Enforcer Manual
Chapter 209: Self-Defense_1

Chapter 209: Chapter 209: Self-Defense_1

Song Lan never expected that instead of meeting Medea who he had been waiting for, he would stumble upon a murder case on his very first day of moving in.

Out of a sense of duty as a Law Enforcer, he closely observed the neighboring situation because, in his view, the combination of Su Li with that young girl was somewhat strange and, judging from the scene, it did not seem to be premeditated murder.

With Su Li’s capabilities as a three-star rescuer, if he really wanted to kill someone, he probably wouldn’t have had to resort to strangling them with his hands.

In Song Lan’s opinion, it looked more like Su Li had unconsciously killed someone after getting high on drugs.

He immediately reported his findings to Lu Xiang, who quickly produced a portrait of the victim based on his description, and located the relevant information about the victim from the Law Enforcers’ database.

The victim was a well-known socialite in District 17’s upper class, and this morning, she had attended a business event with Su Li. Lu Xiang speculated that after the event ended, the two might have returned to Su Li’s temporary residence.

This dwelling was rented for Su Li by Kolo Film and Television Media to help him better immerse himself in his role.

Quarter of an hour later, Lu Xiang, accompanied by a special operations team and the Mechanical Insect Tribe lurking in the shadows, came knocking and managed to capture Su Li, who was still not sober from the effects of drugs, and the body was also taken back to the station.

Whether it was because Su Li was not clear-headed or not, he did not put up a fierce struggle, which relieved both the neighboring Song Lan and the Mechanical Horn Bug hidden in the shadows.

Su Li made the right choices at every critical moment, preventing him from being killed on the spot after murdering someone and being stubbornly defensive.

However, after bringing Su Li back to the station, Lu Xiang also found himself in a headache.

Because the perpetrator this time was not a criminal from District 17 but a three-star rescuer, even with conclusive evidence at the scene, it was difficult to convict Su Li through legal means.

According to the autopsy results, the strangulation marks on the victim’s neck were indeed caused by Su Li, but there was no third witness throughout the incident.

Even Song Lan did not know what had happened before that.

And in the United Government’s protection laws for rescuers, there is an almost rogue provision—when a rescuer feels threatened, they have the right to kill the person posing the threat.

This provision was included in The Third Act of Rescuers and Infinite Defenses, and its most rogue aspect is that the threat does not have to be objectively present; as long as the rescuer subjectively believes they have been threatened, they have the autonomy to defend themselves.

In other words, as long as Su Li insists after sobering up that the victim had posed a threat to him, then the incident will be deemed as justifiable self-defense.

Many legal scholars have pointed out the impropriety of this act, arguing that the threat should have an objective definition, but every proposal to amend the act has been rejected.

This is because it involves another issue.

In today’s world where superhuman powers exist, objective threats are hard to define. The person harboring murderous intent towards you does not necessarily have to be approaching you with a knife or a gun; for some Psychic Ability Users, they could take your life simply by performing seemingly harmless actions as they pass you by.

Because in the moment when a threat is possible, it must be up to the rescuer themselves to make a decision based on experience or intuition.

Both sides can find countless examples to support their arguments.

To this day, cases of wrongful killing occur in various cities every year; of course, there are also cases where rescuers have died because they chose to be merciful and did nothing in a moment of kindness.

Ultimately, the United Government enacted The Third Act of Rescuers and Infinite Defenses to protect those heroes who had made outstanding contributions to the nation.

So, a saying often circulates in the core areas.

Do not provoke a rescuer.

Under the protection of this act, the killer holds the ultimate right to interpret their actions; in other words, if as an ordinary person you provoke a rescuer and they kill you, it’s considered a justified killing.

And now, she had no choice but to interrogate Su Li, who held the ultimate right to explain his own act of murder.

If the latter could provide an explanation that was logically coherent, according to "The Third Law of Rescuers and Infinite Defenses", they would have to release him.

Moreover, it was very likely that the matter had already been leaked to Kolo Film and Television Media; as a giant corporation on par with Tesla Tech, their legal department must already be planning a rescue.

After being brought back to the Law Enforcers’ department, Su Li also came to his senses from his dazed state.

Lu Xiang entered the interrogation room, and before she could speak, Su Li said in a calm tone, "She drugged me."

He seemed to be acutely aware of what he had done, and he did not feel regret for his actions, "I don’t know what kind of drug it was, but after taking it my consciousness became muddled. To ensure my own safety, I could only make the most rational judgment. However, there’s one thing I need to declare: at the time, I only wanted to make her faint, but under the influence of the drug, I couldn’t control my strength accurately."

"So you crushed her neck?"

Lu Xiang looked up at Su Li.

The victim’s cause of death was suffocation, but the autopsy showed her cervical vertebrae were broken, which more than demonstrated the ferocity of the force used.

Upon hearing this, a trace of self-reproach crossed Su Li’s eyes, "That was not my intention."

"Then why did you take the drug she gave you?"

"Because she said it was a new type of enhancement drug developed by their company and hoped that I would help them test it."

As he spoke, Su Li lifted his arm, clenched his fist in front of her, and the next moment, his swelling muscles instantly ripped through the sleeve, making his arm look as terrifying as that of a Beast Man, "As you can see, I passed the Level Three Strength Assessment last year. I thought this was just a regular business collaboration."

Hearing this, Lu Xiang nodded and did not pursue the question further.

Su Li had given an explanation that was logically coherent; if she wanted to challenge the validity of this explanation, she would need to produce compelling evidence.

In cases involving rescuers, personal doubts are weak and ineffective.

Moreover, Su Li’s explanation was seamless, not like a story made up on the spot after being brought in.

So, there were only two possibilities.

Either what Su Li said was true, that he experienced significant discomfort after taking the pill, and he killed the other party in self-defense; or, he had done this before and could face the interrogation calmly.

While the two talked, the legal department of Kolo Film and Television Media arrived; they had prepared evidence that would ensure Su Li could walk out of the Law Enforcers’ department door.

This evidence proved that the victim had close dealings with a local gang involved in the illegal drug trade, and many who had interacted with her accused the victim of drugging their drinks to blackmail and extort them.

Su Li’s performance in the interrogation room was also impeccable.

He remained composed throughout, neither exploding in anger nor pulling rank as a three-star rescuer; instead, he was actively cooperating with the interrogation process.

Even upon leaving, he expressed support for their work and willingness to cooperate with all subsequent investigations.

Did Su Li really kill the victim in self-defense?

Even the seasoned Lu Xiang began to have her doubts.