Gu Yuan bellowed at the top of his lungs.
Sun Miaomiao stopped in her tracks and looked toward the sound.
Her gaze swept over the jacketed man pinning Zhang Tian down, then over Zhang Yining, who was sprawled on the ground, and finally landed on Gu Yuan.
Sun Miaomiao tilted her head and blinked.
"Gu Yuan? No wonder I didn't see you come to the Destiny Bureau to find the captain today. What are you doing here?"
At her words, the air went still for a second.
The Destiny Bureau agent gripping Gu Yuan's shoulder glanced at him, and his hand immediately loosened.
This kid knew one of the Bureau's warlocks? From the way she'd addressed him, they seemed pretty close, too.
He quietly withdrew his hand and took half a step back.
Seeing this, Gu Yuan immediately rolled his wrist and darted behind Sun Miaomiao.
The jacketed man, Zhang Hongtai, stared at Sun Miaomiao in bewilderment.
"Uh... Warlock Sun, you know this suspect?"
Hugging the bag of chips to her chest, Sun Miaomiao walked up to Zhang Hongtai.
She beckoned with one finger, signaling him to come closer.
Zhang Hongtai hesitated, but still bent down toward her.
"Uh, I remember you. You're Zhang Hongtai from the Second Squad, right?"
Sun Miaomiao lowered her voice and pointed at Gu Yuan, who was hiding behind her.
"He's not a suspect. He's our captain's cousin."
The expression on Zhang Hongtai's face froze.
The black-market vendors crouched nearby couldn't hear what they were whispering, but they weren't blind.
"What's going on? Why did the Destiny Bureau let that kid go?"
"Obviously, he's got powerful connections! Didn't you see the look on that officer's face? He was all fierce and terrifying a moment ago, and now he's gone white as a sheet."
"Damn, if he's got connections like that, why set up a stall in the black market? Trying to experience life?"
Zhang Hongtai's head was buzzing, and a fine sheen of cold sweat appeared at his temples.
Shen Tingxue's cousin? She might have only recently been promoted to captain, but who in the whole Destiny Bureau didn't know her reputation?
She was ruthless enough to kick their Second Squad captain right in the face.
At last month's regular meeting, their captain had made a few snide remarks about her.
As soon as the meeting ended, Shen Tingxue cornered him in the hallway and beat him so badly that he spent a whole month in the hospital's orthopedic ward!
If that female tyrant finds out I pinned her cousin in the black market, thinking he was a suspect selling fake medicine... Zhang Hongtai swallowed hard, a chill running down his back.
He quickly wiped the sweat from his temple, his mind racing as he tried to salvage this godforsaken mess.
"But someone filed a real-name report accusing them of selling banned goods, and there are photos of a deal..." Zhang Hongtai's voice wavered as he pointed at the porcelain bottle on the ground.
"That's what he was selling!"
Zhang Hongtai walked over, bent down, and picked up the white porcelain bottle. He pulled out the stopper.
A rich medicinal fragrance immediately filled the air.
He poured out what was inside.
A dark-red pill rolled into his palm.
Sun Miaomiao leaned closer and sniffed.
"A defective Blood Qi Pill." She gave her assessment without hesitation.
She took the pill from Zhang Hongtai and pinched it between her fingers.
"It looks pretty awful, and it has an absurd amount of impurities. Eating it would probably give you diarrhea, but it's a legitimate pill. It's not on the list of banned goods."
Zhang Hongtai stared at the pill, then pulled out his phone and looked at the report photo again.
After being pinned against the wall for ages, Zhang Tian finally caught his breath and shouted.
"Officer! I told you I was selling legitimate goods! In the photo, we were looking at these bottles of Blood Qi Pills! Who knew some bastard was hiding in the shadows, secretly taking pictures and making a malicious report?"
Gu Yuan quickly popped out from behind Sun Miaomiao and chimed in with an air of righteousness.
"Officer, it's obvious someone framed us! We're the pride of our country and the future pillars of martial arts! How could we possibly break the law?"
Gu Yuan thumped his chest, his face perfectly straight.
Zhang Hongtai held the pill, the muscles in his face twitching slightly.
So after all that, they'd arrested the wrong people.
Not only had they arrested the wrong people, they'd nearly offended someone related to the King of Hell himself.
The arrested vendors nearby erupted at once.
"See? The Destiny Bureau arrested the wrong people!"
"They've wronged even a few students. We're obviously innocent too!"
"Let me go! I want to go home and eat! I'm selling genuine ferocious-beast leg bones, not pig bones!"
"Quiet!" Zhang Hongtai spun around.
"Whether you're innocent or not, you know that yourselves!" He pointed at the vendors, gritting his teeth.
"Anyone selling fake breastplates that break people's ribs, or fake medicine that makes people spray from both ends, gets taken back to the Destiny Bureau for questioning! Not one of you is getting away!"
The vendors fell silent at once, shrinking their necks like quails.
Zhang Hongtai turned back to the three of them and forced an extremely stiff smile.
He waved his hand.
"Release them."
The officers immediately let go of Zhang Yining.
Zhang Hongtai personally stepped forward, took out his keys, and unlocked Zhang Tian's handcuffs.
Gu Yuan walked over to Sun Miaomiao and took a piece of nougat from his pocket, offering it to her.
"Thanks for your help today, Sis Miaomiao. Otherwise, we'd have ended up in there drinking tea."
Sun Miaomiao's eyes lit up. She snatched the nougat, tore open the wrapper, and popped it straight into her mouth.
"Mmm, tasty. Lots of milk flavor."
Sun Miaomiao nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.
The needle on the compass in her hand began spinning wildly again.
"No need to thank me. I have to go track down a lost mutated retriever in the eastern part of the city. I'm off."
Keeping her eyes on the compass, she wandered away and disappeared into the dim passage of the air-raid shelter.
"Haha, well... Student Gu."
Zhang Hongtai rubbed his hands together, stepped up beside Gu Yuan, and lowered his voice.
"Today was just the floodwaters sweeping through the Dragon King's temple—one family failing to recognize another."
He rubbed his chin, his face full of awkwardness.
"You see, today's whole thing was just a misunderstanding. As for your cousin... could you maybe not mention it to her?"
Zhang Hongtai was genuinely scared.
Gu Yuan blinked and stared at Zhang Hongtai in confusion.
"Huh? What are you talking about, Officer? What happened today?" Gu Yuan scratched his head.
"I was just off school, wandering around the black market, and happened to run into the Destiny Bureau officers on duty. I just stopped to watch, that's all."
Zhang Hongtai froze for a moment, then his eyes lit up.
This kid knew how to play along!
"Exactly! That's right!" Zhang Hongtai gave Gu Yuan a hearty pat on the shoulder.
"You were just watching! Student Gu has such a good attitude. No wonder he's a future pillar of martial arts!"
He turned to Zhang Tian, pulled out his phone, and opened the transfer screen.
"Stay away from places like the black market, where all sorts of people mingle!" As he spoke, Zhang Hongtai scanned the payment code at Zhang Tian's stall.
"I'll take all five of your bottles. How much?"
Zhang Tian froze, mouth hanging open as he stared at Zhang Hongtai.
"Fifty thousand each. Two hundred and fifty thousand for all five," Gu Yuan quickly quoted from the side.
"Ding! Received 250,000 yuan." Zhang Tian's phone immediately chimed.
"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, Officer! We'll never come back!" Zhang Tian looked at the balance on his phone, overjoyed.
Zhang Hongtai put away his phone, picked up the five porcelain bottles, and waved his hand.
"Squad, move out!"
Before you continue