Chapter 95: [Privilege?] (The month is nearly over—please cast your monthly votes!)

The six-block journey was neither short nor long, but for a monster like Chen Xiao, who possessed power-type abilities, such a trivial expenditure of stamina was not even worth mentioning.

However, Champagne was a different story. As the proprietress of an inn, she had been pampered since childhood. In her own words, with so many servants at the inn, she had lived a life where she was fed and clothed by others. After walking for less than half an hour, she furrowed her brows and complained that her feet hurt.

"Carry me."

"…What?"

"Carry me, my feet hurt." Champagne put on a pitiful expression—but Chen Xiao knew very well that this curious girl was not like Yaya, a naturally pure and innocent girl from back home. The innkeeper simply lacked understanding of the outside world, but in reality, she was quite shrewd. This pitiful appearance was nine parts an act.

"Men and women should not touch!" Chen Xiao refused.

"Pah! Then how come you kissed me earlier?"

"Is it really possible to reverse the situation like that? It was clearly you who…" Chen Xiao rolled his eyes.

Just then, as the two passed a quiet street corner, two figures suddenly darted out from an alley on the left! One figure swiftly dragged Champagne into the alley with force, while the other shoved Chen Xiao—unfortunately, Chen Xiao didn't budge an inch, and the guy who pushed him ended up stumbling out and flying straight into a large, square dumpster nearby.

"Robbery!"

Chen Xiao turned his head to see a young white man holding a gun, pointing it at him while clutching Champagne’s neck and pressing her against the wall. The young man seemed terrified; seeing Chen Xiao toss his accomplice into the dumpster, he looked as if he had seen a ghost. His hand holding the gun trembled, and his voice became distorted and shrill.

"Quick! Come here! Or else I…" The guy shifted his aim toward Champagne.

Chen Xiao immediately raised his hands and walked quickly into the alley, a relaxed smile still hanging on his face. "I heard that public order in Sydney is getting worse. It’s true, even in broad daylight there are robberies."

"Wallet! I want your wallet! Give it to me!" The young man’s expression was extremely tense and panicked. Although he tried his best to look fierce, his inner cowardice could not be concealed.

"Sorry, I don't have what you're asking for," Chen Xiao shook his head, pointing to his empty pockets. "Can't you tell?"

"Damn it!" The young man gritted his teeth. "What about you!" He stared at Champagne, suddenly spotting the Prada keychain she was clutching. That thing probably had some value!

Chen Xiao had already slowly walked over.

"Stop! Don't come any closer!" The young man hastily turned the gun back toward Chen Xiao and shouted, "I… I will shoot! I swear I’ll shoot! If you don't want to die, then…"

He didn't look very old, but anyone with experience knew that it was precisely these kinds of young people who often committed unexpectedly cruel acts during robberies. Because such youths, when they got hot-headed, would lose their reason and were capable of anything. Conversely, career criminals rarely did anything extreme because they understood the consequences of their actions.

This young man was clearly on the verge of a breakdown, his tension at a critical point. His finger rested on the trigger, trembling slightly, ready to press down at any moment…

"Can I ask a question?" Chen Xiao still held his arms out. "Do you have any money on you?"

"Uh… huh?" The young man seemed stunned. Then, a mixture of fear and nervousness appeared in his eyes. Finally, he gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger…

*Click!*

The trigger seemed jammed. He pulled it twice more, only to find that his finger could not move even a fraction! At this moment, he looked up at Chen Xiao and saw a fist flying toward his face…

*Bang!*

The young man flew backward and was unconscious by the time he hit the ground. Chen Xiao walked over and carefully searched the two guys.

"Twenty-six dollars." Chen Xiao sighed. "Looks like these thieves are pretty poor too. But… this money should be enough for us to take the subway back to the hotel." He paused and smiled. "If we run into a few more thieves on the way, it would be even better; we might even earn back the money for this keychain."

Champagne rolled her eyes, then rubbed her delicate neck and skipped over. She raised her foot and stomped fiercely on the unconscious young man on the ground.

"I’ve grown up this big, and no one has ever dared to get rough with me!"

*Stomp, stomp, stomp, stomp!*

Chen Xiao sighed… luckily, Champagne wasn't wearing high heels.

He pocketed the money found on the robbers, picked up the handgun, and examined it… Suddenly, he heard a car stop at the entrance of the alley, followed by the sound of two car doors opening.

*Click-clack!*

Chen Xiao recognized the sound of safeties being disengaged on firearms!

Immediately after, a loud shout came from behind!

"Don't move! Police!!!"

Chen Xiao turned around instantly to see a police car parked at the alley entrance. Two officers stood guard by the vehicle, their guns aimed at him and Champagne.

"Drop the weapon in your hand! Drop it now!"

Chen Xiao didn't hesitate for a second and immediately threw the gun away. He knew very well that foreign police were different from those back home; these guys would actually pull the trigger! Besides, he didn't want to fight the police.

"Walk over here! Hands up! Let us see your hands! Walk slowly! And you, girl! Come here!"

