Death Progress Bar

in relief: two ears of wheat converging towards the center from the edge, surrounding a number written in cursive script, with Shi Jin’s name below, and a string of numbers in a smaller font under it.

“This medal is for getting first place in military training.
The big number is our class year, and the small number under my name is my student number.
This one is the ‘outstanding cadet’ medal—the five-pointed star symbolizes hope,” Shi Jin explained, then took both medals out of the boxes and put them in Lian Jun’s hand.
“You said that we are one.
All the honors I get, half is yours.”

Lian Jun’s hand trembled, then he quickly clenched the two medals in his palm.
Looking at Shi Jin’s silly expression, completely unsuitable for this moment, he couldn’t help but pull the younger man into his arms.
He felt a lump in his throat and didn’t speak.

“I knew you would like this gift.
My efforts to get it weren’t wasted, then.” Shi Jin hugged him back, contentedly breathing in his smell, the smell that was part of his home. “Lian Jun, I won’t let you regret sending me to the police academy.
I want to protect you, too.” So don’t be afraid that after I set foot on the sunlit path, I will leave you behind in the darkness.
We are one, and we will be one forever.

How could Lian Jun not understand the meaning of this gift? Tightening his embrace even more, he turned his head to the side and kissed Shi Jin’s hair, whispering, “I understand, I heard you loud and clear… Thank you, Shi Jin.” Thank you for appearing in my life.

If you’re seeing this notice, you’re reading this chapter on pirate site – the original translator of Death Progress Bar is Betwixted Translations.

Shi Jin changed his clothes in the car, took out the proposal ring Lian Jun gave him and put it on.
He also ate some light snacks prepared in the car to tide him over until dinner.
Lian Jun frowned at this, regretting that he didn’t order the kitchen to prepare a proper meal to bring with him.

To get to G Province, they again chartered a plane.
Besides Annihilation members, there were also some unfamiliar people on board.

Lian Jun got in his seat with Shi Jin’s help.
Seeing the teenager glance around suspiciously, he explained, “They’re officials.
G Province is Tarantula’s home ground.
The government plans to wipe out Tarantula completely or, at the very least, to deal some serious damage to its foundation.
Tarantula started out as a smuggling ring, and they also made money off the sex trade; potentially, there is a lot that can be used against them.
When Aunt Lu became the organization leader, she immediately cleaned up the worst of Tarantula’s businesses, but she didn’t have enough time to fix everything that could bite them.
This time, the officials are cracking down on Tarantula’s smuggling business.
They want to destroy Tarantula’s main network—first, the channel between G Province and Formosa, then the channels leading out of Formosa.
These officials are here to assist us.
We’re supposed to coordinate to bring Tarantula down, with us working in the darkness and them aboveboard.”

So decisive? Directly destroying Tarantula’s main business network?

Frowning, Shi Jin stopped peeking at the officials and sat down next to Lian Jun.
“You said that other organizations got involved.
What’s going on?”

“Tarantula’s channels in G Province are a goose laying golden eggs.
Some underworld organizations with empty pockets would fish in troubled waters to gain control over it,” Lian Jun replied.
He called for a flight attendant and ordered Shi Jin a lunch.

Shi Jin waited for the flight attendant to leave, then asked, “Underworld organizations also can be short of money? From what I’ve seen, everyone seems to be filthy rich.” Whether it was Annihilation, Tarantula, Nine Eagles, or the now-dissolved Phantom, the organizations’ upper echelons all treated money like dirt.

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Seeing him full of curiosity, Lian Jun didn’t mind sharing more knowledge.
“Of course they can, especially when they’re rapidly expanding.
Underworld organizations make money quickly, but they also spend it quickly—the stakes are always high and their business environment is unstable.
A small conflict between organizations can consume more resources than a medium-sized enterprise can earn in a month.
In addition to weapons, which account for the largest part of expenditure, there are other expenses such as transportation and accommodation of personnel, medical support, vehicles for local transport… All these things cost a lot of money.
Organizations that don’t have it can’t survive—those that last all have some chips in their hands.”

