Good Fortune from Heaven-and Who Was Dumber Than Whom?

Tom a very common name, so common that people are reluctant to give their children such an unremarkable name.

But it is indeed a person's name, and the owner of that name is currently hiding in an alley in fear.

A military vehicle slowly drove through the street. The people in the vehicle could not see Tom hiding in the deepest part of the alley. The soldier with his hands on the Machine Gun could only look at the figures that might appear in the light.

The strike has ended, and military control has been slightly relaxed, turning into a curfew.

During the eleven hours from 6 p. m. to 7 a. m. the following day, no one is allowed to be on the streets without a valid reason.

The military originally intended to issue passes to those who needed to go out at night, but some people thought that this was akin to the High-Pressure Rule implemented in a country without freedom under a dictatorship, which would be detrimental to the name of the free nation of the Bayer Federation, so they canceled the idea and practice.

Instead, those who need to go out on the street must provide the military personnel conducting the inspections with their Social Security Number and a statement explaining that they were outside their bedrooms during curfew.

This would be much freer, with no one interfering with the people's free will. They could appear wherever they wanted anytime, anywhere, as long as they could explain why.

This is the sweet taste of freedom, Long Live the Free Federation! Tom breathed a sigh of relief as the military vehicle drove away. After waiting a while and not hearing the sound of soldiers' boots on the ground during their patrol, he once again moved forward between light and shadow.

His destination this time was Neil's house.

He was Neil's best friend. They had been classmates since first Elementary School and, until recently, they were both factory workers who both lost their jobs.

Calling it unemployment isn't accurate, because it wasn't really unemployment; it was just that the factory had completely shut down indefinitely.

At the time, their Foreman's idea was to lead a group of people to take the Raw Material Warehouse to the workshop for direct use, and then divide the finished products to sell to make up for their losses.

On this matter, the two brothers, who had always been on the same page, had some disagreements.

Later, Tom and the other workers broke into the factory's Raw Material Warehouse and brought the raw materials into the workshop for production. The products were then divided equally among all the workers, who took them home to dispose of themselves. However, it is said that most of them were sold to the Interstellar Trade Company.

Although the auction house could not function properly during the strike, the acquisition was never a problem. Of course, people were able to follow the rules and regulations to recycle goods mainly because there were armed security guards protecting the recycling sites. Judging from their professionalism, it should be true.

Everyone thought there would be no further developments in this matter, and the factory owner did nothing to them during the strike. Unexpectedly, as soon as the strike ended, their boss sued them all and demanded compensation totaling more than three million.

Police and military personnel have begun arresting them; a new batch of police officers has been deployed and are more efficient than the previous ones.

The previous group of police officers thought they could still come to work after the strike, but they overlooked the fact that they were not the only option, which gave the Veterans Affairs Office an opportunity.

A large number of veterans filled the vacant positions at the Sabine City Regional Police Station and all its precincts, leaving no room for the officers who had planned to return after the strike ended.

In this situation, it was almost impossible to escape legal punishment. After Tom narrowly escaped arrest, he planned to ask Neil for help. He had heard that Neil seemed to be doing well now and had a managerial title. Perhaps he could help him.

Actually, when all the compensation is divided among everyone, it's not that much, just ten or twenty thousand yuan... that's all!

Having narrowly escaped several patrols, Tom finally arrived at Neil's house. He knocked on the door, and soon the sound of movement could be heard coming from inside.

Perhaps it was because the city was as quiet as a graveyard, without the slightest noise, but Tom outside the door could even hear the sound of a mechanical spring being pulled, the sound of gunfire, coming from inside the room.

At the same time, Neil's wary voice came from inside the room, "There's not much money here, and we don't want to cause trouble..."

The atrocities committed during the general strike were countless, but because people's attention was drawn to the striking labor and management sides, they did not notice that during this time, at least hundreds of families were invaded, some women were violated, and some were even killed by thugs who broke into homes.

People don't notice these things because they have nothing to do with their own interests; they only see what is relevant to them.

The knocking at the door in the middle of the night made Neil extremely nervous. His answer was exactly the most common response among people of this social class: you're here to rob, but you won't get anything. He even subtly indicated that he would back down no matter what and that he didn't want to cause trouble.

