A wall

In mid-September, the weather in Dragon City was still hot. On nights without a breeze, the air felt stifling.

After eight that evening, the brightly lit inner harbor of Zhannan District was lush with greenery, its beaches shimmering. The tourist attractions bustled with people, and stalls selling souvenirs and Chinese snacks were everywhere.

Several battered cars stopped at the boarding point. Bai Hongbo climbed out with a large group, and they laughed and chatted as they boarded a small cruise boat. He told the pilot, "Take us to Treasure Music One."

Dragon City stood by the sea and had a unique political environment, so many nightlife venues had come up with new gimmicks. Zhannan District's inner harbor, for example, had plenty of pleasure boats staffed by charming women who provided attentive service. They could sing and drink with their guests, enjoy the sea breeze and nighttime scenery with them, and chat about life.

Of course, these pleasure boats were nothing like those of the past. Their interiors and facilities were thoroughly modern, and some larger cruise ships even offered baths and saunas. Few operations in Zhannan District reached that scale, though. It was still one of Dragon City's more outlying, economically backward districts, so prices were naturally a little lower.

Although Bai Hongbo acted something like a spendthrift, he was no fabulously rich heir or big spender. If they actually made him treat everyone aboard Longkou's finest cruise ship, he probably couldn't afford it. He might even have to spend a couple of days working as a gigolo to pay off the bill. So nobody tried to bleed him dry. They chose somewhere relatively affordable to have some fun and build their friendship.

After everyone boarded Treasure Music One, Su Tianyu really had his eyes opened. The women aboard didn't sit in a staff room waiting to be chosen; they wandered around the decks freely. Every deck offered cold snacks and complimentary drinks. The women listened to music, chatted in small groups, or sat alone on tall stools. Guests passing by only had to request the number of any woman who caught their eye.

Each booking lasted two hours, with companionship fees of either one hundred or two hundred. Guests had to book a private room upon boarding, with minimum spending starting at over five hundred. All in all, that certainly wasn't cheap by Dragon City's current standards, but this was a place where people paid for pleasure, after all.

"Pick whoever you like, brothers. Everything tonight is on me." Bai Hongbo called out to everyone, then pointed at a madam he knew. "Find me a girl with experience in rehabilitation exercises. I've only just fucking recovered from my injury. I need someone with skills."

"Coming right up, Brother Bai!"

"What a sweet little mouth. Come here and let me check its temperature." Bai Hongbo crooked a finger.

"Haha, sure. Give me a minute. I'll get the girls over first." The madam humored him with a hollow show of enthusiasm and called the nearby women over to be chosen.

Since they were out to have fun, everyone had come ready to enjoy themselves. Even a quiet fellow like Kong Zhenghui picked an alluring girl, never mind upstanding young men who loved socializing like Su Tianbei and Su Tianyu.

Once everyone had chosen a girl, they went together into a private room on the third deck. They opened the windows, let the sea breeze wash over them, and gazed at the dazzling nighttime lights of Zhannan District's inner harbor. Without realizing it, they relaxed.

Bai Hongbo was a nightlife champion. Not only was he outrageous, he also knew how to get everyone going. After two rounds of party games, everyone was feeling tipsy, and the girls in the room were wearing considerably less.

Su Tianyu was having a great time, too. He was an energetic young man, after all. Before returning to Dragon City, he had spent all his time at District One Special Academy, where life was hard and he barely had any contact with women. Now that someone else was paying for him to socialize, he naturally had to do his host justice.

In everyday life, Su Tianyu actually seemed cheerful and optimistic, nothing like the young wolf who could go toe-to-toe with someone like Lu Feng in a bloody fight.

Drinks flowed around the room amid a merry atmosphere. With music playing, Bai Hongbo was already holding a girl by the doorway and wildly swiveling his hips.

Their eldest brother, Su Tiannan, wasn't much of a drinker. After joining in for a while, he felt a slight headache and tightness in his chest. He picked up his cigarette pack and patted Tianyu's leg. "Come on. Have a smoke outside with me."

