Chapter 826
Chapter 826 - 812 Flexible Justice
1,811 words
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10 min read
"...First of all, now that the cat is given to me, it’s mine."
Lu Ping’an was wary, his words and actions clearly indicating an "absolutely no returns" kind of attitude.
This irritated Brother Lei to the point of skyrocketing blood pressure, but in the end, he had nothing to say.
He was the one who left his sister behind, and now he couldn’t even see her face, let alone talk about taking the cat away.
Lu Ping’an didn’t play the "let her decide for herself" game, although if she really did make her own decision, he probably wouldn’t stop her... He was simply making his stance clear; he refused to be taken advantage of for free cat food, refused to be the "new good man who has her best interests at heart."
"So, tell me, what do you want?"
After a bit of a scuffle, Lu Ping’an had vented his frustrations.
"I’m using an alias now, working as a bounty hunter..."
Lu Ping’an didn’t even frown, as this development was most likely in line with his and Xia Qin’s speculations.
Lei Huoren was a high-level "Allopos Executioner", commonly known as a "Sinbone Hunter", a profession that must be maintained by the flesh of criminals/sinners, requiring constant execution of "criminals."
Allopos, although the God of Justice, is also an Evil God and if not given regular "sacrifices," the one to suffer would be the professional himself.
"Are you in Changping City?"
"The location varies, but I spend most of my time in Changping State. This is my contact method; you can pass assignments to me, but don’t think about using it to capture me."
Not all professionals are necessarily good people. To be precise, most of them are just "ordinary people" who have acquired "extraordinary abilities."
Ordinary people naturally come with good and bad, ideals and ambitions, as well as unspeakable desires and the potential to cross boundaries.
When extraordinary ordinary people do evil, the truly ordinary people suffer, which is why the Special Service Team is so busy. The real trouble, however, is cross-border crimes and fugitives... With so many local cases to handle, unless it’s the worst of the worst, it’s unrealistic for the Special Service Team to pursue criminals city to city.
That’s why there’s a growing number of "fugitives" and "wanted criminals", and why there are people who specialize in hunting them.
It’s dangerous, but the income can be quite high, with bounties offered by both the officials and the black market, as well as the victims’ families. Often, a single bounty can yield three times the bonus.
With one glance, Lu Ping’an knew that Lei Huoren’s financial situation was much better than when he was in service.
"...I know the rules. Xia Qin has told me. But you also, stay out of the Ancient city, at least, don’t let us catch you."
During that long night, regardless of whether it was for his sister’s future or not, he kept to a bottom line—no killing cops.
Lu Ping’an saw through it; he set a "human interest trap," exchanging Xia Qin, a low-grade horse, for Lei Huoren, a high-grade steed... If he had been in perfect condition, a fifth-tier professional with full gear and Rule-level weapons, acting as a fast-moving assassin in the shadows, could have turned the entire battlefield into mayhem on his own.
Was it intentional? Did he pull his punches?
Yes, he did... If he had fully complied with the "contract" with the Sophist, committed himself to helping the Sophist achieve his goal, and mercilessly killed Xia Qin, who was in his way, they would have succeeded.
In some sense, at that time, Lu Ping’an was more like a villain, using "hostages" and "humanity" to constrain the stronger Lei Huoren, leading to the latter’s overall defeat.
However, Lei Huoren was still a criminal, one with many lives on his hands.
By any means, he was a fugitive, the kind who had committed a super massacre in the Ancient city.
Although he didn’t kill cops, during that night, there indeed were Special Service Team members who died at the hands of his "companions."
𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
For Lu Ping’an to beat him up was completely justified. In fact, if Lu Ping’an had not done so, it would mean he was neglecting his duty... if he had been certain, he would have attempted to arrest Lei Huoren.
Having had the fight, Lu Ping’an had actually satisfied certain obligations.
Lei Huoren knew that Lu Ping’an’s principles were relatively flexible. He would carry out the Special Service Team’s work, but always with the attitude of "I get paid to do the job," without treating it as an absolute duty.
"Lu Ping’an is an outstanding police officer who lacks any sense of legal spirit, law enforcer’s responsibility, or morals," a female Captain once insightfully remarked.
"But he is excellent, very excellent, more useful than an entire Special Service Team..." The following description became troublesome, and it was the reason she insisted on protecting Lu Ping’an in the first place.
As far as Lu Ping’an was concerned, a good outcome was all that mattered. "Private business" and "public service" didn’t need to be separated; if a fight was necessary, and he could win, he would just arrest Lei Huoren.
