Chapter 1 The City Management Has Arrived

  The weather in June was abnormally sultry, with the scorching sun shining directly on the ground. The sand and dust on the road seemed to be sparkling with life. The heat filled the air, exerting its summer power everywhere. Many dogs by the roadside stuck out their tongues, while even the small birds in the trees by the roadside opened their mouths to pant.

  A silver-gray Mitsubishi van with "Urban Management Law Enforcement" printed on its body was speeding down the highway. Pang Gang sat in the back seat, next to a dark-faced burly man in his 40s and a middle-aged man in his 30s. In the middle of the car were three young people in their 20s.

  Because of the heat, Pang Gang, who was dozing off, leaned his head against the glass of the car window beside him, and a string of bright saliva flowed out from the corner of his mouth from time to time.

  "Brother Gang, brother Gang... wake up quickly, we're almost at Xinghu Road." The dark-faced big man beside him said in a low voice, stretching out his hand to push Gang's shoulder.

  "Hmph......" The people sitting in the middle all laughed, a young man with a fat build and a big round face laughed: "Gangzi must have done something that's not suitable for children last night, otherwise why would he be sleeping so soundly in the middle of the day? Especially on such a hot day, it's amazing he can sleep at all! And to sweat so much while sleeping, this is a skill that not everyone has."

  "Hmm..." Pang Gang looked down at himself and, as expected, his light blue-gray uniform was already drenched with sweat.

  Pang Gang smiled awkwardly, scratched his head and revealed a silly smile, but said in his mouth: "This can't be blamed on me, who let this broken car have no air conditioning? Besides, it was you guys who got me drunk last night, my head is still dizzy now. I just slept for a while, how did we arrive so quickly? It must be Xiao Lu driving fast! Brothers, be careful, beware of traffic police looking for trouble on the road."

  Just as Pang finished speaking, a soft laugh came from the front row. A middle-aged woman wearing the same blue-gray uniform turned her head and said with a scolding tone: "Xiao Gang, you're framing Xiao Lu! Xiao Lu is actually very reliable, it's just that you slept like a dead pig, now you're blaming everything on Xiao Lu!"

  When the middle-aged woman spoke, Pang Gang touched his nose and said, "Sister Wang, look at what you're saying. I was just joking with Little Lu. Don't I trust Little Lu's skills?"

  Pang Gang had just finished speaking when he was met with contemptuous glances from those around him.

  The driver, who had been driving in silence all along, cracked a smile and said without turning his head, "Looks like Xiaogang is still holding a grudge against me for getting him drunk last night."

  "Hehe......" Wang Dajie smiled warmly and looked around, then said seriously: "Alright, we're almost at Xinghu Road. When we arrive at our destination, everyone needs to be careful. These days, Director Li has been emphasizing the importance of civilized law enforcement, and the situation on Xinghu Road is quite complex. There are all sorts of people there. Who knows, maybe there will even be reporters snooping around. Everyone mustn't give anyone any handles to criticize us. If we're exposed in the newspapers, it'll be trouble. Does everyone understand?"

  "Got it!" came a chorus of uneven replies from inside the car.

  This year, 22-year-old Pang Gang just graduated from an ordinary university last year and entered the "Urban Management Law Enforcement Brigade" of Xinghu City under the operation of his family. Well, simply put, they are responsible for urban appearance and environmental rectification. The full name of their unit is called "Urban Management Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau" subordinate management team, also known as "Chengguan" by people.

  Before joining the Urban Management Team, Pang Gang had some preconceived notions about the work and reputation of urban management, because many media or online evaluations of this unit were not very good. For example, some netizens joked about urban management on the internet: Urban management is a secret semi-militarized organization developed by a certain country, managing cities in peacetime, training guerrilla tactics, and can be incorporated into formal military during wartime. It is an excellent reserve force that can charge, detect, ambush, endure hardships, tolerate, and fight bravely. A secret report from the Pentagon states: The urban management team of a certain country is a formidable semi-militarized organization with great potential, capable of fighting all day with just one broken van or pickup truck (the country solemnly promises not to use urban management first against foreign countries).

  But is this really the case? After entering the profession, Pang Gang came to realize that everything has two sides. Due to the game of urban management departments, the institutional advantages of comprehensive administrative law enforcement are often difficult to achieve. Frequently, each department leaves what they cannot manage or do not want to manage, especially when it comes to vulnerable groups, to be handled by urban management, such as street vendors (those with storefronts are managed by the industrial and commercial administration) and illegal constructions (those with licenses are managed by the planning department), etc. Meanwhile, relatively easy-to-regulate matters are left to their own departments. In many places, urban management has become a focal point of various social contradictions.

  For example, someone exposed online that the urban management in a certain place was too arrogant and even dared to beat the police who were on duty. Pang Gang remembered that after reading this report, he burst out laughing... What the hell? Beat the police uncle? Are you tired of living? The police station is what department, they are the national violent organs, holding guns in their hands. You say a group of unarmed urban management personnel went to beat the police, did these urban management personnel get tired of living or drink too much Sanlu milk powder? This kind of thing that makes no sense at all, they also dare to post it online. I really don't know if they are too stupid or think netizens are all fools.

  In fact, the urban management department is doing the most offending work and is also the most tiring department. The team members working in the urban management brigade are mostly from rural areas, and those small vendors on the street are not out to sell goods because of difficulties in life. Who would be willing to offend people for just a few dozen yuan or an umbrella placed at the door? But they have no choice, if they don't do it, maybe tomorrow they will be among the people selling goods on the street.

