Not long after the call was made, two police cars with flashing red and blue lights pulled up outside the small convenience store.
Wu Jun was already waiting outside the store to meet them.
CLICK. CLACK. CLICK. CLACK.
Four police officers got out of the two cars.
"Officers, thank goodness you're here," Wu Jun said, stepping forward while feigning a look of terror.
"You're the one who called? Where are the three assailants?" one of the officers asked as the group approached Wu Jun.
The more Wu Jun looked at the speaker, the more familiar he seemed. Wasn't this Officer Zhou Xing, the one who had come by this afternoon?
"It's you. I remember now. I was just here this afternoon," Zhou Xing said, recognizing Wu Jun as well.
"Heh heh... Still on duty, Officer Zhou? You work too hard. Sorry to trouble you again. Could you please just take them away first? It gives me the creeps just looking at those three," Wu Jun said, leading the four officers into the store.
The four entered, and Zhou Xing immediately recognized Wang Hongliang, who was tied up on the floor.
Zhou Xing said angrily, "Well, look at you two. This afternoon, you knew to call the police. Tonight, you're already rounding up people for a brawl!"
"Officer Zhou, I was just minding my own business at home when disaster struck out of nowhere," Wu Jun said, proclaiming his innocence.
"Officer Zhou, it's a misunderstanding! This is all a big misunderstanding..." Seeing Zhou Xing, Wang Hongliang felt like dying. 'Of all the cops, why did it have to be him?'
"Alright, save it for the station! Take them all away!"
At Zhou Xing's command, the other three officers untied Wang Hongliang and his two cronies and escorted them out of the convenience store.
The commotion downstairs woke many of the upstairs residents, and several came down in their pajamas to see what was going on.
"Oh my god, what's happening?"
"I don't know. I heard some crashing sounds from upstairs earlier, but then it went quiet."
"Boss Wu, look, it's Boss Wu! Did he do something wrong? The police are even here."
A crowd of people watched the long line of individuals coming out of the small store, chattering amongst themselves.
Xu Minli was also in the crowd. When she saw Wu Jun surrounded by four police officers, along with Wang Hongliang—the man who had fought with Wu Jun before—she recognized him. Wang Hongliang's big, bald head was hard to forget.
'What did I tell myself? Get on the wrong side of people like that, and you'll never have a moment of peace. And here we are, trouble's already started!'
"Officers, officers, what's wrong with Little Wu? He's always been an honest, decent guy, I can vouch for him! Please don't arrest him!" Xu Minli rushed forward, blocking Zhou Xing's path as she pleaded anxiously on Wu Jun's behalf.
A warm feeling washed over Wu Jun as he saw Xu Minli worrying about him and pleading his case.
'People from back home really are the best!'
"Don't worry about me. I'm fine. I just have to go give a statement, and then I'll be back," Wu Jun said, reassuring Xu Minli.
Hearing Wu Jun's words, Xu Minli's worried heart finally settled.
"Everyone, please disperse. Go home and get some sleep. Don't interfere with official police business," Zhou Xing said, clearing the crowd of onlookers before leading Wu Jun, Wang Hongliang, and the others into the police cars.
Once the police cars drove away and the excitement was over, the crowd finally dispersed and went home.
"Sigh! What a mess! That kid, Little Wu, has it so tough. His store was just starting to do well, why does he keep running into trouble?" Xu Minli sighed and turned to go back upstairs.
「Inside the police station.」
Wang Hongliang, Hu Qiang, and Hu Guo began to make excuses, claiming they were bored that night and were just looking for Wu Jun to go play some baseball.
Wu Jun took out a USB drive he had prepared in advance. Faced with the surveillance footage, the three of them were speechless.
After watching the video, Zhou Xing was furious. "Did you break down his door to ask him to play baseball?!"
With the evidence being irrefutable, the three had no choice but to confess and hope for leniency.
Since Wu Jun himself hadn't suffered any actual harm—Wang Hongliang and his men hadn't even managed to touch him—their actions didn't constitute the crime of "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" under the criminal code.
In the end, their actions were classified as "gathering a crowd to disturb social order," and they were sentenced to a maximum of 14 days in detention.
It was past midnight by the time everything was sorted out. Zhou Xing walked Wu Jun to the door.
