A Life of Attributes Starting as a Nobleman in the Republic of China Era

"What does it matter to us if something is missing?" Chen Che said coldly. "The bag was given to me by that thief. I didn't even touch it and returned it to you on the spot."

"You say you didn't touch her, and that's it?" Another foreigner rubbed his wrist, which Chen Che had twisted painfully, and said viciously, "You Chinese are the best at petty theft; maybe you're all in cahoots!"

Chen Che was annoyed by this, snorted, and pulled Su Yanqing away.

The person blocking his way saw Chen Che turn around and threw a punch at his face, startling Su Yanqing into crying out, "Ouch!"

Although the punch was powerful and heavy, it was direct and without any variation. Chen Che anticipated the attack, and gently raised his right hand to support the opponent's elbow joint.

The straight punch that was originally coming straight at him turned into a hook punch as Chen Che lifted him up, grazing Chen Che's nose and shooting straight into the sky.

The man's armpits were wide open, and Chen Che, not wanting to cause any more trouble, simply gave him a light push on the ribs.

Although it was just a "light" push for Chen Che, the man still groaned, clutching his ribs, and staggered back several steps with the added force of 4.7.

As soon as Chen Che made his move, the tall foreigner leading the group quickly took a few steps back to create distance, shouting a few menacing words in French before drawing a Browning M1900 pistol from his waist.

With a "click," a bullet was chambered, and the dark muzzle was aimed at Chen Che.

Hiding behind Chen Che, Su Yanqing turned pale and cried out, "Don't move! They're police officers from the foreign concession!"

Chen Che was stunned for a moment. After weighing the pros and cons in his mind, he had no choice but to slowly raise his hands.

Another officer pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his waist, and while staring at Chen Che, he handcuffed his hands while cursing.

The police officer who had just thrown a punch stepped forward and kicked Chen Che in the back of the knee where his thigh and calf met. Chen Che couldn't withstand the force, lost his balance, and knelt on one knee.

"This is my business, it has nothing to do with her," Chen Che calmly said to the tall police officer in charge.

Su Yanqing clutched her chest and stood in front of Chen Che.

Chen Che couldn't understand what she was saying, but he saw her sometimes pointing to the small building where she lived, and sometimes pointing to herself, arguing fiercely with the three foreigners, her eyes red with anxiety.

Shortly after, Su Yanqing squatted down next to Chen Che and said, "They're going to take you back to the police station. Don't worry, it'll only be one night. I'll bring people to pick you up first thing in the morning."

Chen Che said in a low voice, "Go to the Peace Hotel and find Chen San, then find Uncle Qian."

Su Yanqing bit her lower lip and nodded.

Two foreigners stepped forward, grabbed Chen Che, and escorted him to the police station, one on each side.

Chen Che knew he was innocent, so he wasn't worried. He just felt wronged and couldn't explain himself, which made him feel extremely aggrieved.

Walking unsteadily to the corner of Avenue Joffre and Rue Gros, Chen Che saw an L-shaped, connected building. It was three stories high along Avenue Joffre and four stories high along Rue Gros. It had a red brick exterior, a symmetrical facade, and colonnades on each floor. It was the former French Concession Avenue Joffre Police Station.

Pushing open the wooden door, there was a tall wooden duty desk in the lobby, where a Chinese police officer in uniform helped Chen Che with a simple information registration.

Further down the corridor were several temporary detention cells. The heavy iron doors and narrow windows let in dim light.

The lead officer opened the door to a detention cell and shoved Chen Che inside.

The iron gate slammed shut behind him with a thud, shutting out the laughter and jeers of the crowd.

This is a world completely isolated from the outside world, with four walls made of hard blue bricks.

The ground was hard cement. A long, low cement platform was built against one side of the wall, covered with a thin, musty-smelling straw mat.

In the corner sat a rusty tin bucket, serving as a makeshift toilet, filling the air with a lingering, foul odor.

A thin figure dressed in a mandarin jacket and cloth shoes was curled up on a straw mat against the wall. The only thing that caught the eye was the thick, straight braid that belonged to the previous dynasty.

Chen Che glanced at his watch; it was almost four o'clock.

At most two hours later, Uncle Qian or Su Yanqing will come to handle it.

He sat on the straw mat, trying to stay as far away from the huddled figure as possible, his fingers tapping lightly on the edge of the cement platform.

The noise outside the detention room grew fainter and fainter. Around four or five in the morning, the snoring of the night shift officers could be faintly heard.

"Young Master Chen." Without a sound, the figure who had been curled up in the corner sat up, one leg crossed and the other stretched out, leaning against the wall. "It's not easy to see you. I had no choice but to resort to this tactic, please forgive me."

Chen Che felt a chill and stopped tapping.

He observed the other person discreetly.

The man's face was hidden in the shadows, and his thin figure went unnoticed. However, his eyes shone brightly with a pale green light, like two floating green lanterns in the darkness.

"Who are you?" Chen Che remained seated, but his muscles were already tense, ready to deal with any unexpected situation.

Although his hands were cuffed, these ordinary handcuffs were nothing more than slightly sturdier wires in the face of Chen Che's strength of 4.7.

The man smiled slightly, revealing a set of neat white teeth: "My surname is Yu, and my given name is Yu Ban."

"Yu Ban?" Chen Che frowned, having no recollection of it. "That's an interesting name."

"The moon wanes after it is full, so let's take the character 'half' for good fortune," Yu Ban said slowly. "Young Master, your muscles are taut, yet you speak without any hesitation, and your divine light is restrained. It seems you have already broken through the 'blood exchange' stage?"

"Mr. Yu, you've gone to all this trouble, surely not just to say a few words of praise?" Chen Che asked calmly, but in his mind he was quickly calculating the other party's intentions.

"Alright." Yu Ban changed his sitting posture, moving closer to Chen Che. "Young Master Chen is straightforward, so I won't hold back either."

"The four great families of Jinling are expanding eastward into Shanghai, and their ambitions certainly extend far beyond just a few cargo ships and trading posts," Yu Ban said in a low voice. "I can lend Young Master Chen a hand."

"Oh?" Chen Che said casually, "May I ask which side you have backing, sir?"

Yu Ban waved his hand: "Young Master Chen will naturally find out in the future. However, I can guarantee that it will be more than enough to help Young Master Chen restrain the Green Gang."

They knew about the Green Gang, so they were definitely prepared.

Chen Che chuckled and said, "The four major families and the Green Gang are interdependent. They do business together and make money together. How could there be any talk of 'controlling' them?"

"Please forgive me if this is unpleasant to hear, young master. Among the major powers in Shanghai, the Green Gang is just one of them. If the four major families want to gain a foothold in Shanghai, they certainly cannot be tied to just one banner." Yu Ban smiled slightly, "Young Master Chen surely understands this principle."

What Yu Ban was talking about was the most important thing Chen Che was thinking about, and of course he understood.