The interview underway

"Captain Zhou, let me introduce you. This is Lin Fang, a reporter from the Municipal Radio and Television Station, and this is Zhou Xiaofan, a reporter from the Anping Daily News Agency..."

Zuo Qin, head of the news section of the county Party committee's publicity department, shook Zhou Yi's hand with extraordinary enthusiasm and introduced the two reporters who had come for today's exclusive interview.

Zhou Xiaofan?

Zhou Yi shook hands with the attractive, poised young reporter. If he remembered correctly, she would eventually become a famous news anchor at the Liaodong Province Television Station.

Oh, right. Zhou Xiaofan graduated from Liaodong Normal University. She went to the same university as Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian.

She should be on our side.

As for the other reporter, Lin Fang...

Zhou Yi studied her with a peculiar look while putting himself on guard in advance.

Why did he need to be on guard?

Because in his previous life, Lin Fang had been a rather notorious veteran public intellectual. From forums, Tieba, and BBS sites to blogs, Weibo, and Douyin, she had kept up with the times for over a decade. Public Intellectual Lin had been active on virtually every battlefield of public opinion.

The views she posted included, but were not limited to-

"Is it so hard to admit that others are better than us?" "Shouldn't we reflect on ourselves?" "The air of democracy and freedom is so sweet." "They don't teach patriotism abroad." "They live; we merely survive." "We cannot help but ask..."

She claimed to be rational, impartial, and objective, but her bias had long since gone into orbit.

Sweeping generalizations, taking isolated examples as the whole picture, vilifying anything Chinese, praising anything American, yellow on the outside and white within, and notorious double standards.

Later, as the country grew stronger, the public became more rational, and national pride and patriotism increased by the day, life became harder and harder for veteran public intellectuals like Lin Fang. Some vanished from sight, some emigrated to their spiritual homelands, and others hid in filthy gutters with their tails between their legs, darting out whenever they had the chance to spew venom, sow discord, and steer public opinion.

As a self-appointed defender of his country online, Zhou Yi had crossed swords with Lin Fang more than once.

Today's interview about an exemplary figure had been arranged by the city. Ordinarily, no one would dare act out of line. In his previous life, however, Public Intellectual Lin had repeatedly asked public figures maliciously pointed questions during interviews. Even criticism from her station's leadership had failed to change her ways, and she had finally been forced to resign after widespread boycotts by viewers and internet users.

Zhou Yi glanced toward the back again.

Those two impostors had already picked seats neither too close nor too far away.

Both wore the standard reporter outfit of a shirt and dress pants. They were clearly trying to keep a low profile.

But it was no use.

Wherever they went, they were like fireflies in the darkness, so striking and outstanding.

Not only were the officers staring, but even the bureau chief and political commissar couldn't resist taking a second look.

Cameras of every size had already been set up in the large conference room.

Lin Fang and Zhou Yi sat facing each other on the platform, very close together.

This was one of the essentials of a profile interview: reducing the physical distance to create a comfortable atmosphere.

The second essential was establishing a good psychological connection with the interviewee, communicating with a gentle, positive, proactive attitude to prevent stiffness or embarrassment and ensure the interview went smoothly.

Lin Fang had no intention of doing that.

Her interview style had always been known for being incisive, penetrating, and rational. She despised these officially manufactured, perfunctory interviews with "exemplary figures" from the bottom of her heart.

To her, shattering the halos of these so-called "heroic role models" and "outstanding exemplars" during a live interview and exposing their embarrassment was particularly satisfying.

Besides, she had come with a "mission" today!

After a formulaic opening, Lin Fang went straight to the point.

"Captain Zhou, after you passed the recruitment exam for the County Public Security Bureau, you were assigned to the Heping Township police station. We all know it's remote and the conditions are harsh. You stayed there for three whole years..."

With a stern expression and a stiff tone, reporter Lin Fang began exploring her first key topic.

"If you could have chosen back then, would you have preferred to work in Heping Township or stay in the county seat?"

At this question, Bureau Chief Lei Ming's and Political Commissar Gao Zuobin's faces darkened simultaneously.

Are you fucking nuts?

Who asks a question like that?

Are you here to conduct an interview?

Or pick a fight?

Those four thoughts belonged not only to the chief and commissar, but also to the officers sitting below.

Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian frowned slightly.

This was clearly a nasty question asked with ill intent.

Say he wanted to endure hardship in Heping Township? Hypocritical!

Say he wanted to stay in the county seat? Self-serving!

So how would Zhou Yi answer?

"If?" Zhou Yi repeated the word, then answered quite honestly, "If I could choose, of course I'd still go work in Heping Township."

"Oh, Captain Zhou, you certainly have a high level of political awareness!" Lin Fang commented in a tone that could have been either admiration or mockery.

"I wouldn't call it political awareness. You may not know this, Ms. Lin, but my family home is in that village. I was born and raised there!" Zhou Yi explained, looking a little embarrassed.

Lin Fang's expression stiffened.

She had never expected him to offer such an unassailable reason.

Brilliant!

There couldn't have been a better answer.

Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian couldn't help exchanging smiles.

