Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

"Not bad, you answered most of them correctly, that's pretty good!" Wang Tiejun closed the duty roster in his hand.

"That's good! Thank you, Captain Wang." An Xiaohai also breathed a sigh of relief. He had been acting for almost an hour and was exhausted.

"You don't need to thank me, I should be the one thanking you."

The information you provided is very valuable. It is true that someone planned to rob the Municipal Precision Instrument Factory, and there was nearly 50 yuan in cash in the factory's safe at the time.

The two criminals were from the security department of the neighboring mine, and they were armed with heavy weapons. If it weren't for your tip, the consequences would have been unimaginable! In addition to the last time we cracked a drug trafficking route, our brigade was awarded a collective second-class merit.

I received a total of 600 yuan in bonuses, and I'll find a way to give it all to you.

"Thank you, Captain Wang..." An Xiaohai said, a little touched.

Pan Zhuangzhuang had read the letter. Of the 400 yuan he received last time, 300 yuan came from Wang Tiejun, the family only managed to scrape together 50 yuan, and the other 50 yuan came from Lin Xuan'er.

Lin Xuan'er probably gave him all her living expenses at school. I really don't know how this girl is going to live on her own.

"Can you tell me honestly? Why do you insist on this?" Wang Tiejun asked again, pointing to the schedule in his hand.

"Captain Wang, I've already told you, I'm just trying to save my own life, that's the truth."

"Okay!" Wang Tiejun nodded. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"No more for now."

"Alright, I'll be going now. I probably won't come in person next time. I'm too conspicuous; if I do come, I have to make a big fuss, understand?"

"Understood. I will pass on any information I find to Pan Zhuangzhuang as soon as possible."

"Okay, take care of yourself. I'm leaving now. If you need any help, be sure to let me know."

"Okay, goodbye, Captain Wang."

Wang Tiejun left, and An Xiaohai slowly closed his eyes.

A collective second-class merit award, with a bonus of 600 yuan! How ironic!

An Xiaohai let out a long breath.

Wang Tiejun and his colleagues walked the line between life and death every day, solving two major cases involving nearly a million yuan, only to receive a certificate of merit and 600 yuan in return.

This amount of money might not even be enough for those corrupt officials to have a meal. Isn't that ironic?

Moreover, Wang Tiejun had to give all 600 yuan to An Xiaohai; this was money earned with his life on the line!

He didn't know how much time had passed, but while An Xiaohai was half asleep, he suddenly heard some noises outside the ward and quickly and quietly opened the ward door.

An Xiaohai's heart tightened!

Is someone trying to harm me? Surely not!

An Xiaohai desperately resisted the urge to turn around and see who it was, lying motionless on the bed and trying to calm his breathing.

An Xiaohai decided to take a gamble, hoping that the person who came wasn't there to kill him. After all, this was the prison's infirmary, and no prisoner could freely enter or leave. And the person who could freely enter or leave was unlikely to personally harm him.

Moreover, if something happens to him here, the prison authorities will be implicated. As long as he is in prison, they have a million ways to deal with him, so it's not worth taking such a big risk.

It should be safe.

A strong smell of alcohol filled the air, and An Xiaohai's muscles tensed. His left hand slowly reached towards the bedside. Hidden under the mattress was a folding dagger, a gift from Xu Tianyou.

The visitor didn't make any unnecessary movements. Instead, he pulled up a chair and sat down beside An Xiaohai's bed. The sound of dragging the chair was normal; he neither tried to conceal it nor made it deliberately loud.

An Xiaohai's heart calmed down instantly. The person who came was definitely not here to harm him, otherwise they wouldn't have done such a thing.

An Xiaohai carefully withdrew his hand, tried to relax his body, and pretended to be asleep.

The newcomer's breathing was heavy, and the smell of alcohol in the room grew stronger, but the person neither turned on the lights nor spoke, simply sitting there quietly, which seemed very eerie.

Just as An Xiaohai was about to lose his balance, the person finally reached out and nudged his shoulder.

"An Xiaohai, wake up."

It's Yang Yuanbing's voice!

An Xiaohai was finally relieved. However, he did not respond immediately. Instead, he waited for Yang Yuanbing to push him twice more before pretending to slowly wake up.

