Chapter One Gathering

  The sound of car horns filled the air, and the exhaust fumes from the cars added to the already foul-smelling streets, making it even more unbearable. Zhao Shi waved his arm, allowing a row of cars to pass through one by one.

  July's heat is like a fire, this year C city's weather is hot to the point of being eerie. Sweat is pouring out of Zhao Shi's skin like a fountain, making his black skin all wet and shiny, from afar it even emits steam, as if he was taking a sauna in a sauna room.

  Although his body felt sticky and uncomfortable, the habits accumulated over the years still made Zhao Shi's body stand upright. Under the scorching sun at noon, Zhao Shi's face was expressionless, mechanically waving his hands to let car after car pass in front of him.

  Zhao Shi is now an ordinary traffic police officer in the fifth traffic police brigade of C City. C City is a small city, strategically located, and before 1990, there were artillery positions on the north mountain, with cannons pointing towards the direction of the powerful neighboring country to the north. Although they have been withdrawn, three defense zones around the city still remain today. The city is not too far from Beijing, and its economy has developed rapidly in recent years. In just over a decade, a small city with a population of less than 100,000, known for having only three main streets running north-south, has grown into a medium-sized city with nearly one million people, with high-rise buildings sprouting up everywhere. However, the city's infrastructure construction has not kept pace, which is disheartening. These days, every household has some spare money, and many people can afford to buy cars, so unlike ten years ago when bicycles filled the streets, cars have suddenly appeared on the roads like mushrooms after a spring rain, but without corresponding parking spaces. As a result, everyone parks their cars by the roadside, making already congested streets even more jammed, like an anthill that has been disturbed.

  When officials moved into their new homes in the newly built district, the old city was left to fend for itself, like a stepchild abandoned and forgotten.

  In a small city like C City, the traffic police squadron had more than ten teams, but half of them were just to ease traffic during rush hour at noon. After Zhao Shi retired from the army, he easily found a job as a traffic policeman here.

  Compared to his previous life, he prefers standing under the sun like this, feeling a hint of hidden peace and tranquility in the dull work, rather than struggling desperately for survival amidst gunfire and bullets, or facing those instructors who seem to think that others owe them money forever.

  Zhao Shi's past was actually very simple, his file only had a few pages, but it was a state secret document. Except for himself, many people could see this file, but they would never appear in a small place like C City. The personnel department officials here could only see a pure and clean file, just like a newborn baby, which stated that Zhao Shi was originally from C City, born, grew up, went to school, joined the army, transferred to civilian work, with a simple and clear history.

  But Zhao Shi himself knew that he was born in a small coastal town, where people have been known for their ferocity and unruliness since ancient times. Shandong is a place that produces heroes, and during the chaotic periods of old, it was always filled with bandits and rebels, with bloodlust and heroism infused into the veins of its people from time immemorial. Yet in that dirty and chaotic small town, there emerged a freak like Zhao Shi who was an anomaly.

  He is a freak, not like the famous monkey in Journey to the West who jumped out of a stone. He has parents too, his parents were sent-down youth who returned to their hometown during the great wave of returning to the city, and he was already four years old at that time.

  But city life was not as good as they had expected, unable to find work, no place to live, and the few remaining relatives seemed to be hiding from them like a plague. His father, who was somewhat stubborn, returned to the city and soon died of depression. This did not leave any deep scars in Zhao Shi's heart, who was only a few years old at that time, and he could no longer remember what his father looked like.

  It seems that women always burst out with unprecedented strength when adversity strikes, and Zhao Shi's mother is such a person. The strong character of the Shandong people was nowhere to be seen in his father, but it was fully embodied in his mother. After handling his father's funeral, his mother carried a basket on her back, walking through the streets and alleys of the small town, collecting other people's garbage or picking up some from the trash heap to make a living, while also raising children. All in all, life was very difficult.

  After the reform and opening up, my mother used the money she had saved to set up a small stall, and our life finally got back on track. Zhao Shi also made his mother worry less, being sensible and obedient since childhood, and after entering school, his grades were always among the best, making him a rare university material in others' eyes.

