Special District 9

After coughing twice, Old Ma massaged his chest before saying, “It’s not that hard for us to clean our name too. As long as we can catch Little Qu and dig out the culprit behind him, we’ll be able to explain ourselves to the folks in Dirt Street.”

“Little Qu is the culprit who swapped the medicine?” Qin Yu asked.

“That’s likely so,” Old Ma replied. “He disappeared right after the incident happened.”

Hearing those words, Old Ma couldn’t help but interject, “The warehouse is such an important link to the operations. Shouldn’t you find trustworthy subordinates to look after the place?”

“These days, other than your parents and blood kin, who else can you trust fully?” Old Ma remarked with a sigh. “If it’s just 500 or 5000, there might still be loyalty to speak of. But what about 50,000 or 100,000? There’ll eventually come a point where a person would be moved.”

“Yeah, that’s true…” Old Cat nodded helplessly.

Old Ma looked at Qin Yu and asked, “What’s Old Li’s take on this matter?”

“He isn’t in a good position to intervene,” Qin Yu advised Old Ma in a roundabout manner.

“So, we still have to deal with this issue on our own,” Old Ma said. “He won’t be able to help us with this, is that it?”

“You need to understand that while you’re cornered on the ground, he has many people eyeing him from above.” In truth, Qin Yu sympathized quite a lot with Superintendent Li’s position. “You have a greater degree of freedom on the streets. You still have the choice not to follow the rules. But in his position, when he’s cornered, he’s really cornered.”

“I understand. Since that’s the case, I hope that you can just keep an eye on the Police Headquarters for me,” Old Ma said. “Call me if there’s any news. We’ll focus our efforts on finding Little Qu first.”

“Alright,” Qin Yu nodded.

While the two of them were talking, the phone rang.

“Hello?” Old Ma picked up the phone.

“Lao-er and I are outside,” Liu Zishu’s voice sounded from the other side. “We’re trying to get leads on Little Qu’s whereabouts right now.”

“Tell Ma Lao-er that if he doesn’t wake up his idea, he better get lost as soon as possible. He can die wherever he wants to,” Old Ma threw those words over before coughing violently again.

Qin Yu looked at the old man worriedly before saying, “Uncle Ma, are you alright? I think it’ll be safer if you get a doctor to take a look at it.”

“I’m fine. The heavens won’t let me die at this juncture,” Old Ma replied.

…

North of the city, in the slums.

Ma Lao-er beckoned his subordinates over, ordering, “Pry it open.”

Two young men walked forward with a crowbar and stuffed it into the crack of the door. Then, after tugging a few times, the door finally burst open.

Ma Lao-er was the first to walk in, and he scanned the surroundings swiftly. The room was old, and there was a musky smell around. The curtains of the living room were drawn, and the table was filled with leftovers and rubbish.

Ma Lao-er drew his gun with his right hand and scanned the living room. After confirming that there was no one around, he kicked the door to the bedroom open, but there was still no one to be seen.

“That fellow must have run away,” Liu Zishu said as he walked into the room as well.

Ma Lao-er placed his gun back into his pocket as he took a walk around the room. He noticed that there were a few puddles of snow water on the ground that hadn’t dried yet. There was an e-cigarette tossed casually by the side of the bed, and the lamp was still on.

“Are we leaving?” Liu Zishu asked.

Ma Lao-er licked his lips as he said, “That lad dropped by here not too long ago. I reckon that he hasn’t gotten too far yet. Give a call to Little Liu and ask him if Little Qu has any relatives or good friends in Songjiang. Do it quick.”

“Alright,” Liu Zishu nodded.

…

In a ‘meat store’ in Black Street Sector.

Little Qu was sitting on a bed with his bag hanging loosely off one of his shoulders. He picked up his phone and dialed Ol’ Three’s number, “Hello, Brother Three?”

“You arrived?” Ol’ Three asked.

“Yeah, I’m here,” Little Qu replied. “Are you coming over?”

“I had something up earlier. I’m still on my way there,” Ol’ Three said.

