The person who had kicked Xiao Xun a moment ago shouted, his voice rough, "Who dares..."
As the word "dares" left his lips, a large foot from behind him landed squarely on his lower back, sending him flying several meters away. He crashed heavily onto the ground, face first, letting out a pained groan.
The remaining three people realized that over a dozen individuals had appeared from nowhere. They were tall and imposing, exuding a chilling aura. The one leading them, dressed in a貂皮大衣 (mink fur coat), was as imposing as a great black bear.
All three were terrified, having no idea how these people had appeared so silently.
"Mr. Xiao, how should these four be handled?"
Xiao Xun was also curious, wondering where these people had been hiding to appear so quickly when he was in danger.
"From their appearance, it seems they're not new to this. Give them a lesson and hand them over to the police!"
Just as he finished speaking, a patrol car with flashing lights approached. Seeing the crowd gathered, they drove closer.
Two police officers, armed and ready, stepped out from the back seat. "What's going on here?"
Xiao Xun stepped forward. "Hello, my name is Xiao Xun."
Upon hearing the name Xiao Xun, the two officers recognized him. He was the young corporate executive who had recently been exonerated in a major case.
"Hello, please tell us what happened here."
Xiao Xun turned and pointed at the men who had tried to rob him. "Our company is having a team-building event here. I was tired from playing and decided to head home by taxi. Unexpectedly, these four men appeared, demanding money, and calling themselves the 'Rich Haters Alliance.'"
The police officers glanced at the dozen burly men standing behind Xiao Xun. "And them...?"
As Xiao Xun was unsure how to explain, the bear-like man approached.
"I recognized your voice. Don't you recognize me?"
The police officers looked up at the man who towered over them by two heads and immediately straightened their posture, saluting. "Instructor Ma, long time no see. What brings you here?"
The bear-like man gently patted Xiao Xun's shoulder. "As Mr. Xiao said, he was having team building, and so were we. We just happened to run into each other. Seeing injustice, we lent a hand. It's that simple."
The police officer pressed the transceiver on his right shoulder. "A robbery case has occurred near the Longping Street villa district. Four main perpetrators. Please send a vehicle."
A voice responded from the other end, "Received. We've contacted the nearest police station for support."
The bear-like man said to the officers, "If there's nothing else for us here, we'll be going."
"Could you please take their statements!"
The bear-like man said in an unrefusable tone, "Mr. Xiao's presence is sufficient. You can consider Mr. Xiao as the one who subdued these thugs."
With that, he and his group vanished into the night.
The four young men, except for the one who had been kicked to the ground and could no longer get up, had already crouched on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.
After giving their statements, the sky had completely brightened.
Xiao Xun had been awake all night and had consumed a significant amount of alcohol. Although he had vomited much of it, a considerable amount had been absorbed into his bloodstream.
He had a bowl of soy milk and two fried dough sticks at a breakfast stall near the police station. Afterward, he ate a jianbing guozi in a small alley before taking a taxi to the company.
Upon entering his office, he reclined his office chair, kicked off his shoes, and fell asleep. In his sleep, he smelled a pleasant, refreshing fragrance.
When he woke up, he found himself covered by a brown women's light jacket, the scent emanating from it.
He took out his phone to check the time, only to find it had automatically shut down.
He raised his chair, draped the jacket over the backrest, and plugged in his phone to charge.
He checked the time; it was past ten in the morning.
Xiao Xun's head throbbed intensely, feeling like it was about to explode. He got up and took a can of cola from the nearby beverage cooler, pulling the tab and drinking it down in one go.
He couldn't help but exclaim, "Refreshing."
He felt instantly revitalized.
He glanced at the watch in his drawer, intended as a gift for Chu Ningxiang, and remembered he had promised to meet her this week.
He picked up the phone and called Guan Jiawen over. "Is this your jacket?"
Guan Jiawen looked at Xiao Xun holding her light jacket and nodded softly, giving a barely audible "Mm."
Xiao Xun handed the jacket to Guan Jiawen and said, "Thank you."
Guan Jiawen took the light jacket, fidgeted for a long time, and in a voice too soft to hear herself, replied, "You're welcome."
However, when she raised her head with flushed ears, she found Xiao Xun had already left the office.
Xiao Xun was heading to the restroom when his phone rang. He stopped in his tracks.
Guan Jiawen quickly grabbed the phone and rushed out of the office, shouting after Xiao Xun's retreating back, "President Xiao, it's the President calling."
The air instantly froze, and the sound of typing throughout the office area ceased.
Guan Jiawen looked embarrassed, lowered her head with a flushed face, and hurried back to Xiao Xun with the phone.
Xiao Xun took the phone, said thank you, and pressed the answer button. The call had already ended on the other side.
"You can go back to work!"
Then, he called back. "President Mu, what is it?"
"You didn't come home all night. Where are you now?"
Xiao Xun frowned. "I came to the company early this morning. I drank too much last night and fell asleep on my chair. I didn't realize it was already past ten when I woke up."
Mu Jiahe's voice came from the receiver. "It's alright, I was just asking. The main reason I called is to remind you that you must come home tonight."
"Okay, I'll wait for you in the underground garage after work, alright?"
As he passed through the office area, he saw the staff busy working. The design director, with dark circles under his eyes, presented the original artwork and skins for the initial heroes to Xiao Xun, explaining their moves.
Xiao Xun scratched his head, listening. "Isn't the similarity a bit too obvious? If it's like this, before it even officially launches, it'll be heavily criticized by players during the closed beta."
The design director looked aggrieved. "But these are the most classic characters. I checked, and their pick rates are extremely high. With them included, it can become popular in a short period."
Xiao Xun considered the suggestion, tapping his chin. "How about this: make some further modifications to the characters' appearances. Since it's a mobile game, control the duration of each match to within fifteen minutes, maximizing the game's advantages to turn all players into our company's 'organic advocates.' This way, we won't have to worry about online arguments."
The design director nodded. "Alright, I'll have them make some changes."
Xiao Xun patted his shoulder. "Thank you for your hard work."
At that moment, a designer who was drawing the original artwork stood up. "President Xiao, I have a suggestion. I'm not sure if I should say it."
"If you have a suggestion, speak up. If it's reasonable, I'll definitely consider it."
The designer pointed at his computer screen and said, "I want to have my game characters voiced by Nana."
"Nana, your girlfriend?"
The designer blushed and said, "No, she's my favorite voice actress. I think her voice perfectly matches my game characters."