Special District 9 Chapter 72: Bringing the Conflict to the Surface

After returning to Songjiang…

Qin Yu and Old Cat first headed over to Residence 88 with the boy they had picked up on their journey.

Inside the room, Qin Yu took off the boy’s nasty-smelling clothes and tossed them by the entrance. After that, he poured some cold water and washed his face.

“What do you intend to do with that child? Is he going to stay with you?” Old Cat asked.

As Qin Yu wiped his face with his towel, he shook his head and replied, “How am I to find time to take care of him? Once he’s doing better, I’ll ask Zhu Wei if it’s possible to get him a job to do in Songjiang. It’ll be fine as long as he can make a living…”

“That sounds fine, but he doesn’t have a visa or residential rights. As an illegal immigrant, he could be kicked out of the city at any moment,” Old Cat said contemplatively. “Forget it, I’ll help you look into this later on. I know quite a few old drivers who often travel in and out of the Special District. Due to the nature of their job, they are able to get temporary visas once every thirty days.”

“That’s fine too. We already picked up the child anyway, so we should at least help him to settle down,” Qin Yu replied with a nod.

“Shall we go now? Old Li is still waiting for us over at the Police Bureau.”

“Alright, let’s head over.”

After chatting for a while, the two of them locked the door and left Residence 88.

…

Afternoon, in the Superintendent Office of the Police Bureau.

Superintendent Li looked at Qin Yu with a satisfied look on his face as he beckoned to the chair, “Sit.”

Qin Yu sat down on the chair with a grin as he asked, “Uncle Li, you just came back from Fengbei?”

“Un.” Superintendent Li nodded as he passed Qin Yu a stick of cigarette. “I have finished the negotiations over at Fengbei, but you need to tell the Ma Family that they should continue to lie low for the time being. We need to convince the higher-ups that there are profits to be earned, and any trouble during this period of time will only deter them.”

“I understand,” Qin Yu nodded. Then, he asked again, “Since we have managed to connect the medicine route, do you think that it’s possible for us to fish Ma Lao-er out now?”

“Yes, it should be fine now. You can go ahead and deal with it. However, you must make sure that the procedures are flawless, such that no one can pick any faults with it. In the next period of time, Yuan Ke is likely to do everything he can to fault you.”

“I’ll take note of that.” Qin Yu nodded.

Superintendent Li inhaled a mouthful of smoke as he opened up his drawer and took out two certificates and an epaulet. “Take this.”

Qin Yu was stretched his hand forward to receive the things Superintendent Li was passing over. After taking a closer look, a smile formed on his lips as he said, “Aiyo, I am really grateful for your care and concern. I didn’t think that I would be approved as a Tier-2 Police Officer so quickly.”

“From today onward, your Squad 3 will be officially transferred over to Platoon 4. You will also be formally appointed as the leader of Squad 3. You need to make the handover with Yuan Ke later on,” Superintendent Li said. “You’ll be staying with Platoon 4 for a while. I’ll find an opportunity to transfer the platoon leader away and have you assume the role of the vice-platoon leader before promoting you upward.”

Qin Yu knew that the reason why he was able to advance so smoothly upward wasn’t due to his relationship with Old Cat or Superintendent Li’s appreciation. Rather, it was the reward he deserved after he, Qi Lin, and Old Cat put their lives on the line back at Jiangzhou. It was also only at this point that Qin Yu finally felt that he had a real backing in Special District 9.

“Thanks, Uncle Li,” Qin Yu replied earnestly.

“There’s no need to be so polite. This is what you deserve,” Superintendent Li replied with a wave of his hand. “Alright, you should get on to do what you need to do. I’ll have the office to send you the documents you need to fill up later on. As for the reallocation of dormitories, I’ll leave it to you to settle it with Wen-jie.”

“Got it,” Qin Yu said as he got up from his seat.

“Continue on the good work. You’ll be able to get far at this rate,” Superintendent Li said as he smoked on his cigarette.

“Heh, I will do my best.” Qin Yu nodded before leaving the room.

…

Half an hour later, in the dormitory of Squad 3.

Qin Yu was sitting on his bed with the documents of Ma Lao-er’s case in one of his hands. In his other hand was a phone, and he was currently in call with someone else.

