167: Chapter 167 Relaxation

The June sky in Yanjing was an extreme, clear blue, cloudless, clean, and bright.

Sunlight spilled down recklessly, and heat waves rolled in, but Lin Ning didn't feel the slightest bit of sweltering heat. From his eyes to the depths of his heart, everything was transparent and refreshing.

The gloom that had weighed on his heart in the Detention Center, the cold sternness of confronting the deadbeats, the sharp edge of digging out the truth... at this moment, they all scattered completely with a gust of wind.

The streets were bustling with traffic, pedestrians walked leisurely, and the shouts of vendors, the honking of electric scooters, and the music from roadside shops intertwined to form the most vivid picture of a prosperous world.

The country was prosperous and the people were at peace; the marketplace was bustling, and the world was stable.

Lin Ning rode his little electric scooter, the wind whistling past his ears, a relaxed smile unconsciously playing on his lips.

He had originally planned to go straight to Ningqiao Investment Company to show off his recent achievements to Wang Qiao, and then pick up Jiang Yu to find a place to have a good time.

But he hadn't even ridden two blocks when his phone rang—it was Officer Li Feng.

Lin Ning answered with a smile, "What's up? Miss me?"

"Where are you?" Officer Li Feng's voice came through the receiver. "Of those ten previous cases, three have already been transferred to the Procuratorate. The procedures are finished; come over to sign and collect your reward money."

Lin Ning's eyes lit up. "Alright, I'll be right there."

He turned the scooter around and cheerfully twisted the throttle toward the Police Station.

The main office of the Police Station.

Officer Li Feng was still buried in writing materials and case files.

Looking up to see Lin Ning enter, he slapped a stack of forms onto the desk. "Look for yourself, sign, and leave your fingerprint."

Lin Ning picked up the forms, glanced at them, and signed his name with a flourish. His tone was relaxed and smug. "Not bad, Officer Li. Your efficiency has finally been high for once."

Seeing him like that, Officer Li Feng curled his lip, his gaze full of envy as it swept over him.

"You're making money way too fast."

Without even looking up, Lin Ning began pressing his fingerprint. "Serving the people!"

Officer Li Feng rolled his eyes as hard as he possibly could.

Lin Ning pushed the documents in front of Officer Li Feng and asked curiously, "Speaking of which, you've handled so many cases in the past two months; you must have racked up a lot of credit, right? Any Second-Class Merit? At the very least, it should be a Third-Class Merit, right?"

He paused, deliberately dragging out his words in a cheeky tone. "No way, right? Surely someone hasn't just received a commendation or a collective Second or Third-Class Merit?"

Officer Li Feng's face darkened, and he raised his hand to swat at Lin Ning's arm. "Shut up! Do you even know how to talk?! Doesn't a collective Second-Class Merit count as credit? Besides, I'm saving them up to wait for a big one. What the hell do you know!"

Lin Ning dodged backward. "Look at you. You didn't try to flatter me and even dared to hit me. You're finished!"

The two of them messed around for a while. Lin Ning didn't see Director Zhang, who usually made an appearance, so he asked casually, "Where's Director Zhang?"

Officer Li Feng complained, "He went to Officer Yang Jun's station to 'supervise' their case handling. Five cases were handled jointly with Officer Yang Jun's station. Director Zhang is acting so smug; over there, Station Chief Ma is gnashing his teeth in anger but still has to be grateful to us."

As he spoke, he couldn't help but chuckle as well. "Director Zhang is so full of himself now. He goes to their station every day to tease Station Chief Ma. Station Chief Ma can't exactly start cursing in the street; he's such a straightforward old man, but he's been forced to learn how to be sarcastic. The two of them together are nearly a hundred years old, yet they're acting like children."

Lin Ning was highly amused by what he heard.

Gossip about the bosses—he loved to hear it.

"Alright, I've finished signing. Remember to transfer the money to my card as soon as possible." Lin Ning stood up. "I'm leaving now; I still have to go find Jiang Yu."

