Chen's Invitation

Night fell. By then, Roy and the others had already left the warehouse in the wilderness. They were now dozens of kilometers away from that area.

Several black police cars were parked here, each bearing a shield-shaped emblem. Yet instead of the eleven characters Roy was familiar with, the English word "POLICE," and the wheat stalks and Great Wall design, the shield contained a dragon head above a barcode. Beneath the barcode were the traditional characters for "virtue and talent," followed by the letters "L.G.D." (Lungmen Guard Department).

They had not chosen to return to Lungmen overnight. They planned to rest in the wilderness for the night, though they understood what that meant.

At that moment, the group sat around the campfire while an administrative officer prepared dinner. Calling it dinner was generous—it was really just a stew with everything thrown into one pot. Still, for them, it was delicious enough.

"So, you lost part of your memory?"

Chen asked from the other side of the campfire. Perhaps because Roy had helped her and her squad during the day, her voice was fairly gentle now.

Not long after leaving the factory, she had recovered her strength. This was only the second thing she had said to Roy since then.

"That's right."

Roy answered Chen without hesitation.

In truth, he had not lost his memory. But there was someone in this world with the same name, the same surname, and even the exact same appearance as him, while he possessed none of that person's memories. The only information he had was the identity displayed in his status panel: "Instructor of the Fourth Brigade of the Auxiliary Police Corps." How was that any different from amnesia?

Naturally, Roy showed no change in expression when he said this. As a police officer who had graduated from criminal investigation studies and worked on the front lines for several years before being transferred back to a grassroots post, Roy had some experience in reading people.

When he saw Chen's expression soften slightly, Roy understood that he had passed for the time being. This female officer accepted the premise that he had "lost his memory."

"What do you think about what happened today?"

Hearing Chen's question, Roy stood and glanced around.

Including Roy and Chen, there were six people left in the squad. One was standing watch on the perimeter, two were in the vehicles preparing materials, and the last was making food.

After confirming that no one would overhear what he was about to say, Roy walked over and sat beside Chen.

"Without a doubt, there's a mole inside the Guard Department. And these criminals are extremely familiar with Guard Department officers..."

Roy paused there. He picked up the cup on the ground and took a sip before continuing.

"Or rather, their higher-ups are extremely familiar with the Lungmen Guard Department—even the city of Lungmen itself."

"Otherwise, given the gap in strength between both sides, they wouldn't have been beaten so badly even if the criminals had guns."

As he spoke, Roy's gaze shifted away from Chen and toward the surviving Guard Department officers.

Clearly, Roy and Chen had reached the same conclusion. As for why Roy called those firearms guns... Chen did not pay much attention to it, since her focus was on the mole.

However, Roy was not finished. After setting down his cup, he looked back at her.

"After all, their firearms skills and tactical standards are simply terrible."

"Like your skill with swords?"

Roy looked a little embarrassed at Chen's words.

Seeing his expression, Chen actually smiled faintly. Since Roy had met this female officer and the remnants of her squad, it was the first time he had seen such an expression from her, even if her words were a little hurtful.

"Uh... yes."

"I really don't know where you learned to use firearms like that. In Lungmen, perhaps only those from Laterano could compare with you."

Roy's embarrassment faded as he listened to Chen.

The firearms she referred to were naturally guns. Roy made a mental note not to call such weapons guns in the future, but firearms instead.

As for the Laterano she mentioned... just as Chen possessed draconic traits, perhaps they were a race with some other nonhuman characteristics.

"Everyone has their own secrets. I imagine Officer Chen is no exception."

Roy naturally knew how he had developed his firearms skills. Anyone could reach that level after years of target practice and related tactical training. There was nothing strange about it.

Still, Roy could not possibly answer that way, so he could only respond with such an ambiguous statement.

Chen did not mind his words. After all, she was not interrogating a suspect right now.

"It's a waste of talent for you to stay with the auxiliary police. If you wanted to be a police officer, why didn't you directly apply for a position in the Guard Department?"

Chen valued talent. After seeing Roy's performance during the day, she was no longer surprised that he had become an instructor among the auxiliary police.

Perhaps Roy was not particularly skilled with swords, but he possessed exceptional firearms skills. Even his grappling and hand-to-hand combat abilities were not bad.

She had not completely ruled out the possibility that Roy was the mole, but that did not mean Chen would allow a talented person to remain buried.

"Maybe I failed to meet some requirement back then..."

"The people in the Personnel Bureau are really rigid..."

Chen grumbled softly at Roy's words.

It was probably not the first time she had complained like that. The anger in her voice whenever she mentioned the Personnel Bureau was obvious.

However, what Chen said next surprised Roy, while also giving him an entirely new understanding of this young female officer's identity.

"Still, if you want to join the Guard Department, I can help submit an application for you."

"Let me introduce myself again. I'm Chen Huijie, Superintendent of the Lungmen Guard Department, and currently the captain of the Special Operations Team."

Roy was no stranger to the title superintendent. In the world where he had previously lived, it was a police rank in special administrative regions. Compared to mainland police ranks, a superintendent's position was at least equivalent to a deputy section chief. That meant that if this young woman had worked in Roy's former environment, she would at least have been a deputy commander of a brigade-level unit!

In Roy's understanding, no matter how young someone was, it should have been impossible to reach that position unless she possessed not only outstanding professional ability, but also sufficient connections. Combined with what she had said, Roy roughly understood. Officer Chen's background was definitely far from ordinary.

"Please allow me to think it over a little longer. After all, I've long grown accustomed to life over here."