I Dunno Either!

The sky was just beginning to pale, and the alley was still steeped in the chill of early morning when Shen Yan woke.

He got up and quickly pulled on his wrinkled collaborationist police uniform. Facing the broken half of an old bronze mirror in his room, he adjusted his posture, deliberately slouching and hunching his back, drawing in his shoulders, and putting on the listless look of someone who stayed up late night after night. His gaze turned timid and evasive.

He looked exactly like the original body's owner, a cowardly patrolman who was afraid of trouble.

The icy, ruthless air he had carried while acting last night was completely concealed.

Once he was satisfied, Shen Yan hurried out.

He shut the door behind him, lowered his head, and joined the stream of people making their way through the morning, heading quietly for the police station.

He drew no attention and said little.

He kept a profile as low as dust.

By the time he reached the police station courtyard, a group of patrolmen were straggling into formation for morning roll call.

Shen Yan unobtrusively squeezed into the very back of the line, clasped his hands in front of him, and lowered his head, making himself completely inconspicuous.

At the same time, he quietly activated Heavenly Eye and scanned the gathering.

A pale blue glimmer flashed across his eyes, and Good and Evil Point values appeared above everyone's heads-

Most were gray numbers: -3, -5, -7, or -8. They amounted to petty wrongdoing in everyday life: shirking work, bullying ordinary people, and pocketing a little extra money. None counted as truly wicked.

Only squad leader Li Kui had -32 floating above his head. He was a genuine villain and Wang Panghai's immediate patron.

Shen Yan quietly withdrew Heavenly Eye. He knew where things stood.

Squad leader Li Kui clutched the roster and called the names one by one, his face stern.

In a booming voice, he called out the name "Wang Panghai."

He called it three times.

No one in the ranks answered.

The atmosphere froze instantly.

Li Kui's brows knitted, and his face darkened. He turned and barked at a young patrolman standing dazed beside him:

"Why are you standing there like an idiot? Hurry to Wang Panghai's house and see whether he overslept or something else happened!"

The young patrolman didn't dare delay. He took off at once.

The patrolmen present exchanged glances. None dared speak first, for fear of putting themselves in the line of fire.

In less than half an incense stick's time, the young patrolman came running back into the courtyard, gasping for breath. He hurried up to Li Kui and reported in a low voice:

"Captain, Wang isn't home! His wife said he never came back after work last night. He was gone all night, and she's worried sick at home!"

At those words, Li Kui's anger shot straight to his head.

He slammed the roster down hard on a nearby stone table and cursed furiously:

"That damned Wang Panghai! A sergeant, and he dares stay out all night, miss work, and disappear! Does he have any respect for the rules? Which of you saw him last night or heard anything at all about him? Out with the truth, now! If this holds things up, you'll pay for it!"

The patrolmen fell silent as cicadas in winter, huddling together with their heads down, not daring to breathe loudly.

Everyone knew Wang Panghai was a minor boss who handled things under Li Kui. Now that he had vanished for no apparent reason, Li Kui couldn't escape responsibility if his superiors came looking for someone to blame, and the men under him would naturally bear the brunt of his anger.

Li Kui swept his gaze over the gathering and sharply questioned the men who had been on patrol the night before. Several patrolmen stepped forward trembling and stammered out their routes, all saying they hadn't seen Wang Panghai. He was a solitary man, after all: unless he was treating his superiors, he always went off to enjoy himself alone and never brought anyone along.

Just then, Li Kui's gaze suddenly settled on Shen Yan at the back of the line.

His eyes sharpened.

"Shen Yan! Wasn't Wang Panghai always ordering you around? Did he tell you anything last night? When did you last see him?"

In an instant, every eye turned toward Shen Yan.

The tension in the air reached its peak.

Shen Yan felt no ripple of emotion, but his face instantly went pale with fright. His legs trembled slightly, and he stammered in a voice on the verge of tears:

"C-Captain! I dunno... I was injured catching a Communist yesterday afternoon, and Captain Wang told me to go home. My head hurt and I had a fever last night, so I never went out. I r-really didn't see Captain Wang!"

As he spoke, he put on a weak and feeble appearance.

The grievance and fear in his voice were pitched just right.

He was the very picture of the original owner: a timid, spineless weakling who had been bullied into submission.

Li Kui stared at Shen Yan for a long moment.

The young patrolman before him was deathly pale and trembling all over, without a shred of confidence.

