Money Flowed Like Water

Earlier, Chen Xia had checked the computer records in the holding room, but there was no information on the Evil Cult. Perhaps the south side of the city did not know much either.

"Let's check out the Entertainment City!"

Chen Xia directed them from the car. They were currently on their way back to the Patrol Inspection Office, but they would pass by the Entertainment City on the way. Though it was called an Entertainment City, it was really just a pedestrian street, with a row of KTVs and numerous video game arcades in the surrounding buildings.

There was an intersection near the Entertainment City where members of the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group usually gathered. Once the car reached the area, Chen Xia and the others all got out. He walked alone toward the intersection.

Before long, he saw members of the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group standing outside a KTV. The Gathering Justice Mercenary Group had taken over Xingou Street, and many people from the Patrol Inspection Office had seen them before, so they recognized their faces.

The Gathering Justice members had been smoking and chatting together. When nearby residents saw groups of three or five Gathering Justice Mercenary Group members, they took detours and hurried away, not daring to confront them directly.

But when they saw Chen Xia patrolling toward them, the group immediately fell silent.

Not only did the Gathering Justice members make way for Chen Xia, but even several idle hooligans from the Entertainment City nearby stepped aside and cleared a path for him.

As Chen Xia's gaze swept over them, the leading man immediately forced a smile and waved for everyone else to stand to the side.

Chen Xia remembered that Yu Banshou's knife wound had begun to rot last time, which was a sign of an Evil Technique. Though he had never seen it firsthand, there was a high chance that the Gathering Justice members had ties to the Evil Cult. Still, nothing could be seen from the surface alone.

He could not simply arrest and interrogate them either. Investigating the Evil Cult required avoiding alerting the enemy. If they fled, all his efforts would be wasted.

After looking around and finding nothing unusual, Chen Xia wandered around the area once before leaving.

Only after watching him disappear into the distance did the Gathering Justice members let out a breath of relief. Their eyes were full of wariness toward him. After all, Zhao Banshou and the others had been arrested for offending Chen Xia, and they still had not returned.

Soon, Chen Xia returned to Team Five's patrol car. "It's time to eat. Captain Xiao, take them back first. I have something to take care of."

"Captain Chen, if it's far, we can drop you off first before heading back," Xiao Qiang said.

"Yeah, don't we have a car?" a team member beside him said with a smile. Whenever someone had something to do while they were out on patrol, they would sometimes use the official vehicle to take them there. It did not hold anyone up anyway.

Although this violated regulations and fuel for official vehicles cost money, no one took it too seriously.

But as the captain, Chen Xia naturally could not do that openly. It would be too easy for someone to use it against him. He smiled. "This is a personal matter, so there's no need to use the official vehicle. As patrol inspectors, we should follow the rules and obey the laws too."

Upon hearing that, one team member immediately echoed, "The captain is right. I've learned something."

Xiao Qiang also smiled. "As expected of Captain Chen. Your principles really are strong."

Everyone present laughed as well, and the atmosphere relaxed considerably. Chen Xia said, "Just joking. The place I'm going isn't far, and I won't delay your meal. You go back first."

"Alright."...

After watching the car leave, Chen Xia went alone to a nearby pharmacy.

Martial artists needed supplementary medicine for cultivation. They could not take it too frequently, lest they develop resistance to the same medicine or suffer from excessive nutrients and an excessive burden on the body, which could instead cause problems. But the intervals could not be too long either, or cultivation time would be wasted.

He currently had 192,800 yuan and planned to buy one Lingpo Pill and some low-grade pills. In truth, if his circumstances allowed it, taking more high-grade pills would improve his cultivation much faster.

But one Lingpo Pill cost 98,000 yuan. Ten would cost over a million, and he definitely could not sustain that in the long term.

So Chen Xia still needed to find an inexpensive pill that suited him, one he could use for long-term bodily nourishment.

After thinking it over, he still felt that the Qianyang Pills from last time suited him best. They were relatively cheap.

Before long, Chen Xia found Xin Sheng Pharmacy and bought one Third Grade Lingpo Pill for 98,800 yuan. Then he went to Hongguang Pharmacy not far away and bought eighteen Qianyang Pills at once for 91,800 yuan. He spent a total of 190,600 yuan, leaving only 2,200 yuan.

Looking at the small bag in his hand, Chen Xia sighed inwardly. "Money really flows like water. I'm only Grade 1, and it's hard to imagine how much martial artists beyond this spend. Ordinary people really have it too hard."

"Take care, sir!"

Since Chen Xia already counted as a major customer of Hongguang Pharmacy, the clerk who received him treated him exceptionally well. She just kept repeatedly reminding him that the medicine could not be taken too many times.

Even after Chen Xia left the store, the female clerk seemed to still be wondering whether this major customer might one day disappear.

With these medicines, his progress for the coming period was guaranteed.

On the road, when no one was paying attention, he casually opened a Qianyang Pill, reversed it, and swallowed it. One dose a day—perfect.

Then, carrying the medicine, he quickly returned to the Patrol Inspection Office.

At this hour, many patrol teams that had been outside had only just returned as well.

Just as he was preparing to go to the cafeteria for a meal, he saw Mid-level Captain Zhou Tong returning in the distance.

"Brother Zhou..." Chen Xia called out.

"Mm, Brother Chen is out this late too?" Zhou Tong nodded with a smile. The two appeared quite familiar with each other. Although Chen Xia was one rank below Zhou Tong, Zhou Tong treated him with great respect.

Chen Xia was someone the Chief Office favored, and he had a Promising Future ahead of him. Zhou Tong saw that clearly. On top of that, Chen Xia was quite strong and younger than him. Naturally, Zhou Tong did not dare underestimate him; he even wanted to draw him closer and build a good relationship.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries. During that time, Chen Xia asked about Zhao Banshou. Zhou Tong smiled. "Them? They've already been sent to Dragon Mountain Zone. I heard the Gathering Justice bunch tried asking the chief captain to put in a good word for them, but it was useless."

"Now that the Blazing Fire people are gone, the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group is also under our strict control, so you don't need to worry. For local mercenary groups, the Patrol Inspection Office can use the court's special handling procedure. Taking care of them is just a matter of saying the word."

"Heh, it still has to be you, Brother Zhou..." Chen Xia felt a chill in his heart as he sensed the power of authority.

Under normal procedure, lawsuits involving ordinary people generally required several months before the court reached a final judgment. But when it came down to it, many matters were decided by whoever held the power to speak. It was not that complicated. This was especially true in the current environment, where Different Races were everywhere. Some people might be directly accused of colluding with a Different Race and be Shot Dead on the spot.

Zhou Tong's lips curled upward as he said casually, "Brother Chen, they were simply too foolish in what they did and gave us something to use against them. You're a captain now. Attacking you can earn them the death penalty under the Laws—and that's already being lenient."

The two chatted as they headed toward the cafeteria.

"Captain Zhou!..."

Suddenly, a voice rang out from outside the gates of the Patrol Inspection Institute.

Taking advantage of the moment when the silver electric retractable gate opened for a patrol car, a figure rushed straight toward Zhou Tong.

But the Patrol Inspection Office was no ordinary place, so they naturally would not allow her to enter just like that. She was quickly stopped by the guards and could not get any closer.

She was a woman in her forties, wearing a white jacket, a coffee-colored Fisherman's Hat, and black Sunglasses, with a small black leather bag slung over her shoulder. She cried out to Zhou Tong, "Captain Zhou, have you had any news about my Lulu lately?"