Chapter Eleven: The Escape Mission Succeeds

Hei Yu was a little bewildered. What kind of system repair was this? Wasn’t this just total control over Black Tiger? And what use was Black Tiger, anyway? He looked even shorter than himself, though admittedly he was muscular, with a rather frightening face.

Wait a minute—Hei Yu suddenly recalled that he’d heard about this fellow before.

Yes, it came back to him. It was in that woman’s apartment, the one who’d fallen on hard times. She’d said that if Hei Yu didn’t pay up, Black Tiger would come after him.

So, could it be that just now, the system detected Black Tiger lying in wait to ambush him, and in the nick of time subdued him? Unfortunately, they’d been discovered by patrolling officers and were brought to the police station.

That must be it.

Hei Yu quickly filled in the gaps with his own imagination. As for whatever had happened outside Uncle Liu’s door, he was completely in the dark.

Watching the policewoman being held hostage, Hei Yu suddenly felt a pang of guilt.

But soon, two more policemen entered the room.

Liu Dali and Liu Xili were the first to charge out, colliding headlong with the two officers.

One policeman was tall and refined, with a gentle, harmless look in his eyes—clearly a recent graduate, unacquainted with the darker corners of the world. The shorter one had rough skin, a thickset build, and bloodshot eyes that glared fiercely at Liu Xili.

Startled by the glare, Liu Xili stepped back in a hurry, treading on Liu Dali behind him.

“Ow!” Liu Dali growled, gritting his teeth and grabbing Liu Xili’s collar to pull him back.

The tall officer made as if to draw his gun, but the stocky one stopped him with a shake of his head.

Liu Dali retreated cautiously. As the two officers advanced, he suddenly seized the chair Chen Yang had just vacated and hurled it at the short policeman.

But the chair was caught mid-air.

The tall officer had snatched it by the leg.

Undeterred, Liu Dali and Liu Xili flung a table and a walkie-talkie in succession, but both were deftly intercepted by the tall officer.

“Destruction of public property, plus assaulting a police officer,” the tall officer said quietly.

No sooner had he spoken than the chairs and tables were flung back at the brothers, pinning them heavily to the ground.

They howled and struggled, clawing at the floor, but the weight was like a mountain; no amount of writhing could budge it.

The two policemen strolled over at their leisure.

Hei Yu, witnessing this, gave it little thought. That there were gifted individuals among the police was only natural.

“System, can you make me invisible?” Hei Yu asked inwardly.

[Function not yet available. Requires ten Celestial Origin Fruits to unlock.]

“Can I get them on credit?”

No response.

Damn you.

As if he’d ever come across a Celestial Origin Fruit—he was just an ordinary man.

Hei Yu did not leave.

The two policemen ignored the Liu brothers outside and turned toward the holding cell.

Hei Yu quickly raised his hands in surrender.

“I didn’t do anything!” he declared.

The tall policeman approached with handcuffs. The rough-skinned, murderous-looking officer leveled his gun at Black Tiger and barked, “Surrender, now!”

Hei Yu cooperated as they cuffed him. As the cuffs snapped shut, Hei Yu noticed out of the corner of his eye that the officer tapped the handcuffs lightly, and a faint, almost inaudible light flickered.

It was so subtle.

But at that instant, the handcuffs became as heavy as a mountain, weighing down Hei Yu’s thighs.

He felt no pain, nor did he cry out.

This earned him a curious glance from the two officers.

In that split second, Black Tiger shoved Chen Yang at the short, thickset officer and dashed out of the holding cell.

The tall officer gave chase, but Black Tiger had already vanished.

He made a call to headquarters for backup, then returned to the cell.

[Escape mission successful]

The system’s prompt almost made Hei Yu cough blood from frustration.

What a worthless system—was it his system or Black Tiger’s? Black Tiger escaped, what did that have to do with him?

Hei Yu grumbled inwardly.

This system was inhuman.

Well, it wasn’t human to begin with.

How many years would he have to serve now? Even if he wasn’t using his own face and it wasn’t Hei Yu’s name on the record, what difference did it make? He’d be the one eating prison rations and receiving “education.”

Inside the holding cell, Chen Yang’s face was ashen. Having just had Black Tiger’s arm around her throat had left her breathless. She was helped to a seat beside Hei Yu.

The tall officer returning from outside spread his hands at his two colleagues, signaling that the fugitive had escaped.

The two looked disappointed.

The tall officer sat down heavily on Hei Yu’s other side.

All three police officers leaned in, their eyes sharp and intent on Hei Yu.

“What do you want?” Hei Yu snapped, giving up any hope of freedom.

This damned system!

“So, what’s your ability?” the short one finally asked, a mocking smile on his lips.

Hei Yu’s hands were pinned by the tremendous weight of the handcuffs. In hindsight, he should have just drawn away these people’s threads of fortune when he had the chance—then at least he might have escaped.

He glanced outside. The Liu brothers were still pinned under the furniture, their heads just visible, gazing at the holding cell with utter despair. They had given up all resistance.

“Speak up. If your ability is useful, you might be recruited,” Chen Yang said, her tone gentler than the short officer’s.

Good cop, bad cop—classic negotiation tactics.

Hei Yu was no naïve youth; he saw through such tricks.

There was nothing to say—his system was utterly useless.

It had rescued Black Tiger but not him, its legitimate host.

Could the system have mixed them up because both he and Black Tiger shared the same surname? Was it cognitively impaired, or just face-blind?

Utterly useless!

Hei Yu’s face shifted from red to green, which the police took as evidence of his inner struggle over whether to reveal his power.

But really, he was cursing the system nonstop in his mind.

He had no intention of talking.

What was the point? His “ability” had no recruitment value.

But wait—if he told them, maybe he could get a job. He wanted nothing more than to be employed. Before, he thought the system could make him money, but now he was about to go to jail. What did he have to lose?

“System, are you still there?” he asked, mentally.

[I am.]

“When will you get me out of here?”

[You’re being targeted. Protection is needed.]

“Who’s after me?”

[The one who harmed Uncle Liu.]

“Who is it?”

[Unclear. Black Tiger is being used to investigate.]

“So it’s not Black Tiger?”

[No.]

“So the recent danger that forced me here—it was that person?”

[Correct.]

“And why do you think it was them?”

[Their aura matches the residue left in Uncle Liu’s house.]

“Why don’t I have any memory of the fight with Black Tiger?”

[Unknown. The system has lost some records.]

Not talking, huh? There would be ways to make it talk, eventually.

At least now Hei Yu had some idea why he was here. The system had controlled Black Tiger to help him, and being here meant he could be sheltered by the police.

“So, can I tell them about my power?”

[You may, but don’t say too much, especially about the apocalypse. Never mention that.]

“Understood.”

Hei Yu wasn’t stupid. Telling the police about the Apocalypse System would be suicide.

“I’ll talk,” he finally declared aloud.

The three officers exchanged glances and turned to him.

“My ability lets me make people lose consciousness for a short time,” Hei Yu said slowly.

The short officer perked up. “Can you demonstrate?”

Hei Yu nodded toward his hands, indicating the handcuffs. “Unlock these, and I’ll show you.”