I, Your Majesty, was eighteen this year, with all four limbs intact, able to handle my own bodily functions, having learned to breathe independently, and capable of speaking. The future looked bright.
Wang Ji, dressed in camouflage, stood with his hands behind his back on a bustling street in Juxia City. He looked up at the stars that had just appeared in the night sky, then glanced back at the single-person apartment he had rented not long ago.
He smiled faintly, feeling that tomorrow should still be full of hope.
Smack—
A palm shoved hard against his right shoulder from behind, making his tall frame stagger slightly.
"Get in the car. What are you dawdling around here for?"
A somewhat impatient male voice came from behind him. Clearly, this was the one who had just shoved Wang Ji.
Wang Ji gave a soft huff and smiled. Always one to treat others kindly, he naturally could not be bothered to hold it against the man.
Watching a beautiful young policewoman in uniform with a ponytail get into the car ahead of him, he swore he had not taken an extra look at the shapely black police skirt or her long, flawless snow-white legs.
He had not.
He swore he had not looked. He swore it to the sun currently hanging in the sky.
Wang Ji got into the car with his hands behind his back. Come to think of it, this was his first time riding in one of these blue-and-white vehicles with flashy colored lights in this manner.
He remembered a long, long time ago, when he had ridden in this kind of car as a tiny child. A beautiful police auntie had held him in her arms, comforted him, and tenderly soothed his little face...
Unfortunately, times had changed. Even after growing up, he had never seen that gentle police auntie again.
Bang...
The door shut. The man who had pushed Wang Ji earlier squeezed in beside him, taking up much of the back seat that was clearly only meant for two people.
Wang Ji kindly glanced at the man's police cap and scooted a little toward the policewoman. The three of them were crammed together, with Wang Ji caught in the middle, but he did not mind.
The car started moving. Wang Ji was not confused about their destination.
"I remember that when I watched TV before, these things seemed to be worn in front, where they could be seen directly. That should be safer, shouldn't it?"
Wang Ji turned slightly and smiled at the lovely policewoman beside him, speaking gently.
His hands behind his back shifted slightly, producing a crisp metallic clink. In truth, his posture was rather awkward.
Sandwiched between the two officers in the crowded back seat, he had to lean forward a little to leave room for his hands behind him.
"You haven't watched enough TV. These things generally don't care whether they're in front or behind. Besides, the records we just checked show that you aren't particularly dangerous. You don't need to worry about our safety for now."
The fair-skinned, beautiful policewoman wearing a cap and ponytail smiled as well. Her smile looked very much like Wang Ji's, as though they were all sitting in an elegant café.
"If I'm not dangerous, then surely you didn't need to put these on me?" Wang Ji smiled.
He shifted slightly, revealing a pair of shiny silver handcuffs behind his back.
The policewoman smiled. "Normally, we wouldn't have. But you're suddenly suspected of illegally possessing firearms and controlled blades, including a sharpened one... Since you're already wearing them, just wear them properly."
"Toy guns count too? They can't even fire bullets!" Wang Ji widened his eyes slightly.
"That still needs to be determined in detail." The policewoman nodded.
"Kitchen knives count as controlled blades too?" Wang Ji looked rather surprised.
"Kitchen knives don't. Machetes do," the policewoman answered with a smile.
"The machete wasn't sharpened..."
"You also had a sickle. That one was sharpened," the policewoman answered patiently.
"A sickle is a farming tool..."
"Enough. Why do you have so much to say? The facts of your violations are clear."
As the two chatted away, Wang Ji's head was flicked aside. It was the male officer beside him again.
Wang Ji frowned slightly and turned back. "Is my smart Juxia University brain something you can just flick around?"
The policewoman could not help laughing.
The male officer smiled helplessly too. Though he found the guy's behavior somewhat irritating and distasteful, he had to admit the other man was rather interesting.
Even if his looks made people instinctively jealous, he had been fairly cooperative all along.
