Chapter 506: If No One Finds Out, It's Not a Crime
The moment Steven uttered that name, the entire police car jolted.
The green-haired officer had accidentally slammed on the brakes. Both she and Ch'en whipped their heads around at the same time, staring at Steven with unmistakable disbelief.
"…Who did you just say?"
"Wei Yenwu," Steven repeated casually. "That should be the name. I'm not so old that I forget something that I said seconds ago."
It's the name Kal'tsit and Nian had both mentioned before. If you run into trouble, contact him. He can handle unnecessary complications.
Well, this counted as unnecessary trouble, didn't it?
Why waste outside support? It'd be foolish not to use it. If he waited until he'd truly caused some earth-shattering disaster, then asking for help would probably be a lot less realistic.
"Why would you know him?" Ch'en's playful expression vanished entirely. "Do you even understand what that name represents?"
Joking about her uncle was one thing. But hearing a bombing suspect say that name with such confidence? That was an entirely different matter.
"Honestly, I don't know him," Steven admitted, scratching his head. "And I'm not entirely sure what his position is either. I was just told that if I ran into trouble, I could look for him. Apparently, if I mention my identity, the problem should be solved."
He truly only knew the name. As for who Wei Yenwu actually was—he had no clue.
But Kal'tsit had told him that. And while Nian might enjoy messing with him, that green-haired lynx woman? Not a chance.
"And what identity would that be?" Ch'en's brows knitted tightly together. "Prime suspect in a bombing case? Or are you saying your 'identity' is enough to place you above the law?"
From her perspective, this man tone reeked of the arrogant rich brats who relied on powerful backers to act lawlessly. And that was precisely the type of person she despised the most.
People who believed they stood above others. People who thought they could stand above the law.
And what made it worse was that, far too often, they weren't wrong. Even the law sometimes struggled to touch them.
"Huh? No, that's not what I meant." Steven blinked. "I'm saying the explosion had nothing to do with us. Didn't you say yourself? Those guys were all thugs and wanted criminals. If they blew up, that's practically doing society a favor. But if you're claiming we did it, shouldn't you at least have some evidence?"
He spread his hands helplessly, looking at the deep-blue-haired girl with the peculiar dragon horns as if genuinely asking her to produce proof.
Centaurea hadn't used a single trace of Originium Arts when she shot those arrows. It had all been pure skill—along with a Power V enchanted bow.
And the most outrageous feature of that wooden bow enchanted with Infinity?
The arrows disappeared after a certain amount of time.
With no weapon left behind and no physical evidence to collect, how could anyone prove they were responsible?
Who's to say the criminals' vehicles didn't malfunction all at once, triggering a chain explosion?
The weapon was already safely tucked inside his inventory. Aside from the three of them, there were no witnesses at the scene.
That was the real source of his confidence.
After all, if no one finds out, can you really call it a crime?
"You—!" Ch'en's frown deepened. "Even so, we have every right to detain you for twenty-four hours for investigation."
She had heard that argument countless times before. It was always the same smug tone from people who knew the police couldn't produce concrete evidence.
"Exactly," Steven grinned, narrowing his eyes as if he'd anticipated her response from the start. "Now that is where having someone above me comes in handy. If I really do have a backer, then making sure we don't have to spend the night at the station… that wouldn't count as abusing power, right?"
Mostima's eyes widened at the side.
She had met plenty of shameless people in her life.
But someone as brazen as Steven?
That was still a rare species.
"…And how can you be so sure that person will actually protect you?" Ch'en asked coldly, her brows still tightly furrowed as she stared at the smug grin plastered across Steven's face.
"I can't," Steven admitted with a shrug. "But even if he doesn't, you still can't really do anything to me, right? This is a society ruled by law. You're not about to start beating confessions out of suspects like in those old stories, are you?"
He spread his hands innocently.
No, he couldn't guarantee what Wei Yenwu would do.
But he was very certain of one thing—
The dragon-horned police officer in front of him, who practically radiated "law-abiding citizen," was absolutely not the type to bend the rules just to vent frustration.
