In a residential area reserved for personnel of the Public Security Bureau, a middle-aged man who looked overbearing picked the phone up quietly.
He initially wore a deadpan expression before he looked shocked as his expression changed drastically, his face became ashen and gradually turned glum.
"What did you say? My son, he… Which hospital is he in right now? How's his condition? … Damn it! Arrest that punk and don't allow anyone to get near or visit him. I'll interrogate him personally."
That middle-aged man's expression became rather sinister as he hung up the phone. His hands trembled slightly and he wanted to call his wife. He hesitated shortly after, not knowing how his wife, who was currently suffering from heart disease, would be able to take the news.
The middle-aged man eventually took a deep breath and headed outside with a decisive walk. However, he seemed to look somewhat older by then…
…
Zhang Heng was sitting alone in a dark, small interrogation room, with his hands in handcuffs. He was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, taking a break to clear his mind.
While he had, without a doubt, acted rather impulsively, he didn't regret doing anything. Zhang Heng deemed that everyone needed to be responsible for their own actions, and given that the other guy dared to harbor ill thoughts against his sister, he should be ready for what was going to come around at the very second that he began acting on his ill thoughts.
The harm he caused could be considered both petty or severe, depending on one's perspective. He insisted he was doing all of that out of self-defense and to save others, making it difficult for the authorities to incriminate him. Then again, if someone was calling the shots from the top to interfere with the case, things would have definitely gotten a lot more complicated.
Shouts from his parents were heard from outside the door and Zhang Heng opened his eyes, putting his ear at the wall. He was able to confirm that his parents were right outside.
They seemed to be arguing with the police officers on duty about something and continued to reason with raised voices. He was also able to hear his younger sister weeping in the midst of the shouting. His expression softened as he shook his head, wearing a bitter grin. He hoped that little sister of his would grow up after going through such dangers.
The case had nothing to do with his parents and his sister. All three of them were probably at the police station to visit him.
However, it was also obvious that such a reasonable request was utterly refused by the police officers.
"Why can't I see my son? My son barged in there to save people! If it hadn't been for him, my daughter would have been defiled by those two wretched animals!" Zheng Heng's father shouted.
"That's right. Why is my son even locked up in the first place? If there's anyone who should be locked up, it's those two animals!" his mother added.
"Your son is suspected of causing excessive harm to others, with the more severely injured among the two still being in the emergency room. The son of the vice chief could also suffer crippling injuries. You two actually want to see someone who beat them up so bad, in your dreams, I say!" the on-duty police officer shouted back.
"How could you say things like that?"
…
Zhang Heng's parents seemed to have caused a ruckus in the police station all night before leaving due to not being able to do anything. No one knew what kind of measures his folks would take next.
Heavy footsteps were heard suddenly outside of the interrogation room the very next morning, closing in from afar and stopped right outside the interrogation room.
Zhang Heng slowly opened his eyes and saw a middle-aged man dressed in a police uniform with a full head of silver hair standing right outside the door with a deadpan expression as he observed him through the window. "Open the door."
"Yes, sir." another officer replied.
The door of the interrogation room opened with a click right after the man gave the order.
Intense resentment was seen in the eyes of that middle-aged man the second he laid eyes on Zhang Heng. He made a gesture and the two police officers who were right behind him retreated respectfully, locking the door of that interrogation room behind them.
"Kid, do you know who I am?" The middle-aged man scanned the room as he walked around Zhang Heng before he suddenly asked him a question.
Zhang Heng wore a sarcastic smirk on his face. He didn't bother answering the older man's question and went on to ask instead, "I take it that you hate me, right?"
"Huh?" What Zhang Heng said stunned the middle-aged man for a moment. He took a good look at Zhang Heng before replying, "Oh, of course, I hate you. I hate you so badly that I wish that you'd just die!"
"Well then, what would you prepare to charge me with? Imperfect self-defense? Intentional assault? Attempted murder?" Zhang Heng raised his leg and put it on the table at an angle.
"Seems like you know how things work in political circles." The middle-aged man nodded and continued, "We would be charging you with attempted murder, and once you're convicted, you'd probably be spending the rest of your life behind bars."
A cold glint was seen in Zhang Heng's eyes. "Well, well, well, like father, like son."
"Hehe, I have only one son after all." The middle-aged man seemed to relish in seeing Zhang Heng being resentful. He reminisced for a little bit and said, "Back when I first joined the force, I've pictured myself being a good cop, a representative of the forces of good, enforcing justice and serving the people… But, reality would always be the best teacher there is. It taught me to compromise. It taught me to look at the big picture. It taught me what interests and power meant."
The middle-aged man was steeped in his thoughts for a bit before casting a puzzled look at Zhang Heng. "Speaking of which, do you hate me as well?"
Zhang Heng was stunned, feeling impressed, and noting that wisdom did come with age. He initially thought that he had full control over the course of the conversation, but it took only several sentences from the other party to render him speechless, so much so that the other man had even returned that sarcastic line he first threw, making Zheng Heng look like a runt before the older man.
"That wouldn't be all." The middle-aged man returned to his calm and collected demeanor, continuing casually, "Your sister. I've read all the files on the three generations of your family. Your sister is about to take the college entrance exam, right? I wonder what you'd do if something were to happen to her on the day of the exam."
Zhang Heng narrowed his gaze and jolted his head up. The murderous intent in his eyes was unmistakable.
