Everyone glanced at the wanted notice above. In truth, everyone knew that this was not the sort of matter ordinary Patrol Officers could handle. There had been similar cases before, and usually, the martial artists of the Patrol Inspection Office were the ones to resolve them.
Because wanted criminals were not ordinary people—they were martial artists. Martial artists had to deal with them.
This was also why gaining an official appointment was so difficult. Without sufficient strength, one could not enter the official ranks.
Back then, Chen Xia had reached the Seventh Stage of Ningyuan and endured for six years. Only because he had worked diligently for six years and become the unit's model worker, and because Captain Jiang put in a good word for him, was he given an opportunity for official appointment and a nomination to be promoted to deputy captain.
Even so, such cases were rare. One misstep, and the nomination opportunity would be gone. It had been a close call.
A captain had to be at least a Grade 1 martial artist, someone in the official ranks responsible for leading a team.
Anyone could tell that a murderous maniac like this, who was also a Grade 1 martial artist, could kill an ordinary patrol officer the moment they crossed paths.
"Only captains at every level would probably be interested in something like this. After all, sixty thousand isn't a small sum, and it counts as merit too!"
Seeing how powerful the other party was, Zhang Feng felt somewhat fearful. He worried that the fiend might wander into their area. If they ran into him, that would truly be courting death.
When Chen Xia saw the document, his brows furrowed. He had initially thought this would be an opportunity to earn merit and distinguish himself, but being asked to face a murderous maniac made him feel that he could wait a little longer.
He could catch Economic Criminals, Fraudsters, or ordinary martial artists who had accidentally killed someone.
But someone who had suffered Qi Deviation, committed crimes in succession, and been driven into a desperate corner was far too dangerous once backed against the wall.
After weighing everything, Chen Xia felt there was no need to choose something like this just to make money and earn merit. He had great potential, and getting involved with risky matters too early had far too little cost-effectiveness.
Yang Hua was somewhat tempted, but his strength had not yet reached that of a martial artist, so he merely drank his tea without saying anything.
"You all rest for a while, then head out on patrol. I have something to take care of." After Captain Jiang Bing gave his orders, he hurried away.
After chatting briefly, one of the team members said in a low voice.
"By the way, have you heard? Captain Liao of Team Five on our Xingou Street is supposedly about to retire."
"Team Five's Captain Liao?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Hua's interest was instantly piqued, and his gaze shifted slightly. "What exactly is going on?"
Normally, there was no shortage of captains who were unwilling to retire even after turning sixty. After all, for every day they remained in office, aside from their salary and benefits, the local forces outside—tea houses, taverns, merchants—would offer them favors and gifts. That was no small amount of profit each year.
Furthermore, a captain managed nine people. It was prestigious and gave one status.
As Yang Hua recalled, there did not seem to be anyone in their South District Patrol Inspection Office who was retiring at sixty.
That person said, "Captain Liao fought the foreign races before, and his old injuries have relapsed recently. He truly can't hold on any longer. The higher-ups took care of him and arranged for him to receive treatment at a hospital. He's preparing to retire early. He's already in his fifties and nearing sixty, and with his injuries, the rules allow him to retire ahead of schedule."
"Then doesn't that mean there'll be an empty position in our Xingou Street teams?" Zhang Feng asked.
"Of course. But that position needs to be filled by a martial artist. In our team, I'm afraid it'll have to be you, Captain Yang. But..." The team member did not finish his sentence.
Everyone looked toward Yang Hua. He had graduated from a famous school, entered the Patrol Inspection Office already at the Eighth Stage of Ningyuan, and showed signs of breaking through to the ninth stage.
If anyone had the greatest potential to obtain that vacant captain position, it was Yang Hua. But the hard requirement for the post was that one had to be a martial artist.
Hearing this, Yang Hua narrowed his eyes slightly. "I recently bought a batch of Grade 2 Pills. My dad bought them for me. If nothing unexpected happens, I'll be promoted to martial artist in half a month."
The moment he said this, the Patrol Officers present froze for a moment before breaking into smiles.
"Congratulations, Captain Yang! Since you're about to become a martial artist, that position will definitely be yours!"
"Tsk, tsk. Captain Yang is already a deputy captain at such a young age, and he'll soon be promoted to Official Team Member. You have a promising future ahead of you!"
"Captain Yang's luck has arrived. It truly can't be stopped..."
Hearing everyone's words, Yang Hua's lips curled upward, and he was very pleased.
Indeed, after joining the Patrol Inspection Office, he had been worrying about the lack of an opportunity to become captain. Yet now, someone had vacated a position just as he was about to become a martial artist. It was like being handed a pillow the moment he felt sleepy—a perfect coincidence.
His luck was not bad. He had to fight hard for this position.
