The Traitorous Salted Fish Remains Unmoved

"No need to be so polite."

Seeing Chen Fu about to stand up and salute, Lan Yan pressed his right hand forward. Chen Fu, who had just lifted off the bed, promptly sat back down, making Le Yu's eyelids twitch.

Though it was just a faint trace, Le Yu clearly saw a glimmer of light on Chen Fu's shoulder. Lan Yan had evidently used a subtle, long-range Light Burst to push Chen Fu back down!

For an Awakened, controlling objects from a distance was no miracle. Aside from ultra-long-range killing techniques like the Sword-Wielding Combat Arts, ordinary people could occasionally 'summon' everyday items to their hands with a simple gesture.

However, this kind of object control usually didn't have a long range, at most two or three meters, and it would always be accompanied by very noticeable effects. Lan Yan's effortless remote touch across three meters demonstrated his solid fundamental skills and Spiritual Cultivation.

In short, he was exceptionally good at showing off.

"We're off duty. There's no need to stick to office etiquette when we're outside. When we're working, we're superior and subordinate, but off duty, I'm just a visitor checking on a patient." Lan Yan walked over and sat on a nearby chair, picking up an apple from the fruit basket. "Captain Qian, would you like an apple? I used to peel apples often and I think I'm quite good at it."

"Yes, please, Director," Le Yu quickly said.

"Haha, thank you, Captain Qian, for giving me a chance to show off." Lan Yan seemed quite pleased, and began peeling the apple carefully. "To be honest, my hands were a bit itching for something to do, but I don't actually like eating apples myself, so no one really knows about this skill of mine…"

If you don't like eating apples, why learn to peel them? Le Yu grumbled inwardly, while on his face he joked, "Ordinary people aren't worthy of eating an apple peeled by you, Director."

"So, Captain, this misfortune has turned into a blessing for you, hasn't it?" Chen Fu chuckled.

Lan Yan shook his head while peeling the apple. "You're all still too formal… But that's my fault. I addressed you by your ranks first, making you think I was here on official business."

He paused. "I actually wanted to call you by your names, but although I'm a bit older than you, we're not two generations apart. Calling you by your names would make it seem like I look down on you—don't get me wrong, I know you don't mean that. But my family has strict rules, and I've become accustomed to these detailed courtesies in social interactions."

Lan Yan shrugged, a wry smile on his face. "But it seems now that these rules have actually pushed others a thousand miles away from me."

Chen Fu couldn't help but say, "If Director doesn't mind, you can call me Chen Fu or Xiaofu. My friends all call me that."

"Then you don't need to call me Director. Just calling me Brother Lan is fine," Lan Yan said, looking at Le Yu. "I'd like to call you Yuliu. Captain Qian, do you mind?"

"Not at all. I think Yuliu sounds much better than Captain Qian," Le Yu said with a smile. "I'm just worried that if I get used to it and call you Brother Lan in the Statistics Department, people might think you're my backer."

"As long as Yuliu and Xiaofu, you two, are loyal and dedicated to the Statistics Department, I, Lan Yan, will be your biggest backer in the Statistics Department!" Lan Yan declared emphatically. "As long as I, Lan Yan, am here, you will certainly be able to display your talents in the Statistics Department, and no one can frame or suppress you!"

So he's here to recruit us… Le Yu and Chen Fu couldn't help but exchange a look.

The word 'recruit' was actually a bit ambiguous, as they were already Lan Yan's subordinates, and it was only natural for them to obey his orders. However, after Li Shijie, the previous captain of the Fifth Squad, was arrested, the newly promoted Fifth Squad captain was a subordinate of Deputy Director Kui Zhao. Coupled with Yin Guyue, the Third Squad captain who was very close to Kui Zhao, Kui Zhao could suddenly command half the fighting force of the Statistics Department.

Le Yu didn't understand these high-level political struggles, but currently, the Statistics Department in Star Engraving Prefecture was like the Gestapo, the true rulers of Star Engraving Prefecture. Prefect Ding, Ding Yi, would certainly not allow Lan Yan to monopolize power. Kui Zhao's rise to power was probably a strategy to decentralize it.

In this situation, it was only natural for Lan Yan to come and build rapport with Qian Yuliu and the others from the First Squad. As soon as he thought of this, Le Yu's heart stirred slightly—although Qian Yuliu was the First Squad captain, he had always been an 'executor' and never truly part of the 'decision-making level'. Now, by pledging loyalty to Lan Yan, would he have a chance to become Lan Yan's confidant?

