Holy shit! Hao-ge, look!”

The fridge was packed with all sorts of drinks.

“Hah, goddammit. We’re risking our lives at the front while they’re back here enjoying themselves. Bring me a bottle and give the rest to the men. The alcohol? We’re taking that with us!”

“Yes, sir!” The platoon leader handed bottles to Hu Hao and the other officers.

“Give him one too. Look at how much he’s sweating,” Hu Hao said, gesturing to the manager.

“Take it!” The platoon leader shoved a bottle at the man. Hu Hao leaned back, drinking the cold beverage in the AC. It felt amazing.

“Dammit. Once the war is over, I’m going to live like this too,” Hu Hao remarked. The other soldiers laughed.

Soon, several military trucks approached, led by a sports car.

“Hao-ge, they’re here!” a soldier watching from the window called out.

“Let’s go down,” Hu Hao said, standing up.

“Move!” The soldiers ordered the manager and the plant manager to follow.

“Which soldier has lost his mind and threatened to blow up my plant!”

The sports car screeched to a halt, and a young man dressed like a wealthy scion stepped out. A beautiful woman followed from the passenger side. The young man looked very fashionable and made sure to put on his sunglasses as he exited.

Dozens of soldiers climbed out of the trucks behind him, but when they saw the muzzles of Hu Hao’s men aiming at them from the building, they immediately dove for cover.

At that moment, several armored vehicles roared forward, surrounding the armed soldiers. Heavy machine guns were trained on them. Simultaneously, soldiers from inside the building rushed out with their rifles, encircling the group.

“Are you all rebelling? Get lost! Do you know whose troops these are? Do you know who I am? Call your commander over here!” the young man shouted, pointing at Hu Hao’s men.

“Drop your weapons!” Huan Xingtao shouted back, aiming his rifle at the opposing soldiers. “Did you hear me? Drop them!”

The soldiers looked at each other, but no one moved.

“Ready!”

At Huan Xingtao’s command, the sound of bolts chambering rounds echoed through the air.

“Holy shit! Do you know who I am? Do you know who these people are?

I am Mu Qian, son of the Central Combat Zone Commander.

These are my family guards. Do you dare try and shoot?” the young man yelled, trying to use his status to intimidate them.

“I’ll count to three. If those weapons aren’t on the ground, kill everyone except Mu Qian!”

Hu Hao walked out of the building and made the announcement.

“Yes, sir!” Huan Xingtao roared.

“Who are you? Tell me who you are so I can kill you!” Mu Qian shouted at Hu Hao, seeing a Colonel approach.

“Three!”

Huan Xingtao began the countdown. The opposing soldiers looked at each other; they were outnumbered, surrounded by infantry, and staring down the barrels of heavy machine guns on armored vehicles.

(End of Chapter)