Special District 9 Chapter 9: Wind Blows on the Dirt Street

Five-thirty at night.

Qin Yu, Qi Lin, and the African brother had just finished eating at the canteen when Zhu Wei finally returned with the rest of the men.

“You went out?” Qin Yu asked while sitting on a chair.

Gudong gudong!

Zhu Wei gulped down a cup of water before replying clamorously, “A darned brat dared to mess with my kin, so I led our brothers over to take a look. You don’t need to worry though, we have settled it.”

Qin Yu was silent for a few seconds before he nodded with a smile, “I understand. Let’s start talking about the case then.”

“Are we working overtime tonight?” Zhu Wei asked as he placed down his cup. He walked casually to Qin Yu’s side and asked, “Do you still have that cig? Give me one?”

“I don’t have it anymore. That box was all I got.”

“Cheh, good things sure don’t last. You should have stockpiled more of that stuff!” Zhu Wei said as he pulled his drawer open to take out his e-cigarette to take a puff. Then, he asked, “We’re settling the stuff tonight, right?”

“Yeah, Platoon Commander Yuan has passed down an order for us to settle this case as soon as possible,” Qin Yu replied. “It’ll be tough, but let’s scout the area first to figure out the routes of the smugglers.”

Before anyone could say a word, Zhu Wei had already sat down on the office desk and said, “There’s no need to scout at all. The medicine peddlers all operate in Dirt Street. We can catch a bunch of them easily over there.”

Qin Yu was surprised, “You know where they are?”

“If not for the orders from those above, who would have the time to bother with those medicine peddlers?” Zhu Wei replied as he fiddled his fingers in boredom. “They sell their medicine openly in Dirt Street. I have bumped into them many times now.”

“I heard from Platoon Commander Yuan that the Special Districts have been very strict in cracking down on smuggled medicine. Do they really dare sell it so openly here?”

“Our Special District 9 is different from the others,” Qi Lin explained. “This place was built later than the other Special Districts, and it’s the only one filled with people from all races and nationalities, so the situation is a bit more complicated here. Just last year, due to the election of the Chief Executive, a military conflict broke out in both Songjiang and Fengbei. That’s how chaotic it is.”

“I see,” Qin Yu nodded comprehendingly. “Would it really work if we march right over and apprehend them?”

Qi Lin was just about to respond to that question when Zhu Wei beat him to it, “What’s so hard about that? Those medicine smugglers don’t know about the directive from above yet. If we can capture some leads first, it’ll make it easier for us to crack the case.”

Qin Yu felt that Zhu Wei’s words weren’t too reliable. He seemed like the type who only looked at things from the surface. So, Qin Yu turned to Qi Lin and asked, “What about you? Do you think that it’s suitable to investigate the matter directly?”

“I’m not too sure about the situation over there,” Qi Lin scratched his head.

“Haha, you’re asking him?” Zhu Wei burst into laughter. “That little mouse is known for disappearing whenever shit strikes. He never participates in any operations, so how would he know anything at all?”

Those words were a bit offensive, but Qi Lin simply smiled quietly in response, not saying anything at all.

“Qin Yu, you only arrived here not too long ago. Heed my words and you won’t go wrong. Let’s head over there tonight and capture a few leads. That’ll make our job much easier later on,” Zhu Wei said determinedly, utterly disregarding the hierarchy of authority here. “Let’s get moving then! I’ll sign the document over at the armory to get our guns.”

It was apparent that Squad 3 was used to following Zhu Wei’s orders. They swiftly rose to their feet at his words.

Qin Yu sat down on the chair while staring intently at Zhu Wei. But instead of stopping the latter, he said, “Alright. Let’s head there and see how it goes then.”

Zhu Wei leaped off from the office desk and slapped Qin Yu’s shoulder with a hearty laugh, “Brother, it’s your luck to join our Squad 3! Our brothers aren’t the type to take money without doing anything. I like your style of doing things, so you can be assured that I’ll support you along with the other brothers!”

The pain from having his injury struck made Qin Yu grit his teeth once more as he glanced at his shoulder.

“Crap, I forgot about it! You are injured!” Zhu Wei exclaimed as he quickly took a step back. “Are you fine?”

Qin Yu looked at the other party and said, “It’s fine. You should go and get your gun.”

“Alright, I’ll get going then,” Zhu Wei turned around and left.

Qin Yu took a look at Zhu Wei’s departing back as he frowned contemplatively.

“Squad leader, Zhu Wei is not like Ol’ Three. He doesn’t have any bad intentions in mind. He’s just that rowdy, and he tends to take jokes and pranks a little too far,” Qi Lin walked over and said. “Don’t take his actions to heart.”

The closest word for describing Zhu Wei would be ‘insensitive’. He was the type of person who would do things without thinking about how others would feel, and this made it extremely likely for him to go overboard.

And if you were to confront him over it, he would simply shrug it off with a smile and say that it was just a small matter and there was no need to get so serious over it. Instead, he would claim that you were the one being narrow-minded over here. Then, he would simply go on with life as if nothing happened…

Had it been anywhere else, it would have been wise to distance oneself from someone like Zhu Wei. However, this was a privilege that Qin Yu couldn’t afford. Now that he was the leader of Squad 3, Zhu Wei was his subordinate. Whether he liked it or not, they were all in the same team now, so he couldn’t afford to avoid him.

However, he couldn’t allow Zhu Wei to continue messing around as he had been. If Zhu Wei were to issue orders on his behalf, it could possibly lead to disastrous consequences in the future.

To make things worse, it was apparent that pretty much everyone in Squad 3 was Zhu Wei’s friend. If he were to mess around with Zhu Wei right after arriving here, things would not end well…

So, what could be done about this?

