Ren and everyone from the company were brought to the headquarters known as L.G.D. by a stern-looking female officer. Ren recognized her as the same woman who had apprehended the thief in the mall yesterday. It seemed like Exusiai had called her "Sir Chen," a name he had heard before when they were talking about Miss Swire.
She led them into a room that looked just like the kind of interrogation room Ren had seen in movies.
"Name," the woman spoke coldly, her eyes still fixed on the papers in her hands.
In front of her, the members of Penguin Logistics were sitting neatly together on a couch, while Ren was the only one sitting alone on a wooden chair at the head of the table.
"Um... SirChen, do we really have to go through this every single time?" Croissant tried to reason with her, but the officer didn't seem to be listening.
BANG!! SirChen slammed the table and lifted her eyes to glare at them as if they'd committed murder.
"Name!"
"Croissant..."
"Texas."
"Exusiai!"
"Sora."
That left them with no choice but to give their names. Everyone used their codenames, so when it was Ren's turn, he followed suit.
"Zhongli."
The blue-haired woman's eyebrow twitched briefly. Then she looked up at him.
"New member?"
"Yes, I just join—" Ren was about to answer but was immediately cut off.
"I only want a yes or no answer. Anything more is unnecessary."
Ren's brow twitched slightly. Even so, he tried to maintain a polite smile and nodded.
"Yes."
"Gender."
"Male."
"Age."
She didn't bother asking the others anymore and focused entirely on Ren.
"Nineteen."
But for some reason, the moment Ren answered, everyone in the room turned sharply to look at him—even the woman questioning him looked surprised.
"Um... is there something wrong?" Ren looked at everyone, confused. It was similar to how people reacted when he answered Miss Swire's question about his age.
Croissant was the first to speak up.
"R-Ren... you're really only nineteen?"
"Yes? Is something wrong?"
"There is! A lot wrong! We all thought you were like... at least 22!"
Croissant had even joked this morning about Exusiai being into younger guys because Ren looked so scrawny—but she didn't actually think he'd be that young.
According to the laws of most mobile cities, anyone under twenty-five who isn't infected is considered a minor and should be under the close care of family. Only those twenty-five and older are recognized as full-fledged adults.
Of course, Ren had no idea about any of that.
"I thought everyone here was about my age?" Ren blurted the question out before realizing that perhaps nineteen wasn't all that old in this world.
"I appreciate you saying that," Croissant said with a bashful smile, subtly admitting that they were all over 25.
But Ren didn't know what age was considered adulthood here—until Texas clarified it.
"I'm 24," she said.
"I'm 22!" Exusiai chimed in brightly, like a student eager to dunk on a classmate.
"What?! How are you all that young—especially you, Texas! Didn't you start working before me?!"
"Ask the boss..." Texas said, biting her Pocky.
"What the hell! So I'm the only one in the company who's 25?!"
Croissant suddenly turned to Sora, who quickly averted her gaze and replied with a shy smile.
"Ah... an idol's age is a trade secret, you know~"
That was when SirChen cut in.
"Enough with the age talk. Next question."
"SirChen! What about you? You're the same age as me, aren't you?!"
"I'm not obligated to answer your questions," Chen replied coldly.
Of course she wouldn't reveal that she was turning 25 this year. Otherwise, she'd never hear the end of it from this group.
"Your ethnicity?"
That question again... Ren hesitated, unsure what to say. In the end, he just answered honestly.
"I don't know."
"You don't know? Or just don't want to tell us?"
Ren's smile faded. He was starting to get irritated with this woman, who kept provoking him no matter how politely he responded.
"Officer, I think your line of questioning is starting to cross a line," Ren said seriously for the first time, surprising even his coworkers.
"Is that so? Well, I think I can say what I want. After all, you're a suspect."
SirChen allowed herself a small smile, seeing him start to react.
"A suspect? What do you mean?" Ren looked confused, but her answer left him speechless.
"Unidentified individual, destruction of public property, and most importantly... blowing up an entire house with an unknown explosive. Those charges should suffice, don't you think?"
Yeah... more than enough, Ren thought bitterly.
But he wanted nothing more than to point out that the one who caused all that chaos on the streets was the red-haired girl currently munching Pocky on the couch!
Still, being a man of principle, Ren held his head high and replied firmly:
"All I did was defend myself!"
"Self-defense? That might be a valid excuse in court... but it's still excessive force," the officer replied.
"I heard the one who registered you into the city was that fat cat, right?"
Fat cat... is she talking about Miss Swire? Ren clenched his fists, furious that she was dragging others into this.
"Why are you bringing that up?" His voice was noticeably colder.
