Shen Feng pocketed the book in his hand, intending to read it for leisure when he had free time. The writing quality of this novel was clearly very low, and the illustrations were exceptionally simple. However, it was novel and exciting. In any case, there were no online novels to read in the apocalypse, so it was better to read physical books.
"You say you can help us with things, what skills do you have?" Shen Feng asked casually.
Feng Shicheng quickly said, "City Lord, we are actually unfortunate people, just trying to make a living. First of all, we don't deserve to die. Moreover, my factory is mainly responsible for producing products, and most of the products are sent to some gangs. These things are still very popular. If you want to know which gangs, I can tell you."
Shen Feng fell silent, saying nothing, but he was thinking, "Is this guy actually useful?"
Lin Yue reminded Shen Feng at this time, "City Lord, since we haven't encountered any gangs here, let's go to the next place and try to catch all the people we need to catch tonight!"
Lin Yue's meaning was obvious: they needed to act quickly. A whole night of martial law would make the people below tremble with fear. To avoid panic, they had to act swiftly and capture the people as soon as possible. The subsequent interrogation and sentencing would be much simpler, and there was no need to waste time here.
Shen Feng thought for a moment and said, "Lock these people up first. I've thought about it, and killing them directly would be too cruel. Take them away, and then have these things burned."
The workers heard Shen Feng's decision and all breathed a sigh of relief. If they were really shot, it would be a grave injustice. Now, they were just being locked up, which was much better.
"Yes, yes, lock us up. As long as you don't kill us, we can discuss anything."
"Yeah, yeah, didn't they say Yuzhou is going to develop agriculture? We can go and farm."
"Um, soldier brother, can I go change my pants?"
Feng Shicheng and the others were quickly taken away. In a hidden room of the factory, over twenty tons of grain were found. This was the recent income of the novel factory. Shen Feng nodded, and this grain was immediately confiscated.
Shen Feng and his men continued to raid strongholds, and one gang after another was taken down. In other directions, psychics and evolved individuals were also leading people in arrests. During this process, some people resisted. As Lin Yue had said, many gangs had secretly obtained firearms, and if they couldn't get them, they would make them themselves.
The production of firearms was not a difficult matter. As long as there were corresponding lathes, even small workshops could produce firearms themselves. The raw materials for gunpowder were difficult to obtain, and the production of bullets was a major problem, but these difficulties never stopped the gangs.
When ordinary dangerous elements possessed firearms, it was no longer easy to arrest them. The gangs were not all fools, and their strongholds were chosen in places that were easy to defend and difficult to attack. As long as firearms were mounted on the walls, people below would not be able to approach them casually.
Guo Pinming did not indulge such people. After using his psychic abilities, a thick layer of armor immediately appeared on his body. Ordinary people could not wear such heavy armor; its weight alone was a ton. However, Guo Pinming was already a third-tier psychic, and he could still move freely while wearing heavy armor. He led his subordinates and took the lead in destroying a gang.
The situation was similar on Lu Xian and Yang Chang's sides, where they used their psychic abilities to change the course of the battle and directly break into the gangs' lairs.
Chu Chaoyan's side was different. With a wave of his hand, he had a basin of salt water brought over. Finding the windward side, he began to produce poison gas on the spot. The yellow-green poison gas, blown by the wind, quickly drifted into the gangs' residences. After that, these people would collapse on their own. If they didn't come out, they would die, and if they did, they would be judged.
The soldiers' hands held automatic rifles, while the gang members, at most, held single-shot bolt-action rifles and simple pistols. The two were not in the same league at all.
Chang Jianyi specifically found a place to serve as a prison, which was a large high school with about eight thousand students. The dormitories were readily available. Once people were locked up, they could not escape. Infrared surveillance was set up on the walls, and if anyone was found trying to escape, they would be shot directly from the watchtower.
However, when Chang Jianyi heard sporadic gunshots coming from within the city, she knew that the dormitories might not be enough. For those who resisted stubbornly, there was only death. As long as they dared to shoot, they would not live!
"I really didn't expect this. Yuzhou, which is usually so peaceful, would be like this now. These gangs were hidden too deeply. If they weren't eliminated this time, there might be more troublesome situations in the future!" Chang Jianyi muttered to herself, frowning.
Chang Jianyi was relatively young. When she guarded Jiangyang and Yuzhou, her main task was to manage the people in the City Lord's Mansion. Apart from that, as long as the people below did not cause trouble, she was too lazy to investigate too much. At this time, Chang Jianyi realized that Yuzhou, which had been calm, was now suddenly surging with undercurrents.
Chang Jianyi felt very troubled. She didn't expect so many gangs to appear under her management. This was really not good.
While Chang Jianyi was deep in thought, Zhang Xixi arrived at the prison, accompanied by Du Xinshi. The city was in chaos. Although Zhang Xixi was a psychic, even if her abilities had no combat power, her physical fitness was still there. Du Xinshi preferred to stay with Zhang Xixi rather than be alone at home.
"Be good, Xiao Long, don't cry. I'll feed you when we get home." Du Xinshi was coaxing the crying child. The baby's cries were incessant, and she kept crying.
A group of soldiers couldn't help but look at Du Xinshi. Some soldiers who couldn't hold back began to complain, "The child is crying so much, just feed her quickly."
"Yes, hearing a child cry like this breaks my heart. Just feed her." The other soldiers also joined in the teasing.
