We find out more about this little border town and the gang that operates from it, as well as meet a new character – Zhu Tao, the police captain who has battled the criminal gangs at the border for many years. Will he prove to be friend or foe? This last story arc is shaping up to be quite exciting!

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Chapter 101

This city was rather quiet. The light rain wet the eaves and stone roads. There were not many pedestrians, and most of them were wearing plain and simple, often old-fashioned clothes. The sky was exceptionally blue, and the surrounding mountains were exceptionally green. When Jian Yao walked amidst them, she felt a sense of contentment, such that she could momentarily forget about all the dangers and responsibilities, and life was peaceful and stable.

Jian Yao was wearing an outdoor jacket and trackpants. With a backpack, but without an umbrella, she seemingly casually wandered into the sole cafe on the corner. There were not many customers, and she found a table by the window. The waiter appeared after a while, and handed her a menu with an indifferent att.i.tude. She ordered a cup of coffee, then looked out of the window at the rain.

The cafe was extremely quiet at this time in the afternoon, with only the sound of the coffee machine and soft background music. The two waiters kept wiping the tables. The boss, a middle-aged man who was sitting behind the bar, looked up to glance at her, then looked down at his newspapers once again.

Jian Yao drank her coffee which was so-so. After about 10 minutes, two unfamiliar men walked in. One was about 35 or 36 years old, tall, wearing a simple T-shirt and jacket. He had a broad forehead and flat eyebrows and was wearing spectacles. He looked very amiable. The other man was in his twenties and looked quite ordinary, albeit cold and taciturn.

The man in his thirties glanced at Jian Yao, then said to the younger man, "I want their signature coffee, no sugar." The younger man nodded and headed for the bar. The first man smiled as he walked towards Jian Yao and sat down opposite her. He asked, in a low voice, "Jenny? Our friend from Beijing?"

His ident.i.ty was a sensitive issue; Jian Yao had never seen a photograph of him, but he had seen Jian Yao"s. Jian Yao took stock of his build, the shape of his hands, and carefully checked his distinguishing features. When she had verified that he was indeed the criminal investigator, she smiled slightly and said, "Tao ge?"

Zhu Tao nodded. Sitting across from her with a beaming face, they looked like two old friends who had not seen each other for a long time. Jian Yao could not help silently lamenting that these border police were really different from ordinary police officers. Most of the police captains she had met were tough and headstrong, such that ordinary people would treat them with some sort of awe. However, this criminal investigator who lived in the most dangerous area was like a smiling buddha. If one did not know better, one would think he was a businessman or a small-scale boss, or even an honest office worker. Who would have thought that he was a fierce police captain, who made evildoers quake in their boots? It was clear that this man was extremely shrewd and adept in disguise and deception.

In addition, Jian Yao could detect the smell of blood emanating from Zhu Tao. She did not know whether it was due to hanging around Bo Jinyan for so long, but her sense of smell had become much more acute than before.

"You"re hurt?" she asked softly, such that only the two of them could hear.

Zhu Tao raised his eyebrows minutely. "Criminal psychologists can even sense this?"

Jian Yao laughed wordlessly.

Although this was their first meeting and his words were unexpected, because they were fighting the same battle, both of them felt a surge of warmth in their hearts.

"A few days ago, I was in a firefight with a gang of criminals," Zhu Tao said softly, "and was slightly injured."

"Tough luck," Jian Yao said sincerely. He said the injury was minor, but from his occasional frowns, it must have been more serious.

Zhu Tao asked, "What about him?"

Jian Yao"s eyes were sharp and vigilant as she shot a glance around the room before replying, "Why don"t we meet him after we"ve finished our coffee?"

Zhu Tao seemed to be deliberating something as he tapped his fingers on the table. He answered, "Okay."

Zhu Tao"s subordinate sat down beside them. This young criminal investigator was taciturn, cold and rigid, just like an iron plate. On the other hand, Zhu Tao was a warm person and a very entertaining conversationalist. He did not really talk about anything of note, just chatted with Jian Yao about the local customs in a bright voice. The atmosphere was exceedingly friendly.

