On the way to the Rooster Club's headquarters with Yu Jin, Sun Dongyu introduced the club's past to this new member.
The founder of the Rooster Club was surnamed Li, given name Sangyu. He was the first person in Haicheng to publicly stand up and question the validity of the crime of Replacing Evil with Good.
He said that society's apathy was not innate, but rather a natural, evil consequence spawned by the promulgation of absurd laws.
He petitioned the Bureau to amend the laws and return a warm, virtuous society to the public.
And then, he was arrested by the Bureau on charges of Replacing Evil with Good and thrown into the Day Prison.
It sounded even more absurd.
Yu Jin remembered that the prerequisite for the crime of Replacing Evil with Good was doing “good deeds.” Thus, even the Bureau agreed that Li Sangyu was doing “good deeds,” yet they arrested him anyway.
Because he was merely a citizen, and had no right to question.
He had overstepped his authority.
After Li Sangyu was imprisoned, the Rooster Club was left leaderless. They could only perform small good deeds covertly in Haicheng's underground, all while having to guard against the very people they helped “biting the hand that fed them” by reporting and exposing them. It was truly a precarious and difficult existence.
To break the impasse, Sun Dongyu and the other members began recruiting “on a massive scale.” Their goal was to gather all forces of kindness and warmth to rescue their founder, Li Sangyu, who was trapped in the Day Prison.
To them, if kindness could not save itself, then there was no meaning in passing it on.
No matter what, they had to find a way to prove to the public that true kindness would not be bound by twisted laws, even if this truth had to be proven with blood.
When Yu Jin heard that the Rooster Club wanted to break into the prison, the way he nodded really made him look like a rooster pecking at rice.
Spot on, brother.
If you guys can help me bust my other self out too, then I will support the Rooster Club until I die... or until this dream ends!
Then again, Dongyu and Sangyu... he couldn't help but feel that this duo was like Boya and Ziqi.
Seeing Yu Jin's excited expression, Sun Dongyu knew he had found the right person.
A person who truly harbored passionate kindness should be exactly like this, launching a fearless charge against injustice and evil.
“But rescuing someone from the Day Prison is not that simple.
The patrol squad's rounds are growing tighter by the day, and then there's the omnipresent Heaven's Eye...”
So that thing was called the Heaven's Eye?
Navigating the streets and alleys, Yu Jin slightly raised his head and looked at the nearest surveillance camera.
The eye on the lens seemed to sense his gaze and suddenly whipped around. But the moment it did, Yu Jin had already lowered his head, popped up his collar, and continued walking with his head down.
“...It's very difficult for us to move without being noticed.
Even if we evade the Heaven's Eyes outside the Day Prison, we are still completely unfamiliar with its interior.”
Hearing this, Yu Jin raised an eyebrow.
Never mind that this was in a dream; even in the real world, Yu Jin, as an agent of the Bureau, was not familiar with the Day Prison. The Post-Disaster Investigation Team rarely had opportunities to enter it.
Then again, this was indeed a dream. And as luck would have it, the red-haired Yu Jin had been thrown inside.
Although the red-haired Yu Jin was currently unconscious, preventing him from synchronizing his senses, once his other self woke up, Yu Jin would be able to use his perspective to figure out exactly what was going on inside the Day Prison.
Surely the Bureau in this dream wouldn't be so insane as to execute a “criminal” who had just entered prison and was still unconscious, right?
After all, wasn't Li Sangyu still alive after being locked up for so long?
At this thought, Yu Jin pondered for a moment, preparing to give Sun Dongyu a slight heads-up first.
He wanted to say that he actually had a contact inside the Day Prison. Given a bit of time, he should be able to map out the layout inside.
But before he could open his mouth, the other party turned around with a look of joy and said to him:
“However, we've already solved this problem now.
An agent from the Bureau has had a sudden realization. They are willing to join us and fight for our great cause of rescuing people!”
“?”
The Bureau agent you're talking about... couldn't possibly be me, could it?
Yu Jin was startled, thinking the other party had seen through him. In astonishment, he asked, “How do you know...”
“Of course I know!”
Sun Dongyu boasted proudly, “After all, I recruited them myself.”
Yu Jin's pupils shrank, a trace of shock slipping into the way he looked at Sun Dongyu.
Could he have underestimated this guy?
Was he actually targeting him all along?
As Yu Jin was inwardly panicking, Sun Dongyu spoke up again:
“Speaking of which, that person is actually somewhat similar to you. They also have a close friend who was locked up in the Day Prison.”
“...”
So it wasn't me?
Yu Jin froze. A brief flash of embarrassment crossed his face, realizing he had just been getting paranoid over nothing.
Fortunately, Sun Dongyu didn't notice Yu Jin's expression and continued:
“Although I don't like using hatred as a prerequisite for kindness, hatred indeed causes many people to suddenly wake up to reality.
“In extraordinary times like this, with our situation growing worse by the day, we don't have that many choices.
“That person is highly capable and knows the Bureau inside out. With their help, I believe we'll be able to accomplish much more.
