Chapter 116: The Knight's Predicament (Part One)

Chen Fan forced a smile, stepped forward, and greeted, "Still here? What are you wandering around for?"

Wang You turned his head coldly and replied, "Nothing. I just feel that after a full meal, one should walk a bit to aid digestion. Or, finding a couple of corrupt individuals to teach a lesson—that would be excellent as well."

"Oh, well, good luck with that." Chen Fan swallowed hard and wiped the grease from his lips with one hand. This guy was on the verge of losing his mind. Unable to think of a way to deal with him, he decided to keep his distance, lest he be crushed by the iron fist of justice.

"Help! The urban management officers are beating someone!"

A cry rang out from somewhere unknown, and the crowd that had been strolling idly on the street quickly and systematically converged in one direction.

Looking at the dense throng of people in the distance, Chen Fan said with disdain, "Seriously, what is there to gawk at? This sort of thing is on TV all the time; I’ve been watching it for over a decade. How are they not tired of it yet?"

...

"Excuse me, let me through. My wallet dropped around here. Hey, you’re stepping on it—could you lift your foot? Thanks."

Chen Fan repeated this mantra as he pushed through the crowded masses, gradually inching toward the center of the circle. Thanks to his height, he didn't need to be in the very front; he just had to stand on his tiptoes to see everything clearly.

"Let’s see if there’s going to be a violent, bloody conflict. I should find a better spot; there are too many people here." Clutching his phone, Chen Fan looked for the perfect vantage point for a photo.

"Didn't you just say you looked down on people like this? Why have you joined the spectators yourself?"

It was noisy, so even if the Elder spoke, no one would notice. After being mocked, Chen Fan retorted dismissively, "You don't understand. I'm performing a retrieval mission. Wang You must be around here somewhere, and perhaps this is the opportunity I need."

"Oh, I hope things go as you say," the Elder replied with reluctant flattery.

Chen Fan squeezed further ahead and raised his phone, ready to capture the highlights.

The shouting vendor was an elderly man with graying temples. He was pushing a roasted sweet potato cart and was currently in a standoff with an urban management officer. As the crowd gathered in layer upon layer, neither of the two seemed able to leave.

"That's strange. Don't enforcement officers usually work in teams? Why is he the only one here?" Chen Fan looked inside and outside the ring; indeed, there were no other officers around.

"Sir, you are occupying a motor vehicle lane illegally. According to the relevant regulations of the Public Security Administration Punishments Law, I am now impounding your business equipment. Please cooperate with our work."

The officer was a young man. Judging by his youthful face, he couldn't have been on the job for more than three years. Chen Fan glanced sideways and noticed that Wang You was also among the spectators.

"Is it easy for me to come out here and sell roasted sweet potatoes? Doesn't everyone sell them this way? Why are you only targeting me? Are you bullying an old man because I walk slowly?" The old man clung to his pushcart, preventing the young man from getting close, and kept shouting to the onlookers, "Tell me, is this fair? How can you bully an old man like this? He even tried to hit me just a moment ago. Thank goodness you all arrived quickly."

The young man tried desperately to defend himself: "Sir, please don't lie. I only touched you just now; how did that turn into 'beating and shoving' in your words?"

"Oh, my! Is this an old man playing the victim to extort money?" Chen Fan didn't care who was right or wrong; he only cared about whether something explosive was about to happen.

"You grabbed my wrist! And you tell me that’s not 'beating'?" The old man raised his hands and began to act it out vividly. "Everyone, look closely! This is how he grabbed me. Isn't this just plain bullying?"

"That posture is what you’d use to walk a dog. This old guy is putting on an Oscar-worthy performance," Chen Fan muttered.

Murmurs rose from all sides. The young officer was clearly a novice; he had never seen such a scene and was suddenly at a loss. Seeing this, the old man hurriedly pulled his cart backward, shouting, "Please, everyone, make way! Give me a path to survive! Thank you all!"

"Hey! Don't run!"

The young man snapped out of his daze and reacted, but by the time he caught up, the vendor had reached the edge of the circle. Unfortunately, pushing the cart meant he couldn't run fast, and he was blocked again.

The crowd began to disperse slightly, and the remaining onlookers formed a new, though less dense, circle. Chen Fan glanced over; Wang You was still in the throng.

"I'm curious: who will this guy drop his iron fist of justice on?" Chen Fan said to himself.

The Elder seized the opportunity to suggest, "Why don't you go up and ask? You could easily trick that simpleton into saying what you want."

Chen Fan refused repeatedly. "No, no. I could tell he was losing his mind when we were eating tonight. It’s safer to watch from afar. If he were really that easy to trick, he would’ve fallen for it during the day."

...

"Hey, is this old man a social parasite?" Chen Fan nudged Wang You with his elbow.

Wang You turned, his gaze burning like a torch. "He is not a social parasite. He is a destroyer of order. He is even more detestable than a social parasite."

"Oh, you certainly have a rich vocabulary for describing 'sinister forces,' hahaha." Chen Fan gave a strained laugh and didn't ask further.

"You ended up going over anyway, you hypocrite," the Elder said faintly.

Chen Fan poked the bridge of his nose, pretending he was wearing a pair of glasses. "I feel that my 'idiot aura' can still protect me. The retrieval mission is urgent; how could I slack off?"

"Very good. I like such hypocrisy," the Elder encouraged.

"Threatening me with 'distortion, deformation, and explosion' every day—one of these days, I'll send you to the sky," Chen Fan grumbled intermittently, fearing that the Elder would see through his true thoughts.

Watching the scene where everyone was all talk and no action, a flash of inspiration struck Chen Fan, and he suddenly had a bold idea.

"Hey, do you want to go up and deliver 'justice' to the bad guy?" Chen Fan smiled deviously.

Wang You nodded and said, "Naturally, I will not let it pass. If that young man does not act, I shall do it for him."

Chen Fan couldn't help but chuckle. The young man had already said he was only impounding the equipment; as for the person, he was obviously going to be fine.

Wang You said with dissatisfaction, "What are you laughing at? Do you think my approach is problematic? Let me tell you, I believe the current rules and regulations are deeply flawed. They are too tolerant of evil. I suspect that this kind of inaction—this 'condoning of evil'—is what causes our society to slide, step by step, from the high slope of justice into the abyss of corruption and depravity."

Chen Fan didn't want to argue with him; after all, this rigid knight would never listen and would only keep trying to brainwash him with his own concepts.

Most importantly, the knight wouldn't be around for much longer anyway. Chen Fan planned to place a shackle on this "Knight of Justice"—an inescapable moral shackle.

Chen Fan took a deep breath and asked calmly, "What is chivalry?"