“Yes, I just bumped into Shoulder Hero!”
“What Shoulder Hero? Pancake Hero!”
“Oh, right, Pencil Hero!”
“Pancake Hero!”
“□□ Hero!”
“Hahaha!” Zhang Qiang laughed so hard that she couldn’t stand up straight, patting Wu Yuanyuan’s shoulder.
Today, they both had a rare day off, leaving their significant others at home and coming out to shop and watch movies together. They chose a comedy movie which unexpectedly hit Zhang Qiang’s funny bone, making her laugh all the way through.
Wu Yuanyuan helplessly handed her some water, trying to calm her down, and said, “Slow down, slow down.”
“Aren’t you sad about not being able to go back there?”
“What’s there to be sad about? Working as a civil servant is pretty good.”
“Who was the one who kept saying that they wanted to be a police officer to fight crime? Back then, you spent so much effort learning martial arts with Pang Deyou, and now you’ve changed your mind!” Wu Yuanyuan picked up some popcorn and threw it into her mouth. “But it’s also good. Working as a civil servant is always safer. Before, when you guys went out, I was always worried every day. Now it’s better, Guo Ming has also been fired and is focused on being a doctor. You can only stay in the office and do your job as a civil servant, and what about Pang Deyou? Is he still teaching martial arts?”
“He’s not teaching anymore because of those things. He was also given an excuse to resign.” Zhang Qiang looked around and lowered her voice. “Although there were people supporting him behind the scenes, it was still an individual act, so he was dismissed as a formality to show the higher-ups’ attitude.”
“What is he planning to do now?”
“He’s been looking for a location lately and plans to open a gym.”
“Wow, that’s great! He’ll be his own boss!”
“Anyway, it’s perfect for him since he’s interested in fitness and has a foundation in martial arts. Although the incident we caused was illegal, we still accomplished something and received a good amount of reward money, which we can use as capital.”
“That’s good too. Living in peaceful times, being safe and sound is better than anything.”
The next day, during lunch break, colleagues chatted.
“Did you hear? There was another big case last night.”
“What happened?”
“Another convenience store was robbed in the Chuncheng district, and this time, a clerk who resisted was directly stabbed 17 times. The person taking the statement had to work overtime until this morning.”
“This is the second one. Is it gang related?”
“I heard from my spouse that it is. Three assailants wearing masks and carrying long knives entered the store, robbed it, and then ran away without saying a word. They would directly attack anyone who resisted. Moreover, the three people had clearly divided their tasks, so it must be an organized criminal gang.”
“Oh, your spouse is already in on your plans before marriage. Looks like a happy event is on the way!”
“Mm-hmm~ o(￣▽￣)o We plan to get our marriage license on Qixi Festival.”
“Did you propose? Tell us the entire process of your proposal.”
“Oh~~~ It’s nothing special, just like everyone else…”
The conversation among colleagues shifted to another topic. Zhang Qiang smiled, took out her phone and started to look up the map of the Chuncheng district. “Do you think I can’t fight crime just because I’m a desk worker for life? Hmph, Old Zhang is still too naive!”
One week later.
“Did you hear about last night’s incident?”
“How could we not? It’s been all over the department!”
“Oh, it’s just great! My hubby has been working non-stop these past few days, staking out those thugs. But now, he can finally get a good night’s sleep!”
“Isn’t it funny how those three thugs got beaten up and left at the convenience store?!”
“Maybe they had a falling out over the loot?”
“Who knows, as long as it’s a good thing, that’s all that matters!”
Zhang Qiang also laughed along with them, “Yeah, as long as it’s a good thing!”
Three months later.
“The body of the missing female college student has been found!”
“Ah…it’s been half a month already, and they only found her now. The thugs are really brutal. Dismemberment?!”
“My spouse is busy again. I would rather have peace in the world and have him work less hard, so that people can be safe.”
“Oh… that girl, why did she run in the wilderness instead of following the designated night running route? It’s amazing that the government spent so much money building the greenway, making it so beautiful just for people’s convenience to exercise. Yet she still chooses to run in deserted areas. Sigh!”
