Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

"Kid, I'm sorry, I was a bit reckless this time!"

At the entrance of Apojiao Village, An Xiaohai was changing clothes. Zhou Meng hesitated for a long time before finally apologizing.

"Captain Zhou, thank you. I know you were just eager to help me."

"What do you mean I'm in a hurry to help you? I'm in a hurry to fight crime!" Zhou Meng said, his eyes bulging.

An Xiaohai smiled slightly. Although Zhou Meng was being stubborn, his concern was genuine, and An Xiaohai could clearly feel it.

"But this time I've really seen something new. What a wonderful place! It's a criminal's lair! These criminals occupy the best locations, live in the finest mansions, and lead extravagant lives..."

How pleasant!

But it's extremely difficult for our soldiers to even get a house and settle down!

Zhou Meng gritted his teeth and said in a low voice. At this moment, he was indeed somewhat moved.

"So they're criminals. They stole all of this; it won't last. But Captain Zhou, building a house shouldn't be too difficult for you. You have land and manpower; it shouldn't be hard."

An Xiaohai was trying to change the subject. In his memory, the armed police should not be without housing. An Xiaohai knew about military-owned housing, and in the future, some military-owned housing would flow into the market.

"Yes, we have land and people, but we don't have enough money! If I use all the money to build houses, what will we do about other things? How will we fight crime?!"

Kid, you know what? Ever since I modified two speedboats last time, those smugglers haven't dared to be as arrogant as before. I really have to thank you for that!

Even a hero can be brought down by a penny.

"Captain Zhou, we should be able to seize a lot of money after this operation. I think it shouldn't be a problem to build a house."

"The problem is we can't take this money. It has no provenance, so how can we take it? Wouldn't that be embezzlement?"

"I think Director Xu definitely has a solution."

Zhou Meng didn't say anything, but just gritted his teeth and lowered his head.

"Captain Zhou, please don't be angry if I tell you the truth," An Xiaohai said cautiously, looking at Zhou Meng.

"Just say what you have to say, stop beating around the bush!" Zhou Meng glanced at An Xiaohai impatiently.

"Captain Zhou, I think it's right to uphold principles, but principles also have different levels of importance."

"Principles vary in scope, what do you mean by that?" Zhou Meng frowned deeply.

"General principles are the bottom line that each of us should adhere to to the death, while the ultimate principle is the Way of Heaven."

"Shut up, you brat, and stop spouting nonsense!"

"I'm not being superstitious," An Xiaohai shook his head. "What I mean is: all living beings, including humans, are driven by self-interest and a desire to avoid harm."

This is instinct, biological instinct, and human nature.

I think there's nothing wrong with upholding principles, but upholding principles shouldn't mean constantly fighting against human nature.

"Just get to the point!" An Xiaohai's words annoyed Zhou Meng.

"The key point is that no matter how much we adhere to principles, we must find ways to improve the lives of our soldiers; otherwise, they will be more easily corrupted by the enemy."

Improving the lives of soldiers is not contradictory to fighting crime; in fact, it is very important.

Captain Zhou, as you just said, those criminals occupy the best places, live in the best houses, and live the most luxurious lives, while our soldiers don't even have a place to settle down.

That's not fair!

In the short term, one can be sustained by faith, but what about in the long run? Who can always adhere to principles?

Corruption is a global problem because it aligns with human nature. Many countries are trying to use high salaries to deter corruption, and the results have been quite good.

Captain Zhou, you are a person of faith, but not everyone is as steadfast in their faith as you are.

When people live in such an unfair situation for a long time, their mentality is easily distorted. Moreover, faith can support an individual, but it cannot support a family.

I believe that Director Xu and his colleagues are somewhat cynical because they have seen through this point.

Their people face far more temptations than we do, and if they were corrupted by the enemy, the harm they would cause would be far greater than that caused by us.

That's why Director Xu and his colleagues try their best to make life more comfortable for their subordinates, which is why they seem so mercenary.

It's okay to adhere to principles, but you can't go against the natural order.

That's how I understand it.

An Xiaohai's words surprised Zhou Meng. He had thought of these things before, but not so clearly.

