[Ding! Consumed 100 Crit Points. Basic Constable Saber Technique crit succeeded!]
The system prompt had barely faded when Lin Feng felt as though a bolt of heavenly lightning had struck his mind with savage force!
A vast, pure torrent surged into his sea of consciousness in an instant.
It was neither some abstruse cultivation art nor some earth-shattering technique, but endless insights into the most plain and unadorned saber art of all—the Basic Constable Saber Technique!
How to grip the saber with the least effort, how to strike with the greatest speed, how to chop most effectively, how to block with the greatest stability...
It was as though a saber grandmaster who had immersed himself in this path for decades had, in a single instant, poured the crystallized essence of his lifetime's work into Lin Feng's mind.
Basic Constable Saber Technique, mastered to perfection!
It sounded like a long tale, but in the outside world, it had taken only an instant.
After dealing with Old Wang, the blue-black zombie fixed the ghostly flames in its hollow eye sockets upon the only living person left in the Mass Grave—Lin Feng.
"Roar!"
It let out a low growl, carrying thick corpse stench and a bloody gale, then stomped fiercely on the ground. Its foot left a shallow crater in the solid earth, while its body turned into a blue-black bolt of lightning, its claws lunging straight for Lin Feng's heart!
Too fast!
If it had been the old Lin Feng, he likely would not even have had time to react before being disemboweled in an instant.
But now, things were different!
In Lin Feng's eyes, the zombie's ghostlike movements seemed as though someone had pressed the slow-motion button.
Flaws! Flaws everywhere!
In pursuit of ultimate speed, it had left its neck completely exposed, its defenses wide open!
Lin Feng's gaze was calmer than ever before.
Rather than retreating, he stepped forward. His body dipped slightly, and he settled into a standard horse stance, steady as Mount Tai.
The Hundred Refined Steel saber in his hand—the one he had mocked as worse than a kitchen knife—also became different at that moment.
"Hummm—"
The blade gave a faint hum, as if it were excited for the ultimate strike about to come.
There was no flashy technique. It was simply the most basic move in the Basic Constable Saber Technique—a straight chop!
Yet this utterly ordinary slash bloomed with entirely different brilliance in Lin Feng's hands.
[2x crit triggered!]
In that instant, Lin Feng felt as though what he gripped was not a saber, but a beam of moonlight condensed to its limit! A force far beyond his own surged from his arm into the blade, and its speed and sharpness received an unimaginable boost at that moment!
A blinding saber light, like a crescent moon of silver, flashed through the silent Mass Grave.
Precise, swift, and carrying an unstoppable resolve, that saber light passed perfectly through the zombie's neck.
There was no deafening clash of metal, nor was there any resistance as he had imagined.
It felt like a red-hot branding iron cutting through solidified beef tallow—unbelievably smooth!
The zombie's charging body abruptly froze. Its sharp claws were less than three inches from Lin Feng's chest.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
A huge blue-black head with a savage face rolled from its neck, hit the ground, and bounced twice. The ghostly flames in its hollow eye sockets went out with a soft "puff."
Its massive headless body, driven by inertia, charged two more steps before collapsing to the ground with a thud, completely silent.
One slash, beheaded!
"Pant... pant... pant..."
Lin Feng gasped violently as he stared at the unbelievable scene before him, his heart still pounding madly.
But this time, it was not from fear, but from the wild joy and excitement of surviving a calamity!
[Ding! Successfully killed a First Order Living Corpse!] [Crit multiplier increased to 2.5x! Obtained 100 Crit Points!]
The system prompt rang out again, finally pulling Lin Feng back to his senses.
He glanced at the zombie's corpse and One-Eyed Dragon's corpse on the ground, then at Old Wang, who lay not far away with his fate unknown. Taking a deep breath, he knew this was not the time to stand around in a daze.
He first checked Old Wang's breathing and found that he still had a breath left in him, though his spinal bones had been shattered and his injuries were extremely severe.
Lin Feng did not dare delay. With the strength of nine oxen and two tigers, he hoisted the burly Old Wang onto his back.
Then, suppressing his nausea, he carried the zombie's foul-smelling head in one hand.
With his other hand, he picked up One-Eyed Dragon's large ring-hilt saber, casually chopped off One-Eyed Dragon's head as well, and tied it to his waist with a rope.
After finishing all that, he carried a living man on his back and two dead heads in his hands as he staggered, one foot deep and one foot shallow, toward Qingyang County.
