Chapter 1 Inside the Police Department Hospital

Inside the police department hospital, the officer guarding Da Xiong circled the building twice, unable to find a doctor he knew. The corridor outside the surgery clinic was filled with Longkou district police officers and arrested suspects.

"Hey, buddy, what's going on today? Why are there so many people at the hospital?" the officer guarding Da Xiong asked the person on duty in the police office.

"It's almost the New Year, and many small factories are illegally making fireworks, which is also related to a smuggling case. The Longkou Police Department raided a den, but it exploded, injuring many people," the person in the police office replied politely.

"How long will this take?" the officer asked.

"I don't know, probably until midnight," the person in the police office retorted. "Are you here to bring a suspect for treatment?"

"Yes, a suspect was slightly injured."

"If it's not serious, you'll have to wait a while. It's full inside."

"...Damn it, what a pain to deal with this during the New Year," the officer guarding Da Xiong cursed in a bad mood and turned to leave.

The police department hospital was busy today. The surgical clinic was full of emergency patients, so Da Xiong, whose injuries weren't too serious, could only wait in line. The four officers in charge of guarding him probably wouldn't be able to go back tonight either.

...

Around eight o'clock in the evening, Tang Baiqing and Xu Er, with more than twenty men, arrived at the outskirts of a residential village in the Xinaluo area, about two hundred kilometers south of Dragon City.

Although the Xinaluo area is very close to Dragon City, it is, strictly speaking, an ungoverned region.

Before New Era 42, this area had always been frozen due to the climate. Looking around, the mountains and fields were covered in snow, a vast expanse of white. The living conditions for the locals were extremely harsh.

After New Era 42, the climate became more stable, and the temperature gradually returned to normal. The people here slowly returned to normal life, and various political powers emerged. They seized territory, formed governments, and shouted various slogans. However, either because of different political views, or because many ambitious people wanted to rise with the wind, or because of the intervention of external forces, wars began to occur frequently here.

This kind of chaos was being replayed in almost every corner of the world after the climate returned to normal. Except for the nine major districts established during the disaster, which were unaffected, the former planned areas and ungoverned areas were all staging a grand play of seizing power and抢占resources.

Why is Xinaluo considered ungoverned? Because it is mainly populated by black and white people, with some Native American people, mixed European and Indian people, southern mixed-race people, and a small number of Chinese. Today, someone might get support from external forces, gather a team, and declare independence, establishing a government, but it is also possible that this new government will be wiped out in a month. So any laws or regulations, even if they are promulgated today, might be invalid tomorrow. Legal rules are completely useless here. Whoever has guns, whoever has people, whoever has money, is the boss.

Therefore, even though this place is only a stone's throw away from Dragon City, it is completely a different world. Although Dragon City has a relatively complex political environment, the overall political stability is still very solid. After all, it is a place backed by District One.

The residential village that Tang Baiqing and Xu Er came to is mostly populated by Chinese, and there are reasons why these people cannot enter Dragon City. They either fled after committing crimes in Dragon City, or were expelled due to political issues, or they relied on the chaos of Xinaluo to hoard scarce materials, hoping to make some war money.

In short, this place is a mixed bag of people.

...

Outside the residential village, Tang Baiqing sat in the car and turned to ask Xu Er, "Have you figured it out?"

"Figured it out," Xu Er nodded. "There are three people in the family. He just went back this afternoon."

Tang Baiqing paused and replied, "If you want to plant the line, it's best not to make a scene."

"I know." Xu Er looked down at his watch. "He's alone. If we go in with five or six people, we can easily get him. The others can keep watch outside."

"Okay, I'll go in with you."

"Er Bao, bring the tools, let's go down," Xu Er called out on the walkie-talkie.

About five minutes later, six men, including Xu Er and Tang Baiqing, walked into the residential village and found the target courtyard on a street on the north side.

This was a very ordinary two-story courtyard. The house was dilapidated, and the courtyard space was extremely narrow. Behind the main gate on the left, you could see a man-made air-raid shelter.

Although Xu Er and Xu Hu were brothers, their personalities were completely different. The latter was a cunning and scheming old Jianghu figure, meticulous and decisive, while Xu Er was a ruthless, extremely profit-driven, and inhuman desperado.

In terms of personality, the Xu brothers were quite complementary. Xu Hu drew the plans, and the silly younger brother took the knife and gun and was responsible for randomly fighting, adhering to the principle of killing anyone who disobeyed. That's how they were able to open halls and take seats in the Zha Nan Wharf Gang.

The group came to the courtyard door, and Xu Er pushed the door open and walked in, while one of the brothers behind him pulled out a gun and stood in the courtyard, keeping watch and looking around.

To be honest, the Yu family currently cannot compare with the Wharf Gang when it comes to playing Jianghu tactics. Any one of these people can do business in the district and be a thug outside the district, while the Yu family has to hire people to do dirty work. However, this difference is caused by the class hierarchy. Before the Yu family came to Dragon City, they were a proper political family, and they had no contact with groups like the Wharf Gang when doing business in District One. So they also have strengths, which is their background relationships.

Inside the room, a young man sat on a chair, pointing to the large bag he brought back and saying, "Dad, Mom, I bought you a lot of things. Everything is here. Take a look after dinner."

"Did you strike it rich?" an old man in his sixties asked.

"I made some money doing business with friends," the young man said, lowering his head and taking out a very delicate box from the bag, grinning. "I even got you a watch! A brand name, selling in the store, it's worth at least twenty or thirty thousand!"

The old man frowned. "Did you really earn that much money? Are you doing something...?"

"Hey, I have a friend who is dealing in smuggled goods. He sold it to me very cheap... Come on, try it on," the young man said happily.

"Bang!"

Just then, the door was suddenly kicked open, and Xu Er rushed in with a gun.

The young man heard the noise, got up, and shouted, "Who is it?"

Xu Er strode into the room, reached out and grabbed the young man's hair, pressing his head hard on the table. Then he turned his head and saw the watch in the old man's hand. "Hehe, not bad, you're already wearing it."

"Don't move!"

Xu Er's brother came into the room with a gun, pointing it directly at the young man's father.

...

Inside the hospital, the officer guarding Da Xiong became impatient after waiting for several hours. "How long will this take? Forget it, I'll call someone I know to get him checked quickly, so we can go back."

On the chair, Da Xiong blinked his dry, bloodshot eyes, suddenly feeling a little better...