Interrogation

"Seven against one, and the little lady's got some moves. Which department are you with?"

The interrogator was an older man with black-rimmed glasses and a few white hairs. Tu Ran caught his name tag: Li Fuyang, Inspection Department.

"Pioneer Team," she replied.

"Ah, Pioneer Team, that explains it." Li Fuyang adjusted his glasses and glanced at the file in his hand. "So they started it?"

"Yes," Tu Ran said with a nod.

"Shameful. A pack of men ganging up on one woman."

Tu Ran heard him mutter this under his breath—if not for her sharp hearing, she'd have missed it. This old man was kind of amusing.

"May I ask how they're doing?" Tu Ran asked politely.

Li Fuyang rolled his eyes. "You've got a mean streak, girl. Two concussions, one cerebral hemorrhage, one lumbar fracture, one leg fracture, one wrist fracture, and the last one landed face-first and broke his nose. Oh, and that sniper rifle of yours—after you worked it over, it's in pieces. Completely useless."

"That serious?" Tu Ran looked down and picked at her fingers, feigning remorse. "I was just defending myself, though. It was a bunch of them and only one of me. I panicked and went overboard."

"Little girl, don't think my kind face means I'm easy to fool. I was a tough inspector in my day. Ask anyone about Li Fuyang, and they'll tell you. So don't try the pity card. It won't work. I see right through you."

Stubborn old man.

Tu Ran dropped the act and leaned back, meeting his gaze. "So what happens to me now?"

She'd promised Xie Xu she'd go to the Black Market this afternoon. If they locked her up, she'd be in trouble. And a fine would be a problem too—she was flat broke.

"That's not for me to decide. It's up to the higher-ups." Li Fuyang pushed his glasses up. "Just wait. You're with the Pioneer Team. The Federation's new laws are on your side, and the surveillance footage is clear. They started it. Even if you get fined, it won't be severe."

The Federation's new law: pioneers' lives come first.

"Okay," Tu Ran said, relaxing a bit.

The decision came quickly: a fine of five hundred Federation credits to cover medical expenses for the five injured.

Seven people beaten, five hundred credits charged—that was barely anything.

Tu Ran paid up without delay. To show her remorse, she even made a special trip to the Medical Department and apologized to all seven in person.

Zhou Ming was the one with the cerebral hemorrhage and concussion. After an hour in a nutrient pod, he was out of danger and transferred to a regular bed, where his teammates stayed.

If they'd been injured in the line of duty, they'd have gotten free nutrient pod treatments until they fully recovered. But today's injuries were from a private brawl—and a group of men jumping a woman, at that—so only Zhou Ming, whose life had been in danger, got an hour in the pod. The moment he was out of danger, they moved him back. And he had to pay for that hour himself. Tu Ran's five hundred credit fine wouldn't even cover a fraction.

"Guard Zhou, I'm sorry," Tu Ran said, bowing deeply at his bedside.

Zhou Ming gritted his teeth in fury, but he couldn't get up—otherwise, he'd have gone at her again right then.

"Guard Wang, I'm sorry." Tu Ran moved to the next bed and bowed to the man with the broken nose.