"Oh, sure." Su Tianyu nodded with a smile and followed his eldest brother out.

Most of the private rooms aboard had their own doors opening directly onto the deck, where guests could stand beside the railing and admire the beautiful nighttime harbor.

The two Su brothers came outside together and each lit a cigarette by the railing.

"Heh, you seem to get along pretty well with Bai Hongbo," Su Tiannan said with a smile. "Looks like you're settling into Dragon City nicely."

"Not really. Bai Hongbo might seem crafty and selfish, but he's actually pretty genuine," Su Tianyu replied quietly. "He's easier to get close to than Kong Zhenghui."

"Yeah, he likes your third sister," Su Tiannan replied with a grin. "But she says he's damaged goods and can't be bothered with him."

"Haha, she's not wrong!"

"Tianyu, you came up with a lot of ideas to help the family this time." Smoking as he looked out over the sea, Su Tiannan said, "You can shoulder more than I expected, and you've got guts, too. Honestly... thinking back to those gunshots at the restaurant that night still scares me. If anyone found out what happened, we'd be in serious trouble."

Su Tianyu paused before replying, "Do you know why I dared to do it?"

"Why?"

"If Wang Daolin weren't interested in the Sanitation Sector business, he wouldn't have come out to meet you every time I asked you to invite him." Su Tianyu chuckled. "Nobody's a saint. In these chaotic times, how many people don't love money?"

"That makes sense." Su Tiannan nodded slowly, sizing up his younger brother. "Six, listen to your brother. Stay and work with the family. Your second uncle's getting old. Sooner or later, we brothers will have to run this business. If we stick together and keep moving forward, we can build a good life."

"Heh." Su Tianyu looked at him and smiled.

"...Well? Stay, won't you?" Su Tiannan continued persuading him. "We don't have strong enough connections for you to get far in public service, even if you pass the exam. Look at all those employees in their thirties and forties, earning a few hundred a month. They can't move up, and they can't bring themselves to leave. It's a miserable situation."

Su Tianyu slowly rested his forearms on the railing and looked down at the nighttime scenery around them. "Brother, let me tell you a story."

"What story?" Su Tiannan asked.

"When I was seventeen, my dad sent me into the barracks. Our family had strong connections back then, and my career had already been mapped out. I'd spend a year in a frontline unit, then apply to Staff Command College as soon as I was old enough. After graduating, I could take a post in a frontline unit. Put in a few years, and with some luck, I could quickly land a field-grade staff officer position at corps headquarters." Su Tianyu spoke softly. "I really saw things simply back then."

Su Tiannan listened quietly without interrupting.

Su Tianyu gazed out over the sea, his eyes deep, and continued in a low voice. "There's one thing I remember especially clearly. The day after my seventeenth birthday, I went on a routine patrol with the other men in my squad. Our unit had coastal defense duties then. As you know, after District One lost its war against China, its internal political struggles became very intense. The fierce covert fighting between its two major parties eventually led to the War of Independence. So during that period, many of our coastal border units had coastal defense duties."

"Yes, I know." Su Tiannan nodded.

"When I was in that company, I had a good friend named He Yudong. He was about my age and came from the Lu Region. After the Unification War, his family had also followed Warlord Old Zhou overseas," Su Tiannan recounted softly. "I loved reading, and so did he. We had similar interests, so we were very close. That day, we were carrying out a coastal defense mission by helicopter. It was past three in the afternoon, almost time for our shift to end, when battalion headquarters suddenly received a distress call. A cruise ship belonging to District One had been shelled by a private armed force from the Unplanned Zone in waters not far from our patrol area. There were over a thousand people aboard, along with cargo, so battalion headquarters sent us ahead to rescue them. We had two helicopters and twelve men in total, including the pilots and copilots."

"Mm." Su Tiannan listened intently.

