Three days later, Qiao Qingqing and Shao Shengan left home again and went to the Public Security Brigade to get a new duty roster.
This time, the couple's shift locations were relatively remote, but still close enough that they could go together, which made Shao Shengan feel much more at ease.
When picking up the duty roster, Qiao Qingqing also met her former colleagues. After the crossbow team was reorganized into the security team, two members of the crossbow team of Ping'an Community resigned, and the others were now on duty in various places like them. After exchanging pleasantries, Qiao Qingqing found that a colleague was assigned the same shift as her in the second month, so she invited him to go together.
A group of three went to the duty point together. This colleague's name was Liu Zhaoyun, and she was about 30 years old. Qiao Qingqing had a good impression of her. She was a serious worker.
While chatting on the road, Qiao Qingqing found out that Liu Zhaoyun went to the same high school as them, which was truly fate.
Seeing that Qiao Qingqing could work with her old colleague and have such a connection with him, Shao Shengan was very happy for her. When they parted, he touched the back of Qiao Qingqing's head and said, "Be careful. See you in a month."
"Well, you have to be careful too."
The two of them didn't say anything more, all their friendship was in each other's eyes.
Watching Shao Shengan turn to another intersection, Liu Zhaoyun teased: "You two have such a good relationship. I envy you so much. If my husband were still alive, maybe we would be like you now—" She looked nostalgic, but Qiao Qingqing knew she didn't need her comfort. Sure enough, Liu Zhaoyun soon sorted out her emotions and kept all her fragility in her heart.
"Let's go! Let's continue on our journey!"
Qiao Qingqing smiled and nodded: "Okay."
Arriving at the new workplace, Qiao Qingqing felt as if her memory was confused. The memories of her previous life and the experiences of this life were mixed together at this moment, making her think she was dreaming.
"This place is too..." Liu Zhaoyun said softly, "I have always lived in the new community. I didn't expect the periphery of the base to be like this. No wonder we were sent here. We need more manpower to maintain order here than in the new community."
Since entering this area, Qiao Qingqing and Liu Zhaoyun have experienced three robberies. The headlights of their bicycles illuminated the road. Two young women riding bicycles with luggage seemed to be popular here. When they were robbed for the first time, Qiao Qingqing drew out the jungle knife from her waist and stabbed, cutting off one of the robber's hands. The second time they were robbed, Liu Zhaoyun used a crossbow to scare the robber away. The third time - there were too many people, Qiao Qingqing swung her bicycle to disrupt the enemy's formation, drew her knife and rushed in to fight with them, stabbing one of them in the shoulder, and blood splattered when she drew her knife.
Liu Zhaoyun didn’t know if it was her illusion, but she always felt that Qiao Qingqing’s knife was actually meant for the other person’s throat.
It’s an illusion, it must be an illusion, they are “civil servants”.
"This is our future job." Qiao Qingqing put the knife back into the sheath, lowered her head to pick up the bicycle, and tied up the scattered luggage again.
"Is the car broken down?" Liu Zhaoyun changed the subject to stop himself from getting hung up on it.
"There's one thing. Let me fix it." Qiao Qingqing spent ten minutes repairing the car, and Liu Zhaoyun beside her watched her for ten minutes.
The two set out on their journey again, and this time they encountered a robbery. Liu Zhaoyun shot a crossbow arrow from a distance and hit the robber in the shoulder. The man screamed and rushed into the darkness, leaving the robbed teenager sitting on the ground crying.
"My buns! My buns!" His food was taken away and his nose was bleeding all over his face. When he cried, his face was covered with blood and snot.
Liu Zhaoyun felt pity and took out his own food and gave it to him: "Take it--"
The boy snatched the bag and disappeared into the alley.
“……” Liu Zhaoyun withdrew his hand with a complicated expression.
When Liu Zhaoyun arrived at the Public Security Brigade, she was still in a bad mood. Qiao Qingqing led her to report, collect the keys, and move her luggage to the new dormitory. The environment here was very poor, and the dormitory was full of traces of acid rain. Looking at the cracks on the wall, Liu Zhaoyun thought about finding time to repair them, otherwise it would be troublesome if it rained.
"Let's do it later. We have to gather in half an hour, don't be late." Qiao Qingqing instructed and continued to fold clothes with her head down.
Liu Zhaoyun sighed: "I didn't expect it to be like this here. How could there be such a place in the base...Okay, I will adapt as soon as possible."
Under the candlelight, Qiao Qingqing looked calm. Liu Zhaoyun wanted to ask: Why don't you seem surprised at all? Have you been here before? But thinking of Qiao Qingqing's killing ruthless look just now, she didn't ask anything. Everyone has their own life experience. Why ask so many questions?
In this way, Qiao Qingqing and Liu Zhaoyun's shifts outside the base officially began.
The work here is very busy, with almost no time to rest. Various crimes breed in the darkness, like rats breeding wildly in the sewers, too numerous to count. In many cases, the patrol hears the noise, and when they rush over, the crime has already been committed, leaving the victims without property, and sometimes the victims are injured or even killed.
On this day, Qiao Qingqing and the others saw a woman who had been brutally assaulted. She took off her coat and gave it to the other person, but the woman did not react at all and her eyes were dull.
