Zhang Yingying (Part 1)

Zhang Yingying snapped her fingers. "Good, as long as you understand."

Her flippant, casual manner was worlds apart from the image of a lawyer Ronan had in mind. Compared to Xie Junping sending a lawyer to help, sending this particular lawyer was what truly came as a surprise.

What Zhang Yingying said next about the incident only confirmed Ronan's impression:

"When the accident happened in the Research Zone, you were at the scene, so you should know that both the military and police took it very seriously. Things over there were too chaotic for them to spare the effort to deal with small fry like you, but they couldn't just skip the screening either, so they temporarily detained and escorted you onto the Transport Ship... Hmm, you could say it was a blessing in disguise."

Ronan stared at her in disbelief. Where was the blessing?

Zhang Yingying blinked. "The blessing is that neither side has you in its grip! You're still a minor, right? Good thing you're on the Transport Ship and we stepped in quickly. Otherwise, if you'd gone to the Police Station and they followed procedure to the letter, there'd be no way to keep it from your family. Heh heh."

"..."

Ronan was speechless. He had to admit that this young lawyer had hit the nail on the head. If Aunt found out about this... he truly didn't dare imagine the scene.

Seeing the change in Ronan's expression, Zhang Yingying was finally satisfied. She added, "And that's not all. Did you know about the chaos on the warship just now?"

"I felt it," Ronan answered readily. Shadow Mist was still lingering in the Confinement Room. Only an idiot would fail to realize something was wrong.

"You've got guts. I checked the surveillance footage they sent over. Smoke was rising everywhere, and you were all alone, yet you stayed so calm, still writing and drawing. That's pretty impressive, young man. I like young people like you best..."

Zhang Yingying reached over and gave Ronan's shoulder a vigorous slap, loosening his somewhat stiff muscles.

Ignoring Ronan's complicated feelings, Zhang Yingying continued, "I got aboard two hours ago. The reason I couldn't meet you right away was because the government and military were acting all paranoid, afraid there might be suspicious people hidden among you. They wouldn't allow any contact with the outside world. But after this mess broke out, they realized that this whole 'isolating inside from outside' thing was incredibly stupid, and they started changing their strategy."

Trying to seal off Darkside Creatures really was difficult.

Ronan's thoughts drifted, and he became somewhat distracted. Zhang Yingying gave a theatrical cough. "So pay attention. Isolating inside from outside may look like strict security, but really, it's just them being lazy. At heart, they never took small fry like you seriously. Now that they're opening things up, though, it doesn't mean they're giving up. They're planning to screen and investigate you. They're taking this far more seriously than before. Be extremely careful with what you say and do later. I trust you a lot, but if certain people 'misunderstand' you, that could become a real headache."

Ronan nodded silently.

Just then, someone knocked on the door. The Captain from the military had returned. "Lawyer Zhang, please get ready."

"Finally, it's my turn to take the stage!"

Zhang Yingying straightened up. In her high heels, she stood nearly half a head taller than Ronan, whose development was not yet complete. At first glance, she did cut an imposing figure. Unfortunately, her overly youthful face and energetic smile clashed badly with her serious professional suit.

Seeing Ronan's tense face, she blinked.

"Don't tell me you're nervous... Do you usually watch movies?"

Ronan nearly failed to follow her train of thought. After a second, he answered, "Sometimes."

"In movies, what do the big villains say when they're facing the police?"

"...Talk to my lawyer?"

"Bingo!"

Zhang Yingying gave Ronan's shoulder another hard slap and strode out first.

Ronan watched the young lawyer's slender back and came to a clear conclusion: whatever her true purpose was, Lawyer Zhang was definitely not someone Xie Junping could control.

"What are you standing around for? Come on, let's make this quick!"

Zhang Yingying urged him from ahead. Ronan smiled and followed her out.

During their conversation, the temporary interrogation area seemed to have grown even more crowded.

Since Xie Junping had hired a lawyer for Ronan, those rich kids, along with the other detainees, naturally would not fight alone either. According to Zhang Yingying, the private lawyers representing those rich kids had already formed a temporary team on their own and begun negotiating with the police.

Strictly speaking, Zhang Yingying counted as a member of that temporary team as well. She simply had never taken it seriously.

Once they entered the interrogation area, the military personnel automatically withdrew, leaving the police to take over. They first conducted various sample-collection tests. From beginning to end, Ronan did not say a word. He did whatever they told him to do and cooperated fully.

The government's and military's intentions were probably just as Zhang Yingying had judged. Thus, as the ones carrying out the orders, the police were also extremely serious. Zhang Yingying's bold claim of making this quick was therefore Destined to be nothing more than talk.

Every kind of examination, interrogation, and procedure had to be completed. They even had to deal with the attacks from the other lawyers.

Li Xuecheng was still lying in the ship's medical department under observation and treatment. His family certainly would not let the matter rest, though it was also possible they were using it to divert attention.

This was not Ronan's area of expertise. Fortunately, Zhang Yingying was at his side.

Though her declaration of making this quick had fallen through, the young lawyer displayed astonishing eloquence, and even more importantly, carried out behind-the-scenes negotiations Ronan did not understand. In the end, all the incoming fire amounted to thunder without rain and quietly vanished.

For Ronan, the entire interrogation process was little more than recounting the events from when he left home that morning to when he was detained after the incident seven or eight times.

And then... cleared!

"Ah, what a waste of time!"

Zhang Yingying strode out of the Interrogation Room, ignoring the expressions of the officers around her as she let out a long sigh. She casually tugged aside the sapphire-blue scarf around her neck, revealing a stretch of snowy-white chest.

By now, a full ten hours had passed since they had "entered the scene."

The marathon-like proceedings had indeed left people exhausted. Fortunately, Ronan had ordered two large nutrient meals midway through to replenish his energy, allowing him to make it through the hardest stretch.

Zhang Yingying clapped her hands. "All right, everything has been resolved perfectly. The police will only keep a file in case they need to ask questions later, mainly concerning that business in the Research Zone. As for the so-called 'personal injury' here, don't worry. There won't be any repercussions."

The world of the rich... Ronan gave a cold snort inwardly, like any proper angry young man.

"So I can leave now?"

"Not yet. The warship can't land just for you alone, and Landing Craft cost money too. So you'll have to wait until that whole group finishes their interrogations before you can leave."

"Seems like I'm..."

"Yeah, you're the first one! So you've still got a wait ahead of you."

Ronan sighed soundlessly. At that moment, he felt an inexplicable sensation and turned his head to see a transport vehicle towing several detached Exoskeleton Armors past nearby.

Standing on it was a tough-looking man with dark skin and a crew cut. His gaze fell on Ronan's face, cold and sinister without the slightest attempt at concealment. Even when Ronan met his eyes, it did not change.