You're a US police officer, what are you thinking about going back to the East for?

Just as Hayes was trembling with anger and was racking his brains for even harsher words to attack Leon's professionalism...

Lyon's keen peripheral vision caught a glimpse of something unusual in the distance.

Several bread trucks without police license plates were silently gliding over with their headlights off.

That's a news broadcast van.

And judging from the setup, the cameras should already be set up.

Because it was too noisy at the scene, and Hayes had his back to that direction and was in a fit of anger, he didn't notice at all.

"They're here."

Lyon chuckled inwardly; Sterling was indeed a highly efficient woman.

Now that the audience is here, the show has to go all the way.

He had been deliberately stirring things up from the very beginning, but the fire was still not quite there yet. Hayes was just talking, which wasn't exciting enough.

We have to make him do it.

Suddenly, the anger on Lyon's face vanished, replaced by an expression of utter contempt, even a hint of pity.

He looked Hayes up and down, then suddenly chuckled and lowered his voice, speaking in a highly insulting tone that could only be heard by a few people in the front row:

"Alright, Hayes. Stop screaming like a coward."

"Admit it, you're just jealous."

"You're jealous that I did what you didn't dare to do, jealous that I cleaned up this bunch of scum, while you... take taxpayers' money and in the end you still have to rely on me, a second-level patrol officer, to clean up your mess."

"That's why I'm a hero in the West End, and you're just a bureaucrat who writes nothing but scraps of paper."

"What? You want to hit me? Come on."

Leon leaned forward, pointed to his chest, and raised an eyebrow provocatively:

"I'm standing right here, dare you touch me, you coward?"

"you--!!"

As a proud and arrogant senior federal agent, when had Hayes ever suffered such humiliation?

And this happened in front of so many subordinates!

In a moment of impulsiveness, he suddenly reached out and shoved Leon in the chest.

"Fuck your hero!!"

"You lawless bastard! I'm arresting you right now!!"

Hayes' push wasn't very strong.

After all, he was a federal agent in a bespoke suit, not a muscle monster like Jacob.

Logically speaking, with Leon's 15 points of physical strength and bear-like build, let alone a push, even if Hayes ran into him, Leon would most likely not budge.

But this was the moment Lyon had been waiting for.

The instant Hayes's hand touched his chest, Leon felt as if his bones had been removed. He staggered back two steps with the slightest force, a pained expression on his face.

"Ugh..."

He cooperated perfectly by letting out a suppressed cry of pain.

Then, Leon slumped to the side and landed hard on his backside in a muddy puddle, one hand covering the still-bleeding wound on his side. Blood instantly gushed from between his fingers, a horrifying sight.

"Boss!!!"

Mia, standing next to her, reacted incredibly quickly, practically at the level of an Oscar-winning actress.

She let out a piercing scream, lunged forward, and stood in front of Leon, staring intently at Hayes, her voice instantly reaching its loudest point:

"My God! He's bleeding! Can't you see he's wounded?!"

"The FBI killed someone! Federal agents beat up a wounded war hero!!"

"Is this how the Federation behaves? Our team leader almost lost his life trying to stop drug dealers; his intestines were practically spilling out, and you still want to lay a hand on him?!"

Kevin, standing nearby, paused for a moment, but quickly recovered. He threw down his laptop and immediately joined in the wailing, waving his arms to incite the already furious ACU group members around him:

"This is outrageous! They're trying to silence us and steal our credit!"

"I'm going to file a complaint with the Department of Justice; this is premeditated murder!"

Hayes remained frozen in place, still in the position of pushing the person, his mind going blank.

What's going on?

What the hell is going on here?

When that bastard was arguing with me just now, he was full of energy, spitting all over my face, and his spirit was stronger than an ox! He didn't look like an injured person at all.

This is a staged accident! This is absolutely blatant staged accident!

"You...you stop pretending to be dead! Get up!"

Hayes roared in exasperation, about to step forward and pull Leon up to prove that the kid was acting.

Just then.

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

The once pitch-black intersection suddenly became as bright as day.

Countless blinding white flashes exploded in front of Hayes, making his vision go completely white and unable to open his eyes.

"what?"

Hayes' heart skipped a beat.

reporter?

Why are there reporters here?

Shouldn't these fly-like bastards all be filming that epic battle in the North District? Why are they showing up in this godforsaken dead-end alley in some industrial area?!

Before he could figure it out, Hayes finally saw Leon lying in the mud by the intense flash of the cameras.

Upon seeing this, Hayes' face instantly turned even paler than Lyon's.

It was too dark just now, and with the heavy rain and his anger, he didn't pay attention to the details at all.

Now, under the bright light, he could clearly see that Leon's side was wrapped in thick bandages, which were completely soaked with blood, and dark red blood was dripping from Leon's fingers into the puddle.

This is...

It really was a seriously injured person?!

This guy argued with me for five minutes with this wound? Is he made of iron?!

It’s over.

We've been outmaneuvered.

But it's too late to say anything now.

The image has frozen:

An FBI senior agent, impeccably dressed in a suit, unharmed, and with a ferocious expression, is standing in the rain, looking down at a frontline patrolman covered in blood, who has just survived a life-or-death battle and is lying in the mud.

Behind them lay the corpses of drug dealers and wrecked vehicles.

Once this photo is released, it will be accompanied by headlines like "Federal Hegemony," "Credit Theft," and "Beating a Hero"...

He could even imagine how sensational the headlines would be tomorrow morning.

Sterling, that woman, had already arranged for reporters; that damned Vance was deliberately provoking him to attack!

Just as Hayes broke down, several patrol cars belonging to the West Precinct that had not been transferred to the North Precinct for support, and several ambulances with flashing red lights finally broke through the rain and stopped outside the cordon.

The patrol officers and paramedics who jumped out of the car stared at the scene before them, stunned and bewildered.

Where the hell is this?

Corpses lay scattered on the ground, several SUVs, reduced to scrap metal, were still emitting black smoke, and the ground was littered with yellow bullet casings.

What baffled them most was that a large group of reporters were surrounding a senior FBI agent, with the media flashing their lights like they were having a carnival.

"Detective! Were you shoving the injured person under federal authorization? Do you believe that using your palm to apply secondary impact would help the wound heal or boost morale?"

"Agent Hayes! Does this mean the FBI has officially declared war on the Seattle Police Department? Should we warn residents to take shelter in their basements to avoid federal airstrikes?!"

"Detective, have you considered retiring and joining WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment)? I think with your performance just now, winning a championship belt shouldn't be a problem."