"What do you mean, the NYPD?"
"I'll tell you."
"For cases the FBI has no authority to investigate, the NYPD does!"
"For cases the CIA dares not investigate, the NYPD dares to!"
"For cases the Department of Homeland Security dares not take over, the NYPD dares to!"
"Citizen privilege—nothing is forbidden!"
"As long as it's on New York soil and within the NYPD's jurisdiction, no matter when or what kind of case it is, the NYPD has absolute priority. This is a right granted to New York by the Constitution, and granted to us by New York's eight million citizens."
"Loyalty unto death!"
"That is our motto, and it is something you must remember from this moment onward."
At the opening ceremony of the new class at the New York Police Academy, countless young rookies stared open-mouthed at the handsome man onstage. Dressed in a suit, with short blond hair set off by gold-rimmed glasses, he delivered his speech with such confidence that their mouths stayed agape for a long time.
So...
The NYPD was actually this awesome?
How had they never known before?
Several academy leaders seated in the front row exchanged glances. Then they looked at Lake, who was grandstanding onstage and intentionally or otherwise belittling the other law-enforcement agencies, their eyes twitching nonstop.
"Svel!"
"Director?"
"The NYPD... doesn't have anyone else?"
"Everyone else was sent out to investigate the World Trade Center case. This is Detective Inspector Lake Edwin, the inspector of the NYPD's Third Homicide and Major Crimes Investigation Unit, so the department recommended him."
"Homicide and major crimes? Are you sure? Since he's an inspector, and New York had such a major incident last month, why wasn't he sent out to investigate?"
"Uh..."
Svel, the director of the academy office, fell silent for a moment after being questioned by the academy director. He glanced at Lake, who was speaking onstage with incomparable righteousness and glory, then cautiously lowered his voice and said to the director, "Detective Inspector Lake Edwin was reported last month for accepting a large sum of illicit money. Internal Affairs is investigating him, so he's been temporarily suspended from field duty."
After hearing this, the director also looked at Lake onstage and was dumbfounded: "..."
An inspector under investigation for accepting bribes had run to the Police Academy's opening ceremony and was prattling on about the history and glory of the NYPD.
This...
Was that appropriate?
Lake thought it was quite appropriate.
He had been completely framed.
What did "accepting bribes" mean?
Conducting a deal with criminals in his capacity as an inspector and then taking money—that was what accepting bribes meant.
Sorry.
Lake hadn't done that. He preferred robbing criminals who robbed others!
Accepting bribes?
If he accepted a bribe, he could only take part of the criminal's money. But if he robbed a criminal who had robbed others, he could take all of it.
What?
Wasn't that only worse, and of a more serious nature?
Ha.
His soul wasn't even from New York. What did this place's morality and legal standards have to do with him? After finally getting a chance to live another life, Lake had only one principle.
Have fun!
As long as he didn't have fun himself to death, he would have fun until death.
Besides.
With a routine life and the NYPD's meager salary, even if he didn't eat or drink for a year, it wouldn't be enough for him to draw the lottery once.
In the free land of the USA, there were shootings every day.
Violence was the theme and romance here.
He had come here for excitement. Otherwise, who would come? When it came to stability and harmony, what place could compare with his great homeland?
Soon.
It was around eleven in the morning.
After Lake finished his endless speech, he shook hands with the Police Academy director, who had come onto the stage, amid the applause of three hundred rookie police officers below. Then he left after completing his mission.
As he was leaving, Lake felt that the director's expression toward him was rather strange.
But...
Once again, what did that have to do with him?
After leaving the academy gates, Lake turned and glanced at the Police Academy sign behind him. He took out a cigarette, coolly put it between his lips, lit it, and blew out a smoke ring before walking toward the blue Chevrolet parked at the entrance.
He got in.
Closed the door.
Smoked.
Lake started the car. Smoking, he drove it one-handed out of the parking space and headed toward the NYPD.
That was right.
Lake wasn't a local. In fact, he wasn't even from this world.
Although this place was also called Earth, it was already completely different from the planet Lake had originally lived on.
This Earth's New York had Stark Industries. Had the Earth he used to know had it?
Yes.
In comics or movies.
That was right.
This was the Marvel Universe—or, as Lake preferred to call it, the American Variety Universe.
Thirty years ago.
Lake arrived.
He was an orphan.
After that...
Lake grew up step by step. He had a foster family that was at least tolerable, and he completed high school through K–12 free compulsory education. After graduating from high school, Lake joined the military. He had no other reason for doing so; he simply wanted to attend college for free afterward.
Lake was an orphan. After finishing high school, if he wanted to continue on to college, he had three options.
The first was to have exceptionally outstanding grades and receive a full scholarship from a university. Not only could he attend college for free, he could even receive money every month. That was for academic geniuses—going to school while earning money.
The second was financial support from one's family or student loans from the major banks. After graduation, one would struggle to repay the loans for more than a decade, scrimping and saving. That was called paying to go to school.
Besides...
Although the family that had adopted Lake wasn't poor, he wasn't their biological son. Their biological daughter needed money as well, and Lake was too embarrassed to ask them for it.
Lake chose the third path—the freeloading path.
He joined the military.
After retiring from the military, he could attend college for free and without an entrance examination. He could even choose an Ivy League school. However, this free education didn't come without conditions. The basis of the free tuition was that he had to graduate successfully. If he couldn't, then sorry—it wouldn't be free anymore, and he would have to repay the full tuition.
Fortunately.
Although Lake couldn't be called an academic genius, he was decent in other respects. At the very least, he could muddle his way to graduation.
After that, following graduation, Lake went to the NYPD. Thanks to his Ivy League diploma, he successfully started out as a detective and had now worked his way up to inspector.
He had no choice.
Lake needed money. After considering his other options, he felt that perhaps only a law-enforcement agency could satisfy his needs.
He had a cheat.
Lake didn't know what kind of cheats other transmigrators had, but he could guarantee that his own cheat had definitely been produced by some Penguin Group.
And it had been produced by Penguin in the year 3030.
Pay money, become a god.
Yes.
That was the name of Lake's cheat. It was simple, crude, straightforward, and self-explanatory.
This cheat had only one function.
A lottery.
A lottery that cost money.
One lottery draw cost one hundred thousand dollars. It was fair to all ages, with no upper limit. As long as you had money, it could give you anything. The prizes ranged from firearms and ammunition to the stars and the sea—there was nothing it couldn't do.
That was why Lake suspected that this cheat had been manufactured in 3030.
Good grief.
One hundred thousand dollars per lottery draw.
Did it think that was Zimbabwean currency?
He guessed that by 3030, the exchange rate between the US dollar and the yuan would have fallen to the point where one hundred thousand dollars could only be exchanged for ten yuan.
But right now?
To be honest.
When Lake first learned about this lottery function, he didn't know whether he should cry without tears or feel immensely proud of his motherland's strength.
P.S. New book uploaded. Please bookmark and recommend.
P.S. The Alliance is still being written, but it will be uploaded all at once after the ending is completed. Lao Mi feels that The Alliance is cursed for him. When he was writing it for publication, something happened to his family. When he was halfway through it, something happened to him. After finally being discharged from the hospital, he uploaded one chapter, only for the hospital to be locked down the next day. Lao Mi didn't dare upload any more, so once The Alliance is finished, he'll upload it all at once.
The Alliance is still being written, but it will be uploaded after some time.
Before you continue