Asking him to shout "Freeze, I’m arresting you on behalf of the victims" before acting would even make Lu Ping’an himself feel awkward.
Since the outcome would be "a fight" either way, there was no need to fuss over the reasons.
The police catch thieves not those who are utterly vicious, so thieves often choose to escape. But if you use "Meow" as bait, Lei Huoren, playing the role of a big brother, is more likely to confront the situation head-on. Thus, the success rate of capturing Lei Huoren might be higher.
Xia Qin’s assessment is correct. As a law enforcer, Lu Ping’an is excellent, but his "professional ethics" do not even reach the passing line, let alone having a thirst for "procedural justice." He is a thoroughgoing consequentialist.
The reason the two can stop and talk is actually because they found they couldn’t easily eliminate each other, so, let’s talk then.
As for Xia Qin... she would most likely choose to "fulfill her duty," as well as to "restore the glory of her Special Service Team Three" and "remove the disgrace of her team." Even if she might be defeated, she would risk her life trying to arrest Lei Huoren.
A qualified law enforcer would pursue procedural justice and, if possible, achieving substantive justice would be even better, but Lu Ping’an only needs substantive justice.
This is something both Lu Ping’an and Lei Huoren have realized, and they don’t want Xia Qin to really get "seriously injured" or even "die in the line of duty." Hence, Lu Ping’an quite "negligently" did not contact Xia Qin to call for reinforcements.
Therefore, Lei Huoren would not appear in front of Xia Qin, nor would he attempt to approach Meow and affect her future.
Lu Ping’an became the only one he could try to contact, as this kid’s moral bottom line is quite flexible.
From the very beginning, Lei Huoren has never seen any sense of "justice," "trust and longing for the legal system," or "hatred for evil" in him that a law enforcer should have.
In Lei Huoren’s sense of emotion, Lu Ping’an was a void... When a person doesn’t care much about his own life and death, what else could you expect him to care about?
Even now, Lei Huoren still doesn’t approve of Xia Qin’s decision back then; Lu Ping’an is just too dangerous. Eliminating such a potential "time bomb" in advance should be a law enforcer’s duty.
Looking at the outcome, he indeed might improve, but in most cases, such "chaos" and "void" only become an even greater instability factor.
He can accept the job as a "law enforcer," and of course, he can accept the work of a "plunderer" or a "destroyer." In most cases, plundering and destroying come easier and even yield greater benefits.
Of course, as times change, this kind of "unreliability," "disregard for rules," and "complete indifference to procedural justice" became the most suitable candidates for communication, which leaves Lei Huoren with complex feelings, sighing at how unpredictable the world is.
Saying that, Lei Huoren tossed over a small bag.
This precious space artifact could provide a certain carrying capacity, and as exploration in the Exotic Realm became more and more popular, it was essentially a hard currency.
Yet what he threw over was filled with all kinds of chaos.
Lu Ping’an sensed it, huh, quite valuable, it seems this guy isn’t doing too badly.
"Ha, I don’t take bribes," he said while pocketing the Space Bag.
In fact, both parties knew what it was, but how could Lu Ping’an really do his job diligently...
"...You know what this is, it’s for Shuiyun."
"A dowry? How can I accept this, thank you in advance, Uncle Lei."
With those words, Lu Ping’an made Lei Huoren’s blood pressure explode.
Taking a deep breath, he tried to suppress his emotions and said calmly.
"...What impresses me the most is that you remain so provocative, yet I still see no hint of ’anger’ in you. Your actions and emotions are unrelated, as if you are a puppet on stage... You really haven’t changed a bit."
Hearing this, Lu Ping’an stroked his chin, thinking he had changed quite a bit.
"I’ve really had no emotional change? I think I’ve been quite emotional recently." At this moment, Lu Ping’an was genuinely curious.
But Lu Ping’an’s question left Lei Huoren in silence; as a "Mind Reader," he always observed Lu Ping’an’s emotions and figured it out...
"...When you mentioned Shuiyun, you became ’greedy’..." Lei Huoren said through gritted teeth, truly regretting.
This is like Uncle Lei catching someone red-handed, subtly making an ordinary person feel embarrassed. But is Lu Ping’an an ordinary person...?
"Are you sure it’s greed and not lust... Fuck! Didn’t we agree to talk? Why draw your sword!"
Unable to hold back any longer, Lei Huoren once again clashed with Lu Ping’an, yet again, there was no conclusion.
Finally, after wasting a lot of time, Lei Huoren finally had the opportunity to get to the "real business."
"...Want to strike it rich? This trial is a crisis but also an opportunity, there are Big Fish down there..."
— End of Chapter 826 —