"We were robbed!" Chen Xiao quickly defended himself. "We were robbed! The guy on the ground is the criminal! We were just acting in self-defense."

But the police weren't listening. In such moments, officers couldn't tell what had happened. Following professional protocol, they had to handle the situation by the book.

"Come here! Get against the car! Now!"

Chen Xiao sighed, walked to the side of the car, and held up his hands. "My identification is in my back pocket."

An officer approached, first pushing Chen Xiao to lean against the car hood, then pulled his ID from his back pocket. After checking it, he relaxed a bit and his tone became slightly more polite. "Alright. Come back with us, and once we clear this up, you'll be fine." He then glared at Champagne. "Your identification, miss!"

Chen Xiao’s heart sank. This was trouble. Champagne would have to be taken to the station, and Chen Xiao, as a suspect, was brought along too.

Champagne had no legal identification—no passport, no visa, no Australian citizenship papers… she was completely "off the grid." It was likely that the girl didn't hold citizenship for any country on the planet. Plus… their yellow skin, black hair, and the fact that they spoke Mandarin didn't help. It was worth mentioning that the attitude toward the Chinese in Australia wasn't exactly friendly.

After half an hour of chaos at the police station, the two kids who had robbed them woke up and made a counter-accusation, claiming that Chen Xiao and Champagne had robbed them instead… This claim was complete nonsense, but the two guys were locals. Ridiculously, they even had legal gun permits.

Although the claim was absurd, the glaring issue remained: Champagne had no legal status!

Chen Xiao finally saw the police interrogation model under the Western judicial system—it was basically the same as what he had seen in movies.

Finally, an hour later, Old Tian arrived at the police station, bringing along a companion—a white man in a dark suit carrying a black briefcase. Looking at his attire, he appeared to be a lawyer. After Old Tian and the man met with Chen Xiao and Champagne in the interrogation room, he went straight to the police chief's office.

The police chief was naturally dismissive of this Chinese man who had barged in. After Old Tian explained his purpose, the chief sneered, "Sir, my men brought them in according to legal procedures! The law, do you understand? The law! Hmph, for you yellow monkeys, I’m afraid you don't even have the capacity to understand that! As for that girl, we suspect she's a stowaway… Release her? Wait until the immigration bureau arrives to clear it up! Now… get out! Leave my office!"

Old Tian didn't get angry. He sat down slowly across from him and even crossed his legs.

"Chief, in ten seconds, the phone on your desk will ring, and you will receive a call… from a high-ranking official you must look up to… and after you hang up, you will put on a smiling face for me and apologize for your rude behavior just now," Old Tian said calmly. "Of course, I am a magnanimous person, so I will accept your apology."

"Apology? To hell with you, you lunatic…"

Before the chief could finish, the phone on his desk rang!

His face changed slightly. He hesitated before picking up the receiver. After listening for less than twenty seconds, his expression shifted entirely… When he hung up, the police chief’s forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"I… I’m sorry…"

"See, I told you. I never lie to the police—it's a good habit," Old Tian said pleasantly. "Can we release them now?"

When Chen Xiao and Champagne walked out of the police station, Old Tian waved goodbye to the lawyer.

"How did you do that?" Chen Xiao couldn't help but ask.

"Privilege," Old Tian replied faintly. "The Service Bureau has the power to carve a small island out of Australian territorial waters; do you think they couldn't handle such a trivial matter? Although I am no longer with the Service Bureau, as a retiree, I still enjoy certain special treatment." He turned to look at Champagne. "The bad news is… Champagne, what happened today will soon reach the island, and your family will soon know you are with us…"

"I'm not afraid," Champagne said with a carefree grin. "My mother won't leave the island. If she doesn't come, I'm not afraid of anyone else!"

"No, what I mean is…" Old Tian smiled bitterly. "Even if your mother doesn't leave the island, your family is very wealthy, and there are many mercenaries on the island with nothing to do. She can just throw some money around and send people to bring you back by force."

Champagne’s face immediately fell.

"You have two choices: first, stay in Sydney, wait for people from the island to arrive, and go back with them obediently," Old Tian sighed. "Second… we leave here tonight!"

Champagne looked at Old Tian suspiciously. "Why have you suddenly changed your attitude?"

Old Tian smiled "generously." "Haha, of course, it's for the compensation of two barrels of cell repair fluid you promised me! And besides…" He seemed to sigh, his tone turning somewhat wistful. "I… back then, I knew your father. We were very good friends. He never left the island in his life, but I know he longed to. So…"

"Uncle Tian, you're a good person," Champagne said, touched.

"No, don't say that too early," Old Tian chuckled. "It's fine to come with us, but… the airfare, your food expenses, and accommodation costs—you have to pay for all of it! Don't think about getting a free ride!"

He paused and looked at Chen Xiao. "You're the boss of the coffee shop, right? Well… we have a cook now, that fat guy is doing a good job. But, it seems we happen to be missing a waiter, don't we?"

Chen Xiao smirked, keeping his thoughts to himself.