Archfiend

Jingle… Shutting off his computer, Xu Yangyi lightly rapped the table. In a flash, customary calm fell over the room as everyone leveled their gazes on him. All of them were stunned, and the loud clamor of discussion instantly broke out. They didn’t place this young, muddle-headed paratrooper in their eyes at all.

“Settle down.” Xu Yangyi picked up his cup and sipped his tea neither hurriedly nor slowly. The sound of discussion quieted down somewhat, and Vice Captain Chen rolled his eyes as usual. “I’m going to apprehend the serial killer, tonight. Once the arrest is done, I’ll leave Sanshui City.” Xu Yangyi blew on his tea, making the tea wedge in the liquid quietly bob up and down.

In the next second, everyone present went silent.

You got eyes on me and I got eyes on you. 

Vice Captain Chen widened his eyes at Old Zhu, and Old Zhu widened his eyes back in return. Had they seen a ghost in broad daylight? The greenhorn had said he was going to arrest a criminal? What’s more, a serial killer?

What was Xu Yangyi shooting off his mouth for?! He had slept over yesterday’s discussion! And today, he was going to catch a criminal?! 

Do you think you’re Sherlock Holmes? Or Conan and Kindaichi?! [1]

“Captain Xu…” a forty-somewhat-year-old police officer murmured uncertainly. As he spoke about the job, he was also serious, “Handling a case is a very rigorous job… We need to investigate the criminal’s M.O and the location of where he’ll appear… We don’t have any of these things...”

“I’ve been very rigorous.” Xu Yangyi waved his hand. “The information source is unquestionably reliable. The city leadership’s approved of it; if anything happens, I’ll bear the responsibility.”

“How can you bear the responsibility?!” Anger sprouted inside Vice Captain Chen’s heart. He suddenly stood up, and his voice rang out like a copper gong. “After you finish handling this case, you’re leaving! How can you bear the responsibility? Isn’t it going to be me that gets to inherit this crock of a mess?!”

“Now you see here!” He pointed at everyone present. “We of the Disciplinary and Investigations Unit are hoping for a big case, so that our names will ring from east to west! The brothers and sisters are all longing for this case! In the past, Captain Gong would take a hands on approach with a case! Think it over step by step! These words are unpleasant to hear, but you’re a rookie! Are you as experienced as we are? If you take charge over this case, what’s going to happen if a problem comes up? Are you scared I’ll steal your thunder?

“Captain Xu, everyone knows you’re a gilded plate. You’re just here to look nice. It doesn’t matter, which department doesn’t have someone like that?” A female policewoman seemed to say respectfully, “But a gilded plate should know how to act. You shouldn’t put your hands on stuff that can’t be touched. Earning merits is proper business, wouldn’t you say?”

The implication—no—what she was saying was clear as day. The most disgusting person was one who didn’t understand anything, but still insisted on charging into battle with a grasped blade!

The current Xu Yangyi had evidently taken on the role as someone who was even detested by dogs. Still, he wasn’t angry and swept his eyes over everyone. This was a job and was to be treated like one; he’d always followed the rules to a tee. “I can’t talk about the information source. No one can hear about where it’s from, either...”

“Hehe…” Old Zhu laughed hollowly and added on a few words, “So, none of us can hear about the captain’s source... Are you saying there’s a rat among us? Who’s the rat? The triads? It appears there’s nothing like that in China. Drug traffickers? Our Sanshui City is located in the far west; there’s not enough profit, here in the left side of the country. Drugs have always floated in from the southeast. Captain Xu, I just can’t take what you’ve said at face value.”

Xu Yangyi was still neither arrogant nor impatient. He said indifferently, “Listen until I’ve finished speaking.”

“There’s no need to speak!” Vice Captain Chen snorted coldly and stood up. Not to mention any disrespect, anyone could make an admonishment as long as they obeyed their commands in the unit. However, the captain couldn’t be scolded by any means! 

Furthermore, among those in the force, how many of them had cool and collected demeanors? Every day, they had run-ins with the dregs of society, wishing they could arrest and beat the crap out of such scum. They only admired strength. Without strength, one simply couldn’t make it in this setting. 

