Getting Hauled to the Station

When one person cried out, everyone else joined in. The viciousness on Tiger's face had long vanished, replaced by panic and terror.

They usually only got into minor scuffles. When had they ever actually killed anyone?

Seeing his men either dead or crippled, Tiger felt a sudden warmth between his legs. He had actually pissed himself from fright.

"Zhao... Brother Zhao! Hurry and make a move, hurry! This kid is a Martial Artist! Brother Zhao, save me!" Tiger scrambled backward on all fours. "If you don't help, I'm dead for sure, Brother Zhao... Huh?"

Tiger suddenly turned and looked toward where Zhao Meng had been sitting.

It was completely empty! There was only an overturned wineglass and that lonely silver case!

Where was he?

Where had Brother Zhao gone?

"Zhao Meng! I'll fuck your mother, where are you? Where the hell did you go? Zhao Meng, where are you?!" Tiger finally understood. His final support, Zhao Meng, the formal disciple of Kaishan Martial Arts Hall, had abandoned him and run away the moment the fight began!

"Now, no one can save you."

Li He walked over to Tiger.

"I only made up an excuse to begin with. I didn't expect you to actually dare follow me, all the way to my home? You really were asking to die."

Li He raised his foot. At some point, a strangely exhilarated, savage grin had appeared on his face. The sole of his shoe was still smeared with thick blood and bits of flesh.

"No, don't! Please, I was wrong, I really was! I was only messing with you, it was all a misunderstanding! Listen to me..."

Crack!

Li He kicked out, exploding Tiger's head.

He slowly drew back his foot and swept his gaze across the wrecked factory.

"This was self-defense. They all had knives. I didn't want to kill anyone either. It was all self-defense..." Li He quickly regained his composure.

His gaze landed on Wang Hao, who was vomiting continuously in the corner.

"Big Brother, don't kill me! I didn't see anything, I didn't see anything!" The moment Wang Hao saw Li He looking at him, he pissed himself in terror and repeatedly kowtowed, begging for mercy.

"Get up. Come with me."

Li He walked over, grabbed Wang Hao by the neck, and lifted him up. Ignoring the bloody mess on the ground, he walked out of the repair shop step by step.

They soon reached a street corner lit by a lamp.

"Wait here. Don't run around."

Wang Hao hurriedly nodded, his smile uglier than a cry.

Li He took out his phone and called Master Wang first. "Master Wang, I killed someone... Yes, that's right. They had knives, and I was forced to fight back in self-defense... Mm, all right, I understand."

Then Li He called the police. "Hello, I need to report a crime. There was a fight at the abandoned repair shop on Qingfeng Road. Someone attacked people with knives, and I was forced to fight back in self-defense. Someone may be seriously injured or even dead. The address is..."

After doing all that,

Li He looked at Wang Hao, who was trembling in the corner.

He walked over and yanked the limp Wang Hao to his feet.

His movements were rough and merciless.

Wang Hao was scared out of his wits. Thinking Li He was going to kill him to silence him, he made hoarse gasping sounds in his throat. He could not even beg for mercy, his eyes filled with terror.

Li He slowly raised his right hand, spread his fingers, then abruptly clenched them. His knuckles cracked sharply, sending chills down the spine. The muscles in his arm instantly bulged, and veins rose like coiling dragons.

Wang Hao shook even harder, his pants soaked through.

"Wang Hao." Li He's voice was icy. "Did you see that clearly? This is what happens when you become a thug!"

His clenched fist swayed before Wang Hao's eyes, still stained with traces of dark red blood.

"Starting today, keep your head down, find yourself an honest job, and if I find out you're still fooling around outside or causing trouble..." A cold gleam flashed through Li He's eyes. "I'll break your legs!"

Seeing Wang Hao remain silent,

"Did you hear me?!" Li He barked.

Tears and snot streamed down Wang Hao's face. "I-I heard you, Big Brother! I heard you! I'll never dare again, never again! I'll be a good person, I swear! Please let me go, please!"

"Humph!"