"Stop... stop right there! Who goes there?!"
The two bailiffs guarding the gate were bleary-eyed with sleep. When they saw a blood-soaked man approach with someone on his back and two heads in hand, they jolted in fright and nearly wet themselves.
"Probationary constable, Lin Feng!"
Lin Feng's voice was somewhat hoarse.
When the bailiffs came closer and used the lantern light to make out Lin Feng's face, along with the "spoils" in his hand and at his waist, they immediately sucked in a cold breath.
"My heavens! Is that... the head of One-Eyed Dragon, the vicious bandit?"
"The other one... blue face and fangs... is that... a monster?!"
The news sprouted wings and swept through the entire rear compound of the County Office in an instant.
For a time, the silent County Office boiled over!
Even county magistrate Zhao Dehai, who had already retired for the night, was alerted and convened court in the middle of the night.
The County Office's main hall was brightly lit, its atmosphere solemn.
County magistrate Zhao sat high above, looking at the pale-faced yet resolute-eyed Lin Feng below, as well as the two genuine heads before him. His face was filled with shock and admiration.
"Lin Feng! In this crisis, you remained fearless. Not only did you recapture the vicious bandit One-Eyed Dragon, you also slew the monster causing trouble and rescued your fellow constable Wang Er. Your merit is immense!"
County magistrate Zhao slammed the magistrate's block, his voice booming like a great bell. "I hereby announce that probationary constable Lin Feng shall, effective immediately, become a full constable of the Qingyang County Office by exceptional promotion!"
"Thank you, sir!"
Lin Feng was delighted. He finally had an official post!
"Men, reward him with fifty taels of silver! Settle Constable Wang properly, and invite the best physician in the city to treat him!"
"Thank you, sir!"
Lin Feng thanked him again, but inwardly, he began to mutter.
Fifty taels for killing a monster?
Isn't that a little too little?
Just then, a middle-aged man with a thin mustache and sinister eyes stepped out from the side. He was none other than Chief Constable Li Gang.
Li Gang first cupped his hands hypocritically toward the county magistrate, then said to Lin Feng with a smile that did not reach his eyes, "Lin Feng, congratulations on becoming a full constable. But you're new here and don't understand the rules. According to our office's usual practice, part of the reward silver must be handed in for public use. We need money for drinking tea and wine, repairing weapons, and the like, don't we? Besides, Brother Wang Er is severely injured this time. His follow-up medical expenses will likely be a bottomless pit..."
As he spoke, he took the fifty taels of reward silver from the treasury clerk, counted out five taels in front of everyone, and stuffed them into Lin Feng's hand.
"Take these five taels for now. I'll 'safeguard' the remaining forty-five taels for you and use them to treat Old Wang's injuries."
Lin Feng's brows instantly furrowed.
Well, damn. He's giving me a ninety-ten split right from the start?
That's some truly ugly table manners!
He raised his head to look at Chief Constable Li Gang and met the other man's eyes, filled with warning and contempt.
A show of force.
Lin Feng held the lone five taels of silver in his hand and sneered inwardly, though outwardly he merely cupped his hands and said, "I will leave it to Chief Constable Li to decide."
A gentleman's revenge could wait ten years.
A petty man's revenge lasted from dawn till dusk.
I, Lin Feng, was no gentleman.
Li Gang nodded in satisfaction, thinking this brat at least knew how to read the situation. Then he put on another show as he arranged things.
"Mm, not bad. Starting tomorrow, you'll be a full constable. I hear public security around the southern part of the city has been poor lately, with petty theft occurring from time to time. You'll be responsible for the daily patrols in that area. Young people should get more exercise—it's a good thing."
The other veteran constables present all revealed schadenfreude-filled smiles.
The south side of the city was Qingyang County's poorest and most chaotic district. All sorts of people gathered there, there was the least profit to squeeze out, and the most troublesome affairs. Patrolling there was widely recognized as a miserable assignment.
This was clearly Li Gang suppressing and sidelining Lin Feng, a newcomer who had shot straight to the heavens in one step.
Lin Feng understood it as clearly as a mirror, but he still accepted the assignment calmly.
"Yes, sir. This subordinate obeys."
In their first exchange, he seemed to have fallen into the disadvantaged position, but only he himself knew.
Now that he possessed the system,
he and these old hands, who only knew how to scheme against one another and loaf through their days, were no longer people of the same world.
His most urgent task was to improve his strength!
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