So what you’re a paratrooper? Even if you were a galactic marine, there wouldn’t be any use. At worst, I’ll just kiss some ass and get a better job somewhere else! I’ll resign and become a private detective! [2]

Xu Yangyi closed his eyes.

“I don’t approve of your leadership, Captain Xu! If leadership is needed, I, Old Zhu, and Old Qin are all capable! The psycho-killer is also up for everyone’s contribution…”

“Shut the fuck up.” In the next second, Xu Yangyi’s teacup lid suddenly flew out, and eight startled cries rang out afterwards.

“The fuck!”

 “What’s going on?”

“What happened?!”

“Goddamn…”

A few people’s chairs had been cleanly bisected!

Ding! A fragile sound rang out; something had struck the wall. The echo reverberated, uninterrupted.

The room was silent, like it had returned to the day when Xu Yangyi had threw the fountain pen.

Old Zhu’s forehead was slick with sweat, and he trembled as he faced towards the place where the last crisp sound had come from. But upon a mere glance, he was completely petrified, left dumbfounded where he stood!

The teacup lid was there. A normal, delicate porcelain teacup lid. It was an extremely brittle and elegant piece of porcelain, yet it had been handled like a sharp sword. Less than half of it was embedded into the wall, as for the other half…

It was completely stuck in!

In the last second, this fragile teacup lid had still been in Xu Yangyi’s hand, but in the next it had split apart three chair legs like a hidden weapon, accurately nailing into the wall! Moreover, the lid hadn’t injured a single person!

Vice Captain Chen cast his gaze over, and subsequently so did Old Zhu, who after hissing coldly, went deathly still again.

After that, Old Qin caught sight of the lid in the wall. Everyone else then followed.

One, two, three…

Everyone had seen that teacup lid!

This was different than the hurled pen from last time. When the pen plunged into the table, it was obvious that the table was extremely cheap. While perhaps none of them could accomplish such a feat, it was still within the scope of human understanding. This time, the scene before them had completely exceeded what they could grasp!

All of them felt their throats go cold.

“Hehe…” Old Qin, a middle-aged woman, laughed hollowly. Her laughter even more unsightly than weeping. She stuttered out, “T-T-That’s a special teacup, right…”

No one paid any heed to her, or perhaps it was because everyone still hadn’t recovered from their shock. 

“Turn around.” Xu Yangyi’s voice echoed from behind them. Everyone sluggishly turned their heads and looked at him as if he’d grown a second head. 

“I tried to play nice, but none of you listened.” Xu Yangyi had already opened his eyes. “Congratulations, you’ve thoroughly pissed me off.”

“Time and time again, over and over… How many times have I reminded all of you? But none of you listened, not a single one of you listened…” He suddenly slammed the table with a bang. Xu Yangyi stood up with eyes raging. “I’m not your fucking babysitter!”

“The municipal committee has spent no small amount of effort to invite me. You should love me for joining this unit!” Xu Yangyi glowered with his sword-like brows, his voice even sharper than a knife. Absent of his ordinarily dead appearance, he pointed at the door. “Don’t like how I do things!? Then get the fuck out of here right now!”

No one moved, or rather… didn’t dare to move. It seemed like nobody had expected that this was his true fury. The flying pen from last time had truly only been a minor warning.

“Leave, don’t you see I’m pissed off?” Xu Yangyi downed a gulp of tea, paused forcefully, and sneered grimly as he observed the crowd. “Frogs at the bottom of a well, how is one to know of the greatness of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers? I’ll tell all of you two things.”

He stuck up two fingers. “One: I was invited by the person who you normally call leader and grovel to. Open up your ears; I was invited! Why? It’s precisely because of this case.”

Thump thump. The table made a noise as it was struck heavily, but no one uttered a word.

The teacup lid was behind them. They wanted to speak… yet they had to restrain themselves.

While his voice became serene once more, it was frighteningly icy. Being looked at by each and everyone of his silently dumbstruck “colleagues”, he snorted. “Two: this is a case that none of you can handle.”

“I’m done speaking.” He sat down on his chair, crossing one of his legs over the other and holding his teacup with both hands. “You don’t like how things are being done, GET THE HELL OUT!”

