Did I agree to that?

Chapter 47

Outside the main entrance of Duoduo Pet Paradise.

Director Yan wore a tailored suit, its trouser creases razor straight. His leather shoes gleamed darkly under the lights, and every movement carried an elegant, understated poise.

With a smile on his lips, he walked down the steps and waved toward the parking lot to the right of the entrance.

The door of an ordinary business van popped open, and a man in his forties stepped out. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes, giving him an upright, righteous look.

His surname was Zhou, and he was an official in the Judicial Litigation Department of the Southern Region's Mystical Tribunal. He dealt frequently with the New Year's Watchers, but he wasn't particularly close to Yan Duoduo, who had only recently transferred here.

When ordinary people committed crimes, the relevant law enforcement agencies, prosecution authorities, and courts handled their cases.

Likewise, when Star Gate players committed crimes, specialized departments had to deal with them. The New Year's Watchers handled arrests and control, while the Mystical Tribunal was responsible for trying them.

However, the Mystical Tribunal wasn't an institution entirely "led" by official organizations. It had been jointly established by eighty-six player organizations.

The reason was simple: official organizations couldn't currently control all players. They could only balance the various player factions and establish rules together, keeping ordinary society from being affected.

It was somewhat like the global order. Once a power became strong enough to break the rules and harm others, everyone had to negotiate, whether that power was military or economic...

Zhou got out of the van and waved at Yan Duoduo with a smile. "Haven't seen you in a while. I heard you went to the Capital?"

"Yeah, to report on work." Yan Duoduo nodded at him. "Get in my car."

"Sure."

Zhou answered and climbed into Yan Duoduo's car, joining him in the back seat.

Apart from the two of them, only the driver was in the car. Even deputies like Chen Hannian hadn't come along.

"Let's go." Sitting in the spacious car with his legs crossed, Yan Duoduo gave the driver the order.

As the car slowly pulled away from the office, Zhou folded his hands and asked with a smile, "Where are you headed?"

"I'd barely stepped off the high-speed train before a pile of problems at work was waiting for me. I'm going to check on the District Office." Yan Duoduo turned toward him. "So, what brought you here today?"

An embarrassed smile appeared on Zhou's face. "I came to ask you a favor."

"What favor?"

"What else? The Bell Society case." Zhou sighed. "I heard what happened. Your people clashed with those bastards at an apartment building in the suburbs and ended up arresting two of them."

"That's right." Yan Duoduo didn't deny it, merely asking softly, "Heh. You didn't come to get those people released on the Bell Society's behalf, did you? Heh."

"I'd be happier if every last one of them dropped dead." Zhou looked at Yan Duoduo. "I'm here about what comes next."

"What's that?" Yan Duoduo still wore a smile, his eyes full of puzzlement.

"Oh, come on!"

Zhou slapped his thigh, as though he had finally made up his mind. "Let's stop dancing around it. Your people are safe, you caught the criminals, and a whole nest of them died at the Fight to the End Chess and Card Room on Tongren Road... Could you ease off on the people behind them and leave them alone for now?"

Yan Duoduo folded his hands and looked at him calmly. "You mean I'm not allowed to touch any organization or individual who helped the Bell Society in this incident?"

"Deal with the small fry however you see fit, but leave the man in charge of the Roadside Dogs alone for now." Zhou spelled it out. "Limp."

"Why protect him?" Still showing no change in emotion, Yan Duoduo asked as though they were simply discussing an issue.

"Whew!"

Zhou loosened his collar. "The tribunal's Risk Committee held an emergency review. You know how much influence Limp has on Tongren Road, and he's the Roadside Dogs' man in charge in Shanghai. Going after him head-on... has a very high chance of causing a public incident. To put it more bluntly, if you touch him and the Roadside Dogs organize retaliation against ordinary society, it won't be a matter of a few deaths. It could destabilize the whole area."

"Mm, I understand what you're saying." Yan Duoduo nodded slowly. "I understand the Risk Committee's concerns too. So what do you think would be the appropriate way for us to handle this?"

"If we leave Limp alone, we can make up for it elsewhere." After careful consideration, Zhou replied earnestly, "Make Limp find a way to hand over Mr. He himself. That lets you wrap up the case perfectly, and we get our revenge too. Most importantly, it preserves stability... without stirring up conflict."

"Can you put that promise in writing?" Yan Duoduo seemed to be weighing the pros and cons as well, but his question sounded incredibly naïve, so naïve that it was completely at odds with his position.

"Heh!"

Zhou gave a helpless chuckle. "How could we put something like this in writing? But I can oversee it personally. I guarantee that within a month at most, Mr. He will be sent back to Shanghai to stand trial."

Ring, ring!

Before Yan Duoduo could respond, the phone in his pocket rang.

88 Lotus Lake Road.

Ren Ye hurried out of the dormitory building and into the casework area in the front hall. He asked the busy Huang Wei, "What happened now?"

"We've got a mission. You're coming along." Huang Wei glanced up at him. "Get ready for combat."

Hearing that, Ren Ye looked around the hall and outside. New Year's Watchers were moving back and forth everywhere, and quite a few had put on their formal uniforms. "What mission? This looks like a pretty big operation..."

"Revenge! Revenge for you!" Huang Wei never passed up a chance to indoctrinate him. He looked at Ren Ye solemnly. "You're not an official member yet, but once you walk through these doors, nobody gets to hurt you without paying a price..."

"Heh."

Ren Ye gave a mocking laugh. "Mr. He nearly crushed my balls in that apartment building. Now you're telling me this? You think it's going to get my blood pumping?"

