Lin Yuxia's words left Flandre greatly shocked. In her view, prison was cold and had nowhere to play, so she couldn't understand why anyone would think it was good. However, Flandre didn't ask; she just blinked her eyes ignorantly, planning to ask Rope about it the next time she saw her.
The two sat there chatting while watching Lin Yuxia sort the items, finishing the task in less than half an hour.
"Why did you buy so many candies?" After packing everything up, Lin Yuxia asked.
"Aren't we supposed to put lots and lots of candy at home for the New Year?" Flandre asked back. Hearing her words, Lin Yuxia laughed uncontrollably. "Hahaha, you're right. We really do need to have lots and lots of candy at home for the New Year. This is quite a lot. Are you taking it back yourself, or should I arrange for someone to deliver it for you?" Lin Yuxia pointed at the large bags of candy.
"Home delivery is an option?"
"Not for others, of course, but for you, it's definitely no problem." Lin Yuxia reached out and pinched the tip of Flandre's nose.
"That's great! Then I can keep playing!" Flandre said very happily.
"Remember to go home early!" Lin Yuxia patted Flandre's small head, and she scampered out on her little legs.
After leaving the candy shop, Flandre remembered the park she had visited before had many interesting places to play, so she headed there. Before she had gone far, she heard a chase nearby. Curiously, she went over and found a dozen thugs fighting in front of a fishmonger's stall. The nearby merchants looked on as if it were a common occurrence.
Flandre asked around to find out the reason. The stalls on this street were originally the territory of the Hyena Gang. However, the Iron Fist Gang had successfully planted their flag two days ago, making it their territory. The people here were supposed to pay protection money to the Iron Fist Gang. But just a week ago, the Hyena Gang had already collected a month's worth of protection money. With the New Year approaching, everyone's budget was tight, so they asked for an extension until after the New Year. But the Iron Fist Gang ignored them completely, stating that if they didn't pay, they wouldn't be allowed to make a living on this street.
Under the pressure of the Iron Fist Gang, most people chose to pay. However, some stubborn ones insisted they had already paid a week ago and would wait until next month. So, the Iron Fist Gang sent these thugs to harass the merchants, preventing those who hadn't paid from doing business.
"This is so mean! Doing something like this when the New Year is almost here!" Seeing the stall being smashed, Flandre looked at the merchant who, with red eyes and a deboning knife, was ready to fight the thugs with his life. After thinking for a moment, she cast several enhancement Magic spells on him.
Empowered by the enhancement Magic, the merchant held a knife in each hand and took down the thugs one by one in less than ten seconds. After that, he continued charging toward the Iron Fist Gang's territory with his weapons. This time, many onlookers were frightened, moved away, and called the police. Flandre looked at the people lying on the ground, bleeding and crying for help after being stabbed, without a trace of sympathy in her eyes. After all, if you cut off someone's livelihood during the New Year and leave them no way to survive, you must be prepared to be killed in return. In Flandre's simple value system, she believed her actions were perfectly fine.
Flandre followed a few brave people to the entrance of the Iron Fist Gang's base and looked inside. It was a literal bloodbath. Under Flandre's enhancements, the merchant had transformed into a beast among men, striking wherever he aimed with his blades. Although the opponents were numerous, they couldn't withstand the merchant, who fought with total disregard for technique, only wanting to risk his life. Plus, Flandre's enhancement allowed him to hold on even after taking several punches. It turned into a situation where he chased them down, hacking at them all the way.
However, two fists are no match for four hands. Once the opponents reacted, the battle became even bloodier. By the time the Lungmen Guard Department arrived, there wasn't a single patch of healthy skin left on the merchant. As for the Iron Fist Gang, they would likely cease to exist after today. After all, having so many people killed or injured at their own base right before the Spring Festival... neither Wei Yenwu nor Lin Gerui would let them off the hook.
Since it was reported that many people had died, Hoshiguma from the Major Crimes Unit arrived. As soon as she got out of the car, she saw Flandre at the front of the crowd.
"Flandre, why are you here?"
Flandre calmly pointed at the building. "Watching a fight?"
By this time, the people inside the building were completely under the control of the Guard Department. However, the scene inside was gruesome; even Hoshiguma, a veteran officer who considered herself well-traveled, felt her scalp tingle upon entering. At least ten to twenty people had died this time. Normally, this would be a major case, and even more so during the holiday season. Fortunately, the culprit hadn't run away and was also on the verge of death. This made closing the case quite fast. There was no need to run around trying to capture the killer.
