Chapter 264: Signs

On the weekend, at the invitation of District Chief Bulu, Lanse accompanied him to attend the retirement ceremony for the Port District Precinct Chief.

The Port District Precinct Chief had already reached retirement age; in fact, he should have retired at the end of last year. However, as various precincts were facing some personnel transfers, it was to allow his successor to better settle into the position and take over smoothly.

Therefore, Chali specifically made a phone call to the old Precinct Chief, asking him to delay his retirement by a few months, to which he agreed.

Now, the new Assistant Precinct Chief—who could also be called the Deputy Precinct Chief—Lukaer, had already fully taken over the work in the Port District, and it was time for the old Chief to lay down his burden.

Those who could reach retirement in the position of a police officer without illness or injury were, in the end, a minority, and even more so to retire with the status of a Precinct Chief.

Therefore, some prominent figures in the Jincheng police force would all come over. On one hand, it was to show the unity of the police force, and on the other hand, it was also a kind of beautiful prayer and yearning for their own future.

"I heard that Lukaer spent quite a bit of money to become this Chief."

On the way to the old Chief's residence, Lanse asked casually.

When Lukaer left the Imperial District Precinct, he had made a killing, at least ten or twenty thousand dollars; many people knew about this.

Hearing Lanse bring this up, District Chief Bulu's face revealed an expression of displeasure. "Don't mention that son of a bitch to me!"

"He is just a mongrel, you know?"

Looking at District Chief Bulu, who clearly had a desire to vent, Lanse also had the idea of getting to know more; after all... to him, this could also be considered half an acquaintance. "If you don't mind, I can help you judge the situation."

District Chief Bulu began to speak while driving. "You know our income isn't high. The City Hall... those sons of bitches won't approve much of a budget for us at all."

When mentioning the City Hall, he clearly lowered his voice.

"The expenses for police officers are actually quite high too: leather boots, uniforms, casual clothes, gun oil... there are many things they need to pay for out of their own pockets."

"So forty dollars looks like a lot, but in reality, our income isn't much different from the workers on the docks. Moreover, the nature of our work is more dangerous. Sometimes when we get injured, the City Hall only allocates funds to us according to the minimum standard."

"So we need to have some extra income."

He glanced at Lanse.

Lanse sponsored him with a portion of money every month, and many people in the police station also obtained some benefits from Lanse's hands. If the police from the Imperial District Precinct were to make a choice between him and Lanse.

He believed he would be abandoned by those intimate comrades-in-arms.

Ideals cannot be eaten as a meal!

Federal people actually have a deeper understanding than immigrants; after all, they have already been whipped by the cruel reality to the point of being unable to resist, while those immigrants still retain a glimmer of fantasy because they haven't been hurt to the core.

"Lukaer collected three months of protection fees from a street all at once, and also extorted a portion of money from some people, taking twenty-five thousand dollars to give to Chali, and another five thousand to the old Chief."

"Then he was transferred over, and soon he will succeed to the old Chief's position, becoming the official Precinct Chief of the Port District Precinct."

"I heard that he actually sent Chali more money than that, even more. So once he takes office, he will definitely find a way to get it back from the Port District. The days for the people here won't be easy!"

District Chief Bulu no longer had much respect for Chali. A police chief who had already resigned due to blame, to him, had long since lost any sense of oppression.

Moreover, he was able to become the "Bay Area Hound" not just because of his loyalty, but also because of his status.

There are many people in this city willing to offer loyalty to the masters of the Bay Area, but the masters of the Bay Area wouldn't even look at them for an extra second.

Unless they were something like a Chief, possessing a special status bonus.

Without that layer of skin, the masters of the Bay Area wouldn't care about him like they did in the past, so District Chief Bulu lost his "fear." As for respect?

A superior who is greedier and better at acting than him makes him unable to muster even the slightest bit of respect!

"I heard Hengte has a high probability?", Lanse asked.