"It's me, Tom."

The door opened, and the light streaming in from inside made Tom breathe a sigh of relief. He looked at Neil, and suddenly a thousand words welled up in his chest, but for a moment he didn't know where to begin.

"Are you alone?" Neil looked down into the dark corridor behind Tom, where the pistol hidden behind him was still there, and his finger was still on the trigger.

Tom nodded, Neil stepped aside, putting his pistol in his pocket as he welcomed Tom inside.

After letting Tom in, Neil glanced at the Black Hole corridor again before closing and locking the door so it couldn't be opened from the outside.

This is a little trick you have to know to live in a place like this: when people come to visit, they often don't lock the door, which gives some people outside an opportunity to take advantage of you. But here, Neil won't let those who don't even know if they exist get away with it.

After the two sat down, Neil poured Tom some wine, as the weather was getting colder and there was no heating in the room.

If they don't drink some, they will soon be frozen solid from the inside out, and that's not a pleasant feeling.

After they sat down, they didn't say anything immediately. They just sat there in silence for a while and drank some wine.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, Tom's expression turned grim. "You have to help me out. You're the only one who can help me now."

Looking at his old friend of decades, Neil suddenly realized that he wasn't as soft-hearted as he used to be and didn't immediately agree. This might be related to his recent experiences.

Since Lin Qi entrusted him with the management of the Construction Company, and in the month or so he worked with Asier, he finally understood that some things were not as simple as people imagined.

At first, he thought that capitalists were all evil, but after he also became a "capitalist's lackey," he suddenly realized that things were not as absolute and simple as he had thought before.

Outside the Employment Center, he felt sorry for everyone. Some people even knelt on the ground with their hands clasped together, as if they were worshipping a god, humbly begging him to grant them a job so that their families could get through this difficult time.

He wanted to save many people, but ultimately found that he couldn't.

Lin Qi gave him a limited budget, and he had to finish the work Lin Qi assigned him before the budget ran out. He couldn't save everyone.

He selected some of the people he thought were the most pitiful, but he soon discovered that he had been deceived.

Some people do work very hard, but others are always slacking off. There was also a guy in his thirties who deliberately injured his finger, demanding not only that he not work, but also that he be paid the same wages as everyone else for their hours, instead of the minimum wage.

Gradually, he became less indignant. He began to be calm and indifferent. He didn't know if this was a good or bad thing. He just knew that he had gained a better understanding of the world.

Neil didn't respond, and Tom didn't immediately realize what was going on; he just thought he had been too vague.

"Regarding that incident last time, the one Hick mentioned, the boss has already called the police and sued us, and I can't afford to pay that amount!"

"He actually demanded that we compensate him based on the selling price of the goods. Even if I still have those items, I can't afford to pay that much money. He just wants the money!"

Their former employer demanded that they compensate the factory for economic losses of more than three million yuan. About 80 percent of this compensation was based on the market price of the goods.

In other words, no matter how much the raw materials they stole were worth, they must compensate the factory based on the price the goods would fetch in a store.

In fact, the factory owner himself did not expect that he would make a large sum of money out of nowhere. He was on the verge of bankruptcy, but he was brought back to life in an instant.

At the same time, in order to appease the capitalists, the City Hall and the Department of Justice agreed to prosecute and take action against the groups that caused damage during the strike. The Sabine City Court granted the factory owners' requests.

If these people fail to raise three million, they will face terrible prison sentences.

Tom was now filled with remorse. "I should have listened to you, Neil. You have to help me!"

Neil was silent for a moment, then asked, "How much more money do we need?"

Tom said something that even he felt a little embarrassed about, "Twenty-two thousand dollars..."

This gave Neil a headache, and he couldn't help but frown. "How much did you sell your share for?"

"Fifteen hundred yuan..."

The room fell silent instantly. It took Neil more than ten seconds to make sure he hadn't misheard. "You sold something worth tens of thousands of yuan for... fifteen hundred yuan?"

He never thought Tom was a fool; sometimes he was even a little clever. But after not seeing him for more than a month, he suddenly realized that Tom was more than just a fool!