“William Smith really does seem to be innocent this time!” Paul Harris said, “We just took statements from a few bystanders at the scene. The whole thing started because William Smith somehow ended up wearing a city management uniform. The street vendors saw he was alone and tried to scare him off, but instead of scaring William Smith away, they ended up being frightened by him. But according to the statements, William Smith really didn’t hit anyone this time!”

“Wow, this kid’s changed his ways! What’s up with that old man sitting on the ground?” Edward Johnson asked, now a bit interested—this was probably the first time he’d heard of William Smith not getting physical.

“He’s a farmer from XX township, came to the city to sell radishes! He’s pretty timid, probably his first time in a police station. According to him, William Smith just grabbed his collar, and he pretended to have been hit out of fear, then threw himself on the ground. Judging by William Smith’s usual behavior, he probably really didn’t hit him—otherwise, it wouldn’t have ended like this!” Paul Harris continued. He knew William Smith all too well; usually, the worst outcome was a black eye or a bloody nose. It was rare for things to end without anyone getting hurt.

“All right, it’s nothing serious. Just let those vegetable sellers go!” Edward Johnson said absentmindedly.

“Okay! What about William Smith? Should we let him go too?” Paul Harris, who was about to leave, asked.

“Let him go? You try letting him go! That guy’s a real troublemaker—he’ll stir things up even when there’s nothing to stir. Now you say it’s nothing and let him go, and he’ll probably try to extort you! Keep him locked up, I’ll deal with it later!” Edward Johnson said.

After Paul Harris left, Edward Johnson tucked his cleaned Type 64 pistol into his waistband and muttered to himself, “Good thing the kid didn’t hit anyone today, otherwise it really would’ve been a mess!” Now that everything was clear, he could finally relax. He lit a cigarette and took a satisfying drag. He thought about how just a few days ago, the city had issued an urgent notice requiring all local police stations to strictly control mass incidents. If something like a group fight or mass disturbance really broke out in his jurisdiction during this sensitive period, it would be the least of his worries if he never got promoted—he’d probably be packing his bags and heading home.

Actually, Edward Johnson himself was a retired soldier, but the big melting pot of society had long since worn away his military edges. He looked at his slightly bulging belly—thanks to all the drinking! He touched his once-chiseled face, now shiny with oil—thanks to too much good food! His once-straight back was starting to hunch a bit—thanks to all the bowing and scraping to superiors every day! He used to be able to do over two hundred push-ups, and could score over 180 in the 20-meter rapid-fire pistol event, but in the past couple of years, he’d barely fired a shot, and the calluses on his hands had long since disappeared. Edward Johnson often looked at his increasingly thick and soft hands and thought to himself, people always say beautiful women are pleasing to the eye—maybe they’re pleasing to the touch too. Why were his hands getting softer and weaker? Maybe it was the side effect of always touching girls’ hands or groping women’s chests.

What happened this morning really gave him a cold sweat. It reminded him of the mass incident that had been all over the news not long ago, which started because taxi drivers were unhappy with the city’s fee policies. Over a thousand cars blocked off the entire section of Huanghua Street by the city committee. Just thinking about that sea of people made Edward Johnson feel weak. That day, when their Jinxiux police station got the call for backup, the six of them couldn’t even get into the block—they were stuck at the entrance, unable to move. In that moment, the usual deterrent power of state authorities seemed to vanish. Even old ladies on the street dared to point at the police and curse, not to mention the troublemakers who took the opportunity to throw rocks and beer bottles. At that moment, he thought, “It’s over, it’s over—if I get injured on duty or something, it’s all over!” He felt like he’d lost all the courage and strength he’d had ten years ago—everything seemed so powerless and feeble! In the end, it was the armed police who intervened, and only after the mayor and the city party secretary made promises did the incident finally calm down. At the time, Edward Johnson looked at the riot police armed to the teeth, felt the overwhelming aura and the force that could intimidate anyone, and was deeply ashamed. He thought, after all, he’d been a soldier for five years, but it felt like he’d wasted his life—he was nothing compared to those guys.