Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

Walking into the alley and turning a corner, the alley entrance came into view. The alley was dark, but the streetlights at the entrance were bright. Looking from inside the alley, the people standing at the entrance became silhouettes.

The slightly chubby man was Tang Xiaobo, who was smoking. His bicycle was parked not far behind him, and Wang Bulai and others were sitting opposite him.

Wang Bulai, with his hands in his pockets and head down, slowly turned around. Peng Li squatted by the roadside, and Xie Dan leaned against a utility pole.

Seeing a group of people slowly approaching from the alley, Tang Xiaobo was slightly taken aback. He took two deep drags on his cigarette and then threw the cigarette butt on the roadside. Wang Bulai and the others stopped what they were doing and slowly stood up.

An Xiaohai and the others walked closer and closer, finally stepping into the light emitted by the streetlights.

An Xiaohai then noticed that a lot of people had gathered on the street, but they were scattered and not all crowded near the alley entrance.

An Xiaohai looked across the street, where Mai Xiaoyu, leaning against her motorcycle, gave him a safe signal.

Wang Bulai and the others wanted to come forward, but An Xiaohai stopped them with a look. Yeren and Acha let go of their support, and An Xiaohai slowly walked towards Tang Xiaobo alone.

The atmosphere was slightly tense.

Tang Xiaobo seemed very different today than usual. An Xiaohai thought for a moment before realizing that it was because of Tang Xiaobo's expression.

In the past, Tang Xiaobo always had a furrowed brow and a bitter and resentful look, but today, Tang Xiaobo's brows were completely relaxed, making him look no different from an ordinary middle-aged man around 40 years old.

"Here you are." Tang Xiaobo said abruptly as An Xiaohai approached.

An Xiaohai nodded, wanting to smile at him, but couldn't manage a smile. After hearing Doctor Yu's story, An Xiaohai's anger had reached an uncontrollable level.

"Are you... alright?"

An Xiaohai nodded again.

"I...sigh..." Tang Xiaobo sighed softly, fumbled in his pocket and took out a small stack of money, handing it to An Xiaohai: "Thank you. I didn't know how I could help, so I took out some money for you to use on your way."

I know you're not short of money, but I can't think of anything else. It's always good to carry extra cash with you when you're out and about. This isn't for investigation expenses, it's just... sigh, please accept it.

An Xiaohai suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

That's how the world is. Just when you're about to completely despair, there are always people who suddenly appear and bring you a glimmer of warmth and a ray of hope.

An Xiaohai didn't react. Tang Xiaobo was embarrassed, holding the money. Just as he was wondering what to do, An Xiaohai suddenly smiled and took the money.

"Team Leader Tang is so understanding! Whew!" An Xiaohai let out a long sigh of relief.

"Director Xu kept trying to trick me into joining, saying that our benefits were great, and I actually believed him. I eagerly waited for the subsidies to be paid, but in the end, the monthly subsidies were pitifully small. I can't even do anything reckless after receiving these subsidies. It's a huge loss!"

Thank you, Captain Tang, you've been a huge help.

"Hehe!" Tang Xiaobo chuckled, finally letting out a sigh of relief. "I'm leaving. I... this isn't right. Take care, thank you!"

"You're welcome. I'm the one who should thank you. Take care of yourself too."

Tang Xiaobo left, pushing his old bicycle away. In the light of the streetlights, his steps seemed light and cheerful.

He roughly scanned the banknotes in his hand; it was about 700 yuan, brand new 700 yuan. An Xiaohai took a deep breath and put the money in his pocket.

At this moment, Wang Bulai and the others tried to come over again, but An Xiaohai stopped them with a look. An Xiaohai originally wanted Yeren and Acha to help him into the car, but Mai Xiaoyu suddenly drove up on his motorcycle.

"What happened?" An Xiaohai asked, frowning.

Mai Xiaoyu opened her motorcycle helmet a crack: "I just received a message from the boss. We now have five Caos members' bodies. The boss's meaning is..."

Mai Xiaoyu explained 073's idea to An Xiaohai, who raised his eyebrows slightly after listening.

