Chapter 69.1

There’s a saying: “If heaven wants to destroy someone, it first makes them mad.”

Pei Zheng hadn’t expected himself to be this insightful.

After he entered the police station with the thugs, the police began to ask questions. Unlike the evasive thugs, Pei Zheng was very cooperative. After giving his name, age, and address, he briefly explained the situation, “Officer, I hadn’t gone far when I felt someone was following me, so I led them around in circles. I ended up at the police station when I had to confront them. Luckily, you arrived in time. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known what to do.”

“…”

The young officer taking Pei Zheng’s statement twitched his lips. If they hadn’t arrived in time, the trouble would have been with the group fighting with this kid.

Pei Zheng continued, “I suspect these people are not just simple robbers but are acting with premeditation. Otherwise, why would they have been following me since I left? I request to make a call to my parents.”

The older officer, hearing Pei Zheng’s age and address, softened his tone. Compared to the uncooperative thugs, Pei Zheng’s behavior seemed credible. He gently said, “After you finish your statement, we’ll notify your parents. First, tell me what was in your bag that was worth them following you and using a knife?”

“Knowing what’s inside will also help us recover the stolen items for you,” the officer added.

Pei Zheng pretended to be puzzled. “Officer, there are only a few books and a letter from a friend in my bag. I don’t understand why they had to steal it.”

“A letter? What letter?” The older officer quickly seized on this detail, and the thugs squatting on the ground nearby perked up to listen.

Pei Zheng scratched his head innocently and said, “It’s just a greeting letter between friends. A few years ago, my friend went to support the Northwest. I wanted to check on how he’s doing, so I sent him a letter, and he replied.”

The old policeman gave Pei Zheng a meaningful look before asking if he remembered what the escaped person looked like.

This time, Pei Zheng nodded vigorously, “I remember. He had a buzz cut, triangular eyes, a flat nose, a square face, long and thick eyebrows, gray clothes, black pants, and was wearing a pair of cloth shoes.”

“Alright, you can go make a phone call now,” the old policeman said, turning to the young officer taking notes. “Take him to the director’s office to make the call.”

“Sure,” the young officer replied, handing the notes back to the old policeman and leading Pei Zheng to the phone.

After dialing the number, Xiao Zhou’s anxious voice came from the other end: “Is that you, Pei Zheng? Where are you? Are you injured?”

Pei Zheng said calmly, “It’s me, Brother Zhou. I’m fine. Listen to me. I’m blocked in the police station and can’t get out now. Please ask my dad to come over and bring more people. I suspect they will be desperate and attack the police station.”

“They?” Xiao Zhou exclaimed, realizing the seriousness of the situation. “Where are you? I’ll bring someone to pick you up. Your dad brought someone to look for you twenty minutes ago.”

Pei Zheng reported his location, and Xiao Zhou advised him to stay safe before hanging up and immediately heading out.

The young officer who accompanied Pei Zheng to make the call looked bewildered. What was this kid talking about? Someone was going to attack the police station? How did he not know about this?

The young officer frowned and said, “Comrade, don’t think you can say whatever you want just because you’re young. You think the police station is a place for you to cause trouble?”

“If the people you called dare to come today, I will catch them one by one, and I will catch a pair if they come as a pair!”

Pei Zheng: “…”

“Don’t worry, officer. I’m not calling any bad people. You heard me ask the operator to connect me to the military. They’re all soldiers coming,” Pei Zheng explained.

The officer remained skeptical and brought Pei Zheng back to the office. He leaned down and whispered a few words into the old policeman’s ear. The old policeman glanced at the gang members being interrogated and calmly said, “Understood.”

Time passed slowly, and the gang members continued to play dumb, giving random names and refusing to provide any unit or home address. Without identification, the police could only detain a few of them and slowly investigate. They were at a loss for what to do.

Outside the police station, the square-faced man with triangular eyes leaned toward an ordinary-looking man and said, “Brother Zhong, our guys are in there with that kid. Should we charge in with the remaining brothers?”

The man called Brother Zhong looked honest at first glance, but when he frowned, his intimidating demeanor startled the square-faced man, who trembled under his gaze.

Brother Zhong tossed the school bag into the square-faced man’s arms and patted his shoulder. “Second Brother, you brought back an empty bag without thinking about why he let you escape alone.”

Second Brother was baffled, and when he realized it, he was shocked. “Are you saying I was played by that kid? He let me go on purpose?”

