The entrance of 88 Tongbai Road Compound.
Qin Yu smiled and asked, “Lin Nianlei, what are you doing here?”
“I’m looking for an apartment,” Lin Nianlei said, brushing the tips of her hair. “What about you?”
“What a coincidence,” Qin Yu said, pausing. “I’m here to look at an apartment too.”
“Huh?” Lin Nianlei blinked her bright, watery eyes. “Doesn’t the Police Department have dorms?”
“Heh, there are too many people in the dorms. I’m not used to it, so I wanted to rent my own place.”
“Oh.”
Lin Nianlei nodded playfully. She extended her hand with natural grace. “Since it’s such a coincidence, let’s properly introduce ourselves. I still don’t know your name.”
“I’m Qin Yu.”
“Thank you, Qin Yu!” The real reason Lin Nianlei had struck up a conversation was to say this exactly.
Qin Yu knew she was thanking him for saving her life in the alley. He gave a show of solemn professionalism. “Just doing my duty. I couldn’t stand by. There’s no need to be so polite…”
Lin Nianlei stood at mock attention. “Hehe, saluting the officer!”
“Let’s go, let’s take a look inside together.” Qin Yu had a weakness for pretty girls, but given his previous circumstances, he couldn’t flirt even if he wanted to. Now that he was temporarily settled, he felt a bit of an itch. At the very least, he wanted to chat with a pretty girl a bit longer.
“I already looked and reserved a place. My colleague went to buy a few things, and we’ll leave when she gets back,” Lin Nianlei replied warmly. “If you rent here, we’ll run into each other again. Once I get paid, I’ll treat you to a meal.”
“Heh, then I’ll have to see if the apartment suits me first.”
“I work at the Network Broadcast Station, so I’ll definitely be interacting with the Police Department in the future. See you around.”
“Alright!”
After their brief exchange, Qin Yu walked into 88 Tongbai Road Compound. He hadn’t managed to get Lin Nianlei’s contact information before she walked off with her female colleague.
…
Inside the courtyard.
Lao Mao sat on a stone block, waving his hand. “Qin Yu, over here!”
“Coming.” Hearing the call, Qin Yu hurried over.
“I heard you talking at the entrance. Who was it?” Lao Mao asked casually. “Did Qi Lin come too?”
“No, I just bumped into the girl who got kidnapped the other day. We chatted for a bit.”
“???” Lao Mao stared in shock. “You ran into that girl? Where is she?!”
“Stop acting like you’re going to eat someone, alright? She already left.”
“What was she doing here?” Lao Mao pressed with immense interest. “Who did she come with? What did she say to you?”
“She works at the Network Broadcast Station, which isn’t far from the Police Department, so she came here to look at an apartment. We just happened to run into each other.” Qin Yu replied impatiently, “Why are you interrogating me like this?”
“Did she rent an apartment in this courtyard?”
“Looks like it.”
“…!” Lao Mao frowned in deep thought before suddenly looking at Qin Yu. “Hey, do you need a roommate or something? I know how to cook.”
“You’re such a shameless bastard.” Qin Yu was speechless.
“I’m genuinely attracted to her, brother,” Lao Mao rambled on. “Let’s split the rent, eh? We can live together, and let me tell you…”
“We’ll talk about it later. Let’s look at the apartment first.” Qin Yu waved him off. “Hurry up, I have to get back to the team soon.”
“Alright, alright, let’s look first.”
With that, the two walked into the main hall of the building.
The apartment Lao Mao showed Qin Yu was a little over thirty square meters. It had some basic furniture and painted walls. The place looked clean, but the price was a bit steep. The landlady wanted three hundred a month, with half a year’s rent paid upfront.