Le Yu cleared his throat and cupped his hands, saying, "Yuliu is willing to dedicate himself to the Statistics Department until death, and will absolutely not fail Brother Lan's expectations!"

Chen Fu also cupped his hands and said, "Me too!"

"Brother Lan will remember this," Lan Yan said, lightly tapping his chest in a simple return gesture. "To commend the First Squad's merits, I have already applied to the Prefect to grant military ranks to your First Squad members, equivalent to those in the Coastal Army. The many benefits and second salaries go without saying. If you can achieve more merits, I will do my best to secure opportunities for you to participate in military exercises."

"Unless there are unforeseen circumstances, ordinary personnel will all be granted the rank of Regular Marine, Xiaofu will be a Marine Sergeant, and Yuliu will be a Coastal Lieutenant."

Chen Fu was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. "Thank you, Director… Thank you, Brother Lan, for your promotion. Chen Fu will have no reservations from now on and will follow your command!"

Lan Yan wasn't just making empty promises to win people over. Since Chen Fu and Le Yu had pledged their loyalty, he immediately dropped a bombshell—granting military ranks!

In this world, there were no sayings like "good men don't become soldiers, good iron doesn't become nails." On the contrary, because of the constant incursions by barbarians on the borders, the local armies of the eight administrative regions had to be constantly stationed at the borders to fight back against the barbarians. The importance of the military was self-evident, and coupled with the prevailing martial spirit, the status of soldiers naturally rose.

Military ranks were divided into five levels: General, Officer, Lieutenant, NCO, and Soldier. 'Soldier' and 'NCO' were each further divided into four tiers: Private Second Class, Private First Class, Lance Corporal, and Corporal; Junior Sergeant, Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, and Master Sergeant. Chen Fu's 'Marine Sergeant' was an LV8 military rank. However, both 'NCOs' and 'Soldiers' were just lower-level executive personnel in the military. Regardless of whether it was LV1 or LV8, the treatment of soldiers remained the same.

But once one became a Lieutenant, it was a completely different world. Even the lowest-ranking Junior Lieutenant represented the qualification to participate in military decision-making, and even had the right to mobilize the Judicial Department and the military without permission—although others might not necessarily listen to you, they might not necessarily refuse you either.

The 'Coastal Lieutenant' rank Le Yu would receive was an LV9 mid-level military officer. Besides the practical benefits, the Radiant People had always valued military experience heavily. For many ordinary families, having served as an officer or above was an honor that brought glory to their ancestors.

Just by looking at Chen Fu's expression—his eyes gleaming, looking like he wanted to kneel and lick Lan Yan's boots—you could tell he was completely hooked by Lan Yan's bait. He was certainly thrilled to get the 'Marine Sergeant' rank, but Le Yu was becoming a 'Coastal Lieutenant,' a mid-level officer. How could this not make the status-conscious Chen Fu itch with envy?

After spending these past few days together, Le Yu understood Chen Fu more deeply. Simply put, he was an ordinary person. The Statistics Department could bring him power, prestige, and money, which was why he came to the newly established Statistics Department to make a living. However, his initial goal was to join the Coastal Army and become an officer—that had always been his dream.

He had thought he couldn't have both, but now, unexpectedly, he could have it all. How could Chen Fu not take the bait?

Compared to the military ranks, Le Yu was actually more interested in the 'military exercises' Lan Yan mentioned.

Besides playing cards these past few days, he had also briefly investigated the average combat power in this world. He was astonished to find that the 'Entry Level Eight-Grain Flow Bite Combat Arts' on his system panel was already considered a 'Entry Level' core combat strength among martial artists. A step further would be the Combat Arts instructors at the Star Engraving Military Academy who had reached the 'Proficient Realm'.

As for higher-level martial artists at the 'Pinnacle Realm', Le Yu only knew that they existed in military camps and were extremely rare to encounter in cities.

However, neither 'Mastery (Intermediate)' nor 'Pinnacle (Advanced)' were realms Le Yu could reach through his own efforts.

It wasn't just because he lacked talent; even the exceptionally gifted Qian Yuliu was stuck at the Entry Level. In fact, the Entry Level was the limit of cultivation.

To use an e-sports analogy, the highest rank a player can achieve by playing against NPCs is Silver. As for higher ranks, they cannot be broken through by simply playing against NPCs (cultivating). To improve, one must participate in ranked matches and compete against higher-ranked players.

