A stern-faced police officer stood in front of me, his roar as deafening as thunder, shaking my very soul:

"Zhuang Cheng, you've broken the law! Do you understand that!?

"That girl is a murderer with many lives on her hands. Not only did you illegally conceal firearms and ammunition, but you also harbored and protected her!

"You’re an accomplice, her partner in crime!"

I couldn’t bear to meet his gaze. I hastily covered my ears and turned away, only to find my parents standing behind me, their voices and eyes filled with utter disappointment:

"We raised you with our hard-earned money, sent you to university, not to raise a criminal who disrupts society's peace.

"Prepare yourself to go to prison. After you get out, don’t contact us anymore.

"We no longer have a son like you..."

My friend also appeared in front of me, but after making eye contact with me, he recoiled and quickly stepped back. From a distance, he called out to me:

"Acheng, I never thought you’d actually commit a crime...

"From now on, don’t tell anyone you know me. I don’t want to be dragged down with you…"

Suddenly, the surroundings were plunged into complete darkness, and then it brightened again.

Under the harsh lights, a judge looked down at me from a high podium, his voice solemn and merciless as he announced:

"The defendant, Zhuang Cheng, harbored and concealed a murderer, illegally hid firearms and ammunition, showed no remorse, and the circumstances are serious. With multiple crimes compounded, he is sentenced to life imprisonment, effective immediately!"

"!!!"

---

The sensation of imbalance, a sharp jolt, and pain.

I suddenly woke up.

But the surroundings were not my familiar bedroom.

It took me a couple of seconds to regain my senses. It turns out everything that happened before was just a nightmare. I must have rolled off the couch while sleeping, landing on the floor. This is the living room of my home, sunlight pouring in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, and I can vaguely hear the sounds of the city outside.

It’s already daytime.

Why was I sleeping on the couch...?

Right, last night I gave up the bed in my bedroom for the mysterious beautiful girl I brought back from outside... but that part wasn’t a dream.

As I was sorting through the chaotic thoughts in my mind, I pushed myself up from the couch and immediately noticed the metal object placed on it.

It was a handgun.

Last night, I hadn’t gone straight to sleep on the couch. Instead, I had been fiddling with the handgun. While I didn’t take the cliché of “real guns and ammo are a man’s romance” as a motto or anything, I had indeed been deeply fascinated by it. While playing with the gun, I imagined myself aiming and shooting at imagined enemies, targeting various objects around the house like the dining table, refrigerator, and TV, enjoying it without getting tired of the exercise.

I wasn’t particularly worried about an accidental discharge. In action movies, I’d often seen characters get into dangerous situations because they forgot to disengage the safety mechanism on their guns. Even though I knew very little about firearms, I had a particularly vivid memory of the safety mechanism. When I brought my laptop into the living room, I cross-referenced the relevant knowledge I found online and discovered that the safety on this handgun had been previously engaged, so I made sure to turn it off.

However, no matter what, a real gun is a real weapon, a terrifying tool capable of taking lives with ease. If the authorities discover that I possess a firearm and have been hiding a dangerous murderer, the nightmare in my mind could quickly turn into a merciless reality, instantly ruining my future.

No, wait… I can’t be certain that girl is a murderer yet. I know nothing about her.

How is she now? Has she woken up? Has she already sneaked away?

I took the handgun and hid it behind my back, feeling uneasy as I moved to the bedroom door.

The empty can was still perfectly positioned on the door handle just as it had been last night. I breathed a small sigh of relief, took the can down, and then, moving quietly as if in a zombie game, I pushed the door open and peeked inside to take a look.

Fortunately, the girl was still in the bedroom. She lay on the bed, motionless, just like the empty can, with only the slight rise and fall of her chest as she breathed rhythmically.

After a night, the blood on her body had dried and turned into a dark, solidified substance, no longer fresh.

If you ignored the faint bloodstains on her cheek and the dirty, torn blue-and-white hospital gown, her innocent sleeping face could easily be mistaken for that of a sweet, pure neighbor girl, completely disconnected from the harsh, serious words like firearms, murderers, life imprisonment, and so on.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

After a night’s sleep, my once fervent emotions had cooled, and I began to reflect on the consequences of my impulsive actions.

I would never regret the choice I made; that is not in my nature. The only thing I can’t be at ease about now is whether this girl will meet my expectations. Will the secrets she hides be as incredible as I hope, or will they be far less than I imagined?

Let’s assume that after she wakes up, I ask her about her background, and she answers truthfully. If the story she gives is an utterly dull and unremarkable one, it would truly be a huge disappointment, considering the risks I’ve taken.

At that point, to protect myself, I might have no choice but to secretly deal with her.

Secretly deal with her... I can’t believe I’m even having thoughts like a hired killer.

Perhaps even that wouldn't be enough. If this girl really is a dangerous individual wanted by official forces, with my amateur skills in counter-surveillance, I’d have no hope of escaping pursuit. The traces left from last night might be enough to pinpoint my location.

However, I also realized that perhaps, deep down, I was expecting such an unexpected event to happen. It would be boring to just get away scot-free. If the authorities could pick up on the faintest trace and come knocking at my door, that would be far more interesting.

Caught up in this conflicted emotion, I took a couple of steps forward and leaned in to observe the girl’s sleeping posture.