"We quickly reached the cruise ship, but one look from above told me it was done for. The stern had taken devastating damage, and the ship had lost all power. As the stern sank, it snapped the keel, splitting the whole ship down the middle." At this point, Su Tianyu unconsciously frowned. "Everyone aboard was at the bow, shouting for help. The crowd was in an uproar, their faces full of despair. Our company commander took one look and knew we couldn't save everyone. The stern had already gone under, there weren't enough lifeboats, and no other patrol units were nearby. He immediately reported to his superiors that there were too many people for us to evacuate and asked what we should do. But do you know what they said?"

Su Tiannan shook his head.

"They immediately drew up a list and told the company commander to rescue people according to it. I saw that list. There were fewer than forty names, almost all important figures, powerful people, or wealthy businessmen from District One." Su Tianyu paused, then lowered his head and continued. "Soldiers have to obey orders. We had to do whatever our superiors told us, so we immediately rappelled down onto the ship, secured the bow, and let the people on the list board the helicopters first. But when we did that, the ordinary passengers and crew refused to accept it. They questioned us like madmen, asking why we wouldn't take them, too. Even if the helicopters couldn't hold everyone, why weren't we letting the elderly, the weak, women, and children go first? Our superiors offered no explanation. All we could do was fire warning shots. But when people are that desperate, why would they care whether you're holding a gun? Over a hundred of them went berserk and knocked down two of our soldiers."

Su Tiannan frowned as well when he heard that.

"The company commander had no choice but to ask for instructions again. This time, our superiors told us soldiers to stay aboard, maintain order, and wait for further rescue. The seats we vacated would go to the elderly, the weak, women, and children... to appease the public's anger!" Su Tianyu lowered his head and gritted his teeth. "I was terrified then. I was scared he'd leave me behind, too. But after assigning everyone their tasks, he told me privately to board the helicopter first and not worry about what came next. I was happy. I grabbed the rappelling rope and was about to climb aboard when... my best friend, He Yudong, grabbed my wrist. He... he asked me... if he stayed behind, he'd die, wouldn't he? He asked me to plead with the company commander for him, to take him aboard, too... but I was already scared out of my mind. I was afraid that if I didn't leave right then, I wouldn't get another chance."

"Then what happened?" Su Tiannan pressed.

"Then I boarded the helicopter and watched He Yudong staring at me with utter despair in his eyes. As we flew away, I watched that cruise ship sink so fast you could see it happening." Su Tianyu turned his head, his eyes slightly red, and held up a finger. "Over a thousand people. Everyone on the list survived. Among the ordinary passengers, the survival rate was about ten in a thousand. My friend He Yudong, who loved learning so much-they never even found his body. In the end, the higher-ups buried the whole thing. It was never reported in the media."

Su Tiannan took a deep drag on his cigarette.

"We were all soldiers. Why was I allowed to leave?" Su Tianyu raised his arm and pointed at the horizon where sea met sky. "Because my dad was a senior colonel serving as a staff officer in that corps, while He Yudong was just the son of ordinary people. He and I were close, very close, but between us stood a wall nobody could see. Brother, what do you think that wall was?"

Su Tiannan already understood what Su Tianyu was trying to say.

"It's hard to put into words." Su Tianyu narrowed his eyes and, emboldened by the alcohol, watched the waves rolling across the sea. "In an age like this, an age full of opportunities, ordinary people might have the tiniest chance of breaking through that wall. But our current company clearly won't get me there. Brother, I'm different from you. I can't get past what happened to my father... so I have to find every possible way to get back on my feet! I won't let myself down, or waste this era's opportunities. My future isn't in the family business. I believe yours isn't either, right?"

Late that night, Wang Daolin's car stopped outside the Su Family courtyard. The wiry old man who had brutally beaten Floral Shirt in the detention center strode inside and roared, "I'm back! Where are those little bastards?!"

Third Sister came out to greet him and immediately tattled. "They've all gone out drinking and whoring."

"Fuck!" the old man cursed at the top of his lungs.