"Where? The police station, of course!" I tapped the radiator with the handcuffs on my wrists.
The young policeman got angry, put down his notebook, and charged at me with a menacing look on his face.
I snorted, raised my chin, and shouted, "What, you want to hit me? Come on! Come on!"
"Xiao Wang, let's stop here." The other policeman suddenly spoke up. He looked very experienced, probably not even forty years old. He squinted at me and said, "Let's take your statement first."
He had an extra stripe and a star on his shoulder. Upon hearing this, the young policeman pressed me down, untied me from the radiator, moved a long bench, and pushed me to sit down. He still glared at me fiercely.
I pursed my lips, not scared at all.
This isn't my first time in jail, nor is it my first time in this kind of situation.
Actually, this is how it is when you come in; the police will all put on a fierce look to intimidate the suspects. It's a form of scare tactics. Some newbies who come in for the first time immediately back down when they see this kind of situation. However, it doesn't work on seasoned criminals.
Next came the taking of my statement. The young policeman did most of the questioning, while the older policeman next to me barely spoke, just coldly scrutinizing me with a half-smile on his face.
"Name!"
"Chen Yang, Chen as in 'ear east,' Yang as in 'sunshine'! Twenty-three years old, home address: XXXXXXX, ID number: XXXXXX..."
"Stop talking nonsense!" The young policeman snapped, slamming his pen on the table and yelling, "Answer my questions!"
I smiled and said, "Since you're going to ask anyway, I might as well just say it now."
The young policeman was about to get angry again, but the older policeman next to him gave him a look, which calmed him down. He quickly scribbled in his notebook and then shouted, "Do you know why I brought you back?"
"I know." I yawned. "A fight. A few bastards were harassing my friend, so I beat them up. It was self-defense!"
"Hey! Self-defense!" the young policeman sneered. "Self-defense and you don't have a single scratch? Those guys either have broken bones or are unconscious! Let me tell you! There are still two people who haven't woken up yet!!"
I sneered, "They only have themselves to blame."
The older policeman waved his hand to stop the younger policeman from speaking. He coughed and said in a slow tone, "You don't need to say so much. Just tell me what happened tonight and tell me honestly."
"I already told you, my friend and I were eating there when those guys came over and harassed my friend, so I beat them up!"
"Hmph! You're quite the fighter!" the old policeman said with a gloomy face.
"They're such idiots." I pouted. "I mean, you just handcuffed me like that? Is this an arrest or what? You need to give me an explanation!"
"We'll give you the legal paperwork!" the old policeman said calmly. "Where do you work?"
I thought about it for a moment, and realized that I didn't seem to have a workplace; I was essentially Fang Nan's private employer. So I replied, "I don't have a job."
"Unemployed?! Humph!" The old policeman stared at my clothes. "That outfit of yours must have cost at least a few thousand, right? Unemployed?"
"No means no." I snorted.
"Kid, you'd better behave yourself," the old policeman said in a deep voice. "The men you injured are still in the hospital! They're badly hurt! Judging from your appearance, this doesn't seem to be your first time in this place, does it? Don't you know what kind of situation this is?"
I didn't say anything, I just sneered.
The older policeman adopted a slightly more amiable tone and said calmly, "We're taking your statement now! You'd better confess yourself! Take the initiative! If you don't say anything, we can still find out! Then you'll be in a passive position, do you understand?"
Here it comes...
I chuckled to myself.
That's what the police usually say during interrogation. People who are new to this kind of place and have slightly weaker mental fortitude usually confess at this point.
As for me, I calmly replied, "They provoked me. No matter how you investigate, you'll hear the same thing."
The older policeman remained calm and glanced at me twice: "Of the people you hit, you know one of them, right?"
A thought struck me, and I said calmly, "We know each other."
"Did you have a past conflict?"
"No!" I denied it outright.
This is the key point. If I say we have a grudge... then they will likely accuse me of seeking revenge or something similar.
It will be hard to say what will happen then.
As for my feud with the gigolo... pshaw, who can say for sure? They have no evidence of the time I messed with him at the nightclub!
"Boss, this kid's not behaving himself. Should we teach him a lesson?" The young policeman stared at me, his teeth clenched.
