Inside the dormitory.
Qin Yu kept his head down, cleaning his service pistol. He tilted his head toward Lao Hei and asked, “Brother, how did you end up in the Ninth District?”
“Same as most people.” Lao Hei lowered his head and replied softly. “When the disaster hit, the nations formed a united government and established the Eight Major Districts for refuge. But with so many people in the world, how could everyone possibly fit into the Eight Major Districts? Too many people, too few resources, and hardly any places left to live. So, if you wanted to get into the Eight Major Districts, you had to wait for the united government to allocate Permanent Residency Rights by lottery to people around the world… They called it a random draw, but the social elite took most of the tickets. The small share left over was bid up to astronomical prices. Toward the end, a single ticket cost tens of millions of US dollars… My hometown was in war-torn Africa. Just surviving was hard enough. Where would we get the money to buy tickets?”
At this point, the Thai brother also chimed in softly, “We all went through the same thing.”
“My dad still held onto a sliver of hope back then. He heard that District Seven and District Eight still had vacancies and were still randomly distributing Permanent Residency Rights, so he tried every possible means to get to Asia. But by the time we arrived, the districts were full. They couldn’t take anyone else.” Lao Hei smiled and asked Qin Yu, “Do you know the origin of the Ninth District?”
“I’ve heard a bit.” Qin Yu nodded.
“Since District Seven and District Eight were both within your country’s borders, and they were the last two residential zones with unfilled quotas, many people holding onto that slim hope of drawing residence rights rushed here from all over the world, waiting for that tiny chance… But after District Seven and District Eight reached capacity, tens of millions of homeless people were left stranded here. They couldn’t survive… so, under someone’s leadership, riots broke out as they attempted to storm the other residential zones. The united government had no choice but to allocate a portion of resources and permit the establishment of Special District 9. But they didn’t have the ability or enough resources to supply this place, so they ultimately let us govern ourselves. This is the history of the Ninth District. It’s the chance at survival that those of us at the bottom fought for. It might be chaotic, but it feels like a home. Even if you asked me to go to the other Eight Major Districts now, I probably wouldn’t fit in.” Lao Hei was an optimist. He always showed his white teeth when he spoke, and his smile had a warmth to it.
Qin Yu remained silent for a long time before asking, “Then who else do you have in your family?”
“No one. My mother and younger brother died during the Ninth District’s first military conflict…” Lao Hei’s gaze dimmed slightly. “My dad was among the first batch of police officers in the Ninth District. He was killed in the line of duty.”
Qin Yu paused. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I moved past it a long time ago.” Lao Hei smiled again. “What about you? Do you have family? How did you end up in the Unplanned Zone…?”
“I… I might be even worse off than you…” Qin Yu hesitated for a long time, just about to confide in his colleague.
“Ring, ring!”
Just then, the phone rang.
“Hello?” Qin Yu answered the police line.
“That core member of the Ma family took Old Man Ma over to the Third Ring Road area. I’ve been observing for a while, and I’m eighty percent sure the person they’re meeting is the contact.” Over the phone, Xiao Liu gave a concise update.
“Exact numbers on their end?”
“I’m judging the contact’s presence based on experience,” Xiao Liu frowned. “I haven’t actually seen him in person, but there are at least two to four guys running lookout at the alley entrance.”
“What about Old Man Ma’s side?”
“He went in by himself. The guys he brought are waiting outside. Three in total.”
“Got a read on their firepower?” Qin Yu asked.
“Can’t tell just by looking, but going off experience, these guys are heavy hitters. They definitely have serious firepower,” Xiao Liu replied without hesitation.
“Alright, got it. Stay put. We’ll be right there.”
“Okay!”
Hanging up, Qin Yu immediately clapped his hands and shouted to the rest of his colleagues, “Gear up! We’re going to work.”
Hearing this, Lao Hei was the first to stand up.
“Heh, let’s work first. We’ll grab a drink and chat later,” Qin Yu said with a smile, patting Lao Hei’s shoulder.
