Rebirth in a Courtyard: I Am a Little Hunter

"What happened? Did the police snatch a child?" "No way! Did they arrest the wrong person?" "That woman was crying so pitifully..." "But that young man was so quick; he grabbed the child and ran off..."

The crowd began to stir uneasily, and some uninformed travelers looked at Wang Zhenshan and Wei Chen with suspicion.

Wang Zhenshan, experienced as he was, knew he couldn't let the traffickers lead him astray in a situation like this. He stepped forward, blocking the tantrum of the woman and the restless man, his voice booming, drowning out the noise: "Quiet down, everyone! Listen to me! I am Wang Zhenshan, the train police officer on duty! We received a reliable tip and, after a thorough investigation, suspect these two are involved in child trafficking! The child they are holding has been given an unknown drug and is unconscious for a long time! Please remain calm and don't be fooled by their act! Cooperate with the police investigation!"

His voice was firm and powerful, carrying the unique credibility of the public security organs, which instantly quieted the restless crowd.

But the human trafficker wasn't about to give in so easily. Seeing that his incitement was starting to work, he immediately escalated his tactics, pointing at the child in Wei Chen's arms, his voice even more shrill: "Officer! He's lying! My son is just weak and asleep! Look, he's snatched my son away! Who knows if he's a bad guy in disguise! Everyone, be the judge! How can you snatch someone's child like this!"

He then turned to the surrounding passengers, pounding his chest and stamping his feet: "Fellow villagers! Elders! Please say something for us! We just want to take our children home, what have we done to deserve this! Is there no law anymore?!"

Some soft-hearted passengers, especially a few women with children, saw the woman crying pitifully and the man wailing miserably, and saw Wei Chen holding the child and stepping aside in silence, and they couldn't help but waver.

The situation seems to be getting messed up by the human traffickers.

Just then, Wei Chen, who had been calmly observing and holding the child, suddenly spoke. His voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear and calm, like a drop of ice spring water, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

"You're saying he's your son?" Wei Chen looked at the man, his gaze sharp as a knife. "Doesn't he have a small, red mole behind his left ear?"

The man and woman both froze, instinctively exchanging a glance, both seeing bewilderment and panic in each other's eyes. How could they possibly notice such a detail?!

Before they could answer, Wei Chen continued coldly, "No, right? Because behind the child's left ear, it's completely clean, there's nothing there." He gently brushed aside the hair behind the child's ear, showing it to the nearest passengers.

"Then... I must have misremembered! It's the right side! It's on the right!" the man cried out, his mind racing. "There's nothing on the right either." Wei Chen's tone was calm, yet deadly precise. "The child doesn't have any obvious birthmarks or special markings. You don't even know what characteristics your own 'son' has?"

The man and woman were speechless for a moment, their faces turning red.

"And another thing," Wei Chen continued, his tone steady yet relentlessly pressing, "You say the child is sick, lethargic. What's wrong? Which hospital did they see? What did the doctor say? What medication did they prescribe? Where's the prescription or medical record? Show it to me."

"We...we're from the countryside, we didn't go to big hospitals...we just saw a barefoot doctor..." the woman stammered.

"What kind of medicine did the barefoot doctor prescribe that could make a child unconscious for six or seven hours, with weak breathing, a pale face, and no response to any external stimuli?" Wei Chen's voice suddenly turned fierce. "This is clearly some kind of vicious substance like anesthetic or sleeping potion!"

The moment the words "anesthesia" and "sleeping pills" were uttered, the carriage erupted in uproar! This was no longer an ordinary illness; it was clearly the work of unscrupulous gangsters! Many older passengers, who had heard stories of the old society, turned pale.

"You...you're slandering me! What evidence do you have!" The man shouted, his voice trembling with fear, as he tried to make a last-ditch effort to retaliate.

"Evidence?" Wei Chen sneered, kicking the scattered cloth bundles on the ground. "What are these white strips of cloth for? To gag? And these ropes? To tie someone up? And," his gaze flashed like lightning, shooting towards the black bag the man had just dropped, "in that bag, besides your so-called 'luggage,' weren't there also several packets of white powder wrapped in oil paper that smelled slightly sweet? Shouldn't we open them in public and have the clinic staff identify them as residue of ether or chloroform?!"

With each word Wei Chen spoke, the couple's faces paled further. By the time he uttered specific chemical names like "ether" and "chloroform," they were completely ashen-faced, trembling like leaves in the autumn wind, their eyes filled with despair and fear. They never imagined that this seemingly ordinary young man was not only incredibly skilled and observant, but also likely knew the names of the drugs they were using!

