Special District 9

Hearing those words, Lin Nianlei turned over and laughed dryly, “Heh. When I got back from work, I saw him prying my door open with a tool. When I asked him what he was doing, he said that he was trying to get into my house to borrow something to eat.”

Qin Yu turned to the boy sitting on the bed and scolded, “Haven’t you heard of the saying ‘a rabbit doesn’t eat the grass beside its burrow’? Why did you try to steal our neighbor’s food?”

The boy had a very dark complexion, and his hair was extremely long too. With a dirtied face, he looked at Qin Yu and said, “I wasn’t going to steal from her, I’m just borrowing something to eat. I was hungry and couldn’t find anyone, so I can only walk around and find something to eat.”

“Trying to open another person’s house without permission, is that your idea of what borrowing is?” Qin Yu smacked the boy’s head. “If you do this again, don’t blame me for throwing you in jail.”

“I said that it’s borrowing! I’m planning on returning the food to her tomorrow,” the boy said as he stuffed his mouth with food. “We’re all children of the pugilistic world, we don’t make empty promises. I won’t eat her food for free. I’ll surely return it to her tomorrow!”

Qin Yu was stunned. “Why do you talk so much crap? Like you know heck about the pugilistic world.”

“Heh, this little brother has an interesting way of talking,” Lin Nianlei chuckled in interest. “So, how are you going to pay my noodle back tomorrow?”

“Rats have their own rat tunnels, dogs have their own dog holes. I already told you that I’ll pay you back, so what are you yapping about?” the boy rolled his eyes as he replied.

Qin Yu rolled his eyes. He turned to Lin Nianlei and explained, “I picked him up from the snowfield in the Development District. He probably grew up alone, so he’s used to living wildly. It’s only normal for him to be so headstrong.”

“You’re kinder than I thought.” Lin Nianlei looked at Qin Yu in surprise.

“What else can I do?” Qin Yu shrugged before changing the topic. “Have you eaten yet?”

“I ate at my workplace,” Lin Nianlei replied as she got up and stretched her back. “Oh right, I’ve already washed your gloves clean. Give me a while, I’ll grab them for you.”

“You bought new gloves?” Qin Yu asked.

“My workload is already killing me, where can I find time to get gloves?” Lin Nianlei uttered with a pout. “It feels like years since I have last gone shopping. And I still have to make a trip back to Fengbei next month!”

“You can keep the gloves then. I’ll give it to you,” Qin Yu said with a grin. “It happens that there’s a favor I need to ask of you.”

“What is it?”

“When you head over to Fengbei, can you help me buysome cosmetics?” Qin Yu took out the list which Coco had given him. “My friend asked me to help get them. You just have to buy according to what’s on the list. I’ll pass you the money tomorrow.”

Hearing those words, a mischievous glint flickered in Lin Nianlei’s eyes as she asked, “Oh? Is it for your lover, our dearest Madame Cat?”

“Scram.”

“You found a girlfriend?” Lin Nianlei asked again.

“Nah, she’s just a normal friend,” Qin Yu replied as he stood next to the cupboard. “Why are you asking this? Jealous?”

Lin Nianlei’s face suddenly flushed red upon hearing those words. “Do you have water in your head? You think that I’ll be jealous over you? Dream on!”

After saying those words, Lin Nianlei turned around and left in a huff.

Qin Yu watched Lin Nianlei’s departing figure as he suddenly shouted out, “The boy still eating. Shall we head to your house to have a chat instead?”

“Scram!” Lin Nianlei shouted back before hastening her footsteps back to her house.

“Look at how thirsty she made you,” the boy remarked as he glanced at Qin Yu.

Qin Yu turned his head over and asked, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Wang Henan. My friends in the pugilistic world call me Bucktooth,” the boy said as he slurped up his noodle.

Qin Yu took a look around his house before sighing deeply and saying, “As you can see, I’m also just getting through the days. But since we bumped into one another, you can stay here with me for this period of time. I’ll try to find you a job when I have time on hand. That’s all I can do for you.”

The boy, Wang Henan, put down his bowl and looked at Qin Yu. With a particularly serious look on his face, he spoke with a feigned deep and mature voice, “Since you have saved my life, we’ll be brothers from now onward. I’ll do anything you ask me to.”

“Then you can start off by washing the bowls. I’ll get you some warm water,” Qin Yu instructed. “After you’re done washing, send the bowls over to Simpleton Lin’s house. Make sure to be courteous when you speak to her.”