He had also heard this news. Hengte had a high probability of succeeding; he had done quite a few dirty jobs for the masters together with Chali, and was a good candidate for the next dog.

District Chief Bulu shook his head. "I'm not too sure about this. Although everyone says so, the person who can ultimately decide who sits in this position is the masters of the Bay Area."

"And there is another trouble now: the Mayor."

Internal problems in a city with a mayoral system are all decided by the Mayor. If he doesn't nod, Hengte cannot become the Police Chief.

Likewise, he can also directly appoint others. Now he hasn't expressed his stance on anything, making it unclear what he is actually thinking.

And whether he can appoint Hengte as the next Police Chief is also a question.

The car approached the border area between Deruixi and the Port District. There were several communities here inhabited by many police households; they liked to cluster together to live here.

This is the benefit of having money; it can keep the wealthy in a state of physical and mental pleasure at all times.

As soon as they open the door, they are with colleagues who get along well, unlike those lower-middle-class police officers living in the Imperial District and the Port District.

As soon as they open their doors, they are in those dim apartment corridors that even have residual urine stains.

Watching District Chief Bulu begin to slow down, he suddenly seemed to think of something and said, "Those two... cases, we discussed them and arranged them as illegal immigrants."

The two cases he mentioned referred to the jumping-off-the-building cases from not long ago. Two people had ropes around their heads hanging from the apartment building. The forensic doctor said they were still alive before the ropes tightened.

Then, the moment the ropes tightened, both of them were dead as could be.

Plus, the fact that they died so "creatively," one could tell at a glance that it was a glorious kill, a ritualistic way of death.

Others didn't know what the situation was, but District Chief Bulu knew very clearly. One of the crime scenes was in the Imperial District, and he directly processed the deceased as illegal immigrants.

That is to say, they were placed at the bottom layer of pending cases, and without the interference of external forces, they would most likely never touch this case in their lifetime.

Illegal immigrant means they cannot investigate the person's identity background clearly, cannot figure out their social network relationships, and naturally cannot find out why they were hanged.

If the ritualistic style of the killing hadn't been so obvious, Division Chief Bulu could have even concluded it was a "suicide" and closed the case.

The other case happened in the Port District. District Chief Bulu and the old Precinct Chief had already talked about it, and both handled it in the same way.

The car soon turned into an internal road of a community by the roadside. At the gate before entering the internal road of the community, one could still see descriptions like "Police Home."

Those living inside are all police officers above the middle level of Jincheng.

The old Precinct Chief had his own detached house. Except for not having a swimming pool and a sports field, in fact, this was a large villa, but they still called it a detached house.

Quite a few people had already arrived on the lawn outside the house, and everyone was chatting and conversing.

Most people were wearing casual clothes. It was rare to see so many police officers and deputy sheriffs gathered together, and even Chali was here.

When they arrived, many people's gazes were cast over. When they saw Lanse, there were still some who didn't recognize who this was.

After District Chief Bulu parked the car, he came to the lawn with Lanse.

The old Precinct Chief took the initiative to greet them and hugged District Chief Bulu. "Thank you for being able to come!" Then he looked at Lanse. "You must be Mr. Lanse, right?"

"I didn't expect my retirement to make you run a trip too. Thank you very much for being able to come. There are quite a few friends today; you will definitely be able to have many gains."

He knew Lanse; he had seen him from afar and had also seen Lanse's photo.

Lanse shook hands with him and then handed over the small gift he was carrying. "I didn't know whether I should send a gift, but I feel that since this is a matter worth celebrating, sending a small gift is definitely not wrong."

He said this while looking at Chali next to him. "Doing this shouldn't violate police regulations, right?"

Chali smiled and shook hands with Lanse. "Of course it doesn't violate them!"

At this time, Chali was wearing an exquisite formal suit, and when he reached out, he also revealed the gold watch on his wrist. Compared to believing he was a retired police officer, people should be more willing to believe he was a wealthy capitalist or something.