"What nonsense... I'm not going to argue with you about this anymore!" Zhou Meng waved his hand irritably. "Alright, I won't take matters into my own hands anymore. I'll leave this task to you."

I really couldn't tell!

You little brat, and all of you! You're all so cunning! Aren't you tired?!

Here's what I'll do: I'll leave Xiao Luo with you as my liaison. He'll obey your commands and cooperate with your actions.

Don't underestimate Xiao Luo. He's an outstanding reconnaissance soldier, no worse than Yan Hong and the like, and certainly better than them!

Zhou Meng's voice was a bit loud, and Yan Hong, who was not far away, turned a little dark-faced after being spoken to. He had just arrived and saw that Zhou Meng was talking to An Xiaohai, so he didn't come over immediately.

"Alright, that's enough for now. I'm heading back. Xiao Luo, did you hear what I just said?!"

"Reporting to the squad leader, I heard you!" Xiao Luo did not disperse on the spot; he waited there until Zhou Meng and An Xiaohai returned.

"This is a special mission. You must obey An Xiaohai's orders absolutely and not mention it to anyone else, understand?"

"Yes, Captain!"

"Alright, I'll explain the rest to you in detail when you return. I'm off!"

After Zhou Meng finished speaking, he climbed into the jeep, started the engine, but didn't drive away immediately. Instead, he stuck his head out and said to An Xiaohai:

"Come over for a meal when you have time! Your aunt talks about you all the time, I don't know what kind of spell you've cast on her! ...I'm leaving!"

Zhou Meng said as the car drove away.

"It's all over, it's all over, my days are going to be really tough..." Yan Hong stepped forward, shaking his head and sighing.

"No, Captain Zhou is all bark and no bite. He won't really take it to heart."

"That's for you, not for us, haha!" Yan Hong rolled his eyes. "I brought all the equipment with you, do you want to familiarize yourself with it?"

"Okay, let's go inside and talk about it first."

"Alright, let's go!"

Yan Hong drove his car and took An Xiaohai and Xiao Luo to the building where Lai Donglin and the others lived. The three of them carried a bunch of equipment upstairs together.

Yan Hong introduced all the equipment to An Xiaohai, who was greatly impressed.

As expected of the Security Department, the equipment is quite advanced, far exceeding An Xiaohai's expectations. This huge pile of equipment includes not only communication equipment, but also laser rangefinders, night vision devices, and so on.

What surprised An Xiaohai most was the communication system, which even included in-ear wireless headphones. Apart from being slightly larger, they were not much different from in-ear Bluetooth headphones of later generations.

An Xiaohai remembers clearly that Bluetooth technology only came out around 2000, and he doesn't know what technology this wireless headset uses to connect.

An Xiaohai tried it out and the results were surprisingly good.

"Our boss really went all out this time! Many of these pieces of equipment are things I've never seen before! I just don't understand why the boss is so biased towards you!"

Yan Hong was extremely envious, complaining bitterly to himself, and admiring some of the equipment.

An Xiaohai smiled slightly.

Yan Hong is speaking up for the Security Department. These people, just as Zhou Meng said, have seven or eight hundred ulterior motives!

Just then, An Xiaohai's phone rang. When he picked it up, he saw that it was Zhou Zhengguo calling. An Xiaohai quickly answered the phone.

"Xiao Hai, is it a convenient time for you to talk?"

"It's convenient, please tell me."

"In the last major operation, we arrested quite a few people, and we've now preliminarily completed the first phase of the interrogation, uncovering some information. I'd like to discuss this with you in person, and there are a few other things I'd like to ask you. Would it be convenient for you to meet?"

"Sure, I'm free right now. Is that convenient for you?"

"Is this convenient? Shall we meet at point 2?"

"No, I think we should meet at point 3 first," An Xiaohai said after thinking for a moment.

Duan Chengzhi and Liu Tian are likely at point 2, and An Xiaohai doesn't want to communicate with Zhou Zhengguo in front of them.

"Alright, let's meet at point 3 first. How long will it take you to get there?"

"How about two hours? We'll meet at point 3 in two hours. What do you think?"

"Okay, see you in two hours."