  “Hiss……” The Mitsubishi car stopped at the entrance of a small alley, the door opened, and seven or eight city administrators wearing blue-gray uniforms got out of the car. Team leader Wang Da Jie gave instructions to the team members and reminded them several times before turning around to say to Pang Gang: "Xiao Gang, you're new here, so I'll say a few more words. When we take action later, be extra careful and try to avoid physical conflicts with the small vendors. If it gets picked up by the internet or media, it won't look good for us. You understand? Later, you'll be in charge of the section by the city moat. Also, remember to protect yourself carefully!"

  "Captain... I understand." Pang Gang looked at Wang Dajie with gratitude, patted his chest and made a few dull sounds.

  Seeing Wang's somewhat puzzled gaze, Pang Gang smiled and said: "Captain, don't worry, I've been prepared for a long time, I've got everything ready here, I guarantee I won't get hurt."

  Sister Wang smiled and nodded in satisfaction: "That's good, let's get started!"

  "Yes!"

  Temple Street, next to Xinghu Road, is a gathering place for small vendors. This not-so-big street is crowded with people and many small vendors every day. Generally starting from 8 o'clock in the morning, all kinds of hawkers' calls begin to bustle.

  Following several team members into their respective positions, Pang had just run to the entrance of a small alley when he heard a loud shout: "Everyone run quickly! The city management is here!"

  Pang Gang immediately saw a group of vendors pushing carts, carrying poles, and backpacks, rushing out of the temple fair like crazy.

  "Damn, that's intense." Although he was a bit stunned, Pang Gang still didn't forget his task and quickly ran to the alley entrance near the moat.

  Very soon, the vendors selling insoles, pancakes and roasted intestines who were running ahead were blocked by two city management officers who suddenly appeared from the corner of the street. The alleys on both sides were also blocked by city management officers who had been hiding in advance. At the same time, several city management officers who came from behind gradually approached. Faced with the situation of being ambushed in front, pursued from behind and intercepted in the middle, the vendors had no way to go and could only stop their fleeing footsteps reluctantly.

  A chubby little Xu was panting and chasing after an old lady who was about sixty years old, pushing a worn-out tricycle but still walking briskly. The old lady, who had been running wildly all the way, stopped only when she saw that the road was completely blocked, turned around and forced a smile: "Little Xu, are you thinking of eating my baked buns?"

  "Stop talking nonsense." Little Xu said, panting and holding onto his thick thigh, "Why are you running? Do you think we're going to eat you?"

  The old woman hung her head and muttered in a low voice: "You don't eat people, but you drink blood. If you're caught by you, you'll be fined."

  "Nonsense! Who made you think we wouldn't...not issue a permit for occupying the road for business? Of course, we have to look for you!"

  "But doing that thing every month costs dozens of yuan, is it really necessary?" the old lady muttered.

  "Yes, yes, we only make a few hundred yuan each month, and you're taking away tens of yuan at once, isn't that too black-hearted?" The people around chimed in.

  "This is none of my business, if you have any opinions, go tell our leader!" Little Xu waved his hand impatiently.

  "Hum, you vampires, won't you let us ordinary people live? If you don't release us now, be careful or I'll fight it out with you!"

  At this time, a middle-aged man with a big belly and a butcher knife in his hand rushed out loudly shouting, his right hand waving the knife constantly, making the nearby vendors carefully keep a distance of three feet away from him.

  "Haha, I thought it was someone else, but it's actually Zhu Rong. If even you can't make a living, we would have gone to beg for food long ago. Who are you trying to scare? The money you make from selling pork every day is enough to pay our wages. You're not fooling anyone, especially not a three-year-old kid."

  Zhu Ronglie snorted, "You little brat, you haven't even dried off your natal hair yet, and you're still babbling on. Be careful or I'll give you a taste of my blade, in comes the white knife, out comes the red one."

  "Haha...... I'm so scared!" Seeing this pork Rong, who usually bullies others, dare to talk back to him, Pang Gang coldly smiled and took a step forward, patting his chest and saying: "Come on, stab me here, if you don't dare, then you're my son!"

  "Hehe......" The surrounding vendors all burst out laughing.

  "You... you really think I don't dare?!" Pig Meat Rong, whose face was somewhat lost due to the laughter of the crowd, ran a few steps towards Pang Gang with his knife in hand, just about to stop and say a few harsh words. Unexpectedly, he stepped on a piece of watermelon rind on the ground, and his whole body flew towards Pang Gang, the sharp blade of the butcher's knife shining as it stabbed straight at Pang Gang's chest...

  "Hmph..." A low, muffled sound echoed in everyone's ears as Zhu Rouheng's body collided with Pang Gang. The over 170 pounds of Zhu Rouheng's weight sent Pang Gang flying backward into the moat that lacked a guardrail for protection.

  "Plop......" Then a heavy splash sounded in the moat.

  The surroundings suddenly fell silent, the vendors were all stunned, and after a long time, a shrill cry came from next door: "Oh no... Murder!"

  The small vendors who were frightened suddenly scattered, leaving behind a mess of goods and a sturdy man staring blankly at his empty right hand. The man was clearly stunned, muttering to himself: "I... I didn't mean to, it was that damn guy who threw away the watermelon rind..."

  Everyone didn't notice that at the bottom of the moat where Pang Gang fell, a dark hole appeared, which just sucked in the fallen Pang Gang. The appearance time of this black hole was very short, and it quickly disappeared. Along with the disappearance of the black hole, our protagonist Comrade Pang Gang also disappeared...