This set, without a few thousand dollars, one couldn't get it down at all. Perhaps after resigning due to blame, Chali's thinking had already begun to change.

In the past, he would still use his sleeves to cover the gold watch, trying his best not to show those good things. But now, he was very keen on these.

The old Precinct Chief took the gift. "Thank you for your gift, I hope you can have a good time..."

While they were talking, Lukaer walked over from the side. When he saw Lanse, he was stunned for a moment; this face, he seemed to have seen it somewhere.

He frowned slightly, his brain spinning wildly. Being able to stand with Chali and the old Precinct Chief, he definitely wasn't some small character without fame.

Lanse reminded him with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Jonny's bakery."

Lukaer slapped his head. "Right, Jonny's bakery, you are Lanse?"

He reached out his hand very enthusiastically. "I have actually been hearing people talk about this matter, but I have never been able to connect you with the situation at that time. Calculating it this way, we are still acquaintances!"

In this era where information dissemination is not developed, people's understanding of a stranger often starts from "rumors."

You may have heard many people's names, but when they stand in front of you, you have a high probability of not recognizing them.

You might even, because of those spread reputations, make up a person's appearance, voice, and even more things in your mind, only to find the gap so large that it is unimaginable when meeting for the first time.

After a simple exchange of pleasantries, the three of them left. Lanse looked at their backs as they went to greet others and glanced at District Chief Bulu beside him. "Now that you are asked to organize a grand celebration, there shouldn't be any pressure, right?"

District Chief Bulu was between laughter and tears. "You want to give away money that much?"

Lanse shook his head. Seeing that he was very obedient, he explained. "The Congress is constantly giving weight to the Hazardous Materials Bureau. Now you might only feel that they can only investigate smuggled alcohol."

"You wait and see, soon they will reach their hands into your jurisdiction."

"By that time, if the police force is not united and there is no core figure, the profession of police will be marginalized."

District Chief Bulu had an expression of disbelief. "This sounds very scary, but I believe the Federal Government will not let it become reality, because we are the guardians of the city."

He said it very firmly, but Lanse was not so optimistic. "You will see."

Today, Lanse met quite a few police officers here. He almost recognized the Precinct Chiefs of all eleven districts, as well as their deputies.

They were all very willing to know Lanse because everyone knew that Lanse was a very generous person, and they had also vaguely heard that he planned to hold an activity like a grand celebration for the police.

For such a person who is wealthy, generous, and has status and deterrence, they all like him from the bottom of their hearts.

The atmosphere at the scene was very good, and everyone was chatting and laughing, but the sudden arrival of several cars broke this relaxation.

The cars of the Hazardous Materials Bureau, those grey dogs wearing unified uniforms, got out of the cars and walked towards this side.

Everyone stopped the socializing they were doing and looked at them.

Chali and the old Chief greeted them. Compared to the old Chief who barely had some smiles, Chali didn't have a single smile.

If it weren't for this group of people and their masters behind them, he wouldn't have lost his job!

So don't talk about pretending to squeeze out some smiles; he was even too lazy to squeeze.

"Someone reported that you are gathering to drink alcohol here. We want to inspect it. This is the search warrant."

The senior agent directly displayed the search warrant in his hand. These kinds of legal documents were all issued by themselves to themselves.

Chali was ultimately a bit unable to hold back. "Today is his retirement celebration. If you want to come and inspect, can you change the time?"

The senior agent shook his head with a cold face. "I don't care who you are. In short, someone reported that you are gathering to drink alcohol, so we have to inspect it. This is the work and task assigned to us by the Congress."

"If you are dissatisfied with me, you can call the Alcohol, Tobacco and Hazardous Materials Bureau, or the relevant committee of the Congress to complain about me."

"If you don't intend to resist our law enforcement, it's best to step aside first!"