"What do you think?" Mai Xiaoyu asked, staring into An Xiaohai's eyes.

"I think it's alright."

"What do you mean by 'okay'?"

"It's alright" means it's barely acceptable, so-so.

"That's barely acceptable! Leaving them all to rot in the streets is already going too far! You have no idea what the secretary's expression was like when the boss brought this up!"

"I think, since we've already gone too far, we might as well go even further. Either don't do it at all, or go all the way. If we do it halfway, we won't be satisfied, and he definitely won't be happy either."

"So what do you mean?"

"What I mean is this..." An Xiaohai approached Mai Xiaoyu and told her his idea. Mai Xiaoyu was speechless for a long time after listening, her big eyes wide open.

"I think the first people to go crazy because of what you've done is not him, but the Party Secretary and Mayor Li."

"I don't think so!" An Xiaohai shook his head: "The Party Secretary and the Mayor are both seasoned veterans. What storms haven't they weathered? Besides, it's the enemy who died. They won't be unable to bear it."

Are you sure?

"certainly."

"That's settled then, hehe! But let's make this clear first, it was your idea, you insisted on doing it this way!"

"Yes, it's my idea, just put it on my head."

"Alright! I'll get on with it! Haha!"

Mai Xiaoyu drove off on her motorcycle in high spirits, looking like she was eager to stir up trouble.

An Xiaohai looked around at the crowd gathered on the street. There were no fewer than 100 people gathered there. No one was making a fuss; everyone was quietly watching him.

With the help of Yeren and Acha, An Xiaohai got into the car. He felt a little dizzy and leaned back in his seat for a while before he recovered. Dr. Yu was arranged to sit in another car.

An Xiaohai looked out of the car door. Wang Bulai and the others were still standing there, looking at him pitifully without moving.

Seeing An Xiaohai looking at them, Wang Bulai extended his right hand as if holding a cup, then slowly raised his right hand above his head.

"Brother, take care on your journey!" Wang Bulai shouted, and in an instant, everyone on the street raised their right hands just like him.

An Xiaohai smiled slightly and waved to them from inside the car.

The car doors closed, the car started, and headed west along the main road. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the convoy until it disappeared into the distance.

"Xie Dan!" Wang Bulai couldn't help but call out.

As soon as the convoy drove away, Xie Dan turned and left without a word, not even saying goodbye.

"It's okay, Alai, don't worry!" Peng Li nudged Wang Bulai with his shoulder. "Didn't you realize that Xie Dan was putting on an act? He's more heartbroken than anyone else that the boss is gone."

"Do you know why he acts?" Wang Bulai asked, frowning.

"It must have been the boss who made him do this! The boss must have given him some special mission. Don't you know Xie Dan?" Peng Li lit a cigarette and said leisurely.

"Special mission... No wonder you've been acting all mysterious lately. Tell me, did the boss give you some kind of special mission?"

"Hehe! There used to be, but not anymore. Doctor Yu went with the boss. Sigh..." Peng Li took a deep drag on his cigarette and sighed.

An Xiaohai's convoy was heading west and was about to leave the Baoshan District when something suddenly dangled from the overpass not far ahead, startling the driver so much that he immediately slammed on the brakes.

The convoy slowly came to a stop, and everyone finally saw clearly that five corpses were hanging from the overpass. Each corpse had a piece of white paper pasted on its chest, and on each piece of paper was written a large, bloody character:

I'm waiting for you.

The lights under the overpass were dim, and five corpses hung there swaying slightly. Just looking at them made one's hair stand on end!

"Stop looking, let's go, leave quickly," An Xiaohai said softly before slowly closing his eyes.

"Oh," the savage responded, patting the driver beside him.

The convoy moved again and soon disappeared at the end of the road.

------

boom!

The ashtray slammed heavily onto the floor-to-ceiling glass. The glass didn't shatter completely, but cracks covered the entire pane, resembling a spider web.

The dazzling world outside the window is also fragmented by these cracks.

An Zhehao stood in the center of the office, his chest heaving violently, his pupils seemingly burning with flames.

"An Xiaohai!"

After a long while, An Zhehao squeezed out three words through gritted teeth.