This price wasn’t low, but it was reasonable. 88 Tongbai Road Compound was located in the most concentrated area of Songjiang City’s administrative institutions, right next to the television station, the Online Broadcasting Station, the Police Department, the Transportation Department, and other administrative buildings. This was exactly why Qin Yu and Lin Nianlei had bumped into each other. Their workplaces weren’t far apart; even if they hadn’t met here, they would have likely run into each other eventually.
The current common currency in the Ninth District was the newly issued Asian Yuan, while the global currency was the Alliance Currency issued by Joint Savings, an institution under an unnamed joint authority. The European Union zone had its own currency, the Euro, but that was irrelevant for now.
The exchange rate sat at roughly one Alliance Currency to six Asian Yuan.
Because the Asian Yuan was new, its purchasing power was extremely high. By a rough estimate, it was about ten times the purchasing power of the old Renminbi. Three hundred Asian Yuan was equivalent to three thousand of the old currency. Qin Yu’s current salary was only five hundred a month. If he rented this place, after paying for food and basic expenses, he’d have basically nothing left.
This was the reality for the lower class in the Ninth District. The cost of living rose day by day as resources dried up. With a massive population and few jobs, incomes were abysmal. That was why Qi Lin racked his brains trying to make Second-Level Police Officer. A higher rank meant a higher salary.
Seeing that Qin Yu liked the place but was wincing at the three hundred a month rent, Lao Mao lowered his voice. “In the Police Department, apart from cowards like Qi Lin who just want to be bootlickers, the vast majority of us don’t plan on living strictly off our salaries. I can tell you’re no saint either. You’ll definitely have to pull in some money on the side in the future…”
“Do you make any money on the side?” Qin Yu gave him a sidelong glance.
“Of course I do. How could I not?”
“What do you do for money on the side?”
“I specifically shake down the pimps. If they don’t pay their protection fees, I deal with them,” Lao Mao replied shamelessly.
“…!” Qin Yu had no words.
“Stop overthinking it, just rent the place. That way I can crash here sometimes too,” Lao Mao pressed.
Qin Yu weighed his options for a long moment. He figured he probably wouldn’t find a better, cheaper place anytime soon, and the courtyard was undeniably close to the Police Department. He hesitated briefly before agreeing. “Alright, I’ll rent it. Half a year upfront.”
…
After clocking in for the afternoon shift.
Inside the office of less than fifty square meters for Group Three, nine young men in uniform stood with their feet apart and hands behind their backs.
Team Leader Yuan Ke smiled at the men. “I’ll keep this brief. Although Qin Yu is new, he genuinely shot and killed the major criminal Matsushita, and successfully solved a kidnapping case. So, after careful deliberation by the Bureau and the Team, we’ve decided to temporarily appoint Qin Yu as the Group Leader for Team One, Group Three.”
The men exchanged glances for a long moment before a round of enthusiastic applause finally broke out.
“The Bureau has already submitted Qin Yu’s personal third-class merit, and his rank will be promoted when the time comes, so don’t harbor any bad feelings about this. I’ve said it before: as long as you’re capable and working in Team One, I will promote you. That applies to everyone equally.” Having said his piece, Yuan Ke pulled Qin Yu forward. “Introduce yourself.”
Qin Yu stepped forward. Wearing a neat light green police uniform with two chevrons on his shoulders, he snapped a salute. “I’m Qin Yu. I look forward to working with you all.”
In the crowd, Qi Lin stared blankly at Qin Yu, a wave of indescribable bitterness washing over him.
Just a few dozen hours ago, he had personally brought this rookie back to the precinct. Less than two days later, the man was his boss. It was… a tough pill to swallow.
“I’ll reiterate. As long as you wear this uniform, you follow the rules here. Qin Yu might be new, but if any of you try to haze him, slack off, or disrupt the work, don’t blame me for turning hostile.” Yuan Ke smiled as he delivered the warning, then looked back at Qin Yu. “Alright, you guys chat.”
“Understood,” Qin Yu nodded. “Thank you, Team Leader Yuan.”
“Like I said, no need for formalities.” Yuan Ke turned and left.