  If things go on like this, it's likely that among the first to get rich will be these two mother and son, but life, this devil, has not let off those who depend on each other for survival. Its only role seems to be to grind down people's edges and crush their backbone.

  When Zhao Shi Gang was in the first year of junior high school, to be exact, on his thirteenth birthday, two people wearing police uniforms found him at school and told him that his mother was now being rescued in hospital, having been stabbed seven times, with three fatal wounds.

  At that time, Zhao Shi was stunned. When he rushed to the hospital like a madman, what he saw was his mother's corpse covered in blood, motionless.

  Later, when recalling the scene, Zhao Shi's memory was a bit fuzzy, and what he remembered most clearly was the pain, the deep-seated, heart-wrenching pain that made it impossible to shed even a single tear. Zhao Shi knew that from the moment he saw his mother's corpse, his life had changed forever. His mother's death not only brought him pain but also stirred up the wildness hidden deep within his body, like a wild beast suddenly breaking out of its cage, and no matter how hard he tried to contain it, it couldn't be locked back in, unless he died.

  The perpetrator was caught quickly, and the security situation in China in the 1980s basically returned to normal. It was easy to catch a thug who committed murder in broad daylight. The matter seemed to have settled like this, as killing someone on the street during that era would result in being shot, without going through many procedures afterwards.

  If things had ended like that, Zhao Shi would not have been able to take the path he did later on. Perhaps he would have been sent to an orphanage or somewhere else, or left to fend for himself, or maybe he would have completed his studies and achieved something in his own career.

  But the matter didn't end there, in just a few days, the murderer was released. The two policemen came to Zhao Shi's home again, speaking evasively and telling him that the notorious thug had only passed by and hadn't actually committed the crime. After investigating, they let the person go. The two policemen also brought 2,000 yuan with them, which was supposedly collected by kind-hearted people from the police station...

  Two thousand yuan was a huge sum of money at that time, but could two thousand yuan buy back his mother's life? Zhao Shi, who had already understood the coldness and warmth of human relationships, did not cry or make a fuss. He silently took care of his mother's funeral, his body as cold as ice, but in his heart, it seemed like a fierce fire was burning...

  What happened later became a legend in that small town. A 13-year-old boy, holding a two-meter-long pig-killing knife, rushed into the home of Li San'er, a notorious figure in the town, on a sunny day. He stabbed four robust men in their twenties who were playing mahjong there, causing them serious injuries. After cutting off Li San'er's hands and feet, he dragged the dying man to the street, walking along a street for nearly a thousand meters to the scene of a bloody case that had occurred just a few days ago. People didn't know where the boy got such great strength from, dragging a person weighing over 100 kilograms.

  There, Zhao Shi cut off Li San'er's neck with one knife, without any hesitation. It is said that the blood sprayed out at that time was five or six meters away, scaring the onlookers to flee in panic, and many people were trampled.

  Then the police came and put handcuffs on the child who had already been stained red with blood, and took him away.

  Zhao Shi originally thought that he would be heading to the execution ground next. Murderers always have to pay with their lives, and as someone who was equivalent to a legal fool, he could only have such a simple and naive idea.

  But life seemed to have played a big joke on him again, perhaps it was that unparalleled aura of killing intent that had always existed within his body that saved him. In the temporary detention center, a man with a military appearance stood in front of him...

  Zhao Shi went missing. According to the criminal records of the small town, Zhao Shi was sent to a juvenile reformatory in Shihezi, Xinjiang for labor reform.

  Training, going out on a mission, then continuing training, and executing another mission... Zhao Shi's life had become like this.

  At that time, Garrison's daredevil team was performing well, and Zhao Shi had watched it a few times when he was bored. He even felt a bit moved by it. These people were just like the guys in the movie, typical of those who atone for their crimes, collect scrap metal, or are forever unable to make a name for themselves...

  As for these things, Zhao Shi did not want to recall them, because they were always filled with blood and death.

  He is now just a small traffic policeman in C City. For more than 20 years, he participated in the self-defense counterattack war in South Xinjiang, pursued cruel and ruthless fugitives, combed through villages to catch drug traffickers, exchanged fire with poachers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and later engaged with terrorists. Almost all battles related to China from the late 1980s to the early 21st century had their presence.

