On the television screen, the scene of Chen Yeliang flinging Lan Sixi onto the air mattress was playing out.
Judging from the angle of the camera, it could be seen that one of the onlookers who was gawking at that time had recorded this valuable footage.
Because the entire video only lasted for ten odd seconds, it was being shown on loop endlessly.
Before the TV host opened her mouth, the footage had already been replayed 8 times!
Chen Yeliang watched his most heroic moment being replayed continuously. He rubbed his nose in embarrassment and switched to the sports channel.
The sound of the television interrupted the conversation between Lan Sixi and her father. They too watched the video several times.
Although Lan Penghao had already heard what happened, he was still shocked to see it with his own eyes!
He did not expect that this student in front of him would actually risk his life to save Lan Sixi. The decisiveness, swiftness, and quick-wittedness in that act of rescue was something that he himself, a police officer for twenty years, could not measure up to!
Lan Penghao sized up Chen Yeliang again, his eyes full of admirable respect!
He turned to face Chen Yeliang. "Chen, your agility is really amazing! Many of our colleagues at the police station cannot hold a candle to you!"
"Deputy… Uncle Lan, that would be an exaggeration!" Chen Yeliang said humbly.
"The young should proudly show off their abilities. There's no need to conceal!" Lan Penghao no longer treated Chen Yeliang as an outsider. He lowered his voice and asked, "You're so skillful. Are you really just an ordinary undergraduate?"
It was perhaps a habit grown from years of police work, Lan Penghao's words were filled with curiosity and probing.
Chen Yeliang laughed uneasily. "It's just an amateur's hobby…"
He was slightly startled. As one would expect from the deputy chief of the police department, his perceptiveness was different from ordinary people.
The lecturers and students in the university would focus on praising him for being amazing, but Lan Penghao immediately sensed that there was something abnormal about Chen Yeliang!
He looked around awkwardly, not sure what slip of the tongue had drawn Lan Penghao into an interrogation mode. Chen Yeliang held onto the bedsheets and racked his brain for a suitable reason to explain everything.
He raised his head to look at the television screen. Incidentally, the sports channel was showing highlights of the city parkour activity.
Chen Yeliang blurted out, "I'm a fan of parkour!"
At that moment, the System's voice rang out in his head!
[Ding! Mission Announcement!]
[Mission Details: Skyscraper Parkour, enter the City's Parkour Competition, and win!]
[Mission Reward: Date of death will be delayed by one week!]
[Support Skill: Divine Motor Skills.]
[Support tool: Two Dark Technology unmanned drones.]
"Wow!" Chen Yeliang exclaimed silently. "This system even issues support tools. Not bad at all!"
Lan Penghao saw him staring at the television with a silly smile and a satisfied look on his face. He looked towards the television with curiosity.
The sports action on television was breathtaking. Lan Penghao thought to himself, "Chen is smiling so happily. He must really like this kind of sport."
Although in Lan Penghao's view, parkour was synonymous with danger, he respected other people's preferences.
"This hobby is quite niche, but it's not bad if you can use it to save people at critical moments," Lan Penghao said.
"It's not niche." Chen Yeliang pointed to the small caption on the television screen and said, "The day after tomorrow, our city is holding a parkour competition!"
The row of words was so small that Lan Penghao had to squint to read.
"Xilin City's third City Parkour Competition. Anyone aged 18 and above can participate in the City Parkour Competition. In order to give the contestants the greatest freedom to show off their skills, this competition will be broadcast live on television. The audience will vote to determine the champion…"
Lan Penghao read aloud softly as he scrutinized the text. After reading two more lines, he roughly understood the rules of this competition.
"It's good to participate in the competition, but will your injuries affect your performance?" Lan Penghao asked worriedly.
Chen Yeliang shook his head and said with a smile, "It's just some superficial wounds. They will heal in less than two days, so it's not a big deal."
It was perhaps due to the protection afforded by the system. When Chen Yeliang, who weighed just over 50kg, fell from such a harrowing height onto the tree, the longest wound on his body was only about 3-4cm long.
Most of the wounds on his body were just superficial skin abrasions. They might look horrifying, but most had already scabbed over and would not affect his performance.
Before Lan Penghao had seen the rescue video, he felt it was no big deal for the man to be covered with scratches.
But after having seen the live video footage, he was so shocked that he wondered whether Chen Yeliang was made of steel.
He took hold of Chen Yeliang's arms and checked them over and over again worriedly. After confirming that they were all superficial wounds, he began to relax.
Nonetheless, Chen Yeliang was injured because of Lan Sixi. Lan Penghao still wanted to help him.
