Chapter 42: Police

Police.

In the interrogation room, Officer Li was taking a statement; with over a dozen youths crammed into one room, it felt a bit cramped and crowded: "What is the sequence of events?"

Ling Wu was calm and composed: "They followed me first, then made verbal threats and physically assaulted me; the surveillance along the way can testify to all of this."

"Knock, knock!"

The door sounded.

"Come in!"

A female officer walked in and leaned over to whisper in Officer Li's ear: "Just investigated the surveillance in that vicinity; these people are organized and disciplined, even splitting up to act, just to look for trouble."

"But there is no surveillance on the road segments further back, so we don't know what happened there either."

Officer Li asked: "Ling Wu, how did you manage to drag them to our Police station unscathed?"

"A gun!" the yellow-haired youth shouted: "He has a gun!"

The laws of the Empire do not allow private individuals to carry firearms in public places, so as to avoid causing riots.

But despite this, these regulations are still mere formalities for the nobility; every year in the Empire, there are incidents of gun-related homicides, and afterwards, they can be released without charge just by paying compensation.

Officer Li lifted his chin to signal.

Several officers prepared to go over and search him.

Ling Wu raised a hand: "No need."

He held the gun in his hand, fiddling with it, his tone grave: "The public security of the Empire fills me with dread; may I ask Officer Li, how do you intend to handle this matter?"

Officer Li naturally knew that these students were all from Sike Academy, and their backgrounds were only more impressive than the last; it was simply not something a small officer like him could handle by enforcing the law impartially.

Officer Li: "Since no harm was caused, everyone can leave after giving a statement."

"Heh."

Ling Wu nodded: "An expected answer."

"Officer Li, if it hadn't been me who encountered this today, and that person also happened not to have a gun in their hand, then tomorrow your Police station would be seeing a corpse."

Officer Li's expression did not change: "But this is only based on a hypothesis, so it does not hold."

The people in the interrogation room had varied expressions.

The yellow-haired youth sneered; what was the point of calling the police?

These officers usually had to bow and scrape when they saw them, wishing they could kneel down to tie their shoes.

What could they do to them?

Still expecting them to enforce the law impartially?

Ling Wu seemed to feel a sense of regret, his beautiful face showing a momentary disappointment, and he sighed softly: "This world is truly one where justice is hard to find."

He aimed the gun at Qiangzi's head.

The teenager's hand holding the gun was very steady, his expression light and breezy, yet it made everyone in the interrogation room break out in a cold sweat; he cast his gaze toward Officer Li: "There is a saying that is correct: justice is not given by others, it must be fought for with one's own hands."

"May I ask."

"If I fire this gun in front of you, how will it be handled?"

Officer Li slapped the table and stood up: "Ling Wu, do not be too presumptuous!"

"That is a living human life!"

Ling Wu's original intention was not to take a life, but he needed to see that there was still a possibility for justice to exist; he himself came from a noble family and still found it hard to glimpse the light, let alone countless commoners.

He did not ask for the law to be strict and clear, but at least it should not be an abyss of despair.

Ling Wu made a shushing gesture, full of the calm dignity of someone in a position of power: "Officer Li, do not shout at me."

"I will only give you three seconds to think."

"Three!"

Qiangzi's heart rate accelerated, and he tried to escape the restraints of the interrogation chair, but he could not break free no matter what; he began to yell: "A bunch of trash, let me go immediately!"

"Do you know who I am?"

"My father will not let you off!"

The countdown continued.

Ling Wu's pleasant voice sounded like a curse from hell.

"Two!"

"One!"

No one dared to snatch the gun, fearing that the perpetrator would take even more radical actions, causing an escalation in casualties.

"Click!"

Officer Li's heart rose to his throat; his pupils dilated as he saw Ling Wu's slender fingertips pull the trigger, and then, from the pitch-black muzzle that symbolized death, a jet of water sprayed out.

Qiangzi had already peed his pants in fear.

He was still shaken.

Wh... what, there were actually no bullets?

Ling Wu's voice rang out: "Surprise."

The cold-blooded ruthlessness on his face vanished without a trace, suppressed into the dark and damp depths of his heart as if it were just an illusion, replaced by a gentle and polite smile.

Ling Wu said lazily and steadily: "Officer Li, I have memorized every regulation of the Empire by heart; I am a law-abiding good citizen."

"Sometimes intimidation is one of the most effective means of deterrence."

Officer Li wiped away cold sweat.

He looked at this young man before him, and in a daze, a sense of dejection and frustration welled up from within.

Ling Wu possessed a level of intellect and cruelty that surpassed his age.

His world was even black and white.

"Facts have proven." Ling Wu tossed the gun casually onto the tabletop, fingers interlaced: "This gun cannot pose a threat, can it?"

"It also corresponds to your hypothesis-is-invalid theory."

The policewoman looked at Ling Wu, swallowed, and tremblingly handed over a glass of water: "Do... do you want to drink some water?"

The policewoman did not receive the cold, terrifying gaze she had expected; on the youth's beautiful face, he offered her a smile that was quite gentle, even dashing.

"Thank you."

The policewoman suddenly felt that Ling Wu was not that scary after all.

Until the next second, Ling Wu faced Officer Li, aura fully unleashed, and said: "Can we now properly discuss how this matter should be resolved?"

Officer Li looked somewhat dejected: "This matter... involves too much."

Ling Wu tapped his fingertips on the tabletop: "Then I will have to ask my father to come and resolve it personally."

Officer Li: "And your father is?"

"Jin Liangjin."

Using the name of Jin Liangjin at a time like this was practically as authoritative as a crown prince holding a royal seal in ancient times.

Officer Li's expression changed abruptly, and his attitude became two degrees more humble: "So it is the Eldest Young Master; hearing of you a hundred times is not as good as seeing you once."

"I understand this matter now."

No matter how high the backgrounds of those people behind the scenes were, could they be higher than the Jin Family?

Ling Wu stood up, put away the Colt M1911 pistol, and gave him a deep look: "Just follow your Police rules and enforce the law impartially."

Detained for 14 days.

"Officer Li, looking forward to our next meeting."

Officer Li: "..."

Better not to meet next time.

"Send someone to escort the Eldest Young Master."

Ling Wu waved his hand: "No need."

"The person picking me up has likely already arrived."

At the entrance of the Police.

A black Cayenne was parked by the roadside; Ling Wu walked to the back row and knocked on the window familiarly. The window rolled down quickly, revealing Yu Shixue's handsome face: "Get in."

Ling Wu pulled open the car door and sat inside.

Yu Shixue: "Resolved so quickly? I thought I would be waiting for you for another half hour."

He handed over a square handkerchief.

Ling Wu wiped the blood off his shirt: "Young Master Yu, aren't you someone who is afraid of getting dirty?"

Yu Shixue recalled the time they first met by the fountain pool, knitted his brows, and said: "Ling Wu, you can just call me by my name."

Ling Wu smiled and didn't take the bait: "I have to thank you for reminding me this morning; otherwise, I wouldn't have discovered that someone was deliberately following me."

Yu Shixue glanced at him.

He understood that he was referring to that line—"By the way, when you are out and about, always pay attention to your safety."

Ling Wu's words were mostly flattery, and even carried a hint of hostility.

It was as if he were blaming him.

Blaming him for what? For not pointing out directly that Shen Zhaojue was going to move against him? Or was he blaming him for not stepping in to save him?