Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

When I woke up, it was already bright outside, and the sound of the waves outside the cave was exceptionally gentle.

To avoid being forcibly dragged out of bed by Chen Shuifen, An Xiaohai went to sleep in Pan Zhuangzhuang's cave, where he slept for a full 12 hours, feeling extremely satisfied.

An Xiaohai stretched, his bones cracking all over, which was supposedly a sign that he was still growing.

Pan Zhuangzhuang was nowhere to be seen. The seafood soup rice he had left for An Xiaohai was still slightly warm. An Xiaohai didn't bother to reheat it. After a quick wash, he sat at the cave entrance, holding the bowl, and began to eat while looking out at the sea.

Pan Zhuangzhuang must have found a good home. When he uttered the code name 073 that day, An Xiaohai already understood that Pan Zhuangzhuang had become one of 073's people.

Pan Zhuangzhuang used this method to tell An Xiaohai the news. An Xiaohai was certain that no matter what kind of person Pan Zhuangzhuang became, he would always be his good brother.

An invisible typhoon has swept through Deepsea City. What kind of waves it will create remains to be seen.

"It's time to take a break. I haven't spent time with Xuan'er in a long time. Let's spend these few days with her and let her relax..."

Thinking of Lin Xuan'er, An Xiaohai's lips curled into a smile.

------

Shenhai City Public Security Bureau

The police station was a hive of activity.

Putting aside the fact that such heinous crimes occurred in the Shuitian Building, the Yulong Wanghai Villa area, and on the road below the Yulong Wanghai Villa area, the number of people arrested on the street that night alone would keep the police busy for quite some time.

No one expected that these people who were wandering the streets late at night and clashing with the police were not ordinary people at all!

When the officers returned and checked the information, they were all shocked.

Among those who were brought back were many long-time wanted criminals! It's truly unexpected that these people were caught in such a bizarre way this time.

This is simply unbelievable!

But besides surprise and unexpectedness, the officers were mostly excited.

With so many criminals arrested at the same time, even if the cases in the Shui Tian Building and Yu Long Wang Hai Villa District remain unsolved, they probably won't be criticized much.

In reality, most of the police officers were not too worried about the outcome of these heinous cases, since the armed police and even some mysterious departments were involved in the whole process.

Even if the sky falls, someone tall will hold it up!

After working overtime for several days in a row, the officers were exhausted. But to everyone's surprise, this year's year-end bonus was paid out early, and not only that, the amount was also quite staggering!

4000 yuan! A year-end bonus of 4000 yuan! It's just a year-end bonus, not including salary!

Suddenly, all the officers' exhaustion vanished, and they were all back to work with renewed vigor, much to the dismay of the criminals who had been caught.

"Director Lu, do you have any more of these thermos cups? I think these cups are really nice, and I'd like to get one for my son too!" Sister Gui stopped Lu Guoliang and asked.

Lu Guoliang, Deputy Director of the Shenhai Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The Shenhai Municipal Public Security Bureau has two deputy directors: Tong Dapeng and Lu Guoliang. Both of them have a very low profile.

Tong Dapeng has always been Zhou Zhengguo's partner; he is like Zhou Zhengguo's shadow.

Lu Guoliang, on the other hand, was getting old and about to retire. In addition, he had suffered a serious injury in his early years and had not been involved in much work. He was mainly responsible for logistics in the Public Security Bureau.

He was in charge of all the welfare benefits at the Public Security Bureau. In addition to the bonuses, the benefits distributed this time were also very generous. Besides the daily necessities that everyone usually had, each person also received a thermos cup.

The thermos is made of stainless steel and comes from a reputable brand. It not only has excellent heat retention but also looks great.

Logistics staff usually prepare several extra welfare items in case of emergencies. Sister Gui is a veteran of the Public Security Bureau, and seeing that this thermos cup was nice, she wanted to ask Lu Guoliang for an extra one.

"Sister Gui, I do have these thermos cups, but they're not cheap, they cost several tens of yuan each. I wouldn't dare give them to you so easily."

"Oh my, that's several tens of yuan! That's really expensive. Never mind, I was thinking of buying it for you myself, but who knew it was so pricey. Never mind!"

Sister Gui quickly ran away. It's one thing to be lenient about something that costs a few dollars, but something that costs tens of dollars would break the rules. It's not worth ruining one's reputation for something as cheap as a thermos.

Lu Guoliang shook his head and smiled bitterly, then gently knocked on the door of Zhou Zhengguo's office.

