Never did Qi Tongwei imagine that Jingzhou would have flying squads of motorcycle thieves, which gave him quite a shock.
Although he knew public security in the 1990s left much to be desired, he never expected such incidents to happen right in the provincial capital.
Public safety was an inescapable hurdle of the nineties.
There were even instances where a provincial party secretary was publicly slapped by local thugs on his way to assume office.
Qi Tongwei hurried over and shouted sternly, "What are you doing?"
A young woman in a short-sleeved shirt and jeans was clutching her shoulder bag for dear life.
When one thug failed to yank it away, he simply strode forward and cursed, "Don't be so ungrateful!"
Several of the ringleaders had twenty-centimeter knives tucked into their waistbands.
Frightened out of her wits, the girl hurriedly hurled her bag away, thinking that would put an end to it.
At that moment, the lead thug sneered, "Now you know how to be scared?"
"Let me tell you, it's too late. If you had just let me rob you in the first place, I might have let you go. Now, you're going to give me some fun."
"Boss, this chick is pretty. Let's drag her back..."
Terrified, the girl blurted out, "How dare you! Do you know who my father is?"
Her body began to tremble uncontrollably; when had she ever encountered such a situation?
If she hadn't been feuding with her family, she never would have run out in the middle of the night.
Just as Qi Tongwei had walked over and overheard the girl say those words, he stepped in front of her and cut him off.
"If you don't want to die, shut your mouth!"
"Little girl, who's your father? Tell us so we can hear if it's enough to scare us! Hahaha..."
Looking at the young man before her, the girl decided to trust him and clamped her mouth shut.
"Well, well, playing the hero saving the beauty, are you, brother?" Blade Brother scoffed. "You think you're in a movie? Better check if you've got the life for it."
The girl looked at Qi Tongwei with a twinge of doubt.
Why wouldn't he let her speak?
Qi Tongwei lowered his voice. "They're desperate criminals. If you reveal your identity and push them into a corner, killing you on the spot isn't out of the question."
Back then, anyone daring to pull stunts like this had nothing to lose, no matter how high your status might be.
Once they knew who you were, they might figure they were dead either way and just decide to make a clean sweep of it.
The thugs didn't stand on ceremony and marched right up. Qi Tongwei didn't even have time to assume a proper stance before he was trading blows with them. Fortunately, they hadn't drawn their weapons yet.
Retaining the martial arts skills from his past life, Qi Tongwei delivered a swift kick to the ringleader's abdomen, followed swiftly by an elbow strike that dropped another.
Realizing Qi Tongwei actually knew some moves, the thugs stopped wasting time and immediately drew their weapons.
A sinking feeling hit Qi Tongwei. *You bastards are playing dirty, aren't you?*
Unable to fend them off anymore, he narrowly dodged several lunges only to sustain a few knife wounds.
Luckily, he managed to block with his arms; had those blades landed squarely on his torso, he would have been done for.
*What a cursed rebirth!*
Watching the scene unfold, the girl burst into tears in a panic.
*Does crying do any good at a time like this?* thought Qi Tongwei. *Is it useful at all?*
The thugs grinned even more broadly at the sight. "Don't be scared, let big brother take care of you..."
Qi Tongwei stood his ground, blocking them.
Without missing a beat, the thugs slashed at him again.
Realizing he couldn't hold out, and deciding discretion is the better part of valor, Qi Tongwei grabbed the girl's hand and bolted.
There were hardly anyone on the streets this late at night... his luck was truly rotten to the core.
Fortunately, a police patrol car was cruising toward them in the distance.
"Brother Long, the police are here..."
Glancing between the approaching car and Qi Tongwei, and realizing they couldn't finish the job, the thugs hopped on their motorcycles and fled.
The girl hurriedly dialed the police.
"Are you alright, big brother? Should I call an ambulance for you?"
Having maintained a state of high tension and sustained several knife wounds, Qi Tongwei felt his legs turn to jelly the moment he relaxed, and he collapsed straight to the ground.
When Qi Tongwei opened his eyes, he found himself lying in a hospital room. Seeing him wake up, the girl rushed out to fetch a doctor.
Several police officers hurried over and asked with concern, "You alright, young man? You've got guts, daring to take on four men all by yourself."
Qi Tongwei shook his head. "I'm Qi Tongwei, deputy captain of the Yantai City Narcotics Squad. Protecting the lives and property of the people is my duty."
