Chapter 4 Trying His Hand

• “I've never heard of him.” Natalie shook her head slightly.
• “I've also never heard of this person, but I think he's quite intriguing. You will be able to see him in three days' time. I made a small bet with him just now. If he can't catch the criminals in three days, he will have to work as a cleaner for our police station for a month. If he manages to catch them, I will do as he wishes.” Bethany smirked wickedly.
• “There you go, making such absurd bets again. What if he really captures them? Are you really going to let him do what he wants? Don't forget that you're an officer. Please take better care of your image.” Natalie was exasperated.
• “It's only a joke! Anyway, who says officers can't have personal feelings? I'm still a young lady who's at the age where I like to play around for a bit. Don't worry, he won't be able to capture the criminals. You will see a handsome cleaner in three days. He's quite good-looking. If I had my way, I would hire him in heartbeat.” Bethany grinned.
• “Bethany, I'm going to bed.” Natalie smiled tiredly. She curled up under the thin blanket, her gorgeous body presenting a curvy line.
• “Oh, that's right! How's Felix doing? When will you bring him to meet me? I've never even seen your husband yet,” Bethany asked.
• “Don't mention him. It's embarrassing! Remember what we agreed on. Don't ever reveal this to anyone,” said Natalie.
• “Okay, I won't bring it up again.” Bethany grinned.
• Natalie could not help thinking of the man she thought to be Felix as she lay on the bed. She recalled the incident where he took advantage of her. She had not been fond of her husband in the half-year they had been married. She had been mostly indifferent toward him. Natalie felt as if Felix was like a different person ever since he came back. However, she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly was different about him.
• Gradually, Natalie's heart become a little flustered and confused. It didn't matter if Felix had changed, because he appeared to be despicable as ever. He constantly tried to take advantage of her.
• This time, he had really taken advantage of her.
• Shame welled up in Natalie's heart as she recalled the scene from the other day.
• It's time to sleep!
• Meanwhile, there was a flurry of excitement at the police station. Zachary's arrogant attitude was currently the talk of the station. Not only did the police officers doubt Zachary's abilities, but even the arrested criminals were laughing at him. Crouching on the floor, one of the criminals said loudly, “That dogsh*t bounty hunter is probably boasting. I don't believe he can catch all the wanted criminals in three days. If it were me, I would have run away after committing such a huge crime. I would run to some faraway cornfield or mountain ravine. I would run to someplace where there aren't any surveillance cameras. I'd like to see him try to catch me then!”
• “You sure are good at escaping. What, are you going to commit a huge crime again?” One of the police officers frowned as he looked at the crouched criminal.
• “Officer, I was only joking around! I'm an honest person. I would not dare commit such a crime. I would not want to live a life where I am tormented by my conscience daily. Maybe I'll steal a few car batteries, but I definitely not do anything more than that!” The criminal smiled obsequiously.
• “Keep squatting there. I'll have you properly locked up for some time. We'll see if you dare commit crimes after you are released!” scolded the police officer.
• “What's going on? Why is it so noisy?” An elderly man clad in a military uniform walked into the police station slowly. He was accompanied by a younger soldier.
• “Grandpa!” Bethany's reserved demeanor instantly changed the moment she saw the old man. She scampered forward excitedly and hugged the man.
• “Silly girl, why are you acting like a child at your age?” the old man said helplessly. Despite his words, his gaze was filled with affection. He returned Bethany's embrace with his large hands. He then continued, “What's happening here? Why is it so lively?”
• “Mr. Winston, we had a strange fellow join us today. He requested information on all the wanted criminals we had from the last ten years and declared he was going to capture them all in three days. Haha, what a joke! We've worked so hard but we couldn't even find those criminals, and yet he said he was going to catch them all in mere three days? Hence, we were discussing him. According to Bethany, he's a bounty hunter,” one of the officers replied while smiling.
