Chapter 1137: So You're the One Called Wang Yan

With the spread of the newspapers, and through word of mouth from the victims in the carriage where Wang Yan handled matters as well as other passengers in that same carriage, his reputation had, to a certain extent, become renowned throughout the Northeast.

Of course, it was not that every single person in the Northeast knew his name; the spread was within a certain scope, primarily breaking through regional limits so that he had a reputation across the entire Northeast, rather than being confined as before to just their own Ningyang Station.

If one were to say his name was loud, it was mainly within specific groups, such as thieves and pickpockets. These people had some degree of intersection with one another; some had fought over turf and became acquainted through fighting, while others had exchanged words during their 'advanced studies' in detention centers.

If Wang Yan had only caught ten or eight of them, it certainly would have had little impact, but since he had caught several hundred, the effect was entirely different; more or less, everyone would know someone. Upon hearing that so-and-so had been taken inside, they naturally understood what was happening and learned of his reputation.

Another group consisted of public officials, primarily those within the public security, procuratorate, and court systems.

Although the railway police still belonged to the railway system at this time and had not yet been transferred to the Ministry of Public Security, making them a separate family from regular police, the law was the same law, and the final process for handling various criminals was identical. Moreover, the railway police and other police forces also conducted joint investigations and shared information.

Just as if Wang Yan caught a thief on a train, that thief could not have stolen only on the railways; they certainly also picked locks, pried open doors, ransacked cabinets, and frequently visited densely populated areas in various locations. The number of registered but unsolved theft cases in various localities was countless.

After the railway police completed their interrogations, they also had to notify the police in other relevant localities accordingly, allowing everyone to close some cases.

Furthermore, there were homicide cases, which involved an even broader scope. At this time, corpses occasionally appeared along the railway lines; when the masses reported these, they were assigned to the police under the Ministry of Public Security, yet the bodies were found on the railway, which created room for dispute.

In short, it was a complete mess.

To speak truly, there was still some color of factionalism involved. Of course, if viewed positively, having the railway system centrally manage the railway police was not wrong. Conversely, it meant concentrating police resources even more to improve efficiency. Either way, there was reasoning to support it.

It was precisely through such continuous contact that Wang Yan's name naturally spread.

Of course, what ultimately established Wang Yan's illustrious reputation was, root and branch, the individual lawbreakers and criminals he caught; without them, there would be no Wang Yan of today. To put it this way, ever since he was commended in the newspapers and his reputation spread throughout the Northeast region, the bureau leaders of their Ningyang Railway Police had met with him several times, and in the leaders' words, 'Seeing you kid makes me fond of you.'

This was naturally because Wang Mou was capable, relatively steady, and spoke pleasantly. Though young, he was skilled at flattery. The bureau leader had two hobbies: first, calligraphy, and second, receiving flattery.

Coincidentally, Wang Yan was a literary master of his generation and a calligraphy expert, plus he was good at flattery; combining these two factors, he got along very well with the bureau chief, which was the root source of this fondness.

Another root cause was attributable to the plain and unadorned nature of the heads of various departments in this era; this was, after all, an age where university students were besieging the Forbidden City...

Over the course of more than a month, Wang Yan had caught over three hundred people, some of whom were child traffickers, while the vast majority were habitual thieves. If one included those with sticky fingers, the number would exceed four hundred...

Not all of them were caught on the train; he spent the most time at the Ningyang and Haicheng stations, where there was ample time at departure and arrival points, and occasionally during mid-journey stops for maintenance or resupply, there was also considerable time. While waiting, he casually caught quite a few on the platforms as well.

It was precisely such a fierce record that made people mention only five words when speaking of Wang Yan: 'Truly fucking awesome'...

However, after catching so many people and allowing more than a month for the effect to ferment, the train became visibly peaceful. There was even one day when, throughout the entire day, not a single passenger reported losing belongings or a child.

Of course, that was only that rare day; afterward, theft incidents still occurred occasionally, but compared to the past—not even comparing to the intense situation of the previous month, but just compared to when Wang Yan first arrived—cases of lost belongings and lost children had decreased significantly. Of those in the Northeast with a high level of skill in theft, if not all, then at least a small half were currently undergoing 'advanced studies and exchanges' in prison.

Presumably, those who entered first were happy, basically seeing peers enter every day; gathering together for a casual chat, 'Oh, you were also caught by that dog surnamed Wang?' Everyone sharing the same plight. When everyone is miserable, it doesn't feel so miserable; it can actually provide comfort.

