The police arrived as fast as ever—so fast that Wen Qian began to suspect this NPC might be some kind of personal pet.
Whenever you just shout once—“It’s you, Officer!”—he would descend from the sky.
If only this speed for catching people didn’t happen to her.
Unlike the NPCs at school who all looked different, Wen Qian was quite familiar with the police NPC, a character frequently appearing in the game.
Her familiarity with him was almost on par with the noodle shop owner.
—Mainly because she had been caught for falsifying accounts.
The impression was so deep that Wen Qian immediately recognized this old acquaintance.
She recalled her previous account where, after helping the shop owner do bad things, she ended up in jail as an accountant. She sighed silently.
Taking shortcuts isn’t worth it; she’d better just be honest. Right now she couldn’t open a new account, and if she got jailed now, it would be real jail time.
“That’s him!”
Seeing the NPC approach, Wen Qian pushed aside the distracting thoughts in her mind and pointed heartbrokenly at the struggling “cocoon” who was still cursing obscenities.
“He stole my backpack. When I caught him red-handed, his attitude was extremely bad. Such a potential criminal… no, a criminal in the act is very scary.”
The police NPC nodded solemnly. When a few arrogant students walked over asking which police station he was from, he didn’t even raise an eyelid.
“Thank you for helping us catch this first-time offender. Here is your reward.”
A bag of gold coins appeared on the desk.
[Gold Coins +10]
Wen Qian: …
Damn, first-time offenders are worthless!
The repeat fish thief gave 20 coins!
If only she had let him become a repeat offender before reporting him. Wen Qian lamented her recklessness.
Clearly, she wasn’t mature enough yet—she’d remember this for next time.
The police NPC acted strictly according to procedure and showed no leniency toward students trying to block him.
He only communicated with Wen Qian, repeating the usual fixed lines for catching thieves.
Wen Qian was more interested in what her classmates said. Though less bold than previous customers, they were obviously smarter.
Listen, they even threatened and bribed!
“Alright, don’t waste your breath.” Wen Qian kindly advised.
“Making a mistake leads to these consequences. Even with cheats, I couldn’t escape, how could he?”
She was a player, and in her previous accounting save file, even with cheats on, she got caught. How could ordinary NPCs be spared?
Unless it was a special plot requirement.
But judging by the thief’s bland face, that wasn’t possible. Which game would design special plot NPCs like this? Unless they just gave up.
The price was just too cheap… Wait, didn’t someone just try to bribe the police?
Can this charge really send someone in?
Wen Qian looked up, glancing at the students who had spoken before, feeling tempted to call the police back again.
If she sent all these people in, would she still worry about not making money with her beggar job?
Several boys felt a chill down their backs. They thought Wen Qian’s gaze was weird—not like she was looking at people, but like she was appraising valuable goods.
In the end, their contempt for poor students outweighed their sixth sense warning of the crazy police alarm.
Yan Yi stepped in front of Wen Qian, raised his chin, as if speaking to her was a favor.
“Do you know what Wu Lin’s family does?” He sized Wen Qian up and sneered. “You think he’ll let you go afterward?”
Wen Qian looked at him strangely. “I don’t even know Wu Lin, and you expect me to know his family?”
Don’t NPCs even give a background summary before entering a plot now?
Each one had a big [???] over their heads. How was she supposed to know which one was Wu Lin?
Seeing Yan Yi’s dark face, Wen Qian calmly asked, “So who is Wu Lin?”
A snicker came from the corner. The boy angrily turned toward the sound but stiffened when he saw Ning Mingyue, who had made it.
He couldn’t afford to offend the Ning family. Not even Wu Lin, whom he’d been supporting, dared to offend Ning Mingyue.
Wu Lin had touched Wen Qian’s personal belongings partly to curry favor with Ning Mingyue—everyone had seen their quarrel.
Many wanted to stand up for Ning Mingyue, but Wu Lin jumped the gun. They hadn’t expected this poor outstanding student to be such a tough opponent.
Anyone with some brains could see Wu Lin was being reckless. His family had an important project cooperating with the Nings, so he was acting so excited.
But this flattery wasn’t accepted by Ning Mingyue, who didn’t intend to help Wu Lin and even seemed a little pleased by his misfortune.
Yan Yi, feeling embarrassed in front of everyone, looked darkly at Wen Qian, as if he wanted to vent all his anger on her.
“Just wait. It’s not just you. Your family will be dragged into this too.”
His tone was mocking: “I wonder if your family will regret raising a daughter like you who drags them down.”
Wen Qian didn’t even blink at this threat. She leaned back and looked up at him, even more confident.
“Threaten me? Do you know what my family does?”
Her confident words made Yan Yi’s heart skip a beat. What did she mean? Did she have some trump card?
