“Confirm the suspect’s death!”
Two patrol officers, summoning their courage, approached, checked the body, and immediately shouted.
“Phew… finally dead.”
Beyond the police cordon, Wu Ming also overheard some casual conversation between other patrol officers.
“At first, dealing with a B-rank wanted criminal, the chief requested reinforcements from headquarters and even asked for the Arrow Unit’s deployment. I thought it was an overreaction, but now it seems the chief was actually very far-sighted!”
A younger officer said to his companion, glancing at Jack’s corpse being carried away on a stretcher, his face showing obvious hatred: “This guy killed and injured so many of our comrades. A single bullet was too lenient for him!”
An older patrol officer, meanwhile, was blowing regular smoke rings, seemingly lost in some memory: “You’re new here and don’t know yet. The wanted criminals on the most-wanted list all have formidable combat abilities. This Two-Gun Jack was obviously one of the best among them. If he had escaped this time, I think he would deserve to be upgraded to A-rank…”
Click! Click!
On another side, a group of paparazzi suddenly appeared, holding up spotlights, with dazzling flashes of light and smoke constantly flickering.
“Damn it, Yorff, quickly stop them!”
Several burly patrol officers immediately formed a human wall and began dispersing the crowd.
Some gathered civilians gradually dispersed. After a while, James seemed to finally regain his senses: “That was close! Too close!”
Watching the ambulance arrive and carry away the injured, cold sweat continued to pour from his forehead: “If not for Steven, I would still be inside and might have been injured by mistake… Right! Steven!!!”
He squatted down, anxiously looking at Wu Ming: “How are you? Is your stomach still hurting?”
“No pain anymore!”
Wu Ming put on a terrified expression: “It’s just so scary here. Are you still going to get money from the bank?”
“Get money?!”
James looked at the already cordoned-off bank and bitterly laughed: “Not today, definitely. Let’s go to another bank!”
The two ran to another bank. Perhaps because they had received news, this bank had suddenly become much busier, with the number of guards doubled, scrutinizing every customer with alert eyes.
It was not until late at night that James finally took Wu Ming back home.
“Dear, why are you so late?”
Mrs. Sterling complained: “And where are the salt and bread I asked you to bring?”
“Sorry, I forgot!”
James scratched his head, then exaggeratedly said: “Dear, you won’t believe it. Today I encountered a major bank robbery…”
Wu Ming watched James describe the day’s events in an extremely exaggerated manner, realizing for the first time that he had a talent for storytelling.
“You couldn’t see it, but just as Two-Gun Jack was about to act, I grabbed little Steven and rushed out like the wind. At the bank’s entrance, there were also reporters with cameras. If I’m lucky, maybe you’ll see my heroic figure on tomorrow’s front page!”
James said proudly, then turned to Wu Ming: “Steven, wasn’t it like that?”
“Yeah!”
Wu Ming, leaning on the table, rolled his eyes helplessly.
However, Brandon and Angelina seemed to really like this story. Perhaps they thought it was some kind of hero novel, and they clapped their hands excitedly: “Dad fights the bad guys! Yay!”
“Alright, let’s eat.”
However, seeing his wife’s ambiguous smile, James blushed, knowing she had probably already guessed the truth. He sat down and chuckled awkwardly.
Dinner was oat bread, a salted fish, and a bowl of vegetable soup.
Wu Ming ate one bite after another, still shocked by what he had seen today.
It was the first time he had seen an extraordinary being, yet it was so easily brought down by the national system, which gave him a great shock.
“Armored airships, steam engines, patrol officers equipped with revolvers, and snipers…”
He recalled the scenes he had seen since birth, and a powerful image of a national machine gradually emerged in his mind.
Previously, his contempt for the Purple Jasmine Federation’s declaration of war quickly disappeared.
“That’s right… After all, the Purple Jasmine Federation is also a large country. In the struggle between two nations, even if one side is slightly weaker, it is still a colossus from an individual’s perspective…”
Wu Ming secretly warned himself that in this world, he should not underestimate the power of any nation: “Moreover, the Golden Oak Kingdom has not yet been defeated. The final result was the Purple Jasmine Federation’s voluntary retreat and the signing of a peace treaty. Without going into the specific process, at least this indicates that the Kingdom was not at a disadvantage.”
Thinking again about when he was born, whether it was himself or his younger brothers and sisters, patrol officers came to register their information, which was said to be entered into the headquarters’ differential engine and punch-card computer. Wu Ming felt even more alarmed.
