Qin Bing's First Appearance

The commotion in the Martial Arts Hall seemed to have hit a pause button.

All eyes were focused on the figure who had suddenly appeared, dressed in a deep blue Special Operations uniform.

Qin Bing.

She stood there, her posture as upright as a pine tree. The deep blue, form-fitting uniform perfectly outlined her tall, powerful curves. The silver insignia of the Special Operations Ninth Division on her epaulets glinted with a cold, majestic luster under the bright lights of the hall.

Her face was as exquisite as if carved from cold jade by a master craftsman. Her brows and eyes were like a painting, her nose bridge straight, her lips tightly pressed. Together, they formed an unapproachable, glacial coldness, like that of an ancient ice sheet.

What was most unsettling, however, was her gaze.

Her eyes were like the cold stars above the Siberian permafrost – clear, sharp, and icy, possessing a terrifying penetrating power that seemed capable of piercing flesh and soul.

At this moment, those eyes were like searchlights locking onto a target, fixed firmly on Lin Xiao's face, which still bore traces of flush and sweat but was now forced into a playful, roguish grin. Her gaze held an undeniable scrutiny.

The air seemed to drop to freezing point instantly.

The shock and murmurs that had erupted due to Lin Xiao "swallowing" the Body Tempering Fluid vanished like snow in boiling water under Qin Bing's cold scrutiny.

The students subconsciously held their breath. Even Teacher Li frowned, his eyes showing a hint of reverence for the powerful official agency.

"Officer... Officer Qin?"

Teacher Li recognized her, his voice tinged with surprise and caution. "What brings you here...?"

Qin Bing's gaze didn't shift from Lin Xiao's face. She merely nodded slightly, her voice like ice beads dropping onto a jade plate – clear, cold, and devoid of inflection. "Teacher Li, apologies for the interruption. The Special Operations Ninth Division is investigating a theft case that occurred on campus and requires questioning relevant students."

A theft case? Suppressed gasps echoed through the Martial Arts Hall.

The Special Operations Ninth Division personally investigating a theft case?

This was no small matter!

Qin Bing's gaze slowly swept over the students, who were now deathly silent. Then, it precisely landed back on Lin Xiao and the now empty Body Tempering Fluid bottle in his hand, which still held a few drops of the pale green liquid.

"Student Lin Xiao," her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an invisible, heart-stopping pressure, reaching everyone's ears clearly. "I noticed you just used this bottle of Body Tempering Fluid in a rather unconventional manner."

She took a step forward. The hem of her deep blue uniform remained undisturbed. Her high heels clicked crisply and coldly on the polished floor, each step seeming to land on everyone's heartbeats.

"Exceptional talent?"

Qin Bing's lips curved upwards infinitesimally. The arc was so cold it lacked any warmth, more like a condescending scrutiny. "As far as I know, ingesting the standard dosage of basic Body Tempering Fluid directly, without dilution or guided by special techniques, contains 'Greenwood Vine' active factors and 'Iron Bone Grass' extracts potent enough to burn the stomach lining of an ordinary Martial Trainee within ten minutes, and cause energy blockages and tears in at least twelve major meridians within half an hour."

Her gaze was like a cold scalpel, scanning Lin Xiao up and down. "And yet, you, apart from a slightly flushed face and slightly rapid breathing, seem to be perfectly fine?"

Her tone carried strong doubt, each word like a cold needle piercing Lin Xiao's claim of "exceptional talent."

The roguish grin on Lin Xiao's face didn't change; it even became more radiant.

He met Qin Bing's gaze, which would have made ordinary students' legs go weak, shrugging without a hint of fear and shaking the empty bottle in his hand. "Officer Qin, is it? Good eye!"

His tone was relaxed, with a slickness reminiscent of a street punk. "You're absolutely right. The instructions clearly state you can't drink it directly. But, well..."

He deliberately drew out his words, leaning forward slightly, closing the distance. A knowing, mysterious smile played on his lips as he lowered his voice. "It's just that... I'm poor! Can't afford the fancy stuff, and can't wait for a slow bath. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right? You know how it is, my stomach's strong, I grew up eating from everyone's table, I'm built like iron! This little bit, I can handle it!"

His flippant, evasive, and slippery response left the surrounding students utterly dumbfounded.

Fatty Wang's face turned deathly pale with fright, and he frantically signaled Lin Xiao.

