Faced with Xu Qing’er’s worry and the tension of the police officer behind them, Xu Ze gently shook his head.
He looked down at Xu Hao, whose eyes were frozen in fright, and said in a cold voice, “Xu Hao… you listen to me. If you dare to mess around out there, if I ever hear even a whisper of you causing trouble that reaches Mom and Dad, I will really shoot you dead… so I don’t have to watch you break their hearts later on…”
“Do you understand?” Xu Ze barked sternly.
“I understand… Bro… Bro… I got it…” Xu Hao was truly terrified now. He had no idea his brother could get this angry, or that he would actually pull something out and point it at him. Judging by the look on his face, if he really dared to step out of line, his brother just might shoot him for real. So he stammered, his voice choked with tears, “Bro… I won’t dare anymore… I won’t…”
“Won’t dare?” Xu Ze narrowed his eyes slightly behind his glasses, his finger twitching gently.
Bang!
A single shot rang out, and in that instant, everyone froze. The police officers flinched, then their faces drained of color as they instinctively reached for their sidearms. No one—absolutely no one—had expected Xu Ze to actually pull the trigger.
As for Xu Hao, the sudden crack of gunfire right next to his ear had stunned him senseless. His eyes were blank and unfocused, his body limp as Xu Ze held him up by the collar, convinced that his ruthless brother had just shot him dead.
“Murder! Ahhh—” The crowd of onlookers screamed and scattered in every direction.
The police officer, his face tense and his hand gripping his gun tightly, crept forward cautiously. When he spotted the bullet hole in the ground, he finally let out a breath of relief—though he kept his weapon trained, just in case. He said in a low, serious voice, “Comrade… discharging a firearm illegally in a public place… that’s a breach of regulations too… You’d better put that away.”
Xu Ze gave a faint smile and was about to holster his weapon when a group of people suddenly stormed in from outside. The man in the lead called out in alarm, “What’s going on? Who fired that shot? Who fired?”
Frowning, Xu Ze glanced over and saw a squad of soldiers rushing in, the officer at the front already holding a pistol.
At the sight of these soldiers, the boy standing nearby—the one who had gone pale with fear from Xu Ze’s gunshot—seemed to find his savior. He scurried over and hid behind the officer, pointing angrily at Xu Ze. “Cousin! He hit me… and he tried to kill my classmate!”
The officer’s expression hardened as he turned to look at Xu Ze. His gaze swept over the gun in Xu Ze’s hand, then at Xu Hao, still being held by the collar. His own grip on his weapon tightened, and he held it at an angle as he barked, “Which unit are you from? How dare you fire recklessly like that! Put the gun down… and let go of that kid too!”
Xu Ze raised an eyebrow, studied the man and the insignia on his shoulder, and let out a faint, dismissive smile. He holstered his pistol, then reached out and patted Xu Hao’s face, which was still frozen in terror.
After two slaps, Xu Hao snapped back to reality. He stared at Xu Ze’s calm expression and realized—he wasn’t dead.
He fixed his eyes on his brother for a long moment, searching for any trace of that murderous aura or the blazing anger from before. Finding none, he threw his arms around Xu Ze and burst into tears. “Bro… I won’t… I’ll never do it again…”
“Good. If there’s a next time, don’t blame me for putting a bullet in you.” Xu Ze pulled his sobbing, blubbering brother up from the ground and handed him off to Xu Qing’er and Lin Wei for support.
By now, the officer had seen Xu Ze put his gun away and realized it was just a scare tactic. He breathed a sigh of relief, though he was still seething inside. This young officer was way too arrogant—firing a weapon in broad daylight, and just to frighten a kid? That was beyond reckless.
Meanwhile, Xu Hao’s classmate, seeing that his cousin had forced the soldier to back down, puffed out his chest with newfound confidence. He shot a smug look at the classmate who had called the police, then pointed to a fresh bruise on his own arm and to a purple mark on his friend’s face. “Cousin! He hit me, and he hit my classmate too! Look, look! Cousin, you have to get justice for me!”
The major from the Xingcheng Military Subdistrict—a battalion commander—frowned darkly and gave a curt nod. Then he barked, “What unit are you from? Not only did you assault civilians in public, but you had the audacity to act so recklessly! Have you forgotten military discipline entirely?”
Xu Ze smiled faintly, then turned to face the major. “Are you asking me?”
“Yes, you! What’s your unit? Show me your ID!” the major snapped. But no sooner had the words left his mouth than his gaze suddenly locked onto something—the rank insignia on Xu Ze’s shoulder: two bars and four stars.
