Special District 9 Chapter 95: Meeting Simpleton Lin

On the streets.

Old Cat called Lin Nianlei’s number thrice before the call finally connected, “Hello? Little Fairy, who were you talking to earlier?”

“Hm? Why are you calling me all of a sudden?” Lin Nianlei asked in surprise.

“I miss you. A day without you is like a year without rain.”

“Know some shame. Talk to me properly.” Lin Nianlei rolled her eyes.

“Heh,” Old Cat chuckled to himself before getting to the point. “There’s something I need your help for.”

“Oh? It’s very suspicious that you are asking me for help…” Lin Nianlei was surprised. “I’ll just say it first. If you want me to put out fake news for you, that’s impossible.”

“Not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“We need you to help us look into a person in Fengbei. He works in Duke Carnival,” Old Cat said concisely. “Do you know that place?”

“Yeah, I do,” Lin Nianlei replied with a nod. “Duke Carnival is quite well-known in Fnegbei.”

“That’s great!” Old Cat exclaimed in agitation. “Do you know anyone there who can help me look into a person there?”

Lin Nianlei grumbled through the phone, “Look into my head! How could I know anyone there? Do you take me for a gambler, or do I appear to swing that way?”

“Then do you have any friends who go there often?” Old Cat pressed on. “Help us ask around, alright? We have something urgent to ask him.”

Lin Nianlei pondered for a moment before replying, “You need to look into that person to crack a case?”

“That’s not exactly it. You see, there is this person who worked with the Yuan Family to scam our friend, and this person ran over to Fengbei to seek refuge with his friend, and his friend is currently working in Duke Carnival… We had no choice but to come over to help too,” Old Cat explained with a frown. “It’s hard for them to explain the fake medicines to the buyers, so we can only find this lad to right their name.”

Lin Nianlei was utterly confused by Old Cat’s explanation. “What in the world are you talking about? I don’t get what you’re saying at all.”

“It’s very complicated. It’ll be hard for us to explain it to you through the phone.”

“Us?” Lin Nianlei was surprised by the use of that term. “Who else is there?”

“There’s me, Qin Yu, and Guan Qi. We’re all at Fengbei’s railway station at the moment,” Old Cat replied.

Lin Nianlei smiled a little as she asked, “Qin Yu is here too?”

“Un. We were affected by the matter too, so we need to resolve it,” Old Cat replied with a nod.

Lin Nianlei bit her lips as she pondered over the matter for a moment before she finally replied softly, “For the time being, why don’t we meet at Warm Winter an hour from now? Let’s talk things out first. Though I’ve never been to Duke Carnival before, my brothers still do head there from time to time. I can help you ask them on my behalf.”

“That would be great! See you in a moment’s time then.”

“Alright, see you.”

The two of them ended their call there.

By the roadside, Qin Yu had his hands in his pockets as he asked, “What did Simpleton Lin say?”

Old Cat intentionally put on a conflicted look on his face as he shook his head and lamented, “The old sages deceive me not. Those who are close to the gazebo do reach the moon first.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Qin Yu was flabbergasted.

“I’ll ask as soon as I get back whether there are still any empty rooms in Residence 88,” Old Cat glanced at Qin Yu as he spoke. “It’s time for me to make a comeback.”

Qin Yu was utterly confused by what Old Cat was driving at, “What the hell are you mumbling about? I don’t get what you’re saying!”

“How did you manage to become our squad leader with a brain like yours?” Guan Qi couldn’t help but interject by the side. “You still don’t get it? It was Old Cat who called your friend, but it was only after he mentioned you did she finally agree to meet us. Do you get it now?”

“Oh, is that so?” Qin Yu nodded his head with feigned composure.

On the other hand, Old Cat was triggered by Guan Qi’s overly frank explanation. He smacked Guan Qi’s head and said, “Smart aleck. Like you’re the only one who knows what’s going on.”

…

On the whole, Fengbei was much larger than Songjiang.

It was no exaggeration to call it a concrete jungle. There were towering buildings where the eyes could see. Transportation appeared to be rather convenient too, with cars cruising by the street with great frequency. Even though it was already night time, the roads were still brightly lit with rows of lampposts.

There were all sorts of government agencies to be seen around, and police officers could be seen patrolling around certain locations too. Occasionally, they would spot youths gathered along the street.

All in all, even though Fengbei was still nowhere in comparison to the prosperous first-tier cities that they had prior to the apocalypse, it was apparent that it was far more developed and prosperous than Songjiang.

To use a metaphor, it looked like a youth experiencing its growth spurt.

This was because there were jobs available everywhere, and the government policies were frequently changing in order to support the development of the city.

In comparison, Songjiang appeared more like an ill old man. It was filled with ailments all over, and it was still struggling to recover from its afflictions.

In this era of extreme scarcity, it was inevitable that the government of Special District 9 would have to weigh the pros and cons of what they should invest in, resulting in the distribution of resources to be skewed. In terms of foundation, Fengbei was superior to that of Songjiang. Due to that, its economic development was at least ten to twenty years ahead of Songjiang.

For one, it was hard to get rented cars in Songjiang. There were less than thirty officially registered vehicles in the entire city, and these vehicles were all purchased using the special budget allocated by the city to heed the directives from the Special District Government to improve the transportation system.

In comparison, Fengbei was clearly in a much better position. The Special District Government subcontracted the project to major companies to deal with. These major companies wouldn’t earn much money from running these projects, but they were still willing to do it for the sake of building connections and creating a positive reputation for themselves.

Overall, a frightening amount of money was spent to carry out these projects, but the improvements were also clear to see as well. These built the foundations for Fengbei to prosper.

As the three of them were in a rush to head over to the venue known as Warm Winter, they could only grab a car.

Sitting in the car, Qin Yu looked at the tall buildings around him and the shops which still had their lights on, and he couldn’t help but remark, “This seems more like a place for a human to live in.”

“Of course,” Old Cat agreed with a smile. “After how the Confederate Government and the Special District Government have gone all out to build up Fengbei, could it possibly still look shabby?”

Qin Yu pondered for a moment before remarking, “If those living here are humans, what about those who live in the Development District?”

Old Cat and Guan Qi had no answer to that.

…

At the border between Songjiang and Fengbei.

An old jeep was stopped by the side of the road, and two soldiers armed with guns were walking toward the vehicle.

“Your documents,” the soldier shouted over.

The driver in the car lowered the car window and passed a few Songjiang’s residency permits over to the soldier.

The soldier took a look at the documents, but he stopped at the third one for an entire minute before he finally asked, “What business do you have at Fengbei?”

“My uncle is heading over there to have his illness treated,” the driver said with a smile.

“Come down, I’ll conduct a check,” the soldier said.

Old Ma, who had his makeup done in order to conceal his identity, got down the car after a moment of hesitation.

The check lasted for ten minutes. The soldier didn’t find any restricted items, so he waved his hands and said, “You can go now. Next!”

Around five minutes later, Old Ma dialed Qin Yu’s phone, saying, “I’ve just passed the border. I’m heading into Fengbei now.”

“Alright. Come over to Warm Winter to meet us,” Qin Yu instructed.

…

In a moving railway train.

Yong Dong stood by the window, gazing upon the vast snowfield as he asked hoarsely, “Are you certain?”

‘Those who are close to the gazebo do reach the moon first’

This is an old saying that means that those who are close in terms of distance usually are usually advantaged. It’s built on a metaphor where Chinese people in the older eras would usually watch the moon in gazebos built on top of ponds, and the moon would usually be reflected in the water.