Thus, Wang Yan achieved fame in a single battle, forcibly making this train safe...

So much so that apart from his daily task of mediating conflicts, Wang Yan lacked much excitement. Out of boredom, he picked up his pen to organize his experiences, intending to write a book on insights into catching thieves to help his comrades.

On this day, Wang Yan was quietly writing with a fountain pen in the dining car; over there, Ma Kui was looking at the content Wang Yan had already finished, while Wang Xin lay on the table on the other side, looking at the content written earlier...

He let out a long sigh: "I say, Wang Yan, your requirements for people in this experience guide are a bit high. Who does it like you, starting off by talking about 'feeling'? It's so mystical and nonsensical. Also, look here, you're even analyzing clothing, attire, and hairstyles; it's too miscellaneous."

"Isn't that your problem?" Wang Yan said without looking up. "Without feeling, if you only look at those mysterious aspects, didn't I also write analyses and judgments for various situations later on? The main goal is to help people cultivate feeling; this thing isn't mystical, it's just that one is not sensitive enough, lacks sufficient foundation, and doesn't understand people deeply enough. Look at Old Ma; he has the feeling."

"If you don't have the feeling, based on the things I wrote, as long as you are fast and observe comprehensively and in detail, there is still a certain possibility of finding the person. It's much better than groping around blindly with no clue. As long as you do this often, gradually forming an instinct, you can also cultivate the feeling."

"In the end, your comprehension is just not enough..."

"Comprehension not enough, mind not calm, looking is in vain." Ma Kui mocked Wang Xin, saying, "You just haven't seen enough; do you know what this kid is actually writing?"

Wang Xin dismissed it: "The Divine Art of Catching Thieves, what else could it be?"

"It looks like catching thieves, but actually it is the Art of Observing People. This book is most useful for us police; we deal with too many people every day, all kinds of people. You say people's hearts are hidden behind their bellies; if you can't read people, problems will arise. Imagine how uncomfortable it is for a cat that catches mice to be played by a mouse. Go learn it."

"Yes, yes, yes, everything you say is right." Wang Xin nodded repeatedly, then continued, "But what use is it now? Wang Yan is mighty and domineering; the thieves on this train have all been caught until none remain. Now it's just those ordinary people whose greed gets the better of their hands, and occasionally some ignorant petty thieves with sparse skills who get caught the moment they steal."

"Have you forgotten that little thief from a few days ago? That guy was beaten so badly, truly miserable. I later specifically asked around; one arm broken, one leg fractured, three ribs snapped, plus internal bleeding. But what was most crucial? No one knows who struck so ruthlessly, but even his bull was kicked ruined; tsk tsk, a living eunuch."

"Old Ma, Wang Yan, tell me, what meaning is there in our work now? Day after day it's either old women fighting or old men and women pretending to be foolish and making scenes; no meaning, too no meaning."

"If there's no meaning, go home! Going home has meaning!" Old Ma snorted.

Wang Xin had long become immune to Old Ma's mockery and acted as if he hadn't heard; he turned instead and said, "Wang Yan, stop writing. Don't you get along well with the officials? From Old Hu all the way to our bureau chief, you're familiar with them all, calling them brothers and friends. Why don't you pull some strings and get the three of us transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department? Then it would still be the three of us, solving cases and catching criminals; how great would that be? Yesterday we even saw a corpse halfway through; who knows what happened to that case."

Old Ma laughed: "You dream quite beautifully. If we really became criminal investigators, this kid Wang Yan is universally acknowledged as awesome; just from this book he's writing, one can see that handling criminal cases would be easy for him. As for me, I'm shameless enough to admit I have some experience and some methods. But you tell me, what can you, the second place graduate from the police academy, do?"

"Can't I serve tea, pour water, run errands, and deliver messages? At least I'm a young lad, my mobility isn't bad; investigation, visits, surveillance, arrest—what can't I do? Tsk..."

Wang Yan was about to speak when he looked up and saw Old Lu sprinting toward them outside the glass of the dining car door.

Old Lu banged the dining car door open with a crash, his voice filled with panic and unable to hide his trembling: "Quick, quick, quick, get the guns, get the guns! There are ten or so people robbing on the train, all carrying knives and axes!"

Click-clack...