“Did he guess we would come back and plan to catch us all?” Second Brother scratched his head. “But there are only a few officers at the police station. How could they catch us?”

Brother Zhong narrowed his eyes. “Don’t forget who his father is. If we charge in and get tangled up with the police, and Pei Ji’an shows up right after… Besides, with Pei Zheng alone, wouldn’t you all be wiped out?”

Hearing Pei Ji’an’s name, even the reckless bandit felt a lump in his throat; no one wanted to face the regular army.

“Should we retreat then? What about our brothers inside?” Second Brother tentatively asked.

Brother Zhong took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Second Brother, think for yourself. Why would I come here if I didn’t care about them?”

Second Brother felt wronged, unable to voice his frustration. If charging in to rescue their comrades was wrong, ignoring those who were caught was also wrong. What were they supposed to do? Hiding here felt pointless.

Brother Zhong didn’t want to hear any more complaints from Second Brother and directly ordered, “You find someone to lure the police away from inside. The more, the better. We need to make sure all the officers are mobilized so that I can grab the goods before Pei Ji’an arrives.”

That idea sounded good, and Second Brother quickly agreed, calling over a kind-looking little brother and telling him to report a false alarm. “Make the situation sound as serious as possible. Just say… say someone is attacking people on the street with a knife, attacking anyone they see.”

“Go on,” Second Brother finished, pushing the little brother.

The little brother nervously approached the police station and shouted as he reached the entrance, “Emergency! Someone is attacking people on the street with a knife, attacking everyone. Officers, please hurry!”

Inside the police station, several officers heard the commotion and immediately stopped what they were doing. One of them stepped outside and called to the informant, “Comrade, you said someone is attacking people with a knife on the street? Are you sure?”

“Really, really,” the little brother stuttered, clearly frightened. “Officer, you need to take more people. That person is crazy. I’m afraid there won’t be enough officers to subdue the criminal.”

“Alright,” the officer replied, returning to the station and telling his colleagues, “There’s been a knife attack on the street. The director isn’t here. Old Wang, Old Zhang, let’s go. Xiao Ding, you stay and watch them.”

Xiao Ding was the young officer who had been taking notes from Pei Zheng.

The officers hurriedly left, and Pei Zheng pondered for a moment. He quietly got up and strolled around the office, making his way to the door and closing it. Seeing Xiao Ding staring at him, Pei Zheng smiled shyly. “Comrade, it’s a bit cold.”

Xiao Ding withdrew his gaze and scolded the gang members squatting on the floor. “Behave yourselves! No whispering!”

The gang members completely disregarded the young officer, fearing Pei Zheng instead. This kid could take on ten by himself; apart from the leader, the rest of the brothers were all gathered here.

Pei Zheng quietly slipped over to the window and pulled down the curtain. Xiao Ding frowned. “What’s wrong now? Are you afraid of the cold or the light?”

Pei Zheng: “…Guess?”

Xiao Ding replied, “Guess your head! Be serious and come sit down. This is the police station, not your home!”

“No need, I’m fine standing here. You don’t have to worry about me, Comrade Xiao Ding.” Pei Zheng leaned against the wall and slightly lifted the curtain to look outside. His heart sank when he saw several men walk into the police station yard. He noticed that one of them bore a striking resemblance to the man depicted in Song Laixi’s letter.

The big fish was hooked.

After a moment of thought, Pei Zheng confidently walked into the midst of the thugs. With a swift chop of his hand, he knocked three of them out in an instant. The remaining seven, realizing what was happening, rushed at Pei Zheng, but after squatting for too long, they struggled to regain their balance. Pei Zheng quickly knocked out two more.

“What are you doing?” Xiao Ding finally reacted and attempted to intervene, but in the midst of speaking, another thug fell unconscious at Pei Zheng’s hands.

Seeing that they were no match for Pei Zheng, the four remaining thugs decided to flee toward the door. However, Xiao Ding blocked their path. “Stop right there!”

The four of them exchanged glances, clenched their fists, and charged at Xiao Ding. Xiao Ding prepared to fight back, but he was quickly overwhelmed. In just a few moves, a skilled thug knocked him to the ground.

At this moment, Pei Zheng seized the opportunity to slip around and ambush from behind, knocking out two more. Now, only Pei Zheng, Xiao Ding, and two thugs remained in the room.

“Da Hu, open the door, it’s me!”