Starting Cultivation in Wasteland

Chapter 988 - 854: Eat More

Flower Scorpion was clearly murderous—having someone at the door and declaring a forced eviction tomorrow, how could she swallow this anger?Just then, another car arrived from afar; it was the Milton couple.

Soon, two more cars showed up, all belonging to nearby neighbors.

They had all received the land acquisition notice, but the city hall’s first target was Qu Jianlei and his group.

The reason was obvious: they occupied the largest area and seemed the hardest to deal with. Getting them would mean getting everyone else.

So everyone was very concerned about the developments, knowing that someone had received a forced eviction notice today, and came to understand the situation.

Of course, whether these people were purely concerned was questionable—some had relatives in the town.

But Qu Jianlei didn’t mind. This is the real society; no one lives in a vacuum.

As long as there’s no obvious favoritism, it’s no big deal to gather some information, and they’re not afraid of being questioned.

It looks like we’re neighbors now, but ultimately, they’re just passersby in life. No need to fuss over everything.

However, one family indicated that someone in town said the efforts for this land acquisition weren’t strong, and that getting someone to make some moves could allow them to clear the hurdle.

The implication was that they hoped Qu Jianlei and others could take the lead in public relations.

If the largest farm could be preserved, others’ efforts would be less difficult.

This kind of request carried a hint of moral coercion, so they didn’t dare to speak too clearly, fearing to anger the other side.

On Qu Jianlei’s side, most people lacked the social desire, with the only exception being Claire.

She dismissed the "activity" suggestion with disdain, merely stating that they had a plan to deal with it.

Anyway, the three families communicated for a while, and after some time, two more families arrived.

Discussing such matters often wasted time, often going off track, and before they knew it, it was almost dark.

When the five families took their leave, they reminded Claire, asking her to speak up if they needed help—at least their attitude was fine.

By the time it was completely dark, Flower Scorpion took the initiative to find Qu Jianlei.

"Boss, you said to wait for them, can we make a move now?"

"You and Old Ben take a trip," Qu Jianlei said in a deep voice, "I have some information for you..."

The next day, at the crack of dawn, a neighbor drove over but didn’t enter the yard, just watched from afar.

The Imperial people also enjoyed a spectacle, but clearly not this time. The people who came had brought their families and couldn’t have woken up this early for entertainment.

Even if it wasn’t considered support, it was at least solidarity. By daybreak, almost every adjacent farm had sent someone.

Since it was the farming off-season, there were almost a hundred people outside, appearing as a dark mass.

Some weren’t even nearby neighbors, and several held professional photography equipment, the purpose unknown.

Around eight o’clock, the courtyard gate opened, and Claire drove out in a light truck, with several large pots in the back.

She parked the truck in front of the crowd, then climbed into the truck bed, speaking with a lively demeanor.

"Anyone who hasn’t had breakfast, come quickly to eat...this is a family specialty, you’ll regret not trying it!"

When the pot lid was lifted, the aroma of food wafted out, smelling quite enticing.

Everyone coming from farms didn’t lack food, and there was no shame in eating something from another’s place.

Some went forward to eat, and others, seeing Claire so laid-back, couldn’t help but ask.

"Aren’t you preparing, since people may come soon?"

"There’s nothing to prepare," Claire boldly replied, "it’s uncertain when they’ll come!"

"You should all eat more so you have the strength to wait!"

Hearing the underlying meaning in her words, someone couldn’t help but ask, "Does that mean they won’t come?"

"I wouldn’t know that," Claire shook her head, "we’re not the city hall; we can’t control them."

It was then that someone’s watch beeped, bringing news from the town.

The forty or so people who left yesterday didn’t return to the city; they chose to stay in the town instead.

There were plenty of empty rooms, and with a little tidying, they could be habitable.

Early this morning, while waiting for the demolition machinery to arrive, someone suddenly realized that the C-level City Guard was missing.

He was still there when they rested last night, so how did he disappear?

Everyone spread out to search for a long time, eventually using a Life Detector to find him in an abandoned basement.

He had been tied up, with tape over his mouth, and the most critical thing was...both his legs and feet had been broken!

The group got instantly agitated: who did this was plainly obvious!

But the two B-levels, having heard it, looked very grave, exchanging a glance: Did you notice?

Everyone stayed in adjacent courtyards last night. Though there was drinking and chatting, they rested before midnight.

There were people on night duty, but their watchfulness was lax—after a long peaceful time, everyone’s vigilance had relaxed.

