Justifiable Defense

"Officer!"

"We really weren't fighting each other!"

"This was completely him beating us up in a one-sided assault!"

Zeng Qiang cried out in grievance, spraying bloody spittle while holding an ice bag to his face with a deeply aggrieved expression.

Zeng Qiang's injuries were quite severe, but also not severe.

Severe, when looking at his overall condition—he'd had more than just two teeth kicked out; the number of teeth that were broken or loosened was beyond count. His once fair, clean face was now a mess of blue and purple bruises, completely disfigured, swollen like a pig's head. A small trickle of blood kept uncontrollably seeping from the corner of his mouth. His appearance was utterly pitiful.

His stomach had also been stomped hard by Lin Yu earlier, and he had only just managed to straighten his back. Even now, he dared not move his body too much; his chest ached with every breath. He didn't know if something inside might be broken.

The injuries were genuinely serious.

Saying his injuries weren't severe was in comparison to his accomplices. Among them, his injuries were actually some of the lightest.

There were nine of them in total.

Six were now in the hospital, four of whom were unconscious when they were brought in.

Zeng Qiang even suspected that bastard Lin Yu had gone insane.

When normal people fight, after knocking their opponent down, they might say a few harsh words, give a couple kicks to the rear, and call it a day.

This lunatic seemed completely deranged. After knocking people down, he kept stomping on their heads and stomachs with his heel, delivering extra blows.

Anyone who didn't know better would think he was trying to kill someone but lacked a proper weapon!

What was even more terrifying was that Lin Yu's victory was almost total domination. Apart from Big Black Ge's initial slap to the head, the others had barely managed to lay a finger on him.

Coincidentally, Zeng Qiang wanted to use this opportunity to thoroughly frame Lin Yu, preferably getting him thrown in prison!

So you think you're tough?

What's the use of being tough?

To make it in this world, you need power!

You need money!

You need connections!

All you have are two fists the size of sandbags? I'll make you die without even knowing how!

"Cut the crap!"

Lin Yu immediately retorted angrily.

After speaking, he turned his heavily swollen left cheek towards the police officer, complaining indignantly:

"Officer, look what they did to me!"

"Almost knocked my face sideways!"

Zeng Qiang panicked. Pointing at Lin Yu, he sprayed bloody saliva in his urgency.

"You're lying!"

"Your face is swollen from you slapping yourself!"

"Stop falsely accusing people here!"

Lin Yu gave him a sidelong glance of disdain, curling his lip in a cold sneer as he shot back:

"Do you even believe that yourself?"

"If you're going to say that, then I could also say all your injuries are from you guys falling down!"

"Stop slandering me with your bloody mouth!"

"You!"

Zeng Qiang, having been counter-accused, was furious. He puffed out his chest, about to retort, but then must have pulled some wound, his face contorting in pain as he sucked in sharp breaths.

"Enough!"

"Both of you, quiet down!"

The police officers weren't fools. How could there be any logic in one person single-handedly assaulting eight or nine others?

Although the outcome was rather bizarre, it didn't hinder their judgment of the case.

It was simple.

Based on the outcome: the winner pays compensation, the losers go to the hospital.

That's all there was to it!

Lin Yu also knew today's matter wasn't something he could talk his way out of.

He was just about to ask the police if he could make a phone call, to see if Qing Mo could get him out, when a title he hadn't heard in a long time, yet one that carried a certain impressive weight, sounded from outside the door.

Lin Yu turned to look and saw a complete stranger walking in from the doorway, his face lit up with surprise.

"Holy crap!"

"It really is you!"

"Master Yu!"

The man wore simple shorts and a T-shirt, with a lean, athletic build and ordinary features.

The only thing that might draw attention was probably the gold-green watch on his wrist.

Lin Yu didn't know much about watches, but this particular watch the man wore was famous. Lin Yu couldn't recall the name at the moment, but he was certain its price tag was in the seven-figure range.

Based on the man's form of address, Lin Yu could roughly guess he was connected to Zhao She.

After all, that title had started with Zhao She.

"You are?"

Lin Yu looked at him, thinking it better to clarify his identity.

"Master Yu, it's me!"

"We've met before!"

The man reminded him:

"Do you remember last winter?"

"At the Letian Mall."

"You were eating in a soup dumpling shop with a pretty girl. Big Tiger thought someone was causing trouble and brought a bunch of guys to find you?"

"I was right there with Big Tiger at the time!"

The man said a lot. Lin Yu recalled the incident from that day, but still had no impression of the person before him.

Back then, he seemed to have been focused on chatting with Zhao Da Hu...

"What's going on?"

A deep, resonant male voice interrupted Lin Yu's thoughts. He turned to see a middle-aged man in a blue summer police uniform standing at the door.

When that police officer appeared at the entrance, all the officers in the room stood up, greeting him:

"Director Zhao."

Director Zhao nodded. Before he could say anything, the man beside Lin Yu suddenly stood up and said:

"Director Zhao, look."

"How did my Master Yu end up here?"

"There must be some misunderstanding, right?"

"Master Yu has been a model student since childhood, beloved by all, charming enough to make flowers bloom, riding old ladies..."

"No, no, no."

"I mean, the kind of model student who helps old ladies cross the street!"

"How did he get brought in here?"

Director Zhao didn't engage with the man. He walked into the room, glanced at Lin Yu with his heavily swollen left cheek, then looked at the three cosplaying as pig-men on the side. Finally, he turned his gaze to the junior officer handling the case and asked:

"What happened?"

The junior officer briefly explained the situation.

Director Zhao listened with a furrowed brow. After hearing the whole story, he couldn't help but take another look at Lin Yu, then confirmed with the junior officer:

"He fought nine people by himself?"

"And put all of them in the hospital with serious injuries?"

The junior officer nodded.

Director Zhao asked again:

"Who threw the first punch?"

"Who sought out whom?"

"Officer, he hit us first!"

Zeng Qiang knew the situation was turning bad, but he still wanted to struggle. Missing two teeth and speaking urgently, he sprayed more bloody spittle, making Lin Yu recoil in disgust and shift his buttocks further away.

The man called Director Zhao didn't even glance at Zeng Qiang, instead continuing to wait for his subordinate's answer.

"According to bystanders, these nine people sought him out first."

"As for who struck first..."

The junior officer paused, unsure whether to count the initial slap to the head from the guy in the hospital as the first move.

After a moment's thought, he wasn't someone who couldn't read the room, so he continued:

"The nine people struck first."

"Isn't that self-defense then?"

"Let him go."

Director Zhao made the judgment easily and ordered his release!