Zhou Xing asked, "Little Wu, there were three of them. I'm curious, how did you manage to subdue them all by yourself and keep yourself safe?"
There was no way in hell Wu Jun was going to tell him about summoning the Farmers from the game.
Wu Jun said, "It was thanks to a few friends from my hometown. I was watching a movie with them inside when that guy, Wang, showed up with his men."
"And where are these friends from your hometown? What kind of movie were you all watching in the middle of the night?" Zhou Xing said. "If you were watching something you shouldn't have been, what you were doing would be even worse than what that Wang fellow did."
Wu Jun waved his hand dismissively. "No way! I don't know a single one of those kinds of websites. Asa Shion, Asa Shino, Teacher Podo, Teacher Cang... I don't know any of them. We were watching a cartoon. You know that new movie, Nezha? I've got the playback history on my computer. You can check it if you don't believe me."
Zhou Xing said, "Cut the smart-aleck routine. Where are your friends? Why didn't I see them?"
"My friends are just simple country folk. They don't want to cause any trouble. After they helped me subdue Wang and his two guys, they took off right away. We have the facts and the surveillance video, so there's no need to bring them in, right?" Wu Jun asked, feeling a little guilty.
Although the Farmers summoned from the game were indistinguishable from normal people, a simple ID check would expose them.
From what Wu Jun had learned about the game Resource Tycoon these past few days, the identity issue with the Farmers would only be completely resolved after he completed the tasks of recruiting 100 Farmers and purchasing 100 acres of paddy fields.
This was a hidden quest. Upon completion, the summoned Farmers would have nothing to fear from a police background check; even their ancestry could be traced back three generations.
Wu Jun had no idea how this was possible, but he wasn't surprised by it.
'It's just a little thing like an ID. Is there anything more shocking than pulling things out of a game into the real world?'
"Alright, alright. I was just curious. You're free to go. Go home and get some sleep. And stay out of trouble from now on. I don't want to see you become a regular here," Zhou Xing said with a wave, bidding Wu Jun farewell before turning back into the station.
"Phew..." Having successfully bluffed his way past Zhou Xing, Wu Jun breathed a sigh of relief and headed out of the police station.
Out on the main road, he waited for a good while, but no taxis passed by. He used a ride-sharing app to call a car, and it was past one in the morning by the time Wu Jun finally got back to the Tianyuan residential complex where his store was located.
When he got to the base of the apartment building, Wu Jun saw a figure pacing back and forth. The person turned, saw him, and hurried over. "Little Wu, you're finally back! Did you get everything sorted out?"
"You're still up this late, Big Sis? Everything's sorted out. See? I'm back," Wu Jun said, deeply moved. This friend from his hometown, Xu Minli, was just too good to him, always looking out for him.
After going upstairs, Xu Minli had tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She had gotten dressed again and come back downstairs. She just couldn't rest easy until she saw Wu Jun return.
Xu Minli asked with concern, "I saw they broke down the door to your store. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"Nope, I'm fine! Don't believe me? See for yourself, Big Sis, all parts are in working order. Now, hurry back and get some sleep." Wu Jun spread his arms to show he was perfectly fine.
"You still have the energy to crack jokes. You should really try to rein it in from now on. The less trouble, the better. Sometimes it's best to just take a step back and let things go," Xu Minli said, relieved to see he was truly alright, but still offering a word of advice.
"Noted," Wu Jun promised.
"YAWN... Well, I'm heading back then." Xu Minli yawned, said goodbye to Wu Jun, and finally turned to go upstairs.
Wu Jun watched until Xu Minli's back disappeared into the stairwell before looking away and heading toward his little store.
Big Sis Xu treated him like her own little brother. Wu Jun didn't say anything sentimental out loud, but he silently committed her kindness to memory.
Back in the small store, he quickly washed up and then flopped down onto his comfortable bed.
Staring at the ceiling, the whole saga of his conflict with Wang Hongliang replayed in his mind.
It started with the initial slander on the city forum, escalated to physical fights, then to a tit-for-tat exchange of vandalism—they spray-painted his wall, he spray-painted their car—and finally ended with one side defeated and locked up in a detention center.
Everything that had happened in just a few short days felt like something out of a movie.
Lost in thought, Wu Jun drifted off to sleep before he even realized it.
The next morning, he opened the store for business as usual, as if nothing had happened the night before.