  More than twenty years of battlefield career made him look out of place with his surroundings, in the eyes of others, this guy was very introverted and strange. They had no idea how much effort Zhao had to put in to maintain this relaxed state, every night when he woke up with a start, he would subconsciously grip the tiger tooth under his pillow tightly, in his dreams were faces blurred with blood and flesh, and the sound of gunfire and explosions...

  A pleasant ringtone broke Zhao Shi's train of thought.

  "Hello? Who is it? Speak."

  "Is that Zhao Shi?" The other party's voice sounded like a sharp blade out of its scabbard, with just a few short words emitting an intimidating and chilling aura.

  "Captain?" Zhao Shi subconsciously straightened up, only to realize that he was no longer in the army. "I'm Zhao Shi, wait a minute... Little Liu, come over and replace me for a moment, I need to take this call."

  "What's wrong?" Zhao Shi had already sensed something ominous.

  "Come to S city for a while, call me when you arrive, still this number, hurry up."

  "Yes." Zhao Shi almost immediately replied, this had become a conditioned reflex-like reaction, and he couldn't change it no matter what. The other party didn't give him the opportunity to refuse either, and with a "click" sound, the phone call was hung up. He didn't want to refuse either; the captain's words were always orders, and following the captain's orders could keep him alive.

  。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。

  The city is a major military and heavy industrial city in the north, Zhao Shi has been here more than once, the people here speak as if they have taken a strong medicine, but also generously let people feel relieved.

  After getting off the train, Zhao Shi tightened his grip on the small package in his hand. Inside, there was actually nothing else, just a few changes of clothes and most importantly, his beloved Tiger Tooth.

  As he walked out of the station, Zhao Shi's figure was not particularly tall or large, with a height of 1.71 meters, barely escaping the ranks of the second-class disabled, and his appearance was passable, but there was nothing outstanding about him. It seemed that heaven had taken special care of this face, as it miraculously remained unscathed in the midst of gunfire and smoke, and compared to his tattered body, he was more than a little lucky. As he blended into the surging crowd outside the station, he naturally became very inconspicuous.

  As soon as he came out of the station, a sense of being watched immediately surged up in his mind. Zhao Shi pretended to be nonchalant and swept a glance around him, but his hand had already reached into his backpack and tightly grasped the tiger tooth inside.

  But he soon relaxed, a burly man of about 1.8 meters tall pushed through the crowd and appeared in front of him, wearing casual clothes that looked like they cost over two hundred dollars, but on this guy's body, it seemed somewhat ridiculous. The robust physique, similar to a bear's, stretched the clothes as if they were about to burst open, and his towering figure, fierce gaze, especially that rugged face, which looked like it had been slashed seventeen or eighteen times, made people who were forcibly pushed aside by him unable to muster up any courage to resist. He came to Zhao Shi's side, the two men looked at each other for a few moments before opening their arms and embracing tightly.

  Then Zhang Han let go of his hands, and his voice was still as simple and thick as Zhao Shi's impression. "Stone, you're not late, follow me."

  Two people walked silently one after another towards the parking lot. It wasn't until half a day later that Zhao Shi spoke up, "Laohu, is everyone okay?"

  "Alright, nothing's wrong, just...". The strong man paused for a moment, "The venomous snake is dead, and... you'll know in a while when you see the captain."

  The silence between the two people was restored, but Zhao Shi's heart felt a pang of inexplicable pain. This pain, however, only flashed by and was a kind of sorrow that came from sympathy for others. They were a special group that couldn't be any more special, each person with their own past, which could be described as legendary, but no one would ever talk about what happened before they enlisted. They wouldn't discuss ideals either, because they all knew that only a handful of them would be able to re-enter society, while the rest were destined for the battlefield, where even their bodies might not remain. Ideals were a luxury for people like them.

  So death is not something that can create too much of a stir in their hearts.

  On a dilapidated jeep, two people sat there like strangers, Zhao Shi gazed indifferently at the streets and houses flashing by outside the window, and in the army, silence was the main melody between them.

  The car stopped in front of a small tavern and two people got out. "The captain is waiting for us inside."

