In an alley, eight grown n were huddled together, trembling.
Across from them, An Ning was squatting on the ground, tossing a stone up and down in her palm.
"Ready to talk now?"
"T-Talk about what?"
The leader, surrounded by the others, spoke with trembling lips. He was desperate to confess, but he didn’t know what he was supposed to confess to.
An Ning caught the stone and closed her hand into a fist. Trickles of fine stone dust sifted out from the gaps between her fingers.
"Tell , why did so many of you co to deal with just ?"
"We... we were afraid you’d be tough to handle. You can’t underestimate won, old folks, or kids when they’re alone."
"Ohhh—"
’So that was the reason.’ An Ning felt like she had learned sothing new.
She opened her hand and dusted the stone fragnts from her palm.
"Second question. How did you know I had money? I deposited it in a private room. Not many people knew about it."
An Ning stared at the leader across from her, another small stone appearing in her palm.
The leader didn’t dare to move. In their hands, a stone was just a stone.
But in this woman’s hands, it was as good as a bullet.
"We guessed. We just guessed."
WHOOSH—
The pebble cut through the air with a piercing whistle and struck the leader’s shoulder.
A bloody hole appeared on his shoulder. The sight of blood gushing out silenced everyone, making them freeze in terror.
"Think carefully before you answer. It wouldn’t be good if the next one hit your head."
An Ning’s tone was as casual as ever, as if she were just making small talk.
A girl with the sweetest face, using the calst tone to say the most ruthless words.
In their eyes, this version of An Ning was more terrifying than King Yan himself.
"Don’t—don’t get excited! I’ll talk, I’ll talk."
The leader clutched his wound with one hand and held up the other, begging An Ning for rcy.
"We know the director of the savings bank. He’s the one who told us."
The small stone in An Ning’s palm resud its up-and-down tossing.
"How can I be sure you’re not lying to ?"
The small stone in her palm stopped. The leader across from her was so scared he forgot to even clutch his wound.
Both his hands waved frantically in the air.
"It’s really him! I-I’m willing to testify against him! I’ll go to the police station!"
The leader’s words made An Ning let out a little "Oh."
She stood up and said, "You’re right. As a good citizen, going to the police is what I should do."
"But your wound..."
"I fell. I fell on my own knife."
As soon as he finished speaking, the leader took out his own small dagger and plunged it into the bloody hole left by the pebble, covering the original wound.
An Ning was very satisfied.
"Alright. Lead the way."
"Yes, yes, yes!"
"No problem! We’ll lead the way."
The eight grown n helped each other to their feet. Not a single one dared to run.
Leaning on one another, they led the way to the police station.
This had to be a first in history: a group of thieves escorting their would-be victim to the police station to turn themselves in.
When the eight n reached the entrance of the police station and saw the officers inside, their eyes filled with tears.
’Family!’
’You guys are my real family!’
"Officer—!"
Their miserable cries and the sight of the group of eight put the police on edge.
"Isn’t that Zhang Laosan? You son of a bitch, you dare show your face at the police station!"
One of the officers recognized the leader instantly.
Wasn’t this the infamous Zhang Laosan, a regular on their wanted list?
"It’s , it’s ! I’m Zhang Laosan! Look, it’s , it’s really !"
Zhang Laosan pushed the hair off his face, trying his best to make sure the officer recognized him.
"I’ve co to turn myself in! Arrest ! I really know I was wrong!"
Earnestly and eagerly, Zhang Laosan held out his wrists. His practiced movents made it clear this wasn’t his first ti.
This stunt from Zhang Laosan made the officer second-guess himself.
’Could this be a decoy? A trick to lull them into a false sense of security so the real Zhang Laosan can escape?’
"Don’t move!"
The officer shouted at Zhang Laosan, who was walking forward, and put one hand behind his back, ready to act.
Several more officers ca out from inside, holding handcuffs, and started cuffing the n.
"It really is Zhang Laosan."
"Strange things happen every year, but today is the strangest."
The eight cuffed n squatted obediently in a corner, which made An Ning, who had followed them in, stand out.
"Little girl, what are you doing here? Did soone bully you?"
An older officer stepped forward with concern.
The n squatting in the corner were complaining endlessly in their heads, but they didn’t dare say a single word.
An Ning gave the old officer a small smile, looking obedient and cute.
"Hello, I’m here to file a report. These n tried to rob , but they had a change of heart midway through and insisted on turning themselves in, so I ca with them."
An Ning watched as the old officer rubbed his ear and asked, "Could you repeat that? The wind was a bit loud just now, I didn’t hear you clearly."
’Wind?’
An Ning glanced at the national flag hanging limp against the flagpole and repeated herself.
"I’d like to know, is there a reward for bringing them to the police station?"
An Ning looked at the old officer with sparkling eyes. This ti, he finally understood. His gaze swept over An Ning, sizing her up.
’A trained fighter?’
’Could be.’
’In fact, that’s the only explanation.’
"Yes, there’s a reward."
The old officer accepted this surprisingly quickly. He didn’t care how these n got here; as long as they were here, it was a good thing.
"Really? That’s great! I have another piece of information. They said a director at the savings bank told them I had money."
"Thank you. We will investigate."
The old officer agreed, making a ntal note of the matter.
An Ning said no more and stood quietly to the side, waiting.
After all the paperwork was done, An Ning left the police station with five hundred yuan in reward money.
She checked the ti. It was getting late. Ti to find her second brother.
When An Ning arrived at the textile factory, she saw An Guoming at the entrance, looking all around for her.
She waved and shouted, "Second Brother, I’m over here!"
An Guoming ran over toward the sound of her voice and asked anxiously, "Are you okay?"
"I’m fine. Just went to make so money."
An Guoming sighed in disbelief. He was starting to feel uneasy about their upcoming journey together.
"I don’t think I can watch over you."
"Second Brother, why do you need to watch over ? I can protect myself."
"I know, I know. You’re amazing. You can protect yourself."
An Guoming shook his head helplessly at An Ning. He didn’t lecture her, but instead started talking about the next leg of their trip.
"The factory has a shipnt of new textiles that needs to be delivered to Beijing. We can go with the truck, and once we’re in Beijing, we’ll transfer to another vehicle to head south."
"Okay, I’ll listen to you, Second Brother."
An Guoming gave An Ning a aningful look. He knew better than to take her words at face value.
’No need to take it seriously.’
An Ning’s obedient smile made An Guoming laugh as well.
"I’m really at a loss with you. I can’t even win a fight against you."
"Second Brother, you were actually thinking about that?"
"Haha... no, of course not."
An Guoming gave a perfunctory laugh and entered the textile factory with An Ning.
Once inside, An Ning spoke with Director Li for a while, discussing so new products.
"This can still be modified to create a new product."
An Ning’s single sentence imdiately piqued Director Li’s great interest.
The two agreed to discuss it further after An Ning returned.
As An Ning got on the truck, Director Li watched her and clapped An Guoming on the shoulder.
"Guoming... you have to take good care of your sister."
"It doesn’t matter if you get hurt—I’ll cover all your expenses when you get back. But you absolutely must protect your little sister."
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