Special District 9 Chapter 136: The Lid Sealed on a Coffin

Afternoon.

The mourning banquet finally came to an end. Just as Zhang Tian was about to leave the Majestic Palace Entertainment City, a drunk Baldie suddenly called out to him from the second floor, “Old Zhang!”

“Yes, Baldie?” Baldie shouted back.

“Come up for a moment. I need to talk to you about something.”

“Huh? What do you have to talk to me about?”

“Just come up!”

…

Roughly ten minutes later, in Yuan Hua’s old office, Zhang Tian sat down on the sofa and asked with an amiable smile, “What do you have to talk to me about?”

“Old Yuan is gone now.” Baldie rubbed his head as he sat down on a chair too and slapped his thighs. He nodded his head solemnly for a moment before asking, “I want to discuss the future of the company with you.”

Zhang Tian’s pupils dilated a little before he spoke up heartily, “Heh, what is there to discuss? Didn’t Old Yuan put it out very clearly before he left? He said that Yuan Ke will be wearing the crown, and you’ll become as the meritorious subject who supports him to the throne!”

“Don’t talk that kind of crap to me, you know that I don’t care about all those stuff,” Baldie said as he shook his legs leisurely. He got straight to the point and asked, “I just want to seek your view on this. Are you fine with Yuan Ke taking the helm?”

Zhang Tian was silent for a moment before he replied, “What’s there to disagree? Old Yuan was the one who brought the company up. It’s up to him to decide whoever he wants to give the company away to!”

“Is that really what you think?” Baldie asked.

Zhang Tian stared at Baldie, and a slight crease formed on his forehead. “What do you mean by that?”

“I don’t mean anything. I’m just asking you if you seriously intend to support Yuan Ke to the top position.”

“Haven’t I already expressed my stand? If he wants to do it, go on. What else am I supposed to do? Kneel down and shout out ‘Long live Your Majesty’?” Zhang Tian replied impatiently as he took out a cigarette box. “Be it when Old Yuan was still around or now that Little Yuan is taking over, you’re still going to be the favored one of us all. It’ll do as long as you agree to it. There’s no need to seek my view.”

Perhaps it was because Baldie had too much to drink, he remembered the camaraderie that they, brothers, shared in the past. His eyes reddened a little as he spoke, “Old Zhang, if not for Old Yuan, none of us would have been able to rise up from the bottom. We don’t need to worry about going around with empty stomachs anymore, and we have more than enough money to squander. So, I really hope that none of us, the veterans, will stir up shit during this crucial moment. Do you get what I mean?”

Zhang Tian turned his head to look out of the window as he lit up his cigarette, saying, “Baldie, I would like to ask you a question.”

“What?”

“Is Yong Dong our brother?”

“…!” Baldie was rendered speechless.

“Then I’ll ask you again. If the other party had asked for me, Zhang Tian, instead of Yong Dong, would Old Yuan have gotten me to go?” Zhang Tian took a puff of smoke as he asked.

“That’s a different matter!” Baldie widened his eyes as he bellowed in agitation. “I already told Yong Dong that as soon the other party shows their tail, Old Yuan and I will put our lives on the line to get him back! We have been together for so many years now; when have you ever seen Old Yuan making a move himself? Besides, have you thought about why he had to get Yong Dong to go in the first place? It’s because the survival of the company and the thousands of brothers under him are banking on this! How would you have chosen if you had been in his place?”

“I’m not Old Yuan. Regardless of the circumstances, it’s a fact that he made Yong Dong march right into a death trap,” Zhang Tian said as he rose to his feet. “Now that Old Yuan is gone, there’s no point in us discussing whether he was right or wrong. However, there’s no doubt that this matter has left a thorn in everyone’s heart.”

Looking at Zhang Tian, Baldie suddenly understood a logic: It takes only a glance for two men to get chummy with one another, but if they are bent on turning against one another, there are more than a hundred reasons to do so.

“I have hardly spoken up in the company anymore even while Old Yuan was still around,” Zhang Tian took a puff of smoke as he added. “You can just discuss with Little Yuan and make a decision yourselves. I won’t question your judgment.”

Baldie lowered his head quietly for a long while before he replied in resignation, “Old Zhang, if you intend to leave one day… I hope that we can part peacefully with one another.”

Zhang Tian was surprised for a moment before he replied, “You’re thinking too much.”

