Special District 9

Without a doubt, his decision to engage the help of the military to suppress the conflict was the correct answer. This was because Yuan Hua’s connections in the Police Headquarters were extremely strong. Had Superintendent Li chose to report the matter to the headquarters first, he would have surely been kept waiting, and the situation over at Dirt Street would have worsened further in the meantime.

And that would have been extremely bad for Superintendent Li. As the highest official in charge of maintaining the peace and security of Black Street Sector, he would have been the one to take responsibility for such a major breach in responsibility.

Mateo of the military was a friend of Superintendent Li, and he immediately got to action right after he received the call. In less than half an hour, two battalions were dispatched over.

Soldiers were very different from policemen in this era. Every single one of them had undergone numerous fights and military conflicts, and that allowed them to take decisive and tough actions with more ease.

With a thousand rifle-wielding soldiers driving into Dirt Street in armored vehicles, the tables were turned. No matter how fierce and rich the medicine smugglers were, there was no way they could fight against a combat organization that had the full support of the government. After the rioters saw that the soldiers really dared to fire at them, they immediately scattered into all directions.

Even Old Ma, who had intended to barge into the Majestic Palace Entertainment City was dragged away by his subordinates in a heartbeat.

And the rest was simple enough. Given how huge the conflict had become, the officials needed to punish the perpetrators harshly in order to be accountable to the public. So, the soldiers began to move around in organized teams to arrest those leading the riots.

At this point in time, there was no one who dared to retaliate anymore. They could only run away desperately in all directions.

…

New Epoch Road, second floor of a villa.

Yuan Hua was just about to enquire about the current situation over at Dirt Street when a subordinate walked in and reported anxiously, “Brother Hua, the military suddenly charged into Dirt Street and fired at the crowd. Right now, the crowd has been dispersed, but there are quite a few brothers who have been caught. There are already more than fifty of them who have been arrested at Fortune Road!”

“The military intervened?” Yuan Hua was astonished.

“There was no tipoff at all. We thought that Old Li would report the matter up to the headquarters and wait for reinforcement… Who could have thought that he would contact the military instead!” the subordinate replied.

Hearing those words, Yuan Hua pushed down the mahjong tiles before him with a tight knit on his forehead. He lowered his head and lit up a cigarette before speaking with a hoarse voice, “Old Li has hidden quite a few cards under his sleeves. I never knew that he had connections with the military.”

There was no one in the room who dared to answer those words.

“Since the military has intervened, let’s stop here then,” Yuan Hua instructed. “Call our brothers to quickly retreat. Those who spearheaded the riot will be sent to the new areas to seek refuge until the situation settles down.”

“I understand,” the subordinate nodded. “Other than that, the three fixers we hired from outside engaged Qin Yu, but that fellow ran into a meat shop and camped there desperately… In the end, he managed to buy enough time for his squad members to reinforce him, so they failed to get rid of him. However, it seems like Qin Yu was injured in that battle.”

“He’s just an insignificant figure in the grander scale of things. However, he dared to move against us for Qi Lin’s matter, so if we don’t make him pay the price, those on Old Li’s side wouldn’t know fear,” Yuan Hua replied as he took a puff of smoke. “Don’t touch him for the time being. This matter has alarmed him, so he’ll be on his guard in the future. Let’s wait a little longer before getting the job done.”

“Got it.”

“Go on and do what needs to be done,” Yuan Hua instructed the subordinate.

After that, he picked up his phone, walked to the window side, and called his connections in the Police Headquarters.

A few seconds later, the call connected. On the other end, a voice hollered, “Do you know what you have done? Just what the hell are you trying to pull here?”

“If we don’t acquire the supply route, it’s only a matter of time before Old Ma re-establishes the route. Do you know how huge the losses will be? If we don’t make a move now, are we to watch silently as the threat to continue growing beneath our eyelids?” Yuan Hua replied.

“Even so, you can’t just act so willfully. Do you know how great the pressure on the Police Headquarters is?”

“Didn’t the military intervene in the end?” Yuan Hua replied calmly. “They have also captured those that needed to be captured, isn’t that so?”

The other party fell silent.

“Commissioner Wu, you don’t have to get my men out right away. No matter how the higher-ups want to deal with this matter, I’ll cooperate with you. However, we must make Old Ma feel the pain this time around,” Yuan Hua said grimly. “Since we have already blown things up, we have to make sure to pluck them out from the roots at one go.”

“I’ll heap pressure on the Black Street Sector Police Bureau,” the other party replied deeply. “You should also give whatever leads you have. It’ll be best if you have evidence that can incriminate Old Ma directly.”

“Heh. That will do,” Yuan Hua nodded.

…

In terms of rallying ability, the Ma Family was definitely stronger than that of the Yuan Family in Dirt Street. However, this battle was a tragic loss for them.

Why was that so?

This was because the group led by Yuan Hua had already climbed to the height where they could share the same table with the top brass of society. Old Ma, on the other hand, didn’t possess that kind of influence.

The Ma Family sold medicine in Dirt Street, and the prices they charged were considerably inexpensive and honest, averaging at around 30% of the prices charged in official dispensaries, such as the hospitals and the pharmacies. It was due to this that they were able to rise up swiftly and build a considerable reputation and influence for themselves in Dirt Street.

The ill and the weak struggled to survive in this post-apocalypse world, so they were exceptionally thankful to the Ma Family for their help. It was due to this that they were willing to offer a helping hand during a crucial moment.

But this bit of influence they had built up shattered easily in the face of the powers wielded by those in the ruling tier.

Sometimes, the thoughts of ten thousand people couldn’t even outweigh a single fart made by a high-ranking official on a dinner table.

All Commissioner Wu of the Police Headquarters did on the following day during a closed-door meeting was to say “Crack down the medicine syndicate of the Ma Family”, and the top brass of the other government wings had no choice but to strictly obey their leader’s directives.

So, they began to arrest the members of the Ma Family, who were only forced to fight back the previous night.

Even though some subordinates from Yuan Hua’s company were arrested and thrown into jail, the top brass, having shirked off responsibility entirely, was still able to walk around in public openly. However, could the Ma Family do the same?

Of course not. After a moment of willfulness, they could only desperately run and hide to avoid the relentless crackdown on them.

In less than twelve hours, more than ten of the top brass of the Ma Family’s medicine smuggling syndicate had been arrested by the various Police Bureaus of Songjiang. Adding to the dozens that were arrested yesterday night… it was no exaggeration to say that their team had really been ripped apart.

…

The following night.

Old Ma gave a call to Old Cat, and he got straight to the point, “I’m counting on you to settle Damin and Ma Lao-er. I can’t move around freely anymore.”

Old Cat was currently seated on a chair in the hospital, and he replied with a helpless tone, “Of course you can’t move around freely anymore. Just earlier today, an order was passed down, and you are one of the main targets named by the Police Headquarters.”

“What’s Old Li’s stance?” Old Ma asked.

“He’s powerless on this matter too. You pushed the boundaries too far,” Old Cat replied with a frown. “He’s under a great deal of pressure too.”

“Alright, I got it.” Old Ma didn’t plead for Old Li’s help. Instead, he simply replied calmly, “I’ll admit defeat for this round.”

“Un. Let’s see how it goes.”

With this, the two of them ended the call.

…

Nine at night, after going through an entire day of meetings, the exhausted Superintendent Li got onto his car and asked, “Where’s Qin Yu?”

“In the hospital.”