Special District 9

As soon as Qin Yu, Old Cat, and Guan Qi arrived at Fengbei Station, the first thing they did was to contact Ma Lao-er.

“Hello?” Ma Lao-er’s voice sounded from the other end of the phone.

“Where are you?” Qin Yu asked.

“I just got some weapons. I’m at Duke Carnival at the moment,” Ma Lao-er said. “I got Brother Zishu to head in and ask around, and it seems like Little Qu’s friend isn’t at work today.”

Qin Yu replied contemplatively, “That likely means that he has already met up with Little Qu.”

“Yes, that’s what I think too,” Ma Lao-er replied with a nod. “My plan is to camp here and wait for his friend to appear.”

“It’s unlikely that his friend will appear tonight,” Qin Yu advised. “Why don’t you come to look for us first? Let’s discuss a plan.”

“What’s there to discuss? There’s no other plan right now except to catch Little Qu,” Ma Lao-er replied with a frown. “If that fellow were to come back to Duke Carnival in the middle of the night, wouldn’t I lose a precious opportunity to nab him? There’s no need to do the unnecessary. I’ll just camp here until he appears.”

“Ma Lao-er, you can’t be too hasty if you want to accomplish something. You came through the railway, so if you cause a commotion here, there’s a good chance that you’ll be caught,” Qin Yu replied patiently. “Staying safe is the priority over here.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Ma Lao-er said. There was a short pause before he continued, “Don’t focus all your attention on my side. It’ll be best if you can pull some connections for this.”

“Meaning?” Qin Yu asked in confusion.

“We don’t have much influence here. I had to go through a friend just to get a gun,” Ma Lao-er said. “However, if you have any friends who have some say here, especially in Duke Carnival, that would make things a lot more convenient.”

“You want me to help you get more information on Little Qu’s friend?” Qin Yu asked.

“That’s right,” Ma Lao-er nodded. “Since Little Qu just arrived, I reckon his friend might have taken a few days of leave to accompany him. I don’t have any car here, so I can only resort to the dumb way of squatting outside… I know that such a move isn’t very effective, and it’s very dependent on luck. So, if you have local friends here who can help me look into where his friend lives, I wouldn’t have to waste my time camping here.”

That request put Qin Yu in a spot. He replied hesitantly, “Alright then, I’ll try to give it my best. What’s Little Qu’s friend called?”

“Wen Tao.”

“Got it.”

“Un. That’s all for now then.”

“Right, Uncle Ma is here too,” Qin Yu said.

Ma Lao-er was stunned for a while before he lamented helplessly, “I guess he still doesn’t trust me. Forget it, so be it then!”

“Let’s settle this problem properly together.”

“Thanks, Qin Yu,” Ma Lao-er replied seriously. “I’m aware that I have put you in a spot before Old Li due to this matter… If I can get through this, you can be sure that I won’t let you down.”

“Let’s not talk about this now.”

“Yeah, you’re right. See you then.”

The call ended there.

…

At the entrance of the railway station.

Old Cat glanced at Qin Yu and asked, “What did Ma Lao-er say?”

“Little Qu’s friend isn’t at work today,” Qin Yu replied. “Ma Lao-er is intending to camp at Duke Carnival together with Zishu and the others, but they aren’t sure when that lad will return. So, they want me to try pulling some connections here to look into that lad, hoping that we might get some detailed information on him.”

“We can only call Old Li then,” Old Cat replied. “I don’t know anyone at Fengbei.”

“You call or I call?” Qin Yu asked with a sharp glint in his eyes.

“Goddamnit. Can’t you make it less obvious that you want me to make the call?” Old Cat rolled his eyes.

“You do it then,” Qin Yu replied with a chuckle.

After the two of them were done discussing, Old Cat walked over to the side before dialing Old Li’s number. While Qin Yu and Guan Qi did know a few people in Songjiang, they didn’t dare to contact them recklessly. If news about what they were here to do were to leak somehow, they would be in deep trouble.