Besides, his impression of the original owner as weak and incompetent was deeply ingrained. He had heard the man was knocked down by a female Communist during yesterday's operation.

A good-for-nothing like that probably wouldn't even dare raise his voice in defiance, much less lay a hand on Wang Panghai.

There was no connection between him and the disappearance.

Li Kui waved impatiently, spat, and cursed:

"Get out of my sight! Useless trash! You're that big for nothing, getting knocked down by a little girl. And you call yourself a man?! Looking at you makes me sick!"

As if granted a pardon, Shen Yan hastily hunched his shoulders and retreated to the back of the line.

He still looked shaken on the surface, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief.

He had safely cleared that hurdle.

Wang Panghai was only a low-ranking sergeant, neither a trusted subordinate of the Japanese invaders nor involved in any confidential or important business. At most, he had gone missing from work. Li Kui was angry only because he feared being held responsible; if he found no leads, he would naturally wrap things up in a hurry.

After spending nearly two hours questioning everyone present, Li Kui still hadn't found a single clue. There was no blood, no witness, and certainly no one willing to get involved in the mess.

In the end, he could only record it as "absence from work and abandonment of post," planning to pass it off as "absconding with funds" when he reported it.

That would both clear him of responsibility and silence his superior.

Li Kui casually tossed the roster onto the table, turned around, and patted the peeling blackboard behind him. Several wanted notices issued by the Japanese invaders were pasted crookedly across it, their ink giving off a pungent smell.

"All of you, fucking wake up! Stop looking half-asleep!" He glowered at the group of listless patrolmen, his voice low and harsh. "Look at the notices on the wall. Get a good look and remember them! These are the Communists who've been causing a lot of trouble lately! Catch one and you'll be promoted a rank and get 500 silver dollars!"

The patrolmen below all hung their heads, their eyes unfocused.

With war and chaos everywhere, their own lives were on the line every day. Who would risk their necks to make enemies?

For a few dollars a month, why risk their lives?

Li Kui felt a surge of frustration as he looked at his hopeless subordinates. He pointed casually at the duty roster.

"Pairs of two. Patrol your usual areas. Don't wander off, and don't slack off. Keep an extra eye on unfamiliar faces. If you really do run into anything suspicious, don't rush in. Come back and report it first."

With that, he left without looking back.

Head lowered, Shen Yan followed the veteran patrolman Uncle Chen.

They walked out of the station one behind the other. The cold wind made them both feel a little more alert.

Uncle Chen was a widower with no children, a veteran who had spent nearly twenty years at the station. His face was dark, with deep creases at the corners of his half-closed eyes. He looked sleepy, but not the slightest change on the streets escaped his notice.

His uniform had been washed pale, two buttons were loose, and his cap sat a little low. He looked less like an official and more like a man of the streets.

He followed the rules, but wasn't blindly loyal; he obeyed orders, but didn't follow them blindly. When his superiors gave instructions, he complied where he had to and muddled through where he could. In his district, he protected the order that needed protecting and never touched what he shouldn't.

The times had worn down his sense of righteousness, but never erased it entirely. Not bullying the weak and not killing innocent people indiscriminately were the lines he kept buried in his heart.

Shen Yan quietly activated Heavenly Eye and glanced above Uncle Chen's head.

+10.

A trace of warmth flickered almost imperceptibly in his eyes.

In this collaborationist police station, where Good and Evil Point values were generally negative, that +10 was precious indeed.

Uncle Chen led Shen Yan leisurely down the street, as relaxed as an old man taking a stroll after a meal.

People along the street called out greetings one after another:

"Out on patrol, Officer Chen?"

"Have you eaten, Officer Chen? The pan-fried buns just came out. Have a couple."

"Old Chen, come have a drink after your shift. We'll be waiting."

Old Chen was clearly used to this. He swung his baton leisurely and nodded in response when he heard the greetings.

"They're all honest folk. If it isn't too much trouble, look after them."

The words sounded casual. It was hard to tell whether he was talking to himself or to Shen Yan.

"Got it..."

Shen Yan answered softly.

The district wasn't large. The two walked and stopped along the way, completing a circuit before long.

Old Chen knew the area well and led Shen Yan into a teahouse.

The wooden sign by the door had faded, but still bore the words "Teahouse." A steaming tiger stove stood outside, kettles bubbling atop it. Steam and the fragrance of tea drifted far down the street.