“The few of you that were students at the police academy, can you tell me how to write the two characters for ‘obey’? I gave all of you face, but you still want to climb over me? Hehe… Who gave all of you the confidence? Who the fuck told you I was a paratrooper?!”

“The first time I reminded you, you didn’t understand. If you still don’t get it the second time around, it serves you all right to stay as small-time cops for your entire lives!”

His deafening voice reverberated within the room. No one dared to look him in the eye. This was power. Even if all of their power was added together, it would still fall before Xu Yangyi at this moment.

The cultivator coolly observed everyone. Originally, he hadn’t wanted to argue with these people in particular. They were all mortals; they weren’t the same as him. Arguing was unnecessary. However…

It was essential that the capture be carried out tonight! He still didn’t have his diploma; right now he was only interning! How could things take so much work? Thus, the most complicated seemed to be the most simple. Rather than argue with them and explain himself, it was better to use thunderous methods to leave them completely speechless.

The result was evidently quite good.

“If anyone has objections, I’ll give you three seconds to stand up and get out.”

Old Qin was fairly absentminded. It seemed as if at this moment, she’d seen Captain Gong of the past once again.No one said anything, even Vice Captain Chen, Old Zhu, and Old Qin, the three most senior members, were silent as well.

“Since there’s nothing else, then I…”

“Hold up!” In the end, Vice Captain Chen gritted his teeth and said, “You… No, Captain Xu, you were really invited over by the city leadership?”

To make the higher-ups request him… How great was his reputation? But on the contrary, he, Vice Captain Chen, had never heard of this person’s name. And that wasn’t mentioning that Xu Yangyi was in his early twenties; what could this kid know? His new captain’s accumulated experience was insufficient!

Vice Captain Chen had been totally suppressed by Xu Yangyi’s power. He chose to accept it as the truth, yet he still held his doubts. 

“There are forces whose names you aren’t capable of knowing.” Xu Yangyi said without much thought, “The mission location will be announced tonight before we set off. Everyone isn’t to advance the line; you will be on standby 500 meters behind. If anything escapes, no matter what it is, shoot it dead on sight. This is your sole duty.”

Silence fell, and after two minutes, Xu Yangyi flipped open his cell phone again. It wasn’t until Old Zhu’s eye rounded into saucers that he asked, “F-Finished?”

“Are you hoping that the major battle strength will be a heavy assault squad?” Xu Yangyi lifted his head with a smile that wasn’t a smile. “We’re finished. Although I really don’t want to say it to you guys, I’ll still say it. Believe me. We’re done.”

Even until everyone left, they still felt dazed, walking amidst clouds and mists. How would you feel if the bunny rabbit transformed into the big bad wolf in the blink of an eye?

That was how they presently felt. Furthermore… this big bad wolf’s background was too mysterious. In a minute or two, their impressions of Xu Yangyi’s character in the past two days had been overthrown in a split second.

“Vice Captain Chen…” Old Zhu patted Vice Captain Chen’s shoulder from behind and said softly, “Are we… really going to listen to him?”

Vice Captain Chen was silent for quite a while until he gritted his teeth. “We will!”

“What he said wasn’t wrong! Compliance is our primary directive. However…” He snorted coldly, “If he screws up tonight, I’m going to gut that paratrooper even if I have to pierce through the heavens!”

“I don’t believe there’s no law of the land in this world! I really want that big-talking showboater to fuck up! Even if I can’t eat this rice bowl, I don’t care how great his backer is, I’m going to pry him open with my bare hands!”

1. 柯南金田一 - Conan and Kindaichi. Was staring at this chinese for a while trying to figure out what it was besides giving a go at it in google. Turns out I already knew, but didn’t realize the chinese pronunciation. Conan and Kindaichi are respectively two of Japan’s greatest fictional detectives. You guys probably know of Detective Conan (anime), but Kindaichi is an older Japanese detective story, rated as one of Japan’s best. If not THE best detective story in Japan.

2. 宇宙陆战队 - Galactic marine. Kinda had no idea what this was at first, but it seems to be a term related to starcraft.