Chapter 26: A Wall

In mid-September, the weather in Dragon City was still somewhat hot. On windless nights, it felt particularly stuffy.

After 8 PM, the brightly lit inner harbor of Zha'nan District was lush with greenery, the beach shimmering with waves. The tourist spots were bustling with people, and stalls selling souvenirs and Chinese snacks were everywhere.

Several old cars stopped at the harbor's boarding area. Bai Hongbo led a large group of people down, laughing and chatting as they boarded a small cruise ship. He instructed the driver: "Go to Joy No. 1."

Dragon City, being coastal and having a special political environment, had many nighttime entertainment venues that had come up with new ideas. For example, there were many flower boats in Zha'nan District's inner harbor, where charming girls provided attentive service. They could accompany guests in singing and drinking, and also enjoy the sea breeze with customers, admiring the night scenery and discussing life.

Of course, today's flower boats were quite different from those of the past. The interior decorations were very modern, and some larger cruise ships even offered services like bathing and saunas. But there were few of this scale in Zha'nan District, as it was still a relatively remote area of Dragon City with a more backward economy, so naturally, the consumption was lower.

Although Bai Hongbo seemed somewhat like a prodigal son, he wasn't some super-rich second generation or tycoon. If you really asked him to entertain guests at Dragon City's best cruise ship, he probably couldn't afford it, and might even have to work as a gigolo for two days to pay it off. So everyone didn't try to take advantage of him, choosing a relatively affordable place to have some fun and enhance their relationships.

......

After boarding Joy No. 1, Su Tianyu's eyes were truly opened. The girls on the cruise ship weren't waiting in work rooms to be chosen, but were wandering freely on the deck. Each deck had cold snacks and free drinks. The girls were listening to music, chatting in groups of three or five, or sitting alone on high stools. If a customer passed by and liked someone, they could just point out their number.

Each session lasted two hours, with fees of either one hundred or two hundred. Boarding required opening a room, with a minimum consumption starting from over five hundred. All in all, for Dragon City's current consumption level, this was definitely not cheap, after all, this was a place to buy pleasure.

"Choose freely, brothers. I'll cover all expenses tonight," Bai Hongbo called out to everyone, pointing at a familiar madam and saying: "Find me a sister with rehabilitation training experience. I've just recovered from my injury and need someone skilled."

"Sure thing, Brother Bai!"

"Such a sweet mouth, come here, let me test your oral temperature," Bai Hongbo beckoned.

"Haha, alright, wait a moment, I'll call someone over first," the madam responded perfunctorily, calling nearby girls to come for selection.

Since they were out to have fun, everyone naturally came with the intention of enjoying themselves. Even someone as reserved as Kong Zhenghui chose an attractive girl, not to mention sociable model youths like Su Tianbei and Su Tianyu.

After everyone had chosen their girls, they went together to a private room on the third deck. They opened the windows, feeling the sea breeze and admiring the dazzling night view of Zha'nan District's inner harbor. Their emotions unconsciously relaxed.

Bai Hongbo was a nightclub gold belt, not only flirtatious but also very good at livening up the atmosphere. After two rounds of small games, everyone was dizzy from drinking, and the girls in the room were dressed more scantily.

Su Tianyu was also having a great time. After all, he was a young man full of energy. Before returning to Dragon City, he had been in the army, living a hard life with little contact with the opposite sex. Now that someone was paying to help him socialize, he naturally had to give face to the host.

In fact, in daily life, Su Tianyu looked very sunny and optimistic, not at all like the wolf cub who could fight Lu Feng to the death.

In the room, glasses were clinking, the atmosphere was joyful, and Bai Hongbo was playing music and frantically swaying his hips while hugging a girl at the door.

Big Brother Su Tiannan's alcohol tolerance was average. After playing for a while, he felt a bit of a headache and chest tightness, so he took his cigarette pack and patted Tianyu's leg: "Come on, accompany me outside for a smoke."

