Ss 1 Part1

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Zhao Zixun hadn’t always been a smoker.

When he had just graduated from the police academy, he was full of energy and fighting spirit. Later, he was enlisted into the highly coveted Criminal Investigations Department and he became even more eager to get in on the action. He vowed to fight evil and make a name for himself.

In the past, he would see those heroes from the action movies narrowly escaping huge explosions with their figures backlit by flames, walking serenely out of the ashes as if they were taking a stroll through the park. He envied and admired them, dreaming that he too, would one day infiltrate into an enemy’s headquarters, destroy a criminal syndicate, and vacate from the chaos completely unscathed.

In those days, his world was black and white. He had a set of principles, and he insisted on sticking by them to the end.

However, those days were long gone.

After years of working undercover and cracking various underground organizations, he gradually realized that it was impossible to walk out fully intact.

He took a deep drag of his cigarette while perched on top of the safety-rail of a small two-story building. He looked down at the drunken celebration below; empty beer bottles littered the streets.

The haven was enclosed within a dense tropical rain forest. This was a certain location belonging to the Southeast Asian division of the Golden Triangle Organization. Many Chinese and Southeast Asians gathered here. It was a den for the production, concealment, and transfer of several illegal drugs. Over its many years of operation, immeasurable batches of methamphetamines and heroin passed through this place. From here it would cross the border into the mainland where it would be turned over and distributed to people from all walks of life.

“Brother Long,” he greeted the shorter man who had just stepped out of the building. The man wore a gold chain around his neck and had a flower tattoo on one arm. Although he was on the shorter side, he had a sturdy build. His limbs may look thin, but he could easily overpower a man much bigger than himself by relying on technique and experience.

A taller female stood next to him. She was of mixed Southeast Asian descent, thin and beautiful, but her expression contained a trace of fear.

“Hey kid, you’re the most reliable one here. Look at those bastards down there, all drunk as a skunk. They don’t even know who they are anymore, much less what they need to be doing. If the fuzz comes knocking down the door tonight, these hooligans would be flat on their stomachs before they even realize what’s happening. They would only be able to surrender themselves.” Brother Long pulled the woman closer and grabbed her ass. The woman’s face contorted in panic, but she dared not resist.

Zhao Zixun swept his gaze over the female. She was very young and had a pure temperament. She couldn’t have graduated middle school yet.

Not long after she was abducted, Brother Long took a liking to her and temporarily made her his woman.

“Brother Long is exaggerating.”

“Kid, in these past few years, you’ve followed me through life and death tribulations and never asked for anything in return; not a wife or child. I have really treated you badly,” Brother Long’s attitude was full of self-reproach. The chain around his neck jangled uncontrollably.

“I don’t need any of those things. When I was at my lowest, trampled and looked down upon by everyone, it was Brother Long who saved me, gave me money and status. Since then, I have vowed to remain loyal to Brother Long for the rest of my life,” Zhao Zixun bent at the waist and made a deep bow with his right hand clenched in a fist over his heart.

Brother Long gave a satisfied nod. He squeezed the hand that was still on the girl’s ass and pushed her into Zhao Zixun’s arms. “Kid, you’ve been working too hard these days. You haven’t touched a woman in a long time, right? She’s yours for tonight. Get a room and enjoy it, eh?”

Zhao Zixun hugged the woman who had suddenly fallen into his arms and began to caress her body.

“Thank you, Brother Long, for the reward!”

After entering a room, he stripped the terrorized girl and hovered above her. However, his body never broke into hers.

For the entire night, they cohabited uneventfully. The girl thanked him wholeheartedly while wiping away tears of gratitude. Zhao Zixun kept on smoking the entire time and warned her not to tell Brother Long that he didn’t touch her.

The next day, she returned to Brother Long.

On the third day, she became the communal plaything of all the men in the small building— to be passed around and raped. For some unknown reason, Brother Long suddenly abandoned her and threw her to a group of desperate bottom-feeders who had been doing nothing but completing tasks for a long time.

Zhao Zixun didn’t understand it, but he knew, he couldn’t possibly understand everything along his path. He could only guess, do, and evade based on his own instincts.

Until the power within his hands gradually dissipated…

Then one day, he was drugged. Brother Long put his foot on his throat and showed him a triumphant smile.

“Hmph! I had a feeling, that night when you didn’t touch her. You were a mole from the other side all along.”

The feeling of encroaching death paralyzed him.

The girl who had fallen from grace stood to the side. She had a stony face, with no other emotions expressed in her countenance.

Zhao Zixun couldn’t speak. He knew he would die here tonight.

But unexpectedly, he didn’t die. The girl suddenly pulled out a gun and shot Brother Long in the crotch and in the head. Her marksmanship was really poor and Brother Long didn’t die immediately. The moment the guards around the facility gathered, Zhao Zixun jumped into action. He restrained Brother Long, holding him hostage as he fled from the devil’s den.

He was unable to take the girl with him. Based on Brother Long’s methods, she would have her hands and feet cut off, eyes gouged out, and become a living doll. It was a fate worse than death.

This was his third assignment. He had infiltrated the cave of human-traffickers and even the base of a terrorist group dealing in illegal arms. This was his first failure— an unforgettable, bone-crushing failure. Before this incident, he had always believed himself to be strong and invincible. He could easily walk the line between black and white without deviating from his principles. He could easily conquer any task with perfection…

After this incident, he trudged through many more dark corners. He gradually came to realize that there was no unbreakable principle, that all rules within society were just mutual agreements between people out of a sense of morality. Those who follow the rules are not particularly noble, and those who violate the rules are not necessarily contemptible.

In those dark corners, even if he followed his principles, the world will still come crashing down; and even if he violated his principles, the world will still rise again.

In this way, his worldview slowly became more and more distorted.