“Ah! Ahhh”
First, his lower body was pinned under the shelf, then his hand was stepped on and his knife was taken away.
The man on the ground let out a sharp scream of pain, then howled frantically as he struggled to get up.
Zhou Huaixia was almost thrown off.
Her vision darkened, and her left hand fumbled for a cup.
Without hesitation, she leaned forward and smashed it at the man who was trying to get up.
“Bang.”
“Crash!”
The pink-lidded glass cup made a dull thud, but it had zero impact on the man crawling out from under the shelf.
Instead, the cup slipped from Zhou Huaixia’s hand and shattered into pieces.
For a moment, the man was stunned.
Lü Jin, who had just bent down to snatch the knife: “…”
She met the man’s bloodshot eyes, quickly picked up a cup from the ground with her other hand, and, before he could throw Zhou Huaixia off, smashed it hard against his head.
“Thud!”
“Thud! Thud!”
The 304 stainless steel thermos hit the man’s head three times in succession with a deep, dull sound.
His crazed expression froze, his eyes rolled back, and he completely passed out.
Lü Jin let out a heavy breath.
It took three hits to finally knock him unconscious.
She pushed up her slipping glasses with the back of her hand, stepped over the chaotic mess on the floor, and walked a few steps toward the store employee.
“Could you please call the police?”
The store employee stepped back repeatedly, staring at Lü Jin’s hands one holding a kitchen knife and the other gripping a thermos with fear flashing in her eyes.
“Oh, my apologies.” Lü Jin carefully placed the thermos beside the shelf and smiled at the employee.
“I’ll hand over the knife when the police arrive, just in case someone else tries to take it.”
From the moment Zhou Huaixia knocked over the shelf to when Lü Jin snatched the knife and knocked the man unconscious, less than a minute had passed.
The onlookers who had heard the commotion were still in the process of gathering.
The store employee, still dazed, glanced at the mess on the floor.
Finally snapping back to her senses, she hurriedly took out her phone, stammering as she called the police.
“Uh, hello, there are three, three people causing trouble in the store.”
“He has a kitchen knife…” Zhou Huaixia listened to the employee’s conversation with the dispatcher, closed her eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and added, “He was trying to kill someone.”
The store employee looked at her and quickly repeated, “Someone is trying to kill people with a knife.”
The dispatcher immediately asked for the exact location, which the store employee promptly provided.
The dispatcher advised her to stay safe and assured her that the police would arrive shortly.
“Are you okay?” Lü Jin reached out a hand to help Zhou Huaixia up.
Zhou Huaixia remained half-lying on the collapsed shelf, her face terrifyingly pale, her clothes completely soaked.
She lay still for a long time before she could finally focus on Lü Jin’s face and slowly said, “Please, also call an ambulance.”
She was pretty sure her right arm was broken from the impact.
Ten minutes later, ambulances and police arrived one after the other at the first floor of the shopping mall.
The store had already been cleared by security, while a curious crowd gathered just outside.
“Who’s injured?”
“Where’s the man with the knife?”
Emergency doctors and police officers pushed through the crowd, asking questions to the mall security at the entrance.
The security guard stepped aside and pointed inside the store.
Hearing the voices, Lü Jin immediately raised the knife and shouted, “Over here!”
The scene was clear.
The floor was a mess, and she was holding a knife while seemingly restraining a young woman sitting on a collapsed shelf.
The woman clutched her arm, looking pale and injured, while beneath the shelf lay a motionless man.
The arriving police officers instantly raised their shields and riot batons, advancing with stern voices.
“Freeze!”
Lü Jin immediately dropped the knife and raised both hands.
“I’m the good guy!”
After three minutes of frantic explanations from all sides, the fully armed police officers finally relaxed.
The emergency doctors moved forward with stretchers to check on Zhou Huaixia and the unconscious suspect.
“She might have a fracture, but it doesn’t seem too severe.
We’ll need an X-ray at the hospital to confirm.”
The doctor asked, “Can you stand up on your own?”
Zhou Huaixia had rested for about ten minutes.
The dizziness had lessened, so she nodded and slowly stood up with the support of a nearby nurse.
The doctor then checked the unconscious suspect, muttering to himself, “Forget his head—his hand looks even worse than the girl’s.”
Meanwhile, the police had retrieved all surveillance footage from the store.
Given the circumstances, the unconscious man was taken to the hospital under police escort, while Zhou Huaixia and Lü Jin were taken to the station in a police car.
Zhou Huaixia stared out the window.
The flashing red and blue police lights reflected continuously against the glass.
She recalled everything that had just happened, still unable to understand why she had suddenly seen those images.
“Hey, for a moment, I thought you were rushing at me.” Lü Jin nudged her and turned to talk.
“You scared me stiff.”
Although her roommate was a little odd, Lü Jin knew she was fundamentally just.
If she wanted to cling to her more in the future, Lü Jin figured she could tolerate it.
Zhou Huaixia glanced at her.
“You reacted really fast.”
While everyone else was still processing what had happened, Lü Jin had already stepped forward and snatched the kitchen knife.
Perhaps it was an understanding that only people like them shared.
Without her help, things might have turned out much worse.
The police officer in the passenger seat overheard them and turned around to praise them.
“It’s thanks to your quick reaction that no one was seriously hurt.”
The officers had reviewed the surveillance footage, and if not for these two young women, someone would have definitely gotten hurt.
“No kidding.
We had to replay the footage several times just to see what exactly happened.”
The driver chuckled and asked, “You two are still students, right?”
Lü Jin nodded.
“Yes, we’re both from S University.”
The officer in the driver’s seat sighed.
“No wonder you’re so quick-witted you’re top students.”
The ambulance and police car stopped at S University’s First Affiliated Hospital.
A police officer accompanied Zhou Huaixia to the emergency department for X-rays, while others guarded the suspect.
Half an hour later, the expedited results were out.
The doctor reviewed them and said, “Fortunately, it’s only a hairline fracture.
We’ll fix it with a splint and prescribe some medication.
But since it’s your right hand, daily life might be inconvenient for a while.”
The doctor glanced at her damp clothes and asked, “Are you in severe pain, or were you scared?”
Zhou Huaixia forced a weak smile.
When she came out with her arm fixed, the suspect’s diagnosis was also ready.
She overheard a doctor speaking to the police outside.
“He has a mild concussion and might feel nauseous when he wakes up, but his right-hand fingers suffered a comminuted fracture and will require surgery.”
“…”
Zhou Huaixia turned to Lü Jin, who was holding her backpack.
Did her kick really have that much force?
Lü Jin calmly adjusted her glasses.
“I work out regularly, so my strength is slightly above average.”
“To be honest, I didn’t control my force in the heat of the moment.”
She hesitated.
“Will I need to compensate him?”
“No, you were preventing him from hurting others.”
A police officer reassured them.
“But we’ll need you to stay here a little longer.
Since this case involves public safety, criminal investigators will take over, and they may need to question you.”
“No problem.” Lü Jin readily agreed.
“We’re on break anyway.
Besides, I’m familiar with”
“Lü Jin!”
A stern, anxious female voice interrupted her.