novelsite Chapter 31 Arson
Chapter 31 Arson
Instead of going directly into the warehouse, Wang Zhengyang went around to the electrical box on the outer wall. It was an old, rusty metal box. He put on gloves, placed his hand on the box's exterior, and let his supernatural power penetrate it.
The internal wiring was a mess, but to him it was as clear as a line drawing. He located the main and backup lines, and instead of cutting them off directly, he created tiny, controllable short circuits at critical points.
Three seconds later, the lights in the warehouse flickered a few times and then went out completely. It wasn't a power outage; Wang Zhengyang had used his supernatural abilities to create the illusion that the circuit breaker had tripped—the breaker itself was intact, but the current in the circuit was temporarily blocked.
The warehouse echoed with curses from Iron Hand gang members. Flashlight beams swayed in the darkness.
"Damn it, the power tripped again!"
"Old houses are all like this, move out quickly!"
"We don't have enough flashlights, go get a few more!"
Chaotic, but not enough.
Wang Zhengyang took out a small device from his backpack—a remote-controlled car modified from a children's toy, with a miniature speaker mounted on its roof. He placed the car near the back door of the warehouse and pressed the remote control.
The remote-controlled car silently slid into the warehouse and stopped in the shadow of the shelves. Wang Zhengyang adjusted the frequency, and the speaker emitted a faint sound, similar to the scurrying and gnawing of a mouse.
What was that sound?
"It's rats, there are plenty of these warehouses."
"Something's not right... the sound is a bit strange..."
Two Iron Hand gang members, flashlights in hand, walked toward the sound. Their attention was diverted.
Right now.
Wang Zhengyang slipped into the warehouse through a side door. The warehouse was even more cluttered than the floor plan showed; the aisles between the shelves were narrow, and many loose boxes were piled on the floor. The Iron Hand gang members were mainly concentrated in the shelf area near the door, packing night vision goggles and tactical equipment into bags.
He moved close to the innermost shelf, his supernatural ability scanning like radar. Twenty-five armor plates, stacked in five layers, were piled at the deepest part of the warehouse. Next to them were bulletproof alloys, packed in wooden crates.
Moving these heavy materials quickly by hand is impossible. But there is a manual hydraulic pallet truck in the warehouse—the kind that Wang Zhengyang had designed and modified in advance.
He moved silently to the transport vehicle, placing his hand on the frame. His supernatural abilities seeped in, forming a guiding structure at key points. The modification was complete in twelve seconds.
Next is the transport strategy. Four and a half tons of cargo cannot be moved all at once. Priority must be given to armor plates and bulletproof alloys; other tactical equipment can be disregarded.
Wang Zhengyang pushed the trolley to the armor plate stack. He needed to remove each 81.5-kilogram steel plate from the five-story-high stack, which was very strenuous.
But he is a superhuman.
He pressed his hands against the topmost armor plate, his supernatural power seeping into the metal like countless fine threads. Instead of directly manipulating the steel plate to fly—that would be too energy-consuming—he altered the microstructure of the contact surface between the steel plate and the plate below, reducing friction to an extremely low level.
Then he gave it a push, and the first armor plate slid out and landed steadily on the forks of the transport vehicle. The whole process was almost silent.
The second piece, the third piece... Five minutes later, the five armor plates were neatly stacked on the transport vehicle, with a total weight of over 400 kilograms.
Wang Zhengyang pushed the transport vehicle. With the aid of his supernatural ability, the 400-kilogram load moved as easily as an empty vehicle, and the wheels turned silently, with only a slight hissing sound from the hydraulic system.
He transported the armor plates to the loading platform and used a manual hoist from the warehouse to lift them into the cargo container. He lifted one plate at a time; although it was slow, it was safe.
The first move was completed in eight minutes. Inside the warehouse, Iron Hand members were still moving lighter goods; they had filled four large bags and were preparing to ship them out.
Wang Zhengyang waited for his opportunity. When two Iron Hand gang members carried bags out of the warehouse, he quickly carried out a second move—this time five armor plates and three bulletproof alloy plates.