“Sounds good.” Lao Hei didn’t have the minor flaws that many of his African compatriots carried. He worked hard without complaint, wasn’t lazy, and never shied away from trouble. He could handle the roles of both observer and demolitions expert, and his marksmanship was solid. He was one of the few real heavyweights in the Third Group.
“Assemble downstairs.”
Dropping the order, Qin Yu turned and left the dormitory, immediately dialing Yuan Ke’s number.
“Hello? Xiao Qin!”
“Team Leader Yuan, I’m requesting backup,” Qin Yu said straightforwardly.
“Caught a big fish?” Yuan Ke’s eyes lit up.
“Can’t be sure yet. We have to take them down to know.” Qin Yu licked his lips. “The other side might have heavy firepower. Initial estimates put them around ten people.”
“How many men do you need?”
“At least one team.”
“…I’d have a hard time scraping together even two groups for you right now. Our guys are spread thin on cases.” Yuan Ke felt it was a thorny issue.
“If you don’t give me men, I can’t make the arrest.” Qin Yu frowned. “You know the situation with the Third Group.”
Yuan Ke deliberated for a moment. “I’ll call the Team Three leader and have them send backup. Wait downstairs.”
“Lao Mao’s team?” Qin Yu paused.
“What’s wrong? Not good enough?”
“It works. It works. Sending him is fine.” Qin Yu replied, quite satisfied. “I know him well. We can work things out easily.”
“That’s it, then.”
…
About five minutes later.
Lao Mao led twenty men out at a brisk stride. They wore light green Special Police combat uniforms and leather boots, with folding riot shields over their shoulders and five M464 rifles among them.
“Pretty fast!” Qin Yu walked over with a smile.
“Fuck, I only came to back you up because I heard you were leading. If it was anyone else’s job, I’d have dodged it,” Lao Mao grinned, playing up the favor. “These are all the guys left in the dorms. The rest are all out on cases!”
“Thanks.”
“Cut the crap. We’re here to help, so we’ll follow your lead,” Lao Mao waved his hand.
“Let’s go. We’ll talk in the car!” Qin Yu pulled Lao Mao along and turned back to shout at his team members. “Check your comms! We’ll hash out the arrest plan on the way.”
“Yes, sir!”
The Third Group shouted in unison and boarded their respective vehicles.
Several minutes later, four police patrol cars and one tactical multi-purpose van sped toward the Third Ring Road.
…
Inside the alley, in a dark, damp room.
A Long chewed on some braised beef, tilting his head toward Old Man Ma. “Can you actually handle this mess or not? If you can’t, I’m handing the job to someone else.”
“I can handle it. Just wait a bit longer.”
“I’ll give you a week at most,” A Long weighed his words before answering. “We really can’t delay any longer. If the warehouse gets raided, I’ll lose everything right down to my boxers.”
“I understand.” Old Man Ma stood up. “I’ll have the problem solved within a week.”
“Good!” A Long took a sip of baijiu, looking up to shout, “See Brother Ma out!”
As Old Man Ma turned toward the door, he paused slightly and suddenly looked back. “A Long, there actually isn’t much competition in our line of work on Black Street. Just a few players. But their drug prices are double ours… I just don’t get it. Why do you absolutely refuse to let us raise prices? Do you know how much money we’re leaving on the table?”
A Long picked the sleep from his eye and laughed carelessly. “Fuck! As long as there’s profit, it’s fine. How much is enough anyway?”
Old Man Ma pondered this for a moment. “True enough. I’ll be going now.”
“Hurry up and fix the problem.”
“Got it.”
Old Man Ma pushed the door open and stepped out of the room.
…
Three minutes later.
Xiao Liu dialed Qin Yu’s number. “Group Leader, situation’s changed. Old Man Ma suddenly left…!”
Qin Yu froze for a moment before immediately asking, “Are the people inside still there?”
“They are!”
Author’s Note: Thanks for all your support. Five chapters today; please keep sending recommendation votes!
Updates return to the normal schedule tomorrow, with eight chapters on Monday!
After Chapter 35, the story will keep delivering high-stakes action and climaxes. Stay tuned!