"Remember what you said. Get the hell home. Your grandfather must be worried about you." Li He flung Wang Hao aside.

Wang Hao had no idea how Li He knew he had a grandfather, but he did not want to stay near Li He for even another second. He fled in a stumbling crawl.

Li He sent his mother, Zhang Xiujuan, a message. "Mom, I'm staying at Master Wang's place tonight. Don't wait up for me."

His mother, Zhang Xiujuan, replied instantly. "You little brat, come home early tomorrow. Don't trouble them too much."

After doing all that,

Li He quietly waited for the police car to arrive.

The next morning.

Sunlight streamed through the window into the police station's interrogation room.

Li He sat in a chair, his expression calm.

Two police officers sat across from him. One was older, with sharp eyes, while the younger one was responsible for taking notes.

"Li He, male, eighteen years old, graduate of Federation First High School, Vitality... 8.9?"

The older officer looked at the file in his hands, then raised his head to look at Li He's youthful face, surprise in his eyes.

"Quite accomplished for someone so young. You were the one who reported last night's case at the abandoned repair shop, right?"

"Yes." Li He nodded.

"Tell us exactly what happened."

Li He's voice was steady and organized. "Last night, I went to settle some personal grievances with Tiger. He had previously sent people to follow me and may even have threatened my family... More than ten of them surrounded and attacked me with machetes, steel pipes, and other weapons. I was forced to fight back in self-defense, and in the chaos, I accidentally caused casualties. Surveillance footage should be able to reconstruct part of what happened."

The officer flipped through the report and crime scene photographs in his hands, frowning deeply.

The scene had been extremely gruesome: severed arms, crushed skulls, severe fractures all over... This young man was anything but ordinary.

The officers asked more questions, and Li He answered them one by one with clear logic.

The other side had vastly outnumbered him and attacked with weapons, making the circumstances especially vicious. There was no question that Li He's actions counted as self-defense.

More importantly,

Li He was still so young, yet his Vitality was already 8.9. He was not far from becoming a First-Rank Martial Artist. As for the thugs he had killed, they were either orphans without families, or their parents were crooked and criminal, still sitting in jail themselves. There was no reason to punish him over people like that.

"All right, we basically understand the situation now." The older officer closed his notebook. "You may leave. If we need anything further, we'll contact you again. Remember, don't leave the city for the time being."

"Thank you, Officer."

Li He stood and walked out of the interrogation room.

The police station lobby was bustling with people and somewhat noisy.

On a bench in the corner of the lobby sat a familiar figure: Master Wang Zhengyang. Beside him was a middle-aged man wearing a high-ranking police insignia. The two appeared to be discussing something.

The moment he saw Li He come out, Master Wang's eyes lit up. He quickly stood and strode over. The senior officer beside him also stopped talking and turned his gaze toward Li He.

"Xiao He," Master Wang said. "Are you all right? They didn't make things difficult for you, did they?"

"I'm fine, Master Wang. The officers were just conducting a routine inquiry. They've cleared it up—it was self-defense."

"That's good! That's good!" Master Wang let out a breath of relief and patted Li He heavily on the shoulder.

At that moment, the senior officer beside Master Wang also walked over. "Hello, Student Li He. I'm Deputy Bureau Chief Zhang from the city bureau. Old Wang is an old friend of mine. I heard you ran into a little trouble, and since I happened to be at the station, I came over to see what was going on."

Li He understood immediately.

No wonder the police had handled the matter so swiftly and efficiently. Master Wang had called in a favor.

He extended his hand and shook Deputy Bureau Chief Zhang's, speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly. "Hello, Deputy Bureau Chief Zhang. Sorry for causing you trouble."

"It's no trouble." Deputy Bureau Chief Zhang's smile remained gentle, though there was a trace of appreciation deep in his eyes.

He had already learned the general details of the case. An eighteen-year-old youth had faced an attack by over a dozen armed thugs, emerged completely unscathed, and even caused multiple deaths on the other side. Leaving aside his strength for the moment, such composure and character were truly rare.

The Abyss Era needed people with this kind of character.