"Fake medicine dealer? Me?" Chen Shu was completely dumbfounded. As they started to drag him away, he protested, "Hey, let me pack up my medicine first! That stuff's worth hundreds of thousands!"
"You fake medicine peddlers don't have a shred of conscience, do you? You dare sell this little bit of stuff for hundreds of thousands?"
A Spirit Suppression officer looked indignant and extremely angry, but he didn't stop Chen Shu from packing up his goods. Otherwise, if someone else picked them up, it might cause even worse consequences.
Chen Shu and Zhang Dali were dragged to the Nanjiang City Spirit Suppression Bureau in complete confusion.
The day of reckoning had come way too fast!
---
Inside the interrogation room of the Spirit Suppression Bureau.
"Alright, spill it! Where's the gang backing you two? Come clean now! Confession brings leniency, resistance brings severity!" A Spirit Suppression officer questioned sternly.
"Officer, I really am not a fake medicine dealer."
Chen Shu rubbed his forehead. How did one trip to the Alternate Dimension result in everything changing when he got back?
"Not admitting it, huh? Wait here, we'll have the victims come identify you."
The Spirit Suppression officer snorted coldly and walked out of the interrogation room.
The black market was always a mix of real and fake goods. The Spirit Suppression Bureau normally wouldn't bother with such small matters, but the recent fake medicine dealers had been too brazen, with total damages reaching over ten million.
About half an hour later...
"Come on, let's go see the victims you've deceived!"
The Spirit Suppression officer led Chen Shu out. In the Bureau's main hall, more than a dozen people had already gathered—they were all victim representatives.
"Everyone take a look! Is it him?"
Instantly, more than a dozen people turned their gazes toward Chen Shu and Zhang Dali, naturally ignoring Zhang Dali completely.
"It's him! That's him! The black market Big Brother Dali!" a young man shouted.
"Because of him, all our contracted spirits became spray warriors¹, their stomachs are completely ruined, they're still in a weakened state!"
Everyone looked furious, glaring angrily at Chen Shu.
Chen Shu's mouth twitched. *Wait, am I the fake medicine dealer here?*
"Listen, everyone, are you sure the medicine was sold to you by me?"
His eyes were full of doubt. His medicine absolutely couldn't be fake—otherwise, his Golden Slime would have had problems long ago.
"This guy is in cahoots with you! He's the one who claimed that fake medicine dealer was selling genuine products!"
Someone pulled out their phone, showing a photo.
"Wang the Bastard?"
Chen Shu took a closer look and immediately recognized the person—it was Old Wang from the stall next to his.
Now he knew why Old Wang had disappeared. So he'd made a run for it?
Chen Shu said with a speechless expression, "He's just a scam artist selling mud! We're not close at all—we're not even in the same league!"
No wonder they got scammed. I'm really worried about these people's IQ.
"Think about it—when you took my medicine, did you ever have any problems?"
Chen Shu's soul-piercing question left everyone silent.
Just as the atmosphere fell into awkward silence, a middle-aged man suddenly walked in.
"Uncle Wang!" Zhang Dali shouted as if he'd found his savior.
It was Wang Qian, a good friend of Zhang Dali's father and the person who had delivered Chen Shu's prize money that day.
"Captain!" All the Spirit Suppression officers in the hall looked over.
"What's going on?" Wang Qian frowned and asked.
After a Spirit Suppression officer explained the situation, Wang Qian's eyes showed contemplation.
These two might be a bit mischievous, but they wouldn't stoop to selling fake medicine, especially not for such a large amount.
"Little Chen, what do you two have to say?"
Although Wang Qian knew them both, he didn't immediately release them to avoid gossip.
"Uncle Wang, we've really been wronged! No matter how broke I am, I'd never sell fake medicine! A bottle of mid-grade Strength Potion costs ten thousand—how many people can't even afford that? Which family doesn't have at least one strength-type contracted spirit?"
Chen Shu looked grief-stricken and sighed, "My Strength Potions only cost eight thousand. I'm only seventeen—I just wanted to benefit the masses. What crime have I committed?"
"..."
Wang Qian rubbed his forehead. You really can spin a tale, but as a veteran Spirit Suppression officer, he still extracted the key information.
"Your Strength Potions sell for eight thousand? Are there really such cheap potions?"
Wang Qian's gaze sharpened as he looked at Chen Shu, giving off an invisible sense of pressure.
Chen Shu didn't care in the slightest. He shrugged and said: "All my potions come from 666 Liquid Company². If you don't believe me, I can have someone from the company come verify it with you."
As a major company in Nanjiang City, it obviously had sufficient credentials to prove Chen Shu's innocence.
With that said, Wang Qian nodded and had Chen Shu's phone and other belongings returned to him.
Opening his phone, Chen Shu saw that SuperChat messages had been coming in for the past hour.
666 Team Leader, "Little Chen, the Beast Taming Team is planning to celebrate tonight. Want to come eat?"
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow. Perfect timing. He immediately started typing a SuperChat message.
Chen Shu cried out, "Uncle Zhou, I got arrested by the Spirit Suppression Bureau. They insist I'm a fake medicine dealer."
"When you didn't reply to messages, Uncle Zhou thought you were just logging off. Didn't expect you actually got caught in the net."
"..."
"In any case, could you give me a minute."
Chen Shu put away his phone and looked at Wang Qian.
"Uncle Wang, do you have any leads on that fake medicine case?"
Chen Shu was now furious. Someone actually dared to use his reputation to swindle and cheat?
Not only did they ruin his reputation, they also got him arrested by the Spirit Suppression Bureau.
Most importantly, they didn't even give him a franchise fee!
This was like someone borrowing your toilet paper, only to take a dump on your head with it!
This can be tolerated, but Chen Shu cannot tolerate it!⁴
"No leads for now. The Spirit Suppression Bureau has too many cases, we can't spare enough manpower." Wang Qian shook his head.
Even the Spirit Suppression officers who arrested Chen Shu and his friend were just interns.
"Uncle Wang, I think we should harness the power of the masses! Just post a mission through the Beast Tamer Association—offer a reward of one or two thousand Huaxia Points³. Under a heavy reward, there will surely be brave volunteers!"
Chen Shu's eyes lit up as he suggested to Wang Qian.
One or two thousand?
Wang Qian's eyes widened. You really dare to open your mouth, don't you?
Huaxia Points were incredibly precious and couldn't be measured in Huaxia currency. Forget about him being just a Spirit Suppression Bureau captain—even the director would need to apply to higher authorities.
However, Chen Shu's words did remind him that since they were short-staffed, they might as well outsource the job.
Before long, a dark-skinned man walked into the hall from outside.
Zhou Shi entered with a smile: "Little Chen, how's the prison food treating you?"
Chen Shu looked speechless. How much are you hoping I get arrested?
He said helplessly: "Uncle Zhou, stop it. Between you and him cracking jokes, I'll end up repenting in prison sooner or later."