He smiled and said to Chen Yeliang, "It's good that you're fine. Speaking of which, which station will be airing this competition? I will help you to canvass for votes!"
Xilin was a first-tier city. There were at least 20,000 staff in the city police station. With the deputy chief's promise, Chen Yeliang's guaranteed votes had already far exceeded that of others!
Chen Yeliang said gratefully, "Thank you, Uncle Lan. It should be on the sports channel."
"No problem. It just so happens that the competition falls on a Saturday. I'll definitely tune in on time!"
All this time, the two men chatted happily about the competition, but never once heard Lan Sixi say anything.
Concerned, Chen Yeliang drew the curtains aside and realized that Lan Sixi had fallen asleep.
She was very pretty to begin with. Right now she was curled up in a ball, smacking her lips from time to time as if she was having a good dream. Her vulnerable sleeping face only added to her cuteness.
Lan Penghao stroked his daughter's hair lovingly and said guiltily, "I'm really not a good father. I didn't notice the changes in my dear Sixi."
"She used to love talking to me about school. I don't know when she stopped talking to me completely."
He let out a long sigh and looked up at Chen Yeliang.
Chen Yeliang blinked and said gravely, "Uncle Lan, I am in no position to comment on such matters. There are some things that I shouldn't say, but I still wish to highlight to you."
"Sixi really needs you."
"To tell you the truth, she jumped off very decisively today. A large part of it was because she was too considerate. She didn't want to cause you any trouble or make you worry."
"I think you should take more time to show that you care for her and let her know that she's very important to you…"
Lan Sixi had mentioned about her family problems before jumping off the building. Chen Yeliang still remembered.
When she met a scoundrel, not only did she not turn to her father for help, she hid on the rooftop and cried quietly. This meant that she was beginning to feel that she was an unnecessary burden.
This was the knot in Lan Sixi's heart that could only be undone by someone close to her.
Chen Yeliang thought that since he had already saved her once, he might as well go all the way and say what was needed.
Lan Penghao did not show any discernible reaction. He just stared silently at Lan Sixi's face and tucked her in again.
After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you, Chen. Thank you for telling me all this."
Then, Lan Penghao lifted his head and gave Chen Yeliang an apologetic smile.
The atmosphere in the room had become a little gloomy. Lan Penghao felt uncomfortable and joked, "How can you see things so clearly? Don't tell me your other hobby involves psychological analysis?"
Chen Yeliang finally understood. Lan Penghao was accustomed to searching for answers with a probing mindset.
As for why he understood so well, it was all because Lan Sixi told him before she jumped off the building.
However, it would be too far-fetched to say that he was well-acquainted with Lan Penghao's family.
Chen Yeliang could only smile at him and say, "There are some things that we know naturally."
The corners of his eyes curved slightly, like an unfathomable expert.
Lan Penghao was a smart man. He knew that there was no point in asking further. He shook his head in relief and did not pursue further.
However, in his heart he understood with mirror-like clarity. This seemingly pathetic youth in front of him was actually a slumbering dormant lion.
The ability that Chen Yeliang had displayed so far was merely the snoring of a dozing lion.
The real show would have to wait until he was fully awakened!
He had a strange premonition that this youth would excel in some field!
Unconsciously, his interest in parkour competitions increased.
Chen Yeliang couldn't tell what was in Lan Penghao's mind as the elder gentleman stared at the television in a daze.
In order to extend his life, he had to secure the parkour competition championship!
He silently opened the system in his mind and ran through his inventory.
Name: Chen Yeliang.
Age: 19
Time of death: 66 hours 52 seconds later.
Skill: 1. Divine Grasping Hand;
2. Sprinting Champion;
3. Divine Motor Skills;
4. Two Dark Technology drones.
Seeing the last item, Chen Yeliang glanced at Lan Penghao surreptitiously. He was itching to take out the two drones for a look when the other man was not paying attention.
He hoped fervently that Lan Penghao had a lot of work to clear and would leave the ward for a moment.
However, after waiting for ten minutes, Lan Penghao still did not move. He sat next to Lan Sixi, like a Buddha statue that could prevail till the end of time.
Chen Yeliang couldn't wait anymore. He smiled at Lan Penghao and said, "Uncle Lan, I'm going to the washroom."
"Go ahead."
Lan Penghao thought that Chen Yeliang was very polite to inform his seniors before leaving the room. His admiration for this young man went up another notch.
There was a separate bathroom in the ward. Chen Yeliang entered and locked the door.
"System, mobilize the drones."
[Understood!]
At the sound of a "ding", two black drones materialized in front of Chen Yeliang.
They were only the size of a palm and could be easily be picked up with two fingers. Other than the main body, the two drones did not come with remote controls.
