Chapter 475: Sole Confession

It's you again!

Unaware that he had become the central figure in the biggest scandal at the Police Force, Li Ang turned around upon sensing someone's presence—and saw that the troublemaker was back; his expression instantly darkened.

As someone with a relatively mild temperament, his anger had cooled considerably after a full day's rest, but seeing this persistent nuisance still stirred a fresh wave of fury in him.

Are you never done?

Setting down his large sniper rifle and stepping back from the shooting position, Li Ang, covered in dust, glared and demanded:

I've told you many times already—what happened yesterday morning was an accident. Your target escaped mainly because your disguise had too many flaws—you didn't look like a coffee vendor at all!

Even if I did cause you to lose your target, you spent the entire morning cuffing me, then denied me lunch in the cafeteria—doesn't that balance out? If you keep this up, don't blame me for being uncivil!

You!

Hearing Li Ang bring up yesterday's incident, the female officer recalled being made a fool of that morning and the humiliation at lunch—her temper flared, and she glared, ready to shout back.

But when she caught sight of his slender frame and the dusty old coat he wore, her entire aura deflated; she lowered her head and muttered, voice strained:

You… can't you just talk to me properly?

…

???

Did you eat something weird?

Watching the female officer shift from a shrewish lioness to a meek little wife in the span of a second, Li Ang's mind stalled—he lost his righteous indignation.

Is this… a smile hiding a dagger? First courtesy, then force? A secret flanking maneuver? Or some new trick I don't know?

Just as Li Ang was stunned by her sudden soft tone, staring at her with suspicion, wondering what scheme she was hatching, she reached out, tugged at the hem of her uniform, and asked in a shy, quiet voice:

Have you… been getting by lately?

…

I'm done… I truly can't figure out what she wants anymore…

Completely baffled by her schizophrenic behavior, Li Ang stood frozen for several seconds before finally dredging up a sliver of residual anger by recalling all the things he hated about her; he replied gruffly:

Thanks for the concern. Aside from being haunted by a petty, annoying nuisance, I haven't had any other bad luck lately.

You!

Having barely held back her anger, only to be mocked outright, the hot-tempered female officer erupted again, snapping her head up to glare at him, eyebrows sharp as daggers:

You… you're fine… that's good…

…

…

After stealing a glance at Li Ang, whose eyelids twitched violently and whose expression looked like he'd swallowed beef stewed with chocolate, the female officer, equally suffocated, abruptly turned her head away—only when the old coat vanished from her sight did she feel any relief.

There was no choice—after reading Li Ang's file and learning of her father's and the Military's debts to his family, she'd lain awake all night, scratching her walls raw with her fingernails.

In past operations against rebels, she'd heard their angry accusations before—but she'd only felt pity for their suffering, and never hesitated to arrest them when needed.

Because she firmly believed: no matter how unjustly treated, once a person joined the rebels and sought revenge through assassination, poisoning, or bombings—endangering innocent lives—they became a new oppressor and deserved punishment. But Li Ang's file was unnervingly clean: aside from one extremely inflammatory remark and interfering with her arrest, he'd simply struggled to survive—working dawn to dusk, laboring tirelessly to keep his small family from falling into ruin.

He never raised a blade against the innocent; he even saved an entire hospital's worth of people, and everyone praised him as diligent, hardworking, and kind—no one had ever spoken ill of him. He was the perfect victim, utterly blameless.

Worse still, much of the injustice and betrayal he suffered came directly from the Military, under her father's command—even her father's signature appeared on the proposal to prematurely cut off his parents' pension!

I'm finished… I'll never be able to hold my head up in front of him…

Biting her lip, half-bitter, half-furious, the female officer turned to the pile of gas tanks beside her and demanded, forcing a stern tone:

You're practicing such dangerous shooting… what… what exactly are you trying to do…?

…

Damn it!

Seeing the face staring at her with confusion, the female officer—who'd already softened halfway—remembered her lesson, squeezed her eyes shut, and mustered courage to shout again:

I warn you! This shooting method is strictly forbidden by the Police Force!

I'll carefully review your nail-gun records from now on. If any similar attacks occur in the Capital, you'd better account for every single nail you fired!

Don't think just because you haven't slipped up, I'll drop my investigation—I'll be watching you closely!

Li Ang Lyne! Listen to me! You haven't harmed any innocents yet—there's still time to turn back!

I know you've suffered great injustice, but that's no reason to give up on yourself! I can help you escape them!

Did you hear me? Say something!

After screaming for minutes with a (〃＞ Min ＜) expression and receiving no reply, the female officer cautiously opened one eye—and instantly turned beet red, her face darkening to liver color.

That damn rebel bastard had already put on noise-canceling ear muffs, turned his backside squarely toward her, and reclined once more onto the shooting platform over a meter high—her heartfelt warnings had all been shouted to his ass!

Aaaahhhhh!!!

Watching those two cheeks calmly facing her, swaying violently with each recoil, as if laughing mockingly at her, her shame exploded; she screamed, clenched her fists, and lunged forward, delivering a full-force punch to that damned rear!

Aaah!!!

What the hell is wrong with you?!

…

Brother?

Hearing his footsteps sound odd, Anna opened the door early, worried—and saw Li Ang, covered in dust, limping toward her; she dropped her bags and rushed over, brushing the dirt off him while fretting:

Brother! What happened to you?!

Uh… I don't go on patrols, but I'm still with the Police Force, so I joined in some hand-to-hand training.

Secretly rubbing his still-throbbing rear, Li Ang waved his hand with a sour expression, half-truthfully fibbing:

It wasn't much at first—but my sparring partner's got a screw loose. He punched my thigh… a little movement fixed it…

By the way, how's your packing going? Can you make the move tomorrow morning?

(End of Chapter)