The old policeman didn't react, just looked at me and said in a deep voice, "Chen Yang, listen carefully. First, you know those people! I now suspect you're seeking revenge and intentionally injuring them! Second, you say it was self-defense, but all four of them are in the hospital now, one in a mild coma! Can you beat someone like this in self-defense? Third, don't think we can't find out just because you don't say anything! Your name is Chen Yang, right? Hmph, we already checked your background on the computer when you came here! You're something else! Twenty-three years old, and you've been to the detention center three or four times, haven't you? Let me tell you! I've seen plenty of thugs like you!"
I stared into his eyes, my demeanor unyielding, and sneered, "Let me tell you a few things. First, I'm not seeking revenge or intentionally injuring someone! Have you ever seen someone bring a woman along to seek revenge? Besides, if I were seeking revenge, would I go and fight five people by myself? Pshaw! Second, I've paid the price for everything I've done in the past. As for my criminal record, you can certainly find out. But the past is the past, and the present is the present! You're a police officer, you know that, right?"
The old policeman stood up, slowly walked to my side, stood in front of me, stared at me for a few seconds, nodded, and a cold smile appeared on his face: "Fine, you're stubborn. You'll regret it later."
After saying that, he walked to the table, whispered a few words to the young policeman, and the two of them left the room one after the other.
I sat alone on the stool, handcuffed on the stool, with my hands behind my back.
Ten minutes later, the door opened, and three policemen walked in. Besides the two from before, there was a middle-aged man with a big nose, wearing a uniform, and judging from the shoulder insignia, he was probably the highest-ranking officer. He glanced at me as soon as he came in, frowned, and said, "Still not talking? Xiao Wang, give him a taste of his own medicine."
I took a deep breath: "What? You want to hit me? Let me tell you..."
"Hey kid, don't worry, I won't hit you." Big Nose closed the door first, then walked over and stared at me: "You're pretty ruthless, aren't you? You broke Luo Si's cheekbone! A comminuted fracture of his nose, sixteen muscle injuries, and two fractures... You're so young, but you've got guts!"
I met his eyes and sneered, "I said, if it were you, and a bunch of scumbags came up to you and asked if your wife was a prostitute, how much she cost per night, how much for the whole night? You..."
Snap!
Before I could finish speaking, I received a slap across the face. The guy was furious; the slap made me stagger, almost falling off the chair. Four finger marks were immediately left on half my face, and my cheek swelled up.
"Ha! He still hit me!" My face was frozen, staring intently at him.
The man with the big nose stared down at me, slightly out of breath from the force of his slap. He sneered, "Who said I hit you? The injuries on your face are from the fight with those guys last night!"
Depend on!
I swallowed hard and gritted my teeth, saying, "Fine! Go ahead! You can't explain it if you hurt me! I wasn't injured when I got on the bus! My friends and the people around me saw it! If I leave here covered in injuries, you won't be able to explain it either! If I was injured in a fight, according to the rules, you should take me to the hospital first!"
"Kid, still being stubborn!" Big Nose was about to raise his hand, but then thought for a moment and lowered it: "Little Wang, teach him a lesson!"
The young policeman untied a stun gun from behind his back, held it, and walked up to me. Sparks crackled and popped from one end of the stun gun. "Don't worry," he said, "I won't shock you directly."
The old policeman behind me took a basin filled with water from the corner of the wall, then moved behind me and pressed my hands into the water.
With my hands behind my back, I couldn't muster any strength and couldn't break free.
The young policeman turned on the stun gun and then put it into the water...
I felt as if I had been hit hard by a heavy fist. My internal organs were trembling, my body jumped up, and I couldn't help but cry out in pain.
Those who haven't been electrocuted don't understand the feeling. And this method of electrocuting people with water leaves no visible scars!
"How did it feel?" Big Nose stared at me. "Didn't you enjoy beating Luo Si?"
Luo Si... Hmph, that's the guy whose nose I ended up crushing with my knee, right?
I was struggling to catch my breath when the young policeman behind me turned the stun gun back on...
"Damn it!!" I cursed, my face contorting in pain. My body writhed like a fish trying to escape the water.
I stared intently at the big-nosed man and gritted my teeth, saying, "That Luo Si, is he related to you?"
The man with the big nose didn't answer, but instead winked at me from behind...
Over the next twenty minutes, I was shocked three times, and my body went numb. Even after they stopped shocking me, my hands were still trembling. Big Nose coughed, and the two policemen behind me released me. The three of them returned to the table: "Alright, now you're willing to confess, right?"
