Chapter 3: Provocation

As soon as the police arrived, the surrounding crowd focused their attention, whispering to each other about whether Yang Chen was in trouble.

"Um... that's me," Yang Chen raised his head in confusion, not understanding why the police were looking for him. Could it be that the authorities back home had found out about him? No, if that were the case, they would have sent a specialized covert unit, and they would have raided him at night. Why were there just three regular cops?

The officer flashed his identification and said coldly, "I'm Captain Feng Biao from the West District Police Station. Someone has accused you of assault and attempted murder of a teenager. Now, you need to come with us to the station to assist in the investigation!"

So that's what this is about... Yang Chen realized suddenly. It seemed like Chen Feng, the one who got beaten up and ran away, had some twisted ideas. The underworld had actually involved the police!

Old Li, who was nearby, became anxious and quickly stepped forward to explain, "Officers, you've got the wrong person! It was Chen Feng and a few thugs who came to extort protection money. Yang Chen was just defending himself!"

"Hmph, whether we got the wrong person or not, we'll investigate thoroughly! I only saw Chen's son vomiting blood on the ground, but I didn't see any injuries on this guy!" Feng Biao said, ignoring Old Li and gesturing for two officers to approach and handcuff Yang Chen.

Yang Chen didn't resist, sighing softly after being handcuffed. He said to Old Li, "Don't worry, I haven't done anything wrong. It's fine. Please take care of my lamb skewer stall for me. If I don't come back by nightfall, push it back home for me, okay?"

"No need for nonsense, move!" Feng Biao ordered sternly.

Old Li wanted to say something more, but he knew he couldn't be of much help, so he could only sigh as he watched Yang Chen being taken away by the police.

Once Feng Biao and his team had taken Yang Chen away, the surrounding market vendors began to curse loudly. It was all about how the police and the underworld boss were colluding, how they were "birds of a feather," but these words were not dared to be spoken in front of the police.

On the way to the police station, Yang Chen was immediately taken into an interrogation room. In this extremely solemn room, Yang Chen looked around with some curiosity. Honestly, he had been to the police station many times before, but it was the first time he had come in as a prisoner.

After Feng Biao called in two burly officers, he snorted a few times and said coldly, "You seem quite relaxed, still taking the time to look around this room. I'll come back to see if you're still in the mood later." With that, he slammed the iron door shut and walked out.

Yang Chen sat down nonchalantly and calmly looked at the two officers sitting across from him, who were staring at him like predators eyeing their prey.

A bearded officer began questioning, "Name?"

"Yang Chen."

"Gender?"

"Male..." Yang Chen replied cooperatively, with a smile on his face.

"Age?"

"24."

"Place of origin?"

"Mediterranean Sea."

...

After a series of simple yet irritating questions, Yang Chen remained unruffled and answered nonchalantly, even the most idiotic questions with a cheerful attitude. This annoyed the two officers. After all, they had received Feng Biao's orders to find a reason to deal with Yang Chen. Now that he was so cooperative, he seemed like a model suspect, making it difficult for them to find an excuse to make things difficult for him.

Finally, the other officer, with dark skin, came up with an idea and asked, "Did you assault six teenagers at the market today? Is that true?"

"It wasn't me who assaulted them, they were the ones trying to extort protection money from me. They initiated the extortion, and I have the right to self-defense," Yang Chen replied.

"I don't know if they extorted money from you, but did you strike first?" the bearded officer asked with a wicked grin.

"Yes..." Yang Chen nodded truthfully. "But I believe the fault lies not with me. I can always sue them if needed."

"Sue them... a lamb skewer seller..." the dark-skinned officer sneered disdainfully and took out a document, pointing to the signature line. "Write your name here, indicating your guilty plea and agreeing to compensate the victims."

Yang Chen glanced at the document. It was a prepared confession letter, with various charges that would be enough to put him in jail for half a lifetime! A smirk played on Yang Chen's lips as he said coldly, "Officer, I don't think this is legal... I haven't even said anything, yet suddenly there are so many charges added."

The dark-skinned officer slammed his hand on the table. "Are you questioning us now, suggesting that we're framing you!? Do you know where you are!?"

"I'm just telling the truth," Yang Chen said, understanding that these two were determined to make trouble for him. A hint of coldness flashed in his eyes involuntarily.

The two officers naturally knew that Yang Chen wouldn't sign the document. Any sane person wouldn't willingly throw themselves into prison for half a lifetime. The only reason for using this document was to provoke Yang Chen, and it was clear that they succeeded.

"Kid, you're not cooperating with our investigation. Do you know what the consequences are!?" The bearded officer stood up, walked slowly behind Yang Chen, and clenched his fists, the sound of knuckles cracking echoing in the room.

Yang Chen glanced at the surveillance monitors in the room, estimating that the footage inside would only show him arguing with the police. Whatever happened next, people outside wouldn't know, and even if they did, it was unlikely that anything from inside the police station would leak out easily.

Seems like there are cops with this kind of demeanor everywhere in the world...

"I don't know what consequences I'll face, but you two will definitely face consequences you never imagined..." Yang Chen turned his head seemingly nonchalantly, flashing a toothy grin at the bearded officer.

"You're asking for it!"

Seeing Yang Chen finally utter words that offended the police, the bearded officer reached out to grab Yang Chen's collar, while his other hand clenched into a fist, ready to strike!

But in that split second, the bearded officer's hand grabbed nothing but air. Yang Chen had already unconsciously stood up from his seat and reached out to grab the bearded officer's collar instead!

"Is this what you want to do?" Yang Chen smirked and landed a punch on the bearded officer's abdomen!

The bearded officer spasmed all over, curling up and collapsing to the ground, writhing in pain!

The dark-skinned officer stood up in rage, "You dare to assault a police officer!" With that, he quickly drew his Type 54 pistol from his waist, aiming it at Yang Chen!

But Yang Chen completely ignored the menacing barrel of the gun. In a lightning-fast move, he stepped forward and instantly appeared behind the dark-skinned officer. His finger lightly tapped on the officer's arm, causing it to tremble violently as if shocked, and the Type 54 pistol fell from his hand to the ground!

The dark-skinned officer hadn't even reacted when he suddenly felt a numbness in the back of his neck. The next moment, he passed out cold.

Yang Chen picked up the illegal document from the table, his smile eerie. "It seems like you guys are quite accustomed to using these tricks. I wonder how it would turn out if this were to be leaked."