This disguise was necessary. Wang Tiejun had just been there, and if he appeared too sober, it would easily lead people to make assumptions.

"Section Chief Yang, what brings you here?... What time is it?" An Xiaohai asked, pretending to be sleepy.

"It's almost dawn," Yang Yuanbing said, though he reeked of alcohol, his voice was perfectly clear. "I'm here to tell you something."

"What is it?" An Xiaohai still pretended to be half asleep, but he was already highly nervous and had a bad feeling.

Yang Yuanbing came running over in the middle of the night, reeking of alcohol, saying he had something to tell him, which was probably not good news!

"I've recently heard some rumors that someone in prison is spreading the word that you were the one who injured Liu Jun."

I came here to remind you that Liu Jun is the second oldest in his family. He has an older brother and a younger brother, and all three of them are notorious thugs in the area.

If this news gets back to his brothers in prison, Liu Jun's two brothers might cause trouble for your family.

Upon hearing this, An Xiaohai's heart sank, and then an uncontrollable surge of anger rose from the depths of his heart.

"Rogue" may sound like a harmless creature, but for ordinary people, it's far more dangerous than someone like Xu Tianyou!

Once you get entangled with thugs, it's the beginning of a nightmare. They usually won't do anything too extreme, but they can cause endless trouble in your life.

Being harassed by thugs won't do much good even if you call the police, since they haven't caused you any real harm. Even if the police come, they'll just give them a lecture and take them away—it's all just a formality.

But once the police leave, or as soon as they come out, things will go back to the way they were before.

Even if the police detain them and lock them up for a few days, the situation remains the same after they are released. In fact, they often retaliate even more severely.

The reason these scoundrels dare to act this way is simply because they're scoundrels. These people all have criminal records, have long since given up on themselves, and are content with their fate, so they have no scruples whatsoever.

They can pester you for a long time until they achieve their goal, while normal people are completely helpless against them.

Calling the police is useless, and confronting them head-on is not worth it. Who wants to ruin their life for a few thugs? Ignoring them is also useless; these people will swarm around you like flies, constantly annoying you.

When normal people encounter these people, they can only swallow their anger and pay money to avoid trouble.

An Xiaohai's family and friends are facing a much more serious situation. This is not something that can be solved by spending a little money, and if left unchecked, the consequences could very well escalate into something very serious.

There are only two ways to deal with these scoundrels: either get someone they're afraid of to step in, or make sure they can never do anything wrong again.

There are only two kinds of people that thugs are afraid of: people who are more ruthless than them, or police officers who have enough deterrent power. An Xiaohai can find both of these kinds of people.

Xu Tianyou was the ruthless one, while Wang Tiejun was the policeman who was intimidating enough.

However, Wang Tiejun cannot be chosen. Once Wang Tiejun steps forward, An Xiaohai's relationship with him will be exposed. Xu Tianyou will definitely help, but An Xiaohai is not very willing to ask him for help.

Firstly, An Xiaohai didn't want to have too much involvement with Xu Tianyou. Secondly, Xu Tianyou was a notorious madman who was difficult to control and didn't know his own limitations. If this matter was left to him to handle, who knew what kind of trouble he might cause.

The bigger the trouble Xu Tianyou causes, the more serious An Xiaohai's crime will be, since Xu Tianyou caused such a big mess because of him.

Therefore, once Xu Tianyou makes a move, An Xiaohai will have no way back.

An Xiaohai felt a faint sense of powerlessness, a feeling he had never experienced since his rebirth.

The collapse of social order often begins when bad people go unpunished and good people, or those who follow the rules, are not protected.

An Xiaohai believed that his heart was strong enough, but he was still somewhat at a loss in the face of this situation.

If these people were all after him, An Xiaohai wouldn't be afraid at all. But if they were after his family and friends, An Xiaohai would indeed panic a little.

Grandparents and maternal grandparents are all in poor health. They are harassed by these people all day long. Can they bear it? ...If these people go to Lin Xuan'er's school to cause trouble, or go to Pan Zhuangzhuang's company to cause trouble, how much harm will they cause them?

"Damn it, you forced me to this!"

An Xiaohai's teeth were grinding together.