Shi Jin shuddered as he recalled the “extravagant” way Gua Two and the others used weaponry during every operation, and what Lian Jun must’ve spent to help him put on the “play” for Xu Jie.
“That, um, Annihilation’s chips…”

“We have more than enough.” Seeing through Shi Jin’s thoughts at a glance, Lian Jun reached out to stroke his head, reassuring him, “Don’t worry, what you spent was just a chump change—you’ll have to try much harder than that to bankrupt me.
Right now Annihilation is basically self-sufficient, and we also have our own channels for weapons, so we don’t spend much money.”

‘A chump change,’ you say… You wouldn’t have a private munitions factory, would you?

Shi Jin glanced at him, but he wisely decided not to ask this question out loud.
Catching sight of the flight attendant coming to deliver him lunch, he put this topic on hold for the time being and prepared to fill his stomach.

Death Progress Bar is translated by Betwixted Translations.
Read on the original translator’s site to get the fastest updates!

The flight arrived in G Province on schedule.
After getting off the plane, Gua Two contacted Gua One, then led their group out of the airport through the VIP exit and to the black commercial MPVs waiting outside.

The government personnel had a separate car.
Finally able to relax, Shi Jin leaned on Lian Jun the moment they got in, and said, “Those officials kept sneaking glances at us, it felt kind of creepy.”

“Ignore them, someone will ‘educate’ them,” Lian Jun comforted, letting him rest against himself.
“How’s the situation?” he asked Gua One, who had been waiting in the car.

“Not too great.”

This short sentence immediately grabbed everyone’s attention.

Shi Jin sat up and looked at Gua One with a frown.

Gua One didn’t keep them in suspense.
“Our investigation shows that aside from previously identified Snake Fang, Meridian Gate and Epoch are also involved.”

Gua Two’s expression changed.
“What? They’re all top echelon legal organizations! Have they gone mad?”

“It gets worse.
We originally expected these organizations to slowly gravitate towards Tarantula’s side in the aftermath of the conflict between Tarantula and Annihilation, and eventually form an alliance with Tarantula to attack us.
But now that the government interfered, Tarantula might not be even considered as an ally.
They even decided to take advantage of their misfortune.”

“Fuck! The officials are damn pig teammates!” Gua Two couldn’t help but curse.
The situation was worse than they thought; he was so angry he could kill those “teammates.”

“Who’s leading them, Snake Fang?” Lian Jun asked.
“Top echelon organizations are so tacitly helping the government crush Tarantula—someone must be a middleman.”

“Yes, it’s Snake Fang.
They must’ve offered to share the ‘spoils’ with Meridian Gate and Epoch to persuade them to form an alliance,” Gua One replied, his expression grim.
“If they succeed, we’ll be in a tight spot.”

Gua Two’s mood had already been homicidal.
Tight spot? How about  ‘done for’? Other underworld organizations had always been fearful and resentful of Annihilation, because of its relationship with the authorities.
If Tarantula fell, Annihilation would have no one to rely on, no insiders on the enemy side, and the only ally they’d be left with would be the government—the very same government that would get rid of them the moment they stop being useful.
They would pretty much lose the game before it even started!

Aware of the seriousness of the situation, everyone turned to look at Lian Jun, waiting for him to come up with a plan.

Lian Jun slowly tapped his finger on his knee, eyes half-closed as he pondered.
His composed and steady appearance made the others calm down as well.

“There’s no need to worry,” he said finally, breaking the silence.
“The fact that Snake Fang is in charge means that things aren’t difficult to handle.
Forging an alliance isn’t that easy for large organizations; it hasn’t been long since this situation broke out, and the three of them should not have a close relationship yet.
After Nine Eagles and Phantom disappeared, Snake Fang began to expand wildly—it’s obvious to anyone what its ambition is.
But the leaders of Meridian Gate and Epoch? One is prideful but cautious; the other cunning and greedy.
I doubt that either of them likes Snake Fang’s reckless and wanton style.
They haven’t come here to fish in troubled waters, they’ve come here to test the waters.”