This was the most common kind of neighborhood teahouse in Shanghai: neither high nor low in standing and nothing to look at, yet the place where news was most varied and traveled fastest. Rickshaw pullers, peddlers, brokers, thugs, informants... people from every walk of life liked to gather here.

Uncle Chen pushed the door open and entered.

As they went inside, the clear notes of a pipa and a sanxian reached their ears, accompanied by the soft, lilting sounds of the Wu dialect. The melody lingered beneath the rafters.

A small table stood on the stage, with a male and a female performer seated upright behind it. The man held a sanxian and the woman a pipa. Their fingertips plucked the strings, producing notes as clear as water.

They were performing Suzhou pingtan.

"...Where shall the wanderer far from home find rest? The crescent moon shines over the nine provinces..."

The woman's voice was soft and lingering, every word steeped in the watery air of Jiangnan, clear and melodious. The man joined in with a steady harmony, and as the sanxian twanged and the pipa turned through its notes, the listeners' hearts softened.

The teahouse was full of customers sitting or reclining, cracking melon seeds and holding tea bowls. They listened intently, even keeping their conversations to a whisper.

This was an ordinary sight in old Shanghai-

Amid the chaos, only a teahouse like this and a pingtan performance could let people temporarily forget the violence outside.

Uncle Chen chose an inconspicuous seat near a corner, where he could watch the entrance.

It was neither too close to the stage nor too well hidden, just the safest position for a veteran patrolman.

"Two bowls of tea."

He raised a hand in a casual beckon.

The tea server hurried over with a long-spouted copper kettle. With a turn of his wrist, he poured boiling water into the coarse porcelain bowls in a silver thread without spilling a drop. As the water hit the leaves, a fresh fragrance immediately spread.

Uncle Chen lifted his bowl, blew away the floating foam, and took a small sip. His eyes half closed, he appeared to be listening to the pingtan, but his ears were trained on the whispers around him.

The music was cover; the voices carried news.

It was a trick he had learned over twenty years.

Shen Yan copied him, lowering his head and holding his tea bowl as he sat quietly.

The pipa rang clear, the sanxian sounded steady, and the soft Wu dialect rose and fell. It was a gentle tune, yet in these troubled times it carried a trace of indescribable desolation.

When the song ended, quiet applause and calls of approval filled the room.

Uncle Chen tapped his fingertips lightly against the edge of the table. Under cover of the applause and music, he spoke so softly that only the two of them could hear:

"Did you hear? Things have been tense in the city lately. The Japanese are checking people everywhere, and there are quite a few more unfamiliar faces even in the storytelling houses."

He swept his gaze around the room. His tone was calm, but it carried a clear line he wouldn't cross:

"Wearing this uniform, we can earn a living and we can pretend to be blind, but we can't be dogs. If you really run into someone who shouldn't be arrested... you know how to pretend you didn't see them."

The pipa sounded again, its lilting melody covering everything that couldn't be said aloud.

Shen Yan raised his eyes and looked at the old patrolman, who seemed to be muddling through life but understood things more clearly than anyone.

He nodded gently.

A pingtan performance, a pot of coarse tea.

One thing in the open, another hidden; one guarded, another concealed.

Some understandings needed no further words; they were already shared.

Another song ended, and the two performers bowed and left the stage for a short break. The teahouse gradually grew lively.

Jumbled Shanghai-dialect chatter filled their ears. Some said rice prices had risen again, some said the Japanese were conducting stricter checks lately, and others lowered their voices to mention that "things aren't peaceful in the city."

Over the time it took to drink a pot of tea, neither spoke again.

Yet some things had already been understood in silence.

Suddenly, a cry of alarm rang out.

Shen Yan looked toward the sound and saw three thugs surrounding the woman who had been performing pingtan. One of them had a tight grip on her arm.

"You little bitch, you poured tea all over me! This jacket of mine is fine silk! How are you going to pay for it?"

The woman's face went pale with fear, and she kept stammering out an explanation:

"It wasn't me... you did it yourself... let go of me..."

Outside the circle of thugs, the male musician kept pleading as well:

"Please, sir, have mercy! We'll pay! We're willing to pay!"

"Pay?! You can't afford it! Give us the woman instead! Keep us boys happy tonight, and we'll call it even!"

As the leader of the thugs spoke, he reached out to stroke the woman's face.

Nearby, Old Chen said nothing from beginning to end, keeping his head down and drinking his tea.

He was watching coldly.

