"Outrageous! You dare resist arrest?!" the lead officer roared, chambering a round as he raised his gun, ready to shoot Lin Chen on the spot. His face was twisted in fury, but inside, he was secretly overjoyed. Assaulting an officer was a major offense—if they could pin that charge on Lin Chen, any procedural errors would be brushed aside. Even if the Longxing Hotel incident didn't stick, resisting arrest and attacking law enforcement were enough to land him in prison.
He barked coldly, "Listen up! If he resists again—shoot him! I'll take full responsibility!"
The moment he said that, several officers started moving to flank Lin Chen from the sides.
Just then, He Ling stepped forward, eyes full of anger. "Stop right there!" she shouted. "You have no arrest warrant, no formal documentation—you can't detain anyone without them!"
The officers paused. All eyes turned to their captain.
He frowned slightly and gave He Ling a slow, leering once-over. "Miss, this is no place for you to interfere. I advise you to step aside immediately. If you obstruct official duties, we have the right to arrest you too."
He sneered. "I'm taking him in now. If you think there's an issue, feel free to come find me later at the Public Security Bureau. I'm Captain Liang Hongtao."
He Ling's face twisted in disgust at his sleazy smile. "Liang Hongtao! Do you want to lose your job? Or do you want to be taken in for disciplinary investigation?"
That name… Liang Hongtao froze. The way she spoke—with such authority—meant she wasn't an ordinary woman.
"May I ask who you are?" he asked carefully.
He Ling snorted coldly. "I'm He Ling, Vice President of the company. My grandfather is He Tianchi, and my uncle is He Xiaolong."
Liang Hongtao's eyes widened in shock. Of course, he knew those names. He Tianchi was a legend, and He Xiaolong held a high position at the Governor's Office.
"What? Lord He… is your uncle?"
Suddenly, Liang Hongtao's arrogance evaporated. He forced a smile. "Ah, Miss He! Forgive me, I didn't recognize you. Of course, I respect the He family. But I'm just following orders from above. If your uncle could send down instructions, I'd gladly release him. But until then, I'm taking him in. Please, don't obstruct official business."
He Ling's face turned dark. Even the He family's name couldn't stop him?
Clearly, someone more powerful was pulling the strings.
"Xiao Ling," Lin Chen said calmly, "Go handle your own business. Let me take care of this."
She hesitated. "Don't rush. I'll call my uncle right now—once he shows up, everything will be fine!"
Lin Chen smiled and waved her toward the office. She understood immediately and ran inside—he was about to act, and she didn't want to get in his way.
Liang Hongtao's fury ignited. "Boy! I'm warning you, surrender now or I'll shoot!"
His finger tightened on the trigger. He'd already decided—if Lin Chen moved, he'd fire. His orders were clear: as long as Lin Chen was brought back alive, everything else could be cleaned up afterward. If he crippled Lin Chen now, he'd still be rewarded later. Success here meant a promotion.
"Let's see who dies today!" Lin Chen said coldly, and moved.
Liang Hongtao fired—
Bang!
The shot rang out, but missed. Before he could react, Lin Chen vanished.
Then came a storm of dull thuds—one after another, officers fell to the ground.
Too fast!
Liang Hongtao, despite being a peak martial artist, couldn't even follow Lin Chen's movements. In the blink of an eye, the entire squad was down.
Lin Chen was behind him.
A powerful hand gripped his shoulder—
And then, an overwhelming force slammed him backward.
Thud!
He hit the ground hard. Pain shot up from his hips as his tailbone shattered.
Crack!
His gun clattered aside.
A chilling voice sounded above him.
"Now talk. Who sent you?"
Though his surname was Liang, he wasn't part of the Liang family. Which meant this wasn't about the Liangs at all. Their influence was strong, but not enough to make someone like Liang Hongtao ignore both He Tianchi and Lord He from the Governor's Office.
Whoever was behind this had to be bigger.
Bigger than even the He family.
Could it be the city governor himself?
Sweating and pale, Liang Hongtao stammered, "It… it was Old Master Liang—Liang Wangba who sent me…"
Before he could finish, Lin Chen kicked him hard in the back.
Thud!
His face slammed into the ground. Blood burst from his nose and mouth.
"Don't play games with me. The Liang family isn't enough to make you this reckless. Who's really behind this?"
Liang Hongtao trembled. Lin Chen had already guessed.
"You want the truth? Fine. Say it's the Liang family. Kill me if you don't believe it!"
Lin Chen's eyes narrowed. "So there is someone behind you… and they're stronger than the He family. Interesting."
Only a true powerhouse would dare move against the Lin family. Maybe this was the day he'd draw that person out.
"You know what? If you kill me, that person will avenge me!" Liang Hongtao shouted in desperation.
But Lin Chen was unmoved.
"Then die," he said coldly.
His hand clamped around Liang Hongtao's throat, lifting him off the ground—