Chief Office Receives Award!

Looking at Hu Biao dead on the ground, Liu Jun bent down and examined the faint brown hairs on his fingers and neck for a moment.

He frowned, then grabbed Hu Biao's face, twisted it, and tore off a Human Skin Mask, revealing a rough-skinned, middle-aged man in his fifties.

Liu Jun inspected him closely and found his chest was caved in, with blood from his mouth mixed with bits of internal organs. This sight made Liu Jun gasp sharply!

"Take him away..." Liu Jun waved his hand, and two men came to carry Hu Biao off. Chen Xia, who had been planning to search the body, felt a pang of regret.

Liu Jun was tall and sturdy, with a square face that exuded authority. He looked at Chen Xia and said, "News just came from the Chief Office: the wanted criminal Hu Biao took a Grade 1 Red Devil Bull Gene Potion. When agitated, he can unleash double his strength, and his skin defense is extremely tough, comparable to an Eighth Stage martial artist. So... did you kill Hu Biao?"

"I just got lucky and took him down." Chen Xia didn't deny it when faced with Captain Liu's question.

There was no need to hide it; this was a practical demonstration of his combat ability for his future promotion to captain.

"Have you broken through to martial artist?" Liu Jun asked, somewhat surprised.

"Captain Liu, here's the surveillance footage just pulled from the shopping mall. Take a look." A nearby Patrol Officer tapped his electronic watch, and a recorded video appeared.

When it played, Captain Liu saw Jiang Bing fighting Hu Biao, step by step being suppressed, falling from the Third Floor to the first, and nearly dying.

Then Chen Xia appeared in time, stopped the tragedy, and ended Hu Biao's life with his Fist Technique.

Seeing that Hu Biao's collapsed chest was indeed Chen Xia's doing, Captain Liu was surprised, and a look of appreciation for Chen Xia appeared in his eyes.

"If I remember correctly, you were previously at Ningyuan Seventh Stage!" Captain Liu smiled. "But this is good news. With your current strength, you have a bright future ahead. By the way, this Hu Biao isn't an ordinary wanted criminal. According to the Chief Office's investigation, he's suspected of colluding with the Different Race in Dragon Mountain Zone. He committed multiple crimes in Yijiang City with no intention of returning, planning to defect to the Dragon Mountain aliens. Who would've thought you'd kill him."

"But someone who betrays the Federation deserves death!"

Captain Liu's eyes flashed coldly. "Don't leak this for now. Keep it sealed and report it to the Chief Office!"

"Go to the hospital and get your injuries checked. Leave this to me."

They exchanged a few pleasantries, and though Chen Xia said he was fine, he was still dragged to the hospital. After various tests confirmed nothing was wrong, Chen Xia was released.

Before leaving, he stopped by Jiang Bing's ward to check on him.

Captain Jiang Bing had multiple Knife Wounds on his body, but fortunately none were fatal. A few days of rest and he'd be discharged.

The next morning.

Chen Xia, as usual, got up early to practice the Seven Injuries Fist. After a night of recovery, he felt his Primal Qi was thicker than before.

The life-and-death battle with Hu Biao had tempered him. Whether in physical combat or mentally, going through such a fight greatly improved him.

From now on, if Chen Xia encountered similar situations, he'd likely be more stable and handle them more skillfully.

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

Because Hu Biao was a traitor suspected of colluding with the Different Race in Dragon Mountain Zone, yesterday's events were temporarily kept under wraps.

Everything was as usual, but the people at the Patrol Inspection Office certainly knew what had happened.

"Chen Xia's here!"

As he entered the Patrol Inspection Office gates, passing colleagues greeted him proactively, much more warmly than before.

Some old Patrol Officers smiled at him, and there was a hint of respect in their eyes.

Yesterday, after Captain Liu returned, Hu Biao's Autopsy Report came out.

They found information on his electronic watch about his contact with the Different Race, confirming he was a traitor.

This meant Chen Xia's merit had risen a level.

Captain Liu had carefully reviewed the battle records and Autopsy Report.

The higher-ups gathered, discussed it, compiled the case file, and sent it to the Chief Office to close the case.

Knowing Chen Xia had earned merit and become a martial artist, the Patrol Inspection Office's attitude naturally changed.

The key point was that killing Hu Biao wasn't something a Grade 1 martial artist could do, yet Chen Xia had pulled it off—truly incredible.

Feeling the shift among the Patrol Inspection Office staff, though he'd expected it, Chen Xia still found it striking. Strength and merit earned respect—that was reality, and he didn't see a problem with it.