"Even if he'd crushed them, the organization would find a way to glue them back together." Smiling, Huang Wei rested a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know whether it'll get your blood pumping... but tonight, Shanghai's Star Gate will shine for you alone."

Ren Ye didn't quite understand, but it sounded impressive. Though he knew Huang Wei was trying to indoctrinate him, he still nodded. "Then let's go. I'll see just how it shines."

"Assemble! Hurry!"

Huang Wei turned and called out, "Everyone from Huangjiang, get in the vehicles too. No need to split into teams. We all leave in three minutes."

On a brightly lit street, an ordinary business sedan moved slowly along.

Yan Duoduo sat inside, constantly tapping at his phone and replying to messages.

"...Duoduo, what do you think of our proposal?" After waiting a while, Zhou asked quietly.

"You've put it that way. What else can I do?" Yan Duoduo turned and glanced at him. "If I disagree, wouldn't that mean I can't see the bigger picture? Wouldn't that mean I'm bent on undermining stability?"

Whoosh!

At those words, Zhou immediately raised his thumb. "Now that's the vision of Shanghai's First Star Officer. Like I said, that man He won't get away. One month at most... I guarantee I'll have him in court to stand trial."

"Mm."

Yan Duoduo nodded slightly and continued tapping at his phone.

Zhou glanced at him, then spoke as though searching for something to say. "Ah, where you sit determines how you think. In our positions, a lot of things are difficult to handle. Take me, for instance. Just last month, I reviewed a case where a player suddenly got lustful and raped a mother and daughter. The child was only twelve, and the player was fucking one of our Order Faction people... He was sentenced to death at trial. On the day of the execution, a friend of his on the outside, a Chaos Faction player, killed twelve people in the suburbs in retaliation. Just as the local New Year's Watchers were about to arrest him, he fled straight into a Star Gate. There's been no word of him since."

"I know about that case too." Yan Duoduo nodded.

"That one case left the ordinary judicial authorities furious, demanding accountability from us. Some people on the Mystical Tribunal's Risk Committee were unhappy too. They said rape didn't warrant a death sentence, and that our excessive sentencing had caused the deaths of twelve ordinary people... In short, nobody was happy." Zhou looked somewhat weary. "Ah, some things we can only say in private. Before becoming a player, an ordinary person might have been at the very bottom of society. Their life was frustrating and oppressive. After suddenly gaining supernatural abilities... their behavior and thinking can change drastically. They feel they have the power to break the rules and undermine the rule of law..."

Still tapping at his phone, Yan Duoduo replied mildly, "I agree with some of your points. The sudden arrival of supernatural abilities does cause a lot of problems. But I don't think constantly avoiding those problems is a solution. Besides, players from the bottom of society aren't necessarily scumbags. My family was ordinary too, but I don't embezzle, and I'm not corrupt. I love the name 'New Year's Watchers,' and I've always taken pride in it."

Zhou paused. "You're a young official the New Year's Watchers have specially cultivated. Of course you're upright."

Screech!

Just then, the car suddenly stopped by the roadside. Zhou turned to look and discovered that they had reached the intersection leading into Tongren Road.

Somewhat puzzled, he smiled at Yan Duoduo and asked, "Since we're here, shall we get out and have a drink?"

Holding his phone, Yan Duoduo looked at him quietly. "I didn't come here to drink. I came to make an arrest. If it doesn't go smoothly, I'll be killing people too..."

Those words were blunt enough to leave Zhou frozen on the spot.

"Wait here. Once it's over, I'll buy you a drink." Yan Duoduo smiled and reached to open the car door.

Coming back to his senses, Zhou immediately frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'm here to arrest Limp," Yan Duoduo replied plainly.

"Wait, didn't we just settle all that?!" Zhou asked incredulously. "What's this supposed to mean? You're making a fool of me?!"

Yan Duoduo looked at him as calmly as ever. "Think carefully. Did I agree to any of your proposals just now?"

Zhou was dumbstruck.

"I brought you here because I wanted to tell you that being a New Year's Watcher isn't easy. Enter a Star Gate, and you might die. Arrest a criminal, and you might die too. Get hit by some strange supernatural attack through one careless mistake, and there might not even be a way to treat you." Yan Duoduo slowly pushed the door open. There was no agitation or impassioned fervor in his voice as he said softly, "Stability isn't something you negotiate into existence, nor is it something you achieve through balancing interests. It's something we New Year's Watchers pay for with our lives. I have just one principle: any player or organization that dares unleash supernatural powers in front of the New Year's Watchers and violently resist the law, I will go after them."

With that, he stepped gracefully out of the car, avoiding the puddle beneath the door, and slowly looked toward Tongren Road.

Whoosh!

Zhou leaned his upper body out of the car and demanded heatedly, "How many Chaos Faction players are on Tongren Road? How many friends does Limp have?! Have you thought about the consequences of going after him head-on tonight? The entire city could descend into chaos because of your recklessness... They're lunatics, do you understand?!"

With his back to the bright moon and to Zhou, Yan Duoduo stretched and asked in an even tone, "Have you heard something our Great Leader once said?"

"Three million Jade Dragons soar, suppressing the Evil Spirits of the Heavens."

"If they dare cause chaos tonight, I'll make sure there are no Roadside Dogs left on Shanghai's streets!"

With that, Yan Duoduo took an earpiece out of his trouser pocket and slowly put it in his ear. He said softly, "All New Year's Watchers on night duty across the city, assemble at both ends of Tongren Road. Have Ren Ye, the one bold enough to work alone, come see me. Right now!"