Chapter 73

"What's going on here!" Zhou Xin walked up to the several security officers and loudly demanded.

The security officers looked at each other, unsure of how to speak in front of Zhou Xin, their immediate superior.

Seeing that no one was speaking, Zhou Xin became even more furious. What particularly enraged him was that these subordinates hadn't even bothered to inform him, clearly not taking him, the chief, seriously.

With a menacing look, Zhou Xin leaned in and grabbed one of the security officers, roaring, "Answer me! Who can tell me, huh? You? Or you? Or maybe you!?"

Approaching each one in turn, Zhou Xin's grotesque face instilled fear in the hearts of the security officers.

"It... it's Prosecutor Natalia..."

Slap!

A slap sent the security officer who spoke to the ground.

Slap, slap, slap!

Zhou Xin slapped four security officers in succession. The resounding slaps were painful to hear.

Natalia watched, her displeasure growing. Was Zhou Xin treating her like air?

"Don't take out your anger on your subordinates. I ordered them to do this and not to inform you," Natalia said, her face stern and her tone filled with anger.

After slapping several subordinates, Zhou Xin was acting so recklessly, and the security officers dared not resist, as if being hit by Zhou Xin was a given.

Slowly turning around, Zhou Xin's twisted expression gradually calmed. Only in front of Natalia did he dare not act rashly.

"Natalia... Prosecutor Natalia." Zhou Xin had wanted to call her by her first name but reluctantly added "Prosecutor."

"What are you doing?" Natalia gave Zhou Xin no good face.

Zhou Xin took a deep breath, trying to calm his agitated emotions. "Natalia, you don't understand. You grew up in an ivory tower. You need to know that this is a cruel Infinite City. As a superior, one needs authority, and subordinates must obey without reservation."

"Are you lecturing me? Have you ever obeyed me? In public, don't call me by my first name." Natalia, arms crossed, clutched her arms tightly, barely holding back her anger.

"Fine, fine, Prosecutor Natalia. Let's not talk about personal matters. What's going on here?" Zhou Xin pointed to the boat full of轮回者, about thirty in total.

"Send them to detention."

Natalia said this calmly, but Zhou Xin's face changed dramatically, instinctively looking toward the distant prison island: "Reopened? Impossible..."

"Chief Zhou Xin, I feel you're hiding many things from me. It seems I have to report to the mayor and set up an independent inspection department in the New Recruits Thirteenth District Security Bureau."

Zhou Xin gritted his teeth. "Why must it be you causing trouble..."

"What did you say?" Natalia's eyes flashed with suspicion.

"Alright, Prosecutor, for the sake of our friendship, I advise you not to do that."

Natalia raised her head, unconvinced. "Why can't I do that?"

"You... you'll be the one to suffer! I told you not to get involved, so don't! Why must you pick a fight with the Arbitrators? When the district steward came, he respectfully visited, but you went to the lower levels and ignored him!"

Zhou Xin's tone was both forceful and tinged with frustration.

At that moment, a round of applause echoed through the quiet dock.

Clap, clap, clap.

A man wearing a silver-gray mask and dressed in a black military uniform appeared behind Zhou Xin and the others.

Beside the man were two female police officers, both wearing masks. One held a katana, and the other a whip, a bizarre sight.

"Good, this must be Chief Zhou Xin of the Thirteenth District, right? Well said."

A distorted voice came from the mask, making it impossible to recognize the original voice.

Zhou Xin instinctively drew his stun gun, staring intently at the strange man.

Suddenly, the female officer with the katana crouched and lunged, shattering Zhou Xin's stun gun.

Sheathing her katana, Saezuka Mako glared coldly at Zhou Xin. "Rude."

Stunned, Zhou Xin stumbled back several steps. The security officers who had been slapped immediately rushed over to support him, while others drew their stun guns, ready to fire.

A sharp command: "Stop! No shooting without my order!"

Natalia, initially puzzled about who this person was, received a blank text message from Lin Yifan on her phone.

Zhou Xin, seeing the security officers hesitating, roared, "Fire! Electrocute this guy!"

"Who dares!?"

The conflicting orders from the prosecutor and the chief left the security officers in a bind. It was a case of the gods fighting and the mortals suffering.

Hearing Zhou Xin's incessant babbling, Lin Yifan walked over and slapped him without hesitation.

Clutching his red face, Zhou Xin was stunned. "You... you hit me? My father..."

Slap!

Another slap, and Lin Yifan was furious. "Your father never hit you, right! Damn, a chief acting like a woman? Tell me, are you some family's offspring?"

Zhou Xin, slapped from both sides, had a face swollen like a monkey's bottom. Staggering back a few steps, he raised his hand and shouted, "Scum!"

A series of glowing runes flew toward Lin Yifan, encircling his hand.

"What's this?" The glowing ring on his hand caused no pain, just looked cool.

As Lin Yifan curiously examined the ring on his arm, Zhou Xin's eyes widened, pointing at Lin Yifan. "You... you're an official?"

Lin Yifan casually flicked his wrist, and the useless ring shattered.

"What do you think?" Lin Yifan maintained a calm demeanor, though he was very curious about the ring Zhou Xin had thrown.

Zhou Xin's eyes twitched, realizing his survival ability was ineffective against the black-clad man. He began to fear, even worrying about offending some powerful figure.

However, he probably hadn't realized that the black-clad masked man was the "ordinary轮回者" he had encountered at Natalia's house.

Lin Yifan waved his handcuffs and grinned maliciously. "Go pick up soap in prison, Chief Zhou Xin!"

Click!

The two stood there, the handcuffs on Zhou Xin's wrist, but he remained in place.

Sweat broke out on Lin Yifan's forehead as he suddenly remembered that his ability to capture people only worked in story worlds, not in the Infinite City, where everything was protected by the city's laws.

In simple terms, the Infinite City's laws prohibited killing, and no one could die. All destructive weapons were ineffective, and everyone was protected.

In the cycle, outside the Infinite City's laws, Lin Yifan could handcuff anyone and teleport them away. Here, without evidence, he couldn't take Zhou Xin away.

Just as Lin Yifan was at a loss, Natalia rushed over and pulled the two apart, shouting, "Stop! Zhou Xin, what are you doing? What kind of behavior is this? Using the arrest law on a fellow official, the warden?"

Pushed away by Natalia, Lin Yifan breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Natalia came; otherwise, he would have been embarrassed.

Zhou Xin's eyes twitched as he looked at Natalia and the masked Lin Yifan, then immediately pulled Natalia to a corner.

"Don't have any contact with him! Natalia, Sister Natalia! I'm telling you, absolutely no contact! Establishing an inspection department is a small matter, but you must stay away from this person!"

Zhou Xin's advice only made Natalia pause slightly, but her determined eyes showed she had no intention of listening.

"Zhou Xin, how long have you been the chief of the New Recruits Thirteenth District?" Natalia asked coldly.

"I... about half a year." Zhou Xin's face darkened, his nostrils flaring.

Natalia poked Zhou Xin's chest forcefully. "Half a year, and what have you become? Not only has your personality changed, but don't keep using the excuse of too much contact with轮回者. Your mindset has changed!"

"You don't understand, or you will understand later. Everyone will fall into it, and everyone is changing. If you don't change with them, you'll eventually be played and pushed out. Sister Natalia, this isn't an ivory tower. If you don't get your hands dirty, you'll be pushed out."

Zhou Xin, no longer as arrogant, earnestly advised Natalia.

Lin Yifan, standing nearby, listened intently, his heart racing despite the mask.