Special District 9

“That woman has some background, are you aware of that?” Yuan Ke replied coldly.

Tiger widened his eyes in shock upon hearing that news. He quickly replied, “I’m not aware of that.”

“You didn’t verify the other party’s background before bringing your subordinates there to mess around with her. Don’t you think that you are too imprudent in your actions?” Yuan Ke said with a tight frown.

“If you haven’t met Qin Yu today and something happens to that woman, do you know what the consequences will be? Back then, when my elder brother kidnapped her, he didn’t manage to fully uncover her background either, and that’s why Matsushita ended up getting done in so badly. You are playing with fire!”

“I… I didn’t think so deeply into it.”

“Also, the Police Bureau is currently cracking down on medicine peddlers, and we are the ones who put out the word. Are you trying to sabotage me by touching medicine at this juncture? How did I tell you back then?” Yuan Ke bellowed deeply.

Tiger rubbed the bandage on his head and said, “It’s not that I want to touch it, but we have stockpiled too much. Our brothers have tossed away quite a bit of them now…”

“Brother Tiger, don’t shake your foundation over little money. You have the backing of the people above, so what are you panicking about?” Yuan Ke sighed helplessly. “No matter what reasons you have, I hope that you can follow the directives above. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you beforehand. If you were to cause a ruckus during this critical period, no one will be able to save you.”

“Un, got it,” Tiger nodded.

“Also, Qin Yu is one of my men. He’s working for me, so don’t provoke him in the future. Instead, you should cooperate with him wherever required. Got it?” Yuan Ke also knew that Tiger was a narrow-minded person who would exact vengeance wherever possible, so he specially reminded him of this.

“Yuan Ke, I just don’t get it. You have been in the Police Bureau for some time now, and you have quite a few capable people under you. Why must you take this idiot under you too?” Tiger asked with gritted teeth. “Goddamnit! Do you know how long has it been since anyone dared to bash the handle of a gun into my head? That brat…”

“Brother Tiger, when can you understand that there’s always a world beyond what you see?” Yuan Ke sighed. “You might think that you are already at the top, but Matsushita, who was even more vicious than you, ended up dying in the hands of Qin Yu. We live in a world where even ordinary people dare to steal military rations when pushed to a corner. This is an era filled with ravenous wolves that will do anything to rise to the top… A person who is picking up scraps today might just become a big figure the very next day. So, anything that doesn’t concern conflict of interest is no conflict at all. Do you understand that?”

Tiger clicked his tongue in irritation, saying, “That mouth of yours sure is formidable… Fine, I’ll listen to you and let him off the hook.”

“See you then.”

Leaving behind those words, Yuan Ke hung up the phone.

…

The following night.

Just as they had agreed before, Qin Yu and Old Cat headed over to Second Sis’ place to have a meal. This was the day that Qi Lin would be holding a banquet to celebrate his marriage. Even though they called it a banquet, it was more of a dinner gathering of close friends.

Qi Lin only had that much money, after all. He couldn’t afford to make it big.

By the time they got to the restaurant, it was already eight at night. Qin Yu took a look around the second floor and saw that most of those invited were familiar faces in the Police Bureau, some of Qi Lin’s neighbors, and his younger sister.

“Your mother isn’t here?” Old Cat looked around the room before asking.

“She isn’t feeling too well, so she didn’t come,” Qi Lin replied with a smile. He led his blind younger sister over to meet Qin Yu and Old Cat, “You haven’t met yet, right? This is my younger sister, Qi Yu.”

“Pleased to meet you, Brother Qin Yu.”

Qi Yu appeared to be around eleven or twelve years of age, and her distinctive facial features formed a valiant air around her. The only thing regrettable about her was that her eyes were dysfunctional.

“Yes, nice to meet you too,” Qin Yu greeted the young lady before turning to look at the bride, Bella. “You look beautiful today.”

Bella was dressed in a simple qipao. She smiled at Qin Yu and nodded, “Hello.”

Old Cat looked at the graceful Bella and teased, “She looks much more well-nourished as compared to before.”

