Special District 9

A runner dressed in thick clothes walked into the warehouse and shouted, “Brother Lao-er, come down. We’re here to grab some goods.”

A moment later, Little Qu opened the door on the second floor and peered down the stairs, “You’re here to get your share?”

“Yeah, I just came back. I’m meeting a customer on the streets later on.”

“Give me a moment,” Little Qu said. He went back in, grabbed the keys, and locked the door on the second floor before heading down.

Seeing that Little Qu had the keys in his hand, the runner tilted his head in confusion as he asked, “Are you in charge of distributing the medicine now too? Aiyo, looks like you got a promotion!”

“Nay, that’s not it,” Little Qu replied with a chuckle. “Brother Lao-er had something up, and Brother Zishu isn’t around either. I’m just helping them look after the warehouse temporarily.”

“That shows that they trust you a lot.”

“Haha, Brother Lao-er is a very casual person,” Little Qu replied. “If that old man is here, I would have no place in here at all.”

The two of them walked over to one of the doors on the first floor amidst the chatter. Little Qu used one of the keys to unlock the door before saying, “Wait here for a moment.”

“Alright.”

“What do you need?” Little Qu asked.

“Five boxes of A61P11 injections,” the runner replied.

Hearing those words, Little Qu walked into the room. He checked the labels on the crates before taking out five boxes of medicine.

…

Meanwhile…

In a certain entertainment venue, Ma Lao-er wrapped his arm around Platoon Commander Lu of the Public Security Platoon and said, “Rest easy, brother. I always make sure to return the favor to anyone who takes care of me. I’ll give a heads up to the manager later on so that you can drop by the ladies’ room to pick anyone you are satisfied with.”

“What if I’m not interested in any of them?”

“Woah, looks like you have really high standards there,” Ma Lao-er remarked. “If none of them is to your fancy, I can only offer myself then. Bro, I’ll tell you this… Everyone in Black Street Sector calls me the Trumpet Blower. I’ve never admitted defeat to anyone in this field!”

“Hahaha!”

Everyone burst into laughter.

Platoon Commander Lu shot a thumbs up toward Old Cat and remarked amidst laughter, “Your friend really is a living treasure.”

“Haha, we get along well with one another. We’re counting on you to look out for us on the streets in the future,” Old Cat said as he raised his wine glass.

“No problem!” Platoon Commander Lu said before adding in a bootlick. “The entire Police Bureau is yours after all. It goes without saying that I have to listen to you, right?”

“Hey hey, let’s not talk about that in public. Are you trying to turn people against me?”

Just like that, the two of them fawned on one another as they joyously had their fill of drinks.

…

On the streets of Black Street Sector.

The runner who had taken medicine from Little Qu earlier stood in the alley with his hands in his pockets. He was looking at his surroundings warily.

A short moment later, a lanky old man walked over with hastened footsteps as he wiped off snow from his mustache.

“You’re here, gramps.”

“Where’s the medicine?” The old man got straight to the subject.

The runner scanned the surroundings carefully before taking out a box of medicine from his bag. He passed it to the old man and said, “Two boxes, 120 dollars.”

The old man frowned for a moment before asking, “Give me another two more.”

“That won’t do,” the runner replied with a shake of his head. “Each person can only buy two boxes at most. Hurry up and give me the money.”

“Please, just two more… I can see that things are a little chaotic right now. If the supply of medicine suddenly cuts, my son will die…” the old man begged desperately. “I’ll give you 5 dollars more, alright? I’m begging you, just two more boxes, please.”

“It’s not about the money,” the runner replied with a difficult look on his face. “My superiors have placed a limit on the sales of medicine.”

“Others wouldn’t know that you gave me another two boxes anyway. We can just quickly get it over and done with,” the old man said anxiously. “Treat it as a favor for me, alright? I’ll help you find more clients and introduce them to you… We have many people along our street who are working in the radioactive regions, and they are all ill…”

The runner looked at the old man for a moment, and he felt that the latter was really pitiful. He sighed deeply and asked, “Why are they still working there even after they know that it’s dangerous?”

“They’ll fall ill if they work, but they’ll starve to death if they don’t work. What other choice do they have?” the old man also sighed deeply.

Feeling deeply helpless inside, the runner discreetly took out another box of medicine and passed it over, saying, “I can only give you three boxes at most. Otherwise, if my superiors find out about it, I’ll be doomed too.”

“Got it. I’ll give you 185 dollars.”

“No need for that, I’m not lacking that 5 dollars of yours. Use it to buy some food for your son,” the runner said softly.

“Thanks, bro.” The old man took the medicine and hurriedly rushed back into the alley.

The runner stood in the alley for a moment longer before vanishing under the cloak of the night to head to the next goods exchange location.

…

Inside the entertainment venue.

Old Cat was still drinking when his phone suddenly rang. He excused himself for a while to answer the call, and around five minutes later, he returned back to the compartment.

“I thought you went to the loo again,” Ma Lao-er waved his hands as he spoke with a reddened face. “Come come, let’s play a little game.”

“Let’s not play anymore,” Old Cat said as he took a seat. He pulled Ma Lao-er to one side and asked, “You released your goods today?”

“We release them everyday.”

“Then hurry up and call your people and tell them to stop releasing their goods today,” Old Cat said with a frown. “The Public Security Division of the Police Headquarters is patrolling the streets today. They didn’t even give me a heads up, so I reckon that they are serious this time around. Hurry up and make arrangements so that you don’t get caught.”

Ma Lao-er was stunned. “Why the heck are they patrolling the streets all of a sudden?”

“Might be because a new leader just arrived in Fengbei or something, I’m not too sure either. Anyway, you just have to lie low for now.”

“I’ll make the call right now.”

Ma Lao-er stood up and quickly called Little Qu. However, the latter didn’t pick up the call. Left with no choice, he could only turn to his subordinate and ordered, “Little Liu, hurry back to the warehouse to take a look. Tell Little Qu to stop distributing the goods and lock up the warehouse.”

“I’ll get to it right away!” the subordinate replied.

After that, Ma Lao-er gave a call to the other distributors to inform them not to release their goods anymore and rest for the day. It was also at this moment that the lad who had sold the medicine to the old man finished selling all five boxes of medicine he had claimed.

…

Twelve midnight.

The subordinate returned to the warehouse and berated Little Qu, “Brother Lao-er has been calling you all this while! Why didn’t you pick up your phone?”

“Shit, my phone is spoilt. I didn’t hear the ringtone,” Little Qu replied.

“Brother Lao-er told me to inform you that the Police Headquarters is sweeping the streets today. We’re stopping our operations for today,” the subordinate said. “You should quickly pack up and leave the area.”

Little Qu was surprised to hear the news. “Why is the Police Headquarters suddenly sweeping the street?”

“I’m not too sure,” the subordinate replied. “Just quickly get it done. Take the log book and leave.”

“Alright, give me a moment.” Little Qu nodded with a bizarre expression on his face.

…

In a suburban slum.

After the old man who bought three boxes of medicine returned, he personally injected a dose into his bedridden son.

“Dad… Don’t buy the medicine anymore… It’s a waste of money,” the son replied feebly.

“I don’t want to do it either, but you’re my son…” The old man sighed deeply. “Come, I got you something to eat.”

In a room without lights, the old man fumbled a little to feed his son before dozing off on the chair.

Around half an hour later, the son, who had been lying on the bed quietly all this while, suddenly began hyperventilating. His eyes were widened to a terrifying degree and he frantically patted the old man sleeping on the chair next to him.