At this point, a waiter brought the coffee over. Zhu Tao took a sip, frowned and said, "Why does it taste like this? It"s not very good."

The waiter laughed immediately. "This is the taste of our signature coffee. Should I add some sugar for you?"

Jian Yao glanced up at the waiter and took note of his hands and neck, just a fleeting look. Zhu Tao waved his hand and said, "No need, it"s drinkable. That said, the flavour of the coffee in your cafe is nothing much."

As Jian Yao slowly drank her coffee, she noticed that the rain outside had stopped and the streets were quiet. There was almost no noise at all.

She, however, felt increasingly tense.

She had faced many criminals. She had even faced the thoroughly vicious and evil flower cannibal alone. She had recently personally apprehended a perverted killer like Chen Jin.

However, those criminals were not like the criminals at the border. Even Xie Han, at that time, had to hide himself amidst the crowd, not daring to expose his ident.i.ty rashly, otherwise the police would swiftly descend upon and arrest him. No criminal would dare to or would be able to contend directly with the power of the police force.

However, she was completely unfamiliar with the border. Everything depended upon rumour and other people"s descriptions; she only knew that law enforcement in this place was much more dangerous than anywhere else, because it was highly likely that the criminals were not only Chinese nationals. Some crime syndicates from other countries even contended with their government with armed force, totally out of control and unheeding of the law.

This meeting with Zhu Tao was the same. They had originally arranged to meet at the police station two days earlier, but Zhu Tao failed to turn up as promised. In addition, to be prudent, Bo Jinyan did not think it would be a good idea to show himself to the police there so lightly. The two sides had not re-established contact until today, which is when they discovered that Zhu Tao had been injured in a shootout with a criminal gang. Who knows, Zhu Tao had likely changed the meeting place to this ordinary cafe out of consideration for security as well.

However, precisely because of the danger here, Jian Yao was even more cautious than usual and had persuaded Bo Jinyan to ask their superiors to dispatch two special police force members to the area. They were supposed to arrive that day and provide them with personal protection. It would not be good to have too many people, as they were operating in secrecy. The more people involved, the easier it was to leak ident.i.ties, divulge secrets, and invite danger.

But, up till now, the two special police force members had not arrived.

As Jian Yao considered the situation, she also readied herself to deploy the gun from the holster at her waist at any time. Moreover, Zhu Tao drank a few sips of coffee then put the cup down, lit a cigarette, and smoked it leisurely.

He had served as a policeman for almost twenty years, and had lived at the border for ten. All the challenges, hardships, excitement, and grief were things he could never speak of with an outsider. He had personally brought down three major criminal gangs, and innumerable smaller ones. To get rid of a major criminal gang was so difficult! It was like trying to push over a huge building full of daggers, it required painstakingly careful consideration and years of dedication. Moreover, a little carelessness, and the loss of life, the sacrifice on the part of the police would be ma.s.sive. After so many years, his heart had grown hard and cold, but he knew with certainty, deep down, the pa.s.sion was still there.

The Buddha"s Hand had been the fastest rising criminal gang in recent years. Moreover, they were fairly deeply entrenched, and in this southwest area, had quietly dominated the scene for a good number of years. Of course, in recent years, Zhu Tao had dealt them several heavy blows, and there had been casualties on both sides. When all was said and done, the leader of the Buddha"s Hand was not so easily satisfied. However, they were still lacking the crucial impetus to uproot this gang. It was at this opportunistic time that Zhu Tao obtained, by secret means, information on the organisation of the Buddha"s Hand gang. This was a great advancement for his work. It was also at this time that Bo Jinyan made contact with him through their superiors. Zhu Tao had heard about Bo Jinyan"s past achievements, and had also disclosed the news to several of his trusted aides. Zhu Tao welcomed his coming, because this signified that the higher-ups had made a firm resolution to make a big move against Buddha"s Hand and remove them! His long-cherished wish was about to be realised!

Translator: shl

Editor/ Proofreader: Anks