Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

"It was a great battle, a real great battle. I took 10 policemen with me to that battle, making a total of 11 people, but in the end, only three of us survived."

"Is that the battle on Caodian Mountain?" Zhou Zhengguo asked.

"Yes, that cave on Caodian Mountain was the most important drug transit point for the Sea Hawks, who were responsible for maritime transportation."

The man told me that the Sea Hawk, who was in charge of maritime transport, would be there that night. Most of his men would be smuggling drugs out, and the Sea Hawk would only have three to five people with him at most, making it the best time to strike. He told me to find an opportunity to take him down.

I didn't think much about it at the time, only that it wouldn't be too difficult for three or five people to pack it up, so I only brought 10 people with me.

But once the fight started, I realized something was wrong. There were definitely more than three or five people on the other side; there were at least thirty or fifty!

We weren't the only ones involved in the attack. That night, at least three or four other groups participated. At first, everyone could distinguish friend from foe, but as the fighting went on, it turned into a complete mess.

The more I fought, the more I felt something was wrong, so I tried to lead my men out, but it was too late; we were all trapped on the mountain.

Watching my colleagues fall one by one, I thought it was all over, that I might die here today. But I wasn't afraid; it was a kind of relief.

If I had died on the mountain that day, I might have been a hero, haha!

But as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. The armed police arrived, and a large number of them almost surrounded the entire Caodian Mountain. They were truly armed police; they managed to disperse everyone on the mountain in less than half an hour, and I was lucky enough to be rescued by them.

However, I paid a heavy price that day. I was shot twice, once in the liver and once through the lung.

Zhou Zhengguo, I remember you were the one who drove me to the hospital. You kept calling my name the whole way, afraid that I would fall asleep and never wake up again.

Do you remember what happened back then? I remember it, I remember it very clearly.

I could feel that you really cared about me. I was even thinking that you might deliberately drive slower so that I might bleed to death and no one could compete with you for the director's position.

I was wrong. You always say safety first and drive like a woman, but that night you drove like a madwoman.

Honestly, I'm very touched, thank you!

If it weren't for you, I might have died that night.

After two days of emergency treatment, my life was saved. You were all terrified, fearing that I would be retaliated against by criminals, so you sent a lot of people to guard my ward 24 hours a day.

They stayed there for three whole months.

Actually, my injury wasn't that serious. The reason my condition kept recurring and my wounds kept reopening was mostly due to my own actions.

I'm scared!

I lay in bed, feeling more and more frightened as I thought about it. I had a feeling that this internal conflict was not as simple as it seemed on the surface, but rather something that person had deliberately caused.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that he did it on purpose, and his purpose was very simple.

The Waterbird Gang had grown out of control by then. If it continued to develop like this, it would be hard not to attract the attention of the higher-ups. Once the higher-ups noticed and took action to wipe them out, the Waterbird Gang would be completely finished.

I feel like I've earned enough and don't want to do it anymore. Can't that other person have the same thought?

But this is a pirate ship, a road of no return. No matter who is on board, there is no turning back, including that person.

If he said he didn't want to work anymore, there would probably be no shortage of people who wanted him dead.

"Who would want his life? Even you don't know who he is. Even if you wanted his life, you couldn't take it!" Wang Tiejun asked, his emotions having mostly calmed down by now.

"Tiejun, everyone says you're single-minded, and they're absolutely right."

The people who want him dead aren't necessarily his subordinates!

I've already said it: pawns! We are all pawns!

Is there no one else above that person? Is he necessarily the one playing chess?

Not necessarily!

Perhaps he was just a pawn, only a more advanced one!

This world is far more complex than you imagine! We are all just pawns, and people like us will never know who the real player is. Haha!

While I was recovering from my injuries, I became increasingly suspicious that the great battle was a cleanup operation orchestrated by that person, who wanted everyone to die.

We sea hawks have lived long enough, we've all gotten fat, and we're becoming increasingly difficult to control.

Furthermore, those in power fear that the Waterbird Gang will grow unchecked and eventually become uncontrollable, so it's time to purge a group of members.

Thus began this large-scale infighting.

Yes, only the dead can truly keep secrets. Once all of us are dead, they can naturally live carefree and happy.

Let's not talk about these things anymore; these are all just my guesses, and I have no evidence.

That time, I fell seriously ill and stayed in the hospital for almost a year, as you all know.

From that time on, I didn't dare let Amei come over to keep me company so often.

Fortunately, the Hong Kong guy I contacted was someone I knew personally, and had nothing to do with the Waterbird Gang. I don't think they knew that Ah Mei and I were still in frequent contact.

After that battle, the Waterbird Gang was severely weakened, all its activities ceased, and it truly fell into obscurity.

During that period, Zhou Zhengguo became the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau, and later the director. As for me, I always used poor health as an excuse to take leave from work and stay at home all year round, living each day in fear and trembling.

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

In these three years, Shenhai City has developed rapidly, changing almost every day. The people in the Public Security Bureau have also changed several times. Wang Tiejun, weren't you transferred to the bureau around that time?

I thought these peaceful days would continue. I planned to endure a few more days, then retire early on the grounds of injury, and go find Amei and my son to live a simple and ordinary life.

But I still can't escape it, I just can't escape it!

In early 1986, that person came looking for me again. It was then that I realized that the Waterbird Gang had not completely disappeared. They were still active in the shadows of Deepsea City, just under a different guise.

It was only then that I realized I was only one step away from complete liberation!

After the massive purge in 82, almost all the drug traffickers in Haidong Province were wiped out. The man then rebuilt a drug trafficking network, starting everything from scratch.

Although the Waterbird Gang's overall income decreased significantly in those years, most of the old members had died, and the new members didn't have much of an appetite, so it was much easier to support them. In the end, the losses weren't that great.

I had already been abandoned.

Firstly, I've been ill, so my usefulness has diminished considerably. Secondly, they believe I pose no threat to them, so they genuinely intend to let me go.

But who knew that fate would play such a cruel trick!

Wang Tiejun, this is all thanks to you! Who told you to crack down on their drug trafficking network like a madman, forcing them to come to me again!

And you, Zhou Zhengguo! You're already a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, why don't you just focus on your career? Why do you keep harping on us?! You've dragged me down with you, I'm truly speechless!

Wang Tiejun, do you even know that if it weren't for me, you would be dead long ago! You don't even know how much you've done for us!

Do you remember in 87, when you shot and killed a drug dealer in Baoshan District, only to find out later that he was actually a policeman?

"Are you referring to the case on Baoshan Second Road?"

"Yes, that was the time. Didn't your report say that the policeman was a corrupt cop who tipped off drug dealers?"

He's a corrupt cop, but his identity is far more important than you think!

He was the third-generation Sea Hawk trained by that person, the one who was supposed to succeed me! But you killed him without hesitation with a single shot!

Fools are lucky! It's unbelievable!

"Wang Tiejun, don't look at me like that. You think you're so smart and capable? If it weren't for the fact that Zhou Zhengguo, that old fox, would personally take over the anti-drug team, you'd be dead already!"