The man with the big nose sat in the middle, lightly tapping the table, and sneered, "Kid, let me tell you, the hospital's medical report has been returned. Whether you confess or not is irrelevant. You seriously injured someone, that's a fact! According to the rules, you can be sent to the detention center tonight! However, I can keep you here for another forty-eight hours! Do you want to stay here and suffer more, or do you want to honestly admit that you assaulted someone for revenge?"
Seeing that I didn't speak, he said calmly to the two policemen, "You two continue, I'll go out first."
After saying that, he smiled at me, turned around and left.
The old policeman got up, closed the door, walked over to me, glanced down at me, and suddenly took out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket, pulled one out, put it in my mouth, and lit it for me: "Kid, just tell the truth. You'll suffer less."
Hmph, playing the good cop after the bad cop? Do you think you can fool me with that?
I took a drag of my cigarette and looked at him: "You all know that I'm not seeking revenge or harming anyone!"
"Whether it's seeking revenge or not, you're definitely going to be implicated for injuring someone."
I thought about it and said, "At most, it would be considered excessive self-defense. If you assume I'm seeking revenge and hurting someone, then my crime would be much greater! I'm not that stupid!"
"Not that stupid?" The old policeman laughed. "Not that stupid. You beat Luo Si up like that? You're not from around here, are you? You don't know Luo Si? You dared to mess with him? I admire you."
I shook my head: "I don't care who he is. If someone's looking for trouble, do I have to investigate their background before I fight back?" I took a drag of my cigarette and slowly said, "You can only keep me here for a day and a night at most. That big-nosed guy just now, was he a relative of the Luo family? Damn! That's ruthless!"
I smiled and scolded, but the old policeman remained calm. He suddenly sighed, reached out and gently patted my face, then took the cigarette from my mouth, turned back to the table, and looked at the young policeman: "Xiao Wang, you can come now."
The young policeman stood up and began to unbuckle his belt...
I gave a cold smile, then took a deep breath.
Just then, there was a knock on the door. The old policeman frowned: "They're interrogating us! Wait a minute!"
A voice from outside: "Urgent!"
The old policeman went to open the door, went out for a minute, and when he came back, he gave me a complicated look and said, "Kid, you're not so simple either!"
After saying a few words to the young policeman, the two of them left, leaving me alone.
After sitting for five minutes, the door opened and two policemen walked in, neither of whom I recognized. Behind them was a middle-aged man in a suit, who was short, thin, and looked somewhat shrewd.
What happened next was just like in a movie: this person claimed to be a lawyer and said he had already helped me with some procedures. Then the police came over, handcuffed me, and led me out.
In the lobby, I saw Fang Nan sitting there, looking anxious. She was missing a shoe and her wound hadn't been treated. When she saw me come out, she immediately jumped up and limped over to me, as if she wanted to rush into my arms.
I quickly reached out and caught her arm, preventing her from falling into my arms.
Fang Nan's face flushed red, and tears welled up in her eyes: "Okay, the lawyer has taken care of the paperwork for you... Are you... are you alright?"
I sighed and shook my head helplessly: "It's nothing. It was just locked for a while."
I didn't talk about my suffering... because it wouldn't have mattered anyway.
Fang Nan was an extremely intelligent woman. Upon seeing the finger marks on my face, she immediately turned pale and exclaimed, "Someone hit you!"
She flew into a rage, yelling at the two policemen behind me, "How could you hit someone! You dared to hit him! Fine!!" Then she shouted at the lawyer, "Attorney Song! They hit my friend, what are we going to do?"
The lawyer, Mr. Song, seemed to be used to such situations; his face remained completely calm as he said indifferently, "Ms. Fang, let's go back and talk."
If this happened abroad, a lawyer might say something like, "Complaint," or "Report," etc.
But here... lawyers understand some of the unspoken rules of this place.
Fang Nan clearly didn't understand any of this, and just nodded blankly, gritting her teeth as she said, "Fine! Let's go back first... Hmph, you can wait for my lawyer's letter!!"
As we walked out, two policemen followed behind us, but we saw two guys coming towards us. I recognized them; they were the companions of the gigolo I had beaten up that night. These two were probably the least injured. After receiving basic treatment at the hospital, they were also brought here to give statements.