Receiving an Award at the Chief Office!

Looking at Hu Biao's corpse on the ground, Liu Jun bent down and scrutinized the faint brown hairs on Hu Biao's fingers and neck for a moment.

His brows furrowed. Then he grabbed Hu Biao's face, rubbed it hard, and tore away a Human Skin Mask, revealing a rough-skinned middle-aged man in his fifties.

Liu Jun examined him carefully and found that his chest had caved in. The blood he had spat out was mixed with fragments of internal organs, making Liu Jun suck in a sharp breath!

"Carry him away..." Liu Jun waved a hand, and two people came over to carry Hu Biao away, making Chen Xia's heart ache at the thought of the loot he had been about to search.

Liu Jun was tall and powerfully built, with a square face that made him look imposing. He looked at Chen Xia. "News just came from the Chief Office. Wanted criminal Hu Biao took a Grade 3 Red Devil Bull Gene Potion. Once agitated, he could unleash double his strength, and his skin defense was extraordinarily strong, comparable to a Grade 1 Eighth Stage martial artist. This... you killed Hu Biao?"

"I was merely lucky enough to kill him." Faced with Captain Liu's question, Chen Xia did not deny it.

There was no need for him to hide it. This was proof of the combat ability he would need to rise to the position of squad leader in the future.

"You broke through to become a martial artist?" Liu Jun asked in surprise.

"Captain Liu, this is surveillance footage we just obtained from the Shopping Mall. Please have a look." A Patrol Squad Leader beside him activated an Electronic watch, displaying a recorded video.

Once it played, Captain Liu saw Jiang Bing fighting Hu Biao, being suppressed step by step, falling from the Third Floor to the first floor, and nearly losing his life in the end.

Then Chen Xia appeared in time, stopping the tragedy and ending Hu Biao's life with his fist technique.

Seeing that Hu Biao's sunken chest had indeed been Chen Xia's doing, Captain Liu's eyes gained a trace of appreciation amid his surprise.

"If I remember correctly, you were previously Ningyuan Seventh Stage!" Captain Liu said with a smile. "But this is a good thing. With your current strength, you have a promising future ahead of you. Oh, and this Hu Biao was no ordinary wanted criminal. According to the Chief Office's investigation, he was suspected of colluding with the foreign races in Dragon Mountain Zone. He committed crimes repeatedly in Yijiang City because he had no intention of coming back, planning to defect to the Dragon Mountain foreign races. Yet he ended up being killed by you."

"But people who betray the Federation deserve to die!"

A cold glint flickered in Captain Liu's eyes. "Do not disclose this matter for now. Lock down the information and report it to the Chief Office!"

"You should go to the hospital and have your injuries checked. Leave this place to me."

After chatting for a while, Chen Xia insisted he was fine, but he was still dragged off to the hospital. Only after undergoing a full examination and confirming there were no problems did he leave.

Before leaving, he went to check on Jiang Bing in his hospital room.

Captain Jiang Bing had Knife Wounds all over his body, but fortunately, none were fatal. He would be discharged after resting for a few days.

Early the next morning.

As usual, Chen Xia got up early to practice the Seven Injuries Fist. After recovering overnight, he felt that the Primal Qi within him had grown more abundant than before.

His life-and-death battle with Hu Biao had tempered him. Whether in actual combat or mentally, surviving a battle between life and death would bring tremendous improvement.

If Chen Xia encountered something similar in the future, his mindset would likely be steadier and his responses more practiced.

After washing up in the morning, he headed out alone.

What happened yesterday had not been made public for the time being, since Hu Biao was a traitor suspected of colluding with the foreign races in Dragon Mountain Zone.

Everything appeared as usual, but the people at the Patrol Inspection Office surely knew about yesterday's incident.

"Chen Xia is here!"

When he entered the Patrol Inspection Office gates, colleagues passing by took the initiative to greet him, far more warmly than before.

Some Old Patrol Officers smiled at him, and there was now a trace of reverence in their eyes when they looked at Chen Xia.

After Captain Liu returned yesterday, Hu Biao's Autopsy Report came out.

They found information in Hu Biao's Electronic watch showing that he had been in contact with the foreign races, confirming that he was a traitor.

That meant Chen Xia's achievement this time had risen by another level.

Captain Liu also carefully reviewed Hu Biao's combat records and Autopsy Report.

After the higher-ups gathered and discussed the matter, they compiled the case records, sent them to the Chief Office, and closed the case.

The people at the Patrol Inspection Office knew Chen Xia had rendered meritorious service and become a martial artist, so their attitudes naturally changed.

More importantly, killing Hu Biao was not something a Grade 1 martial artist could accomplish, yet Chen Xia had done it. It was simply incredible.

Although Chen Xia had anticipated the changes in everyone at the Patrol Inspection Office, he still could not help but sigh inwardly. Strength and merit earned people's respect. That was reality, and he saw nothing wrong with it.

Still, experiencing it personally left him somewhat moved.

In the past, he had been almost invisible wherever he went. Aside from greeting the people on his own team, he had merely nodded to everyone else in passing.