In the office, Qin Yu blinked at the group. He casually pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes he usually couldn’t bear to smoke himself. Smiling, he addressed them, “I lucked into a good situation and stumbled my way into becoming the Group Leader. My personal experience definitely falls short compared to you guys. So, for future cases, I’ll be relying on everyone’s help. Come on, relax, have a smoke.”
Qin Yu’s words were meant to be a polite icebreaker to build rapport. However, he didn’t expect an older youth standing on the far left of the group to casually take the entire pack from his hand. The man expertly tore off the wrapping and smirked, “Heh, brother, you’ve got the good stuff. You can even get your hands on flue-cured tobacco?”
Qin Yu paused, then smiled. “A good friend gave them to me.”
The man addressing Qin Yu was Zhu Wei, a veteran in Group Three with four or five years on the force. Because of his brash and reckless style, he had never managed to secure a promotion. But if Qin Yu hadn’t shown up, the team evaluations might have bumped him up to Group Leader. After all, he had the seniority, and he usually got along well enough with Yuan Ke.
Zhu Wei pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag before finally passing the pack to the others.
“Sit down, everyone take a seat,” Qin Yu called out.
“Smack!”
Right at that moment, Zhu Wei suddenly reached out and slapped Qin Yu’s arm, laughing loudly. “This stuff really hits the spot. Brother, you’re straightforward, not stingy at all. Haha!”
The words were fine, but Zhu Wei’s slap landed squarely on Qin Yu’s abrasion. His arm had been grazed by a stray bullet during the shootout with Matsushita, and it hadn’t fully healed yet.
“Sss!”
Hissing in pain, Qin Yu frowned and took a step back, turning his gaze sharply to Zhu Wei.
“Brother Wei, the Group Leader is injured.” Qi Lin had subconsciously already changed how he addressed Qin Yu.
“Fuck, what’s wrong?” Zhu Wei looked at Qin Yu carelessly. “Where are you hurt?”
Qin Yu glanced at Zhu Wei, offering a tight smile. “Got grazed by a bullet when we were taking down Matsushita.”
“Just grazed? That’s nothing. Just go to the hospital and get some meds later,” Zhu Wei grinned. “Don’t bother getting any shots. It won’t kill you anyway, and a single shot these days eats up half a month’s salary.”
Hearing this, Qin Yu narrowed his eyes at Zhu Wei. He didn’t say anything else, merely gesturing for the others to take their seats.
Once all ten men of Group Three were seated, they fell into low conversation.
Over the course of this initial chat, Qin Yu got a rough understanding of Group Three’s makeup.
Including him, the group had ten members: three Thai, one African, and six Chinese. Because the Ninth District was located in what used to be Northeast China, Chinese was the official language. Everyone had lived here long enough to speak it fluently, even picking up a bit of the Northeastern accent.
After a brief discussion, everyone settled into their duties and began reviewing the files on the medicine-smuggling ring.
…
Evening fell. Qin Yu had just finished inspecting Group Three’s two battered police cruisers downstairs. When he returned to the office, he found it completely empty, save for Qi Lin and the African officer, who were organizing a notebook of clues.
“Where is everyone?” Qin Yu asked.
“Brother Zhu took them out on business,” Qi Lin replied.
Qin Yu frowned. “We agreed to review the case and hold a meeting tonight. Why did he suddenly take everyone out? Do we have a lead?”
“No, it seemed like he was taking them to handle some personal business.”
“…It’s not even time to clock out yet. He just took everyone and left without a single word?” Qin Yu muttered, his face devoid of expression.
Qi Lin stayed silent for a long moment, offering no response.
Frowning, Qin Yu sat down in his chair. He stared down at the desk phone, his fingers lightly drumming against the tabletop.
What was Zhu Wei playing at?
Was he trying to show him up?
On his very first official day leading Group Three, Qin Yu’s test had arrived.