Riding a Tiger, Difficult to Dismount!

Chen Xia's knife was new equipment issued after he was promoted to captain. It was made of alloy, incredibly hard, and very sharp.

Facing this situation, he wasn't intimidated; instead, he berated them, "Who gave you the guts to raid the Patrol Inspection Office at night?"

"What? Patrol Inspection Office..."

Hearing this, Zhao Banshou and the others froze. He sized Chen Xia up, noticing he wore a plain black jacket, but his shoes were indeed the shiny black type used by the Patrol Inspection Office.

Their previous investigation was hasty. They knew Chen Xia might be lying in wait here, but they hadn't expected him to be part of the Patrol Inspection Office?

However, Zhao Banshou didn't retreat. He sneered, "So what if he's from the Patrol Inspection Office?"

"You secretly took over six hundred thousand worth of Yuangu Pills. I doubt you'd dare let the higher-ups in the Patrol Inspection Office know about this, would you? I advise you to hand it over honestly!"

Chen Xia said slowly, "Earlier, Yu Banshou died an unnatural death. The Patrol Inspection Office had no evidence. What, did you kill him? Otherwise, how would you know he had something on him?"

As these words were spoken, Zhao Banshou and the others' expressions shifted slightly.

Although the Patrol Inspection Office knew it was people from Gathering of Righteousness who eliminated Yu Banshou, this couldn't be said openly. Otherwise, it would be considered confessing to murder.

Zhao Banshou sneered, "Of course, we didn't kill him, but a pill on him belonged to me. You picked it up. Don't deny it; we checked the surveillance and saw you take it."

"Return the item to us, and this matter will be dropped! Otherwise, even if it goes all the way up to the Patrol Inspection Office, you won't gain anything. To tell you the truth, as an ordinary patrol officer, you can't fight against our Gathering Justice Mercenary Group. You need to be clear about this!"

"Oh? You can try!"

Chen Xia frowned, not backing down at all. Instead, he raised the big knife in his hand. It was a joke; he was a captain, after all. To be threatened by local mercenaries? Did he have no face?

The atmosphere between the two sides became tense, with a clear indication of an impending battle.

However, just as the two sides were at a stalemate, a powerful male voice suddenly came from behind:

"Does such a small matter really need to alarm the higher-ups of the Patrol Inspection Office? Let's settle whatever it is here. Perhaps I can help you sort it out."

Various lights illuminated the rear of the alley, and figures in dark black uniforms poured out from it.

In the blink of an eye, this area was surrounded by over thirty people from the Patrol Inspection Office.

Seeing this, Zhao Banshou felt a chill. He hadn't seen Chen Xia call for help earlier. What was going on?

There was only one possibility: Chen Xia had notified the Patrol Inspection Office before they arrived.

Moreover, when he saw the face of the man leading the newcomers, Zhao Banshou knew things had gotten serious.

They recognized this person. He was Zhou Tong, the captain of Xingou Street, a Grade 1 Seventh Stage martial warrior. Even the higher-ups of Gathering of Righteousness had issued severe warnings; they absolutely could not afford to offend the mid-to-upper echelons of the Patrol Inspection Office.

"So it's Captain Zhou! There must be some misunderstanding. We'll be leaving now..."

Seeing this scene, the imposing aura of the Gathering of Righteousness members instantly deflated. They exchanged glances, filled with dread. Zhao Banshou, in particular, felt like he had encountered a ghost when he ran into a captain. He quickly tried to smooth things over.

"Hold on! Your Gathering of Righteousness people have quite the nerve. You've just taken over Xingou Street, and you dare to lay hands on people from the Patrol Inspection Office. I think you're tired of living!" Zhou Tong was tall and appeared to be in his early forties. His roar startled the Gathering of Righteousness members.

Zhao Banshou quickly explained, "Captain Zhou, we are not from Gathering of Righteousness!"

"Besides you, who else on this street could muster such a large force? Stop pretending! Also, do you know who you intercepted?"