• The elderly man who had just come in was Tobias Winston, formerly the state military general. Although Tobias had long since retired, he still had pull within the military. Tobias had three sons and a daughter. His eldest son was currently the chief of staff of a military region, and he was ranked major-general. The second son was a mayor of a city in the state. Unsurprisingly, he had been promoted to vice governor within two years. The third son was a big player in the city's business consortium. His wealth was ranked among the top three in the city. His only daughter was a scientist. She had long been engaged in scientific research and was currently the vice director of the research institute. Bethany was the only daughter of the third son of the Winston family. She was Tobias' granddaughter.
• Tobias and the chief of the police station were chess buddies. As he had some time to kill, Tobias came to the station to play a game or two with the chief while also visiting his granddaughter at the same time. After all, her line of work wasn't entirely free of danger. The old man could not help but worry.
• “Oh, I never knew we had such a talented person in this city. This is a good thing!” Tobias smiled kindly. “It doesn't matter if he does it for money or for justice. Be it a black cat or a white cat, a cat that can catch rats is a good cat. How many files did he take? What's his name?”
• Tobias continued, “The Skynet system wasn't that great ten years ago. It resulted in several criminals escaping without a trace. Even if we stake out the criminal's homes every year, we've only managed to catch a few of them so far. Things are better now that the streets are filled with surveillance cameras. The probability of a criminal escaping detection is only ten percent. We haven't had cases of them escaping in the past few years. The ones that got away were from long ago. There is a total of thirteen of them.”
• “The bounty hunter's name is Zachary Larson,” Bethany said with a solemn expression.
• “Zachary Larson... It's a good name.” Tobias smiled.
• Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. Tobias' amiable expression changed rapidly. In his memory, there was a young man who was clad in a major-general's uniform. His chest was filled with rows of shiny medals. The young man's gaze was cold, and he wore a determined expression. He stood on an armored vehicle, steadfast as he faced the enemy's artillery fire. With only two thousand men, he had helped a small nation quash fifty thousand rebels. The video footage had been kept in the archives of the military department.
• No. It's impossible... It can't be him... He's a world-class soldier. How can he possibly be here?
• Voices asking “Grandpa, are you all right?” and “Mr. Winston, what's the matter?” sounded from around Tobias.
• They all looked at Tobias in astonishment as they saw his expression change drastically. An indescribable atmosphere emerged in the police station. It made everyone incredibly nervous.
• “It can't possibly be him...” Tobias muttered. He could not stop himself from shaking his head slightly, all the while muttering to himself. Suddenly, he became aware of everyone staring at him. He realized that he had momentarily lost his composure. Smiling, Tobias asked the young officer standing next to him, “Bennett, do you think he can complete his mission?”
• “Impossible. His success rate is zero percent.” The young officer smiled haughtily.
• “That's why I made a bet with him. If he really can catch the criminals, I will do as he pleases. If he fails, he will become our station's cleaner for a month,” Bethany declared smugly.
• “What nonsense! How can you make bets so casually?” Tobias chided in a low voice.
• “I'm only playing for a bit. We're constantly in a state of high tension in this line of work. What's wrong with a little fun every now and then?” Bethany replied nonchalantly.
• “There is no way he will succeed,” the young officer said expressionlessly.
• “That's right. He can't possibly complete the mission. If he really is so talented, the chief would have hired him as a specialist ages ago. No, even the state department would have personally invited him,” Bethany said.
• “The people in the Godly Squad can't possibly be compared to him,” the young officer added. His face remained expressionless.
• “Yeah, even the Godly Squad can't beat him!” Bethany snickered while thumping her chest.
• Just then, the smile on Bethany's face froze. She saw a minivan pull up slowly in front of the police station. Zachary got out of the minivan and popped the doors open. He pulled out two middle-aged people who were tightly tied up.
• He dragged them to the entrance of the police station and threw them inside.
• Zachary then returned to the minivan and drove away.
• Bethany was not the only person who witnessed the scene. Tobias and the other police officers had also seen it happen from the windows. Their expressions instantly changed, and they quickly ran to the entrance of the police station.
• They swarmed around and saw two middle-aged people tied up soundly. Their names were written on their faces.
• They were two of the thirteen local wanted criminals that had evaded capture for the past ten years!
• Zachary had captured two of them in just an hour's time.
• Bethany's expression changed as she stared down at the two wanted criminals.