Chapter 52

The voices in the recording were unmistakably Zheng Si and Ma Bin, and the content verified the facts currently unfolding almost one hundred percent; the last trace of doubt in Li Shang's heart was dispelled, his eyes brimming with killing intent about to spill over.

Li Shang gripped the voice recorder and said in a fierce voice: "The Patrol Bureau is severely short-handed right now, but we can't let Zheng Si run wild any longer. So, what's your plan?"

Ma Bin's pupils were filled with bloodshot veins: "We don't need too many people, because I can find a chance to transfer everyone out. When the time comes, as long as Captain Li Shang can ensure taking care of Zheng Laoda, everything will be settled."

Li Shang gave Ma Bin a meaningful look: "Are you sure?"

Ma Bin let out a long breath, like a gambler pushing all his chips onto the table, and said harshly: "Once I control the Green Wolf Gang, I guarantee handing over thirty percent of the monthly profits to Captain Li."

Li Shang shook his head, extending five fingers: "Fifty percent. I can have the Patrol Bureau suppress this matter, ending it with Zheng Si's death."

Ma Bin agreed, and raised a demand: "After Zheng Laoda dies, the body must be given to me. He was still my Boss; I have to carry him into the coffin myself."

At the same time.

Xijiao, Nine Districts, two blocks away from the Incineration Plant, an Old Dilapidated Community.

The community wasn't large, the buildings weren't tall; they were all low-rise tube apartments, about a dozen buildings in total, but because it backed onto Snack Street, the population density was very high.

Right now, it was nearing noon, and diners on Snack Street were gradually increasing.

In the top-floor room of Building 14, behind drawn curtains, a group of Captains were closely monitoring the position of the opposite building.

Patrol Bureau Chief Wang Yilin frowned into the phone: "Li Shang, the Bureau only has you left as a Deputy Captain; you must watch things closely for me at home."

"I don't care what methods you use; you must pacify the incident and minimize the impact. Otherwise, don't even think about the year-end Captain selection, and be careful I don't strip the skin off you, this Deputy Captain, too."

Wang Yilin hung up the phone without ceremony after speaking.

"Did something bad happen?" On the sofa, a youth with an aquiline nose and a stern face asked.

Wang Yilin turned, half-bowing, his gaze lingering covertly for an instant on the dark badge embroidered on the other's chest.

The badge's pattern was very abstract; his knowledge was shallow and he couldn't describe it, but he knew anyone who could have a badge embroidered on their chest was certainly a clan with considerable status in the Upper City.

Moreover, the latter also held the title of Special Commissioner; even though he looked to be about the same age as his son, Bureau Chief Wang had to show the utmost respect.

He answered the youth truthfully: "A street gang in the city isn't listening; they've stirred up a small mess, killing a few Blank Citizens. The Deputy Captain left behind at home isn't sensible, requesting I transfer some men back."

Wang Yilin paused, then said solemnly: "Special Commissioner, rest assured, I sternly refused."

Hearing the words "gang" and "Blank Citizens," the Special Commissioner instantly lost interest. He scratched his ear, voice icy:

"That's right. Blank Citizens are like wild grass in a wheat field, one crop after another. They die here, they grow there. There's fundamentally no need to pay them too much mind."

"But 【Destiny】 is different. Even the most peripheral members are like ghost fire clinging to the bone; one moment of carelessness, and they'll burn vast wheat fields to white earth."

Wang Yilin's expression was serious, but in his heart he didn't agree.

He harbored some doubts and asked: "I heard 【Destiny】 has always only operated in the Upper City. How come they've changed their nature and appeared in the Lower City? Our Nine Districts are barren; what could attract an Extreme Evil Organization like this?"

The Special Commissioner's face darkened slightly: "【Destiny】 previously suffered a Council strike, suffering heavy losses, and vanished for many years."

"Some time ago, they suddenly resurfaced and caused the 【Sky Rift】 major incident. Many major clans in the Upper City suffered heavy blows, and people are still panicked."

"Of course, the Council also captured some core members of 【Destiny】. Unfortunately, their bones were very hard, and their tongues were branded with a Secret Art; almost nothing could be tortured out of them."

"In the end, they dissected their brains while they were still alive, only then obtaining a tiny bit of useful information."

Wang Yilin listened with rapt fascination and asked curiously: "What information? If it's inconvenient to say, forget it; I'm just curious."

The Special Commissioner didn't feel it needed secrecy. After all, news that even his level could hear wasn't all that secret. Besides, it was just an Operation Codename; the meaning behind it wasn't clear at all.

"Avici Hell!" He spat out four words.

Wang Yilin froze, sensing it was formidable without understanding why, and humbly asked for guidance: "What does that mean?"

The Special Commissioner's face reddened imperceptibly, and he answered with resonant force: "I don't know."

Wang Yilin bit his lip: "......"