“You—” The major stared at Xu Ze in disbelief, then took the ID Xu Ze handed over. He quickly holstered his own weapon and accepted the document with both hands. After a glance, his face went through several shades of shock. The man might look young, but the ID was real—and it clearly stated: Deputy Director of the Special Operations Division, Operations Department, General Staff Headquarters.
“Since when did the General Staff have such a young special operations director?” The major was baffled, but he didn’t dare question the man’s identity. He had a sidearm, the credentials checked out—there was no way this was a fake. Besides, no one would be stupid enough to impersonate an officer right in front of him.
He returned the ID with both hands, his earlier aggressive tone completely gone. He saluted crisply and said in a formal voice, “My apologies, Colonel. But this is a violation of regulations.”
“I know. I’ll explain it to General Peng,” Xu Ze said flatly.
At the mention of General Peng, the major’s expression turned solemn. He knew better than to push further. General Peng Zhihua was the commander of the Xingcheng Military Subdistrict, and this colonel outranked him by three grades. Add to that his position at the General Staff and the easy way he dropped the General’s name—the major wasn’t about to cause more trouble.
In the back of his mind, he was already worrying. If this guy really was tight with the commander, and he’d just offended him—one word to the General and his career prospects, from promotions to everything else, could be in serious jeopardy.
The classmate cowering behind him had no idea what rank Xu Ze held, but when he saw his cousin—a battalion commander—suddenly change his tone and even salute the man, his heart sank. He knew this soldier outranked his cousin. Quietly, he shrank back and kept his mouth shut.
The major saluted again and was about to lead his men out when Xu Ze called him back.
He turned, puzzled. “Colonel, is there something else?”
Xu Ze smiled lightly and pointed at the boy hiding behind the major. “That’s your cousin?”
The major’s expression flickered, then he nodded. “Yes, Colonel. If my cousin has offended you in any way, I’ll make sure he apologizes right now.”
Seeing the major’s uneasy look, Xu Ze chuckled and shook his head. “No, it’s not that. He’s my brother’s classmate. These kids were here singing and carrying on, and on top of that, they were popping pills in this place.”
The major’s face changed instantly. Now he understood why the colonel had been so harsh with his brother. He whirled around and glared at his cousin. “You’ve been messing around with drugs outside?!”
The boy, seeing his cousin’s fury, panicked. “Cousin! I was just messing around! This is my first time—really, my first time!”
Xu Ze saw that the major was about to blow his top and stepped in. “Major, you can deal with that later. For now, since you and your men are here, let’s take care of something else first.”
“Oh? What is it, Colonel?” The major looked confused.
Xu Ze turned to glance at the police officer nearby and said with a slight smile, “I suspect the drugs they took came from this KTV. And this officer here claims they’ve inspected the place and found nothing wrong. So, I’d like you and your men to help me search it.”
Hearing this, the major hesitated. He was military—local law enforcement was the police’s domain. Since the cops said it was clean, it wouldn’t look good for him to barge in with his troops. If they actually found something, great. But if they didn’t, he could be slapped with charges of harassment and disturbing the peace. That wouldn’t be a light matter—if things went south, he’d be in serious trouble.
Seeing his reluctance, Xu Ze said casually, “Don’t worry. I’ll call your commander and have him give you the order.”
The major brightened at that and nodded eagerly.
Xu Ze pulled out his phone, ready to make the call, when he caught sight of a few security guards and waiters trying to slip out the side. He let out a soft snort and said to the major, “Major—those ones trying to sneak out. Detain them first.”
The major followed his gaze, saw the furtive looks on the guards’ and waiters’ faces, and grinned. That told him all he needed to know. He signaled to his men behind him.
The soldiers moved in swiftly, tackling the guards and waiters to the ground and pinning them down.
“Xu Ze! Congratulations—I heard the Chairman personally awarded you that colonel rank.” When he finally got through, a hearty voice came over the line. Xu Ze chuckled, exchanged a few pleasantries with General Peng, then explained the situation. Of course, the General agreed without hesitation and told Xu Ze to put the major on the line.
The major took the phone, spoke respectfully to General Peng, and handed it back. He turned to Xu Ze with a deferential tone. “Please give your orders, Colonel.”
Xu Ze nodded, then looked at the police officer, who was fuming and reaching for his phone. “Officer, please put down your phone. For now, this area is under our jurisdiction.”
