Chapter 2 Tiger-Head Charge

William Walker's old man never lost his northern accent, even in old age, and the whole family was influenced by it. William Walker had been able to speak standard northern dialect since he was a child.

But his way of speaking was a bit too old-fashioned. The sly thief glanced at him, momentarily stunned, then lowered his voice and said, “Bro, it’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. How about you give me a break…”

As he spoke, he secretly tried to break free from William Walker’s grip, but it was like his hand was glued—there was no way to get loose.

William Walker could fight—he was well-known for his skills throughout the entire Border City Bureau, having won the police academy’s grappling and combat championship three years in a row. Now, back twenty years in the past, he was in his prime, full of energy and strength. A petty thief like this was no match at all!

“Kid, I was supposed to be off duty today, but you ruined it for me. Tell me, how should I deal with you?”

William Walker held the thief’s wrist tightly, grinning as he spoke.

His biggest flaw was his laid-back, careless attitude—never taking anything seriously. Because of this, after twenty years in the police force, he never got a decent official position. In his forties, he was still just a regular detective at the division level.

His rank had gone up, but at the end of the day, he was still just a grunt doing the work!

Luckily, William Walker didn’t care about that. As long as there were cases to solve, some drinks to enjoy, and a plate of pig’s head meat, life was good.

It wasn’t that William Walker lacked ambition—he just never had the opportunity.

When he first started at the police station, he worked hard for several years, handled a lot of cases, and filed over thirty arrests in a year, making him the officer with the most criminal cases in the entire Border City Bureau. But because of his careless attitude and the way he looked at everyone sideways, he never won over his superiors and never got ahead. Later, when the old man passed away and “met Marx,” William Walker lost all hope and simply gave up on promotion, settling into his role as a small-time cop.

Still, at class reunions, drinking and chatting with classmates who had made it big, he couldn’t help but feel a bit frustrated.

Especially when the class beauty from back then looked at him with sympathetic eyes—William Walker always felt a sting in his heart.

But right now, William Walker wasn’t thinking that far ahead.

After all, anyone who had just gone through such an unbelievable experience couldn’t possibly calm down completely.

With this thief running into him, William Walker was actually a bit troubled.

By rights, he should take the thief to the police station—after all, as a cop, that’s common sense.

But it was getting late, and the whole process at the station would take at least an hour, which meant he’d miss the family lunch to celebrate the old man’s birthday.

Even though William Walker’s father, Charles Walker, and the old man were always at odds, as the grandson, he still had to do his duty.

“Bro, you’re still a student, right? I just saw your police academy student ID… How about you let me go today, and I’ll buy you a drink, okay? You’re not a cop yet—more friends means more opportunities, right?”

The sly thief refused to give up, his eyes darting around as he rambled on, while his other hand quietly slipped into his pocket, gripping a switchblade, his eyes suddenly turning fierce.

“I’m a cop, you’re a thief—what are you thinking? You really think we could be friends? That’s some wild imagination…”

William Walker was still grinning.

“Kid, don’t push your luck! Believe it or not, I’ll stab you to death right now!”

The sly thief suddenly turned vicious, snarling as he flipped his wrist and flashed a shiny switchblade.

“Ah…”

The passengers crowded nearby screamed, instantly clearing a large space, staring in panic at the gleaming blade. These cheap chrome-plated switchblades weren’t actually that sharp, but they sure looked scary.

At first, when William Walker caught the pickpocket, the surrounding passengers had watched with interest, but no one expected a knife to come out so suddenly.

“So you want to play with knives? Fine, I’ll play with you!”

But instead of being scared, William Walker’s eyes lit up, and he got excited.

This little thief could never have imagined that William Walker’s hands were incredibly quick—sometimes his hands finished the move before his brain even caught up. William Walker’s greatest skill wasn’t grappling or even shooting—it was playing with knives!

Anyone who had seen William Walker handle a knife would be stunned for a moment.

This time was no different.

The thief had just raised the switchblade when, in a blur, his wrist hurt and the knife was already in William Walker’s hand.

How the trick was done, no one could figure out in that instant.

Then, the blade flashed!

Of all the onlookers, not a single one could see the path of the blade in the air—they only heard the thief’s terrified, high-pitched screams, echoing without end…

“Bro, bro, stop, stop, I give up, I really give up…”

“Help, help…”

“Whoa—”

Suddenly, the dazzling blade disappeared, and the shiny switchblade was pressed against the thief’s long neck. Looking again, his arms, face, and neck were covered in fine red scratches, but none had broken the skin.

William Walker was just messing with him.

The precision and control of his technique were simply unbelievable.

“Remember this—someone like you shouldn’t try playing with knives.”

William Walker flipped the blade and gently traced it across the thief’s still-handsome face, giving him a couple of light pats as he smiled.

“With your skills, you’re not even fit to carry someone’s shoes, got it?”