“Furthermore, since Sangyu was captured and the Rooster Club is leaderless, we intend to nominate that person to be the Vice President of our Rooster Club.
“Nomination Day is today.
“Now that you've also become one of us, you naturally hold voting rights.
“Once we arrive at our headquarters, you can get in touch with them and learn about their philosophy. I think you'll soon agree with it and cast your precious vote for them.”
Hearing this, Yu Jin became increasingly curious, wondering who exactly this person was who could make Sun Dongyu so reverent.
A background in the Bureau, and also quite familiar with the Day Prison...
Such a situation could only point to a mid-to-high-ranking member of the Bureau, at least at the level of a Special Response Squad captain.
But at that level, they should know exactly how much of a pipe dream rescuing someone from the Day Prison was. Why would they join hands with a group of underground “do-gooders” to commit a crime that would surely cost them their head?
Perhaps they truly had been backed into a corner with nowhere left to run?
After taking many twists and turns, the two of them finally arrived at their destination.
In truth, Yu Jin had long noticed that Sun Dongyu was leading him in circles. However, an underground organization of this sort ought to be cautious; if he had carelessly led him straight here, Yu Jin would instead have had to reconsider whether this Rooster Club was actually reliable.
The Rooster Club's headquarters was a residential building hidden within the old town of the Northern District.
Yu Jin knew this place, but he had never been here in reality.
Because in reality, this was no longer an old town, but rather a bustling, lively commercial center.
Yu Jin still remembered that many years ago, a massive Nightmare Disaster had erupted here. Its intensity was so severe that it nearly leveled all the surrounding old town neighborhoods. Elder Chi, who had been serving as the director at the time, had even personally joined the field to provide support.
The outcome, naturally, was that the Nightmare Disaster was successfully quelled, and the old Director Chi honorably retired after that event.
The neighborhoods that were leveled had also been rebuilt from the ruins, gradually developing into the prosperous state they were in today.
Back then, the two Yu brothers were still preparing for the Bureau's entrance exams. After seeing the high death toll on the news, Yu Jin had once asked his older brother, Yu Xiang:
“So many people died again. Do you still dare to take the exam?”
He still remembered his brother's reply to this day:
“I must take it.
Only by joining a Special Response Squad can I protect you if a Nightmare Disaster ever happens to you.”
The young Yu Jin had been equally hot-blooded:
“Then I'll apply for the Special Response Group too. If a Nightmare Disaster comes, I'll protect you, too.”
Yu Xiang had been somewhat helpless:
“Leaving aside the fact that you haven't awakened, even if you did, you would still have to obediently apply for logistics.
We have to keep the Yu family line alive. We can't both end up dying in a Nightmare Disaster.”
Yu Jin had tossed his head back and straightened his posture:
“I'm not afraid of death! Dad said that dying to defend our home and protect our city is something to be proud of.”
“Yeah, he died a proud man, but...” Yu Xiang sighed. “Never mind, let's not talk about this. There's no room for discussion on this matter.”
Yu Jin, unconvinced, retorted, “Then why don't you apply for logistics?”
“Because you're not smart enough. At least, not as smart as me.”
“That's complete bullshit!”
“Oh, did you smell it?”
“...”
The old memories flashed by. Looking at the old residential building before him, Yu Jin let out a deep, emotional sigh.
“Things remain, but the people are gone.”
Sun Dongyu was somewhat surprised. “You've been here before?”
Yu Jin shook his head.
“No, I'm just reflecting on how no matter how prosperous a city is, there will always be run-down places.”
Sun Dongyu's face grew solemn as he gazed at the distant skyscrapers. Speaking with utmost seriousness, he said:
“Prosperity is not necessarily real thriving, and being run-down does not mean being decayed.
“A flashy exterior often hides rot inside, while four bare walls can instead present beautiful scenery everywhere.
“Everything will get better. Believe me, as long as we are of one mind and work in harmony and mutual aid, the world will eventually become the ideal place we envision in our hearts.”
Saying this, Sun Dongyu tapped out a sequence of long and short knocks on the door.
A moment later, the old residential building's door was pulled open, and a few people emerged to welcome them.
Sun Dongyu greeted them and introduced Yu Jin, their new member, to the group.
The crowd warmly welcomed Yu Jin's joining. Encouraging and inspiring one another, they led Yu Jin all the way upstairs to meet the mysterious expert who would lead them to rescue Li Sangyu.
The meeting room was on the third floor, surrounded inside and out by many people. Everyone had smiles plastered across their faces, clearly filled with anticipation for today's nomination.
Sun Dongyu squeezed for a good while but couldn't get in. He could only point from afar at the figure inside the meeting room, introducing them to Yu Jin:
“That's the Vice President who will soon lead us.
“Though the voting has yet to begin, in our hearts, there is no other choice for this position.
“Let me introduce you. The Vice President's name is...”
Yu Jin stared at the familiar figure, his face flooded with utter astonishment, and then he uttered a name through gritted teeth:
“Chi... Shan... shan.”
...
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