The air outside Boss Su's base was thick with tension, the relentless sun blazing overhead.
Xi Ping, her skin blistered and peeling from days under the merciless heat, shuffled forward, her body trembling with exhaustion.
Her cracked lips parted to take in a shallow breath as she surveyed the chaotic scene before her.
A crowd had gathered near the gate of the imposing fortress, shouting and jeering as they surrounded a woman who lay on the ground, bruised and bloody.
"Please! I swear I won't use Boss Su's name again!" the woman begged, her voice hoarse from screaming.
A man in the crowd sneered, delivering another sharp kick to her ribs.
"You think begging will help now, Su Yun? You've disgraced Boss Su's name. This is what you get for your lies!"
Xi Ping winced at the brutality, but she turned her attention elsewhere.
Her gaze landed on a long line of migrants, their faces sunken and weary, waiting beneath the scorching sun.