When they landed on Chen Yeliang's palms, instructions for their operation simultaneously entered his mind.
Due to its advanced technology, the drones were solar-powered. They could concurrently recharge their batteries while in operation. There was no need to worry about cloudy weather as they could self-amass stand-by energy. There was practically no possibility of a power outage.
The best part was that a human operator was not required. They could automatically capture the highlights of the footage by themselves.
It was impossible to produce such a user-friendly gadget with the current technology!
The more Chen Yeliang looked at the two little gadgets, the more he liked them. He simply couldn't bear to part with them!
As for the parkour competition the day after tomorrow, he had already finalized his strategy.
He would put all his energy on the audience's votes. These two drones would come in very useful for that purpose!
At this moment, Lan Penghao gave two knocks outside the bathroom door.
"Chen, the food is here. Come out and eat."
At the mention of "food" Chen Yeliang's stomach started rumbling and growling in protest.
Close to ten dishes of food were waiting for him outside the door! Chen Yeliang quickly put the drones away.
He pushed open the door and the aroma of food immediately assaulted his senses!
Back from his errand, Officer Zhao had even thoughtfully borrowed a table and placed it in front of the hospital bed. There were seven to eight exquisite dishes on it!
Although the food was placed in a simple takeaway box and did not have the magnificence of a hotel's extravagant plate, the attractive presentation did not change at all. Just one look at this artistically-crafted cuisine was enough to make people drool!
"Chen, this Lustrous Glazed Sturgeon Head is Wanhao Hotel's signature dish!"
Lan Penghao handed him a pair of chopsticks and gestured for him to sit down.
Officer Zhao, who did all the legwork for this errand, stayed on as well. He sat down opposite Lan Penghao cautiously.
"Should we wake Sixi up?" Chen Yeliang asked.
"No need," Lan Penghao said, shaking his head. "I'll put aside some food for her. She can eat when she wakes up."
Both men took him at his word and proceeded to eat without reservation.
After a long day, they were ravenous. Now that the delicious and exquisite food was right in front of them, no one could hold back.
"This steamed egg custard is not bad. You're injured, you should eat more protein!"
"Have some steamed food too. You should eat lightly when you're recuperating. Your wounds will heal faster."
In order to express his apology and gratitude, Lan Penghao kept piling food into Chen Yeliang's bowl until it resembled a small hill.
Officer Zhao, who was sitting at the side gnawing on his chopsticks, pursed his lips in envy as he watched the scene play out. From his perspective, it would be a miracle to have his superior pick food for him!
However, he then recalled that Chen Yeliang did risk his life to save Lan Sixi. He was indeed worthy of Deputy Chief Lan's attention.
At the thought of this, he joined in and followed in his superior's footsteps to pile food on Chen Yeliang's bowl.
Within half an hour, all the dishes on the table were swept clean.
As Officer Zhao cleared the table, he said to Chen Yeliang, "On my way back from buying food, I bumped into your attending physician."
Chen Yeliang asked, "What did the doctor say?"
"He said that you're fine. You're stronger than a bull. You can rest here tonight and be discharged tomorrow."
Chen Yeliang nodded and laid in bed staring at the television for a while. He suddenly remembered a very important detail and sat up again.
"Officer Zhao, what happened to Li Tan? He's the guy we caught today."
At the mention of the offender Li Tan's name, Lan Penghao also turned serious and stared at Officer Zhao ominously.
Officer Zhao swallowed nervously and said, "My colleague found a large number of offensive voyeuristic photos in his phone. Basically, they were all photos of body parts without revealing any faces."
"After gathering all the evidence from his cell phone, we found that he took some of the photos secretly himself while others were downloaded from websites."
"Based on such circumstances, he might not receive a severe punishment…"
"As for pressuring Miss Lan until she committed suicide, it stands to reason that Li Tan should be fully responsible. But from the legal point of view…"
Officer Zhao's voice became softer and softer as he spoke.
Although Li Tan's despicable acts were shameful, he would not receive too severe a punishment. He would get five days disciplinary detention at the maximum and then get released. Considering the severity of his actions, the punishment was really too light.
The facial muscles tightened on Lan Penghao's ashen face until it resembled a mask.
He said icily, "I'm the victim's family member. It's not convenient for me to say anything. You know what to do."
Officer Zhao didn't dare to relax and said seriously, "Understood. We will definitely carry out the law impartially and investigate thoroughly."
At the side, Chen Yeliang was gloating and laughing.
Lan Penghao's instruction to Officer Zhao was not about bending the law in their favor, but rather to investigate Li Tan's past misdeeds thoroughly and settle the score with him!
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