Parade

That afternoon.

Chen Feng walked out of the Martial Arts Hall and said goodbye to Lin Hao.

He did not know if it was just his imagination.

He could sense that Lin Hao's attitude toward him had quietly changed.

Unlike his deliberate concealment in the past, there was now an unspoken closeness.

"Want a ride?"

Lin Hao asked with a smile, gesturing toward the sedan in the parking lot below the Martial Arts Hall.

It was blue, a Flying Speed Brand, and clearly more expensive than Aunt He's car from the supermarket.

"No need. I'll just take the bus."

Chen Feng shook his head. He knew they were not headed in the same direction, so there was no need to trouble Lin Hao over it.

"Alright, then take care."

"Okay."

Chen Feng waved, and the two parted ways.

Then he headed toward the bus stop.

At the same time, he spotted Wu Tian and Pei Yue driving past in a black jeep.

Their gazes met through the windows for an instant, but Chen Feng did not pay it much attention.

He had never liked wasting too much effort on idiots.

"The people from Tian Heng Society, though..."

His eyes flickered as Chen Feng surveyed the surroundings, but he detected no hostility.

He did not see the black car that had been following him either. It had apparently left long ago.

After thinking to himself for a moment, he saw the bus arriving.

Chen Feng did not delay any longer. He quickly boarded, scanned the code, and found an empty window seat.

This was the central district of Nanjiang City.

There were many high-rises around him, their layers of glass windows reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun, making the place look like an ocean of buildings.

Between the crisscrossing towers, shopping malls and department stores stood one after another in neat rows.

Looking outside, he could see Holographic Projections floating outside the buildings of certain major brands, like patches of virtual scenery merging with reality.

"Technology here really is far more advanced than on Earth."

Chen Feng glanced around and recalled the discussions he had heard at the Martial Arts Hall earlier that day.

He had heard that technological products such as Muscle Enhancement Fluid and Life Elixirs had long since appeared on the market, capable of strengthening ordinary people's bodies.

However, due to differing policies among the Joint Councils in various regions, they had not yet officially entered circulation in Nanjiang City.

Only through certain unofficial channels did people have a chance to buy them.

"Still, it seems the Martial Arts Hall has items with similar effects too."

"They call them secret medicines, and they can only be used for martial arts cultivation."

A trace of curiosity flashed in his eyes as Chen Feng thought of Xu Dongtai, whom he had defeated before.

According to what Lin Hao had revealed in private, Xu Dongtai had taken secret medicine before, though it had been incomplete and its effects were ordinary.

As the thought arose, Chen Feng began forming some ideas.

But the bus suddenly came to a stop, interrupting his thoughts.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Why is there another traffic jam?!"

"Damn, look!"

Horns blared without pause outside, and many passengers in the bus looked up to peer outside.

Looking Along the Flow, Chen Feng soon witnessed a surprising sight.

At the crosswalk beneath the traffic lights at the intersection ahead on the asphalt road.

Dozens of people had gathered together, holding long banners, blocking the road, and shouting various slogans.

"Protest! Protest!"

"Protest the Joint Council regulations! We strongly demand stricter gun control!"

"Protest!!!"

The words on the banners entered his sight, and Chen Feng could clearly hear the crowd's shouts.

He was somewhat surprised. Unlike the memories of the original owner of this body, this was his first time seeing a so-called mass protest march.

Most of those holding banners and shouting were young people, though there were also a small number of shabbily dressed Middle-aged Men who were clearly not living well.

In an instant, the road was completely jammed and paralyzed, while the surrounding discussions grew increasingly noisy.

"I heard it was because of the recent Gold Store Robbery Case. Several people were accidentally shot."

"I heard that too. It seems two of them couldn't be saved, and one was even a little girl."

"Looks like gun control really should be tightened."

Among the discussions, most people supported the protest.

However, clearly few dared to get off the bus and join them.

Because less than a few minutes later, several Flying Cars descended from the air between the high-rises.

Red and blue lights flashed. The Flying Cars were entirely grayish-white, making it obvious that the Security Bureau had arrived.

Bzzzz!

Airwaves surged outward. Under the fierce wind generated by the high-powered engines, the gathered protesters staggered and swayed.

Before long, tear gas canisters were thrown down from above, suppressing the so-called protest crowd in the blink of an eye.

"One-sided."

Chen Feng narrowed his eyes slightly and silently watched it all.

In less than ten minutes, the gathered protesters were completely brought under control by the Peacekeepers. Some fled in panic, leaving behind only banners and a mess across the ground.

At last, the road finally returned to normal.

From his seat on the bus, Chen Feng watched a middle-aged man being handcuffed and forced to kneel on the ground.

And the Peacekeeper restraining him happened to look somewhat familiar.

"Behave yourself! Don't resist!"

"Hm?"

As he cuffed the protesting middle-aged man, Xiang Jianjun suddenly sensed a familiar gaze.

Turning his head, he saw the bus slowly driving away, as though a figure had withdrawn its gaze from him.

"What is it, Team Leader Xiang?" a young Peacekeeper beside him asked.

"Nothing."

Xiang Jianjun shook his head and did not think much of it.

Instead, Looking Along the Flow, he looked at the toppled road barriers around him and the banner on the ground, covered in filthy footprints and left in a complete mess.

"It's getting more chaotic."

With a sigh, Xiang Jianjun spoke in a melancholy tone, exhaustion visible on his face.

The young Peacekeeper beside him fell silent at those words, feeling much the same.

Not only had the Gold Store Robbery Case remained unsolved, but another one had recently broken out.

The number of protest marches was also beginning to rise, and there were more and more cases involving corpses missing their internal organs.

The pressure on their Security Bureau was growing greater and greater.

"Sigh."

"Sigh."

Inside the supermarket, Aunt He sighed when she saw Chen Feng arrive.

"I don't know what's wrong with the machine at the entrance. It hasn't made a sound all afternoon."

Chen Feng paused upon hearing that.

Only then did he realize that the mechanical welcome prompt had not sounded.

"It's probably broken."

Chen Feng said as he walked over to the checkout counter and put on his red employee vest.

"Does Sister Liu know?"

"She does, but the repairman said he's too busy today and can only come tomorrow."

"Oh." Chen Feng nodded, his expression unchanged.

Seeing this, Aunt He stopped chatting with him. She soon waved goodbye with a smile, got into her car, and left.

Likewise, after finishing the cleaning and preparing to hand over her shift, Li Hongxia had changed into her delivery worker uniform and walked over to the checkout counter.

Xu Yao stood beside her, carrying a backpack, her shoulder-length hair tied into a ponytail.

She wore a white short-sleeved shirt with a cartoon cat printed on it.

"Xiaofeng, Sister Zhang said she'll be here soon. I'm in a hurry, so I'll head off first."

"Alright, Sister Hongxia. Take care."

"Goodbye, Brother Chen Feng."

Xu Yao spoke softly, still not quite daring to meet Chen Feng's eyes.

Chen Feng merely smiled, then raised a hand and gently rubbed her head.

Before long, he watched her climb onto the electric scooter with red ears and leave with the frantic Li Hongxia.