"And your folks. Do they make a living by running a food stall? If the Urban Enforcement Bureau's people were to pop up wherever they happen to set up their stall, I wonder if they would be able to keep making a living." The middle-aged grinned as he continued, "Furthermore, I'd assume that those people are not the kind who would do their jobs right. If a fight were to break out between them and your folks, I wonder who would be on the losing side."
Zhang Heng's face had completely turned glum as he wore a cold smirk, "Seems like you're really out to push my buttons?"
"What? Are you going to kill me right here?" The middle-aged man lowered the tone of his voice suddenly. He continued talking with a tone that sounded as if he was pitying Zhang Heng, "Tsk, tsk. Do you have the guts to do so? Note that if you aren't going to be able to kill me here, your entire family is going to be in trouble…"
The middle-aged man lowered himself, glaring at Zhang Heng with a provoking look. "I have over a hundred ways to make sure your family suffers, and there's nothing you could do about it."
Zhang Heng chuckled coldly, looked down, and glanced at the pitch-black handle of the other man's gun holstered at his hip. He seemed to have thought of something before laughing out loud.
"What are you laughing at?" That middle-aged man was stunned.
"Oh, so that's what you're planning?" Zhang Heng wore a sarcastic expression and continued, "You went out of your way to provoke me with words, pushing me to reach for your gun, and then you'd be able to shoot me, the guy who made a eunuch out of your son, dead. That's one hell of a revenge plot. Am I correct, oh mighty lord, vice chief?"
The middle-aged man's expression suddenly became stiff and he replied resentfully, "You have brains, I'll give you that much. If you're not going to fall for it, then be prepared to spend the rest of your days in jail. Your family would definitely be met with a tragedy worse than what happened last night! All of this was because of you. Bear in mind that it was you who brought all that misfortune upon your family."
Zhang Heng chuckled coldly, licked his lips, and flashed a bloodthirsty grin. "Boy, that's the best joke I've heard in ages. It's a pity that that eunuch of a son of yours is still wailing in his bed."
Both men threw vile words at each other, using them as weapons to attack the other's psyche. However, it became apparent the middle-aged man suffered more severe trauma, given that his only son had been rendered infertile. He became very frustrated, unable to take all the insults from Zhang Heng.
"Do you really think that you're in the right? Yes, my son did harbor ill thoughts, yet he didn't manage to pull it off! So why did you have to go so far? Do you know that he is my only son!?" the middle-aged man shouted.
"So, I've gone too far now, eh?" Zhang Heng laughed maniacally hearing that, with the sarcastic look in his eyes totally unmistakable.
"I'm sorry but I like taking things to the extreme."
"Did it ever cross your mind that if it hadn't been for my phone call to my sister before that, she would have been defiled by that animal, your son? My sister would have probably ended up killing herself over what would have happened to her. My family would have been ruined by that son of yours because lust got to his head! Do you still think that your son isn't in the wrong? If that were to happen, who would be there to vindicate us? Who would be able to resurrect my sister, if she were to end up killing herself?" Zhang Heng took a deep breath and chuckled as he continued, "Don't give me that crap about that animal of a son of yours didn't manage to pull it off. He failed in his attempt because I put a stop to it!"
"There was no doubt that he was out to harm, and at that very second that he put those ill thoughts into action, he lost the right to be human. He was but an animal in human skin!" the middle-aged man shouted back.
"The way I see it, all I've done was slay a beast out to harm my sister. An animal who didn't deserve to be deemed a human and utterly had no human rights. What's wrong with me crippling an animal like that? I wasn't satisfied without giving that animal what he deserved."
"Nonsense!" The middle-aged man looked like he was about to explode from all that pent-up rage. He shouted, "My son is not an animal! H-He just took a wrong step, that's all!"
"Oh, he was an animal. There is no doubt about that. Argue all you like and there's no changing the fact that your son, who didn't have an inch of regard for others having families as well, doesn't deserve to be considered a human!" Zheng Heng shouted.
"You, you, you…" The middle-aged man was a veteran in the political circle and was doing very well for himself, yet he never learned the ways of online chats, forums, and comment sections. He was no match for Zhang Heng when it came to throwing insults. His face was reddened with fury as he pointed at Zhang Heng with both hands, being so enraged that he was rendered speechless. "Hmph, fine. I'm not going to argue any longer with a loser like you who isn't going to have a family soon enough!"
It took quite a while before the middle-aged man calmed down and returned to his senses. He took a deep breath and suppressed all the sorrow and rage in him. "I'm not going to beat you up nor am I going to lecture you. There's no need for any of that. You'll regret what you've done someday. The worst punishment for the likes of you, criminals who go to the extreme with their methods, could suffer would be mental torture." The middle-aged man said as he waved his arm and walked towards the door.
"What's the time now?" Zhang Heng asked suddenly as he saw the older man was about to leave.
"Seven in the morning. What? You want breakfast?" The middle-aged man turned around and chuckled.
"Seven in the morning? Time flies and I figure someone would be waiting to pick me up outside." Zhang Heng flashed a grin on his face, seemingly waiting for someone or something before he closed his eyes again.
A chill somehow ran down the middle-aged man's spine for some reason when he saw that grin on Zhang Heng's face. He immediately shouted, "Someone waiting to pick you up? In your dreams! Who the hell would be able to get you out of this? I'd have you know that not if the chief himself could do anything about this!"
Zhang Heng didn't bother responding to any of that.