"Oh, nothing. Just wondering if you're her pawn. Maybe she interfered yesterday because of you—"
GRAB! Without letting her finish, Ren stood and grabbed the officer's collar. Everyone in the room froze—including SirChen herself.
Ren didn't even understand his own actions. But hearing her accusatory tone... something snapped inside him.
"You want an answer? Fine! There's nothing going on between me and Miss Swire! And if you're attacking me just to drag her name through the mud, then let me say this—what I did yesterday was only because of the incompetence of you damn officers! You couldn't even protect a single child!"
"And let me remind you, Miss Officer—I just started work today and already had two explosions blasted in my face! If you think what we did was excessive, then go say that to the scumbags who attacked us in broad daylight—without a single damn officer coming to help!!"
"And one more thing! Instead of wasting time with your pointless questions, wouldn't it be better to go arrest those thugs still out there shooting at us?!"
"..."
"..."
The room went dead silent. Even Exusiai, who was always cheerful even behind bars, stared wide-eyed at Ren. Texas stopped chewing her Pocky and gazed at him like she was thinking deeply.
BANG! "Stop right there! Release Officer Chen now!"
Just then, a squad of officers burst in, thinking one of their own was under attack. But they all froze at the voice of a single person.
"It's fine. Everyone lower your weapons. All members of Penguin Logistics—your boss has posted your bail."
She was a red-haired woman with horns on either side and a snake-like tail. Her appearance was striking, and the moment she entered, all the officers' attitudes changed instantly—even SirChen, still caught in Ren's grip.
Croissant and Sora breathed a sigh of relief. Exusiai and Texas looked at Ren, who still seemed visibly upset.
"Officer Zhongli, I know my subordinate may have spoken harshly to you, but please... calm down and let her go."
"...." Ren didn't respond but eventually released her collar and spoke with a tone of deep disgust.
"You're despicable. I feel bad for Officer Swire... having to work with someone like you."
"..."
"Whew—burned~" Exusiai's voice broke the silence, and everyone from Penguin Logistics couldn't help but smirk.
"L-Let's go already! I'm starving!" Croissant, realizing the tension, quickly dragged Ren and Exusiai out. Sora and Texas followed close behind.
Back in the now-silent interrogation room, all the officers stared at SirChen, still standing in place.
Except for the red-haired superior—who, despite saying nothing, was visibly trembling and trying to stifle her laughter.
"If you want to laugh, go ahead, Chief," Chen said coldly. But to her horror, the woman burst out laughing.
Chen felt both angry and humiliated.
It was her plan in the first place! Why am I the one getting yelled at?!
But as she thought of the mastermind behind this entire mess, Chen clenched her fists in fury.
This is all that old bastard's fault!
...
Back at Penguin Logistics, the group went to celebrate at a restaurant after leaving the station.
"Did you see SirChen's face just now?! She looked like she was sucking on a rotten apple! It was hilarious!" Exusiai laughed until her stomach hurt. Even Croissant couldn't stop laughing.
"Yeah! I've never seen that side of her before. Ugh... such a shame I couldn't record it!"
"All credit goes to our new guy! The man who dared to stand up to the demon Chen! We salute—uh, Ren, are you okay?"
Exusiai, holding a beer pitcher, noticed the young man sitting next to her looking completely drained.
"I'm fine..." Ren said absentmindedly. But it was clear he wasn't.
Because deep down, he was thinking—
Ah... I did it... I snapped and grabbed a police officer by the collar...
He had planned to behave like a model citizen. Now, in the eyes of the other officers, he probably looked no different from a criminal.
Miss Swire must be so disappointed in me...
And all because of that woman!
When Ren thought of the face of the woman named Chen, it only made him even angrier.
And it was at that moment that the long-absent system messages suddenly reappeared.
A hidden message had been revealed:
[Lappland Saluzzo [Codename: Lappland] – Affection toward you has increased. Emotion Points +300]
[Lappland Saluzzo [Codename: Lappland] – Affection toward you has increased. Emotion Points +300]
[Lappland Saluzzo [Codename: Lappland] – Affection toward you has increased. Emotion Points +300]
[Lappland Saluzzo [Codename: Lappland] – Affection toward you has increased. Emotion Points +300]
[Chen Hui-chieh [Codename: Ch'en] – Affection toward you has increased. Emotion Points +300]
[Chen Hui-chieh [Codename: Ch'en] – Affection toward you has increased. Emotion Points +300]
[Chen Hui-chieh [Codename: Ch'en] – Affection toward you has increased. Emotion Points +300]
[Chen Hui-chieh [Codename: Ch'en] – Affection toward you has increased. Emotion Points +300]
[Congratulations. You have fulfilled the conditions.
Title earned: "Popular with Bad Girls"]
"...Huh?"