"I don't want to keep muddling along in the Ninth District like this. There's no future in it, and getting swallowed up is only a matter of Time."
After everyone else left, Pike pulled out a cigar, wanting to hand it to Zhang Beixing, but Zhang Beixing just shook his head and refused.
Zhang Beixing did smoke, but not often; usually only when he needed to think. And he didn't feel that the problem Pike was facing right now was worth lighting a cigarette over.
Pike didn't insist and just lit up for himself, and Zhang Beixing wasn't in any hurry either. He knew perfectly well that Pike was going through a fierce inner struggle.
"There are three major forces in the Ninth District…"
"I know."
Before Pike could finish, Zhang Beixing cut him off directly.
The first squad might be disbanded now, but that was only in name. Zhang Beixing's real arrangement was to break the first squad up and scatter them.
