Nice Work

"Name?"

"You already know it, don't you?"

"Name!!"

"Lu PingAn."

"Gender?"

"Male."

"Address?"

"Your house. All right, stop glaring at me. Let me think... Xi Yang Road, something—I can't remember the house number. Fill it in yourself."

Lu PingAn sighed helplessly and placed his hands, bound in "Silver Bracelets," on the table. It was more comfortable that way.

Captain Xia of the Bureau of Anomalous Affairs' Special Task Force glared at him, signaling for him to behave himself, then quickly wrote down his basic information.

As for why she was the one interrogating Lu PingAn? Because Lu PingAn had turned himself in to her.

"...You said you awakened a new ability, messed around with magical plants and mutated a new Tier 2 bomb, then planned to sell it to Green New Company, but it ended up exploding?"

"Mm-hmm, that's right."

Lu PingAn nodded desperately, blinking with the innocent, baffled expression of a pure young man.

"Then the videotapes several TV stations and newspapers received this morning, exposing the crimes of Deng and his Dragon Snake Gang subordinates, had nothing to do with you either?"

At this point in this era, since self-media creators like uploaders had no environment in which to survive, newspapers and television stations remained the most mainstream publicity channels.

Lu PingAn had not recorded anything related to supernatural abilities. The Dragon Snake Gang's "confessions" alone had already driven those media outlets mad with excitement.

The crimes they had committed outside the Secret Realm were enough to keep the Dragon Snake Gang thugs behind bars for the rest of their lives—or send them straight to the firing squad.

"Videotapes? Of course they have nothing to do with me. The moment I came out of the Secret Realm, I turned myself in to you."

At last, Xia Qin could no longer hold it in.

"Could you show a little sincerity while we're taking your statement? You even used an old videotape from my living room to record over, and you erased a show I hadn't finished watching. Forget it. Pretend I didn't say anything. Next question: those little bastards from the Dragon Snake Gang are all lying in the hospital with severe injuries. Did that have anything to do with you?"

"Of course not. Maybe some enthusiastic passersby did it. Mm-hmm, there are lots of hot-blooded people around these days. By the way, sir, they'll get sentenced for a lot of years, right?"

"Mm. The evidence is conclusive, there are quite a lot of victims, and the TV broadcast has stirred up public outrage. They're all adults, and several of them have prior records. It's a good thing they didn't die. A few of the main offenders will probably get the Death Penalty, while the accomplices may get life imprisonment."

Xia Qin stopped writing. What she was about to ask was the real point, and it was not suitable to put on record.

"Deng Anqi. You know him, right?"

"Don't know him."

"He was seriously injured, but he didn't die."

"Tch, he actually didn't die? Even that explosion couldn't kill him?"

Lu PingAn was somewhat surprised. He needed to reassess the combat strength of High-Level Professionals. The entire house had been blown apart, and the man still had not died? He should have been at the heart of the blast.

"He's Tier 3. A Tier 2 magical plant is still lacking a bit. You should be careful. What are you laughing at?"

"Uh, was I laughing? I wasn't laughing. We're trained professionals; under normal circumstances, we don't laugh. Pfft!"

The corners of Lu PingAn's eyes were filled with irrepressible amusement. It seemed there would still be plenty of fun to be had later.

He thought for a moment before speaking.

"He probably won't be put on trial, right?"

"That's right. Legally, we can't pin anything on him. He merely allowed his nephew to cause trouble in there, and there isn't even any evidence of written contact between the two. Theoretically, as long as he insists he knew nothing, he can wash his hands of the whole thing."

"Hehe."

Lu PingAn laughed again, earning another glare from Xia Qin.

"You knew from the beginning that you couldn't drag him down with you, so you took action personally?"

"What are you talking about? I don't understand."

"...I'll only tell you this: you don't need to worry about him for a while. Deng has been fired by Green New Company and the University of Science and Technology, and he'll be lying in the hospital for some time. This incident has become too big; someone has to take responsibility. His political career is finished. But don't think this means it's over."

