Special District 9 Chapter 65: The Temperament of a Wolf

Two days later.

In a hostel located around 80 kilometers away from Jiangzhou, Qin Yu asked the boss nervously, “How is my friend?”

“Our medicine isn’t potent enough. He’s still suffering from a fever,” the boss replied. “It’ll be best to get a doctor to take a look at him.”

“Are you able to get one for us? Money is not a problem,” Qin Yu said.

“I can find one, but those people tend to have loose lips. I’m worried that I’ll add to your trouble if I call one over,” the boss replied.

Qin Yu weighed the options before sighing helplessly. He turned to the boss and said, “Since that’s the case, I’ll trouble you to get some better medicine for my friend then. We should at least deal with his fever first.”

“Alright, I’ll get someone to bring some medicine over from Jiangzhou,” the boss replied.

Qin Yu took out a wad of cash and passed it over to the boss, saying, “Thanks a lot.”

“You’re too courteous,” the boss replied. He casually took the money and placed it into his pocket. Before leaving the room, he informed them, “I’ll deliver food over in a moment’s time.”

This kind of hostel was commonly seen in Development Districts that had a higher level of security and order. It mainly catered to those who traveled around often and needed temporary lodging. However, the amenities and living conditions were very poor. The food was dependent on what the boss had in his kitchen, so it was impossible to order anything.

However, what was good about them was that their prices tended to be cheap, and most of the bosses running these hostels were sharp-witted. They knew when to keep their mouths shut.

After Qin Yu talked with the boss, he headed back to the leftmost room, where Qi Lin was lying on a bed with a pale complexion. Despite Qi Lin’s feeble state, he still asked worriedly, “How is the situation at the moment? Has Coco gotten back to us yet?”

“You don’t need to worry. I’m still liaising with her on that matter,” Qin Yu said. “You just need to focus on recuperating on your injuries.”

During this period of time, Qi Lin appeared to have lost at least 10 kilograms. His slightly chubby cheeks looked much sharper now. “I’m afraid that something will happen to Old Cat. There’s always a risk of them backing out at the last moment.”

“I can sense that Coco is interested in working with us, especially after we took down Li Tong,” Qin Yu said. “I’m still able to contact Old Cat whenever I want to, so I reckon that he should be fine.”

“That’s good…” Qi Lin nodded.

“Tolerate it for a bit more, I have already talked to the boss, and he’s going to get some medicine for us,” Qin Yu said. “If your fever still doesn’t subside after this, I’ll have to give a call to Coco and get her to send a reliable doctor over.”

“I still can hold on,” Qi Lin said.

There was a moment of silence here where Qi Lin eyed Qin Yu discreetly. It seemed like he had something to say, but he was hesitating as to whether he should say it or not.

Qin Yu had always been good at reading the faces of others. While taking out his e-cigarette, he asked with a smile, “You have something to say?”

Qi Lin scratched his head.

Qin Yu took a puff of smoke before adding on, “The three of us have already gone through numerous life-and-death situations together. What else is there that you can’t say before me?”

“I’ll be speaking my mind then.”

“I’m listening.”

“After the supply route has been re-established, I hope to be the one responsible for supervising the delivery of the goods from Jiangzhou to Songjiang,” Qi Lin said.

Unbeknownst to him, he had already formed the habit of seeking Qin Yu’s opinion or approval whenever he encountered a problem.

Qin Yu blinked his eyes in surprise after hearing what Qi Lin had to say. A furrow formed on his forehead as he replied, “To be frank with you, I had different plans in mind.”

Qi Lin was stunned. “Were you intending to allow the Ma Family to settle the delivery then?”

“Of course not! That’s impossible,” Qin Yu immediately refuted that notion.

“The three of us risked our life in order to secure this supply route, so how can we let the Ma Family come into direct contact with Coco? If there’s a tight relationship between the distributor and the supplier, what would be the use of us, the intermediary? We would become redundant in this business chain. Even though the Ma Family is standing on the same front as Superintendent Li for the time being, if they could come into direct contact with Coco, that would significantly reduce our say in this relationship.”

Qi Lin didn’t expect Qin Yu to have already thought that far. He subconsciously nodded his head and replied, “Yes, you’re right.”

“I was planning to have you stay with Coco to eye the goods, and I’ll build up the necessary links to get the goods delivered,” Qin Yu said as he took another puff of smoke.

“This job can be quite dangerous, especially since the person would have to travel to and fro Songjiang and Jiangzhou. You have a mother and a little sister to take care of, so you can’t afford to put your life at risk. Other than that, the person would have to liaise with Coco and the Ma Family frequently to ensure that everything is in order. If any problems or conflicts crop up, he must be able to mediate or exert pressure wherever necessary to resolve them…”

Qi Lin was silent for a few seconds before he spoke up once more, “Qin Yu, I want to give it a try.”