Gua Two looked thoughtful.
After a few seconds, his expression suddenly relaxed and even became a little gloating.
“Jun-shao, you mean that Meridian Gate and Epoch are actually more inclined towards Tarantula?”

Lian Jun nodded.
“Neither Meridian Gate nor Epoch lacks money—what they lack is an environment where they can develop freely.
In other words, on the surface, they have the same goal as Tarantula: to get rid of Annihilation and cut off the government’s connection to the underworld.”

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“Everyone wants to kill us. Ah, it’s so lonely to be hated by the entire world,” Gua Two pretended to lament, cheerfully leaning back in his seat and crossing one leg over the other.

Gua One also relaxed.
“I was so anxious I almost took things at the face value.
I’m sorry, Jun-shao.”

Lian Jun waved his apologies away.
Having finished the discussion, he turned to Shi Jin to ask what he’d like to have for dinner, only to face the teenager’s bewildered, inquiring gaze.

“Um… can anyone explain to me why you all suddenly stopped being worried?” Shi Jin asked sheepishly, wondering if his IQ had suddenly dropped.
“I don’t really understand what you discussed just now…” Although he had read the information about all the large organizations, in the end, it was just dry facts, so he still was confused about the relationships between them.

The inside of the car fell silent.
Gua Two looked at Shi Jin’s tanned, befuddled face, and suddenly burst out laughing.
Patting the teenager on the shoulder, he said, “They say that the army toughens people up.
Turns out that the army really toughens people up—to the point that even the brain turns into muscle.
C’mere, bud, this big brother will explain everything to you, slowly and in simple words.”

Embarrassed and angry, Shi Jin threw off his hand and tried to punch him.

Gua One and Lian Jun watched them roughhouse and smiled unconsciously, their mood lightening.
Sure enough, as long as Shi Jin was around, the atmosphere would never be tense.

Extra:

The brothers’ group chat, the second day after Shi Jin finished his military training:

Silence.

Silence.

Dead silence.

Rong Zhouzhong [suddenly stirring]: Fourth, I think being a teacher at the police academy is a great line of work.
You could retire from the military and change careers.

Xiang Aoting [seeing through his scheme]: There’s no point.
I just got the message that Xiao Jin was assigned to a mission and he won’t be back until the end of the term.
Looks like Lian Jun’s handiwork.

Shi Weichong [patient]: He shouldn’t neglect his studies.

Fei Yujing [perceptive]: As expected of Lian Jun, snatching people with such finesse.
All right, everyone, snap out of it and go do your own things.

Li Jiuzheng [‘Go do your own things’?]: Oh.

System prompt: Li Jiuzheng has left the group chat.

Rong Zhouzhong: ???

Translator’s Notes:

“My fifth brother… er, he’s the fifth-oldest child in our generation” – in China, you’d call your (paternal) cousins “brothers” too, so no one is surprised that Shi Jin calls his “cousin” Li Jiuzheng “brother.” “Little Ming’s grandfather lived to be one hundred years old, do you know why?” – 
the anecdote goes something like:
Someone saw a small child eating ice cream.
Out of concern, he told him, “Eating ice cream on such a cold day will make your tummy hurt!”
The child replied, “My grandpa lived to be 103 years old, do you know why?”
“I don’t know—because he liked to eat ice cream?”
“No, because he never meddled in other people’s business!” Formosa – as we all know, DPB’s action takes place in a sort of an alternate reality.
“Formosa” is one of the historical names of Taiwan. Meridian Gate – the name comes from the southern and largest gate of the Forbidden City in Beijing.
It seems to be an odd name for a criminal organization, I thought… until the moment I consulted the opinions of the team members and Velvet said, “Oh, this name is interesting.
That’s the place where they chopped people’s heads off.”