After this incident, Edward Johnson began to reflect on himself more often. In the police station, he was at least someone with a bit of status—some even rumored he was a candidate for the next head of the city’s criminal investigation team. But he didn’t care much about that. In recent years, he’d been stationed in Jinxiu District, known as the most chaotic area in the city, reputedly the number one red-light district in Sanjin. You could even find online introductions to the entertainment options here. The jurisdiction had nine bathhouses, six foot massage parlors, and twelve karaoke bars, each with a more intimidating backer than the last. They didn’t dare arrest anyone, and even if they did, it was never-ending—taking down one boss Wang might just bring in a boss Zhang or boss Li with even bigger connections. This was something a small station chief like him couldn’t handle, especially since he was only the deputy. Of course, there were obvious perks to being here: at the very least, he never had to worry about funding. If they were short on cash, he could go out for half an hour at night and bring back a string of people for prostitution or soliciting, and the fines alone were no small sum. The real fear was accidentally catching a big fish—these days, anything could happen, and if you accidentally offended some big shot, it could spell trouble for the station. The previous chief had been dismissed and sent home to retire just for shutting down a karaoke bar for a few days and angering a well-connected boss in the city. He definitely didn’t want to stir up that kind of mess.

For example, the guy they caught this morning, William Smith, was someone he knew he couldn’t afford to mess with. They hadn’t even figured out his background yet, but he came to the station to sit for a few days every month. Every time he saw what this kid had done, it gave him a headache—not serious enough to be a big deal, but not minor either. Fights, collecting protection fees, extortion—he was involved in all sorts of bad things every month, always up to no good. He was the type who constantly committed small offenses but never crossed the line into major crimes. By normal standards, even his minor offenses would be enough for two years of re-education through labor. But every time, nothing came of it. The reason was that not only did this kid have a knack for knowing just how far to go, but he also had people backing him. Rumor had it he was known as the number one “stick” in Fengcheng, notorious for being difficult to deal with, and was on par with the city’s top gamblers, thugs, and enforcers—earning himself the nickname “troublemaker” in the underworld. Once, he was held at the sub-bureau for half a month, which caused more than half the hostesses in Jinxiu City to go on strike (there was even a saying that came out of it: “The hostesses go on strike—resisting the Japanese,” with a note that the word “Japanese” here had a double meaning, not referring to the Japanese people). The karaoke bar bosses were so desperate they bailed him out the very next day. Still, he hadn’t been known for any other serious misdeeds—aside from being a pain to deal with, he didn’t clash with the police and wasn’t known for any heinous crimes. In fact, his relationship with the station was quite subtle; at the very least, the local beat cops acted like brothers around him, making it hard to figure out his true depth.

Edward Johnson glanced at the time—it was almost noon. He stood up, ready to head to the detention room. Honestly, these thoughts only crossed his mind occasionally; he was actually quite satisfied with his current life: drinking a little, pocketing some cash, enjoying the company of women, and every now and then leading his men in a bit of corruption. After all, he thought, what man doesn’t enjoy these things, as long as he didn’t cross the legal line? He was happy to keep things simple.

……

“Hey! Eric Smith, get up, get up.” Edward Johnson entered the detention room and kicked the snoring, drooling William Smith, thinking to himself, what a silly kid—he could sleep anywhere, even here.

“Ah-choo… Who is it! … Oh, Deputy Johnson, what’s up, is it mealtime? I’m not even awake yet!” William Smith sat up, yawning and mumbling incoherently.

“What, Eric, planning to stay here long-term?” Edward Johnson looked at him and said.

“Hey, Deputy, you’re not planning to keep me locked up for a few more days, are you? I’ve got a ton of things to do!” William Smith jumped up and said, “Deputy, today really wasn’t my fault. I still don’t even know what happened—I’m really innocent this time!”

“Tch! When have you ever been innocent!” Edward Johnson emphasized, dragging out the word “never.”

“No… no… Deputy Johnson, Uncle Johnson, look, let’s not talk about before, but just this time, I swear on my conscience, I’m really innocent.” William Smith saw that Edward Johnson didn’t believe a word he said and started to get anxious, genuinely worried he’d be locked up for no reason. He hurried to flatter Edward Johnson, even calling the deputy “uncle.”

“Cut it out, stop trying to butter me up!” Edward Johnson interrupted impatiently. “Let’s stick to the facts. I can’t be bothered to interrogate you this time. Same old rules: seven days’ detention, 1,000 yuan fine. Two choices—pick one!”

“Hey, you just locked me up for two days, and now you want to do it again? No way! Besides, if you keep me locked up, how am I supposed to get you money? You gotta let me out first if you want cash!” William Smith grinned shamelessly, his usual tactic with the police—making it impossible for them to get angry or do anything about him.

“Fine, this time I’ll let you off since you didn’t hurt anyone. But remember the fine—next time you mess up, you’ll pay for both at once!” Edward Johnson secretly laughed, knowing William Smith had fallen into his trap. At least he wouldn’t argue about being wrongly arrested—this kid was terrified of being locked up. He knew exactly how to get to him. Looking at William Smith, he waved his hand: “Get lost early, don’t let me see you and get annoyed!”