Hearing this, Chen Ling finally set the whiskey glass back on the ground and wrote a line on the form:
"No eyewitnesses."
Immediately after, he ordered another whiskey and walked over to the next resident of Ice Spring Street.
"Name."
"..."
"Name!"
"Sun Laoliu."
"Did you see the Calamity?"
"I… I…" Sun Laoliu swallowed hard, having just witnessed the previous man’s ordeal. "No, I didn’t see it."
Watching Chen Ling single-handedly take down everyone and then calmly interrogate them, a thought simultaneously crossed the minds of Sun Laoliu and the others…
Did that bastard Ma set us up?!
Didn’t he say they were sending over some rookie reserve officers?
That ghostly agility he just displayed… it’s almost on par with a law enforcement judge. Or… is he actually a judge?
Has the Ice Spring Street situation been exposed? Is Ma planning to use this opportunity to wipe us all out and clear his own name?
The more they thought about it, the paler their faces became. They all stared at Chen Ling, terrified that after finishing his questions, he’d pull out a gun and execute them one by one.
Chen Ling leisurely recorded everyone’s statements, had them sign and fingerprint the forms, and for those who were already knocked out, he simply wrote "No eyewitnesses" and forcibly pressed their fingerprints onto the paper.
Then, he asked the bartender for a thick rope, tied everyone’s hands together, and pushed open the tavern door.
"Thank you for your cooperation… See you tomorrow."
The young man in the tattered cotton coat stood at the doorway, smiling at the people inside the tavern before turning and leaving.
The tavern, now in complete disarray, fell into dead silence.
They’re… not dead?
After what felt like an eternity, Sun Laoliu snapped out of his daze, his back drenched in cold sweat.
He turned to the bartender.
"...What are you standing around for? Come and untie us!!"
---
"Did you guys hear gunshots just now?"
Inside the teahouse, one of the law enforcement officers hesitantly spoke up.
"No… You must’ve misheard." Qian Fan casually replied while shuffling mahjong tiles. "Don’t worry, the people in Ice Spring Street know their limits. At most, they’ll play around with knives. Pulling out guns and causing a scene would make things messy for everyone."
"True."
"That kid Chen Ling… do you think he’ll make it out today?"
"Hard to say… He’s better-looking than Wu Youdong. If those guys are feeling particularly ruthless… tsk."
"What if someone dies? Won’t District Three have a hard time explaining that?"
"What’s there to explain? He’s just some poor kid from Frost Street. I heard his parents were scared out of their wits by a Calamity. Even if he dies here, we can just bury him somewhere. Who’s going to know? Who’s going to make a fuss?"
"Relax, District Three is Brother Ma’s territory. He’ll handle it… Three of Circles."
"Pong!"
Knock knock knock—
The sound of knocking came again.
"Tsk, who is it this time?" Qian Fan stood up, visibly annoyed. "There’s always something going on."
"Probably that kid realizing something’s wrong and coming to complain to us, haha."
"He hasn’t been gone for long. Did he just take a look at the door and come back?"
Amid the chatter, Qian Fan opened the door and saw Chen Ling standing there. His brows immediately furrowed.
"Why are you back again? Didn’t I make myself clear earlier?"
"This is my work report."
"...?"
Chen Ling pulled out the form from his pocket and was about to hand it to Qian Fan when he noticed a small bloodstain and a bit of skin stuck to the corner. He casually flicked it off, wiped the spot clean, and then handed the form over with a smile.
Qian Fan was stunned.
The other law enforcement officers playing mahjong inside were also stunned.
"..." Qian Fan took the form and looked at it suspiciously for a moment before forcing a smile. "Xiao Chen… I know this task is a bit challenging for you, but you can’t just forge fingerprints to fool us…"
"I’m not fooling anyone."
Chen Ling said seriously, "They’re all in the tavern. If you don’t believe me, you can go ask them yourself."
Qian Fan’s frown deepened. He looked at Chen Ling, unsure whether he was joking or being serious… No, there’s no way those people would cooperate so easily with him.
Did this kid sell his looks to get them to…
But that would’ve been way too fast, right?
"I’ll go take a look." Qian Fan stood up and was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something. He turned back and said, "You do know that falsifying task results will get you disqualified from the exam, right?"
"I know."
Qian Fan lit a cigarette, still skeptical, and headed toward the tavern. The other officers exchanged glances and followed out of curiosity.
As the group of law enforcement officers left, Chen Ling glanced down at the mahjong table. A few lines of text flashed before his eyes:
[Audience Expectation +1… +1… +1…]
---
Black Axe Tavern.
"Can you hurry up?"
Amid the chaos of the tavern, groans of pain echoed everywhere. Sun Laoliu, who was relatively less injured, couldn’t help but curse as he watched the bartender slowly cutting the ropes.
The bartender shot him a cold glance. "Keep talking, and I’ll kill you."
"...Why weren’t you this tough earlier?"
"That kid’s a law enforcement judge. What good would it do us to act tough?"
"He’s really a judge?!" Sun Laoliu’s eyes widened. "Are you sure?"
"Many years ago, when I was selling drugs in District Three, I was tracked by a law enforcement judge… His movements were exactly like that young man’s. If I hadn’t been lucky, I wouldn’t have escaped to District Two." The bartender paused. "Do you know who that judge was?"
"Who?"
"Han Meng, the Chief Law Enforcement Judge of District Three."
Sun Laoliu froze in place.
Creak—
The tavern door opened.
Qian Fan stood at the entrance, staring at the bloodied, groaning residents of Ice Spring Street and the utter chaos of the tavern. His eyes filled with disbelief!
"This…" Qian Fan stood at the doorway like a statue. "Did that kid do this?"
The other law enforcement officers who arrived shortly after were equally shocked.
Qian Fan stepped into the tavern, carefully stepping over the corpse-like Bone Blade and the wailing burly man. Those who were still conscious glared at the officers with burning rage in their eyes.
"Qian Fan!!" Sun Laoliu gritted his teeth and sat up. "You son of a bitch! I’ll kill you!!"
Qian Fan frowned. "What are you yelling about?"
Click—
The sound of a gun being cocked rang out. The bartender had quietly approached, his gun now pointed at Qian Fan’s forehead.
The other officers were startled and immediately drew their guns, aiming at the bartender and the struggling tavern patrons.
The tavern, filled with the stench of blood, was now a powder keg ready to explode.
"What are you trying to do?" Qian Fan’s forehead was beaded with sweat as he spoke in a low voice. "Don’t forget, we’re partners."
"Partners? You sent that guy to wreck our place, and now you’re talking about partnership?!" Sun Laoliu snarled.
"...I don’t know what’s going on. Chen Ling’s just a reserve officer…"
"Bullshit reserve officer!!" Sun Laoliu pointed at the groaning people on the floor. "Say that again to my face! Is this what a reserve officer looks like?!!"
"I…"
Qian Fan was at a loss for words.
"...Where’s Chen Ling now?" He turned to ask another officer.
"He seems to have left."
"Left?"
"Yeah… He said he’s off duty."