"Oh, okay," Su Tianyu nodded with a smile and followed his big brother out.

Most of the private rooms on the ship had independent doors that opened directly onto the deck, where one could stand by the railing and admire the beautiful night view of the inner harbor.

The two Su brothers walked out together and each lit a cigarette while standing by the railing.

"Hehe, I see you're getting along well with Bai Hongbo," Su Tiannan asked with a smile. "You seem to be adapting well to Dragon City's environment."

"Not really. Although Bai Hongbo looks cunning and acts selfishly, he's actually quite a sincere person," Su Tianyu replied softly. "He's easier to get along with than Kong Zhenghui."

"Yes, he likes your Third Sister," Su Tiannan grinned and replied. "But your Third Sister says he's a worn-out shoe and doesn't bother with him."

"Haha, that's not wrong!"

"Little Yu, you've given a lot of good advice for this family matter," Su Tiannan said, smoking and looking at the sea. "You're more capable of handling things than I thought, and you're also quite bold. Actually... that night after you fired the gun, I was really worried. If this matter was investigated, it would be very troublesome."

Su Tianyu paused before replying: "Do you know why I dared to fire the gun?"

"Why?"

"If Wang Daolin wasn't interested in the dirty gang business, he wouldn't have met with you every time you asked to see him before," Su Tianyu said with a light laugh. "People aren't saints. In this era, how many officials don't love money?"

"That makes sense," Su Tiannan nodded slowly, looking his brother up and down and saying: "Little Six, listen to your brother's advice, stay and work with the family in the future. Your Second Uncle is getting old, and this family business will eventually be managed by us brothers. If we stick together and move forward together, we can have a good future."

"Hehe," Su Tianyu looked at him and smiled.

"...So, will you stay?" Su Tiannan continued to persuade. "Taking the civil service exam, our connections are thin, and you might not achieve much. Look at many employees in various units, in their thirties and forties, earning just a few hundred yuan, unable to move up or down, it's quite miserable."

Su Tianyu slowly rested his arms on the railing, looking down at the surrounding night scenery and said: "Big Brother, let me tell you a story."

"What story?" Su Tiannan asked.

"At 17, my dad sent me to the army. At that time, our family had strong connections, and my personal development plan had already been arranged. I was to transition in the army for a year, and when I was old enough, directly apply for military school, then come out and take a position in a basic-level troop. After a few years, with good luck, I could quickly rise to the position of a school-level staff officer," Su Tianyu said softly. "At that time, I really saw things quite simply."

Su Tiannan listened quietly without interrupting.

Su Tianyu gazed at the sea with deep eyes and continued in a low voice: "There's one thing I remember very clearly. The day after my 17th birthday, I went on a patrol mission with my squad mates as usual. At that time, our unit had coastal defense duties. You also know that after Zone One failed in their war against China, internal political struggles in Zone One became very serious. The Republican Party suppressed the Civil Party, and the covert struggle was intense, which led to the later Independence War. So during that period, many of our coastal units had coastal defense duties."

"Yes, I know," Su Tiannan nodded.

"When I was in that company, I had a very good friend called He Yudong. He was about my age, from Shandong. His family had also fled overseas with Warlord Zhou after the unification war," Su Tiannan narrated softly. "I loved reading books, and so did he. We had similar interests, so we were particularly close. That day, we were on a helicopter carrying out coastal defense duties. It was almost 3 PM, nearly time for shift change, when the battalion command suddenly received a distress call. They said that in waters not far from our patrol area, a cruise ship belonging to Zone One had been shelled by private armed forces from an unplanned area. There were over a thousand people on board, plus cargo, so the battalion command sent us to go rescue first. We had two helicopters, including pilots and co-pilots, twelve people in total."

"Mm," Su Tiannan listened attentively.