Hoshiguma arranged for people to question the surrounding witnesses about what had happened. Flandre raised her hand, indicating she knew.
"You saw it too?!" Hoshiguma asked in shock.
"Yep, I was there from the moment those bad people trashed his shop and started smashing everything." Flandre then described everything she had seen.
"Why didn't you stop him?" Hoshiguma's expression was complicated after hearing Flandre's words.
"Why should I stop him? Those bad people wanted to steal his money and trashed his shop; they clearly didn't intend to let him live. Since they wanted his life, isn't it only right for him to fight back? As for whether his actions constitute a new crime... That was his own choice, and it has nothing to do with me." Flandre said very calmly.
As the man was carried out, her finger twitched slightly, and his heartbeat stopped right then. She didn't know if what she did was right, but she knew a saying in Yan: "Death cancels all debts." Anyway, for that man, death was better than living; it was a clean break.
"Sigh, what a tragedy!" Hoshiguma sighed, sealed the building, and left the street with the injured. As for the statement, what Flandre said was exactly the same as what others said. So, with the facts clear, they didn't need to take the people here back for formal statements.
After the Guard Department left, Lin Yuxia appeared nearby again.
"Sister Lin, why are you here?"
"How could I not know when such a major incident happened? The old man has a bad back and can't run around, so I came to handle things here." She had already heard about the events and reasons, but she hadn't expected Flandre to be here, so she came over to say hello.
"So how will this be handled in the end? Will the territory be given back to that Hyena Gang?" Flandre asked.
"Of course not. The reason the Hyena Gang lost this place was that they fought another gang for the street next door not long ago and suffered heavy losses. They not only lost that territory but this one as well. Even if we gave it back to them, they wouldn't be able to hold it." Lin Yuxia shook her head.
"So?"
"It just so happens that this is the boundary between the Slums and the regular district. It's a hassle for my father if these gangs cause trouble like this, so I plan to handle this place myself. Of course, I won't show my face; I'll arrange for people to manage it." Lin Yuxia looked at the street. It was essentially a small wet market. The foot traffic was not small. But for the Lin family, this was just chicken feed. If it weren't for the fact that today's incident was so big, with so many people dying at once, and they had to give an account to Wei Yenwu, she wouldn't even have planned to handle it personally.
After the market stabilized again, Lin Yuxia patted Flandre's shoulder. "You didn't do anything in the middle of all this, did you?"
Flandre's whole body tensed up, and she then showed an unnatural smile. "Ahaha, how could I? Flandre is a good girl! Flandre is going to play now, goodbye Sister Lin!" After saying that, Flandre slipped away without looking back.
After she left, Lin Yuxia reached out and rubbed her temples. "It really was her, wasn't it? This child really is a handful." She then shook her head and put the matter out of her mind. Although she didn't know exactly what Flandre had done... based on the time of the incident, she likely just happened to pass by and discover it by chance, at most adding fuel to the fire on a whim. The cause of all this came from the irreconcilable conflict between that gang and the merchant.
This incident was later used by some as a reason to question Flandre. They claimed that Flandre clearly had the ability to easily prevent this tragedy but chose to stand by and watch. It was precisely because of this that the tragedy occurred. Wei Yenwu stated that Flandre was only a consultant for the Lungmen Major Crimes Unit and was not part of the Guard Department's official staff; she had no reason or responsibility to help those thugs stop a man who had been driven to a dead end from taking his revenge.
Of course, Flandre didn't know about this; if she did, she would only give Wei Yenwu a thumbs up and tell him he scolded them well.
After witnessing a tragedy of revenge, Flandre continued toward the park. After all, there wasn't much to do in winter. She planned to sit in the park for a bit and then go home to rest. When she arrived at the park, she found many people playing there. At this time, a thin layer of ice had formed on the surface of the park's pond. Children were taking small stones and throwing them one by one, smashing the ice floating on the water. Because the ice pieces weren't large, every time one was broken, it would cause a cheer.
The game was simple, but quite a few people were participating. Seeing this, Flandre was also very interested. She went over and asked if she could join the game.
"Of course you can. Just pick up stones yourself and then go line up." A youth of fifteen or sixteen said with an excited face. Just now, he had accurately smashed a palm-sized piece of ice with a stone from over ten meters away, drawing cheers from many people. He was so happy his face was flushed.
Seeing this, the boys also began to compete with each other. They no longer aimed at nearby targets, but at the small, distant pieces of ice floating in the middle of the pond.