Special District 9 Chapter 16: The Daily Life of a Bootlicker

Qin Yu was busy cracking the case, but Qi Lin was focused on something else. As a pragmatist, he was still figuring out a way for him to raise his rank to Tier-2 Police Officer.

…

Outside the office of the Police Bureau Security Department Platoon 1’s office, Qi Lin was holding onto two bags of gifts as he knocked on the door nervously.

“Enter!” someone in the room shouted.

Qi Lin pushed the door open and entered. With a bent back, he greeted, “Platoon Commander Ryan, are you still busy?”

Inside the office was a middle-aged man with the face of a Westerner. He raised his head to look at Qi Lin before asking, “Oh, Qi? Come in.”

“Haha, it’s also nothing much. I just came here to visit you.”

Ryan was a particularly plump person with a lot of hair. Just moving a bit would cause him to sweat profusely. Sitting behind his desk, he pushed up his black-framed spectacles and said, “Qi, I still have a meeting later on. If you have anything to ask, get straight to the point.”

Qi Lin silently wiped away his palm sweat on his thighs before placing the two bags of gifts he had prepared onto the table, “Platoon Commander Ryan, my friend from Fengbei has brought me some dried beef jerky and beef. They are very fresh. Do take some back to try.”

Ryan looked at Qi Lin with a frown as he said, “Don’t bother trying this on me. Get straight to the point.”

“Well, it’s like this. I know that you are on good terms with Platoon Commander Yuan… I hope that you can put in a good word for me in front of him and see if I can be promoted to Tier-2 Police Officer. As you know, my qualifications and my ability to complete my job are already enough for a promotion. I just need a person to speak up on my behalf, “Qi Lin said warily as he stood by the office desk. “Please help me.”

Ryan continued writing his report, not raising his eyes to look at Qi Lin at all as he replied, “There are only ten slots. You were originally on the list, but Samyou from Platoon 4 nominated his brother-in-law… There’s nothing that Yuan Ke or I am able to do about this. Wait a little longer, I’ll nominate you for the next promotion.”

Qi Lin was dumbfounded, “But Platoon Commander Ryan, Samyou’s brother-in-law has only been here for less than five months?”

“That’s right, but he’s related to Samyou,” Ryan replied with a helpless sigh. “Just wait a little longer. Give the opportunity to him, treat it as a chance to make a friend.”

Qi Lin clenched his fists tightly as he bucked up his courage to press on, “Platoon Commander Ryan, I really need this promotion. My mother is ill, and every month…”

“Who doesn’t have a reason to be promoted?” Ryan interjected nonchalantly.

“But that promotion should have belonged to me. I have waited a year for it!”

Hearing those words, Ryan opened up the bags to look at the items inside before muttering softly, “Beef jerky and steak… These are good stuff… Qi, why don’t we do this instead? I’ll give you two boxes of red wine and 10,000 Asian Dollars. I need you to get Superintendent Li to promote me into the office.”

Those words left Qi Lin stunned.

“Qi, opportunities are very pragmatic in the world we live in. Those who have no money will always be behind those who have money, and those who have money will always be behind those who have power… Tell me, what can your beef jerky and steak do for me? All I have to do is to give the word, and someone will fill my refrigerator with these,” Ryan said as he tossed the two bags back. “Take them back with you and continue waiting.”

Qi Lin pressed his lips together silently for a long while before he finally spoke up once more, “I’ll continue waiting then.”

“Take your gifts back with you.”

“Platoon Commander Ryan, please do keep them. The steak is not bad,” Qi Lin replied before turning around to leave.

Ryan continued working on his report with a lowered head, not saying anything at all.

Just as Qi Lin was about to walk out of the door, he realized that there were quite a few acrid clothes hanging on the clothes rack. He immediately turned around and said, “Your clothes are dirty. I’ll wash them for you.”

With his head still lowered, Ryan nodded, “Un.”

“Your shoes are dirty too. I’ll scrub them for you.”

“Un.”

“I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Un!”

“…!”

Taking a whole bunch of items with him, Qi Lin walked out of the door.

A few minutes later, Ryan tossed the gifts he had received from Qi Lin to a female colleague in the office, saying, “It’s steak. You can take it back with you.”

“You don’t want it?”

“Who knows how long it has been frozen for? Even my dog wouldn’t eat it.” Ryan adjusted his suit before walking away.

In the laundry room.