Du Xinshi's face immediately turned red. She kept coaxing the child. She couldn't breastfeed the child in public, otherwise, it would really be shameless.
Chang Jianyi was woken up by the child's crying. After coming out of her thoughts, she said to Du Xinshi, "Go to the next room to coax the child. We still have to interrogate prisoners later, and it wouldn't be good if the child got scared."
Du Xinshi looked at Chang Jianyi gratefully. She felt Chang Jianyi's kindness and quickly said, "Thank you, Madam City Lord. I've caused you trouble. I'll make sure the child stops crying."
Du Xinshi regretted it now. She should have brought a milk bottle when she went out. The child was still asleep at the time, but now she suddenly woke up. This was really not sensible.
Chang Jianyi then looked at Zhang Xixi, who was in her teens. This girl was only a few years older than her younger brother, but she was already very sensible.
Zhang Xixi was very polite. She knew the principle of having to bow your head under someone else's roof. So, upon seeing Chang Jianyi again, she immediately stepped forward and said, "Deputy City Lord, I heard you need my psychic abilities for interrogation. I will definitely complete the mission, please rest assured."
Chang Jianyi nodded and smiled, "You don't need to be so distant. Just call me sister. Shen Feng told me that you are the sister of his close friend, and you are currently staying in Yuzhou, so you are not my subordinate. There's no need to be so polite. We should all be closer in the future."
Zhang Xixi quickly nodded and said seriously, "Okay, thank you, Sister Chang. You are truly an understanding and good woman."
Chang Jianyi smiled and nodded, but a thought suddenly occurred to her: "Xiao Jie is only eleven years old, and this young girl is thirteen, just starting junior high school. If they could be paired up, wouldn't that be a great thing?"
Chang Jianyi was already starting to worry about her younger brother's lifelong affairs. Even if her brother hadn't graduated from elementary school, it was still necessary to arrange a marriage early, otherwise, who knew what the future would hold?
Soon, Shen Feng sent the first batch of prisoners, who were printing workers. They did not dare to conceal their actions. In order to gain leniency, they confessed everything. Chang Jianyi waved her hand and had them locked up.
Chang Jianyi had no interest in dealing with printing workers. These people could be sent to develop agriculture or open mines in the future, and there was no need to question them too much.
The people sent later had more serious crimes. The factories where these people were located seemed to have no problems at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it was discovered that these people were producing and selling canned meat. It was of good quality and low price, and the canned meat was said to taste quite good.
Many people had eaten these canned meats. It was a rare opportunity to supplement protein, and the canned meat was very popular in the black market. As soon as it appeared, it would be snapped up.
Originally, there was no need to search the canned meat, but now it was the apocalypse. The sources of meat in the farms were not many, and the prices were high. However, this factory could produce very cheap canned meat, which was worth investigating.
The interrogator sat behind the table, Zhang Xixi sat upright beside him, and Chang Jianyi stood in the interrogation room, watching with a cold gaze and an icy expression.
"I ask you, where did the meat for your canned meat come from?" the interrogator asked directly.
A burly man was tied to a cross. He kept his mouth tightly shut, saying nothing. He knew that as long as he could endure it, there would be no major problems. At most, he would be beaten, and if the other party couldn't find evidence of his crime, they wouldn't kill him. They had no reason to do so.
The interrogator was not polite. He said to the soldier beside him, "Not talking, are you? Beat him. Just don't kill him."
The soldier soaked the whip in salt water, then lightly shook off the salt water from the whip and lashed out fiercely. With a "crack," the clothes on the bound man's body were torn, and a bloodstain appeared on his skin. It was bright red and looked very frightening.
The interrogator continued to ask, "I ask you, where did the meat come from? What kind of meat is it?"
The man still did not speak. He was prepared to resist and grit his teeth, refusing to say anything.
Afterward, the sound of whipping continued in the interrogation room. Even with a firm will, the man could not bear it anymore. The wounds on his body had already begun to bleed, and the salt-soaked whip hitting the wounds first caused excruciating pain, followed by itching, making him wish he were dead.
"I'll say it, I'll say it! Stop hitting!" The man finally couldn't bear it and said, "The meat came from outside the city, beef."
Zhang Xixi frowned. Using her psychic abilities, she immediately knew it was a lie and quickly said, "This is a lie."
The man cursed at Zhang Xixi, "What do you know, you little brat? I said it's beef, so it's beef. If you have evidence, then show it, otherwise, don't talk nonsense."
The interrogator clearly didn't believe such an explanation either. He asked with a cold smile, "You're talking nonsense. If it were really canned beef, why would you sell it in secret? Why is the price so low? Where is the source of beef outside the city?"
"Can't I do good deeds? I'm giving discounts to my hometown folks at a loss, can't I sell it cheaply?" The man couldn't help but complain.
Zhang Xixi explained at this time. She took a deep breath and said to Chang Jianyi beside her, "Every living person has nerve reflexes, and these nerve reflexes, in simple terms, are electrical signals that manifest externally as electromagnetic waves. My psychic ability is to detect these electromagnetic waves. When he lies, the electromagnetic waves in his brain will change. This is why I can read minds."
Chang Jianyi nodded and patted Zhang Xixi's shoulder, saying, "Then keep up the good work. While you are in Yuzhou, I will treat you very well. Just ask for whatever you want."
Chang Jianyi had discovered Zhang Xixi's usefulness. Although this girl's combat power was poor, she was a good hand when it came to interrogation and discerning right from wrong.