“Scram!” Qi Lin berated jokingly before beckoning them over to the seats. “Here, choose a seat at the main table.”

Hearing those words, Qin Yu and Old Cat took a seat and snacked on the simple tidbits lying around as they waited patiently for the banquet to begin.

Around ten minutes later, Yuan Ke, together with Tiger, arrived on the second floor.

“Aiyo, Platoon Commander Yuan is here too?”

“You are here to enjoy the banquet too, Platoon Commander Yuan?”

“…!”

Upon seeing Yuan Ke, the thirty or so people in the room immediately rose up to greet him.

“I came here to join in the celebration for a while. Sit, sit.” Yuan Ke traded some pleasantries with the crowd before sitting down over at the main table, where Qin Yu and the others were at. “You bunch of rascals, tossing aside work to enjoy a feast eh?”

Qin Yu chuckled softly as he replied, “I came here after an interrogation.”

Yuan Ke patted Qin Yu’s thigh before turning toward Tiger to ask, “Do you two know each other?”

“How could we not know each other? We just met yesterday!” Tiger pointed at the bandage around his own head before directing a smile toward Qin Yu. “Bro, you have really left me with a very deep impression of you yesterday.”

Taking note of Tiger’s relatively friendly attitude toward him, Qin Yu immediately stretched his hand forward and said, “I’m really apologetic about this. I didn’t know that you are acquainted with Platoon Commander Yuan.”

“Yuan Ke has told me about it. That woman has some connections, right? So, you did do me a favor by stopping me yesterday,” Tiger replied courteously as he shook Qin Yu’s hand. “Let’s forget about whatever that had happened yesterday and get to know one another anew, alright? With Yuan Ke here, we can be considered as one family with one another. Once you hang out with me more, you’ll know better what kind of person I am.”

“Yes, it’ll be my pleasure to know you,” Qin Yu replied with a nod. “Let’s drink a bit later.”

“Of course!”

After those two were done trading pleasantries, Old Cat leaned over and whispered into Qin Yu’s ear, “When did you become acquainted with someone like that?”

“I beat him up yesterday,” Qin Yu whispered back.

Old Cat shot a look of disgust at Tiger before warning with a lowered voice, “Try to avoid him wherever possible. He’s a piece of shit.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Last year, he got into a conflict with a boss in our Black Street Sector, so he drove a car and knocked down the latter’s wife,” Old Cat said with a darkened expression on his face. “She was six months pregnant then, but she still ended up being smashed by his car.”

Qin Yu was stunned for a moment before asking, “He wasn’t punished for that?”

“Punished my ass! That boss has two other children who had been won over by him. They insisted that such a thing didn’t happen… In the end, it was ruled as an accident, that he got away with just paying a sum of money,” Old Cat said hoarsely. “That is what that bastard is like.”

Hearing those words, Qin Yu shot a cold glance at Tiger and talked to him no more.

Shortly after Yuan Ke arrived, the banquet began. Everyone exchanged toasts, and the atmosphere quickly heated up.

During the dinner, Yuan Ke started chatting with Qin Yu, “There aren’t many people who can catch my eye, but you are one of them. Nowadays, those who are sharp-witted can do well no matter where they go. As long as you give me results, I’ll make sure that you get what you deserve.”

“I understand, Platoon Commander Yuan,” Qin Yu nodded with a reddened face.

“Wait a moment.” Yuan Ke patted Qin Yu’s arm as he poured himself a cup of wine. Then, he stood up and said, “Everyone, give me a moment of your time.”

The three tables of friends and kin immediately turned over to look at Yuan Ke.

“This is a joyous occasion for our platoon’s Qi Lin. Since we are here to celebrate this special day of his, shall we make a toast to him?” Yuan Ke raised his wine cup as he shouted to the crowd with a smile.

With Yuan Ke leading, everyone swiftly rose to their feet and toasted to Qi Lin.

The newlywed couple also raised their cups to toast with everyone else too.

Yuan Ke heartily gulped down the cup of wine before pouring himself another cup.