"Damn it, I'm going to go find her! Qingqing, watch her!"
The two colleagues continued to chase, and Qiao Qingqing hung the headlight on the front of the car and sat on the ground.
It was unknown how long it took before the woman cried out, and then she cried louder and louder. Qiao Qingqing took out some water, helped her sit up and let her drink. After the woman took a sip, she turned to look at her. Her eyes, soaked with tears, seemed to contain more than just sadness and anger. Qiao Qingqing looked at her quietly, feeling something strange in her heart, and the hand that was holding the woman tightened slightly.
"Are you laughing at me?"
The woman spoke in a hoarse voice, but what she said made Qiao Qingqing unable to react for a moment. But the next second she frowned and said, "I didn't."
"You did!" The woman suddenly pushed Qiao Qingqing away with force. Qiao Qingqing was sitting firmly and it was not so easy to push her away, but she stepped back and then stood up.
The woman staggered to the ground. Qiao Qingqing stepped back a few steps and looked up in the direction where her colleagues left.
"You are looking down on me, you are laughing at me, aren't you!" The woman supported herself on the ground and sat up again, staring at Qiao Qingqing, shouting fragilely and sharply, "Do you think I don't want to be like you? What right do you have to laugh at me? I don't want to live like this either!"
Qiao Qingqing knew that the other party was out of control and perhaps was using her as an outlet for his emotions, so she didn't take his words to heart, but she didn't want to open her mouth to persuade him either.
The colleague came back, holding a man in his hand. The man was obviously beaten up, his face was covered in dirt, and one of his cheeks was swollen. Seeing him, the woman screamed, and she rushed over to bite, gnaw, scratch, and claw. The man was controlled and couldn't move. The woman vented like crazy, and the man kept screaming.
"Okay, okay, let go - Qingqing, pull her away."
Qiao Qingqing then stepped forward and used her skillful strength to pull the woman away.
"Let's go. □□ crime is a serious crime now. Let him do hard labor for two years!"
"Qingqing, take her statement and ask her to sign and put her fingerprints on it. Then ask her where her home is. You and Dachen should take her back."
The woman lived in a shantytown. Although it was not the area where Qiao Qingqing lived in her previous life, it had the same characteristics as a shantytown: dirty, messy, and crowded with shanties of different heights. When the light shone, only the crooked paths between the shanties could be seen. Qiao Qingqing sent the woman back home. There was an old man coughing in the house. The woman's expression changed and she couldn't wait to go in.
"Wait a moment." Qiao Qingqing took out two potatoes from her pocket, handed them to her, then turned and left.
The woman looked at her back, bit her lip, and shouted "I'm sorry" when her figure was about to leave the alley. Qiao Qingqing didn't look back, but just waved her hand.
Walking in the shantytown again, passing through the dark alleys, smelling the familiar scent in the air, Qiao Qingqing's state of mind was completely different from her previous life. She didn't turn on the lights and just walked out in the dark.
She left her past decadent, fragile, self-indulgent and numb self into the darkness behind her.
Three days later, Qiao Qingqing received an order to send this batch of newly arrested criminal suspects to the Procuratorate. After the final trial by the Procuratorate, these people would be charged with various crimes and sent to labor reform. The duration of labor reform often varied. Some would be sent to construction sites, and some would be sent to the wild to open up wasteland. Mayor Luo believed that simple imprisonment was a waste of resources. What the base needed most now was labor, so he vigorously promoted the replacement of prisoners with labor for criminals.
"Everyone, be quiet and walk faster!" The captain inspected the team, shouting and scolding from time to time. Qiao Qingqing was arranged at the back of the team. She looked at the long line in front of her silently. There were more than 200 people in this group. This number was accumulated in just half a month. It was hard to imagine that this security team could catch so many people. With so many security teams in the entire base, how amazing would the number of prisoners captured in half a month be.
In her previous life, she would occasionally see this kind of team, but she only looked at it from a distance. She didn't expect that in this life she would become a member of the escort team.
After the receiving unit took the people away, Qiao Qingqing and the others had to go back. When they were on their way back, it was time. Street lights were lit up everywhere. Liu Zhaoyun sighed: "The street lights are on, which means it's night. Do these street lights look like artificial suns?"
Qiao Qingqing nodded.
Liu Zhaoyun tilted her head and asked in a low voice, "Those people were convicted just like that. Do you think there will be false charges and wrongful convictions during this period?" She felt that she had said something wrong and quickly added, "Of course, the people we arrested with our own hands will definitely not be wrongly accused. We saw them doing bad things with our own eyes, but with so many people, maybe one or half of them will be -"
She didn't finish her words, and looked regretful. Qiao Qingqing understood what she meant, and whispered, "We have sent the person to the Procuratorate. We have done our best. What happens next is up to the Procuratorate."
"I understand... Actually, I just feel that this world is too difficult and everything is too chaotic. Sometimes I feel depressed and I always feel that I can't get motivated to do anything. Maybe it's because there is no sun and everything is too dark."
"Then let's take a look at the street lights. They are actually very bright." Qiao Qingqing looked at the street lights and saw flying insects circling around them. Someone walked out of a building on the side of the road, looked around vigilantly, then walked under the street lights, looked up, with a longing light in his eyes.
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