With rolled-up sleeves, Qi Lin scrubbed a shoe relentlessly while talking on the phone, “I want the medicine for this month too… Un, yes, I’ll find a way to raise the money for you.”

…

In the office area of Platoon 1 Squad 3.

Qin Yu clapped his hands and shouted, “Jabi, I’ll be leaving it to you to get our equipment and distribute them. Tonight, no one is to leave work before 8. There might be an operation.”

Zhu Wei’s thigh injury, which was caused by Qin Yu, hadn’t fully healed yet, so he asked carefully, “Squad leader, do I need to go too?”

“We don’t have enough people. You’ll drive the car,” Qin Yu instructed authoritatively.

“Alright,” Zhu Wei nodded, not daring to protest.

Four in the afternoon, everyone had dinner at the canteen before fetching their equipment and returning back to their dormitory.

As soon as Qi Lin entered the room, he saw the rarely-seen automatic rifle and asked in surprise, “Even the M464 is out? Is there a huge target this time around? Who are we going for?”

“The small fry has finally come clean. We received news that the big fish who has been supplying the Ma Family might have already arrived at Songjiang,” Qin Yu took a look at his watch as he said. “I got some men to follow a core member of the Ma Family. We might be getting something really soon.”

“Oh!” Qi Lin nodded. He pondered for a moment before pulling Qin Yu aside to ask, “Squad leader, can I return home for a while?”

Qin Yu sighed helplessly as he replied with a lowered voice, “Are you trying to avoid the frontline operation? I would like to let you off too, but we are lacking in manpower this time around. If you are really worried about it, I’ll have you drive then. Is that alright?”

“It’s not that I want to avoid the frontline operation, but there’s something urgent that I have to do at home today,” Qi Lin replied with a frown. “My mother is severely ill, and my younger sister is blind… If I don’t go home, they won’t even have anything to eat. And I need to bring my mother to the hospital for a checkup today too…”

Qin Yu felt that no matter how cowardly Qi Lin was, he didn’t seem like the type to use his own mother as an excuse. So, after a moment of contemplation, he asked, “Are you able to get back here before the operation?”

“Call me before the operation starts. I’ll make sure to rush back in time.”

“Alright, you can go then.”

“… Squad leader, I’m sorry for the trouble,” Qi Lin courteously bowed a little to Qin Yu.

“It’s nothing. We all have it tough, so the least we can do is to help one another,” Qin Yu patted Qi Lin’s shoulder. “I’ll call you before the operation.”

“Roger that.” Qi Lin nodded.

…

Seven at night.

In the slums of the Black Street Sector, Old Ma alighted from a car, and after scanning the area, he donned a military jacket before walking into a pungent alley.

“Who are you looking for?” a man amidst the darkness asked.

Old Ma halted his footsteps after hearing that voice, and he replied, “I’m looking for Ah Long.”

“Is it Brother Ma?” the man replied as he walked over.

“Is he inside?”

“Un,” the man replied courteously, “Brother Ma, please raise your hands for a moment. It’s a standard procedure.”

Old Ma raised his arm and allowed the man to search his body.

In the house, a ragged-looking Ah Long with hair growing all over his face was currently fiddling with a grenade.

…

Meanwhile, somewhere else in Songjiang City…

Yuan Ke was in his office, holding onto a phone. He walked over to the windows as he said, “Brother, why are you asking me to return in such a rush? Un, I’m in the midst of settling that. Alright, let’s leave it with that for the time being. I’ll be back very soon.”

For those unfamiliar with weapons, automatic rifles are rifles where bullets will come out endlessly just by holding onto the trigger.

In warfare, they mainly serve to suppress enemy fire, in the sense that once you start spraying bullets around, the others will be forced to take cover (hide behind walls to avoid the bullets) and can’t do anything much. This, in turn, buys time for your teammates to move around.

—

In the Police Bureau, there’s a top Superintendent, followed by platoon leaders, squad leaders, then normal policemen. Each platoon consists of around 30~40 people, and there are around 3~4 squads in each platoon.

The ranking in the Police Bureau that has been revealed so far:

[Probation Officer] -> [Tier-3/Tier-3/Tier-1 Police Officer] -> [Tier-3/Tier-2/Tier-1 Police Sergeant]

After joining the Police Bureau, there’s a probation period where the performance of a police officer is assessed before they are formally hired and promoted to Tier-3 Police Officer.