Chapter 46: Encountering Gang Infighting

Having driven for over a decade and delivered goods for just as long, this was the first employer he encountered who requested a mid-route unloading.

Though aware of the driver’s confusion, Shen Yi’an calmly nodded and said, “Yes, just unload them at the intersection.”

“These items were originally meant to be transported to the countryside. It’s been arranged that a tractor will come to pick them up.”

As she spoke, she pretended to glance at her watch.

“They should arrive in about half an hour.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Master.”

Hearing that a tractor was coming, the truck driver breathed a sigh of relief. When she expressed her gratitude, he quickly waved his hand in modest refusal.

“It’s no trouble, this is my job. It’s what I should do.”

“Alright, since there’s a tractor coming, I feel relieved.”

Before leaving, he lowered his voice and added, “It’s not safe out here. It’s best to head home right after handing over the goods.”

“If you run into any of those idle troublemakers, a young girl like you could easily get into trouble.”

Sensing his concern, Shen Yi’an nodded. “Thank you for the reminder, Master.”

“I’ll go home as soon as the folks from my hometown come to collect the goods. I won’t linger around.”

Seeing that she had a plan, the driver said nothing more. After scanning the surroundings and finding nothing unusual, he climbed back into the driver’s seat and drove off.

Once she was sure the truck had gone far enough and there were no prying eyes around, Shen Yi’an waved her hand and stored all the grains and vegetable seeds into her Space.

As for the luggage already in her Space, she decided to leave it there and retrieve it later when she was closer to home.

The truth was, the intersection at the city entrance was quite a distance from the Steel Mill Residential Compound.

With her task completed, she should have headed home. But standing alone at the deserted intersection, Shen Yi’an suddenly felt a belated sense of fear.

She had often heard her father mention how chaotic the outside world had become lately.

There were unemployed drifters, street thugs, and even released reform-through-labor prisoners—all forming gangs or groups to commit crimes.

Murder, robbery, theft… they threatened and endangered the lives and property of ordinary people under various pretexts.

Although the government was taking action, there were still too many of these “sewer rats,” and it would take years to completely eradicate them.

Now, the intersection at the city entrance where she stood was precisely the kind of area these people frequented.

Remembering this, Shen Yi’an regretted getting off midway. But the items she had bought were too numerous and varied—bringing them all home wasn’t practical, as she couldn’t provide a reasonable explanation to her family.

Watching the last traces of sunset fade from the sky, she could only quicken her pace.

Yet, circumstances are ever-changing, and danger often strikes when least expected.

Less than a hundred meters past the intersection, a loud and unrestrained argument erupted in Shen Yi’an’s ears.

“…Someone like you deserves to be shot!”

“How many fucking times have I told you? Don’t underestimate those old folks wandering the streets—any one of them could have a special background.”

“If you’d kidnapped just one, it might’ve been manageable. But you had to go and bring back two fucking time bombs.”

“What, are you trying to disband our ‘Axe Gang’ as soon as possible?”

“Speak! Why aren’t you saying anything? I fucking told you to speak—did you hear me?!”

As the vicious voice fell, agonized pleas and cries for mercy immediately followed.

“Big brother, I was wrong, I really didn’t mean to!”

“Considering I took the lead in this charge, could you spare my life just this once?”

“Big brother, I truly know I was wrong, big brother!”

“If I had known those old folks had such powerful backgrounds, how would I have dared to offend them recklessly?”

“Big brother…”

Without needing to hear more, Shen Yi’an knew she had encountered the worst possible situation.

A gang internal conflict!

Not only that, but judging by the conversation, the cause of this conflict was someone offending formidable big shots!

Heavens!

Was this kind of information something she should be hearing?

This could get her killed!

What should she do next?

Should she pretend she heard nothing and keep walking?

Or quietly retreat from this conflict that hadn’t involved her yet?

Or perhaps temporarily hide in her Space?

Just as these thoughts formed, her terrible luck struck again – like getting choked while drinking cold water.

Her falling foot unexpectedly kicked a pebble.

And that kicked pebble happened to hit right on the back of the head of the furious gang leader.

The following enraged cry of pain confirmed it.

“Who’s there?”

“Who the hell is ambushing me?”

“I’ll count to three – if you don’t get out here, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

As these words fell, chaotic and numerous footsteps rapidly approached.

From the sound alone, she knew they were coming toward her. Without a second thought, Shen Yi’an immediately slipped into her Space.

Moments later, voices erupted from where she had disappeared.

“Big brother, there’s no one here!”

“Could you have mistaken the direction?”

“Impossible!” Hearing his subordinate’s doubt, the gang leader paused his reprimand and immediately walked toward the investigated area.

Seeing the empty road, he scratched the back of his head somewhat irritably.

“Where is he?”

“I clearly felt the ambush came from here, how could there not be a single ghostly shadow?”

Worried his perception might be wrong, he waved his hand to disperse everyone around.

“All of you, search the nearby area.”

“Whoever ambushed me used a stone with considerable force – probably a man.”

“Don’t just look at the road surface – this gravel path won’t show anything. Search the nearby bushes thoroughly.”

“Daring to ambush me – must be tired of living!”

At the gang leader’s command, his underlings quickly scattered to search the surroundings.

A newly joined member who didn’t understand the situation sought advice from a veteran while searching.

“Big brother is so commanding – with just a wave of his hand, everyone scatters. It really excites me.”

“You don’t know this yet.” Seeing the new face, the man spat out the weed he was chewing and explained.

“This is actually big brother’s most approachable side. You haven’t seen his other sides yet.”

“Work hard – when you catch big brother’s attention, you’ll have your chance to rise rapidly.”

Perhaps stimulated by the words “rise rapidly,” the newcomer who originally wanted to gather information immediately became fervent.

“I’ll definitely work hard!”

“We’ll dig three feet underground if we have to – we’ll find whoever ambushed our big brother tonight!”

Such conversations were common among the scattered search teams, all clearly heard by the gang leader standing on a stone block, looking around from his elevated position.

Though there had been a brief moment of confusion, he quickly regained his composure.

Only the occasional twitch at the corner of his lips betrayed his current good mood.

But none of this had anything to do with Shen Yi’an.

At that moment, she was maneuvering the Space toward the spot where the group searching for her had previously gathered.

Yes, not long ago, the Space had revealed a new function: it could shift locations at will, following the thoughts of its owner.

Originally, Shen Yi’an hadn’t known the Space possessed this ability. After the pale blue light screen disappeared, she had essentially lost the “Space User Manual.”

In her panic earlier, she had hidden inside the Space and discovered that these people couldn’t detect her presence at all. With her mind at ease, she began to wonder just who these “unapproachable old folks” the group had mentioned might be.

It was only natural.

As a native of Lancheng, Shen Yi’an’s life revolved mainly around home and school, with occasional visits to her two older sisters and her fourth brother’s homes.

Her range of activities was limited, and so was the circle of people she knew.

Hearing out of the blue that there were influential figures in Lancheng—ones even gang leaders feared—naturally sparked her curiosity. As long as her safety wasn’t threatened, she couldn’t resist the urge to uncover the “true face behind the mystery.”

Little did she expect that the moment the thought crossed her mind, she and the Space would instantly teleport right in front of these “influential figures.”

The sudden and unexpected surprise derailed Shen Yi’an’s train of thought, making her temporarily forget about investigating the “big shots.” Instead, she maneuvered the Space to drift around the area.

Only after her excitement had subsided did she steer the Space closer to the “influential figures.”

But when she saw clearly who was lying unconscious in the grass, she was so startled that she and the Space jerked backward a considerable distance.

It was them!