During the move, he deliberately let a small wooden board fall off the shelf, making a noise.
"What's that sound?" The Iron Hand gang members on guard in the warehouse turned around alertly.
"Something fell off the shelf," another voice said. "Don't panic, just hurry up and get rid of it."
My attention was diverted again.
The second loading was completed in seven minutes. The cargo compartment was already loaded with ten armor plates and three bulletproof alloy plates, weighing a total of approximately 1.1 tons.
Time: 11:22 AM.
The Iron Hand gang members began moving the second batch of light cargo. Their bags were almost full, and they looked ready to leave.
Wang Zhengyang sped up. The third move: five armor plates plus four bulletproof alloy plates. This time, he used his supernatural ability to create a more ingenious cover—several empty iron barrels "just happened" to roll off the shelves at the other end of the warehouse, making a series of clanging sounds.
"Damn it, is this warehouse haunted?" The Iron Hand gang member cursed as he walked toward the sound.
Wang Zhengyang took the opportunity to complete the third move. The cargo box's load capacity increased to approximately 1.9 tons.
At 11:31, the Iron Hand gang members began loading their loot into the vehicles. They arrived in two vehicles, an SUV and a small van. The van was about half full of light equipment, and it seemed they didn't intend to continue.
"That's enough, let's go!" shouted a man who seemed to be the leader.
"Aren't you going to take those large steel plates from inside the warehouse?"
"It's too heavy, we can't move it. Besides, Zhang Yiqiang's men could come back at any time, let's get out of here!"
The Iron Hand Gang began their retreat. Two men dragged the unconscious guards from the warehouse to a corner, while the others quickly tallied the loot.
Wang Zhengyang hid in the shadows at the innermost part of the warehouse, holding his breath. He couldn't move; any movement would likely lead to his discovery.
At 11:35, the Iron Hand Gang's vehicles started and drove away from the warehouse area. The sound of the engines gradually faded into the distance.
But Wang Zhengyang didn't act immediately. He continued to wait, his supernatural perception expanding to its maximum range. The Iron Hand Gang's car had indeed left, but just in case, there might be people covering their retreat.
Two minutes passed, and all that could be heard around the warehouse was the sound of rain.
Safety.
Wang Zhengyang emerged from the shadows and began the fourth round of hauling. This time, he had to move the remaining ten armor plates and the remaining bulletproof alloy, as well as several boxes of special sealing components—these were crucial for the protection of the "Longyuan".
With the aid of supernatural abilities, the transport vehicle operated efficiently. Ten minutes later, all the armor plates, bulletproof alloys, and seals were loaded onto the truck. The cargo box was fully loaded, with an estimated weight of 4.2 tons, close to the safety limit.
But he had one last task: to set up the fire scene.
Wang Zhengyang took out an accelerant from his backpack. He walked to several key locations in the warehouse: the exposed, aging main electrical wires, the densely packed wooden shelves, and the area next to the stacked paper packaging materials. He sprayed an appropriate amount of accelerant at each location—the amount had to be carefully controlled, enough to ensure it ignites but not so fast or violently as to cause an explosion.
Next came the wiring. He located the warehouse's main electrical box and used his powers to precisely destroy several key nodes, making the lines extremely prone to short-circuiting after power was restored. At the same time, he deliberately exposed the wires at the locations where he had sprayed accelerants, even peeling back a small section of the insulation.
The final step: creating traces left by the Iron Hand. Wang Zhengyang picked up a glove dropped by an Iron Hand member from the ground—an ordinary work glove, but it might have DNA on it. He placed the glove on a pile of paper packaging materials, and then next to it, he placed an empty cigarette box—also found at the scene.
Setup complete, time: 11:52 AM.
Wang Zhengyang did one last check. The warehouse was almost empty of valuable heavy materials, leaving only some worthless junk and empty boxes. The Iron Hand Gang had only taken lightweight, high-value goods, and the evidence at the scene pointed to their typical pattern of looting and then setting fire to cover their tracks.
perfect.