"Come in," Zhou Zhengguo's voice came out, sounding like he was in a good mood.

"Old Lu, come, come, have a seat!" Zhou Zhengguo warmly invited Lu Guoliang to sit down.

"Director Zhou, I can't sit down now. I still have work to finish. Here, this is a thermos I specially saved for you. It's the biggest one. Don't you love drinking tea? I got one especially for you, haha."

Lu Guoliang placed the thermos he was holding on Zhou Zhengguo's table.

"Wow, what a nice thermos...and a brand name one!" Zhou Zhengguo chuckled as he unpacked the thermos and admired it.

"Yes, the bureau allocated sufficient funds this time. I noticed that everyone's cups were quite old, and some colleagues were still using glass bottles and jars, which is not very safe. So I took the liberty of replacing everyone's cups with brand-name insulated cups."

"Good job, you should do it. Everyone is under a lot of pressure, so it's important to be able to have a sip of hot water anytime. Lao Lu, you did a good job."

Zhou Zhengguo held the new thermos cup, looking at it from left to right, clearly delighted with it.

"Director Zhou, how about we make a cup and try it?" Lu Guoliang asked tentatively.

"Okay, let me make you a cup and try it!" Zhou Zhengguo washed the thermos, brewed a cup of tea, took a sip, and smacked his lips. "Not bad, tea brewed from a brand-name product tastes different, haha!"

"Hahaha..." Lu Guoliang also laughed heartily, "If Director Zhou likes it, that's good. Your old thermos is so broken it's beyond repair, I'll take care of it for you."

"Oh no! It's not broken yet, it still works, it's such a waste to throw it away!"

"Director Zhou, look at you! This is exactly what you're like! Your old thermos cup has been broken for a long time and should have been thrown away, but you just can't bear to part with it."

Now that I have a new thermos, I still can't bear to throw it away. What's wrong? Do I have to let the new thermos become old before I'll even use it? Isn't that a waste?!

"Haha, Lao Lu is right! Sigh... People of our generation have all suffered. We can't bear to throw away anything we don't need until it's completely unusable."

We can wear the same clothes for ten or twenty years, unlike young people these days who have one new outfit after another; it's heartbreaking to see them like that.

"Director Zhou, times have changed. If everyone is as stingy as you, who will consume all the products produced by the factories? How will the economy develop?"

Don't be reluctant to part with it. Replace it when it's worn out, and throw away what needs to be thrown away.

"You're right. I've been learning about that lately too. Consumption is what drives the economy. You're absolutely right. How about we splurge a little today and use something new, discarding the old one? Hahaha."

"That's more like it. Alright, Director Zhou, I'll get rid of your old thermos for you!" Lu Guoliang said as he picked up Zhou Zhengguo's old thermos.

"Okay, thank you."

"Then I'm going to work."

"Go ahead, you've worked hard. Your health isn't very good, and you're not young anymore. You should take it easy and not keep working overtime with these young people. You should rest more."

"Thank you for your concern, Director Zhou. Okay, I'll go now."

Lu Guoliang took Zhou Zhengguo's old thermos cup, gently closed the door, and left.

Zhou Zhengguo's smile gradually froze. He placed the new thermos on the table and tapped his knuckles rhythmically on the surface.

-----

At 9 p.m., the police station was still brightly lit.

"Director Lu, you're back!" the gatekeeper greeted Lu Guoliang.

Lu Guoliang nodded with a smile and replied, "Yes, I'm getting old and can't keep up with you young people anymore. I can only go back and rest. If I stay here, you'll have to take care of me. I won't cause you any more trouble here, haha."

"How can you say that? Without an experienced policeman like you watching over them, who knows what kind of trouble these kids would have caused! It's getting late, you should head home now and be careful on the road."

"Okay, see you tomorrow."

"goodbye."

Lu Guoliang slowly rode away on his old, dilapidated bicycle, with several old thermos cups still in the front basket.

The old thermos cups rattled together as the bicycle bumped along, making a soft tinkling sound.

Watching Lu Guoliang walk away, Zhou Zhengguo lowered the office curtains and picked up his phone from the table.

"Tiejun, how did the meeting go?"

"Not bad, I'm planning to come back now."

"Okay, come back as soon as you can. A lot has happened these past few days, the bureau is quite busy... By the way, I asked you to visit some old comrades for me, did you go?"

"Not yet, but I'm all ready to go."

"Okay, let's go there before we come back. I reckon he'll be home soon."

"Okay! Don't worry, Director Zhou!" Wang Tiejun said and hung up the phone.