Shanghai, November 1937.

The white and bright raindrops fell, smashing up a lot of dust, and the soil was slightly carrying rain, and the wind, earth, and rain were mixed together and joined together.

Sitting in front of the window of the teahouse, Shen Chen turned slightly, lit a cigarette with his hands around the match, and then took a hard puff. In the thick smoke that spewed out, he looked into the distance again.

This side is the public concession, and the other side is the sphere of influence of the Japanese, and across the Suzhou Creek, you can see the plaster flag hanging its head on the building. The famous Broadway building and the Recha Hotel in Shanghai, which had been occupied by the Japanese, stood alone, as if to tell people the grievances and humiliations of being abandoned.

This was the result of the Battle of Songhu, the Chinese army withdrew from the battlefield, retreated to the south, and Shanghai became an isolated island.

The end of a tragic battle, for Shen Chenkai, was a new beginning.

This time, his soul was not imprisoned in the darkness for long, and he saw the dazzling light above his head, and his body involuntarily rose into that light. In the light, he saw Meng Jie, their hands touching gently, making Shen Chen experience emotions that could not be described with pen and ink. Mengjie's body exuded a dazzling holy light, washing away his confusion, remorse, and fear......

"Xiao Chen!" A call interrupted Shen Chen's thoughts, and he looked up in amazement, but he was facing Wu Lao Liu's gaze.

Wu Lao Liu was only in his thirties, but the wrinkles on the flat head door looked ten years older than his actual age, and he was looking at Shen Chen with inquiry and concern.

Only then did Shen Chen notice that the torrential rain outside had stopped, and he smiled a little wryly and said, "I'm fine." Angkor, are we leaving? ”

Wu Lao Liu nodded, looked at Shen Chen carefully, and then got up, and walked out without paying the bill.

Shen Chen followed behind Wu Laoliu, and the man sent him diligently, walked out of the teahouse, and began to inspect as usual.

Yes, it's patrolling. Shen Chen is now reborn and possessed by a small patrol in a public concession with the same name and surname, with uniforms, leather shoes, big-brimmed hats, and guns, and he still looks like five people and six people.

"Earn that little bit of Yangdian, it's not worth it to work hard." Wu Laoliu told his fellow villager Shen Chen about the truth of life while walking, or the experience of being a patrolman, "I know that you want to make meritorious contributions and want to be promoted as soon as possible, but have you calculated, it takes about three years to be promoted to the first class, and you have not made any major mistakes in these three years." It will take nine years before you have the opportunity to become an agent. So, the most important thing is to live a long life. People are going to die, even if they are promoted to inspectors, what is the use of bullshit? ”

Shen Chenlian claimed that he was, and his attitude was very good, but he didn't think so in his heart. The current Shen Chen doesn't care about promotions at all. Besides, without that stunned young man named Shen Xiaochen dying desperately, how could Shen Chen have such a sturdy body? Although he has been recuperating from his injuries for half a month, he has now basically recovered.

Of course, Wu Lao Liu is right. In the patrol and arrest of the concession, the number of Chinese arrests is the largest, but they are also the worst in status and treatment.

Starting from the lowest-level third-class patrol officer, they will usually be promoted to one level without major fault for three years; After being promoted to the first class of patrol, there is a chance to transfer to the detective; There are three classes of agents, and above them are the inspectors, who are divided into two classes. In the absence of accidents, it would take twenty-four years for a Chinese patrolman to be promoted to the rank of inspector, that is, the highest position in his career, and the salary was naturally the highest.

Although the rule of three-year promotion is not absolute, it mainly depends on the work performance of the promoted person. For example, from patrol to detective, it is possible that he was promoted when he was still a third-class patrol, but Shen Chen was not interested in this.

Wu Lao Liu chattered for a while, and saw that Shen Chen did not have the appearance of a donkey in the past, and felt that this guy was in a big trouble, but he had opened his mind, so he talked about his tricks and means of making extra money.

Getting extra money is also "extortion", and to put it badly, it is extortion. Wu Lao Liu didn't dare to be big, but it was easy to come and go small. For example, go around the vegetable market and get some fresh vegetables; When he saw that the rickshaw driver violated the rules, he went to pry the license plate and knocked on two ......

"If you have the opportunity to fish for oil and water, if you have a fish, you will have to fish, and if you have it, you will have to fish!" Wu Lao Liu proudly taught his philosophy of life, "But you have to look at it, don't blindly bump into a hard head, and don't let foreign devils know." ”

The wages of the Chinese patrols are relatively generous compared to the average workers in Shanghai. But this salary is not easy, in addition to the ten-hour working hours a day and semi-military management, in order to keep the job, it also costs a lot to honor the superiors and make personal contacts during the New Year's holidays.

The cost of living in Shanghai is very high, and those who have a conscience and do not want to squeeze gray income can only find another job, or leave Shanghai, where the cost of living is high.

Therefore, Shen Chen can't say that he understands Wu Laoliu, but he will never rely on this method to make money.

Since killing can be divided into the positive and negative sides of animal cruelty and justice, it should be the right way to rob ill-gotten gains and use them in the right way, right?

Although his occupation in his previous life had brought him confusion and pain, just as a weapon cannot be judged whether it is good or evil, the key is to see how it is used, who is using it, and what the result is after using it.

Whether it is to punish evil and promote good, or to counter violence with violence, as long as the goal is the same, the means do not seem to matter. As long as the crime of being killed and robbed is deserved, Shen Chen will not bear any psychological burden, which is different from the guilt and repentance caused by killing innocents in his previous life.

For example, killing devils makes him feel uplifted and makes him feel psychologically happy; And the stronger and more agile the body, it seems to give him more and greater responsibilities.

For the isolated island of Shanghai, especially the concession, the war seems to have been going on for a long time.

Walking on the street, what Shen Chen saw was: rows of merchants and shops were all open for business as always, wives and ladies swaggering through the market on rickshaws, smiling women in thick clothes soliciting customers on the street, taverns and restaurants were still doing thriving, and the sound of shouting and drinking and cups was endless.

It was not the end of the war that was like this, even when the war between China and Japan was at its most intense, there were two worlds separated by a river. On one side is the hell of blood and fire, and on the other side is the heaven of song and dance, which is weird and wonderful.

Shen Chen was not as indignant and hateful as some people, scolding "a businesswoman is not as good as hating the country" or something like that.

Whether it is war or peacetime, people always have to live, and they always have to work for their belly. Could it be that men, women, the old and the weak, all walks of life, have to pick up guns and fight hard? How do you know that the lady, the laughing girl, or even the rickshaw driver or beggar did not donate their money to support the war effort?