At the crisp sound, everyone looked toward Wang Xin, only to see him holding a well-maintained Type 54 pistol, his entire body already having stood up, or rather, jumped up.

Seeing everyone looking at him, he explained, "Uh, that was just a reflex."

Ma Kui, with a stern face, shouted, "Unload the chamber for me! This is a train; they are holding knives. Can you blast ten or so people at once? What if a passenger gets slashed? Who can bear that responsibility? What if your gun goes off accidentally? Huh? Hurry and unload the chamber!"

"I was just a little excited..." Wang Xin grinned awkwardly, quickly removed the magazine, racked the slide to eject the bullet, and smoothly reinserted the bullet into the magazine, a set of movements flowing like floating clouds and running water.

Ma Kui glared at him, then watched Wang Yan take a gun out of the cabinet, and immediately said, "You two pay close attention; absolutely do not act rashly. Especially you, Wang Yan!"

He knew that Wang Yan was extraordinarily awesome.

"If I act, I will only do so when I am confident; don't worry. Let's go quickly; the masses are frightened." Wang Yan waved his hand and walked out first.

There was no need to ask which carriage it was; one simply needed to head in the direction from which Old Lu had come.

After passing three carriages, they saw several people in the narrow aisle holding knives, axes, and the like, their faces full of ferocity. The person at the front was slapping a passenger across the face.

"Stop!"

Ma Kui shouted loudly from behind, while Wang Xin squeezed in front of Wang Yan, "Put away all your knives!"

Wang Yan shook his head, paying no attention to Wang Xin's action. It was normal for this kid to be excited; he simply wanted to achieve merit, wanted results, and wanted to strike against crime; it was very pure.

In the past, he couldn't detect pickpockets or human traffickers, but now several bandits had jumped straight into their faces; naturally, he couldn't control himself. Relatively speaking, he even preferred this; truly, a newborn calf fears no tiger.

Generally speaking, it was just that he hadn't encountered any setbacks yet. Wang Xin's greatest setback was Wang Yan; all other messy matters had been resolved by Wang Yan...

Trains at this time were unstable; there were madmen committing robbery, and although rare, they existed.

This group was the same gang from the original drama several years later; presumably, they had heard of Wang Yan's reputation and wanted to end their happy life wandering the Jianghu ahead of schedule...

Hearing Wang Xin's words, one of the bandits at the front raised his knife and approached, the blade reflecting a cold light, bright and shining.

This person approached with a hooligan's air: "Who the hell do you think you are? So you're the one called Wang Yan?"

"I'm nobody special, and I'm certainly not Wang Yan; put that knife down! Otherwise, I'll make my move!"

"Damn, you dare make a move? I won't put it down; just try it." The bandit brandished his knife and stepped forward, intending to intimidate Wang Xin from close range.

By this time, Wang Yan was already prepared, for Wang Xin was not yet someone capable of controlling himself.

Sure enough, the next moment, he directly grabbed the man's wrist, seized the bare blade with his empty hand, and subdued him. The bandits behind reacted, raising their knives and axes as they charged over.

Wang Yan stepped forward to meet them, blocked one man's arm, twisted it to snatch the knife away and toss it behind him, then immediately used that man as a human shield, pushing against this bandit to charge straight ahead.

How immense was his physical strength? Even without using full force, he pushed back the crowd behind him without pausing, all the way to the carriage entrance; not a single one of this group escaped, all of them being crushed together.

Then he simply began dismantling them, throwing the human shields aside, quickly disarming these people, and tossing all those knives, axes, and such to the side. Wang Xin also handed over the earlier captive to Ma Kui and ran over to help.

In the process, a round of punches and kicks was inevitable, rendering these people incapable of fighting.

Finally, Wang Yan pinned down the big brother with a sharp-beaked, monkey-cheeked villainous face who looked like no good person at all; without a second word, he first delivered a slap, while Wang Xin reached in to rummage through the man's satchel.

His movements paused for a moment; looking at Wang Yan, he pulled a pistol out of the bag.

Wang Yan took a look; it was a Colt 1911, a popular firearm during the Second World War, clearly a leftover from previous wars, though how it had ended up in the hands of this bandit chief was unknown.

"Xiao Nian, go get the handcuffs," Wang Yan ordered. "Old Lu, you all take these knives to the dining car."

"Got it."

Old Lu responded in a daze, then found two attendants, and together they went to pick up the various weapons and departed.

Just then, the previously extremely quiet carriage suddenly erupted...