"Ch'en, maybe we should contact Chief Wei first?" the green-haired officer suggested from the side.
From her perspective as an observer, it was painfully obvious that Steven was half-teasing Ch'en on purpose. And if the incident really only involved a group of wanted criminals blowing themselves up… then strictly speaking, it wasn't exactly a loss for Lungmen.
Moreover, judging from Steven's tone, he had clearly prepared for this possibility.
The simplest way to resolve this would be to contact the person he mentioned and let that individual decide how to proceed.
"…Fine. Inform him," Ch'en said after taking a deep breath to steady herself. "But first, we're bringing the restless suspect in the back seat to the station."
When she mentioned "that person," her expression shifted ever so slightly—something complicated flickered in her eyes. But it vanished quickly, replaced by a sharp glare directed at Steven.
"In that case," Steven said leisurely, still wearing that infuriatingly playful smile, "unless you provide an adequate meal, I won't be saying a word. I assume my companions feel the same."
He even pulled Mostima and Centaurea into his "alliance," as if declaring that if one of them was detained, they'd all be detained together.
"I don't know him. Truly."
Mostima turned her head away in disgust and physically scooted closer to the window, trying to put as much distance between herself and Steven as possible.
After all, who knew whether idiocy was contagious?
"If possible, ramen would be nice," Centaurea added seriously. "I'm not in the mood for something too greasy lately."
Unlike Mostima, Centaurea had clearly begun assimilating into Steven's wavelength. Gradually embracing a more unrestrained lifestyle, she was even starting to find enjoyment in this kind of absurd banter.
Of course, that was only because she knew Steven had everything under control.
As long as he was around, there was practically zero chance of things spiraling out of control.
If she didn't have that confidence and still acted this recklessly?
That wouldn't be carefree.
That would be suicidal.
"None of that! I barely grabbed a simple breakfast myself, and you two are already placing orders? What do you think this is—the police station or some kind of members-only restaurant?!"
Ch'en finally snapped.
Watching the two of them casually discussing meal options while sitting in the back of a police car as bombing suspects… she genuinely didn't know where to begin.
At this point, she couldn't tell whether they truly had faith in their so-called "identity," or if their brains were simply malfunctioning.
"Officer… if I turn state's witness," Mostima suddenly raised her hand weakly from the side, wearing the expression of someone about to betray the revolution, "can I get early bail?"
"Of course," Ch'en replied immediately, shifting her attention away from the utterly hopeless duo. Her gaze toward Mostima softened noticeably. Finally—a normal person. This one must be protected at all costs. "But early release would still require proof that you're unrelated to the incident."
"So," she continued with a hopeful tone, pointing at Steven and Centaurea, "as a witness, what would you like to tell the police? That those two are responsible for the explosion?"
"…No," Mostima said calmly. "I'd like to report that he's lying. He just has a problem with his brain. I don't ask for much. Just don't lock me in the same room as him."
There was no way she was actually going to accuse Steven of murder. After all, he'd gotten dragged into this mess while helping her.
Granted, his method of solving the problem—and the sheer scale of it—had been somewhat beyond her expectations.
"…."
Ch'en's face fell instantly.
She should have known better.
Thankfully, before her patience could erode any further, the police vehicle finally pulled up to its destination—a rather luxurious-looking police station.
"Alright. Everyone out," Hoshiguma announced as she parked the car.
She stepped around to the back and, after opening the door, took out three gleaming silver handcuffs from her pocket and gave them a light shake.
"And, just for procedure's sake… would you mind putting these on?"
Of course, for most criminals, handcuffs were more symbolic than restrictive. The real deterrent wasn't the metal restraints.
It was the enormous triangular shield leaning beside her—almost as tall as a door panel, engraved with the fierce visage of a demonic oni.
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Note: Character Illustration is in this Google Drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1iuyfwNVFHzIi9H4rWNT_lAm7jTSiah_M