Chali's face was very unhappy. He still wanted to say something, but the old Precinct Chief grabbed his arm and shook his head slightly.

Today was originally a day worth being happy about; there was no need to make it not so pleasant because of these people.

Perhaps it was because he knew the result in advance, the senior agent's mouth corners hooked up slightly. His gaze stayed on the two people's faces for a moment, and he walked inside with big strides, waving his hand at the same time. "Search for me..."

In an instant, the gathering on the lawn was made a mess. The movements of these agents were particularly large, and quite a few things were knocked over to the ground by them, including the food on the table.

The police officers were all very angry, but the other party acted as if they hadn't noticed it. They even searched the old Precinct Chief's house and found two boxes of alcohol inside.

Seeing them holding two boxes of alcohol and coming out, the old Precinct Chief really couldn't hold back anymore. "This was left to me by my father. The date on it can prove that it existed before the prohibition order was issued!"

That senior agent looked down and glanced at it. Indeed, there were a few bottles with production dates written on them. He directly tore off those labels. "Now it's gone."

Watching the appearance of these police officers who were angry but dared not speak, the senior agent couldn't help but reveal a mocking smile. "Let's go."

Watching them leave, Chali finally let go of the old Chief's arm. "They are provoking us. They did it on purpose, just hoping we would make some extreme moves."

The police officers all gathered around. Chali's expression was also very bad. It looked like they suddenly attacked the old Precinct Chief's retirement celebration, but in reality, they were stepping on his face!

When he was in office, he clearly expressed that he would not stand on the Mayor's side. Now, it was revenge.

He looked at the old Precinct Chief. "I will find a way to get your alcohol back!"

Ultimately, this celebration ended unhappily.

When leaving, District Chief Bulu and Lukaer chatted for a while in the corner. After he came back, he told Lanse that Lukaer was asking if the case they just handled was Lanse's.

"I feel like he... will ask you for money. This person's reputation is very bad. He doesn't care about his life when it comes to making money, but he is also very willing to spend money."

"Although there are more people who hate him than those who like him, those who like him clearly have higher status."

"If he... forget it, this matter doesn't need me to worry about it. I should be worried about him."

If Lukaer really extorted Lanse, District Chief Bulu could no longer imagine Lukaer's end!

He hoped he could polish his eyes a bit. At the same time, he was also very certain that Lukaer had a high probability of doing so.

Because the position of Chief hadn't been decided for a day, it meant that everyone still had a chance!

He could spend tens of thousands of dollars to be a Precinct Chief of a precinct, so spending a bit more to be a Chief wasn't an impossible thing!

On the way back to the Imperial District, when approaching the Port District, Lanse heard intense gunfire again. All around were passersby in a hurry, and some people even had expressions of some terror on their faces.

Some people ran out from the streets in the distance. Clearly, that was the place where the gunfire was.

This was not within the jurisdiction of the Imperial District Precinct. District Chief Bulu directly turned the direction. He didn't have the idea of being stupid enough to go to the scene to take a look.

"Recently, the number of gang fights in the Imperial District has been increasing, and they are constantly escalating."

"Before, they would only fight in the second half of the night. Now, they will also fight during the day."

"Those outside gangs don't follow the rules at all!"

"Fortunately, Lanse, the Imperial District has you. Otherwise, I find it hard to imagine how bad it would become!"

Lanse's gaze still stayed in the rearview mirror. At that intersection where there was no one, several young people stumbled and ran out.

Among them, someone even fell down.

They fought back while retreating, but were soon caught up by another group of people.

On the main road, it came to an end with one side leaving three corpses, and the other side leaving seven or eight corpses.

The police car in the distance happened to meet District Chief Bulu's car head-on. Clearly, they had already arrived for a period of time, and only drove out from the alley after the gunfire ended.

This, is Jincheng, becoming more and more chaotic. ===== CHAPTER 265 =====