The surrounding passengers finally understood! These weren't pitiful parents taking their child to the doctor; they were clearly ruthless and well-prepared human traffickers! They used drugs to abduct the child, and even carried a gag and rope! Their crying and tantrums were all an act to gain sympathy!

"Human traffickers! They really are human traffickers!" "Damn it! Using drugs to abduct children!" "They were just lying to us! We almost fell for their trick!" "Officers! Good job! These utterly depraved scumbags must not be let go!"

The crowd instantly erupted in anger, their earlier doubts and sympathy transforming into raging fury and contempt. Passengers swarmed around, glaring at the couple, their insults ringing out. Several strong young men spontaneously formed a circle around Wang Zhenshan.

Seeing his disguise completely exposed and his lies laid bare in front of everyone, the man knew there was no hope left. Desperate, a surge of ferocious rage welled up within him! He abruptly turned, not towards Wang Zhenshan or Wei Chen, but towards an elderly passenger on the other side of the carriage who appeared rather thin and was angrily accusing him. At the same time, his right hand reached for his waist again—he was attempting to take a hostage!

"Watch out!" Wang Zhenshan shouted sharply, but it was too late to draw his gun!

However, Wei Chen, who had been on high alert, had already mentally scanned the entire area. The instant the man's eyes flashed with a fierce light and his shoulder twitched, he had already anticipated his intentions!

Just as the man lunged forward, Wei Chen moved as well! He didn't rush to intercept him immediately, because there were some passengers in between. With a flick of his wrist, a flat metal fruit knife, usually used for peeling fruit, which he had been holding in his palm, shot out like a dart!

"Whoosh!" A soft sound of air being cut. "Ah!" The man cried out in pain as he reached for his right wrist at his waist, only to find a shallow cut made by the thin blade. Blood gushed out instantly, and the intense pain made him pause, interrupting his movement as he reached for the weapon.

At the same time, Wei Chen quickly handed the child in his arms to a seemingly reliable-looking elderly woman next to him: "Auntie, please hold this for a moment!" Before he finished speaking, he had already shot off like an arrow!

His speed was astonishing; he crossed the gap in the crowd in two steps and was already behind the man the instant he staggered due to the pain in his wrist! His left hand gripped the man's injured right wrist like an iron clamp and twisted it sharply in the opposite direction of the joint!

"Crack!" A sickeningly loud dislocation sound. "Ah—!" The man screamed like a pig being slaughtered, his right hand going completely limp.

Wei Chen didn't stop moving; his right knee slammed into the man's lower back like a hammer blow! "Bang!" A muffled sound accompanied by a painful groan. The man's body arched like a shrimp, the excruciating pain instantly draining all his strength.

With a swift and clean grappling move, Wei Chen pinned the man face down on the cold, greasy carriage floor, pressing his knee against the back of his neck and twisting his hands behind his back. The entire process took less than three seconds. The man, who had just been trying to attack and take hostages, was now completely subdued like a dead dog, only able to groan and gasp in pain.

It all happened so fast, so swiftly, that by the time the man was pinned to the ground, the surrounding passengers hadn't even reacted before erupting into thunderous cheers! "Bravo!" "Beautiful!" "That was amazing!"

However, just when everyone thought the dust had settled and cheered for Wei Chen's skills, another unexpected event occurred!

In the crowd, a thin, middle-aged man who had been standing at the back, wearing a gray cotton-padded coat, and keeping his head down, suddenly flashed a fierce light in his eyes!

He suddenly pulled a sharpened screwdriver from his pocket, and taking advantage of everyone's attention being drawn to the subdued man on the ground and Wei Chen, he roared, "Big brother! I'm here to save you!" He then recklessly stabbed Wei Chen, who was facing away from him and subduing the human trafficker, in the back of the heart!

This sudden attack caught everyone off guard! No one expected that the human traffickers had a third accomplice hiding among the travelers!

"Watch out behind you!" Wang Zhenshan shouted urgently, his eyes wide with fear, but he was too far away and there were crowds in between to help in time!

The surrounding passengers also screamed in terror!

But Wei Chen seemed to have eyes in the back of his head! The instant the gaunt man pulled out his weapon and unleashed his murderous aura, his extraordinary sense of danger, honed through the "Nine Heavens Shooting Sun Technique" and the life-and-death battles in the game world, had already sounded a sharp alarm! Without even turning around, at the critical moment, he pressed the man beneath him and rolled sharply to the side!

"Thud!" The sharp screwdriver grazed the edge of Wei Chen's cotton-padded jacket and pierced deep into the wooden wall panel of the carriage, making a dull sound and sending wood chips flying!

Missing his first attack, the gaunt man paused for a moment, then frantically pulled out a screwdriver and stabbed at Wei Chen, who had rolled to the side, again! His face was contorted with rage, and he looked every bit the desperate criminal!