He wanted to see whether this young man Shen Yan was truly a coward or hiding something.

If he was, then Old Chen wouldn't need to give him any more pointers.

If he wasn't...

Old Chen instinctively raised his head to look at Shen Yan.

But what he saw stunned him-

There wasn't a trace of nervousness on the young man's face. Instead, his eyes were shining, and the corners of his mouth were rising despite himself.

It was undisguised... excitement.

In Shen Yan's vision, three lines of faintly glowing text appeared clearly:

[Name]: Lai San

[Sex]: Male

[Identity]: Green Gang peripheral member (bottom-rung thug)

[Good and Evil Points]: -10

[Current thoughts]: This little woman looks pretty good. Today's my lucky day.

[Name]: Tie Niu

[Sex]: Male

[Identity]: Green Gang peripheral member (bottom-rung thug)

[Good and Evil Points]: -8

[Current thoughts]: Brother Lai San gets the meat, and I get the soup.

[Name]: Shu Si

[Sex]: male

[Identity]: Green Gang peripheral member (bottom-rung thug)

[Good and Evil Points]: -7

[Current thoughts]: Once we're done, we can sell that woman to a brothel and make another profit.

Shen Yan slowly drew the baton at his waist and walked up behind the three men without drawing attention.

"Leave this young lady alone. How about I have some fun with the three of you instead?"

His tone was earnest:

"I'm good in bed."

The three thugs turned around, cursing-

Before they could get a good look at the person behind them, they heard three dull thunks!

Each of them took a solid baton strike to the head!

"Ah!"

"Fuck!"

"Mommy!"

All three immediately crouched down, clutching their heads as blood ran down their foreheads.

"He hits pretty hard..."

Old Chen grinned, set down his teacup, and slowly walked over to Shen Yan.

Lai San recovered first and stood up. Without even bothering to wipe the blood from his head, he reached behind his waist and drew a dagger.

"I'm with the Green Gang! You dare hit me?! I'll fucking kill you!"

He raised his hand to stab Shen Yan-

Then caught sight of Old Chen beside him.

"Officer Chen... you..."

Old Chen's face was calm, his right hand resting on the holster at his waist.

"It's fine. Carry on with your conversation. I'll just watch and keep quiet."

Lai San swallowed hard. His hand shook, and the dagger fell to the floor with a clatter.

"Officer Chen... it's all a misunderstanding..."

Old Chen ignored the bloodied Lai San and turned to look at Shen Yan-

Why was this kid's smile getting more and more perverted?

[System notification]

[Host's key actions detected:]

[In the teahouse, stepped forward to stop thugs from provoking and harassing others, protected a pingtan performer from being bullied, upheld justice among the common people, and fulfilled the duties of a patrol officer.]

[Action assessment]: punished evil and protected the weak, upheld the righteous path, and retained a conscience.

[Reward issued]: Good and Evil Points +25

[Host, please keep up the good work and guide the thugs onto the right path in life.]

Shen Yan's heart gave a sudden thump.

Guide the thugs onto the right path in life?

He looked at the three trembling thugs before him and suddenly had a bold idea.

Could it be...

I can farm points?

Just as everyone thought the farce had come to an end, Shen Yan suddenly turned sideways and pulled another baton from Old Chen's waist.

Before the dumbfounded crowd-

His two batons flew, pounding on the three thugs as though he were playing a drum kit!

"So you're with the Green Gang, huh! Thump, thump, thump!"

"So you like harassing women, huh! Thump, thump, thump!"

"So you're going to kill me, huh! Thump, thump, thump!"

The three thugs rolled all over the floor, wailing nonstop.

Meanwhile, the system notifications in Shen Yan's mind popped up furiously, flooding his vision:

"Good and Evil Points +1"

"Good and Evil Points +2"

"Good and Evil Points +1"

"Good and Evil Points +3"

"Good and Evil Points +2"

Only after he had beaten them for a full three minutes did the notifications in his mind finally stop.

Shen Yan stopped, panting, and looked at the additional 33 Good and Evil Points. He pursed his lips, his face full of regret:

"What a shame. I've fleeced them dry."

As for the three thugs, they no longer had the strength to howl. They could only clutch their heads and whimper:

"We won't do it again... never again... I'm going back to the countryside to farm..."

Old Chen carefully took back his baton and looked Shen Yan up and down.

How was this cowardice or weakness?

He was clearly a living King of Hell playing the pig to eat the tiger...