“Young people always have their own ideas. Unfortunately, being adventurous and independent is not always a good thing. In any case, the deceased is the most important, and it’s always sad to see someone so young lose their life.”
“That criminal is really sick! I really hope that the Midnight Crusader can catch him!”
“Oh, you even gave that mysterious person a name!”
“Yeah, I always thought that superheroes in American movies were just deceiving people, but it turns out they actually exist! Look at the recent cases, those suspects were all beaten up and left at the crime scene by a mysterious person, saving us so much trouble! And when we see them beaten up, it’s so satisfying!”
“Well, speaking of that mysterious person, he’s not bad at all. He only attacks those who hurt others, and the criminals are not as vicious. But this time, it’s murder and dismemberment, it’s too dangerous! I also hope that the Midnight Crusader can catch the criminal, but I still think it’s a bit uncertain.”
“Murder and dismemberment! Hmph!” Zhang Qiang snorted in disbelief.
At night, Zhang Qiang prepared to go out: “Deyou, I’m going to the movies with Yuanyuan. You should rest early!”
“Why are you two always active at night recently? It’s already past ten o’clock, and you’ll be out until late at night after the movie! Come, I’ll drive you there. Let me know when you finish, and I’ll come pick you up.”
“There’s no way around it. Yuanyuan always gets off work late. Don’t worry, I know how to defend myself. After I’m done, I’ll come back. You be good and stay at home!”
“Alright then, take care of yourself!” Pang Deyou said before going back to his own business.
Zhang Qiang left and headed straight to the parking lot. She changed into her running gear in the car and drove to the vicinity of the university town.
The university town was built far from the city, with a park nearby and some construction sites under development. In the past, many students used to run there, so the government built a greenway that connected the entire university town and the nearby park. The road was smooth, the streetlights were bright, and it was convenient for students to exercise. In addition, the government directly turned the park into a sports park, so not only students, but also many nearby residents would often go there to relax and unwind.
However, since a female runner went missing half a month ago, there were fewer people running at night. Zhang Qiang parked her car and saw that apart from some groups of male students, there were hardly any female runners. She lowered her hat and put on her mask, following the route of the missing girl towards the deserted outskirts.
This was a wild field that was slightly far from the university. During the day, it should be a beautiful place, but at night there was insufficient lighting and dense vegetation, giving off a creepy and eerie atmosphere. Zhang Qiang had earphones in her ears, pretending to listen to music, but in fact there was nothing playing. She ran while adjusting her breathing, with both eyes vigilant and ears catching the sounds around her.
After running for about half an hour, about six or seven kilometers, nothing happened. It seemed that there was nothing to gain today. Zhang Qiang turned around to go back. After running for a while, even though her physical fitness was good, she was a bit tired.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she turned around and took a few steps, she heard the sound of the wind in her ear! Zhang Qiang quickly lowered her head to dodge, then turned back and found that she didn’t know when a burly man had jumped out of the grass. Although he was not tall, he was muscular and moved quickly.
Zhang Qiang dared not take it lightly, her eyes fixed on the opponent, agilely dodging and countering his moves.
The big man didn’t seem like a trained fighter at all, with no technique to his attacks, but he made up for it with his strength and agility. For a moment, although Zhang Qiang landed a few hits on him, she didn’t seem to gain an advantage.
Zhang Qiang began to feel uneasy. After all, she had been running for half an hour and her strength was already depleted. In addition, the lighting here was poor, and she couldn’t see the surrounding environment clearly. She needed to finish this fight quickly! With this in mind, Zhang Qiang’s moves became fierce and she swiftly changed her attacks around the man, attempting to knock him down. But who could have expected that things would take a sudden turn!
Zhang Qiang took a deep breath and leaped into the air, kicking the man hard and sending him crashing to the ground. However, at the landing spot, there was a hole hidden by the tall grass, and with a “snap”, a sharp, piercing pain shot up Zhang Qiang’s right ankle. She thought to herself, “This is bad! My foot is broken!”
