Special Police Base.
Gordon Gao asked cautiously, "Minister, is it really okay for us to do this? Will we end up offending the Thunder Regiment?"
Ian Song replied calmly, "It's fine. The Thunder Regiment barged into Mesa City to arrest people, made a huge commotion, and didn't even bother to notify me. Do they really think the Special Police in Mesa City are invisible?"
"But what if the higher-ups decide to investigate?" Gordon's eyes flashed with worry.
Ian glanced at Gordon and said, "Relax. Even if the higher-ups do investigate, they'll only come after me. You won't get dragged into it."
Gordon hurriedly explained, "Minister, that's not what I meant!"
Bang!
Just then, the door to Ian's office was kicked open. The kicker was a middle-aged man, followed by a group of men in black. Ian's secretary, Leo Liao, stood nearby, looking aggrieved as he explained under Ian's gaze, "Minister, this guy insisted on barging in. I couldn't stop him."
Ian waved his hand. "You can leave now. This doesn't concern you."
"Yes, sir!" Leo Liao turned and left, while the middle-aged man swaggered into Ian's office with his men in black.
"Who are you?" Ian asked, looking at the middle-aged man in the lead.
"My name is Leo Li, captain of the Thunder Regiment Ninth Squad!" the middle-aged man declared proudly.
"Isn't the captain of the Ninth Squad Gavin Wu, Director Wu?" Ian asked with some doubt.
Leo Li smirked, "Gavin Wu was incompetent and has already been removed from his post. Now I'm in charge!"
"Ah, what a pity! Director Wu was at least a polite man, and now he's been dismissed." Ian said with a mock sigh.
"Lu, what do you mean by that?" Leo Li's face darkened as he pointed at Ian and demanded.
Ian smiled playfully, "Exactly what you think it means."
"Are you fucking looking for trouble?"
A flash of murderous intent passed through Leo Li's eyes as he suddenly drew a Laser Cannon and aimed it at Ian. His men also pulled out Laser Pistols, pointing them at Ian and Gordon.
Facing the dark muzzles, Ian remained unfazed and even joked, "Captain Li, are you really planning to kill me? Even though you're with the Thunder Regiment, you don't have the authority to kill a Special Police minister. So you might want to put those things away before they accidentally go off and hurt yourselves!"
Provoked by Ian's words, the murderous intent in Leo Li's eyes surged. But he knew Ian was right—he really didn't have the authority to shoot a Special Police minister.
Suddenly, Leo's gaze shifted. He strode toward Ian and swung a slap at his face. If he couldn't kill him, giving him some pain was still fair game.
Ian leaned back slightly and easily dodged the slap.
"Don't move, or I'll beat you to death!" Leo Li tightened his grip on the Laser Cannon and threatened.
As soon as he finished speaking, Leo swung another slap toward Ian's face.
But the expected sound never came—Leo had suddenly turned into a puppet.
Ian reached out and took the Laser Cannon from Leo's hands, then beckoned to one of the Thunder Regiment operatives.
The operative walked over like a puppet as well.
"Slap him!"
Ian pointed at Leo Li as he spoke.
Smack!
Five bright red finger marks instantly appeared on Leo Li's face.
"Keep going. Don't stop unless I say so!"
After a while, Ian released Leo Li from hypnosis, just as another slap was coming his way.
Smack!
Leo backhanded his own subordinate, sending him flying, but then realized both sides of his face hurt like hell.
He reached up and found his cheeks were grotesquely swollen.
"What the hell happened?"
Leo might have a violent temper, but he wasn't stupid. He quickly figured out what had happened, glaring at Ian with venom. "You hypnotized me, didn't you?"
"What do you think?" Ian replied with a smile.
"I'm going to kill you!"
Leo lunged as if to attack, but Ian calmly raised the Laser Cannon. "Don't be impulsive. If I could hypnotize you once, I can do it again. Last time I just made you eat a few dozen slaps, but next time, it might be much worse!"
Ian's words made Leo's heart clench. He hadn't even had a chance to react before he was hypnotized—clearly, Lu's hypnosis is terrifyingly strong.
If he got hypnotized again, he'd be completely at Ian's mercy!
"Take it! Get out!"
Ian tossed the Laser Cannon back to Leo Li.
Leo caught the Laser Cannon, shot Ian a deep look, and then led his men out of Ian's office.
Outside the office building, Sean Feng was standing with his team.
When he saw Leo Li come out with a bruised, swollen face, Sean couldn't help laughing. "Yo, who's this pig-head? Why does he look just like our captain?"
Hearing Sean's ridicule, Leo Li nearly exploded with rage, but he didn't talk back and just led his people past Sean's group.
"Interesting!"
Watching Leo slink away, a meaningful smile appeared on Sean's face.
That evening, Ian got off work and returned to his villa, only to find an extra guest inside.
"Brother Tang, you're here!"
Ian greeted him with a smile.
"Sorry for coming uninvited, Brother Lu," Victor Tang said with a cupped fist, though his eyes were complicated.
"Did you come here for Stone Three this time?" Ian sat down on the sofa and gestured for Victor to sit as well.
Victor sat down across from Ian, forcing a weak smile. "Brother Lu, you really do see through everything! I wonder if you could let him go for my sake?"
Ian replied, "I'm sure you know, Stone Three is someone I snatched from the Thunder Regiment. I haven't handed him over yet, but sooner or later, they'll get him with their methods. If I release him now, the Thunder Regiment will definitely come after me. So, I can't help you this time."
Victor's brows furrowed. "You really can't let him go?"
"Sorry, Brother Tang, I really can't help you!" Ian shook his head apologetically.
"Forgive me, Brother Lu. I must offend you!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Victor thrust a finger at Ian's chest.
Ian seemed to have anticipated this and raised his own finger to meet the strike.
Pop!
Their fingers collided in mid-air, and Victor's body shuddered, surprise flashing across his face. He immediately followed up with three palm strikes.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ian matched him with three palms of his own, blasting Victor backward until he crashed down at the front of the villa hall.
Victor stared at Ian in shock and said, "I didn't expect you to be such a master. You really hide your strength well!"
"So what?" Ian snorted coldly. "Compared to your heartless and faithless ways, my hidden cultivation is nothing!"