Met an 'Acquaintance' Again

Chapter 36: Encountering an 'Acquaintance' Again

"The Chief is here!"

The police officers surrounding the interrogation room hurriedly cleared a path. Moments later, a man wearing a police uniform, his frame even more imposing than Tie Xuan's, strode into the station with a dark expression.

"What on earth is going on?" Guo Jian looked at the large group of heavily armed subordinates surrounding the interrogation room and felt a sense of foreboding.

He had just heard that his son had 'arrested' someone. This spoiled brat wasn't doing this for the first time; while he never actually killed anyone, these incidents often led to complications.

As the saying goes, if you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet.

Last time, because of a verbal spat, Guo Ming had left a citizen permanently disabled. It had taken all of Guo Jian's connections and back-door dealings to suppress the matter. After all, T City wasn't entirely under the Guo family's thumb.

"Captain Chang arrested someone on suspicion of intentional injury and brought him in. I didn't expect that he..." A glib-tongued officer briefly summarized the sequence of events.

"That unfilial son will be the death of me yet!" Guo Jian's temper flared the moment he heard the details.

However, the fact that the man dared to assault an officer inside the station was beyond Guo Jian's imagination. Especially after hearing that the man had knocked out Tie Xuan, the police force's top fighter, with a single blow, he felt an inexplicable tightness in his chest.

He knew Tie Xuan's strength all too well. How could he possibly be taken down in one strike?

Could it be that the person caught today is also... As a certain possibility crossed his mind, Guo Jian's unease grew even more intense.

If Li Wei were here, he would certainly recognize this Guo Jian as the veteran who had defected to the 'Undead Necromancer Sand' during their previous mission.

It was Guo Jian's bad luck that, because of Li Wei, his mission had ultimately failed, resulting in a mandatory deduction of 10,000 points. Fortunately, he had a deep reserve of points, but the resentment was not so easily swallowed.

Furthermore, since this morning, Guo Jian had discovered something shocking: the abilities he had obtained from Shadow Street could now be used in the real world.

This should have been a godsend, but he immediately realized that the 'Undead Constitution' he had acquired during the Heroes of Might and Magic mission had also taken effect.

Hair loss, pale skin that was dry and hardening—he could even smell the scent of a corpse if he got close. This terrified Guo Jian. While the Undead Constitution greatly enhanced his abilities, the side effects were severe. He hadn't noticed them before because events in Shadow Street didn't affect reality, but things were different now.

Guo Jian had spent the entire morning hiding in his room, using cosmetics to cover his skin. If not for the call from the station, he might still be there applying makeup.

"Who... is the person inside?" To be safe, Guo Jian pulled the officer aside and questioned him closely.

When he heard that someone had defeated Tie Xuan in one blow, Guo Jian immediately associated it with 'Shadow Street.' Could the man inside also be from there?

"Chief, I heard he's a company manager. He slapped Young Master Guo in his office this morning. You wouldn't believe how lawless he is—even here in the station, he's still so arrogant. If this dangerous criminal continues to resist, I say we just shoot him!" The officer's expression was as if it were his own son who had been struck.

Guo Jian didn't respond. Instead, he walked to the door and peered inside.

In an instant, his pupils contracted!

"It's him!"

Guo Jian never expected that the person causing a scene in the police station would be the very guy who had ruined his mission. But soon, he began to smile.

Heaven has a road, yet you refuse to walk it; hell has no gate, yet you insist on breaking in! Thinking of the chance to wash away his shame, Guo Jian was overcome with excitement. This was a perfect opportunity for revenge. Even if he killed him now, others would only see a police chief heroically taking down a violent, cop-attacking criminal.

At the same time, he thought of that purple-quality dagger.

While Guo Jian was contemplating how to maximize his gains, Li Wei inside the room was also thinking—though his thoughts were on a different matter.

I wonder if my Innate Skill can withstand a bullet?

Li Wei felt a bit uneasy. Honestly, based on his deductions, this mere first layer of Innate Skill was fine for fighting people, but it clearly wasn't enough to protect him from gunfire.

However, looking at these police officers, they didn't seem to be in a rush to execute him as a 'criminal.' If it really came to that, Li Wei had a way to escape.

He just needed to open the 'gate' to Shadow Street, and everything would be resolved, right? If he couldn't win, he'd run. At worst, he'd lose his newly acquired manager position. Gold in Shadow Street was extremely cheap—less than 100 points per kilogram. If he could just trade for some, living comfortably would be no problem.

Letting go of the last shred of worry, Li Wei smiled freely. Since fate had given him this chance, he should live unburdened. If he still had to endure bullying from villains after gaining such power, what was the point of living?

With that thought, Li Wei simply pulled up a chair and sat down, watching the group of police officers surrounding him with leisure.

"Hey, look, why are his eyes red?" A young officer who had clearly just started the job nudged his colleague, staring curiously at Li Wei's pupils.

"Be careful. This guy is strange. Didn't you hear the Chief order us not to fire? There's definitely something wrong with him."

The Chief?

Li Wei's ears twitched. He glanced at the door and indeed spotted someone peering through the crowd, stealing glances at him from time to time. Seeing that figure, Li Wei immediately thought of someone.

In Shadow Street, everyone's face was more or less different from their real-world appearance, especially those he had only seen once or twice. Recalling details after some time was indeed not easy.