Qin Yu looked at Qi Lin for a moment before advising him, “I hope you don’t think too much into what I’m going to say. You have seen what happened to your older brother. It’s not easy to be in this line of business. Once the Yuan Family realizes that we have managed to connect the medicine route, they would try to sniff out the supplier through the intermediary managing this relationship. Not only so, but there are also many people who are more than interested to get a slice of the pie. Kang-ge was a victim of this… This trade is simply too lucrative, so the competition is rife. Neither Old Cat nor I am willing to put you in such a dangerous position…”

“I get what you are trying to say. I have a mother and little sister to take care of, so I can’t afford to put myself in danger…” Qi Lin looked at Qin Yu with reddened eyes. “But I can’t just keep remaining under your care just because of this! Qin Yu, I don’t want to live the same life that I used to. I don’t want to entrust my fate into the hands of others! During this period of time, I came to learn that a person can only stand up on his own two feet!”

Qin Yu fell silent.

“Let me do it. I’ll do it better than anyone else,” Qi Lin said once more. “I’m already at rock bottom. If I don’t start trying, I’ll never be able to make a turnaround.”

“Have you thought it through?”

“Yes, I have already made up my mind,” Qi Lin replied with resolve.

“Alright, we’ll leave that portion for you to handle then,” Qin Yu said. “Old Cat and I will manage the officials whereas you’ll take charge of the goods. The three of us are now tied on the same boat. Let’s accomplish something great together!”

“That’s what I’m thinking too!” Qi Lin replied with a smile.

Qin Yu placed his e-cigarette down before rising to his feet. He took out his phone and said, “I need to give a call to Old Ma.”

“To confirm the checking list?”

“That, and to borrow money as well,” Qin Yu replied.

Qi Lin was slightly surprised to hear that. “What do you mean by borrow money?”

“Coco won’t release her goods to us for free. If we want to get the first batch of goods, we’ll have to pay a deposit first,” Qin Yu said. “But which of us have money on us? None of us can afford the deposit.”

Qi Lin was even more perplexed to hear those words, “Shouldn’t we get Old Ma to pay the deposit instead? I believe that he would be more than willing to fork out that money for this. Otherwise, we can call Old Li too. He should be able to settle this easily too. Is there really a need for us to borrow money from Old Ma?”

“No, that won’t do.” Qin Yu shook his head. “We can’t let Old Ma or Old Li pay the deposit.”

Hearing how adamant Qin Yu was regarding this issue, Qi Lin fell into deep thoughts.

Qin Yu chuckled softly as he explained his stance, “Old Li is the superintendent of the Black Street Sector Police Bureau, and this grants him significant say amongst the officials. While Old Ma’s team is in a bad shape after Yuan Hua’s suppression, I have little doubt that he would be able to rebuild his power swiftly once the medicine route is connected. The influence he commands in Songjiang is not to be underestimated. And now, look at us, what do we have? Other than you daring to pit your life against others and Old Cat’s occasional idiocy, is there anything we have that allows us to stand on equal ground as them?”

Qi Lin pondered for a moment before replying, “We have Coco, the supplier.”

“That’s right.” Qin Yu nodded. “The supplier is the key that links all of us together, and this key is currently in our hands. We should make use of this opportunity to shape the medicine market in Songjiang around us. So, we can’t let Old Li fork out this money, and we shouldn’t discuss everything with Old Ma either. You have to understand that he’s beneath us in the chain. He’s relying on us to make a living.”

Hearing those words, Qi Lin put his thumbs up and said, “It’s no wonder why the proud Old Cat listens to you obediently, and Old Li is willing to support you too… You do have something that the rest of us don’t.”

“Oh? What is it?” Qin Yu asked curiously.

QI Lin racked his head for a long while before he was finally able to come up with an appropriate metaphor for it, “A wolflike nature. A sharp nose that catches the scent of prey, and the tenacity to hunt it down.”

“Haha, is that so?” Qin Yu replied with an innocent laugh before proceeding on to dial Old Ma’s number.

Tens of seconds later.

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

“Uncle Ma, send me a checking list. Give me a list of medicine that you need together with the prices that you bought them at. I need it now.”

“… I’ll get it done right away.” Old Ma’s eyes lit up upon realizing what was going on.

“Also, I need to borrow 150,000 dollars from you,” Qin Yu said unquestioningly. “I’ll return it to you in installments.”

Old Ma frowned upon hearing those words. “Do you need that much? I only have…”

“Think of a way to raise the money. I need it urgently.”

“Alright, I’ll settle it.” Old Ma nodded.

“That’s all then.”

After they ended their call, Old Ma put down his phone before calling for his aide. “Bring me the checking list that we used for our goods in the past. I want to review it. Also, I need you to raise 150,000 dollars as soon as possible.”

“So much?” the middle-aged man frowned.

“It’ll be fine. Qin Yu managed to come to an agreement with the supplier. The medicine route will be re-established very soon,” Old Ma spoke with renewed vigor. “Yuan Ke has already cornered us to the point that we hardly have any breathing space at all. If we don’t go all out now, we might never get a chance to do so.”