Hearing this, the officers' eyes lit up. "You're a lucky man, brother!"
Wondering how getting slashed a few times made him lucky, Qi Tongwei kept his confusion to himself.
After briefly taking his statement, the officers left.
Qi Tongwei closed his eyes to rest. Logically, he should have been meeting with Teacher Gao today to ask about arranging a lateral transfer, but ending up laid up here meant a further delay.
Just then, the girl walked in followed by several doctors.
"Hurry and check on this big brother!"
After a routine examination, the doctors announced, "He simply suffered a period of intense nervous stress coupled with injuries, which caused a temporary disruption in bodily functions. He's fine now—just needs some rest."
Hearing the doctor's assessment, the girl let out a sigh of relief.
"Big brother, my name is Luo Yaxi. Thank you so much for saving me today. If it weren't for you, I don't know what..."
Qi Tongwei waved a hand. "It was just my duty. Had I been an ordinary citizen, I might not have waded into these troubled waters."
Everyone was momentarily stunned. *This kid is refreshingly direct!*
Luo Yaxi couldn't help laughing; she hadn't expected Qi Tongwei to say something so unbefitting his earlier demeanor.
"What's your name, big brother?" Luo Yaxi asked.
"Qi Tongwei."
Qi Tongwei pressed on, "Have those men been caught?"
"Definitely caught... they won't get away!" Luo Yaxi hurried to answer.
Nodding, Qi Tongwei immediately got out of bed, put on his jacket, and headed for the door.
"The doctor told you to rest!" Luo Yaxi called out anxiously.
Without looking back, Qi Tongwei tossed over his shoulder, "A minor injury like this won't stop me."
Stunned, Luo Yaxi clenched her fists, feeling a lingering sense that she ought to do something.
Without wasting any time, Qi Tongwei hurried straight to Handong University. Right now, his teacher was likely his only accessible connection.
With that thought, Qi Tongwei walked inside and headed straight for Teacher Gao's office.
Seeing Qi Tongwei arrive, Gao Yuliang put down his work and asked, "Tongwei, you're still in Jingzhou? What brings you here?"
Without beating around the bush, Qi Tongwei went straight to the point. "Teacher, I want to ask you a favor."
"My, this is a first," Gao Yuliang said. "Tell me, what's on your mind?"
"Teacher, do you know anyone in the Organization Department? Could you introduce me? I don't want to stay in the political and legal units anymore; I'd like to try my hand at a grassroots unit."
Gao Yuliang was startled by Qi Tongwei's words. "What's wrong? Why would you suddenly want to go to the grassroots? You know development isn't easy down there."
"Don't you know grassroots affairs are tedious, and navigating all those conflicting interests is no simple matter?"
"Grassroots work is where real things can be accomplished," Qi Tongwei replied. "Teacher, you know my background—I grew up depending on the kindness of the whole village. I want to genuinely do something useful for the people and the country."
A flicker of admiration stirred in Gao Yuliang's heart upon hearing this.
"I do have a few old friends in the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department. I can ask around for you; don't rush. I'll call you if there's any news."
Seeing his teacher agree, Qi Tongwei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
In his past life, he hadn't sought Gao Yuliang's help early on because he was unsure of where he stood with him.
Had he sought his teacher's help from the very beginning, things might have turned out quite differently.
Though university units differed somewhat from government bodies, they shared the same roots.
Besides, utilizing even a fraction of his teacher's connections would tap into resources ordinary people could only dream of.
Thus, Qi Tongwei decided it was worth a shot.
He hadn't intended to target provincial-level organs anyway; applying for a lateral transfer to a township shouldn't encounter too much resistance.
As Qi Tongwei stepped outside, who should he run into but Zhong Xiao'ai—and Hou Liangping wasn't with her.
"Senior, do you have a moment? Can I treat you to dinner?"
Qi Tongwei hastily declined, "Dinner won't be necessary. Is there something you need?"
Zhong Xiao'ai said, "I looked into it, and Liangping has dated a few times before. Every time he changed girlfriends, the girl's rank was higher than the last. Is he really that kind of person?"
"Or does he have some other motive?"
Qi Tongwei was taken aback. In his past life, he only knew roughly about such things and had never investigated the details.
*Could Hou Liangping really be that kind of person?*