The frost on Qin Bing's face didn't melt in the slightest.

Lin Xiao's slickness and roguishness seemed clumsy and deliberate before her ice-cold eyes, which appeared capable of seeing through all falsehoods.

She clearly caught Lin Xiao's subtle grimace just now, as well as the barely concealed disorder in his breathing, a sign of a recent intense energy surge, and a strange sense of complexity.

"Desperate measures?"

Qin Bing's voice grew colder. "Student Lin Xiao, your 'desperate measures' seem to have yielded rather astonishing results. From my observation, you not only withstood the medicinal backlash that would have severely injured an ordinary Martial Trainee, but your Blood Essence circulation even became more active after the medicinal impact? That's not something 'a strong stomach' can explain."

Her gaze, like tangible ice picks, swept over Lin Xiao's obviously unnatural posture with his right arm and the not-so-hidden scratch on his back uniform. "And your injuries... they don't seem like something 'exceptional talent' could heal so quickly, do they?"

Pressing closer! Striking at the core!

Lin Xiao's internal alarm bells blared!

This woman was too sharp! Far sharper than Su Qingxue!

She not only saw him "swallow" the fluid but also sensed the abnormal absorption of the medicinal power and the anomaly in his physical condition!

And those damned injuries!

"Officer Qin, what are you saying?" Lin Xiao's smile remained brilliant, but his eyes grew calm, tinged with a hint of innocence and helplessness. "I'm just tough, I have strong recovery abilities, is that a crime? As for the injuries... you know, people like me without connections, we inevitably bump into things at school, get chased and bitten by rabid dogs, it's normal!"

He skillfully steered the conversation towards the Zhao Hu incident, implying he was forced to defend himself, while continuing to use vague concepts like "tough" and "strong recovery" to deflect.

Qin Bing's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Lin Xiao's slickness and ability to change the subject made her feel a bit tricky.

The theft case she was investigating was indeed related to the Body Tempering Fluid, and the situation was more serious than she had initially revealed.

Just then, a young team member in a Special Operations uniform quickly approached Qin Bing and whispered a few words in her ear.

Qin Bing's ice-sealed expression stiffened slightly, and her eyes instantly became sharper, like a drawn blade!

She cast a deep look at Lin Xiao, a gaze that seemed intent on freezing and dissecting his very soul.

Finally, she didn't press further, only leaving behind a statement in her voice as cold as frost:

"Student Lin Xiao, your 'talent' and 'recovery,' are very interesting. Regarding the stolen Body Tempering Fluid and your... 'special performance' today, the Special Operations Ninth Division will continue to monitor. I hope when we next seek you out to 'understand the situation,' you can prepare a more convincing explanation."

With that, she didn't linger, turning around sharply. The hem of her deep blue uniform cut a cold arc.

The sound of her high heels striking the ground was like the Grim Reaper's countdown, carrying a biting chill that echoed through the silent martial arts hall until her and her team member's figures disappeared through the doorway.

Only after Qin Bing left did the suffocating oppressive atmosphere in the martial arts hall slowly recede like a tide.

"Hoo..." Fatty Wang slumped onto the ground, his round face covered in cold sweat, as if he'd just been fished out of water. "Scared... scared me to death... Brother Xiao, that... that female officer is too terrifying..."

The surrounding students also seemed to awaken from a dream, patting their chests. Discussions buzzed again, filled with lingering fear and astonishment at Lin Xiao's "performance" just now.

Lin Xiao leaned against the cold wall, the roguish, cynical smile on his face slowly fading.

He looked down at the empty medicine bottle in his hand. The spot on his back where Qin Bing's gaze had swept felt as if it still retained a cold, stinging sensation.

The stolen Body Tempering Fluid case?

The Special Operations Ninth Division will continue to monitor?

Trouble... seemed to be growing.

Source Energy Points: [-1.4].

A chaotic energy flowed slowly within his body. The medicinal effects he had just absorbed brought a faint warmth, but it couldn't dispel the growing gloom in his heart.

He raised his head, looking in the direction Qin Bing had disappeared, his eyes as deep as a cold abyss.

"Qin Bing... Special Operations Ninth Division..."

He muttered to himself, a cold, challenging curve tugging at the corner of his lips, "You want to investigate me? Then... let's see about it."