He smiled and nodded. "You don't need to feel wronged. I think these hands of mine, trained at Huaxia People's Public Security University, can still flick around your Juxia University brain."
Wang Ji gave an "oh." "Then you haven't done too well for yourself..."
He glanced sideways at him, the meaning in his eyes obvious: nearly middle-aged, assigned to the same team as a young lady, and judging by the rank, still at the same level as her.
The male officer's expression immediately froze. The policewoman could not help turning to the window, covering her mouth as she laughed... A panda ordering takeout—what a savage insult.
"Settle down. If your attitude is bad, we'll handle you more severely," the male officer said, shooting him a glare.
"I'll confess everything later."
Wang Ji smiled, then turned to the other side. "Miss, tell me honestly. If you can't beat a game, is there anything wrong with using a little technological assistance?"
The policewoman blinked and could not help smiling. "You make using cheats sound so justified. Don't you know it's illegal?"
Wang Ji looked innocent. "But surely it didn't warrant coming to arrest me at home? Couldn't you just ban my account?"
The policewoman had nothing else to do, and she was happy enough to chat with this remarkably handsome boy. She smiled again. "But the problem is, you wrote the cheat yourself! Who told you to go around announcing it? Don't you know making cheats is illegal?"
"I didn't sell it! I didn't make any money!"
"But you gave it away for free! Distributing it is infringement too."
"I knew good people never got rewarded..." Wang Ji lowered his head and sighed.
When people asked their big brother for cheats, they called him a good big bro. Then the bastard turned around and reported him. He seriously had too much time on his hands.
His poor, earth-shattering, invincible mega-cheat had gone cold the moment it entered the lobby... And now he was about to go cold too.
"Do detention centers provide computers?" he asked, raising his head.
"Instead of spending time writing cheats, couldn't you use that time to practice your gaming skills?" The policewoman gave him an elegant eye-roll.
In fact, after all their back-and-forth, she had pieced together some information. This young man was a gifted student with a somewhat unusual background. He was a programmer, not really a criminal.
He had simply become obsessed with the Chicken Dinner Game lately, to an almost fanatical degree.
The so-called firearms and controlled blades from earlier were merely cosplay props and weapon models. However, their highly realistic appearances made them suspicious, so they needed to be properly assessed.
As for the cause of all this, everyone had their strengths and weaknesses. Though this programmer was obsessed with games, he was shockingly bad at playing them and had little time to practice and improve.
Simply put, he was terrible but loved playing.
But constantly losing was no way to live, so evil rose in his heart... He wrote himself an absurdly powerful cheat.
And because the cheat's effects were so outrageous, the moment he entered the lobby, it caused a massive stir. The players on the same plane were endlessly amazed, and one player directly asked how to buy it.
This culprit at least knew making a profit was illegal, so he did not sell it... He simply gave it away for free!
But that player had immediately reported him instead...
And that was how things had ended up like this. They found Wang Ji's rented apartment and saw it full of Chicken Dinner weapon models and the like. Now they had to bring him back for detailed questioning and assessment.
"Any thoughts?"
"Next time, I'll use cheats quietly and tell no one... No, haha, just kidding. I won't dare do it again."
"Give a proper account when we get to the station. At your age, you should know better... In your case, it should count as relatively minor."
The policewoman was fairly kind-hearted. She could tell that this young man might be quite a genius, and his situation was unusual as well.
Wang Ji nodded slightly in gratitude. He could sense the goodwill of this beautiful young woman.
"You... don't have parents, right?"
"That's right, so there's no one to notify... Also, I haven't officially started working. I'm a freelancer."
"So young, yet already quite capable? Supporting yourself?"
"Can't help it. Talent. If I hadn't been careless, you wouldn't have found me. Your system... ahem, its level isn't that great."
The male officer looked speechlessly at the two of them chatting so happily and could only sigh. This truly was an age where good looks made everything reasonable.
This boy really was handsome.
"Vehicle 143, Vehicle 143, temporary assignment. Proceed immediately to Highland Street..."
Before you continue