"Get lost, you guy who puts romance before friends," Officer Li Feng cursed.

Lin Ning smiled triumphantly, taking pride in it rather than being ashamed. You single dogs!

After leaving the office and just as he entered the lobby, he saw two groups of people shouting at each other across the police officers, with many people gathered around to watch the commotion.

It seemed to be two large families, with men, women, young, and old all present. There were even some "old treasures" that even the Detention Center wouldn't dare to take in. Since they hadn't actually started a physical fight, the officers had no choice but to try and persuade them.

Two more police officers joined the ranks of those trying to break up the argument. Many of the onlookers weren't even handling their own business anymore, standing on tiptoe to watch the drama. The lobby was incredibly lively.

"You shameless old hooligan! You were publicly criticized by the whole factory for harassing young women when you were young. What are you pretending to be a good person for now..."

"Bullshit! Gou Dazui, everyone on this street knows that as soon as you open your mouth, you start acting like a shrew and spreading rumors..."

While Lin Ning was watching with great interest, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a middle-aged man coming out from the direction of the detention cells. He was walking slowly toward the exit of the Police Station, looking relaxed and casually rubbing his wrists, like an ordinary citizen who had just finished some paperwork and was about to leave.

But Lin Ning's gaze was fixed unblinkingly on the top of the man's head.

Bright Red [Huang Chenggen, Unemployed]

Lin Ning quietly sized up the man from head to toe.

He was wearing a cheap polo shirt and had a reckless, unruly appearance. He walked with a swaying gait, alternately rubbing his wrists.

It was a strange sensory feedback.

Lin Ning instinctively followed him. He released his Psychic Power and circled it around the man's wrists, clearly "seeing" a faint, fresh set of marks on both wrists.

Those were handcuff marks.

A ridiculous thought suddenly jumped into Lin Ning's mind: This guy... couldn't have unlocked the handcuffs himself and slipped out of the detention cell, right?

He immediately took out his phone and dialed Officer Li Feng.

As soon as the call connected, Lin Ning said in a very low voice, "Did your station arrest someone named Huang Chenggen? Was he released without charges..."

The middle-aged man strolling ahead had incredibly sharp ears. Even though Lin Ning's voice was extremely low and the environment was so noisy, he still suddenly turned his head and stared over with squinted eyes.

Their eyes met.

Huang Chenggen's expression changed instantly. He saw the phone in Lin Ning's hand and heard that half-sentence of inquiry.

The next second.

Without a word, he turned around and bolted!

Lin Ning didn't even wait for Officer Li Feng's answer; he immediately put away his phone and gave chase.

His current physical fitness was being strengthened every day; his explosiveness, speed, and endurance all far exceeded those of an ordinary person.

And the middle-aged hoodlum before him, whose body had been hollowed out by cigarettes, alcohol, and lust, was no different from a slow-motion video in his eyes.

The Police Station's small courtyard wasn't large. Huang Chenggen had only rushed out of the main gate by two or three steps when Lin Ning caught up like a leopard, reached out, grabbed a handful of his hair, and yanked him back hard!

"Ah!!"

Huang Chenggen let out a miserable scream, his body falling backward uncontrollably.

Lin Ning took advantage of the momentum to push and twist, pinning the man's arm firmly behind his back and pressing him to the ground.

Then he pressed his knee against the man's back and shoulder.

The entire sequence of movements was smooth and clean.

"Kid! Let me go! You dare to meddle in other people's business?!" Huang Chenggen grimaced in pain, his mouth spewing fierce threats. "You just wait! I'll find someone to deal with you later!"

Lin Ning knelt on his back with one knee, looking relaxed. He asked curiously, "I'm a police officer; isn't it my job to catch you? How is that meddling?"

Huang Chenggen was stunned, then cursed angrily, "Bullshit! You're definitely not a cop! I've spent my whole life going in and out of Police Stations and Detention Centers; what kind of cop haven't I seen? You're trying to fool a ghost!"

"Let me go! Otherwise, when I get out, I'll go after your whole family!"