“What’s with these delivery guys sleeping in the park?”
“It looks like they got drunk last night. Delivery guys these days are too much - did you see the news yesterday about that psycho killer in our city who was also a delivery guy?”
“You’re right. It was in the papers too, right in Mingjia Community. This young man looks decent enough, why doesn’t he just find a nice girl instead of going around harming young women? It’s just sinful!”
“Young man...wake up, we need to play chess here...”
Ma Mingzhe was the first to wake up, rubbing his eyes blearily as he looked at the old men and laughed, “Grandpas, playing chess? Let me kill a few games with you.”
“Young man, you should check on your friend...his crotch is covered in blood. If he wasn’t a guy I’d have thought it was his time of the month!”
“Damn!” Ma Mingzhe turned to look at Dong Yong on the ground, who had just gotten hemorrhoid surgery yesterday and now had blood all over his pants.
“Su He, Pan Zhigang, wake up quick, something’s wrong with Dong Yong!”
Su He awoke groggily, feeling like his head would explode. Squinting at the people around him, he said, “What are you all standing around for...quick, get him to the hospital...”
“What...young man...holy crap, a murderer!” One of the grandpas looked at the mugshot in his newspaper and then back at Su He, crying out in shock, “Brothers, it’s that killer delivery guy from the news!”
“Grandpa, you can’t accuse my friend like that. The police already cleared his name, go online and check the statement if you don’t believe me,” said Pan Zhigang as he and Ma Mingzhe carried Dong Yong to the car.
Su He sat in the car, just about to leave, when...
“They’re trying to get away!”
The grandpa shouted to the other old men playing chess nearby, “Brothers, come quick, we’ve caught a murderer and his accomplices are trying to escape!”
“Grandpa, I’m really not the killer...the cops already released me.” As Su He tried to start the car, one of the quick-handed grandpas yanked out the keys.
“Escaped from the public security bureau more like! Doesn’t look like one of the good guys to me!”
“If you’re not the killer, why are you trying to run away?”
There weren’t many people left in the park except for some old folks practicing tai chi and playing chess. They quickly surrounded the car.
Su He was anxious when three options suddenly appeared before his eyes:
【Option 1: Fight them one against many and defeat these old people. Reward: ¥1,000,000 in cash.】
【Option 2: Show evidence to prove your innocence. Reward: ¥500 in Alipay credit. 】
【Option 3: Allow these old people to bring you to the police station. Reward: Smart Navigation Map】
The grandpas had grabbed Su He tightly, arguing amongst themselves whether to call the cops or bring him to the station themselves.
Su He quickly looked over the options, seeing the shocking number of grandpas and grandmas, many of whom were dressed in tai chi uniforms and did not look easy to deal with. He decisively gave up on option one, although the reward was tempting, the compensation could be messy.
Dong Yong was still unconscious. Su He took out his phone, “I’m really not the murderer, let me show you guys the police statement...” Before he could finish, a grandma snatched away his phone.
“Trying to contact your partners in crime, huh young man? You’ve still got a long way to go!”
Although the reward for option two was less, at least it could pay off his installment plan. With his phone grabbed, he resignedly said, “Grandpas, grandmas, check the news online to see if the cops have cleared my name.”
“We don’t know how to use the internet.”
“That’s right, too many rumors online nowadays. We only believe TV news and the papers.”
“Stop wasting time talking to him, hurry up and take him to the station!”
Su He was dragged out of the car by several of the grandpas. Facing a hopeless situation, he yelled to Ma Mingzhe, “Take Dong Yong to the hospital first!”
“Don’t let them get away!” One of the grandpas turned back.
“All of you get the hell out of my way!” Ma Mingzhe roared furiously like a raging bull.
The grandpas and grandmas were shocked by Ma Mingzhe’s momentum and quickly moved aside. Ma Mingzhe ran towards the park exit with Pan Zhigang following close behind on his e-bike.
Seeing Dong Yong taken away, Su He let out a sigh of relief and stopped struggling, lying on the ground with one leg crossed over the other. “What are you all standing around for, take me to the station!”
“So arrogant!”
“Come on, carry him if we have to!”
A few of the grandpas surrounded Su He, each grabbing a limb as they marched towards Shijin Police Station.
“Grandpa, don’t press on my waist...it hurts...” said Su He. Just then, a little girl on a bicycle was being led over by her grandma. She pointed at Su He, “Grandma, I want a turn holding him up too!"
...
Shijin Police Station
Jiang Wei had just finished changing into his uniform when he stepped out to see a crowd of agitated grandpas and grandmas surrounding him, all talking over each other about a “murderer” and “delivery man.”
Looking down at the ground, he saw a deliveryman with a bandaged head sleeping peacefully.
“Stop! Everyone be quiet and go one by one!” shouted Jiang Wei.
A respected community elder was pushed to the front of the crowd. Pointing at Su He on the ground, he said to Jiang Wei, “Officer, he’s the murderer...I read about it in the news yesterday. A woman was killed in Mingjia Community, it was him!”
Jiang Wei was twenty-six years old and felt somewhat amused at being called “uncle” by the grandpa, but as a policeman it represented the people’s trust in him.
He walked over to Su He and raised his head to address the expectant grandpas and grandmas, “You’ve misunderstood, the murderer has already been caught. Yesterday’s news report was inaccurate, he is not the killer but a good man!”
The brutal triple homicide case yesterday had also attracted widespread attention within the police force. With the murderer at large and three dead in under 15 hours, it was a textbook case.
Jiang Wei had received the case bulletin first thing in the morning. He couldn’t blame the earnest grandpas and grandmas for jumping to conclusions.
He opened his phone and patiently read out the statement to them.
Hearing the policeman’s explanation, the grandpas and grandmas all had embarrassed looks on their faces.
“I knew he didn’t seem the type.”
“Sorry about that, young man.”
Su He got up from the ground, seeing the group of grandpas and grandmas bow their heads remorsefully like children who had done something bad. “Who took my phone?” he asked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
A grandma hurriedly returned it to him.
Su He put his phone back in his pocket and faced the grandpas and grandmas, “Let me tell you guys something. You might have thought I was at a disadvantage earlier but let me make this clear - I’m trained in combat skills. If I had used any real force, I could have easily hurt you. I held back because I didn’t want to injure any of you. Now you know you were mistaken, right?”
The grandpas and grandmas lifted their heads at his glare and quickly lowered them again.
"Successfully completed Option 3: Reward obtained - Smart Navigation Map."
Hearing the system prompt in his mind, Su He decided he had disciplined the old folks enough.
“Alright, since this was just a misunderstanding, everyone can disperse!”
Jiang Wei dismissed the chastened grandpas and grandmas before approaching Su He with a smile. “Your name is Su He right? Are you hurt anywhere? Should I take you to get checked out at the hospital?”
Su He nodded. “Yeah, take me to get checked out.”