But experiencing it firsthand still made him reflect.

Before, wherever he went, he was practically invisible. Aside from greeting his own team members, everyone else was just a nodding acquaintance.

Those captains and Mid-level Captains generally wouldn't bother with him. They had no obligation to.

Now, it seemed Chen Xia had suddenly become a celebrity at the Patrol Inspection Office. Many unfamiliar faces, even people in higher positions, had become friendly.

It was a bit overwhelming for Chen Xia.

He went to the cafeteria for breakfast, and Zhang Feng found him, praising him nonstop.

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

"What's up?" Chen Xia asked, confused.

Zhang Feng slurped a mouthful of noodles and grinned. "Everyone in the Patrol Inspection Office knows I'm closest to you. Now that you've risen, this morning a bunch of people were handing me cigarettes..."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Of course it does! They were all asking me about yesterday's situation. They could've asked Yang Hua too, so why ask me?"

"You don't understand how huge the impact of killing Hu Biao is. He was a traitor! Squad Leader Jiang Bing nearly died at his hands, but you took him out. Barring any surprises, you'll be the rising star of the Patrol Office from now on, set to be heavily favored."

Zhang Feng buried his head in his noodles, excited. He felt that having such a good brother might give him some hope too.

Chen Xia hadn't expected his own promotion to affect Zhang Feng as well...

Not long after breakfast, Chen Xia was called to the squad leader's office on the fifth floor.

This was Chen Xia's first time in the squad leader's office.

Captain Liu smiled when he saw Chen Xia and said to him, "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 award money!"

"Normally, this kind of thing wouldn't require troubling the Chief Office. It means the higher-ups have taken notice of you."

"Perform well when you see the Chief Director. You'll have a promising future!"

Captain Liu chuckled. He had carefully studied the footage of the Hu Biao case yesterday.

The strength Hu Biao had unleashed was at least Grade 1, Eighth Stage. For an ordinary Patrol Officer like Chen Xia to block and kill him...

According to the autopsy report, Liu Jun also discovered that while Hu Biao's body surface was intact, his internal organs were shattered.

This meant Chen Xia's martial force had undergone a special transformation—something even veteran martial artists struggled to achieve. It was impossible for Liu Jun not to view Chen Xia differently.

After some conversation, Captain Liu was very cordial, encouraging him to work hard and so on.

Leaving the squad leader's office, Chen Xia headed out.

The Patrol Office had arranged a car, but he still took a taxi to the Chief Office instead.

Arriving at the Yijiang Central District Patrol Chief Office, he found himself in the first-floor parking lot of a grand, eight-story building.

The Chief Office's building covered a vast area. Surrounding it were many departmental buildings, all working together to maintain public security in Yijiang City.

Though the main building was only eight stories tall, it was a circular, fortress-like structure that rose upward. Its massive silver glass panels reflected sunlight brilliantly, making it look like an ancient beast coiled there, guarding order in the area.

And in fact, that was exactly the case.

The Yijiang City Patrol Office, not counting logistics or other departments, had over three thousand people just for security patrols. This was because the Patrol Office wasn't just a patrol office—it was also a combat team that could transform into something akin to the City Guard Office at any moment.

If a different race or major incident occurred, Patrol Office personnel would immediately reorganize into a battle group.

This mechanism arose from the environment of the High Martial Era, where humans coexisted with different races.

Additionally, with many local mercenary groups active, the manpower needed was many times higher than in peacetime.

Yijiang City was formed from the merger of three former large cities, covering a vast area. To the west lay the rolling Dragon Mountain Forest Zone, where traces of different races' activities could be found.

For a thousand years, uprisings had frequently broken out there. Different races had attacked Yijiang many times, so every department in Yijiang maintained large reserve troops.

"Please follow me..."

Since Chen Xia was there to receive an award and had been personally summoned by the Chief Office, a Patrol Squad Leader escorted him up.

He treated Chen Xia warmly, personally leading him up to the office on the seventh floor.

In the seventh-floor hallway, many people cast curious glances at Chen Xia, smiling at him.

Since ordinary people couldn't come up to the seventh floor, Chen Xia's unfamiliar face meant he was likely someone connected to the Chief Office. Those who survived here were all old hands—they naturally wouldn't offend him, and even showed enthusiasm.

"Here we are. That's the Chief Director's office ahead. I won't go in. When you have time to come here later, I'll treat you to a drink at a nearby restaurant."

The man who had escorted Chen Xia pointed at the Chief Director's office door ahead, chuckled, 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!"

Soon, a clear, slightly stern voice of a young woman came from inside.