Chapter 28: He Is Off Work

Hearing this, Chen Ling finally placed the glass back on the ground and wrote in one column of the form: "No eyewitness."

Next, he ordered another glass of whiskey and approached the next resident from Ice Spring Street.

"Name."

"Name!"

"Sun Laoliu."

"Did you see the Calamity?"

"I... I..." Sun Laoliu swallowed, recalling what had just happened to the big man. "I didn't see it."

Chen Ling nodded and continued to the next person.

As Chen Ling single-handedly subdued everyone and then calmly proceeded with his questions, a single thought simultaneously dawned on Sun Laoliu and the others...

Ma tricked us?!

Weren't they supposed to send rookies from the reserve?

His ghostly dodging ability just now was almost on par with an Enforcer. Or rather... was he an Enforcer all along?

Had the Ice Spring Street matter been exposed, and was Ma planning to use this opportunity to eliminate them all and then clear his own name?

The more they thought about it, the worse their expressions became. They collectively stared at Chen Ling, terrified that he would pull out a gun and execute them one by one after finishing his questions.

Chen Ling unhurriedly recorded everyone's statements and had them affix their fingerprints. For those who had been knocked unconscious, he simply wrote "no eyewitness" and forcibly pressed a fingerprint.

Next, he asked the boss for a thick rope, used it to bind everyone's hands together, and then pushed open the tavern door.

"Thank you for your cooperation... See you tomorrow."

The teenager, clad in a tattered cotton overcoat, stood at the doorway, offered a faint smile to those inside the tavern, and then turned to leave.

Inside the chaotic tavern, a deafening silence fell.

They didn't die?

After an unknown amount of time, Sun Laoliu jolted awake from that daze, his back already drenched in cold sweat.

He turned to look at the boss,

"...What are you waiting for? Come and untie us!!"

"Did you hear gunshots just now?"

Inside the teahouse, an Enforcer spoke hesitantly.

"No... you must have misheard," Qian Fan replied casually, shuffling mahjong tiles. "Don't worry, the people from Ice Spring Street know their limits. At most, they'll use knives when things get wild. Pulling out a gun and escalating matters would be bad for everyone."

"True."

"Will that kid, Chen Ling, even make it out of there today?"

"It's hard to say... he's better looking than Wu Youdong. If those people are a bit more ruthless... tsk."

"If someone ends up dead, won't it be difficult to explain to District Three?"

"What's difficult to explain? He's just a poor kid from Cold Frost Street. I heard his parents were driven mad by the Calamity. Even if he dies here, we can just bury him anywhere. Who would know? Who would come to cause trouble?"

"Don't worry, District Three is Brother Ma's territory. He can handle it... Three of Bamboo."

"Pong!"

*Knock, knock, knock—*

The knocking sound came again.

"Tsk, who is it now?" Qian Fan stood up, visibly annoyed. "Honestly, so much trouble every single day."

"Probably that kid realized something was wrong and ran out to complain to us, haha."

"He hasn't been gone long, has he? He wouldn't have just peeked through the door and come straight back, would he?"

Amidst their chatter, Qian Fan opened the door, and seeing Chen Ling standing at the entrance, his brows immediately furrowed.

"Why is it you again? Haven't I made myself clear to you?"

"This is my work report."

Chen Ling pulled the form from his pocket, about to hand it to Qian Fan, when he noticed a small bloodstain and some skin fragments on its corner. He casually flicked them away with a finger, wiped the spot clean, and then, with a smile, handed the form to Qian Fan.

Qian Fan was stunned.

The other Enforcers playing mahjong inside were also stunned.

"..." Qian Fan took the form, eyed it suspiciously for a moment, and then chuckled, "Chen... I know this job might be a bit challenging for you, but you can't just press your own fingerprint and try to fool us, can you...?"

"I didn't fool anyone."

Chen Ling said seriously, "They're right there in the tavern. If you don't believe me, you can go and ask them yourself."

Qian Fan's frown deepened. He looked at Chen Ling, unsure for a moment whether he was joking or serious... No, how could those people have cooperated so readily with his investigation?

This kid... he couldn't have used his looks to get them to...

But it happened far too quickly, didn't it?

"I'll go see for myself." Qian Fan immediately stood up, about to walk out, when he suddenly remembered something. He turned back and said, "You do know that falsely reporting mission results will lead to disqualification from the exam, right?"

"I know."

Qian Fan lit a cigarette, skeptically heading towards the tavern. The other Enforcers exchanged glances and followed him out of curiosity.

As the group of Enforcers departed, Chen Ling looked down at the mahjong table, where a few lines of text flashed across:

Audience expectation value: 1...1...1...

Black Axe Tavern.

"Can you be any faster?"

Inside the chaotic tavern, moans and groans filled the air. Sun Laoliu, one of the less severely injured, couldn't help but curse at the boss, who was slowly and deliberately cutting the ropes.

The boss gave him a cold glance, "Say one more word, and I'll kill you."

"...Why weren't you so brave just now?"

"That kid is an Enforcer. Would being tough have helped us then?"

"He's really an Enforcer??" Sun Laoliu widened his eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Many years ago, when I was dealing drugs in District Three, an Enforcer tracked me down... His movements were identical to that young man's. If I hadn't been incredibly lucky back then, I would never have made it to District Two." The boss paused. "Do you know who that Enforcer was?"

"Who?"

"The Chief Enforcer of District Three, Han Meng."

Sun Laoliu froze in place.

*Creak—*

The tavern door was opened.

Qian Fan stood at the doorway, his eyes widening in disbelief as he surveyed the chaotic tavern, filled with Ice Spring Street residents, bloodied and barely conscious.

"This..." Qian Fan stood frozen at the doorway like a statue. "Did that kid do all this?"

The numerous Enforcers who arrived shortly after were equally stunned.

Qian Fan stepped into the tavern, carefully navigating around the seemingly lifeless Bone Saber and the incessantly groaning big men. Anyone still conscious glared fixedly at the Enforcers, their eyes burning with rage.

"Qian Fan!!" Sun Laoliu gritted his teeth and struggled to sit up. "You son of a bitch! I'll kill you!!"

Qian Fan frowned. "What are you cursing about?"

*Click—*

The sound of a bullet being chambered rang out. The boss had, unnoticed, stepped forward, his gun now aimed at Qian Fan's forehead.

The other Enforcers were startled, simultaneously drawing their guns and aiming at the boss, as well as the tavern occupants who were struggling to get up.

In the blood-soaked tavern, the atmosphere suddenly froze.

"What do you want?" Cold sweat beaded on Qian Fan's forehead as he spoke in a low voice. "Don't forget, we have a cooperative relationship."

"Cooperation? You sent that guy to wreck the place, and now you want to talk about cooperation??" Sun Laoliu retorted through clenched teeth.

"...I don't know what happened. Chen Ling is just a probationary officer..."

"Probationary officer, my ass!!" Sun Laoliu pointed at the groaning figures sprawled across the floor. "You tell me again, is *this* a probationary officer?!"

"I..."

Qian Fan was speechless.

"...Where's Chen Ling??" He turned to ask another Enforcer.

"He seems to have left."

"Left?"

"Yes... he said he was off duty."