  Entering the only private room in the tavern, there were four people sitting inside. The atmosphere was so heavy that it made one feel like they were about to suffocate. However, when Zhao Shi saw the person sitting at the head of the table, he still stood up straight and gave a standard military salute, which looked somewhat comical with his short-sleeved shirt and large pants.

  He just slightly nodded and said, "Here, sit."

  The captain had grown old, and seeing that the other party already had white hair, a thought flashed through Zhao Shi's mind, but he didn't say anything else, and silently sat down on a chair.

  Several others nodded slightly to Zhao Shi, but no one said a word. Zhao Shi's eyes scanned their faces one by one: Wang Hongjun, Liu Guang, Xie Aimin... Three somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar faces made Zhao Shi feel uncomfortable. He slightly turned his gaze away and looked at the team leader sitting in the front row. The team leader was called Wang Aiguo, much older than them, a stern and overbearing middle-aged man, but a good team leader. He should be a colonel by now?

  "Wait, there's still someone who hasn't arrived." Perhaps seeing Zhao Shi's confusion, he explained.

  The private room fell silent again, with only occasional sounds of people drinking water and the smell of smoke lingering in the air, indicating that there were still a few people alive here.

  Zhao Shi did not smoke. Those who had been to the battlefield knew that cigarettes were a good medicine for relieving pressure, and there were few soldiers who were not cigarette slaves. But Zhao Shi was an exception because he was an undercover agent, and sometimes the smell of smoke would expose him in front of the enemy. So while others were puffing out clouds of smoke, he was counting the clock points on the large clocks hanging in the room, as well as calculating how many times a somewhat attractive waitress had come in, especially since each time she came in, her face looked like she had seen a ghost, which made him feel that these people were indeed very different from the people around them and did not fit in.

  The door creaked open and in came the tiger, who then found a chair to sit down on, causing it to let out several pitiful groans.

  Immediately, a man in his thirties with a radiant complexion followed behind him. Compared to the others, this guy had much more vitality of a living person. However, when Zhao Shi saw this guy, he slightly furrowed his brow, as he knew this person and didn't like him.

  But the people around him all stood up, and even the usually stern captain showed a slight smile, nodded to the newcomer, and Zhao Shi let out a sigh in his heart, cursed silently, and also stood up.

  "Everyone's here, little brother arrived late, made everyone wait for a long time? I said old Wang, why choose such a broken place, let me have a hard time finding it. Since brothers came to my turf, I'll take care of this one. Let's go, Huangcheng Hotel, we haven't seen each other in so many years, we should let everyone have fun..."

  The authentic Beijing dialect, as well as the Beijinger's unique teasing and irreverence, indeed the other party is still the same, not changing a bit.

  Zhao Shi didn't entirely dislike the newcomer, Jin Chengmin, for these reasons. This guy was a typical example of a high-ranking official's son - his grandfather was a founding general and an old revolutionary, while his father was one of those who got rich early on during the reform and opening-up period. However, this young man was not blessed with good fortune. His grandfather, in order to make up for his father's inability to join the military, disregarded the unanimous opposition from their family members and sent him, a spoiled brat born with a silver spoon, into the army - specifically, their secret numbered special reaction force. According to this guy's account of his grandfather's words, "A man who doesn't go through battle training is just a good-for-nothing," and of course, his father was the ultimate good-for-nothing. He didn't want to be a good-for-nothing, so he came here.

  But the thing is, after entering the army, this standard spoiled brat in Zhao Shi's eyes still can't become a man. He's not allowed to take on dangerous missions, he doesn't get assigned hard work, and his training is lax, slacking off three days out of five. It's like he's here just to enjoy life in the military, and it's nauseating to look at him.

  But others have a wide network, and it's not something that this ordinary citizen who has made achievements through his mistakes can provoke. He also knows why the people next to him are treating this guy differently, because when they were transferred, they were able to continue serving in the army thanks to Jin Chengmin's efforts. At that time, this kid had come to talk to him and said that with his skills and experience, staying in the army as an instructor was a sure thing, but he didn't like this guy and had had enough of military life, so he came to C City and became a small traffic cop.

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