While Qin Yu was deep in thought, Qi Lin was also observing closely by the sideline. He wanted to see when Qin Yu would turn against Zhu Wei, and whether he would still be able to retain his position as the leader of Squad 3 after that.

…

Eight-thirty at night.

Two police cars parked right outside of Dirt Street. Qin Yu and the others came out wearing casual wear, and they began heading into Dirt Street together.

Dirt Street could be said to be the most chaotic place in Black Street Sector. There were at least tens of thousands of people living here who had visas but no steady jobs. Along the two sides of the streets, every store that was lit with a pink light would have seven to eight ladies wriggling their bodies, trying to bring in customers.

In the dark alleys, one could see high druggies slumped against the walls with a dead look in their eyes.

Qin Yu had seen too many of such people in the Development District, so he was already numb to it. He continued walking forward with a lowered head.

…

After advancing for around a kilometer, the group finally stopped before a store that had no signboard.

Zhu Wei scratched his head and he told Qin Yu with a lowered voice, “This is one of the stores selling medicine.”

“Doesn’t look like there’s anyone in there,” Qin Yu said as he scanned the insides. He asked with a lowered voice, “I’m not familiar with the situation here. Can we take them away right away if we arrest them?”

Qi Lin pondered for a moment before replying, “We should catch them in the act. Let’s go in while someone is buying medicine.”

Qin Yu sat by the roadside and pondered for a long while, but he still felt a little uneasy about this, “if they are willing to operate their business here openly, would they not have made any precautions at all? I don’t think that we’ll be able to arrest them so easily; instead, we might just end up alarming them.”

Those words made Zhu Wei’s face scrunch in impatience, “Like I have already told you, it’s all because no one cared about this before we came around. If we want to sweep them clean, we need to move fast and decisively! Once you finish investigating everything in the dark, they would have caught wind of the news too. By then, it would be much harder for us to crack the case.”

It was true that Qin Yu didn’t have any experience in Special District 9, and he was no veteran when it came to law enforcement either. So, after pondering for a moment, he turned to the African brother and asked, “Jabi, what do you think about it?”

“I don’t think anyone has touched this case in the past before,” Jabi replied. “But if we spend too long investigating, news will surely leak. There are no secrets in the bureau.”

Qin Yu pondered for a few seconds before passing down his orders, “The police cars are too conspicuous, so we can’t drive them in there. Jabi, Little Six, I want you two to drive the cars to the street behind. As soon as we capture them, we’ll leave on the cars right away.”

“Roger that.”

“As for the rest of you, spread out a little. Check your guns, bullets, and bulletproof vest,” Qin Yu instructed. “We’ll charge in after someone enters the store.”

“Heh! You are wearing a bulletproof vest for a minor operation like this? You are timider than I thought…” Zhu Wei teased. “The medicine peddlers have no standing in the world at all. Over the last few years, while I was patrolling this area, they would never dare to resist when I beat them up. You don’t know how scared that bunch of fellows are of us…”

Qin Yu glanced at Zhu Wei before saying “Let’s get to work.”

…

Half an hour later.

Two young men, together with an old man, walked into the store openly.

Hiding inside the alley, Qin Yu picked up his walkie-talkie and instructed, “Observe the situation through the window. Check if they are receiving medicine.”

A small moment later, Qi Lin replied, “They are receiving medicine.”

“Everyone, move!” Qin Yu immediately ordered. “Enter the house!”

In the next moment, eight men charged over from three different directions and kicked the wooden door open.

In the store, the two young men and the old man were standing by the counter, filling a container with medicine. On the other end of the counter was a well-built fellow with an e-cigarette in his mouth.

All four of them turned to look at the doorway in shock, alarmed by the abrupt arrival of so many people.

Zhu Wei stepped forward, pressed his gun against the well-built fellow, and shouted, “Police! Place your hands behind your head and walk to the side!”

The well-built fellow swiftly recovered from his shock. He hurriedly retreated instead of heeding Zhu Wei’s words, but in the midst of doing so, he unintentionally revealed the pistol he had on his waist.

Under such a chaotic environment, most criminals had no qualms about using force against the police, so as soon as Zhu Wei spotted the gun, he immediately dashed forward, grabbed the well-built fellow’s collar with his left hand, and smacked the well-built fellow’s head with the butt of his pistol.

Peng peng peng!

Zhu Wei struck the well-built fellow’s head seven times, but the latter was still struggling even after that. In a moment of anxiety, he grabbed the latter’s hair and smashed it against the edge of the counter.

Fresh blood flowed down the latter’s head as his pupils flew upward. Gudong! He collapsed to the ground.

At the same time, flurried footsteps echoed from above. A bald man draped in a military coat rushed down, and he was shocked to see what was happening below. He immediately grabbed his walkie-talkie and shouted, “Store 2 has been raided. Come out now!”

There was a short moment of silence.

Then, deafening footsteps echoed outside as dozens of people charged out of the houses from both sides of the streets.

These people were equipped with knives, steel pipes, chains, and guns. They blocked the entrance to the store as if a rising tide.

Qin Yu looked at the stifling crowd outside as he was reminded of the sight of how people in the Development District would instinctively cluster around to snatch rations. Goosebumps rose all over his arm and he subconsciously pushed up the safety engagement notch on his gun.

Zhu Wei also saw the sight through the window, and sweat began pouring down his forehead. Gulping down a mouthful of saliva, he murmured, “W-when did they grow to such a scale? … Isn’t this a little too much?”

It might be confusing so allow me to clarify a bit. The medicine peddler and medicine smuggler are two different parties, though they can be the same. Medicine smuggler refers to those who transport medicine from place to place illegally, and medicine peddler refers to those who sell medicine.

Dirt Street has a lot of medicine peddler since medicine is being sold openly, and through them, they can find leads to figure out where the smuggled medicine is coming from.