Zhou Tong continued, "This is the newly appointed sub-captain of our squadron, also a key promotion from Headquarters, Chen Xia, who recently killed the traitor Hu Biao. If anything were to happen to him today, everyone in your Gathering of Righteousness would be held accountable."

"What... he's Chen Xia?" Zhao Banshou and the others had clearly heard some rumors. Recently, someone had killed a traitor, and that person was very strong. They just hadn't known they were intercepting that very person.

Chen Xia, who could kill a traitor, was someone they couldn't possibly deal with.

Damn it! Zhao Banshou cursed his bad luck. The person who took their pills was a captain, and one being heavily promoted by the Patrol Inspection Office. In this case, he wouldn't be getting his pills back!

"So it's Captain Chen. Forgive our rudeness. This was our mistake."

Zhao Banshou's eyes darted around. Under the overwhelming pressure, he could only bow his head. He cupped his hands towards Chen Xia, his previously fierce expression replaced with a fawning smile. "We mistook you for someone else today. We apologize. If we had known it was Captain Chen, we wouldn't have dared to be so presumptuous... This is just a misunderstanding, like the Dragon King Temple being flooded by his own temple's water..."

"What were you asking him for just now? Explain the situation clearly!" Captain Zhou Tong said, standing with his hands behind his back. He had vaguely heard something; Chen Xia seemed to have taken something of theirs.

It was valuable, possibly left behind by the deceased members of the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group. But in Zhou Tong's view, what did that matter?

Even if Chen Xia hadn't admitted it, even if he had, so what?

Mercenary groups could be arrogant in front of ordinary people, but in front of the Patrol Inspection Office, they were not qualified.

Cold sweat streamed down Zhao Banshou's face. He quickly said, "It's nothing, Captain Zhou. We mistook you for someone else; it was truly a misunderstanding... I promise, we will never dare to do this again."

Zhou Tong was a captain, with eighty members under him. The other party also knew other captains. He could easily mobilize a few squadrons, totaling hundreds of patrol officers, enough to wipe out their Gathering of Righteousness in one go. They had no good outcome if they resisted.

Furthermore, Zhou Tong was responsible for the area where the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group was located, Xingou Street. As the saying goes, a current official is better than a former one; who would dare to disrespect him?

Zhao Banshou understood this clearly. Seeing this, Zhou Tong ignored the Gathering of Righteousness members and turned his gaze to Chen Xia.

"Captain Zhou!"

Chen Xia greeted him. He had sensed something was wrong earlier and had sent a message through his electronic watch to the squadron group chat. He hadn't expected Zhou Tong to bring all the on-duty personnel with him. It was a sign of great respect.

Zhou Tong patted Chen Xia's shoulder and said with a smile, "No need to be so formal. How about this, I'm a few years older than you. If you don't mind, Brother Chen, you can call me Brother Zhou from now on!"

At this moment, the few captains standing nearby saw this and their eyes flickered with envy. They had followed Zhou Tong for a long time and naturally knew his ways.

Zhou Tong wouldn't treat an ordinary captain like this, let alone change his address to foster closer ties. To the people below, it was clear that Zhou Tong placed great importance on Chen Xia, otherwise, he wouldn't act this way.

Zhao Banshou and the others couldn't see it clearly? They had not only intercepted a captain of the Patrol Inspection Office but one who was not ordinary. He might have some background or other capabilities, otherwise, Zhou Tong wouldn't treat him with such deference.

The dozen or so men present widened their eyes, as if petrified. Many even broke out in a cold sweat, feeling their situation was precarious.

Because they had provoked the wrong person.

It would have been one thing to treat an ordinary person like this, but to act this way towards a favored public servant of the Patrol Inspection Office was not a wise move. It was suicidal.

Zhao Banshou deeply regretted his foolishness. He should have investigated thoroughly before acting. Who knew a young man on a bicycle could be so formidable?

He had thought the other party was someone easily manipulated, but unexpectedly, Chen Xia could summon so many people so casually. They were completely outmatched, leaving them in an impossible situation, making things very difficult!