Ring-ring—
At eight in the morning, the alarm clock rang right on time.
Wu Fan's hand reached out from under the quilt, groping around on the nightstand for a long time before finally grabbing that incessant, noisy plastic thing.
He squinted his eyes and pressed the alarm off. The date on the screen was August 15, 2010, an ordinary Sunday.
"Time to get up."
He muttered, turning to look at the woman still fast asleep beside him.
Karen Davies, the blonde rose of the Atlanta Police Department—at least she was a year ago.
Back then, she had just started, with a 1.75-meter model figure, and her smile could distract every bachelor in the precinct.
Now, though, she lay there with her blonde curls tangled on the pillow, and there was clearly some flab around her waist and abdomen; she was the spitting image of a young landlady.
Wu Fan's hand habitually gave her a pat.
"Hey!"
Karen woke up with a start, rolled over, and glared at him: "What are you doing?"
"Reminding you that you're going to be late for work."
Wu Fan sat up in bed and started to get dressed.
Karen stared at the ceiling for a few seconds, then reluctantly pulled back the quilt.
She got out of bed barefoot, walked into the bathroom, and turned on the faucet.
Amidst the splashing of water, Wu Fan heard her mechanically brushing her teeth and washing her face.
By the time he had his shirt on, Karen had already come out.
Black stockings, a professional skirt, and rimless glasses—this outfit really did cover up quite a few of the changes in her figure.
She stood in front of the mirror, skillfully pinning up her hair and securing it with a clip.
Throughout the whole process, she didn't even glance at Wu Fan.
It wasn't until she was ready to leave that she turned around, her face wearing that strictly business expression.
"Thank you for agreeing to stay with me for this one night."
Karen's voice was very calm: "Let's just end it here, since we're breaking up. Please don't disturb my life in the future."
She walked toward the door in her high heels, the click-clack sound particularly clear in the apartment.
Wu Fan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, he just nodded.
Karen didn't look back; she pulled the door open and walked out, slamming it shut with a bang.
Wu Fan stood there dazed for a few seconds, then gave a bitter smile.
It was like this again.
Thirty-one years old, and still like this.
Girlfriend after girlfriend, breaking up one after another. He'd been working for almost ten years and was still in an administrative role. He had applied for Xia citizenship eight times and was rejected every single time.
The reasons were always the same: no immediate family, not an urgent technological talent, and no record of large-scale public welfare contributions.
Sometimes he wondered, what would it be like if he had been born in Xia? Unfortunately, there were no "what ifs."
He was just an Asian from Chinatown who grew up in the United States, a Chinese person born in the United States, unable to return to that imagined homeland, and unable to integrate into the land beneath his feet.
Forget it, stop thinking about it.
Wu Fan fastened his belt and gave his attire one last check.
The man in the mirror had a lean physique with clearly defined muscle lines, showing no signs of the middle-aged spread common among other police officers.
This was thanks to his unwavering daily five-kilometer run and gym training.
In a profession overflowing with donuts and hamburgers, he was an anomaly.
This was probably also the reason why the wealthy women and young girls who came to file reports were willing to leave him their phone numbers.
Wu Fan picked up his car keys and took one last look at the apartment he had lived in for three years.
After today, Karen's things would all be moved out, and this place would completely be his own space.
That was fine too.
He went downstairs to the corner of the garage where a silver-gray Mercedes SLK was parked.
A soft-top two-seater, second-hand, but well-maintained.
This was a gift from a wealthy woman last year—she had called the police due to domestic violence, Wu Fan had taken her statement, and later, after she divorced, she insisted on giving him the car to "thank him for saving her life."
Wu Fan couldn't refuse, so he had to accept it.
Of course, he also wanted to thank the wealthy woman, but unfortunately, her ex-husband had sent her to meet God the night after the divorce.
The car drove out of the garage, and the morning light of Atlanta spilled onto the windshield.
The weather was nice.
Wu Fan parked the car in the employee parking lot behind the police station and pushed the door open to enter the building.
As soon as he entered the lobby, he sensed that something was wrong.
Telephone rings echoed one after another, and the dispatchers' voices were filled with obvious panic.
Several administrative staff members, who were usually unhurried, were now running back and forth, with files scattered all over the floor that no one bothered to pick up.
"What's going on?"
Wu Fan stopped a colleague who was rushing by.
"I don't know!"
The young white guy looked bewildered: "The alarm calls haven't stopped since Dawn. It's all sorts of messy things—biting incidents, violent assaults, car accidents... The dispatch center is going crazy. Every available officer has been sent out!"
Wu Fan furrowed his brow.
He had worked in the police station for ten years in an administrative role and had never seen a scene like this.
"Hey, Wu!"
A familiar voice came from behind.
Wu Fan turned around and saw Maddie.
She had just changed into her police uniform, held her car keys in her hand, and her expression was both irritable and slightly excited.
"You came at the right time..."
Maddie walked over: "Go to the armory to get your weapon and come with me to respond to the calls."
"Me?"
Wu Fan pointed at himself: "I'm administrative staff."
"There's no administrative or field role now; everyone has to go."
Maddie shrugged: "Orders just came down from above. It seems like something big has happened. Let's go! Don't dawdle. You don't want to be teamed up with Dawn if she sees you later!"
Wu Fan shivered; that old woman was not his cup of tea.
"Fine."
Wu Fan didn't say any more and turned to walk toward the armory.
Maddie paused for a moment, then quickly followed.
The armory was in the basement, and behind the heavy iron door was the old acquaintance, Fat Thompson.
This guy used to be a frontline patrol officer, but later, after getting injured, he applied to guard the armory. He spent his days squatting behind the window clutching a donut, his weight having soared to over two hundred pounds.
"Oh, God!"
Thompson opened his mouth wide in exaggeration when he saw Wu Fan: "What on earth is happening outside? Even a pretty boy like you has to go out on patrol?"
"How about you go, and I stay behind to guard?"
Wu Fan reached out his hand.
Thompson hurriedly pushed a glock 22 over, the safety still off, and the magazine heavy.
He then took two spare magazines and a box of bullets from the cabinet and stuffed them all into Wu Fan's arms.
"This is not funny at all..."
Thompson retreated behind his chair like a startled walrus: "I finally managed to retire from the front line. You young people should be the ones going! Good luck, Wu."
"Thanks."
Wu Fan checked the firearm and inserted the magazine into the tactical pouch at his waist.
When he walked out of the armory, Maddie was already waiting by the police car.
It was a Ford Crown Victoria, with black and white paint, and the police lights on the roof were still flashing.
"Get in."
Maddie opened the driver's side door.
Wu Fan sat in the passenger seat, and just as he fastened his seatbelt, Maddie had already stepped on the gas. The sudden acceleration left him speechless.
The police car rushed out of the parking lot, screaming, with red and blue lights casting mottled shadows on the street.
"What exactly is the situation?"
Wu Fan asked.
Maddie stared straight ahead, her brows knitted tight: "I don't know. Dispatch only said to go to Peachtree Street for support. There have been multiple violent incidents there. It sounds like a group brawl, but..."
She didn't finish her sentence.
The police car turned onto the main street, and Wu Fan finally saw the scene outside.
He thought he had braced himself well enough.
But the scene before his eyes still made him gasp.
The street was in total chaos.
Cars were parked haphazardly in the middle of the road; some had crashed into utility poles, others had driven straight onto the sidewalk.
The doors of several cars were open, with no one inside.
Further away, a school bus had overturned on the side of the road, with shattered glass covering the ground.