Chapter Nine: The Winds Rise on the Dirt Street

At 5:30 p.m.
Kris, Lin, and the African brother "Old Black" had already finished their meal in the canteen when Zhu Wei and the others returned.
"Heh, went out?" Kris asked, sitting in his chair.
Zhu Wei gulped down water and casually responded, "Some kid was causing trouble with my family, so I brought my brothers over to check it out. It's all sorted now."
Kris paused for a few seconds, then smiled and nodded. "Alright, let's talk about the case."
"Everyone working overtime tonight?" Zhu Wei put down his cup and casually walked over to Kris. "Got any cigarettes? Give me one."
"None left, that was the last pack, all smoked."
"Damn, you guys smoke fast. You should hold onto this good stuff!" Zhu Wei opened his drawer, pulled out an e-cigarette, took a puff, and asked, "Are we working overtime tonight?"
"Mm, Team Leader Yuan asked us to speed up the investigation," Kris nodded. "Tonight, everyone work hard, let's scope out the area, see how the drug dealers operate."
Before anyone could reply, Zhu Wei plopped down on the desk and said again, "No need to scout, the drug dealers are all working on Dirt Street. We'll catch them right away if we go there."
Kris paused. "We’ll find them there?"
"Ah, if the higher-ups hadn't intervened, who would care about these drug dealers?" Zhu Wei said while counting on his fingers. "They openly deal drugs on Dirt Street. I've run into them so many times."
"Team Leader Yuan told me the special zone has strict drug control. Do they dare to sell like that?"
"Our Ninth Special Zone is different from other zones," Lin explained. "This one was built later and is the only zone with so many ethnic groups, so the situation is more complex. Last year, there were military conflicts in Songjiang and Fengbei during the chief executive elections. It was chaotic."
"Oh." Kris nodded and asked again, "Do you think it’ll work to just raid directly?"
Lin was about to answer, but Zhu Wei interrupted, "What's wrong with that? We can take advantage of the crackdown on drug dealers before word gets out, grab some leads, and then the case will be easier to solve."
Kris felt that Zhu Wei was a bit unreliable—he was blunt and reckless. So, he turned to Lin and asked, "Do you think it’s appropriate to go in like this?"
"I don't know the situation over there," Lin scratched his head.
"Haha, him?" Zhu Wei laughed and sneered, "Lin's a coward. Every time there's trouble, he hides. He avoids danger, so how would he know the situation?"
Though the remark was harsh, Lin smiled and didn’t respond.
"Xiao Qin, you’re new, but trust me, this is the right call. We’ll go out tonight, grab some leads, and it’ll be easy after that," Zhu Wei said confidently, completely oblivious to his own position. "Let’s move, I’ll go sign out a gun from the armory."
Everyone was used to following Zhu Wei's commands, so they all stood up.
Kris sat in his chair, watching Zhu Wei. He didn’t stop him but quietly said, "Alright, let’s go check it out."
Zhu Wei jumped off the desk, gave Kris a slap on the arm, and grinned, "Bro, you’re in the third group now, you’ve hit the jackpot. We’re not the kind of people to play it safe. You get things done, and Brother Zhu will back you up."
After the slap, Kris clenched his teeth and glanced at his arm.
"Damn, I forgot, I forgot. You’re hurt." Zhu Wei froze, quickly stepped forward, and asked, "Are you alright?"
Kris raised his head and shot him a look. "It’s fine, go get your gun."
"Alright, I’ll go," Zhu Wei turned and left.
Kris watched him go, furrowing his brow and thinking deeply.
"Captain, Zhu Wei's not like the third guy. He doesn't have any bad intentions, he’s just careless, loves to joke around, and mess with others," Lin said softly as he walked over. "Don't take it to heart!"
Maybe you’ve met someone like Zhu Wei in life, someone who, regardless of your personality, always makes overly harsh jokes. They're carefree, treat others like family, and never think about how their words or actions might affect others. When you get upset, they’ll just laugh it off, saying, "We’re just joking, why are you so sensitive?" and keep going without changing their behavior...
In an ordinary circle, you might choose to distance yourself from such a person, but Kris can’t do that. Zhu Wei is his colleague, and they’ll have to work together every day. There’s no escaping him. But with Zhu Wei acting so carelessly and often stepping on Kris’s toes, it’s hard to see how Kris can work smoothly in the future. What's worse, all the people in the third group are Zhu Wei’s friends. If Kris clashes with him now, it could easily create internal conflict...
What to do?
While Kris pondered this in his mind, Lin quietly observed. He wanted to see when this new guy would have a falling-out with Zhu Wei. And after that, whether he could still keep the third group under control.