“Other than that, there’s also something I would like to say. I know it hasn’t been long since Qin Yu joined our Police Bureau, but I am very fond of him, and he has also solved many cases in the Police Bureau since his arrival. Superintendent Li is very pleased with his results. It’s only a matter of time before he rises through the rank, so I hope everyone can take care of him.”

These words turned Qin Yu into the star of the show. Colleagues that he knew and didn’t know toasted to him one after another.

Had it been anyone else who had received such support from Yuan Ke, he might have let it go to his head and lost himself. However, as someone who had come from the Development District, Qin Yu was familiar with how society worked. He couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive at Yuan Ke’s overly supportive attitude.

He had indeed stood out a lot in recent days, having solved Matsushita’s case and making a major breakthrough in the smuggled medicine case. It wouldn’t be surprising if those above had a positive view of him and took special care of him. After all, which boss wouldn’t like a capable subordinate?

However, Qin Yu felt that Yuan Ke’s care for him had exceeded that of an appreciated subordinate. It was too special… And considering that he wasn’t related to Yuan Ke at all, he felt that it was unnatural for the latter to have such an attitude toward him.

As such, he couldn’t help but brood over this matter.

…

The banquet soon came to an end.

Yuan Ke looked at his watch before calling Qin Yu softly, “Come out with me for a moment.”

“Yes,” Qin Yu nodded as he got up and followed Yuan Ke down the stairs.

Meanwhile, on the second floor, Tiger, who had quite a bit to drink tonight, walked over to Qi Lin’s side, and with an obnoxious smile, he said, “Hey, ask you something.”

Qi Lin was a veteran in Platoon 1, so there was no way he wouldn’t recognize Tiger. With a courteous tone, he replied, “What’s wrong, Brother Tiger?”

Tiger stared intently at the bride, Bella, as he asked, “Where did ya get that lass from?”

Qi Lin was stunned for a moment. He glanced over to look at Bella before replying softly, “I won’t hide it from you. I got her from Beitai Village, located north of Songjiang.”

“How much did you pay?” Tiger asked with gleaming eyes.

“4500.”

“Damn! You got a good of such quality with just 4500? That’s quite a deal!” Tiger remarked licentiously.

Qi Lin smiled quietly in response to that.

“Hey, bring me to meet the intermediary tomorrow. I want to take a look too.”

“…!” Qi Lin was stunned. “Brother Tiger, don’t you already have a wife?”

“Hell, am I to be afraid of having too many wives?” Tiger picked at his yellow teeth with his finger as he said. “No point saving up so much money. Might as well spend some money and buy me some joy.”

“Alright, I’ll introduce you to the intermediary tomorrow.”

“Settled!” Tiger looked at Bella as she remarked, “She’s really not bad. Fair, and she has long legs.”

Qi Lin felt a little uncomfortable at hearing someone talk about his wife in such a manner. He immediately grabbed a bottle of wine and said, “Come, Brother Tiger. Bella and I will toast to you.”

“Sure.”

“Come, Bella. Give a toast to Brother Tiger,” Qi Lin said as he filled several cups with wine.

Bella walked over gracefully and greeted with a nod, “Brother Tiger, nice to meet you.”

“Sister-in-law, let me tell you, Qi Lin really lived a tough life…” Tiger grabbed hold of Bella’s arm and began talking nonstop.

…

Outside the restaurant, Yuan Ke got onto the passenger seat before telling Qin Yu, “You drive. We’ll talk back at the Police Bureau.”

“Alright,” Qin Yu replied as he started up the engine and drove away.

…

Roughly an hour later.

The guests finally left, and Qi Lin and his family member returned home. His younger sister headed over to his mother’s room whereas the two newlyweds got onto the bed to experience the pleasures of life.

Dong dong!

Qi Lin was just getting to loosening his pants and move to the next phase when someone knocked on the door outside.

“Who is it?”

“Come out.” The silhouette who had been here a few days ago called out deeply.

Taken aback, Qi Lin put on his clothes and walked out.

Beneath the dim moonlight, the person who was wanted throughout Songjiang, Ah Long, scanned his surroundings warily before saying, “Lil’ bro, bring me to a quiet place. Let’s have a chat.”