Chapter 32: Even if you kill her, she won't die

"Bang!"

With just a single blow, a spray of blood erupted from the tall man's forehead, and he collapsed to the ground.

The restaurant, which had been filled with onlookers just moments ago, fell into a silence so profound that one could hear a pin drop.

Jiang Xiaoya, having delivered that strike, seemed somewhat dazed herself. The stool in her hands fell to the floor, and she looked utterly terrified.

"I... I didn't mean to. I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

She apologized in a state of frantic helplessness, stumbling toward the bearded man and his companions, attempting to beg for mercy.

The other three tall men instinctively recoiled.

Stomp, stomp, stomp!

If Qing Tianfeng were here, he would certainly understand their feelings. It was just like when Jiang Xiaoya drew that knife in the ancient underground tomb; even though she hadn't actually stabbed anyone, it had still left him shaken.

That aura... it was indescribable.

It wasn't exactly a chilling frost, nor was it exactly the scent of death, but rather something ineffable—something terrifying that triggered a primal instinct to flee.

As the three tall men looked up and met Jiang Xiaoya's panicked, trembling face, their recent fear was instantly replaced by indignation and shame. They grabbed her clothes and began dragging her toward the exit.

【Ding! Valuable item detected, valuable item detected...】

...

【Ding! Valuable item detected, valuable item detected...】

Hearing the system's repetitive prompts, Jiang Xiaoya closed her eyes in despair.

What else could she do? She had to play it safe.

She really wanted to know what kind of mess this was going to be this time.

Netizens were initially quite pleased to see Jiang Xiaoya fighting back, but they were infuriated when she turned into a coward after hitting just one person. Seeing her being dragged away like a dead pig made them lose their minds.

【Stupid Sister, you're so foolish! So foolish!】

【Stupid! Too stupid! No wonder the whole internet calls her Stupid Sister!】

【Fight them! Why did she back down? This is unbelievable.】

【She was so brave just now, killing one with a stool. What's the problem with the rest of them?】

【She's a child from a poor family, after all. If she wasn't facing death just now, she wouldn't have fought back. I can't imagine what she's been through. Such a poor child.】

【These people are too arrogant. Not a single person stepped in to stop them. It's heartbreaking.】

【This is terrifying. Where are they taking Jiang Xiaoya? Why hasn't the police arrived yet?】

【Jiang Xiaoya has the ability to fight back, but she's truly a coward. I've known that since the show started.】

The previously calm trending topics exploded once again.

The desperate scene of Jiang Xiaoya being dragged out of the restaurant by the bearded foreigner swept across the internet once more.

After watching the video and understanding the sequence of events, people were so enraged that they stormed into the live stream to curse netizens for being cold-blooded, claiming they had the heart to watch a live stream in such a situation. They cursed the production team for being inhumane and using such incidents as publicity stunts. They even cursed the Chinese men at the scene for being useless, watching a Chinese woman being bullied, and cursed the Licheng police for their incompetence, as the situation had escalated this far without them arriving.

In short, a massive war of words and condemnations erupted online, leaving a trail of chaos in its wake.

Just as Qing Tianfeng and the officers from the detention center entered the interrogation room, someone notified them to head to the office, informing them that superiors had made a sudden raid on Licheng.

Qing Tianfeng followed them out. As soon as he got his phone and saw the barrage of missed calls, he immediately called back.

Only then did he learn that Jiang Xiaoya had been attacked.

However, he wasn't worried at all.

"She probably just chose not to fight back, right?"

He simply didn't believe Jiang Xiaoya would let herself be bullied.

"She did fight back. She cracked a man's skull open with a stool."

An officer from the criminal investigation department immediately interjected.

"Oh."

Qing Tianfeng wore an "I knew it" expression.

"But she backed down immediately after her counterattack. Now she's being... kidnapped."

The criminal investigation team was also feeling desperate.

When Jiang Xiaoya got into a conflict with customers at the restaurant, they had been notified of the police report and alerted Qing Tianfeng. He had told them to take men there, and they had headed out, but they encountered a massive traffic jam on the way. Even the emergency lanes were blocked, forcing them to take a detour. Meanwhile, the officers monitoring the live stream panicked and informed them that Jiang Xiaoya had fought back and was now being dragged into a vehicle.

"..."

Silence.

Even through the phone, the officers could sense Qing Tianfeng's foul mood.

Then again, who in their right mind would be in a good mood facing such a situation?

"No, Captain, do you think Jiang Xiaoya is crazy? She could crack a foreigner that big with one stool. Couldn't she just give the other three a piece of the stool too? How did this turn into a kidnapping?"

The criminal investigation officer was speechless.

"Why do you think she didn't give the other three foreigners a piece of the stool?"

Qing Tianfeng didn't have a smoking habit, but he still pulled a pack from the drawer, lit a cigarette, and leaned against the window, exhaling smoke.

"Why?"

After cursing under his breath, the officer calmed down and began to feel a sense of sympathy.

"Captain, I understand what you mean. You can't blame Jiang Xiaoya. You have to blame our laws. Even if it's self-defense, it requires a long judicial appraisal. Not to mention the other party is a foreigner; getting caught up in a lawsuit would be a nightmare. Jiang Xiaoya comes from a poor background..."

"No, you don't understand!"

Qing Tianfeng interrupted his "saintly" lecture. His voice was cold and hard, bordering on ruthless, clearly showing his impatience.

The officer froze for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh.

"What! Captain, you mean..."

"You mean Jiang Xiaoya intentionally chose not to fight back..."

"Sigh, I see! That's why it added a kidnapping charge. If Jiang Xiaoya had just chopped them all up on the way, it would have all been self-defense!"

The officer realized the truth and clapped his hands in admiration.

To think he had just been mentally cursing Jiang Xiaoya for being a coward; turns out she was a ruthless character after all.

However...

"Captain, what if she really is just a coward?"

The officer recalled the footage from the live stream—the image of Jiang Xiaoya looking terrified and regretful after hurting someone.

"Could she actually be... killed...?"

"Enough!"

Qing Tianfeng had no desire to listen to such sentimental, rambling nonsense.

"Even if they kill her, they can't kill you!"

"Just keep following the situation. Send me the location. I'll head over in a bit."

After saying this, Qing Tianfeng prepared to hang up.

The officer wouldn't let it go.

"No, Captain, you can't delay any longer! I... I..."

"Captain, aren't you worried about the situation escalating? No, wait, it's already escalated! It went from provoking a fight to assault, and now it's directly upgraded to kidnapping. If this keeps up, someone is actually going to die."

Qing Tianfeng also had a headache. He glanced toward the door and lowered his voice.

"Regarding the tomb-robbing case, the superiors have already sent people down. They are here with me right now. I can't leave for the time being."

Everyone in the entire police station knew how massive the tomb-robbing case was. The higher-ups had issued a strict mandate; forget the regular officers, even their leadership was currently staying at the station.