But these two B-levels were different. They instinctively believed the opponent wasn’t simple.

Just three B-level Awakened alone constituted a force not to be overlooked, let alone when some people’s presence couldn’t be discerned.

They were able to follow along, firstly due to orders from City Hall, and secondly because they were betting the other party wouldn’t dare openly defy the law.

However, expecting no resistance at all was unrealistic—doesn’t everyone have a temper?

The reaction from the other side yesterday made them cautious.

Neither seeking channels nor exhibiting extreme behavior, they remained calm.

This reaction was too abnormal; both of them were B-level, aware of the pride B-level should hold.

If they didn’t have enough confidence, would the other party dare to do this?

Both understood that there was likely something amiss, but they couldn’t possibly tell anyone—it would be too embarrassing.

The night guard seemed nonchalant, yet they were secretly more vigilant at night.

Now the problem arose, as the two exchanged glances, confirming one thing.

Both had somehow failed to notice when this C-level went missing!

The matter indeed escalated! They didn’t act on their own—such matters only needed a straightforward report.

Additionally, they urged for the relevant equipment.

Then, worse news came: the deputy responsible for this at City Hall had taken sick leave.

The deputy’s assistant stated the equipment couldn’t be transported over for the time being, and the forced removal would be delayed.

Of course, it wasn’t his decision; it was instructed by the deputy on sick leave, without a definite timeline for the delay.

However, these two B-levels weren’t fools; they had connections and soon gathered new information.

The deputy wasn’t sick but was burglarized overnight—his home was cleaned out!

Losing some valuables wasn’t the issue; the critical matter was the whole family being shaved bald by the nocturnal thief!

The entire family of over thirty, men and women, all ended up bald overnight.

In Imperial society, the bald look wasn’t much opposed, but an entire family being bald was just... bizarre, right?

Especially since most women liked having pretty hairstyles, what was with the bald head?

In fact, besides the hair, even their eyebrows and beards were entirely shaved off.

It’s said that the deputy’s wife, upon awakening, angrily smashed several cups and immediately wanted to summon the City Guard.

However, such irrational behavior was promptly stopped by the deputy: shaving the family’s heads was a severe warning!

It’s a simple common sense question: is shaving faster, or is beheading faster?

If they could shave everyone’s heads unnoticed, was beheading difficult?

The deputy was forcibly suppressing this news, yet unfortunately, in such an institution, keeping such information confidential was challenging.

Moreover, the deputy’s family was quite rattled.

Besides the wailing, those who attended school stopped going, those who worked stopped working, and even those who did business stayed home.

Who did this? The deputy might still be screening through enemies—Qu Jianlei’s farm was merely one of the suspects.

But the town’s two B-levels had already identified that those capable of such acts must be them!

Breaking the C-level City Guard’s limbs was to punish his disrespect, and for the deputy’s family... who put you in charge of this matter?

Thus, these two B-levels faced a choice: wait for news or leave first?

However, this time, their response was swift and unanimous: leave immediately, this place was no longer safe!

They suggested it, while some were reluctant, claiming that family was highly suspicious, why not arrest them?

The two B-levels almost struck out: the other party had obviously held back, were they trying to drive everyone to death?

But they didn’t explain, merely stating flatly that since the equipment couldn’t come, if others wouldn’t leave, they would!

These two were smart, and others weren’t fools either—it wasn’t only they who could contact City Hall.

So someone agreed, saying that it was indeed time to leave, and others mentioned that the injured should be sent to the hospital promptly.

Yet some wondered: shouldn’t they inform the City Hall head?

The two B-levels calmly replied: reporting over someone’s head was impractical, and the chief wasn’t responsible for coordinating the equipment.

Simply put: the task couldn’t be completed today, so why wait?

In fact, they were still holding back; as B-level Awakened, they could contact the chief directly.

However, they couldn’t contact now; better to reach out along the way back than face potential danger here!

The town wasn’t big; this news spread quickly, and naturally, someone contacted a familiar farm owner via a wristwatch.

After hanging up the wristwatch, the farm owner’s expression was bizarre and immediately whispered to someone nearby.

"That C-level City Guard from yesterday had his limbs broken and was thrown into the basement!"

The news quickly reached Claire’s ears, and she raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Really?"

She really didn’t know about this, only knowing that it was Flower Scorpion and Bentley who went out last night, not knowing what they did.

Slightly startled, she then laughed, "Serves them right, well done!"