Modern social surveillance had formed an omnipresent net. As long as one had contact with this society, one would inevitably leave information, which would be captured by the national machine behind the scenes.
“It seems some plans need to be revised, and I also need to be more low-key!”
Today, this extraordinary individual’s death served as a warning to Wu Ming.
…
Time flew, and before we knew it, five years had passed.
Wu Ming was now ten years old, and he looked about the same as an average fourteen- or fifteen-year-old child, with a mature demeanor.
St. George Elementary School.
After school, he rarely did not leave directly, but instead went with Vidi and several other friends to the garden on campus, slowly swinging on the swings.
“The final exams are coming soon… Goodness, Steven, you’re the best at studying. You must save me!”
Vidi said in an exaggerated tone.
He cried out dramatically, as if he would die if Wu Ming didn’t help him, being extremely persistent.
“You know what, if you really can’t handle it, why don’t you just have your dad pay some money to transfer you to a private school?”
Wu Ming rolled his eyes.
But he also knew that aside from Vidi’s penchant for pranks, his nature wasn’t bad.
“Impossible! Although my family has some money, there are also many younger siblings. Dad definitely won’t agree. And if Mom finds out I failed my exams, can’t advance to the middle school division, and have to repeat a grade, she’ll kill me…”
Vidi cried out in despair, while Wu Ming and the other children looked at him sympathetically.
Unlike their families, where at least one parent would protect them, Vidi’s parents were rare in their consistent attitude toward child-rearing, as Vidi put it, “definitely not getting a spanking from just one person.”
“The middle school division… I heard they teach more things there, and there’s more free time, plus various clubs…”
A freckled boy beside them said with a wistful tone: “We must pass the final exams to advance to the middle school division. Otherwise, we’ll have to repeat the year. I don’t want to repeat!”
Studying an extra year meant spending an extra year’s tuition, which was no small sum for any family below the aristocracy.
“So, after middle school, what are your plans, Steven? Are you going to apply to the police academy, become a lawyer, or join the military?”
A girl with braids beside them asked.
Her name was Alice. She was very bold in character and liked to play with boys. Girls tend to mature earlier, and she had already developed a subtle awareness, harboring a strong fondness for the gentle-tempered and academically excellent Steven.
“As for me?”
Wu Ming scratched his head in frustration: “I don’t know… I’ll just finish middle school first and get my diploma. After all, with that, even if I don’t go to college, I can find a decent job!”
“Same here!”
His words seemed to resonate. Not only did Alice nod in agreement, but the freckled boy Philip also chimed in: “I’ve heard that the college entrance exams are dozens of times harder than the middle school graduation exams. Unless you’re a real genius among the commoners, you can’t possibly pass. Whereas students from aristocratic schools have much lower exam difficulty and even have reserved spots for direct admission!”
“Exactly!”
Vidi nodded vigorously, earning eye-rolls from the other three.
“Don’t look at me like that. Even though my older brother gets scholarships every year at the aristocratic school, he might not necessarily get a reserved spot. Those are privileges only for the real elite!”
Vidi said, also feeling gloomy, and he lay on the ground, poking at the dirt.
Clearly, even for someone from a wealthy family like his, the true upper echelon was still somewhat out of reach.
“Hey hey…”
Seeing the small group’s atmosphere becoming somewhat low, Wu Ming immediately clapped his hands: “We’re still just ten-year-old kids. Isn’t it a bit too early for us to be discussing these things?”
In this world, human quality was generally high, and development was early. Plus, those sent to school were all elites. Unconsciously, they had already forgotten that they were still children and had begun thinking about the future like adults, which naturally brought only heaviness.
“That’s right. Let’s talk about something happy!”
Vidi proudly raised his hand: “I’ve got four tickets to the Grand Theater… I heard there’s going to be a performance by a top star there next month!”
He winked mischievously: “As long as I can pass the exam, we’ll all go together. How about that?”
“Steven…”
Alice and Philip exchanged glances and both tugged at his sleeve in a coquettish manner.
“Alright, alright, I promise you then…”
Honestly, being begged by a little girl was one thing, but being begged by a little boy like that—Wu Ming’s skin crawled.
“Vidi, the final exams will have assigned seating. That part is up to you to handle. During the exam, I’ll only create opportunities for you. Whether you can seize them or not depends on yourself. Got it?”
He gave a few hints in the tone of someone who had been through it before, and Vidi’s eyes immediately lit up, as if he had discovered a golden path.
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