...
At 8:30 p.m.
Two police cars stopped at the entrance of Dirt Street. Kris and the others got out in plain clothes and casually walked down the street.
Dirt Street was the most chaotic place in the entire black market area, home to over ten thousand people with residence rights but no stable jobs. On both sides of the road, there were storefronts with neon pink lights, each one having at least seven or eight women standing outside, posing and waving to attract customers. In the dark alleys, one could often see drug addicts, their noses dripping as they aimlessly stared at the street. These people had no fixed homes. They might steal one day, rob the next, just to get something to eat or buy drugs. Once they felt a bit of happiness, a heavy snow could bury them in these cold alleys...
Kris had seen so many people like this in the planned area, in such environments, that his eyes had become numb. He just kept his head down and walked forward.
...
After walking almost a kilometer, they stopped in front of a storefront without a sign.
Zhu Wei scratched his nose and whispered, "This place sells drugs."
"Looks like no one’s here." Kris glanced around, then whispered, "I’m not familiar with this area. If we arrest them directly, can we take them away?"
Lin thought for a moment and replied, "Catch them in the act. Wait until someone comes to buy, then we go in."
Kris stood by the roadside, frowning, thinking for a long time. He still wasn’t fully convinced and said, "They’re openly selling drugs here. Do they have no security at all? I’m worried we won’t catch them and will just alert them."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Wei became impatient and said, "I’ve already told you, no one cared about this before. If you want to clean them out, you need to do it suddenly. If you conduct an investigation, they’ll definitely hear the wind and it’ll be harder to solve the case later."
Kris, having no experience in the Ninth Special Zone, wasn’t a seasoned detective, so he pondered for a while and turned to Old Black, asking, "Zabi, do you think we can arrest them?"
"This kind of thing, no one has cared before," Old Black replied, scratching his head. "But if we keep investigating, the news will leak. There are no secrets in the department."
Kris was silent for a few seconds before giving orders, "The police cars are too obvious, we can’t drive them in... Old Black, Xiao Liu, move the cars to the back of the street. Once we make the arrest, we’ll get in the car and leave."
"Understood."
"Everyone spread out, check your weapons, ammo, and bulletproof vests." Kris ordered again, "Once someone enters the store, we charge in."
"Heh, you’re wearing a bulletproof vest? You’re really cautious," Zhu Wei mocked, rolling his eyes. "These drug dealers have no real power. A few years ago, when I was on patrol, I used to beat them up. These people are scared..."
Kris glanced at Zhu Wei but still cautiously ordered, "Get to work."
...
Half an hour later.
Two young men, leading an old man, swaggered into the storefront. Kris hid in the alley and asked over the radio, "Check through the glass, see if they have drugs."
After a short wait, Lin responded, "Yes."
"Let’s move," Kris immediately called out. "They’ve gone in."
As soon as the words left his mouth, eight people rushed toward the storefront from three directions, yanking open the wooden door and charging inside.
Inside the dark hall, the two young men and the old man were at the counter, preparing drugs, while a muscular young man with an e-cigarette in his mouth looked in shock toward the door.
Zhu Wei stepped forward, holding a gun in his right hand, pointing at the young man with his left hand, shouting, "Police, hands on your head, move aside!"
The young man snapped out of it, hurriedly backed away, inadvertently revealing the handgun at his waist, not immediately raising his hands.
In such a chaotic environment, criminals might do anything when facing officers, so when Zhu Wei saw the gun, he grabbed the young man's collar with his left hand and, without hesitation, slammed the butt of his gun against the young man's head.
Bang bang bang...
Zhu Wei hit him six or seven times with the gun, but the young man kept struggling. In a panic, Zhu Wei grabbed his hair and slammed his head against the corner of the counter.
Blood started flowing from the young man's head, his eyes rolled back, and with a thud, he collapsed to the floor.
At the same time, heavy footsteps sounded from upstairs. A bald man wearing a military coat hurried down, looked at the scene in shock, grabbed the radio, and shouted, "Damn it, the second store got raided, everyone get out here!"
A brief silence followed, then suddenly, loud footsteps echoed down the street. From the nearby buildings and houses, dozens of people rushed out, holding knives, steel pipes, chains, and guns. They surged like a tidal wave, blocking the entrance of the storefront.
Kris watched the sea of people outside, his scalp tingling, thinking of the grain theft situation in the planned area. He instinctively released the safety on his gun.
Through the glass, Zhu Wei saw the crowd and, sweating, swallowed hard. "What... when did the gang get this big?... This is getting a bit out of hand..."