Law Enforcement

Chen Jin's eye twitched violently, and a sharp pain pierced his heart—twenty Spirit Coins! That beast had roared away a massive sum of his money in a single breath!

The very moment his focus wavered from the heartache, the Shark Person erupted with its final reserves of strength, struggling desperately!

Chen Jin's grip loosened slightly, and it slipped away like a slick loach, turning and fleeing toward the courtyard gate!

"Trying to run?"

Fury surged within Chen Jin. He chased it out the gate in an instant, stepping into the cold night rain.

However, the moment his feet fully crossed the threshold and he stood on the street—

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

A heavy, fierce, invisible whipping descended once more!

It was even more violent than before! An agonizing pain erupted, as if his spine were being shattered!

Curfew!

Chen Jin let out a muffled groan, his movements coming to a sudden, jarring halt. He looked at the empty street in disbelief, then down at the Identity Tablet at his waist that belonged to "Guard Heifu."

Why? I have an identity, I am a guard—why am I still restricted by the curfew?!

The Shark Person is clearly on the street too; why is it not being punished?!

Could it be... that because I am on "leave" today, I have temporarily lost my status as a Law Enforcement officer and am once again viewed as a "commoner"?

Thoughts raced like lightning. In a flash, Chen Jin looked up at the back of the Shark Person, which was about to vanish into the depths of the rain.

He raised the slightly scorching Identity Tablet in his hand toward the "Law Eye" coldly overlooking the sky and shouted sternly:

"I wish to report a crime! Someone is maliciously harming others! Guard 'Heifu' requests authorization to apprehend the criminal!"

The moment the words left his lips, the Identity Tablet suddenly grew searing hot. A stream of light raced across its dark green surface, and where it had been blank, two archaic, sharp Qin Seal Script characters instantly emerged—

[Law Enforcement]!

As soon as Chen Jin's gaze fell upon the characters [Law Enforcement] on the tablet, a sudden transformation occurred—

The air around him seemed to solidify, and dim, ghostly light emerged from the void, wrapping around his body like a living thing!

A set of cold, heavy black lamellar armor manifested on his body, the plates clashing with a metallic clang.

His hand grew heavy as a chilling long halberd appeared in his grip. The blade's edge shimmered with a lethal gleam, identical to the standard-issue equipment of the Great Qin guards who had stormed the inn that day!

At the same time, his vision shifted abruptly, entering a profound and indescribable state.

Countless tiny, bronze-colored Qin Seal characters emerged from the void like a school of startled fish, swirling and drifting slowly around him.

They formed various statutes, categorized and densely packed:

Field Law: "In the second month of spring, one shall not dare to fell timber in the mountains and forests or damage the dams..."

Stable and Garden Law: "In the fourth, seventh, tenth, and first months, one shall inspect the draft oxen..."

Granary Law: "When grain enters the granary, for every ten thousand shi, one shall compare the household records of the Li people..."

Gold and Cloth Law: "For officials receiving money, for every thousand coins, one basket..."

Corvee Law: "When the imperial court issues a levy, if one fails to report, the penalty is two sets of armor..."

Garrison Law: "Those garrisoning cities or repairing walls shall be ordered to hold the blockade for one year..."

Forced Labor Law: "Unauthorized establishment of strange shrines, the penalty is two sets of armor..."

Ren Tu's prompt echoed in his ears:

"You have triggered a special Yanfu Event: Qin Law Hook-Deep!"

"The Great Qin unified the world, using law as its teaching and officials as its masters. The statutes are complex and dense as congealed fat, with punishments hidden in the smallest details. Walking here, if one does not understand the law, it is no different from walking in the night as a blind man; every step could be a path to death. Exposing one's identity or even losing one's life and soul often stems from a single unintentional mistake."

"Event requirements: Record! Record and understand as many of the statutes of this Fruit of Qin Law as possible. Settlement rewards will depend on the number and importance of the laws you successfully record and verify."

Chen Jin's heart turned cold; he dared not slacken.

While using his formidable physique to push through the thickening rain, tracking the faint, fishy scent of the Shark Person, he rapidly memorized and processed the statutes swirling before his eyes.

He chased it to a narrow alleyway, seeing the Shark Person's figure coalesce once more in the rain, attempting to leap toward the window of a civilian house.

Chen Jin paused his halberd, subconsciously invoking a statute appearing before him, attempting to use the power of the "Law Eye" to sanction it: "According to Larceny Law, entering a civilian residence at night—"

However, the power of the statute did not descend as expected.

The Shark Person's movements remained unhindered.

Instead, a few cold, small characters flashed before his eyes: [Statute activation failed: Object not applicable].

Chen Jin was stunned. He didn't stop his pace, instead shouting another attempt: "Garrison Law! The conscription order is issued; those who violate—"

[Object not applicable].

"Theft Law! Attempted murder—"

[Object not applicable].

He tried four or five potentially relevant statutes in a row, yet not a single one took effect!

Chen Jin wanted to roar out loud: On what grounds did this not apply?!

Could it be because this Shark Person was an "unregistered resident"? But even when he first arrived, he was subject to the law! There had to be some sort of explanation, right?

It couldn't be because of gender, could it?

That shouldn't be it, right?

Otherwise, this version of the world would be far too ahead of its time!

As if in response to his inner complaints, the countless Qin Seal Script characters floating and swirling before his eyes suddenly froze, then surged and reorganized like a tsunami!

Dense, even smaller annotations flooded the air, with a title that stood out clearly: [Judicial Interpretation].

Chen Jin's gaze was drawn in, sweeping rapidly across the vast sea of explanatory clauses.

Relying on his "Ancient Script" mastery, he instantly captured the key information and realized the truth—

It turned out that within the vast and rigorous system of Qin Law, such Shark People were not categorized as "human" at all; they were ranked even lower than "chenqie" (male and female slaves) or "lichenqie" (government slaves), classified directly as "beasts" or "monsters."

Since they were neither "commoners" nor "slaves," the vast majority of legal provisions intended for "humans" were completely ineffective against them!

Since most Qin Law did not apply to this Shark Person, Chen Jin couldn't be bothered to waste any more effort invoking it.

External things could not be relied upon forever, and rules had their limits—in the end, a person could only rely on themselves!

The Shark Person was clearly familiar with the city's paths, twisting and turning until she was fleeing rapidly toward the direction of a Wind River tributary.

Once she escaped into the surging river, it would truly be like a fish returning to the sea, making her impossible to track down.

Chen Jin still had many questions that needed answering; he could not let her leave just like that.

In a patch of woodland near the riverbank, the soil had become muddy from the rain.

Chen Jin exerted a sudden burst of strength, finally closing the last bit of distance.

With a swing of his arm, the long halberd in his hand flew from his grip like black lightning. With a sharp "thud," it pinned into the mud just inches in front of the Shark Person, the shaft vibrating violently as it blocked her path.

Startled, the Shark Person let out a sharp hiss and spun around, attempting to dash toward the dense thicket on the flank.

The branches here were intertwined, and the thick canopy happened to shield them from the cold, indifferent "Law Eyes" in the sky, casting large patches of shadow.

At that very instant, Chen Jin reached out his right hand into thin air, pulling an object from his Personal Mark that looked completely out of place in this world!

A handgun with cold, rigid lines and the luster of industrial metal was suddenly in his grip!