Special District 9

In the past, it was just a dissatisfied grumble about how society had become, but in the current era, it had become a reality.

The women sold by the old lady all came from the Development District, but they were neither slaves nor hostages. Rather, these women had willingly come along with her. Their only motive was to have a peaceful and stable life. These women didn’t have the residential passes in Special District 9, so they could only legally enter the area through marriage or purchase. Otherwise, after a period of time, they would be evicted out of the Special District.

Qi Lin walked around the area for ten minutes before asking the old lady, “Those two Chinese women, do they have a family?”

“They don’t,” the old lady replied without any hesitation.

“Do you know my line of work?” Qi Lin asked with a frown.

The old lady blinked her eyes blankly at those words.

“You can’t afford to fool me. Tell me, do they have family members?” Qi Lin continued asking.

The old lady weighed her options for a moment before replying, “Aiyo, look at this memory of mine. Yes, these two women do have family members, but they are currently living in the Development District.”

“I’ll pass then,” Qi Lin shook his head. “That’ll be a great deal of trouble later on.”

“… You can take a look at the others.”

“What is that Russian woman called?” Qi Lin asked.

“Bella,” the old lady replied as her hand shot up in a thumbs up. “Little brother, you have good taste. Look at her, 1.7 meters tall with a fair complexion. You’ll be able to enjoy her thoroughly at home.”

“How is her Mandarin?”

“She grew up in the Development District near Special District 9, and her words are even more fluent than mine. That’s no problem at all.”

“I’ll take her then,” Qi Lin nodded. “How much is it?”

“8000,” the old lady replied decisively.

Hearing those words, Qi Lin beckoned Qin Yu and Old Cat and said, “Let’s go.”

Qin Yu and Old Cat were stunned for a moment before quickly leaving together with him.

“No, little brother. Aiyo, why are you so impatient? I haven’t finished my words yet,” the old lady immediately called after him. “Come back, let’s talk it over. I’ll give you a 10% discount.”

“8000, why don’t you go rob a bank?” Qi Lin replied nonchalantly. “I can’t afford that much.”

“I’ll give you a discount of 1000,” the old lady rushed forward and grabbed Qi Lin’s elbow as she spoke. “Little brother, they don’t have residential passes. I have to pay a price in order to get them in here. I can’t give you too big of a discount.”

“3000.”

“Don’t joke around. With 3000, I can only sell you a leg for you to play with at home.” The old lady rolled her eyes.

“Forget it then.”

“Hey hey hey, why do you keep trying to leave?” the old lady panicked. “The lowest I can give you is 6800. That’s my limit. I have already fed her for more than two months now!”

“We only brought 4500 with us. If you’re fine with that, we can settle it right now and I’ll take her away,” Qi Lin said. “However, I have a condition. If that lady escapes back here after two days or so… Don’t blame me for cracking on your business.”

“No, that won’t do. 4500 is out of question. With that money, you can only buy someone like me,” the old lady said with a wave of her hand. “If you want to leave, leave then. The lowest I can go is 6800.”

Hearing those words, Qi Lin turned around and began walking away together with Qin Yu and Old Cat.

Roughly two minutes later, the old lady caught up with them from behind, gasping for breath as she shouted, “Alright, alright! Since you look particularly honest, I’ll make an exception just for you. 4500! Little brother, let’s go back.”

After haggling thrice, Qi Lin finally managed to reach a compromise together with the old lady. Throughout the entire process, the Russian woman, Bella, heard the entire conversation clearly.

…

Eight at night, Old Cat called for an illegal car, and the four of them returned back to Songjiang City together.

On the road, Qin Yu assessed the dirty Bella before asking Qi Lin with a smile, “Are you going to hold a wedding ceremony?”

“I don’t have money for that.” Qi Lin shook his head. “I’ll just treat a few friends to a meal and that’ll do.”

“When?”

“Tomorrow,” Qi Lin pondered for a moment before saying. “I’ll inform the others in the squad about it tomorrow too.

“Sounds good. Let’s go with that then.” After all the trouble he had gone through the whole day, Old Cat was exhausted. He turned to Bella and said, “Even though… we only got to know one another through money, my brother over here is a good man. He won’t treat you badly, so take care of him.”

All this while, Bella hadn’t raised her head at all. She continued fiddling with her hair as she replied quietly, “I… I know…”

“Alright. The two of you should go ahead then,” Old Cat waved at Qi Lin.

“Hey!”

After bidding each other farewell, Old Cat and Qin Yu saw off a man and a woman who got to know one another through money.

Along the snowy streets, Qi Lin walked a little stiffly at the front. His heart was pounding loudly.

Some time later, Bella suddenly called out, “Is it… fine if you walk slower a little? My shoes are spoilt… My feet hurt a little…”

Qi Lin turned around to look at the young lady, and after a moment of contemplation, he asked, “Shall I carry you then? We are reaching soon.”

The young lady was slightly astonished. Standing on the spot, she tugged on Qi Lin’s sleeves and said, “I… I want to eat food.”

“Haha,” Qi Lin chuckled softly as he squatted to the ground. “Come on up. We’ll have food once we reach home.”

…

That night, Old Cat seemed to have gone somewhere to fool around. He didn’t request to stay at Qin Yu’s place as he usually would. He simply came up with an excuse before running off.

By the time Qin Yu got back home, it was already eight at night. He was intending to boil a pot of water and grab a bite, but recalling how he had lent out 1300 just earlier today, and that he only had 200 left to deal with this month’s expenses, he gargled his mouth before heading off to sleep.

Nine at night.

Lying on the bed, Qin Yu suddenly heard Lin Nianlei’s angry shout, “What are you doing? I’ll report you to the police!”

Hearing the shout, Qin Yu quickly put his coat on before walking over to the window to look out.

Lin Nianlei was standing within the residence, pointing at three brawny men wearing thick coats standing by the doorway. The footsteps of these three men were a little unstable as they made their way in.

“Little girl, you really don’t know who you are messing with. We have already warned you once, but you just wouldn’t listen, huh?” the leader of the trio touched his bald head before stretching his hand out. “Give me the camera.”

“The camera isn’t with me. Harass me again, and I’ll call the police right away.”

“Oh no, I’m so scared,” the leader of the trio mocked as he sneered coldly at Lin Nianlei. “Call them then. The Police Bureau’s Yuan Ke is my friend. Call him now, I’ll wait for him to come.”

Lin Nianlei was stunned upon hearing those words.

In the room, Qin Yu was just about to head out to take a look when he suddenly heard Yuan Ke’s name and frowned.

Guangdang!