Besides, his family had some connections. Once he became a martial artist, coupled with those connections, this matter was as good as nailed down.
Because Yang Hua showed signs of advancing, it was only natural for the ordinary Patrol Officers present to offer a few more flattering words.
The other party had been born lucky. That was simply a fact. They were all older than him, yet they did not possess such fortune.
Just then, Yang Hua suddenly looked at Chen Xia. "The deputy captain nomination you had before was taken by me. Once I become captain, I'll inform the higher-ups and give that deputy captain slot to you."
Watching Yang Hua wave his hand smugly as everyone followed after him, Chen Xia remained seated and merely smiled. Then he rose as well and headed for the patrol vehicle outside the square to complete the day's patrol assignment.
Although the higher-ups had issued a document, the members of their team merely patrolled everywhere and conducted routine inspections. Sometimes, they would spread out across different parts of the streets.
If they saw nothing unusual, they would return to the vehicle and continue driving around, heading elsewhere without much concern.
If that murderous maniac retained even a shred of reason, he could not possibly commit crimes in front of the Patrol Inspection Office. That would make exposure far too easy.
For now, they had not encountered any suspicious murderous maniac. If they discovered a suspicious person, reported it to headquarters, and it was confirmed, they could even receive a ten-thousand-yuan reward.
Everyone remained quite proactive in keeping watch for this. As long as they did not come into conflict with the other party, it was fine.
However, no one had that kind of luck. Everyone on the streets looked perfectly normal. They could not just grab someone at random and call them a murderer, could they?
Chen Xia carried out his duties as usual. Though he found no news of the murderous maniac, the next day, they unexpectedly discovered a corpse in an alley.
After a preliminary assessment, the man lying on the ground, covered in bleeding knife wounds, was the leader of the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group.
He had been murdered.
There was no need to investigate. It was obvious that the people from the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group had done it.
"Looks like the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group has completely fallen apart. Their leader has been killed, and their fortunes are exhausted... sigh!"
Zhang Feng sighed. They had recently learned that the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group had scattered in all directions, with few people left. He had not expected the Blazing Fire leader to fail to escape disaster and die here.
Witnessing the decline of a mercenary group had nothing to do with them, but the feeling was not particularly pleasant.
After all, they had seen and greeted the people from the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group on this street before. They knew this leader too. At least on the surface, he had seemed like a decent person. Yet just like that, he was gone. All they could say was that the world was unpredictable.
It was foreseeable that the Gathering Justice people would completely take over Xingou Street in the future. They just did not know whether they would set their sights on other streets.
In any case, it was perfectly normal for such local forces to come and go, with conflicts constantly arising.
While crouching in the alley to inspect the body, Yang Hua covered his nose with a look of disgust. Hearing Zhang Feng's sigh, he immediately rolled his eyes. "Old Zhang, these people aren't good men. Who knows how many people they've harmed in secret, yet here you are sympathizing with them? If you weren't with the Patrol Inspection Office, they might even ride roughshod over your head. You're an old hand in the Patrol Inspection Office too—why are you being so softhearted?"
"Uh... Captain Yang makes sense." Zhang Feng rubbed his nose and smiled awkwardly.
"Look at these wounds. There's rot appearing again. It seems the Gathering Justice people cultivating an evil technique is confirmed!"
"Damn it, I feel like these people are far crueler than Blazing Fire. These knife wounds are packed together—no fewer than a hundred cuts. What kind of grudge did they have?"
Yang Hua glanced at the horribly mutilated corpse of the Blazing Fire leader and said, "I don't think the Gathering Justice bunch will be easy to get along with. We'll need to be more careful in the future! I'm about to become a martial artist, so it's nothing to me. They won't dare offend me. But you all should be cautious."
Yang Hua was about to make some caring, conciliatory remarks before his subordinates when his expression suddenly changed and he looked at his electronic watch.
"What is it, Captain?" someone asked, then lowered his head and saw that his own watch was flashing red as well.
Beep, beep, beep...
Everyone present, including Chen Xia, had the watches on their left wrists issuing red warning lights, accompanied by vibration mode and beeping sounds.
After opening them, they could see a 3D projected map appear, along with a flashing red marker. Everyone's expressions immediately turned grave.
As members of the Patrol Inspection Office, once they received a red alert, everyone on duty within the surrounding area had to rush over immediately to provide support.
"The location is Wanxing Square. Looks like something has happened over there!"
"Move, get in the car!"
Upon receiving the message, everyone hurried out of the alley, quickly got into the vehicle, and rushed toward the marker on the watch map.
It was Captain Jiang Bing's location... Chen Xia enlarged the virtual 3D display on his electronic watch and immediately saw that the flashing red point bore Jiang Bing's name. Seeing this, Chen Xia felt slightly worried.
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