But Li Wei possessed an ability no one else had: the 'Eye of Perception.' Never mind that the man's face had changed; even if he had no face at all, he would have nowhere to hide under the Eye of Perception.

It's the guy with number 348. So he's in T City, and he's the Police Chief... Li Wei didn't know what to say. Shadow Street was truly packed with all sorts of people; he wouldn't even be surprised if he ran into the President of the United States next time.

Anyone who signed the Yellow Paper had their fate completely controlled by Shadow Street, but it also held infinite possibilities. As long as you worked hard, you could rise above others.

Having understood his opponent, Li Wei knew that number 348 must be like him—able to use Shadow Street abilities in the real world. If that were the case, he was no match for him.

Knowing he was outmatched, it was better to leave this place of trouble early!

Li Wei raised his hand and summoned the Yellow Paper of Shadow Street. Seeing Li Wei's movement, Guo Jian outside the door knew things were going south. How could he have forgotten? Even when surrounded, Li Wei could choose to enter Shadow Street to avoid the brunt of the situation.

"Grab him! Don't let him run!" With a loud shout, Guo Jian stopped trying to hide. He was the first to charge through the door, pouncing like a starving tiger. The 'Rakshasa Three Forms' erupted, aimed directly at Li Wei.

Unfortunately, he was a step too late. Once the 'gate' to Shadow Street appeared, time for everything in the vicinity slowed down hundreds of times over, save for the one who opened it.

In an instant, Li Wei clearly saw the expressions and movements of everyone around him, all displayed in slow motion. He took a deep look at the ferocious, lunging Guo Jian, memorized his appearance, and then stepped into the 'gate' to Shadow Street.

Inside the interrogation room, to everyone else, Li Wei had merely made a gesture before vanishing as if he had evaporated. Many officers rubbed their eyes and shook their heads, hoping to wake up from the 'hallucination' before them.

"Ghost! It's a ghost!" The one who reacted the most was Guo Ming. This rich kid was clearly terrified. He had intended to use his family background and power to teach Li Wei a lesson, only to discover that he had provoked an existence he could never hope to rival.

Coupled with Li Wei's sudden ability to "vanish," this sent Guo Ming, already feeling guilty as a thief, into a state of madness. He was afraid! He feared that Li Wei, this "ghost," would come back to trouble him in the future.

Tie Xuan, who had been floored by a single strike from Li Wei, certainly did not believe in ghosts. From the moment he fell, he had been in a daze. As someone obsessed with martial arts, the pursuit of the Way was supreme to him. Now that he had encountered Li Wei, who clearly possessed the ability to elevate his strength, he was tempted. Furthermore, he wanted to return to Shaolin Temple immediately to recount everything that happened today to his master; perhaps his knowledgeable master would have an answer that would satisfy him.

As for Guo Jian, he was filled with endless regret, yet he did not give up. His status in the real world provided far too many conveniences, such as wielding his authority to hunt down a single person.

"Listen up, this criminal has severely endangered social stability. Issue a wanted notice immediately and order all branch stations to mobilize and capture this criminal!" As Guo Jian prepared to return to his office, he seemed to recall something and turned back to add, "Notify the archives; I want every piece of information on this person from childhood to the present. Once it's ready, send it directly to me!"

Li Wei, already walking through the alleys of Shadow Street, did not know that he had become a wanted criminal in the real world.

Thinking of the father and son, Guo Jian and Guo Ming, Li Wei knew that an irreconcilable hatred had been forged between them. Since that was the case, he might as well find a way to eradicate this hidden threat.

With this intention in mind, a sharp, murderous aura emanated from Li Wei's eyes. If others do not offend me, I do not offend them; if others offend me, I will surely offend them!

Shadow Street remained dim and damp; only when reaching a few main thoroughfares could one feel a trace of human activity. This time, Li Wei intended to have a good "stroll" around the place.

However, this stroll yielded some real discoveries.

Although it was called Shadow Street, Li Wei discovered that it was actually a massive "city," and its scale was absolutely larger than any city in the real world.

Not only that, Li Wei also discovered something interesting: what exactly lay beyond Shadow Street?

Several hours later, Li Wei saw a massive "gate" with dozens of guards clad in black armor standing there. From these guards, Li Wei could not sense the aura of "humans."

Shadow Guard, Strength 70, Agility 77, Spirit 23, Stamina 82, Rating A-rank, "Darkness erodes these once-noble warriors, yet it also grants them immense power. Whether they do evil or good depends entirely on themselves!"

These were the natives of Shadow Street. Li Wei knew that "natives" was the term given by people from the real world to those who originally lived in Shadow Street. It was said that every one of these natives possessed powerful strength, yet they were taciturn and extremely difficult to approach. Aside from a few natives who provided paid services to "outsiders" like them, very few people took the initiative to contact them.

This was because people feared the terrifying power of the natives, even though no one knew the source of that terrifying power.

The information from the Eye of Perception, however, told Li Wei one thing: the powerful strength of these natives must be related to "darkness."

Just as he walked up to the main gate, Li Wei was blocked by a black-armored guard over two meters tall.

"This is a forbidden area. If you don't want to die, turn back!" The voice sounded like a demon from the nine nether hells; just hearing it made one's blood run cold.