What's Wrong With This World? Even the Prison Bosses Are Out

Just as the two were enjoying the lively fireworks and delicious food, a commotion not far away caught Lin Chen's attention.

Approaching, he saw three figures standing before a grilled fish stall. The leader had skin as dark as a charcoal spirit, an exceptionally sturdy build, and a somewhat arrogant expression in his eyes, but it was his pitch-black bald head that was the most eye-catching.

He was standing with his hands on his hips, looking down at the stall owner and berating him, constantly reaching out to demand protection money in an overbearing and insolent tone.

The stall owner was an honest, ordinary man, his face full of distress as he spoke in a low, submissive voice to appease the youth, yet the charcoal-skinned boy remained relentless, while his two lackeys echoed their "boss's" words.

Na'er was frightened by the commotion and instinctively shrank behind Lin Chen, her small hand gripping his sleeve tightly.

Lin Chen stopped in his tracks, handed the skewers in his hand to Na'er, and said, "Don't be afraid, Na'er. Stay here and wait for me for a moment."

When one sees injustice on the road, one must roar; when it is time to act, one must strike.

Lin Chen walked behind the three and shouted sternly, "What do you think you're doing! This is Shrek City, not a place for you to run wild!"

The loud reprimand startled the trio. The leader turned around, furrowed his brows fiercely, looked Lin Chen up and down, and let out a disdainful sneer on his dark face.

"Where did this brat come from, daring to meddle in my business? Get lost if you know what's good for you."

The two lackeys behind him also stepped forward. One of them glanced at Lin Chen and said fawningly to the leader, "Boss, looking at his clothes, he seems to have plenty of money. Why don't we..."

The other lackey added, "Let's snatch the money he has on him too," a flash of greed appearing in his eyes.

A faint, contemptuous curl touched the corner of Lin Chen's mouth: "Just you? Are you worthy?"

The charcoal-skinned boy grew anxious instantly. He was already annoyed that the stall owner had been delaying the protection money, and now, being openly defied by someone younger than himself, he felt he was losing face. "You little brat, it seems you prefer a toast to a drink of punishment."

He stomped his foot violently and shouted, "Man!" triggering his Martial Soul Possession. A white soul ring slowly emerged, and he launched an elbow strike straight at Lin Chen's face.

Lin Chen couldn't help but twitch; some memes from his past life echoed in his mind.

With his Azure Dragon Martial Soul possessed, a brilliant cyan-gold light erupted. His right hand was rapidly covered in a layer of cyan-gold dragon scales, transforming into a sharp, sturdy dragon claw, and amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, he blocked the boy's elbow strike.

"Bang!" A dull collision sound exploded. The heavy, forceful elbow strike slammed into the dragon claw, only to be caught by Lin Chen with effortless ease, leaving the charcoal-skinned boy's arm slightly numb.

The two lackeys on the side hadn't realized the severity of the situation yet and kept egging him on: "Go, Boss! He made you lose face, show him what you're made of!"

A trace of surprise appeared on the dark face, but it was quickly overtaken by rage. Under the cheering of his lackeys, he gritted his teeth and roared again: "Man! Eat my elbow strike!"

He channeled all his soul power and lunged forward, his elbow wrapped in a whistling gale, striking at Lin Chen with even greater force than before.

Lin Chen's eyes remained calm; he didn't take this strike seriously at all. He tilted his body slightly, his dragon claw reached out precisely, grabbed the boy's wrist, and gave it a light twist.

With a crisp sound, accompanied by the boy's wail, his entire arm was instantly subdued, and he stumbled to his knees.

The faces of the two lackeys changed drastically. The cheering stopped abruptly, and they retreated continuously before turning tail and disappearing in a flash.

Seeing his two lackeys run off, the charcoal-skinned boy roared in frustration: "Man! You two disloyal things..."

Before he could finish, a yellow soul ring, faintly tinged with dark purple, slowly emerged around Lin Chen.

The first soul skill provided by the Thunder Hell Vine, Thunderous Might, was activated. He didn't use much power, just enough to electrocute the boy into unconsciousness.

Lin Chen deactivated his Martial Soul Possession and walked slowly to Na'er's side, saying softly, "It's settled. Let's go."

Na'er nodded vigorously and handed the skewers back to Lin Chen. Just as he took them and prepared to leave, rapid footsteps echoed from the end of the street, and several members of the Shrek City law enforcement team quickly surrounded them.

Their gazes swept over the unconscious boy on the ground and then landed on Lin Chen and Na'er. Without any extra questioning, they stepped forward and said, "You are suspected of fighting privately in the city. Come with us."

As the words fell, the law enforcement officers stepped forward, hoisting the boy who lay on the ground like a dead dog, while simultaneously taking Lin Chen and Na'er away.

The grilled fish stall owner and the onlookers stepped forward to explain the situation, but the officers wouldn't listen, leaving them to watch anxiously as the two were taken away.

Na'er was slightly stunned by the sudden turn of events.

The group was quickly brought to the Shrek City law enforcement branch. The cold and solemn atmosphere made Na'er instinctively shrink behind Lin Chen again.

The captain of the law enforcement team looked sternly at the young Lin Chen and said in a deep voice, "Private fighting is prohibited in the city. Now, contact your parents to come here immediately."

Lin Chen didn't explain; he simply took out his communicator from his soul storage ring and entered a familiar number.

Na'er stood behind Lin Chen, her fingers gripping the corner of his clothes tightly.

Soon, the communicator was connected, and Ya Li's voice came through: "Lin Chen, how are you and Na'er enjoying yourselves out there?"

Lin Chen spoke, recounting the entire sequence of events to Ya Li from beginning to end.

Upon learning that Lin Chen had been detained by the law enforcement team, the other end of the line exploded.

Zhuo Shi and Feng Wuyu happened to be nearby. Ya Li remained relatively calm, but Zhuo Shi and Feng Wuyu were immediately hopping mad, cursing the law enforcement team for not distinguishing right from wrong. Their goals were surprisingly aligned.

They set off immediately, heading straight for the Shrek City law enforcement branch.

In just a moment, the gates of the law enforcement office were shattered to pieces. A massive wave of soul power pressure swept through the entire hall. Ya Li couldn't easily show her face, so she let Zhuo Shi and Feng Wuyu handle it.

When the law enforcement captain saw who had arrived, his expression changed, and his legs went weak. He never expected that the boy before him was actually from Shrek Academy.

Na'er, hiding behind Lin Chen, saw the familiar figures, and her hanging heart finally settled, letting out a quiet sigh of relief.

Some aspects of Shrek Academy were indeed annoying, but this trait of protecting their own was the one thing Lin Chen had always particularly identified with.

Feng Wuyu and Zhuo Shi were not blinded by rage. They scanned Lin Chen and Na'er quickly, and seeing that the two children were unharmed, their own hearts finally settled.

Zhuo Shi's voice was cold: "This matter ends here. We are taking the people with us," his presence so heavy that the law enforcement officers present didn't dare to breathe.

Feng Wuyu spoke directly, his tone without a hint of softening: "Detaining academy disciples without distinguishing right from wrong—from today on, all personnel are dismissed and must be re-evaluated before returning to duty!"

The law enforcement captain's legs gave way, and he nearly collapsed to his knees, his face deathly pale, not daring to utter a single word of defense.

On the way back, what Lin Chen found strange was: what had happened to this world, and why did a "boss" (laoda) appear?