Lei Ming and Gao Zuobin nodded inwardly. As expected of young Zhou, his answer was watertight, without a single opening to exploit.

"I have a question for you too, Ms. Lin. If you had two assignments, one to interview me and another to report from an earthquake zone, which would you choose?" Zhou Yi asked, looking at her curiously.

What a perfect way to give her a taste of her own medicine!

Jian Shuyue lightly slapped Tian Tian's thigh, expressing her delight at this applause-worthy comeback.

Choose to interview Zhou Yi, and she was afraid of dying.

Choose to go to the earthquake zone, and she was a hypocrite.

With this question, neither choice would do her any good!

Tian Tian watched the reporter with gleeful satisfaction. This is what they mean by "start trouble, and you have no right to complain when you get crushed."

Then they heard Lin Fang answer calmly, "I won't answer that question, because such hypotheticals are meaningless!"

Sneaky! Shameless! Despicable!

Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian furiously cursed her in their minds.

Then they immediately heard Zhou Yi ask mockingly, "So you just asked me a meaningless question, didn't you, Ms. Lin?"

Lin Fang was instantly left speechless.

What a comeback! Beautiful! Absolutely perfect!

Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian clenched their fists at the same time. If this hadn't been the wrong setting, they would certainly have high-fived and burst out laughing.

The captain is fucking brilliant!

Shao Mingbao, "Never One to Shirk," and Zhu Jianping, "Duty Comes First," kept thrusting their thumbs forward, regardless of whether Zhou Yi could see them.

Cai Xiaobo, "Mr. Considerate," clapped excitedly, only to earn an unhappy glare from the bureau chief in front of him. He could only stop sheepishly.

As for reporter Zhou Xiaofan from the Anping Daily News Agency, she was already laughing like a honking goose inside.

Oh, Nitpicking Lin, you've finally met your match!

Lin Fang immediately deployed the tactical sip of water to ease the painfully awkward atmosphere.

Zhou Yi also took a sip, patiently awaiting her second attack.

Sure enough, after describing in detail how Lü Wenhui, a Class A fugitive wanted by the Ministry of Public Security, was vicious, physically strong, and skilled at fighting, Lin Fang abruptly changed tack and asked her second question. "When you faced such a violent criminal alone, did you feel afraid?"

The question seemed within bounds, but it was just as malicious.

Just tell us whether you were scared.

Not scared? What gives a lowly officer like you the right not to be scared?

Scared? See, you were afraid after all. Maybe you only caught him through sheer luck.

"Of course I was afraid!" Zhou Yi nodded honestly.

Then he added in a casual tone, "I was afraid I'd accidentally beat him to death!"

Hahaha...

Good-natured laughter instantly filled the conference room.

Even Bureau Chief Lei Ming, who had been maintaining a stern expression, couldn't keep it up. He hastily picked up his teacup and drank to cover it.

Political Commissar Gao Zuobin simply lost control and grinned, laughing aloud.

As for Jian Shuyue and Tian Tian, that went without saying. Those two laughed at the slightest thing.

"I can see you're very confident in your fighting skills, Captain Zhou," Lin Fang said with a forced smile.

"If I didn't have even that much confidence, would I be sitting here being interviewed by you today, Ms. Lin?" Zhou Yi asked with a perfectly straight face.

Then he glanced at the audience and continued teasingly, "In that case, my superiors and colleagues probably wouldn't be here to watch my interview. They'd be attending my memorial service!"

Hahaha...

Laughter rang through the large conference room again.

There wasn't a single flaw in what he'd said.

Without real ability, Captain Zhou would have been the one taken down that day.

Then what would there have been to say about commendations, rewards, or live interviews?

Lin Fang's expression grew ugly.

She had been a reporter for five or six years and had interviewed at least a hundred people. When had she ever encountered such a difficult opponent?

This fellow Zhou was extraordinarily quick-witted and eloquent. He was nothing like a youngster just starting out; even seasoned political operators fell far short of him.

Taking a deep breath, she decided to keep attacking.

If she couldn't put him in his place today, she would never be able to lecture anyone again.

"Regarding your capture of the criminal, some people say you were simply lucky. After all, a citywide dragnet was in place, and the criminal happened to appear in the village you were responsible for. What do you think of that?"

What do I think?

I think you need a smack in the face!

Zhou Yi fell silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "It's true that I was relatively lucky."

Hearing this answer, Lin Fang's expression remained unchanged.

Based on her experience just now, he was bound to have a qualification.

"To be completely fair, under those circumstances, if another of my fellow officers had been there, he might have done just as well as I did. They simply haven't had the same luck as me!

"A couple of days ago, I read a report. According to incomplete statistics, around four hundred officers in our police force die in the line of duty every year. In other words, on average, at least one officer sacrifices their life every day."

"They, too, charge into the front lines of the fight against criminals. They are just as brave, fearless, resolute, and tenacious. They simply haven't had the same luck as me!"

"So I sincerely hope that my colleagues, my brothers, will always have good luck by their side as they carry out their duties."

"Because a little more luck means a little less sacrifice!"

As Zhou Yi finished his final sentence in a low voice filled with emotion, thunderous applause immediately erupted throughout the conference room.