The Special Commissioner said coldly: "Although the meaning is unclear, it can be confirmed that 【Destiny】 is gradually expanding its scope of activity to the Lower City."

"In short, no matter what 【Destiny】 is secretly plotting, the Upper City Council has always maintained one policy toward 【Destiny】 — kill them all."

Wang Yilin felt the Special Commissioner's brook-no-objection attitude, but he actually still hadn't understood just how heavy the weight of the words "kill them all" truly was.

Until...

A quarter of an hour later.

In the operations meeting, Wang Yilin circled Building 11 in red on the map.

He said: "Through close surveillance during this period, we are already very certain that this group of Extremist Members is hiding inside Room 404 of Building 11."

"We're not waiting for the big fish anymore. We move tonight, close the net, wipe them out to the last man, dead or alive."

A crowd of fully armed, standby Patrol Bureau members acknowledged the order.

"Not enough." The Special Commissioner frowned. He snatched the red pen from Wang Yilin's hand and circled the entire community in red.

Wang Yilin looked at the Special Commissioner in shock, only to hear him say coldly: "【Destiny】's Extremist Members are all exceptionally cunning. Their operations generally follow two lines, open and dark — meaning at least two groups covering for each other."

"Since Room 404 of Building 11 is exposed, there may be another group hidden even deeper, concealed nearby, monitoring the dynamics of 404 at all times just like us."

"We monitor to capture; they monitor to warn."

Wang Yilin admitted the Special Commissioner made a lot of sense, but so what? They hadn't discovered the other group's hideout.

Wang Yilin probed: "So, we use this group to force the other group to show themselves?"

The Special Commissioner detected that Wang Yilin was actually a bit stupid, so he spoke bluntly: "They won't show themselves. If they did, wouldn't the group on the open line have been exposed for nothing?"

Wang Yilin seemed to understand, but didn't dare be certain. He stared at the huge red circle on the map, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

The Special Commissioner tapped the red circle, his voice carrying a cold ruthlessness unbefitting his age: "Kill them all."

Not just Wang Yilin — the Captains who heard it all stood frozen in place, hearts shuddering.

In daily life they had never cared much about the lives of Blank Citizens, and they had manufactured or arbitrarily arrested their share of false cases. But to casually draw a circle with a pen and unjustly slaughter hundreds or thousands of lives... that was something they didn't even dare imagine.

Seeing Wang Yilin stay silent for a long while, the Special Commissioner frowned in puzzlement: "Is there a problem?"

Wang Yilin swallowed saliva: "This community might have over a thousand residents?"

The Special Commissioner nodded seriously: "I know. So?"

Wang Yilin answered with a hard scalp: "There are too many people."

The Special Commissioner laughed scornfully: "Those living in the old, broken, small places are all Blank Citizens, right?"

Wang Yilin: "Basically yes, but there may be a small portion who are Low Grade citizens."

The Special Commissioner: "I regret the deaths of Low Grade citizens, but this is a necessary sacrifice."

Wang Yilin's teeth were chattering; in his entire life, he probably never thought he would say something so humane from his own mouth: "But there are still over a thousand Blank Citizens, most of them innocent, they are human too."

The Special Commissioner's expression gradually grew impatient; he patted Wang Yilin's shoulder and said faintly: "Didn't you understand what I told you before?"

Wang Yilin: "???"

The Special Commissioner sighed: "Blank Citizens are like weeds; one batch dies and another grows, so what we must care about is Destiny. They are like ghost fire, burning everything to white earth, and must all be killed!"

Wang Yilin's head went numb; meeting the Special Commissioner's black-and-white eyes, he finally understood the weight contained in the other's words.

Whether Destiny is ghost fire, he doesn't know, but you really will hoe a piece of land until not a blade of grass grows, ah~

All the patrol chiefs around had dry throats; Feng Ju stood in the ranks, and his back also felt chills.

No wonder this is someone from the Upper City; it really opened their eyes collectively.

The Special Commissioner felt the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive, but he didn't care at all; habitually rubbing his Family Emblem on his chest with his index finger and thumb, he smiled: "Bureau Chief Wang, are you questioning the Council's policy, or sympathizing with... Destiny? Wanting to let them go?"

Wang Yilin hurriedly shook his head: "No, it's just that the Patrol Bureau doesn't have enough manpower, I'm afraid..."

The Special Commissioner shrugged his shoulders, took out a badge from his pocket, its pattern exactly the same as the one on his chest.

He handed it to Wang Yilin and instructed: "Have someone hold this badge and give it to Zhou Yifu of the Investigation Corps; he will know what to do."

Wang Yilin received the badge, and on his face appeared a smile uglier than crying.

"Feng Ju, you go." He handed the badge to Feng Ju again and said in a deep voice: "Go quickly and return quickly."

Feng Ju took the badge with both hands, his complexion shifting between light and dark; in the end he said not a word, only coldly saluting.

Chapter End