Back inside the police station, the old officer was no longer surprised to see Qiao An. He just pulled some bread from his drawer with a fond look.
"Miss Qiao, come over here. My wife specially told me to prepare this for you. She heard you often don't get enough to eat and felt terrible about it. She bought a bunch of things for me to keep in my drawer so you can take them home when you come by."
Knowing the routine all too well, a deeply moved Qiao An trotted over to the old officer's side.
"I'm sorry to make your wife worry. Things have been much better for me lately. I can even earn a little money from livestreaming. I even ate meat yesterday, really! Look, I also bought a lot of little sausages. I'm the one feeding all the stray cats and dogs in the neighborhood."
Watching the two of them share details about their lives, you'd think Qiao An was the old officer's own daughter.
"You're just too kind-hearted, you kid. You earn a little money through hard work, and you still spend it feeding stray animals."
The old officer packed all the bread, snacks, and fruit from the drawer into a bag and stuffed it into Qiao An's hands, unable to resist adding, "If you ever don't have food, just come find your Uncle. My salary isn't high, but we'll never be short on a meal for you at home."
Standing behind Qiao An with a cold expression, Mu Zimo's eyelid twitched. 'Looking at Qiao An's small, malnourished frame, anyone would think she was starving. They'd never guess she's broke because she eats too much. She can easily spend hundreds on breakfast alone.'
"Thank you, Uncle. When I make more money, I'll treat you to a meal too. Please don't go to the trouble of preparing things for me anymore. And please say hi to your wife for me. If she likes any kind of pets, let me know. I can catch a well-behaved and clever one for her. Animals really like me."
'Forget cats and dogs,' Qiao An thought. 'I could even catch her a tiger or a black bear. And if it didn't behave, I could beat it until it was docile and eager to please.'
The old officer roared with laughter at Qiao An's words. If his own rotten kid hadn't already gotten married, he would've been tempted to trick Qiao An into coming home to be his daughter-in-law.
Mu Zimo was about to hurry Qiao An along, but before he could speak, Xie Shan pushed him aside. Xie Shan was holding all sorts of delicious treats, which he laid out on the desk as if presenting treasures.
"Hey, little guy, come on! Pick whatever you like to eat. All you have to do is let me pet your tail…"
Squatting by the desk with his face in his hands, Xie Shan stared intently at the Little Fox. He watched it flick its tail arrogantly and let out a few soft whimpers, refusing to leave Qiao An's side.
"Sister, this human is so weird. Why does he want to touch my tail?" Qiao An reached out and ruffled the Little Fox's head, chuckling. "He really likes you, and he's a kind human. If you're okay with it, let him pet your tail. If you don't like it, just refuse."
Qiao An left the choice to the Little Fox. It circled the various tasty treats, and in the end, it abandoned its pride and hooked its big, fluffy tail around Xie Shan's wrist.
Overjoyed, Xie Shan carefully stroked the Little Fox's tail with his palm, a blissful grin spreading across his face. 'It feels amazing! This is so fun!'
Just then, the party-pooper Mu Zimo tapped on the desk and urged, "Let's start taking the statement. The other party has been sent to the hospital and has regained consciousness. Send someone over there to ask about the situation."
Mu Zimo reeled in one fluffy-obsessed officer, and Xie Shan went back to work with a look of great reluctance.
Qiao An, on the other hand, hugged the Little Fox and sat down in the interrogation room again, putting on her professional silly smile in an attempt to bluff her way through.
"I just kicked him once, and he passed out. I tied him up, and because I was afraid he'd wake up and cause more trouble, I hung him from a tree. I absolutely didn't do anything else, I swear!"
The first half of her story was corroborated by the livestream playback. Mu Zimo watched the video of Qiao An dodging the attack from an incredible angle with practiced ease.
"Qiao An, I believe you're innocent, that it was self-defense. But I don't believe everything…"
Mu Zimo's long, strong fingers tapped incessantly on the desk. An invisible pressure washed over the room, causing Qiao An's silly smile to slowly fade.
"Your awareness is extremely high, far beyond that of an ordinary person. You could explain that away as sharp intuition. But that backbend you did, the force you used to push off that broken wall—those can't possibly be innate abilities, can they?"
This question actually stunned Qiao An. Her real abilities weren't these things, but something hidden much deeper.
"So what? Because I've trained? Because I have the ability to protect myself? Have I done anything wrong? Me digging up those things on my stream was just a coincidence. I'm definitely not the killer. And even if I did it on purpose, it was only because I wanted those poor people to be found. Reporting a crime—isn't that what a good person is supposed to do?"
"That being the case, I'm a good person, a responsible citizen. When I was attacked, was I not supposed to fight back? Was I supposed to wait for a maniac like that to beat me half to death while I waited for someone to come save me?"
Her professional silly smile gone, Qiao An's calm eyes were still clear, but not foolish. Her black pupils glittered like jewels before Mu Zimo.
"I just want to be an ordinary person, a good person full of love. When I encounter evil, I will still come to the police. Even if it brings me trouble, I'm willing to explain myself over and over. I don't mind the trouble, because every time I come here, there are people who worry about whether I've had enough to eat. Because you all show me kindness, I want to give that kindness back to everyone, even if it's just in my own small way."
Qiao An met Mu Zimo's scrutinizing gaze without flinching or looking away. Her conscience was clear, so she was naturally fearless.
'In my past life, I was an infamous interstellar fugitive who had slaughtered countless nobles on behalf of the Beast Clan. But I never regretted it, and in the end, I willingly self-destructed. I never expected to be reborn on Blue Star.'
'Here, there's a powerful country, strict laws, law-abiding citizens, and public servants who work tirelessly to maintain this beautiful and harmonious way of life.'
'This kind of peaceful and tranquil life was always what I dreamed of. I don't want to destroy it. But I still can't stand to see poor little animals being bullied. My inner sense of justice has never changed.'
Faced with this side of Qiao An, Mu Zimo, who was always so masterful when interrogating criminals, was speechless for the first time.
'Yes, it seems Qiao An hasn't done anything wrong,' he thought. 'But there are still a thousand threads of this mystery tangled before my eyes, none of them unraveled. All the clues seem to point to Qiao An, and yet they also seem to have nothing to do with her at all.'
"I'm sorry. I was too harsh just now. You're absolutely right. When faced with a criminal, we have a duty to report them and bravely stand up to identify them."
Mu Zimo's attitude in admitting his mistake was excellent; he immediately stood up and bowed in apology.
But the suspicion in his heart didn't dissipate. 'That body in the abandoned scrapyard… who left those wounds? Besides these cats and dogs, there don't seem to be any other large, fierce beasts around Qiao An. What's more, this is the middle of the city.'