Those squad leaders and Mid-level Captains generally did not pay attention to him. Nor were they obligated to.

Now, Chen Xia seemed to have suddenly become a celebrity at the Patrol Inspection Office. Many unfamiliar faces and people in higher positions had become warm toward him as well.

It left Chen Xia feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the favor.

After eating breakfast in the cafeteria, Zhang Feng found Chen Xia and showered him with praise.

"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. You've made it big! Even I'm benefiting from your success."

"What happened?" Chen Xia asked in confusion.

Zhang Feng took a mouthful of noodles and laughed. "Who in our Patrol Inspection Office doesn't know that I'm closest to you? Now that you've risen, plenty of people gave me cigarettes this morning..."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"How could it not? They were all asking me about yesterday. They could have asked Yang Hua too, so why did they ask me?"

"You don't understand how great the impact of killing Hu Biao is. He was a traitor! Captain Jiang Bing nearly died at his hands, yet you took him down. Unless something unexpected happens, you'll become a rising star at the Patrol Inspection Office and be heavily valued in the future."

Zhang Feng lowered his head and wolfed down his noodles, thrilled. Having such a good brother made him feel that perhaps he had some hope for the future too.

Chen Xia had not expected that his own advancement would affect Zhang Feng as well...

Not long after breakfast, Chen Xia was summoned to the captain's office on the Fifth Floor.

This was Chen Xia's first time going to the captain's office.

When Captain Liu saw Chen Xia, he smiled. "I called you here to tell you that Hu Biao's case involves treason, so the Chief Office wants you to go over there and receive your reward!"

"Normally, a matter like this would not trouble the Chief Office. It seems the higher-ups have noticed you."

"When you meet the Chief Director, perform well. You have a promising future ahead of you!"

Captain Liu smiled. He had carefully studied the footage of Hu Biao's case yesterday.

Hu Biao's explosive strength had been at least Grade 1 Eighth Stage, yet Chen Xia, an ordinary patrol officer, had actually been able to withstand him and kill him.

According to the Autopsy Report, Liu Jun had also discovered that Hu Biao's body showed no external damage, while his internal organs had been shattered into pieces.

This meant that Chen Xia's Martial Force had undergone a special change, something even veteran martial artists found difficult to achieve. Liu Jun could not help but view Chen Xia in a new light.

After chatting for a while, Captain Liu was very amiable and encouraged him to work hard and the like.

After leaving the captain's office, Chen Xia headed out.

The Patrol Inspection Office had arranged a car for him, but he still took a taxi to the Chief Office himself.

When he arrived at the Yijiang Central District Patrol Chief Office, he found himself in the Parking Lot on the first floor of an imposing eight-story building.

The Chief Office occupied a vast area. Many departmental buildings stood around it, jointly maintaining public security in Yijiang City.

Although the main building was only eight stories tall, it was a gigantic round fortress-like structure rising upward. Its enormous reflective Silver Glass gleamed under the sunlight, like an ancient beast crouching there to guard the order of one region.

And in truth, that was exactly what it did.

Excluding logistics and other departments, the Yijiang City Patrol Office alone had more than three thousand people responsible for public security patrols. That was because the Patrol Inspection Office was not merely a patrol office—it was also a combat team that could transform at any time into an organization of the same nature as the City Guard Office.

If foreign races appeared or a major incident occurred, the people of the Patrol Inspection Office would immediately reorganize into battle groups.

This was a mechanism born from the High Martial Era, where humans and foreign races coexisted.

In addition, many Mercenary Groups existed locally, so the demand for personnel was many times greater than in peaceful times.

Yijiang City had been formed from the division and combination of three former major cities, giving it a vast territory. To the west lay the rolling Dragon Mountain Forest Zone, where traces of foreign race activity could be found.

For a thousand years, unrest had frequently erupted there, and the foreign races had attacked Yijiang many times. Therefore, all of Yijiang's departments maintained abundant reserve troops.

"Please follow me..."

Since Chen Xia had come to receive an award and had been specifically requested for a meeting by the Chief Office, a Patrol Squad Leader personally led him upstairs.

The squad leader treated Chen Xia warmly and personally brought him to an office on the seventh floor.

In the seventh floor corridor, quite a few people cast curious looks his way, all wearing smiles when they looked at Chen Xia.

Ordinary people could not reach the seventh floor. Chen Xia was an unfamiliar face, so he was most likely someone acquainted with the Chief Office. Those who could survive here were all old hands; naturally, they would not offend him and would instead act warmly.

"We're here. The Chief Director's office is up ahead. I won't go any farther. When you have time in the future and come over here again, I'll treat you to a drink at a nearby restaurant."

The person who had led Chen Xia upstairs pointed at the Chief Office door ahead with a cheerful smile, then took his leave.

Knock, knock, knock!...

Taking a deep breath, Chen Xia walked to the office door and gently knocked with his right hand.

"Come in!"

Before long, a young woman's bright yet somewhat stern voice came from inside.