"Come on, come on. Stand between us and let's take a picture."
Team Leader Liu motioned for He Ao to stand between him and his colleagues.
"Um, Team Leader Liu, isn't there supposed to be some kind of banner for an act of courage?"
He Ao glanced at the two Police Uncles beside him. People who performed acts of courage usually took commemorative photos, but there had always been banners before.
As things stood, he felt like he only needed a pair of silver bracelets and a yellow jacket before he could appear on a crime-and-law program.
"It's fine, it's fine. The banner isn't ready yet. We can just Photoshop one in later." Team Leader Liu laughed and pointed at the old camera in front of them. "Come on, look at the camera."
He Ao somehow felt that the yellow jacket and silver bracelets could be Photoshopped in too.
In any case, he successfully received his ten-thousand-yuan reward.
This time, it really had been much faster than before. The quickest it had ever taken previously was three days, but today he got it in just a few hours. Looking at the thick envelope, He Ao asked, "Team Leader Liu, don't tell me you fronted this money yourself?"
"What are you thinking, kid? Just because you're poor doesn't mean I'm rich?" Team Leader Liu smacked He Ao on the forehead. "I did help rush the application, but I didn't expect it to be approved this quickly either."
He Ao could tell from his smile that he was not telling the truth, but he did not expose him.
Still, it was indeed unlikely that Team Leader Liu had paid out of pocket. The expedited process was probably not exactly by the book.
"Little Ao, if you acknowledge me as Uncle Liu, then listen to this advice," Team Leader Liu suddenly looked seriously at He Ao. "Times are different now. You've gotten into college too, so stop doing these dangerous things. Study hard and learn well. You won't be short of money in the future."
Team Leader Liu's surname was Liu, and his given name was Zheng. His conduct truly lived up to his name. Though he had remained in this small place without any chance of promotion, there was absolutely nothing to criticize about his character. He had also looked after He Ao a great deal; otherwise, He Ao would not have kept coming to him for help.
"Mm-hmm, okay." He Ao nodded quickly, then casually added, "Team Leader Liu, I'll head back first. I still have to set up my stall tonight."
"You really took my words as wind past your ears, huh?" Liu Zheng scolded him with a laugh, waving him off. "Get lost. I don't want to see you anymore."
"Hehe."
He Ao chuckled without arguing and headed straight out of the police station.
He was a law-abiding good citizen. Where would any danger come from?
Just as he left through the main entrance, a man in a black trench coat approached him, looking cold and aloof.
His stance was steady, his gaze sharp, and his expression calm.
This guy looked like a real hardcase.
That was He Ao's assessment of the man.
Aura was a strange thing. It was tied to one's living environment.
People who had long occupied high positions often gave others the feeling that they were imposing even without anger. In reality, it was because they had spent so long in central positions where they could command others. In daily interactions, they naturally continued to assume that role. Their perspective on the world differed from that of ordinary people, and their actions carried the decisiveness and unquestionable certainty of a commander. That was why people found them authoritative.
Likewise, those who had truly seen blood, once they crossed that threshold, came to realize that humans were not much different from pigs or dogs. They would die if killed too. Without noticing it themselves, their perspective on the world changed, and that change extended into their aura as well.
That was why an experienced hunter could easily tell whether another hunter had seen blood.
He Ao and the man passed each other. His gaze lingered on the other man's face only briefly before they each continued in their original directions.
The man walked straight into the police station.
At that moment, Liu Zheng was handing out cigarettes to his subordinates. "Brothers, work a little harder these next few days. The sooner we catch that guy, the sooner we can relax. Later, send two brothers to follow He Ao for a couple of days. I'm worried that guy might come back with a U-turn strike."
"He won't come back." A low voice suddenly rang out as the man in the trench coat entered the room. "Leave He Ao alone for now. We'll protect him."
"Researcher Zhang." Liu Zheng smiled as he handed him a cigarette and led him into his small office. "I also need to thank you for helping with the reward approval. I only mentioned it in passing. I didn't expect you to act so quickly."
"It's nothing." The man took the cigarette and held it between his lips, following him into the office and casually closing the door behind him. "We're just a civilian organization. We can't influence much. We merely passed along your suggestion. Did Bull leave any clues at He Ao's home?"
"There was a piece of torn clothing. It's already been sent for DNA testing." Liu Zheng took a white card from the drawer and handed it to the man. "And there's this custom IC card. We're trying to find its manufacturer."
The man took the card and turned it over, then pulled a UV lamp from his pocket and shone it on the back. Two large characters, like painted calligraphy, appeared on its reverse: [Bull]. "It's Bull's Dawn identity card."
"Dawn?"
Liu Zheng looked somewhat puzzled.
"A fairly active illegal civilian organization." The man pocketed the card. "I'll take this card with me first. Leave this matter to us. I'll contact you if anything comes up."
--
Night fell.
A speeding motorcycle roared down the road, kicking up a cloud of dust.
He Ao hurriedly shut the glass display case of his little stall to keep the dust from settling on the cold noodles and cold rice noodles inside.
He looked at the text in his field of vision. Only now did he have time to carefully examine the prompt the system had given after he claimed his reward.
First was the constantly ticking countdown in the lower-right corner of his vision: 20:03:27 remaining until the next game began.
Then, a flashing little person icon appeared in the upper-left corner of his vision.
He Ao focused his attention on the little person, and it quickly expanded into an attribute panel.
He Ao Permission Level: Normal Player Physical Fitness: 15 (ordinary people in the Copy World are 10; ordinary people in the Main World are 5) Skills: Talent Sequence 272: Hyperthymesia (Soulbound) (Rank F) Mechanical Modification: None Martial Arts: Qi Induction (Rank F)
This attribute panel was very simple. It did not display a bunch of flashy functions, only his Physical Fitness and skills.
Judging from this system data, was He Ao now three times as strong as an ordinary person in the Main World?
He had no clear sense of it, because combat was not judged solely by Physical Fitness. Still, he definitely had not been this strong before—at most, around 1.3 times stronger. He mainly relied on technique when fighting, never using his hands when he could use his brain.
It seemed the Vermillion Fruit really had improved his Physical Fitness.
Then his attention shifted to the "Martial Arts" entry.
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