"We quickly flew to the cruise ship's position, but from an aerial view, I knew this ship was done for. The stern had suffered catastrophic damage, the ship had no power, and as the stern sank, it had snapped the keel. The entire ship had already split in half," Su Tianyu frowned unconsciously as he reached this point. "The people on board were all calling for help at the bow, the crowd was in an uproar, faces full of despair. When our company commander saw this situation, he knew we couldn't save everyone. The stern was already sinking, there weren't enough lifeboats, and there were no other patrol units nearby. So he immediately reported to the higher-ups, saying there were too many people on board, we couldn't rescue them all, what should we do! But do you know how the higher-ups responded?"

Su Tiannan shook his head.

"The higher-ups immediately drafted a list, telling the company commander to rescue according to the list. I saw that list, it had less than forty people, almost all Zone One Chinese military officers or rich merchants," Su Tianyu paused, then continued looking down. "As soldiers, we had to obey orders. Whatever the company commander told us to do, we had to do it. So we immediately used winches to lower onto the ship, secured the bow position, and let the people on the list board the helicopters first. But when we did this, the ordinary workers, civilians, and staff on board all became upset. They frantically questioned us, why weren't we taking them too? Even if the helicopters couldn't fit that many people, why not let the elderly, women, and children go first? The company commander couldn't give an explanation, he could only fire warning shots. But at that point, people were in a desperate situation, how could they fear guns? Over a hundred people, in a fit of rage, knocked down two of our soldiers."

Su Tiannan also frowned upon hearing this.

"The company commander had no choice but to ask for instructions from above again. But the higher-ups said to let us soldiers stay on the ship to maintain order, wait for subsequent rescue, and give the vacated spots to the elderly, women, and children on board... to appease the civilians!" Su Tianyu lowered his head and said through gritted teeth. "I was quite scared at that time. I was very afraid the company commander would leave me behind too. But after he assigned the tasks, he told me privately to board the helicopter first and not worry about what happened after. I was very happy and was about to grab the winch rope to board the helicopter when... my best friend He Yudong grabbed my wrist. He... he asked me... if staying behind meant death, right? He asked me to plead with the company commander on his behalf, to take him on the helicopter too... but I was already scared out of my wits. I was very afraid that if I didn't leave now, I wouldn't be able to go up at all."

"Then what happened?" Su Tiannan asked.

"Then I boarded the helicopter, watching He Yudong stare at me with very desperate eyes. As the helicopter flew away, I watched that cruise ship sinking at a visible speed," Su Tianyu turned his head, his eyes slightly red as he held up a finger. "Out of over a thousand people, those on the list had a 100% survival rate, while ordinary civilians had about a 1% survival rate. My friend He Yudong, who loved studying so much, in the end, not even his body was found. In the end, this matter was suppressed by the higher-ups and was never exposed in the media."

Su Tiannan took a deep drag on his cigarette.

"We were all soldiers, so why could I leave?" Su Tianyu raised his arm, pointing to the horizon where the sea met the sky. "Because my father was a senior colonel staff officer in that army, while He Yudong was just the child of an ordinary soldier. I had a very good relationship with him, extremely good, but there was an invisible wall between us. Big Brother, what do you think that wall was?"

Su Tiannan already understood what Su Tianyu wanted to say.

"It's class, it's social strata!" Su Tianyu squinted his eyes, looking at the rolling waves of the sea under the influence of alcohol. "In an era like this, full of opportunities, ordinary people might have that tiny chance to break through that wall, but clearly not through the dirty gang. Big Brother, I'm different from you. I can't get over my father's matter... so I have to think of every possible way to stand up again! Not to let myself down, and not to let this era down. My future is not in this family business, and I believe it's the same for you, right?"

......

Late at night, Wang Daolin's car stopped at the entrance of the Su family compound. The lean old man who had beaten up Floral Shirt in the detention center strode into the compound, shouting: "I'm back! Where are those little brats?!"

Third Sister came out to greet him and immediately tattled: "They've all gone out to paint the town red."

"Damn!" The old man cursed loudly with a single word.