The Traffic Officers’ Visit

“Miss Mo, have you perhaps seen this young woman before?”

Mo Linyu was genuinely unsure how to answer the officer’s question.

Considering she had entered and exited the complex with Li Yue several times over the past two days, surveillance footage would undoubtedly exist; claiming ignorance would only raise suspicion.

‘Perhaps, this was an opportunity to create an identity for her?’

Mo Linyu pondered for a moment before replying, “Well, this is Li Longkang’s… his half-sister. She came to stay with him recently and has gone out with Li Longkang.”

The two community officers exchanged another glance. “His sister?” one began, “But… but this young lady has blonde hair… Ah, could it be dyed?”

“No, she was born abroad. You should be able to verify that Li Longkang’s father disappeared a long time ago, and he left behind a love child in another country…”

“Which country?”

“Hmm, it seems to be a country in turmoil…”

The Demon Lord replied meaningfully, then shook her head. “Truth be told, I don’t know much about their sibling situation.”

Drawing upon her resilience as the Demon Lord, Mo Linyu managed to bluff unflinchingly even in the face of the police, fabricating a tragic, yet self-consistent, backstory for Li Yue.

Naturally, her answers remained vague, as providing too many details would only risk exposing the deception.

“…After her father’s death, she was left all alone, crossing oceans to find Li Longkang, only to discover upon her arrival that her brother’s birth mother had also passed away.”

“She didn’t pass away; she merely went missing,” the officer corrected.

“Then she’s certainly had a difficult time of it.”

Despite his words, the two officers remained somewhat suspicious.

He continued, “So, did she enter illegally? Or does she have a passport? If a paternity test were done, she could likely apply for permanent residency.”

Such a suggestion was, at its core, a means of confirming her identity.

“Yes, that’s precisely what they intend to do, which is why they went out to handle the paperwork.”

Mo Linyu’s bluff had, unexpectedly, formed a complete logical loop.

She then inquired, “So, has this sister done something wrong?”

“Dangerous driving.”

The officer adopted a grave tone as he replied, “We have footage of her riding a motorcycle, carrying a passenger, speeding on the highway, and driving without a license. This poses a potential threat to public safety and property. Depending on the severity of the circumstances, she may face detention and a fine…”

It turned out these two were not beat cops, but traffic police.

‘They made a special trip here, so it seems the fine won’t be a small sum, will it?’

‘She wondered if the officer had realized that Mo Linyu herself was the passenger on the back during the speeding incident.’

Li Yue, in her self-proclaimed cleverness, had removed the motorcycle’s license plate and worn a helmet while riding, yet she never imagined they would still be tracked down to her door.

Mo Linyu asked, “Are you certain it was her?”

“Of course. There are only a few motorcycles of this model in the entire city, and a blonde driver makes identification even easier.”

As one traffic officer spoke, the other concluded, “In short, please inform Mr. Li to bring his sister to the police station as soon as possible. We need to understand the situation… Given that no accident has occurred yet, if their attitude is cooperative, it shouldn’t be too much trouble… We had no choice but to come here since we couldn’t reach him by phone.”

The officer, adjusting his hat brim to catch a breeze, revealed sweat on his forehead; it was truly difficult to make house calls on such a sweltering day.

“Alright, I understand.”

Mo Linyu respectfully saw off the two officers, letting out a long sigh once the door was closed.

“You can come out now, you street-racing Ghost Fire Hero (TL Note: ‘Ghost Fire’ refers to cheap, modified motorcycles often associated with reckless youth and noisy street racing in China).”

Li Yue emerged from the bedroom, her face etched with worry.

She had eavesdropped on Mo Linyu’s entire conversation with the police. Have Li Longkang take Li Yue to the police station?

The difficulty of that was no less than asking Zhou Shuren to take Zhou Yucai to meet Lu Xun (TL Note: A Chinese literary allusion, highlighting an impossible task, as Zhou Shuren is the birth name of the famous writer Lu Xun).

“Th-this is truly troublesome now.”

Li Yue felt her hands and feet turn cold, her lips even tingling, while Mo Linyu merely smirked, as if watching a comical spectacle.

“This is what you get for being so clever, for burying your head in the sand, for buying such a rare car.”

“…Can you please stop making sarcastic remarks at a time like this?”

Mo Linyu’s smug expression infuriated Li Yue, though she had to admit her motorcycle was indeed far from discreet.

Having received a substantial ‘Hero’s retirement fund’ from the Goddess, Li Longkang, suddenly flush with cash, became a quintessential nouveau riche, impulsively purchasing that magnificent Kawasaki Ninja H2R.

Its striking appearance and powerful performance certainly garnered attention, yet they also laid the groundwork for today’s misfortune.

Now, this predicament couldn’t be solved simply by throwing money at it, for even with all her wealth, she couldn’t conjure a second version of herself…

Have Li Longkang take Li Yue to the police station?

Ha, impossible. Utterly impossible.

“Alright, don’t fret so much.”

Mo Linyu, seemingly having savored Li Yue’s panic long enough, sat down on the sofa, her hair still damp.

“We are still, for now, in a cooperative relationship. I can smooth over this trouble for you.”

At Mo Linyu’s words, Li Yue looked up, fixing her gaze upon her.

“You say you can handle it… how?”

“I’ll call Dong Lu to help with the aftermath and leverage some family connections; those two officers shouldn’t bother you again,” Mo Linyu replied nonchalantly.

“What do you mean?”

“My family has a few connections, and for something this minor, my father doesn’t even need to get involved.”

Mo Linyu spoke vaguely, yet Li Yue’s brow furrowed.

‘Power.’

‘Beyond just money, did one truly need this as well?’

This was precisely what Li Yue lacked; no matter how much wealth she might gain from the Goddess, without power, she would ultimately be unable to transcend her social stratum.

A sigh escaped her lips as she reflected on this.

“I fought tooth and nail in another world for an entire year, finally vanquishing the Demon Lord and saving the world… only to realize it’s still not as good as being born into a privileged family like yours.”

“You’re mistaken,” Mo Linyu countered. “You didn’t save the world in the other realm… you merely saved humanity for a time, but you also annihilated the Demon Race.”

Mo Linyu shook her head, continuing:

“When both the Hero and the Demon Lord depart from that world, humanity will prevail for a period, until the birth of the next Demon Lord… And then, humanity will once again summon the next unfortunate Hero.”

The entire process would repeat endlessly; such was fate.

The Demon Lord’s grand narrative, however, made Li Yue uneasy.

Despite having risked everything and endured countless hardships to vanquish the Demon Lord, in the Demon Lord’s own words, it was all a pre-ordained affair, a mere performance by an actor holding a script on a stage—neither grand nor righteous.

Therefore, she deliberately changed the subject from the other world.

“…Then I’ll have to trouble you with this matter.”

Beyond relying on her father’s influence, Li Yue seemed to have no viable solution for this predicament.

She then asked, “You and your father clearly don’t get along, yet you’re quite adept at leveraging his power, aren’t you?”

“I never said I disowned him as my father,” Mo Linyu retorted with self-assurance.

“I merely wish for him to fulfill his paternal responsibilities… Besides! As the Demon Lord, I possess the talent to govern a nation; he should feel honored if he entrusts the conglomerate to me in the future!”

“Uh, you might at least try learning how to be a daughter, don’t you think?”