"Are you reminding me to silence him and eliminate future trouble? All right, all right, stop glaring at me. I'm joking."

Seeing Lu PingAn still acting so cheekily, Xia Qin sighed as well.

One could settle grudges freely in the Secret Realm, but outside, this was a society governed by law and evidence.

Even though they had found fourteen million in income with no legal source at Deng's home, they still could not convict him. They lacked a crucial chain of evidence and witnesses. He insisted it was profit from some Secret Realm expedition, and it was difficult to verify.

As for this incident itself, Deng might initially have merely allowed his nephew and his nephew's friends to mess around in there, while having them collect materials for him.

But when the income began to skyrocket day by day, when his nephew came to his door with money to thank him, the professor naturally chose to turn a blind eye to certain things.

Minor acts of evil snowballed bigger and bigger. In three years, he had raked in at least twenty million without ever having to dirty his own hands.

Even if he had genuinely only wanted to collect materials for research in the beginning, once the profits started rolling in, he had long since stopped caring whether his hands were clean.

In fact, if Lu PingAn had not made such a huge fuss, Deng might not even have needed to lose his job and take the blame. A lateral transfer to another post would have settled everything.

He might not have been the mastermind behind it all, but he was indeed where it had begun. As long as he remained in office, it would all continue.

But since he had committed no deliberate wrongdoing, it was difficult to convict him through legal means.

Perhaps Lu PingAn's approach was the only way to punish him.

Of course, there could still be repercussions.

"Science University and Green New? I know."

Of course Lu PingAn knew. He could be unreasonable, but after those two major organizations had lost face, they naturally would not be reasonable either.

Green New Company in particular. The Dragon Snake Gang boys had been right—whether he had wiped out the Dragon Snake Gang or blown up Green New's shop, he had been slapping Green New Company across the face.

"...Was it worth it?"

Xia Qin closed her notebook and sighed.

"Yeah, pretty worth it. It was a very interesting fireworks show, and I had a lot of fun."

For a while after this, the environment should become a little more comfortable.

Lu PingAn was unusually sincere. He knew he had put Captain Xia in a difficult position, and she would probably have to call in a great many favors for him again.

Though he had prepared for the worst, when he learned that the Special Task Force would be taking over his "case," he had still breathed a sigh of relief. It meant he most likely would not be prosecuted.

"...Fine, fine. As long as you're happy. Science University is one thing—they only have a cooperative relationship with Green New—but wherever there are people, there is Jianghu. There are some people connected to Deng whom the university can't control. As for Green New, don't go into any of their secret realms lately."

Once news of this incident got out, word first spread through the mercenary market: Green New Company had been humiliated.

Because the matter was so egregious and had sparked public outrage, they gave up on openly holding Lu PingAn accountable and issued a public apology.

Yet they did not even mention civil compensation for Lu PingAn, which seemed to imply that they had no intention of letting the matter end there.

"...The college entrance exam is in two and a half days. Can't you behave yourself for once? Aren't you afraid Green New will send a team of lawyers to detain you for three or four days and keep you from taking the exam?"

Honestly, that possibility did worry Lu PingAn a little.

They could drag him through legal procedures for a few days, prevent him from taking the exam, and make him wait until next year.

"Isn't that what you're here for? I believe our judicial system is fair. Perfect, even."

"Cut the crap. If you really believed that, you wouldn't have taken matters into your own hands. Heh. I don't even believe it, yet you expect others to?"

With the statement in hand, Captain Xia rose wearily to her feet, ready to leave.

"...You did well."

But the words she left behind as she departed made him pause before he broke into a smile.

"...What I've always believed in wasn't rigid laws and systems, but people. Certain people."

Half an hour later, after signing a mountain of paperwork, Lu PingAn finally walked out of the police station.

Standing at the entrance and looking up at the sun, he felt as though a lifetime had passed.

"You did well."

The same words came from a figure who suddenly brushed past him. Before Lu PingAn could turn around, the person had vanished without a trace.

"As expected, he's a very fast man."