His tense expression turned into a mocking laugh when he saw the obvious poor outstanding student badge on Wen Qian’s student ID.
“At this point, do you think putting on airs will help?”
At first, Yan Yi did feel a little uneasy, worried she had some unknown background. But he quickly guessed she was just bluffing.
Not to mention her mannerisms didn’t fit someone from a wealthy family. And if she really had backing, how could Ning Mingyue and He Ling bother her? Wouldn’t they know?
Before entering the academy, the elders would remind them carefully who couldn’t be offended and who should be befriended.
Wen Qian was clearly not in that group.
“So what do you want? To go after my family, or me?” Wen Qian didn’t take the threats seriously. “Sorry, but those tricks don’t work on me.”
Known fact: her mother was currently in heaven, so Wen Qian had no worries behind her.
As for her—
She was already a beggar; was there any room to sink further?
Words like that truly had no impact on her.
After Wen Qian hit rock bottom luck and got the beggar identity badge, she experienced for the first time the benefits of this profession.
This terrible hand of cards, in a way, was actually a divine card—no matter how she played it, she could only improve!
Because there was no way to regress!
Yan Yi gritted his teeth and said, “Fine, just you wait…”
“Don’t wait yet.” Wen Qian interrupted, handing her phone to the expressionless Lin Huai beside her.
She politely smiled at Yan Yi, “Before that, there’s someone waiting for you.”
Wen Qian looked toward the door and waved her hand, “Here—he was just threatening me!”
The familiar police, the familiar opening lines, the familiar reward.
“This person’s attitude is extremely bad. I’m very worried about my safety. Can I apply to have him executed?”
Hearing her deskmate’s words, Lin Huai twitched the corner of his mouth.
Since entering the classroom, his mind had been in chaos—whether it was how his deskmate handled those people’s troublemaking or the police who appeared at the call as if living in the school—everything was beyond his imagination.
Had he not woken up from his nap yet? Was he dreaming?
Police NPC: “Denied.”
“Oh.” Wen Qian looked disappointed.
Her disappointed expression wasn’t fake; she truly regretted not being able to have Yan Yi executed.
Now, it wasn’t just Lin Huai; all the classmates who heard the exchange froze.
Wen Qian looked at the police NPC, finding it strange that by protocol he should have taken the person away already—why was he still standing here?
Could it be—
The player’s DNA was twitching.
“May I ask if you have anything else to do?” Wen Qian showed her most sincere expression toward the police.
“Your enthusiasm has moved us greatly.” The NPC nodded. “To thank you for your contribution, here’s a gift.”
[Congratulations, player obtained item — Police Alarm like the Barbecue Stand Owner’s]
Item details: Can summon police, weekly usage refreshes (2/3)
[Triggered title — Justice Outspoken]
Details: Upgrades gradually according to valid reports; wearing this title increases strength by 10%
Watching the police NPC walk away, Wen Qian picked up the money bag and returned to her seat.
Sigh, the classmates who were once outspoken turned into cold coins.
The player choked back tears. Luckily…
Luckily, she still had many classmates!
Those caught in her gaze hurriedly avoided eye contact, afraid of becoming the next target.
Of course, they weren’t worried about any real consequences; this poor outstanding student was just showing momentary courage. She would naturally have to bear the consequences of her rash actions later.
But for now… it was best not to provoke her.
Getting taken away would be pretty embarrassing.
“Wen Qian, why did you think to call the police?” Lin Huai glanced at her.
“If you have a problem, you call the police, isn’t that common sense?” Wen Qian answered naturally. “Though usually I wouldn’t do this.”
She still had some psychological shadows regarding that police NPC.
As for the two previous times—short on money, understandable.
Wen Qian put the money bag into her system backpack; the gold coins were automatically counted into her balance.
Seeing the changing number, Wen Qian’s expression froze.
What, that guy was only worth 5 coins?!
Lin Huai remembered Wen Qian hadn’t come to class yesterday and hadn’t received the homework, so he quickly organized both yesterday’s and today’s assignments.
Because of the holiday, the amount of homework was heavier than usual, stacked in a weighty pile.
His mind was full of that player who said the guy was only worth half a bowl of beef noodles. Seeing this pile of homework, he gradually fell silent.
Oh no, he forgot about this too.
So much homework, the speed bonus from one desk was no longer enough. If he stacked two desks, could the buff stack?
Wen Qian’s gaze slowly shifted to Lin Huai’s desk, thinking about the feasibility.
Lin Huai suddenly felt a chill behind him, as if someone was staring at him. He looked around but only saw Wen Qian smiling at him.
Lin Huai smiled back, and after a moment without noticing anything else unusual, hesitantly withdrew his gaze.
Could it… be his imagination?