“Brother Three,” Little Qu called out while scratching his head. “If it’s not convenient for you, I’ll give you my card number and you can just transfer the money over to my account.”

“Don’t talk nonsense,” Ol’ Three rejected the proposal right away. “As soon as you lost contact today, the Ma Family has been searching all around for you like mad. I can’t just leave you be at a time like this!”

“Brother Three, you know what’s the current situation out there?” Little Qu asked timidly.

“How could I not know? There were over a hundred people at the warehouse earlier in the afternoon. They were there to pit their lives against Old Ma!” Ol’ Three said. “They must be utterly infuriated right now, so we have to make sure to move carefully.”

“What’s the current plan then?”

“Wait for me over there, I’ll bring the money to you before arranging for my brothers to send you out of Songjiang.”

“You’re taking me to the Development District?” Little Qu was horrified. He immediately rejected the idea, “No way. Definitely not. I won’t go to that hell hole.”

“No, you’ll just be taking a detour around the Development District before getting to Lin’an,” Ol’ Three said. “I have a friend over there that can take care of you.”

“Alright then. I’ll be waiting for you,” Little Qu replied with a nod.

“Un, see you.”

The two of them hung up their call.

…

In Majestic Palace Entertainment City.

Ol’ Three entered one of the compartments with his phone and saw Yuan Hua playing mahjong with Yong Dong and a few other people. Different from the last few days, Yuan Hua looked much more spirited than before.

“Is it done yet?” Yong Dong turned over and asked.

“Yeah, everything is in place,” Ol’ Three replied with a nod.

“Heh. Once Little Qu is gone, it’ll be a checkmate,” Yong Dong said with a cold sneer. “Once the Ma Family’s reputation is utterly shattered, no matter how cheap their medicine is, they won’t be able to sell a single one of them anymore. Heh, Old Li is going to suffer quite a bit due to this too.”

“Eight Bamboo,” Yuan Hua said as he threw out a mahjong tile.

Yong Dong looked at the Eight Bamboo Tile on the table and hesitated for a moment before chuckling, “Heh, Boss Yuan, you really are feeding me tiles today. I’m already feeling a little embarrassed to take any more from you.”

“You can take what you deserve,” Yuan Hua replied in a very good mood. “Today, I’ll double whatever you can earn from this table.”

“Oh? Boss Yuan is actually talking business on the mahjong table. How rare! Hahaha!” a bald man sitting around the table laughed.

Yuan Hua lit a cigarette as he said to Yong Dong, “You did well this time, but Old Li won’t just let things slide like that. I’ll arrange for you to take refuge somewhere else for the time being till the storm calms down… Otherwise, he might pick on you.”

Yong Dong pushed his tiles down as he answered, “Alright, I’ll leave tomorrow. Hu! Seven Pairs of Dragons.”

Ol’ Three looked at their game with a hesitant look on his face, and in the end, he still couldn’t stop himself from asking, “Boss Yuan, do we really have to get rid of Little Qu?”

Those in the room visibly frowned a little upon hearing those words.

“He’s just a lad trying to make a living in the streets…” Ol’ Three tried to speak with a leisurely tone, as if it was just a passing comment. “He’s also quite pitiful.”

Yuan Hua counted his money as he replied with a tone that was frighteningly calm, “Ol’ Three, what did you say? I didn’t hear you clearly.”

Ol’ Three blinked his eyes.

Yuan Hua raised his head and looked at Ol’ Three smilingly. “Do you mind repeating yourself again?”

“It’s actually nothing much now that I think about it!” Ol’ Three immediately replied with a laugh.

“Is that so?” Yuan Hua muttered as he passed the money over to Yong Dong. “Come come, let’s shuffle the tiles and continue our game.”

…

Meanwhile

A middle-aged man was driving the car swiftly along a road in the slums.

In the car, Ma Lao-er turned to Little Liu and asked, “Are you sure that he’s on good terms with Little Qu?”

“I’m certain of that,” Little Liu replied with a nod.