Combat Arts were the same. To advance Combat Arts beyond the intermediate level, one had to fight countless strong opponents. Only through combat experience gained from real battles could a martial artist mold the Combat Arts into their own form, giving life to the Combat Arts, rather than giving life to the Combat Arts.

Therefore, the martial artists with intermediate Combat Arts that Le Yu had seen were either former soldiers, like Kui Zhao and Mu Feihong, or from the Royal Academy, like Li Shijie. And 'military exercises' were activities where military martial artists engaged in chaotic sparring, cultivating batches of high-level martial artists through extensive combat.

Upon reflection, Le Yu felt a secret shock.

The military exercises and ranks precisely hit Chen Fu and Qian Yuliu's sweet spot. Le Yu's interest in the exercises was also influenced by Qian Yuliu's memories.

With one sentence, Lan Yan not only promised them benefits but also painted an even grander picture for them. Yet, Le Yu felt no ill will towards this; instead, his respect for Lan Yan grew even stronger.

Terrifying. Is this the art of power for those in high positions?

Is he seeing that I've been playing cards lately and coming to give me a warning?

But no matter how vast your schemes, I, a lazy undercover agent, stand firm and unmoving. What can you do to me?

As for whether he'd be fired by Lan Yan for slacking off, Le Yu wasn't afraid at all—once he completed the system mission of surviving for 15 days, he would definitely find a way to slip away.

"Come on, let's have a little competition. Will you fire me first, or will I skip work and quit first?"

Le Yu said with a sincere expression, "Brother Lan, I truly can't wait to be discharged and return to work to repay your kindness!"

"No, no, no, this has nothing to do with me. It's because Prefect Ding noticed your achievements, which is why he approved my application," Lan Yan said with a smile. "Before the reward notification comes down, please don't spread the word. If Prefect Ding suddenly has other arrangements, I'll be in an awkward position."

"How could that be? How could we blame Brother Lan?" Le Yu didn't believe Lan Yan would tell them an unconfirmed piece of news. And taking it a step further, even if Le Yu and Chen Fu's rewards really fell through, after this sincere conversation with Lan Yan, they would surely only resent Prefect Ding.

His words were watertight yet warm and gentle... Although Le Yu was prejudiced into thinking this Director of the Statistics Department was a big villain, when interacting with Lan Yan, Le Yu genuinely found it hard to feel any ill will towards him.

After chatting for a while, Lan Yan suddenly asked, "Yuliu, regarding your Firearms injury, you heard what Little Fu said about the Statistics Department's investigation results, didn't you?"

Le Yu glanced at his right arm. Although the Firearms wound had healed, the newly formed soft, white skin was so conspicuous, as if it could be pierced with a single touch.

"Chen Fu and I both believe the sniper was an official operative."

"No need to hide it. In Star Engraving Prefecture, the most likely people to use powerful Firearms for sniping are our own operatives in the Statistics Department."

Lan Yan frowned slightly and sighed, "Now the biggest question is, why did he risk exposing his identity to snipe Yuliu? Is this sniper connected to the Lin family? Did he intentionally snipe during the Revenge Severance process to frame the Lin family, or was he an assassin sent by the Lin family in the first place?"

"Yuliu, do you think it's necessary for us to arrest the Lin family again?"

Le Yu's expression remained unchanged: "No need. I didn't find anything unusual during the battle. They shouldn't have known about the sniper, otherwise, they would have surrounded and killed me when I was being sniped. Moreover, arresting them right after the Revenge Severance would greatly damage the reputation of our Statistics Department."

Lan Yan looked at Le Yu. "Since you, Yuliu, say there's no need, then I trust your judgment."

"Oh, by the way, you weren't at work today, Yuliu, so let me tell you about the key mission objectives from today's meeting. According to intelligence, an Anti-Light Organization called 'White Night' is attempting to infiltrate Star Engraving Prefecture. Our main task at the Statistics Department moving forward is to find a way to uproot 'White Night'."

Am I one of the 'roots' you're talking about? Le Yu nodded repeatedly, indicating understanding: "Our team will work hard and will definitely capture these Anti-Light Rebels."

"With someone deliberately providing cover for these Anti-Light Rebels, this mission won't be easy for us. Moreover... the Statistics Department itself isn't a monolithic entity."

Lan Yan handed the peeled apple to Le Yu and said, "For example... a mole within the Statistics Department, what do you think?"