Tug of War

Unlike what was planned, there were four trucks instead of five. This did not obstruct the plan in any way however, so everybody remained calm.

The engines continued to run as a few officers jumped out of the trucks and yelled at the residents to come out.

A balding officer spat at the ground and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Listen, we don't have all day! Let's do this the easy way and just come out on your own!"

As the officer expected, nobody made any movement.

"...Typical." The officer muttered something under his breath and his hand reached for an object at his waist. Pulling it out of its holder, he aimed it at the sky and fired three loud shots.

"That was a warning! If nobody comes out by the time I count to ten, I'll force my way in!"

In the midst of all the silence, a door creaked open.

Tentatively, a young boy with freckles stepped out of his home and presented himself in front of the officer.

"Sir, please let me go instead of my uncle. He's too old."

Just then, an aged woman ran out of the same house crying.

"My poor child! Officer, please! Leave us alone!"

The officer scoffed and kicked the woman aside. He was used to these sorts of things. He shoved the boy into one of the trucks. Once inside, the boy saw another officer indicate for him to sit down. Seeing this, the boy complied and dropped his head. A small smile appeared on his face. He was the first to succeed. Boss would definitely reward him for this, right?

Yes, indeed. This brave boy was Xiaodong. This was a sign for two others to follow after him. Their aim was to get into different trucks. The team leaders would only show themselves once a truck was completely full. This would ensure that they didn't get placed in the same place by accident.

Following that heartwarming display of selflessness, two more boys ran out of their homes with family members hot on their tail.

The boys practically threw themselves at the officers with pleading eyes.

The officer couldn't help but take a few steps back at this strange display.

"Take us instead of our father! We're younger! We can work much harder than those old people!"

An old man stumbled out of his home and smacked both boys hard on the back of their heads.

"You foolish sons! How could you leave before this old man?" Turning to the officer, he implored, "Officer, don't take these foolish children away from us. Take me instead. I have more experience."

Between a withered old man and a fit teen, it was obvious who the officer would take. "Scram old man. Be grateful that your children are filial." Without giving the man a chance to retort, another officer escorted the boys into the truck. When they saw the boy sitting in the truck already, they feigned surprise and shouted,

"Xiaodong! It was you?!"

Xiaodong similarly appeared to be stunned.

"It's you two?! You've both gone mad! What will Uncle Li do without you both?!"

"It doesn't matter! As long as we're together, we can definitely get through this!"

Xiaodong smiled. "Of course we can."

The officer guarding them rolled his eyes at this. Watching this sort of teen drama wasn't at all entertaining.

"Shut up." His low growl immediately rendered the boys unable to continue to speak.

Just like that, Lukas' plan was executed perfectly.

Outside, the situation was becoming a bit chaotic.

The soldiers watched with distant gazes as the slum erupted in noise.

'When can we finish up and go home? So much noise.'

There were people crying so much that their snot and tears stained their faces. Whereas others coldly gave away their children to the officers.

"Don't take grandpa! Take me instead!"

"Take me!"

"Spare my grandson! Take me!"

This was just a snippet of what was yelled around the area.

Xiaozhi and Tingting were doing a good job of acting like sisters who couldn't bear to leave their brothers.

Xiaozhi in particular shone during this mission. Acting like a protective older sister, she stood in front of Zhifan and refused to let the officer touch him. The officer's forehead wrinkled when he saw this.

"Hiding behind your sister like that. Are you a girl? Your hair is long and you're a coward. What are kids becoming these days."

Zhifan frowned. It just so happened that he had decided to let his hair down for today. Usually being tied up into a neat bun, nobody had expected it to be so long. His friends' teasing had already irked him in the morning. Now this ugly square-faced officer also commented on it. F*ck! They all saw him as a pushover!

Xiaozhi sensed the change in Zhifan's mood and decided to speak up.

"Officer~ Instead of this kid, won't you take me instead? I'm sure I can help you with many things~"

The officer wasn't having any of it. But he also couldn't bear to kick such a beauty. He lightly pushed her but he did not expect her to go plummeting to the ground in such a painful way. Her delicate nose was immediately bloodied and blood continued to gush from it like a waterfall.

Zhifan's face was a picture of horror.

"Sister!"

He immediately ran to her side and helped her up. He shot a glare at the officer. The officer could only stare blankly. It really was just a simple push. Were women always that weak? Or maybe he was just that strong?

Xiaozhi grabbed Zhifan's shirt anxiously.

"Fan'er, don't leave me. This big sister doesn't want you to leave!" Tears pooled in her eyes. Zhifeng looked away with a pained expression. Finally, he said,

"Sister, I'll definitely return." Determined, he walked over to a truck on his own and climbed in.

Xiaozhi cried with clear anguish and soon fainted from the overwhelming sadness.

Lukas sweatdropped at this. Where did they learn to act like that?

The officer remained confused. Seriously. Were women usually like this?

After Jin Wei went into the third truck in a similar style, it was Mike's turn. Mike had decided to join Jin Wei as support.

A woman posing as his mother pushed Mike towards the officers.

"Take him away and go! Leave us!"

Mike looked shocked as he cried out,

"Mother! Don't make me leave like this! Don't you love me?!"

"Don't call me your mother!" The middle-aged woman snapped back at Mike. She then looked at the officer.

"Officer, this child is not mine. He's just some stray dog that I picked up a while ago. Last week, this ungrateful thing hid himself and made my real son go in his place. Take him away. I refuse to raise him any longer."

The soldier nodded inwardly, 'No wonder they don't look related at all.'

"Mother!"

The woman spat at him with disgust and returned back to her home.

Mike stood in the same spot seemingly dumbfounded. His entire figure shook and his eyes dilated with despair.

The officer cared not for his apparent distress and sent him into the same truck as Jin Wei.

Lukas soon walked out whilst pulling two boys behind him. The boys seemed to be struggling in his grasp. Lukas lead them to the fourth truck. The officer merely nodded at him and opened the door for the three.

Another boy came inside afterwards.

The officers began to count the number of boys they each had.

Three in truck one - one of which was Xiadong.

Four in truck two, including Zhifan.

Four in truck three - the one with both Mike and Jin Wei.

The last truck held Lukas and three others.

There were fifteen boys in total. All was as it should be.

A simple body check was held soon after. After confirming that there were no problems, the officers joined the children in the trucks and rode off, leaving the grieving families behind them.