Roughly ten minutes later, Old Cat hung up the phone and rejoined the group. He walked up to Qin Yu and said, “Old Li has agreed to help us ask around.”

“Great!” Qin Yu remarked as he glanced at his watch. “Let’s get into the city and find accommodations first. We’ll wait for Uncle Ma to arrive.”

“Let’s go then!” Old Cat nodded.

…

On the railway train.

Yong Dong was seated in a luxury compartment, drinking a cup of plain water. It was at this moment that his subordinate opened the door and came in.

“Brother Dong, I have gotten the details. It appears that Little Qu’s friend is currently working as a card dealer in Duke Carnival. He isn’t working today,” the subordinate bent his back slightly as he reported the matter.

Yong Dong thought for a moment before asking, “Are you able to find out where that lad lives?”

“The friend I asked lives in New Second Sector, so he doesn’t really know anyone at Duke Carnival. It’ll be hard for him to get more information,” the subordinate replied.

Yong Dong nodded slowly. He took out his phone and asked, “What’s Little Qu’s friend called?”

“Wen Tao,” the subordinate replied.

Yong Dong lowered his head to dial Xing Zihao’s number.

“Hello?”

“Aiyo! Young Master Xing, there’s something that I’ll need your help on…!”

“Speak.”

“Are you familiar with Duke Carnival?” Yong Dong asked.

“There are no high-class entertainment venues in Fengbei that I’m not familiar with,” Xing Zihao replied curtly.

“That’s great!” Yong Dong exclaimed. “I need your help to look into a person. He’s working as a card dealer in Duke Carnival, and his name is Wen Tao. I need to know where he lives, as well as his current situation.”

“Does this matter have anything to do with our business?” Xing Zihao replied with a frown.

“Yes, it’s related,” Yong Dong replied politely. “That lad is the key that determines whether we can get rid of our competitors in Songjiang or not. Otherwise, I wouldn’t dare to make such a request of you either.”

“Fine. Give me a call when you arrive,” Xing Zihao said as he hung up his phone.

As soon as the phone was hung up, the courteous smile on Yong Dong’s face immediately vanished. “I’ve worked hard for the past ten years, but my words don’t even carry as much weight as a mere brat. Isn’t the world unfair?”

“Hah! In the end, everything he has only comes from his father,” the subordinate fawned. “He can’t hold a candle to you at all!”

“Even if I work hard for another decade, I still wouldn’t be able to match that lineage of his,” Yong Dong lamented as he put down his phone. He glanced out of the window silently for a moment before suddenly asking, “What do you think Old Ma is doing right now?”

The subordinate was taken aback by that question. He didn’t get why Yong Dong was suddenly asking this question.

Yong Dong took out his cigarette box as he pondered contemplatively for a moment before saying, “Come here. I’ll give you some instructions.”

“Yes, Brother Dong!”

“Give a call to Ol’ Three, and get him to search around the North Station and the border customs for…” Yong Dong began issuing some instructions to the subordinate.

…

Fengbei City.

Qin Yu was just about to get a car when Old Cat suddenly called out, “Eh? I suddenly recalled something…”

“What?” Qin Yu turned around and asked.

“Didn’t our Little Fairy return to Fengbei too?” Old Cat asked with gleaming eyes.

“You’re talking about Simpleton Lin?” Qin Yu was slightly stunned for a moment too. He suddenly recalled that Lin Nianlei did mention that she would be returning to Fengbei, and he even requested her to bring some cosmetics back for him. “I haven’t met her for quite a while. She’s probably here right now.”

“Can’t we just ask her to help us look into Wen Tao then?” Old Cat asked excitedly. “Like you said, her family is quite solid in Fengbei, right? Besides, she grew up here too. She might know quite a few friends here who can help us on this!”

Qin Yu fell into deep thoughts.

“I’ll give her a call to ask about it.” Old Cat immediately got to action. He took out his phone as he mumbled under his breath, “We’re already in a bad enough position as it is. We’ll need any help that we can get…”

…

Along a street.