The man, dazed from the kick, sat on the ground, shaking his head before getting up. But obviously, the kick did not deter him, instead it only fueled his anger! He pulled out a steel pipe from somewhere and swung it fiercely towards Zhang Qiang!
Zhang Qiang was terrified, trying to get up and retreat, gritting her teeth to endure the intense pain. But her right foot was in too much pain, and she felt a sharp pain every time she stepped on the ground. Clearly, the injury was quite serious. Now, she couldn’t run away, so she had to grit her teeth and fight against the man. But Zhang Qiang had run several kilometers and was already out of breath. With the man wielding a steel pipe and blocking her every move, both her arms were numb from the blows.
Zhang Qiang wasn’t paying attention and was hit hard on the head with the steel pipe, falling heavily to the ground. Before passing out, she sighed, “My life is over!”
When she woke up again, Zhang Qiang felt dizzy, her whole body spinning and her head throbbing. Her ears were ringing so loudly that she could hear the sound of wind blowing by as if she were riding in a car.
Shaking her head, the noise remained, and when she moved his foot, a sharp pain shot up from her right ankle. Zhang Qiang gritted her teeth, enduring the pain and began to carefully survey the environment she was in.
‘I don’t know how long I’ve been lying here. But it seems that bastard hasn’t killed me yet,’ Zhang Qiang thought to herself as she touched her body. Her clothes were still on, and she was covered with a blanket. The familiar smell and touch made Zhang Qiang suddenly wake up.
“Deyou? ” Zhang Qiang croaked, calling out.
“Qiangqiang, you’re awake! ” Pang Deyou slammed on the brakes and stopped on the side of the road, quickly getting out of the car and running to the back seat.
“Do you have a headache? Does your foot hurt? ” Pang Deyou half-knelt on the back seat cushion and asked with concern.
“How did you find me? How did you know? ” Zhang Qiang looked at Pang Deyou’s familiar face and all her fear flooded back, and tears fell from her eyes.
Pang Deyou was shocked when he saw Zhang Qiang crying and quickly held her hand to comfort her. “Is your head hurting? Does your foot hurt? Baby, tell me where you feel uncomfortable. Let me drive for now. We’ll go to Guo Ming’s house in a little while and see a doctor first, okay?”
Zhang Qiang cried, but still didn’t let go of his hand, pulling him and asking directly, “When did you find me? Did that criminal take advantage of me? How did you find me?”
“Relax, don’t worry. You just twisted your ankle and were hit with a steel pipe. I’ve been following you all along. Every time you went out to “watch a movie” or “get your hair done” these past few months, I was with you, you just didn’t know it. Today, because it was hard to hide in that area, I stayed a little further away from you, and that’s why you got hit. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been hit with that stick!” Pang Deyou explained.
“What? You knew? You followed me every time?” Zhang Qiang was surprised.
“Silly girl, of course I knew! If it wasn’t for me following you, would I let you go out and play so late at night?” Pang Deyou smiled.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?” Zhang Qiang asked.
“Well, I didn’t want to tell you because I saw you getting addicted to playing the hero. Besides, with me around, there’s no danger. You can go ahead and uphold justice, eliminate violence and promote kindness with peace of mind.”
“You! You’re annoying! You followed me and kept it from me! You’re annoying!” Zhang Qiang felt a little embarrassed after hearing Pang Deyou’s words, and she couldn’t help but slap his hand and look angry and ashamed.
“I’m annoying, I’m annoying. I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Let’s go find Guo Ming first, okay? Treat your head and ankle as soon as possible!”
“Hmph! Hurry up and go!”
At midnight, in the darkness, there are always some sins growing in secret.
In an abandoned factory far from the city, more than twenty people were gathered around a table with some drugs on it. These things passed through their hands and flowed into the city, causing damage to who knows how many underage children and families.
After finishing the count and preparing to leave, they suddenly looked up and saw two figures slowly walking out of the darkness not far away. Both of them were dressed in black, with black baseball caps pulled low and black masks covering their faces.
“What the f*ck? Who are you guys?” The leader of the group asked fiercely, clutching his weapon. “Remember, we are the Midnight Duo!”