And then, an accident happened.

The girl suddenly opened her eyes. Her arm, hidden beneath the blanket, shot out with lightning speed, grabbing my collar.

At the same time, her body moved like a predator on the hunt, flipping off the bed and using both her arm strength and body weight to disrupt my already unstable balance.

I instinctively struggled, but it was in vain. It seemed as though she had used judo or some other technique to take advantage of my own force. For a moment, I couldn't even describe what was happening. All I could feel was the world spinning, as a powerful impact slammed into my torso.

When I regained my senses, I realized I had been pinned to the floor, with my limbs locked in place.

Although this was an unexpected ambush, I hadn’t imagined that a girl of her age could overpower me like this. Had she been pretending to sleep the whole time? So she really isn’t an ordinary person? I couldn’t help but feel a mix of surprise and admiration.

After executing this impressive wrestling move, she didn’t speak or make any further moves. She simply pressed her entire body down on my back, breathing heavily in my ear.

"You're awake?" I was the first to break the silence, eager to see her reaction.

After a long pause, she finally spoke.

"Who... are you?" Her voice was sweet and youthful, but there was an unmistakable tone of threat in her words. "Where is this place? Why am I here? If you don't want to suffer, answer me immediately."

"My name is Zhuang Cheng, and this is my home." The question wasn't beyond my expectations, so I answered honestly and briefly. "I found you last night, covered in blood, lying in a nearby abandoned construction site, so I brought you here."

"...I don't understand." She maintained her high-alert posture but asked with some confusion, "What do you mean, 'brought you here'? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Didn't you tell me 'don't call the police'?" I answered patiently. "I couldn't just leave you there, could I? What if some malicious homeless person found you?"

"Is that so? But..."

She took a deep breath, then propped herself up on my back, freeing one hand as if she were checking her body. Was she checking to see if I had taken advantage of her while she was unconscious?

No, she was more likely searching for the firearm she carried with her.

She was probably still very weak. Suddenly, her body lost balance, and she almost fell.

I instantly seized this golden opportunity, quickly freed my left hand from her grip, and swiftly drew the handgun hidden at my waist. Without looking back, I pressed the muzzle against her torso.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

At my words, her body stiffened immediately.

One for the win!

I was extremely satisfied with my performance, 120% above and beyond expectations. Could this scene be straight out of an action movie?

Indeed, in stark contrast to my full energy, her current condition was poor. Even though she was pressing against my back, she hadn't noticed the handgun hidden at my waist in time. From her initial tactics and demeanor, I sensed a warrior-like sharpness and skill, but a true warrior wouldn't have made such a mistake, would they? This meant she was far from being in her normal state… Can I interpret it this way?

Perhaps her outward appearance was unharmed, but something else might have been injured… Internal injuries, perhaps?

"Tit for tat. Now it's your turn to answer my questions." To avoid her detecting the intensity of my emotions, I tried to speak as calmly as possible. "Who are you? Where do you come from?"

"You think this counts as winning?"

Clearly, my unexpected counterattack not only failed to intimidate her, but actually heightened her fighting spirit.

This alone couldn’t be considered my victory. The situation had escalated so suddenly that I hadn’t even had time to disengage the safety on the handgun. Even if I had, it would have been inconvenient to fire a weapon in the middle of the neighborhood. More importantly, I truly didn’t want to shoot her.

However, she probably still didn’t know that the safety on the gun was now off.

Didn’t she fear real bullets?

“You don’t want to escalate things here, do you?” I didn’t intend to lose ground in the verbal sparring. “Get off me.”

“I refuse.” She responded without hesitation, her attitude now sharp and defiant, "Right now..."

Thud, thud, thud.

At that moment, there came a knock on the door from the hallway.

We both immediately fell silent.

“Is anyone home?” came a voice from outside.

Who could it be? A delivery person? Do I have any packages coming?

“I’ll go get rid of them,” I whispered to the girl, turning my neck to speak.

“No.” She immediately refused, “What if…”

“Or, I could just start yelling or even fire the gun,” I said, making an empty threat.

Upon hearing this, she fell into silence, seemingly weighing the situation or trying to determine if my threat was genuine.

Soon, she released her hold on me and took a step back, standing on the bed with the alertness of a wild animal, gazing down at me with caution.

I quickly got up from the floor, grabbed a random T-shirt from the wardrobe, and, after stepping out of the bedroom, closed the door behind me. The close contact with the girl had left blood stains on my clothes, so while moving towards the hallway, I swiftly changed my shirt, calling out “Coming, coming!” while wrapping my dirty clothes around the gun and hiding it behind the sofa.

Reaching the hallway, I opened the door and saw who was standing outside.

At that moment, my heart nearly stopped.

Standing at the door was a police officer, with a mature face and a stern expression.

“Is there something I can help you with?” I consciously controlled my facial muscles, trying to maintain composure.

"Sorry to disturb you, I'm a police officer, and we're currently searching for a fugitive serial killer." He first showed me his badge, then handed me a photo. "If you've seen this face around here, please provide any relevant information."

I took the photo and looked down, and my heart nearly gave out.

The "fugitive serial killer" in the photo was none other than the girl I had hidden in my bedroom.