Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

People must be careful not to retreat into ambiguity, darkness, or deliberate mistakes; they must also avoid the whiteness of a whitewashed wall—I mean hypocrisy.

— Van Gogh

"Captain, you're not acting right today!"

"Is there?"

Wang Tiejun snapped out of his daze, lit a cigarette, and took two deep drags. Before that, he had been sitting there in a daze for several minutes after taking out the cigarette, but he was completely unaware of it.

"Of course! Did something happen?" The speaker's voice sounded young, but it was filled with an undeniable weariness.

This is a rental house in an urban village, also known as the "handshake building" in Shenhai City.

There was only one room, not very big, but it had everything you needed. The room was clean and tidy, so it didn't look like anyone had lived there for a long time.

This is one of the regular meeting points between Wang Tiejun and the undercover agent. The person speaking to Wang Tiejun is none other than Kite, the infamous undercover agent of the Deep Sea City Narcotics Enforcement Team.

Kite looks relatively young, around 30 years old. He's quite handsome, and what's most impressive is his remarkably well-proportioned physique. While his muscles aren't particularly prominent, they are strong and muscular.

Kite always had a cynical smile on his lips, which made him look somewhat sinister.

Something must have happened. You're not usually like this. Today, you seem particularly lost!

"And besides, normally you would have already started interrogating me, but today it's been over ten minutes and you haven't even finished a cigarette. Tell me, isn't that very unusual?"

"That's quite unusual..." Wang Tiejun let out a long breath and nodded.

"Because of the No. 1 prison bombing? That incident caused quite a stir, what exactly happened?"

"You're absolutely right, it really is because of this!"

"What business is it of yours? If anyone should have a headache, it's Cao Yingying. You're the captain of the anti-drug squad, why are you worrying about this?" Kite said lazily, lying on the sofa.

"That's not right. I'm a police officer, and all illegal and criminal activities are related to me."

"You're just like that!"

The bad people in this world are like weeds; you pull out a wave, and they quickly grow back. Their vitality is terrifying! Cutting them off at the root is not very useful; I don't know where they get such vigorous vitality from!

"Well, let's just pull them out one by one, it's better than nothing!"

The kite lit a cigarette, flicked its cheek with its fingers, and blew out round smoke rings.

"Yes, we can only do our best to clear the weeds. But I'm a bit out of sorts, not because of the bombing at the First Prison itself, but because I'm worried about the person behind it."

"Wasn't this an accident? The news reports said it was caused by a prisoner secretly smoking. Is there something else going on?"

"That's what the news said?"

"Of course, what else can I say? Tell the truth? Hehe!" Kite chuckled and took two more deep drags on his cigarette.

"It would be best if there were no hidden secrets; what I fear most is that there really are!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Do you remember me mentioning a promising young talent to you?"

"That hothead? A college student?"

"Yes, that's him."

"Is he involved in this case?"

"I'm terrified of getting involved with him!" Wang Tiejun pursed his lips tightly. "You know Li Yong and Ma Xiaowei, right?"

The kite didn't speak, it just nodded.

"As soon as these two men arrived at the First Prison, they wanted to cause trouble for the child."

The child came to me for help. He happened to learn Jia Ming's whereabouts from these two men, and he wanted to use that information to get rid of these two troublemakers.

"So that's how it is. I was wondering where you got the information and why you suddenly went to Haixi Province to catch fugitives. So that's what happened."

Is this related to the bombing? ...No! It seems like these were the two people involved in the incident, right?

"Yes, it's them! They're connected, and very connected!" Wang Tiejun nodded. "This kid came up with a plan to deal with these two people, but it has flaws. He was probably driven to desperation, which is why he came up with such a terrible idea."

"Yes, if I were Li Yong or Ma Xiaowei, it would be easy for me to connect him with you. But maybe they have other ways? You yourself said that we can't underestimate anyone."

"Yes, I may have underestimated him, and it's very likely that I was wrong in this matter."

"My dear captain, what heinous crime have you committed this time?"

"What does it mean to be utterly depraved? What does it mean to 'again'?!" Wang Tiejun frowned deeply.

"Don't worry about the wording; just tell me you've tricked someone again!"

"If you insist on saying that, then yes, I did mislead people."

"You did it the way that child suggested? Didn't you point out the problems with it?" Kite asked, staring at Wang Tiejun.

"Just as you said! However, the child actually realized that something was wrong, so I told him not to worry, I would find a way to solve it."

"So how did you resolve it for him later?"

"It was a coincidence that only Li Yong and Ma Xiaowei knew Jia Ming's whereabouts. So I found a way to get Jia Ming to go to the First Prison for a visit. He would definitely spread the word."

"What good is this?!" the kite exclaimed, nearly jumping up in anger.

"Captain Wang! You've gone a bit too far! He's just a kid, fighting against an unfair fate, placing all his hopes on you, and you're going to betray him like this? How can you be so heartless!"

"A merciful general cannot command an army! What should I do if I can't bring myself to be ruthless? If he can't even handle this kind of crisis, how will he fight against the Sea Hawks in the future?"

He's still in the No. 1 prison, so things are still under control!

But what if he gets out of the First Prison, actually finds the Sea Hawks, and infiltrates them?!

At that time, he would have to rely on himself alone!

"So you're going to test him like this? What a mess you are!"

Kite pointed at Wang Tiejun and shook its head repeatedly, its face full of anger. However, Kite quickly calmed down and began to think with a frown.

"No! According to you, the accident that happened to Li Yong and Ma Xiaowei was orchestrated by this kid? That explosion wasn't an accident, but rather something this kid did?"

"This is exactly what I'm most worried about... I hope not! I hope it's not what I'm thinking!"

"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!..." The kite laughed, and once it started laughing, it couldn't stop. The laughter grew louder and louder until it became somewhat manic.

"Well done! That was fucking awesome!"

"Enjoyable? You call this enjoyable?!"

"Of course it's awesome!" Kite jumped up from the sofa: "Captain Wang, listen to me, if this kid really did it, you can't let him get away with it! Get him involved, you have to get him involved!"

If he really did it, could he really have done it all by himself, Sea Hawk? Hah!

Kite took two excited drags on his cigarette and then tossed the butt away.

"Captain, trust me! I have a gut feeling that if you want to uproot the Sea Harriers as soon as possible, you absolutely can't miss this kid!"

"But if he really did it, then the way he did it was problematic. It was illegal!"

"Heh, that's illegal!" Kite clenched his fist. "Captain Wang, please tell me first what law is? Who made the law? What is it for?"

The law is meant to protect the interests of the majority! It is meant to protect the interests of the majority who can live freely in the sunlight!

But for those who live in the shadows, the law they see is completely different from the law seen in the sunlight!

Do you know why we can never beat them?

Because we follow different rules than they do! They can act with impunity, while we are in shackles most of the time!

How are we supposed to fight them?

At this point, Kite took a few deep breaths to calm his excitement: "Well done! Absolutely fantastic! I'm almost in awe of him; he's practically flipping the table! That was brilliant!"

"Your thinking is dangerous!" Wang Tiejun said, looking at the kite and emphasizing each word.

"Dangerous? Could it be more dangerous than dealing with those drug dealers every day? I'd rather die than worry about how dangerous my thoughts are. Give me a break!"

As you said, this child's current predicament is most likely due to being framed and plotted against.

So he's allowed to be harmed, but not allowed to fight back?! What kind of logic is that? What kind of reasoning is that?

My dear Captain Wang, based on my understanding of you, you shouldn't be this kind of person!

"Then... based on your understanding of me, what kind of person should I be?" Wang Tiejun finally raised his head and looked at the kite.