The agreement

Squad Leader Liu Zhi, who had been sitting on the sidelines drinking tea, quietly rose to his feet as well.

At that moment, he really wanted to throw up his arm and shout.

Captain Zhou, you're freaking awesome! His voice would have cracked.

If he had harbored even the tiniest trace of resentment before, now Liu Zhi was utterly bowled over.

Young as the man was, everything he said and did radiated righteous conviction. He dared to act and took responsibility for it.

He was courteous and refined when chatting, but exuded sheer dominance when he turned hostile.

More importantly, he wasn't just talking big. He really was that good!

That settles it. From now on, I'll follow Captain Zhou's lead without question.

Sun Qifa and the others stared at Zhou Yi, every one of them looking constipated.

You're so noble. So impressive.

What was that about "Doesn't our Public Security Management Brigade deserve some respect?"

You might as well drop the "Public Security Management Brigade" part and just say "I."

We all know what you mean anyway.

What they hadn't expected, however, was that Zhou Yi wasn't finished-

"I expect to see the school's proposed disciplinary action within three days."

Yang Mei panicked at that and hurriedly said, "But, Captain Zhou, our school starts its break tomorrow!"

"That's your problem," Zhou Yi replied, leaving no room for negotiation.

Sun Qifa finally lost his patience. He stood up, his face darkening. "Young Zhou, take my advice: being young and hotheaded isn't a good thing!"

Zhou Yi gave a cold smile, then turned and walked out of the conference room without so much as glancing at Principal Sun.

Young?

Add up my two lifetimes, and I'm more than old enough to be your father.

Hotheaded, though? That part's true.

I love standing on the moral high ground and pointing fingers at scum like you.

What? Don't like it? Bite me!

If I can't bring you bastards down, I lose!

After Zhou Yi left, Dean of Students Li Xiugui slammed a hand on the table and cursed angrily, "He's just a fucking Public Security Brigade Captain! What's he got to be so arrogant about? Did you see him strutting around like he was hot shit? Huh? He doesn't respect us at all!"

"He arrested Xie Zhaolong the night before last," Yang Mei said quietly.

Gao Yongsheng snorted. "Even if he won't show us any respect, won't he at least show some to Minister Tao and Director Zhu?"

"He arrested Xie Zhaolong the night before last," Yang Mei repeated in the same quiet tone.

Sun Qifa was so furious that he laughed. Nodding, he said, "Fine! Didn't he give us three days? Let's see what Zhou Yi can actually do when the time comes!"

"He arrested Xie Zhaolong the night before last," Yang Mei said quietly yet again.

Everyone: ...

Outside the gates of No. 2 High School.

Gangzi stood with several of his lackeys, cigarettes dangling from their mouths as they puffed away and watched the students coming out through the gates.

He checked his watch. It was already twelve forty. Shen Mo should have been out by now.

After all, this was the last day of finals. Once the physics and chemistry exams were over that morning, the students would be off for the afternoon.

Besides, Shen Mo had no reason not to go home.

"Gangzi! Gangzi! He's out!"

An eagle-eyed young thug pointed at a frail figure in the crowd.

"Let's go."

Gangzi took two deep drags, tossed away his cigarette butt, and swaggered toward Shen Mo.

The students leaving school gave the thugs a wide berth, as though they were carriers of the plague.

Hands in his pockets and chin raised, Gangzi swayed with every step.

He enjoyed being feared. It made him feel powerful and badass, like a mob boss in a movie.

They had taken nude photos of Shen Mo the day before, but Deputy Minister Tao's daughter had been deeply dissatisfied with the blurry pictures.

So their job today was to follow Miss Tao's instructions: take Shen Mo to their hideout, set up a video camera, and put on a live show for real.

"Gangzi, something's not right!"

It was the same sharp-eyed thug again. He had noticed blue-uniformed figures appearing all around them.

And when Shen Mo pointed at them from the distant crowd, an overwhelming sense of danger instantly seized them.

"Run!"

Gangzi gave the order.

The young thugs immediately scattered.

But it was already too late.

Squad Leader Liu Zhi led seven or eight public security officers in from every direction. Within moments, they had pinned the thugs to the ground, cuffed them, and bundled them into police cars.

Shen Mo watched, an unfathomable light flickering in his eyes.

Before the mighty machinery of the state, beneath the iron fist of justice, these thugs who normally swaggered around throwing their weight about were no different from rats or cockroaches.

If I could wield that power too...

"Get in the car first. Once Teacher Guo comes out, we'll all go home for lunch."

Zhou Yi gently patted Shen Mo's little head, unsure what was going on inside it, and spoke softly.

Shen Mo obediently followed Zhou Yi into the car and sat in the back seat. After hesitating for quite a while, he finally worked up the courage to say, "Zhou Yi, I'll definitely repay you someday."

Zhou Yi turned and gave Shen Mo a look filled with complicated emotions.

Forget repaying me. Just don't drag me into it when you cause trouble down the road.

"Shen Mo, let's make an agreement."

Zhou Yi considered it for a moment before speaking.

"Sure, sure! Tell me, Zhou Yi." Shen Mo nodded without hesitation.

"I promised I would protect you and never let anyone hurt you again. But, Shen Mo, you have to promise me something too. You must never stray onto the wrong path, much less turn to crime. Can you do that?"

Zhou Yi fixed his burning gaze on Shen Mo and asked in a grave voice.

Although he felt he had already changed Shen Mo's course in life, he still felt an instinctive worry and wariness toward this person who, in his previous life, had ruled the underworld, bent events to his will, and played countless people like puppets.

"I can!" Shen Mo kept nodding vigorously.

Whatever Zhou Yi told him to do, he would do.

Even if it was wrong, the fault wouldn't lie with Zhou Yi. It would lie with the world.

Seeing the absolute trust in his eyes, Zhou Yi couldn't help softening. He reached out and ruffled Shen Mo's hair again.

Back at the school, Vice Principal Yang Mei had just returned to her office when she found Cao Wenxing, deputy editor-in-chief of the Anping Daily, sitting on the sofa and leisurely sipping tea.

"You certainly make yourself at home. Do you know how much this tea costs per pound? I can hardly bear to drink it myself." Yang Mei gave her old classmate a half-serious glare, then went over and poured herself a cup.

"Don't worry. I won't drink your pre-rain Longjing for nothing. I'll have Zhang Xing bring the disc over shortly. Do whatever you like with it. I guarantee I won't keep a backup," Cao Wenxing said with a smile.

The disc he meant contained footage shot that day by two photojournalists who, acting on professional instinct, had recorded the entire sequence of Zhou Yi rescuing the high school student from two angles, one upstairs and one downstairs.

From the school's perspective, they absolutely did not want the incident to gain wider attention, so naturally they would do everything possible to prevent such firsthand audiovisual material from getting out.

"No. You must keep a backup. And you must make sure that backup gets leaked 'by accident.'"

Yang Mei looked at Cao Wenxing and spoke with absolute resolve.