Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

The autumn sun hung in the sky, its light appearing somewhat white.

The wind swirled the withered leaves of the sycamore trees, cutting along the asphalt road. It brushed against the undercarriage of the black bulletproof SUV, making a soft, rustling sound.

Outside the high walls of Jinghai City's First Prison, all was so quiet that only the sound of the wind could be heard.

The anti-climb wire mesh on the top of the wall was rusty. A few wild sparrows perched on it, peeking down cautiously.

"Garara—"

The heavy, grating sound of metal scraping broke the deathly silence of the suburbs.

The heavy iron gate of the prison slowly slid to the side, creating a gap about a meter wide, along the tracks on the ground.

Lu Jingyan sat in the back seat of the bulletproof car.

The car windows were tinted with the darkest tint, effectively isolating the autumn wind and most of the noise from outside the cabin. The air conditioning was only running at a low level with the internal recirculation function.

Zhao Tiezhu sat in the driver's seat. His broad back rested against the seat.

His cheeks were puffed out as he chewed the piece of Wrigley's gum in his mouth with a loud smacking sound.

"Smack."

He blew a bubble, then inhaled it back. His rough, calloused hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. He gestured with his stubble-covered chin toward the door.

"Chief, he's been released."

Lu Jingyan did not respond.

He leaned back slightly from the leather seat and leaned forward a little.

He was holding a black stainless steel thermos with chipped paint. His slender fingers were wedged on the edge of the lid, and with a twist of his wrist, he turned it to the right.

The friction of the metal threads produced a faint "sizzling" sound.

The lid was unscrewed. A warm, white mist, carrying a strong aroma of goji berries, rose from the rim of the cup, casting a thin layer of condensation on the lenses of the gold-rimmed glasses.

He didn't wipe his glasses; he just watched the commotion outside the iron gate quietly through the condensation.

Several figures dressed in casual clothes, carrying large and small bags, squeezed out from the crack in the door.

"The one on the far left."

Zhao Tiezhu lowered his voice, his tone carrying a hint of mockery, as if he were watching a show.

"Liu Biao, the most notorious gangster in Xicheng District, nicknamed 'Living Yama.' Do you remember him? When they arrested him, that bastard brought over eighty henchmen, all carrying machetes, and blocked the entire Changning Street. He was so arrogant, his nose was in the air."

Outside the prison's large iron gate.

Liu Biao was wearing a yellowed old jacket. The jacket was clearly a size too small, and the zipper wasn't even fully zipped up, revealing his faded thermal underwear underneath.

He stepped out the door. His old canvas shoes sank into the cement floor.

There was no triumphant roar of freedom as expected.

He stopped. He squinted and used the rough back of his hand to shield his eyes from the not-so-bright sunlight.

I took a deep breath of the cool, earthy air outside. My chest heaved, and I quickly exhaled.

If this had happened five years ago...

When this notorious bigwig from Beijing was released from prison, at least twenty or thirty pure black Range Rovers had to be parked outside his door. His underlings had to line up in two rows, bowing in unison and shouting, "Big Brother, welcome back!"

Now, the area outside the door is empty.

There wasn't even a single firecracker wrapper to welcome them. Only a few sparrows were foraging for food in the withered grass.

Liu Biao was carrying a red and white striped snakeskin bag.

There was a hole in the bottom of the bag. A section of the faded, old red plastic basin was exposed, inside which was half a bar of clear soap and a stiff towel.

He didn't resort to arrogant cursing.

Instead, he obediently retreated to the blind spot to the side of the gate. He stood with his back pressed tightly against the wall, tucking the snakeskin bag in his hand to his feet, as if afraid of blocking the way for the fellow inmates coming out behind him.

Following Liu Biao out was a tall, thin man.

He was wearing a pilling gray sweater. His hands were tightly tucked into his sleeves, and his shoulders were hunched together.

The man walked slowly. The few fingers that were sticking out of his sleeves were covered in thick, dark yellow calluses, and even the crevices under his fingernails were stained with black machine oil that couldn't be washed off.

"Brother Biao..."

The tall, thin man hunched his shoulders, shivering from the cold wind. He moved closer to Liu Biao.

"The wind outside is really strong. It's making my bones ache."

This guy used to be a tough guy. He was an outlaw who awakened fire-based superpowers, and in the underworld, he was called "Li Huowang".

Back then, he would often have his fingertips flaming up, and he even threatened to burn down half of the city's vault.

Now, that meager superpower has been completely neutralized by the Skynet restraints. Plus, he'd spent years inside operating a sewing machine, doing high-intensity screw-driving on an assembly line every day.

He was as withered as a piece of firewood that had been drained of moisture, looking like he could be blown away by the wind.

"Shut your beak."

Liu Biao lowered his voice and muttered a curse under his breath.

He nervously looked around to make sure no prison guards were nearby before he widened his eyes.

"Who are you calling 'brother'? Haven't you had enough of being shocked with a stun gun yet? This is a society governed by law! My full name is Liu Jianguo. If you see me on the street in the future, call me Uncle Jianguo! Or Old Liu!"

The tall, thin man was startled and quickly pulled his hand out of his sleeve, nodding repeatedly.