Wang Henan’s face crumbled upon hearing those words. He complained unhappily, “How can the boys of the pugilistic world do what women do?”

“What else do you expect? You want me to serve you? Hurry up and wash the bowls!” Qin Yu scoffed.

“How can I, a Young Master…!”

“Who are you trying to act high and mighty before? I’ll wallop you if you continue acting so disrespectful!” Qin Yu said as he smacked the back of the boy’s head. “Hurry up and get moving!”

…

Around an hour later.

Lights have gone out in most of the households. Qin Yu washed Bucktooth in a wooden tub before cutting his hair with his shaving razor.

Bucktooth had his fill of food and water just earlier on, so he was starting to feel drowsy at this point. He sat quietly on the chair and watched clumps of his hair fall to the ground.

“How old are you?” Qin Yu asked.

“18.”

“Don’t talk crap with me. Tell me the truth.”

“Minus 3.”

“Can’t you just say that you’re 15?” Qin Yu grumbled as he continued moving the razor. “Why did you sleep in the midst of the snowfield that day?”

“I came down from Mount Ping. I had no food with me, and it was so cold. I felt tired, so I fell on the ground and slept.”

Bucktooth’s body and face were filled with chilblains. As soon as the weather got a little warm, he would start to itch all over. He had already unknowingly scratched out a few lacerations on his skin. On top of that, his body was also extremely weak. He was basically walking in limps, making him appear very pitiful.

“Why did you go to Mount Ping?”

“My older brother brought me there.” Bucktooth abruptly paused a little at this point, but his expression still remained as it was, and his voice remained firm and steady. “We were on the mountain to harvest rare ingredients and capture some living creatures.”

“There are living creatures on the mountain?”

“There is, but you have to head in deep to find them,” Bucktooth replied. “Last month, we entered the center of the mountain. The snow was several meters deep. The boss was holding a gun behind us, forcing us to head in to harvest ginseng. But we were all afraid. None of us dared to go in… So, he opened fire and shot dead three of us. My older brother was one of them.”

Qin Yu froze upon hearing those words.

“I’m still young, and I don’t have the strength to avenge my older brother yet. But one day, I’ll take the boss’ head and bury it in the snow pit where my older brother died,” Bucktooth muttered softly, but there was still no fluctuation of emotions on his face or voice.

Qin Yu listened to his words with a frown as he continued to shave Bucktooth’s head under a dim light.

“Ever since my older brother died, I would always dream of him whenever I slept in the tent,” Bucktooth lowered his head slightly as he spoke. “I was afraid that I would keep thinking of him, so I ran away overnight. Then, I met you.”

“Where are your parents?” Qin Yu asked with a slightly shaky voice.

“We lost track of one another during the riot before Special District 9 came to be. They’re probably dead.”

“… Same as me,” Qin Yu’s right hand paused for a moment as he replied with a soft but slightly sorrowful chuckle.

Bucktooth was stunned. “Sounds like we have a lot in common.”

“You want to take revenge?” Feigning nonchalance, Qin Yu asked.

“He killed my only kin. I’ll send him to his grave,” Bucktooth replied without any hesitation at all.

“Live well then.” Qin Yu nodded.

Under the dim light, Bucktooth’s dirty and messy hair fell to the ground. In just a few minutes, he had turned completely bald. It was then that Qin Yu noticed that there were four digits tattooed on his neck. ”3088, what does that mean?”

“In Mount Ping, when the snow gives way, anyone standing on top will be buried alive. There are too many of us, and we are split into teams too. The boss can’t remember all of our names, so he remembered us by numbers instead. Whenever something happened, he would just take attendance, and he would know who has died by tallying the numbers,” Bucktooth said. “We weren’t humans to them, just hoes and baskets.”

Those words made Qin Yu’s eyes reddened a little as he remembered everything that had happened to him in the past. He reached out and patted Bucktooth’s head as he said, “You darned rascal, you sure know how to choke people with your words.”

‘A rabbit doesn’t eat the grass beside its burrow’

This is a saying with quite an interesting metaphor. The idea is that a rabbit’s burrow is hidden amidst grass, and if the rabbit eats the grass around it, it would be exposing its burrow to its enemies. Basically, it means that if you mess around, don’t mess around close to home because you’ll only corner yourself.

‘Rats have their own rat tunnels, dogs have their own dog holes.’

This means that everyone has their own way of doing their stuff and living in this world.