HLM -Chapter 1381 Let’s Give It a Try

It was clear that the incident had left a deep impression on Jimmy. Although he described it in only a few words, his left eye was red.

Seeing Wang Bo looking at his right eye, Jimmy pointed at it with a wry smile. “It ended up like this after a chaotic brawl. I was hit by a grazing bullet while fighting Tararua Bikers and some drug dealers over drug paraphernalia. This eye is basically ruined now.”

Wang Bo spoke solemnly, full of respect. “That’s truly unfortunate.”

Drug dealers are among the most deranged and terrifying groups in the world. Many of them take their own drugs, and once they do, they lose all rationality and become completely unhinged.

Under such circumstances, whether it’s the police or civilian forces conducting anti-drug operations, they inevitably face frenzied counterattacks.

Jimmy said optimistically, “Honestly, I think I was pretty lucky. That guy suddenly popped out and practically fired at my head point-blank.”

“For some reason, his wrist shook when he pulled the trigger. It was like some invisible person shoved his hand. The bullet skimmed past my eye, scorching it. It should’ve been a clean headshot.”

Vaughn drew a cross over his chest and said, “God bless you, my brother!”

In terms of anti-drug efforts, the TH gang acted even more aggressively than the police. They smashed drug-use equipment, burned narcotics, and destroyed the machinery inside drug labs.

Because of this, they often faced extremely dangerous situations. Many dealers fought back desperately; numerous gang members were injured, and some overly aggressive actions even landed them in prison, gradually weakening the gang.

Later, the TH gang got smarter. They began coordinating with local police, carrying out operations together. With officers as witnesses, prosecutions against them dropped sharply.

Most police officers actually had a fairly good impression of the TH gang. In some regions, officers—hampered by inefficiency—were even eager to cooperate with the TH gang on anti-drug missions.

But that didn’t mean gangs were widely welcomed in New Zealand. Aside from Japan, New Zealand is the only country in the world that recognizes gangs as legal organizations.

In other words, forming a gang here is much like registering a company—you submit an application, and you’re officially registered.

In a country of just over four million people, there are more than four thousand registered gang members. Over seventy organizations are well-known by name, making New Zealand one of the countries with the highest density of gang members in the world.

Wang Bo sat back in his chair and began weighing the possibility of cooperation.

This was very different from China and other countries. In places like China, the U.S., or Russia, police collaborating with gangs—if exposed by the media—would be seen as incompetence or outright criminality.

In New Zealand, there was no such concern. In many places, the police’s reputation was worse than that of the gangs.

Some gangs only managed underground casinos, adult entertainment venues, or illegal car modifications. They didn’t steal or rob.

In such cases, to protect the integrity of their territory and their authority, if thieves appeared in their area, the gangs would even help catch them.

New Zealand police were, frankly, somewhat inept. In many rural towns, police stations were less capable in these matters than local gangs. As a result, people often referred to local police as “traffic cats.”

“Traffic cats” meant officers who only caught speeders and traffic violators—a derogatory term. New Zealand police were indeed enthusiastic about traffic enforcement, after all, it was a job with little danger.

Seeing Wang Bo deep in thought, Jimmy said, “Mr. Mayor, to the public, the fight against drugs seems like an invisible war. But you and I both know—the underground drug war is heating up.”

“You’ve seen who we are. We’re a gang. We’re violent bastards. If you don’t want to work with us, we’ll do it ourselves. No matter what challenges we face, we won’t give up. We’ll fight this war to the very end!”

“Until we receive the Lord’s grace and go to meet God,” Vaughn added firmly.

After a moment’s thought, Wang Bo said, “Please let me hold a meeting to discuss this. I can’t act like a dictator.”

He quickly summoned his trusted aides for a meeting and had Elizabeth brief everyone on the situation.

As soon as she finished, Kidd shook his head. “No, boss. We can’t let them in. We can handle anti-drug operations ourselves—and Sunset Town isn’t exactly overrun with drugs.”

Atulu said, “I can help with this. I can arrange for our Māori people to gather information everywhere.”

Hani said, “I agree with them. The TH gang? They don’t just crack down on drugs—they also run gray-area businesses themselves. That’ll make our tax situation very complicated.”

Wang Bo looked to the other side. “And you? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Conley raised his hand. “Boss, I don’t usually speak much, but on this matter, I have to. The TH gang would be a good partner.”

“Shit, that’s not right,” Kidd shook his head.

Conley continued, “Hey, you don’t know them well enough yet. They may resort to excessive violence at times, but they’re considered a ‘positive’ gang. With them, we can not only fight drugs, but also join forces with Atulu’s brothers to better keep other gangs out.”

Uncle Bing nodded as well. “Over the past year, most of our police force has been tied up maintaining public order. The second biggest task has been expelling violent individuals.”

“Do you know how many incidents like that we had last year? Sixty! That means we deal with gang members once every week—sometimes even twice a week!”

Wang Bo knew those numbers, though he hadn’t personally been involved. As the highest authority in town now, he no longer needed to handle everything himself. He avoided personally driving out gangs—it was too dangerous. One stray bullet, and his wife, child, and the entire town could be doomed.

“Are we compromising with gangs?” Hani asked excitedly.

Sam said, “Calm down, Inspector. The TH gang isn’t utterly evil. They’re actually members of the anti-bullying motorcycle alliance…”

Hani burst out laughing. “Ha! How interesting. Maybe I’m old, or maybe New Zealand has changed. Now gangs are turning into saints?”

“I didn’t say they were saints. Yes, they run bars, dabble in illegal smuggling, operate underground casinos, and cause other problems—but the TH gang does have a positive image,” Sam argued.

Elizabeth added, “They have a School Sandwich Program. It’s been running for twenty years. We have to acknowledge that.”

Strictly speaking, that initiative wasn’t solely the TH gang’s doing—it originated from the Dark Forces, which had been organizing members to make sandwiches and deliver them to underprivileged public schools for two decades.

New Zealand had strong welfare, but that didn’t mean there were no poor families. Some had too many children, some were undocumented arrivals or illegal immigrants, and others had suffered family tragedies—there were all kinds of difficulties.

Wang Bo tapped the table and said, “Then let’s do this—let’s try cooperating first.”