"Yes, yes, Uncle Jianguo, I misspoke. Um, why didn't your family come to pick you up in a Mercedes-Benz? Your old bulletproof Mercedes-Benz G-Class was so impressive."

Liu Biao switched the snakeskin bag from his right hand to his left.

He shook his slightly sore arms, looking utterly dejected.

"What a load of crap, driving a Mercedes."

He spat on the ground, then realized it wasn't appropriate, so he quickly lifted the sole of his shoe and wiped the spittle away.

"I had my family sell the car long ago. The house was also mortgaged. We paid back all the medical expenses, lost wages, and compensation for emotional distress incurred by those security guards who were injured back then, with interest."

Liu Biao moved his right leg.

A soft "crack" sounded from his knee joint. He winced in pain and rubbed it.

"The sewing machines inside are so damn hard on your legs. And with the piecework assessment, if you don't finish, you get points deducted from your conduct score."

After whispering to each other, the two walked obediently along the tactile paving towards the bus stop.

It's not more than ten meters away.

Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from the holly bushes along the roadside.

"Woof! Woof woof!"

A stray Teddy dog, filthy and with matted fur, suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

He bared his teeth and yelled twice at Liu Biao, who was carrying a snakeskin bag.

This was once a gangster boss who would kill people without blinking an eye with a machete.

He shuddered violently. He almost dropped the snakeskin bag he was holding.

He didn't kick the dog at all.

Instead, he quickly took two large steps back. His back was pressed tightly against the rusty iron railings, and he wished he could embed himself into the gaps between the railings.

He made way for a tiny dog, no bigger than the palm of his hand, creating a path more than a meter wide.

"Oh dear, you go first, you go first."

Liu Biao lowered his head, waved his hand repeatedly at the teddy dog, and muttered to himself.

"Hey dog, don't bark. I didn't bring any sausages. Please don't bite me, I don't even have health insurance yet, I can't afford the rabies vaccine."

Inside the bulletproof car.

Zhao Tiezhu couldn't hold back his emotions when he saw this scene.

"Pfft—Hahaha!"

He spat the chewing gum into a tissue, crumpled it up, and precisely tossed it into the car's trash can.

He slapped his thighs with both hands, laughing so hard his bald head was reflecting light.

"My goodness. The beatings under this Criminal Law are really effective. They're better than any alien high-dimensional technology."

He turned his head and pointed out the car window.

"Chief, look at that bastard Liu Biao. Back then, he really treated people like dirt. And now? He doesn't even dare to mess with a stray dog, and he has to give way and bow to people and dogs. This transformation is too thorough."

Lu Jingyan did not laugh.

He picked up his thermos and took a sip of water.

The warm goji berry water slid down my esophagus and into my chest, washing away the slight chill in my stomach brought on by the autumn breeze.

"The bottom line of the law is not to kill people."

He put the lid back on. With a twist of his wrist, the metal threads rubbed together, producing a soft, precise hissing sound.

"It's to teach them how to be normal carbon-based life forms."

The air was filled with the smell of car exhaust and cheap honeycomb briquettes. It wasn't very pleasant, but it was full of the fresh scent of earth.

The old street in the south of the city is very narrow. The curbs on both sides are full of electric scooters.

A pedicab carrying recyclables was blocking the way. The back of the pedicab was piled high with flattened cardboard boxes, and the old man pedaling it was panting heavily, barely moving faster than he could walk.

Zhao Tiezhu moved his foot from the accelerator to the brake.

Instead of honking the horn furiously like he used to when driving a police car, he lightly tapped his toes, keeping the car at idle speed, and crawled forward at a snail's pace behind the tricycle.

The engine made a low whirring sound, behaving itself quietly.

Lu Jingyan turned his head away.

His dark gaze swept through the car window, past a row of low, dilapidated shops along the roadside.

There were bicycle repair shops, hardware and water pipe shops, and snack shops with red signs.

At the right corner of the intersection, there is an inconspicuous little shop.

A faded red awning with several small holes stood by the entrance. Under the awning, several cases of bottled water and rolls of toilet paper were piled up crookedly.

A man is unloading cargo.

He was wearing a ripped tank top with a wrinkled collar. He was bending over, his hands gripping a heavy case of glass-bottled beer, gritting his teeth as he carried it into the store.

The man had a yellowed old towel draped over his shoulder.

Sweat soaked through the thin cotton fabric on his back, clinging tightly to his prominent shoulder blades and outlining his gaunt figure.

The bottom corner of the box slammed hard against the man's thigh.

Sitting in the driver's seat, Zhao Tiezhu gasped sharply.

"hiss--"

He slammed on the brakes. The bulletproof car stopped with a slight jolt.

Zhao Tiezhu turned around abruptly, his thick fingers digging tightly into the leather cover of the steering wheel. His voice was extremely low, revealing undisguised shock.

"Chief, did you see that? That's...that's that little bastard from the Gu family, isn't it?"

He swallowed hard, his eyes wide open.

"That young master Gu, who back then threatened to buy our entire Special Investigation Team office building for 100 million yuan in cash just to get a parking space?"

Lu Jingyan remained silent. His dark eyes quietly watched the figure wiping sweat from behind by the roadside.