“Yes, I have already informed Superintendent Li about it. You can deal with that case according to how I told you. Have Damin shoulder everything, and tell Ma Lao-er not to speak any nonsense. Un, you don’t have to bother with the prosecutors. Superintendent Li will give them a heads up later on. Yes, Damin is in illegal possession of the drugs, so he won’t be sentenced to the death penalty. He still has to be prepared to stay in jail for the next fifteen years though. No no, there’s no need to go through a lawyer. You can just get him to meet Damin straight. Un, I’ll be leaving you to deal with it then. Thanks.”

After the two of them communicated the details, Qin Yu hung up his phone. It was at this moment that Guan Qi suddenly walked in with a livid look on his face, “Why is that dimwit Ol’ Three acting as if he has lost his mother? I really want to stuff a metal scrub into his mouth and clean it!”

The handover procedures should have been handled by Qin Yu personally, but he simply couldn’t stand interacting with Yuan Ke’s people, so he had Guan Qi do it on his behalf instead. Who could have thought that a problem would crop up due to that?

“What’s wrong?” Qin Yu asked.

Guan Qi loosened his collar as he spoke with an awful look on his face, “Didn’t something happen to you at the meat shop the last time there was a riot between the medicine smugglers? We drew a few bullets and two grenades from the platoon armory when we went over to save you, but Ol’ Three complained that we didn’t report this beforehand. It was an emergency situation back then, but he’s nitpicking at the details right now, saying that the numbers just don’t tally. So, he wanted me to submit a detailed report to him, or else he’ll be lodging a complaint upward.”

“What can he do even if he lodges a complaint?” Qin Yu asked. He hadn’t been in the Police Bureau for too long, so he was unaware of the rules surrounding this field.

“You also know that all of our equipment, be it the guns or the bullets, require approval before we can use them. These are lethal weapons after all, so it’s only normal that they would be regulated,” Guan Qi explained with a lowered voice. “However, with how chaotic it is out there now, it’s not uncommon for us to stumble onto a case in the midst of a patrol, so it’s normal for us to deplete some of our weapons from time to time. But Ol’ Three is picking fault with us on that. He’s saying that the equipment belongs to Platoon 1, and we’re using them for private affairs. If the numbers don’t tally, he won’t be able to explain it to the Logistics Department.”

“That narrow-minded fellow is only capable of nitpicking in the office,” Qin Yu berated in annoyance. “Just ignore him. Let him do whatever he wants.”

“That won’t do, squad leader!” Guan Qi immediately advised against that. “The usage of weapons have to be reported to the Police Headquarters eventually as this concerns whether police officers have been smuggling away important equipment or using them to fulfill their own personal agenda. If Ol’ Three were to write down nonsense on the report, you might get punished as a result of that.”

Qin Yu frowned upon hearing those words. He stood up with a displeased look as he said, “He sure is a pain in the ass. Come, let’s go take a look.”

…

After a small meeting, Guan Qi and Qin Yu headed over to Platoon 1’s office.

Ol’ Three was currently shaking his leg leisurely, watching a live stream from the computer.

Qin Yu patiently walked up, patted his shoulder, and said, “Brother Three, are you busy at the moment?”

Ol’ Three turned around upon hearing those words. He took a look at Qin Yu before exclaiming, “Aiyo, isn’t this our Squad Leader Qin? Heh, congratulations on being promoted to Tier-2 Police Officer!”

“I’m still lacking compared to you,” Qin Yu replied with a smile. He got straight to the point and said, “I’m here to ask you when the handover can be completed.”

“I also wish to clear the procedures as soon as possible, but the details of your case over at the meat shop are still quite vague. I headed over to the location myself to take a look, but I don’t see any signs of a grenade being used?” Ol’ Three replied provocatively.

Qin Yu smiled upon hearing those words. He leaned over to Ol’ Three’s ear and said, “Brother Three, I was the one who hid the grenade. There’s a person who keeps wanting to play with me, so I have no choice but to grab something to protect myself. Shall I find a day to send one over to you?”

Ol’ Three’s face immediately turned ugly. He shot to his feet and bellowed, “Trying to scare me again, huh?”

“Heh!” Qin Yu burst into laughter. “I see that you have quite some guts now!”