“Un. I hope so too.”

“Alright. You have really worn yourself out over the last few days, so you should have a good rest. I’ll be heading back now,” Zhang Tian said with a smile before turning around to leave the office.

Sitting in a daze in his chair, Baldie stiffly picked up the cigarette box on the table.

Huaji!

The door to the resting room inside the office opened, and Yuan Ke walked out from within. He asked with a light tone, “Brother Baldie, do you still think that I was thinking too much?”

“Sigh!”

Baldie fondled the lighter in his hand in a daze as he replied, “There wasn’t so much trouble when we were poorer…”

…

In the car.

Zhang Tian held his phone in his hand as he asked softly, “Are you certain?”

“Yes, Liu Chun has been captured, and Ol’ Three has gone into hiding,” the person on the other end of the phone replied.

Zhang Tian thought about the matter for a moment before he glanced at his watch and said, “Book a train ticket for Fengbei for me. I’ll be leaving tonight.”

“Alright.”

“Just the few of us will be heading over. Don’t tell anyone else,” Zhang Tian instructed sternly.

“I understand.”

…

An hour later, in one of the apartments in Songjiang City.

Yuan Ke sat down on the sofa and told Ol’ Three, “You shouldn’t think of wearing this uniform anymore.”

“Un, I know,” Ol’ Three nodded in response.

“Ol’ Three, I need you to handle a matter for me.”

“What is it?”

“…!” Yuan Ke leaned over to Ol’ Three and whispered a few words into his ear.

After hearing what Yuan Ke had to say, Ol’ Three’s face warped in shock. He asked, “Is it really necessary to go to such an extent? Have you discussed things with Brother Baldie yet?”

“We mustn’t talk to him about it.” Yuan Ke shook his head. “The only ones who need to know about this are you and I.”

Ol’ Three rubbed his palms together as he asked in incomprehension, “I don’t get it. You’re brothers who fight on the same line. How did it all come to such a point?”

“Ol’ Three, if you don’t think that you can do it, I can find someone else,” Yuan Ke told Ol’ Three with an earnest look on his face. “You’re the person closest to me right now. I won’t make things difficult for you.”

Ol’ Three turned over to look at Yuan Ke as he replied, “If not for you, what would I have ever become? There’s no need to say anymore. I’ll do it for you.”

The room suddenly fell quiet.

Yuan Ke sat quietly on the sofa, smoking cigarette after cigarette. A long while later, he finally stood up, patted Ol’ Three on his shoulder, and said, “Have a good rest.”

…

In the office of the Majestic Palace Entertainment City.

Baldie was in the midst of his sleep when he was shaken awake by Xiao Jiu.

“What is it?” Baldie grumbled in a bad mood.

“He went to Fengbei,” Xiao Jiu said concisely. “There are only five people with him.”

Baldie was stunned for a few seconds before he slowly sat upright. He rubbed his cheeks forcefully before sighing deeply, “Book the tickets.”

Xiao Jiu remained rooted to the spot, not moving at all.

“What’s wrong?” Baldie lifted his head and asked him.

“Little Yuan should be dealing with this matter right now. Do we really need to interfere?” Xiao Jiu asked.

Baldie was stunned for a good three seconds before he replied with a quivering voice, “… You… What did you just say…”

Xiao Jiu stared at Baldie quietly for a moment before he turned around and said, “I’ll book the tickets.”

…

On the road.

In the midst of driving his car, Yuan Ke picked up his phone and dialed Superintendent Li’s number.

“Hello?”

“… Superintendent Li, I thought that I should give you a heads up. I’m intending to resign from the Police Bureau,” Yuan Ke said.

Superintendent Li paused for a brief moment before asking, “Have you thought it through?”

“I’ll be sending the report on my resignation to you and the Police Headquarters tomorrow.”

“Understood. I wish you all the best in the future,” Superintendent Li replied calmly.

Yuan Ke was silent for a brief moment before his lips curled up, and he said, “Superintendent Li, the ones involved in my brother’s death will pay for what they did with their lives.”

“Tell me if you find any evidence. I’ll crack the case for you,” Superintendent Li replied with a light chuckle.

After that, Superintendent Li hung up the call. Yuan Ke stepped down on the accelerator and raced toward Songjiang Station.

This was the moment that sparked a new era upon Songjiang, the era of a new generation.