Chapter 424: First Meeting, Take This Punch

It must be him… Yu Dazhang had never met Yu Ze, but he had read the description of his build and appearance in the statement.

After confirming the target, he strode toward Pan Jiansheng.

Stopping Yu Ze from jumping into the lake at this moment is useless.

This kind of person deliberately causes trouble; even if you stop him this time, he'll find another chance to harm someone next time.

So what he must do is stop Pan Jiansheng from entering the water.

When they arrived near the family of three, the two had just exchanged greetings when someone on the shore shouted:

"Help! Someone's fallen in!"

At the same time, Yu Ze in the lake also shouted:

"Help me!!"

He frantically flailed his arms, looking exactly like someone who can't swim.

Seeing Pan Jiansheng about to go over, Yu Dazhang immediately grabbed him:

"Just stay here with your wife and child, don't meddle— you can't save him."

At these words, Pan Jiansheng's eyes widened in shock.

Could a police officer say something like this?

Although he didn't know Yu Dazhang well, the man's reputation was legendary.

Almost the entire Songhai police force knew about this fatty's accomplishments.

In Pan Jiansheng's eyes, Yu Dazhang was the flagship of Hongkou Division, a benchmark figure.

Could someone like this really refuse to save a life?!

Not only won't he save him—he won't even let me go.

In that moment, Pan Jiansheng was stunned, his entire worldview shaken by the fat man before him.

"But human life is at stake—we're police officers, we can't…"

Pan Jiansheng had barely begun when Yu Dazhang cut him off:

"I don't need you giving me a moral lecture. What happens to your daughter if you die? What happens to your wife? Will your parents have to bury their own child?"

What the hell is this "if you die" nonsense… Pan Jiansheng was infuriated by Yu Dazhang's words.

Every time he opens his mouth, it's "if you die."

Do I have to die?

While they were delayed, everyone in the park began moving toward the shore—but not a single person jumped in to save him.

"See that? The public's eyes are sharp."

Yu Dazhang pointed over there and said:

"If no one's saving him, it means he's not in danger—just relax."

At this point, Pan Jiansheng was too furious to speak.

Even his wife and child thought the scene before them was absurd.

A police officer is telling another police officer not to save someone?

Where are the principles? Where's the bottom line?

Besides, how can there be a police officer this fat?

Yu Dazhang paid no attention to their stares.

He had already decided: as long as he stopped Pan Jiansheng from entering the water, that was enough.

Yu Ze, performing in the artificial lake, saw no one was rescuing him—he'd surface on his own soon enough.

Yu Dazhang didn't believe Yu Ze could actually drown himself.

But he had underestimated Pan Jiansheng's determination to save.

"Let go!"

Pan Jiansheng strained to pry open Yu Dazhang's grip on his arm—his expression showed urgent panic.

But no matter how hard he pulled, he couldn't budge that fat hand.

I really want to throw you into the lake… Yu Dazhang suddenly found these do-gooders annoying.

Why can't you understand good advice?

I'm trying to stop you from throwing your life away, and you're getting angry?

Yu Dazhang now truly wanted to let go and leave him be.

Go ahead, jump in, let him kill you—I'm tired. "Fine, I'll take you over to see—he's really fine."

Helpless, Yu Dazhang pulled Pan Jiansheng's arm to the shore.

"Look, he's swimming so well."

One hand still gripping Pan Jiansheng's arm, he pointed at Yu Ze in the artificial lake:

"On the surface, his arms are flailing wildly—but underneath, his legs are constantly kicking."

"The water level stays right at his chest—he hasn't sunk at all."

As Pan Jiansheng listened to his analysis, he carefully observed Yu Ze's frantic struggles in the water—and realized it matched exactly what he said.

"Look at his face—how flushed it is."

Yu Dazhang continued:

"If he were drowning, his face would turn pale at first, then gradually blue-purple as oxygen deprivation worsens. A flushed face means he hasn't swallowed any water."

"Look at his eyes—quick, look!"

He tightened his grip on Pan Jiansheng's arm, urging him to focus:

"See how there's no redness at all? If he were drowning, his conjunctiva would be bloodshot—that's impossible to fake."

After this analysis, Pan Jiansheng also sensed something was off.

The onlookers beside them had also overheard Yu Dazhang's analysis. At first they glared at him, but as they kept listening, they too realized something wasn't right.

This fat guy's analysis actually does sound plausible.

As the murmuring grew louder, Yu Ze underwater noticed the people on the bank starting to point at him.

Sensing things were going badly, he actually sank back down and forced himself to swallow two mouthfuls of water.

When he surfaced again, Yu Ze looked far more wretched. At the same time he reached out toward the crowd on the bank, seemingly trying to call for help.

Still trying to lure people in… A sudden nameless fury flared up in Yu Dazhang's heart.

He had deliberately spoken up to expose the act, hoping the other fellow would quit while he was ahead and stop the performance.

He hadn't expected Yu Ze's obsession to run so deep.

Yu Dazhang could see it now — even if he didn't succeed today, he'd pull the same trick again in the future.

This son of a bitch is rotten to the core.

In that case…

Yu Dazhang let go of Pan Jiansheng, then unclipped his holster, and fished his phone out of his pocket.

"Hold onto this for me a moment."

After handing it to Pan Jiansheng, he took off his shoes and jacket as well.

"Wait a minute!" Pan Jiansheng grabbed him:

"Didn't you say he was faking it? Then what are you doing?"

"Even faking it is tiring." Yu Dazhang brushed his hand away, took a running start, and jumped into the lake:

"I'm going to pull him out."

That last line he said in midair, deliberately for the people on the bank to hear — and for Yu Ze as well.

With a "splash," Yu Dazhang hit the water, sending spray all over the onlookers.

He'd known how to swim since he was a kid. He couldn't compare with the pros, but he counted as an amateur enthusiast.

Since getting fat, this was his first time swimming outdoors. The sudden plunge into the water actually felt pretty good.

Since Yu Ze wasn't far from the bank, Yu Dazhang only had to flounder a couple of strokes before he was right in front of him.

Just as Yu Ze was about to reach out and grab this prey, he suddenly saw a fist growing larger and larger before his eyes.

"Smack!"

Yu Dazhang opened with a straight punch right to his left eye.

That punch made stars explode before Yu Ze's eyes, his head buzzed, and his ears rang with a droning "buzz."

Before he could recover, Yu Dazhang hooked his neck, took a deep breath, and dragged him straight down underwater.

This just goes to show how important intel is.

Yu Dazhang knew Yu Ze was a strong swimmer; in pure technique he definitely couldn't match him.

So a sneak attack was the only option.

Once the first strike landed, he wasn't going to give Yu Ze any chance to fight back.

(End of chapter)