Chief Investigator Adu, as he was known, scratched the back of his head modestly, then said:
"Boss, I heard that the Chief Investigator is in trouble. If you can handle this matter well, you might even have a chance at his position."
Lei Bao's eyes flashed with an inscrutable light, but there was a hint of hesitation: "There's indeed a piece of Demon Scale in the warehouse, but Young Master Yang has reserved it... His father is the captain of the Security Brigade, and will come to collect it soon."
This piece of Demon Scale is contraband.
For now, it's temporarily stored in the Investigation Department's warehouse.
According to the rules, it will be transferred to the Security Brigade to be delivered to the Finance Bureau for asset freezing.
However, there's ample opportunity for manipulation in between.
Like being robbed during transport...
This is an unwritten rule.
After all, there are so many mouths to feed up and down all departments.
How can they survive without earning some extra cash?
This piece of Demon Scale has already been reserved, and Lei Bao indeed hesitated to act for a moment.
Adu had another idea: "Boss, isn't this the perfect test for you? The Security Brigade is politically opposed to Director An, and this scale is your complete pledge of allegiance.
If you hand this scale over to Director An, it means you're entirely abandoning the Security Brigade and are willing to express loyalty to Director An...
"Deputy Director Bode, no matter what, is a local force, but Director An has direct connections to the Night Empire..."
Under Adu's cajoling, Lei Bao gradually firmed up his thoughts.
After all, when the bosses are making moves, how can you survive without choosing a side?
"The Security Brigade will come to take the scale in a couple of days, what do we do?"
"Isn't it simple? Just start a fire. Burn the warehouse and say the scale was incinerated... Besides, Boss, we can also cover our previous deficits." Adu rubbed his hands together.
Lei Bao glanced at Adu, patting him on the shoulder: "You had this plan all along, didn't you?"
Adu did not deny it, chuckling: "Boss, we have no other way, do we? We need to preserve this fine tradition."
"But starting a fire in the warehouse will cause trouble..."
"Boss, what's there to fear? We're already under Director An, are we really afraid of such petty trouble?"
Lei Bao set his heart, decisively said: "Alright! Then burn it!"
"Burn what?"
Just as Chen Che stepped out with Xia Na, he heard the word 'burn' and asked with a puzzled expression.
Lei Bao immediately put on a fawning smile: "Master Chen... No, Chief Investigator Chen, no worries, there's nothing to be concerned about. We understand your intentions. Rest assured, give me some time, I promise to hand over the items with both hands!"
Chen Che: "???"
Hand over what items?
Chen Che was at a loss, but he didn't foolishly ask directly.
If Lei Bao wanted to give him something valuable, he wouldn't refuse.
After all, it didn't involve him in any way.
Chen Che smoothly changed the topic: "Could Chief Investigator Lei trouble you to get me some equipment?"
"Chief Investigator Chen, where are you heading?"
"Naturally, to investigate Pandora's Kiss, as ordered by the Director. How could I dare to slack off?"
Is he hinting to me to keep this in mind... Lei Bao chuckled and said: "Little Sun, quickly apply for a set of high-grade equipment."
Lei Bao didn't believe Chen Che truly had any investigative skill, thinking Chen Che was simply hinting that he should hurry up with the matter.
As for Chen Che, he didn't expect these people to brainstorm so deeply and genuinely wanted to investigate.
Even if he knew, Chen Che would merely sigh, feeling how miserable the lives of laborers at the low end of society truly were.
Little Sun quickly brought over a set of equipment.
The standard equipment for Investigation Department personnel: a walkie-talkie, a bulletproof vest, and a 9mm caliber pistol of an unknown model.
The bulletproof vest was made of special materials, very thin, and could be worn underneath clothing.
Such a level of bulletproof vest could even withstand one or two shots from a large caliber rifle.
Clearly, this was not something an ordinary Chief Investigator would be equipped with.
It would be at least at Lei Bao's Deputy Chief Investigator level.
Chen Che understood Lei Bao's meaning and did not refuse, taking off his clothes and putting on the bulletproof vest, equipping himself accordingly.
Even though Xia Na was there to protect his safety, Chen Che valued his life and didn't want to die foolishly.
"Do you need one?" Chen Che asked Xia Na.
Xia Na disdainfully glanced at it: "I have my own equipment."
Well, she's a heavyweight player.
After that, Chen Che bade farewell to Lei Bao and left the Special Operations Department.
Seeing Chen Che leave, Lei Bao gave his men a look: "Make arrangements, just as we discussed."
"Yes!" Adu said excitedly, a gleam of excitement in his eyes where Lei Bao couldn't see.
…
Ant Street.
Located at the center between the Upper City District and the Lower City District.
The Ninth Special Zone was originally developed as a safe haven.
It was a safe zone established and grown by wasteland wanderers and mercenaries.
There were also local forces.
Without formal laws and rules, chaos reigned, constraint being self-imposed, robberies, and murders were common.
Gangs of all stripes were everywhere, with the rules of gang leaders serving as the law in this place.
Though people gathered, due to insufficient strength, they still faced external threats.
Mutant beasts, wandering wasteland aberrants, virus zombies roaming the wasteland... and so on.
Could all threaten this safe zone.
Until Tasting Commerce Association and the Night Empire discovered the rich mineral resources here.
They joined forces to build walls and develop industry, creating the Ninth Special Zone as it is now.
The establishment of the new city inevitably clashed with existing forces.
This was seen as an invasion.
Ultimately, the two sides reached a balance.
A large city was built by the Night Empire and Tasting Commerce Association with the Upper City District under a joint jurisdiction of their laws.
It's truly a regulated safe zone.
The Lower City District remained dominated by the local gangs.
It was governed by gang rules.
Distinguishing new forces from old with the Upper and Lower City Districts.
As long as the Lower City District didn't cause trouble in the Upper City District, they wouldn't interfere in each other's affairs.
If there was any threat to the city's safety like zombie tides, beast tides, or aberrants' invasion, the Upper City District would handle it.
And the funding and protection fees for building the walls,
naturally would be covered by the Ninth Special Zone's abundant resources.
The resources in the Upper City District were thus available to be developed.
Even if the people of the Lower City District were unwilling, there was nothing they could do, as they lacked the technical capabilities to extract these resources.
Instead, they chose to trade these resources for safety and protection.
So, even though the Upper City District isn't perfectly safe, like the Old World's Mexico or Myanmar.
It is truly a paradise compared to the Lower City District.
The Lower City District is truly lawless.
On-the-street murders, robberies, organ trading, and contraband sales are most common.
The Lower City District is controlled by its own gangs, and the Upper City District wouldn't help maintain order.
However, it's been said that the order in the Lower City District has recently improved since a godfather unified all the gangs in the Lower City District.
The whole Lower City District is under his control, with no one daring to defy him.
If there's a semblance of democracy in the Upper City District, the Lower City District is absolute monarchy and slavery.
Ant Street is caught between the two districts.
It's a very unique existence.
Being a confluence point, fugitives from the Lower City District don't dare perform certain transactions in the Upper City District, and those from the Upper City District seeking thrill don't dare enter deep into the Lower City District. Here, they engage in special interactions.
Both Upper and Lower City Districts turn a blind eye to the existence of Ant Street.