Reporting for Duty at the Patrol Bureau

"Who's Fish Brother? And who's Sister Hua? Are you close with them?"

"Not at all. They're just people I met while making deliveries. I only mentioned them to scare those guys."

Xiao Wang and Wen Lujia continued walking forward.

The night was deep as water, the moon hanging high overhead.

After walking for a while, the two stopped in front of a two-story building.

"I'm here."

Xiao Wang turned to look at the two-story building. It had a distinctly European style and even came with a courtyard. Such homes were rare in Yuan Mountain, a frontline city, especially in the outer city.

"So Senior Sister is a rich second-generation heir."

"What? Now that you know I'm rich, you don't dare pursue me anymore?"

"Huh? Senior Sister, are you misunderstanding something? When did I say I wanted to pursue you?"

"I'm joking. You took it seriously? Thanks for walking me home. This is the first time in my life a guy has walked me home at night."

"Huh? How come?"

"Why do you think? Didn't you just say I should protect you?"

Xiao Wang understood immediately.

She was terrifyingly strong. Why would she need a guy to walk her home?

"Then go inside, Senior Sister. I'm heading back."

"Be careful. Don't take that alley from earlier. Also, remember to report to me tomorrow. Oh, and at the Patrol Bureau tomorrow, don't call me Senior Sister. Call me Captain."

"Got it, Captain."

After saying that, Xiao Wang turned and headed toward the martial arts school.

Wen Lujia watched Xiao Wang's retreating figure. Only after he disappeared around the street corner did she turn and push open the courtyard gate of the two-story building.

The moment she pushed open the gate, the front door of the building flew open, and a middle-aged couple rushed out.

"Jiajia, who was that just now?"

"Yeah, he was already at the door. Why didn't you invite him in to sit for a while?"

The couple looked like they were dying for gossip.

"My colleague. He's also my junior brother," Wen Lujia said as she passed her parents and headed inside.

"Junior brother? How old is he? Is he younger than you?"

"Probably?"

"How much younger?"

"One or two years? Three or four?"

"Exactly how much younger?"

"Oh, Mom, how would I know? I'm not doing a census. Besides, we only met recently."

"He walked you home when you'd only just met? That's great! Your father and I have never seen a guy walk you home before. You're already twenty-six, and you'll soon reach the Federation's mandatory age of twenty-eight. If you still don't have a child by twenty-eight, half your salary will be taxed away. Your father and I secretly took a look just now. That boy seemed pretty good."

"Oh, Mom, what are you thinking? He just walked me home, that's all."

"Has a guy ever walked you home in all these years? Either you beat them away, or you scared them off. Has any guy ever treated you like a girl? The fact that he walked you home means he sees you as a girl."

My ass. I was the one who asked him to do it.

Wen Lujia sighed inwardly. Not wanting to keep arguing with her parents, she went straight to her room and shut the door.

Xiao Wang walked back along the street.

He did not take the alley from before.

He merely stood at the entrance and looked inside. The eight men were still exactly as they had been when he and Wen Lujia left, standing against the wall with their heads clutched in their hands.

"What kind of person is Senior Sister Wen? They're this terrified over one sentence? They've been standing there for so long and are still obeying. At this rate, they might stand there all night."

After taking two glances, Xiao Wang continued onward.

The inner city wall in the distance still stood tall and imposing, while the searchlights continued sweeping back and forth as tirelessly as ever.

By the time he returned to the martial arts school, his master and senior brothers had already gone to sleep.

After washing up quickly, Xiao Wang prepared to go to bed as well.

Just then—

"Master, lamb tastes good. Let's buy some lamb."

Xiao Wang turned to look at Cheng Hu and found that he was talking in his sleep again.

The next day.

After eating lunch at school, Xiao Wang headed straight for the Patrol Bureau.

"You again? What is it this time?"

The guards at the entrance recognized Xiao Wang by now.

"I'm here to report for duty. I'm reporting to Captain Wen Lujia of Team Four. Just call and ask."

After making a phone call, the guard said, "Go in."

"Thanks. Sorry for the trouble."

Entering the Patrol Bureau's main courtyard, Xiao Wang headed directly to the Team Four office area on the third floor.

After explaining his purpose to an employee, the man led Xiao Wang to the door of an office at the very back of the area.

He knocked on the door.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Captain, a new recruit is here to report for duty."

"Come in."

Wen Lujia's voice came from inside the office.

After leading Xiao Wang in, the employee found Wen Lujia sitting behind a desk, bent over and processing files. She did not even look at Xiao Wang, instead instructing the person beside him, "Go call Xu Liyan over."

"Yes."

After that person left, Wen Lujia raised her eyes and glanced at Xiao Wang.

"Sit."

"Yes."

Xiao Wang sat down on the sofa to the side.

Only Xiao Wang and Wen Lujia remained in the office.

Yet Wen Lujia did not say anything. She simply continued processing the files at her desk.

Xiao Wang did not disturb her and quietly waited.

He could sense that the Wen Lujia before him was in a completely different state from the Wen Lujia he had walked home last night. It even felt as though they were two different people.

Before long, the person from earlier returned to the office with someone else.

He then withdrew and closed the door behind him.

Xiao Wang looked over. The man was already in his late forties, with a few strands of gray visible in his hair. He was just over five feet seven, rather thin, and had shrewd-looking eyes.

"Captain, you were looking for me?"

Wen Lujia set down the file in her hands, raised her head to look at Xu Liyan, then gestured at Xiao Wang with her chin.

"This is the new intern assigned to your group. You'll be responsible for training him from now on. Any objections?"

She then said to Xiao Wang, "This is the leader of Group Three under Team Four, Xu Liyan. You'll work under him from now on."

Before Xu Liyan could answer, Xiao Wang respectfully replied first, "Yes. Hello, Group Leader Xu."

"Any objections?" Seeing that Xu Liyan had not spoken, Wen Lujia asked again.

"No objections."

"Fine. Since there are no objections, take him down and get him settled in."

"Understood."

"You're Xiao Wang, right? Follow me."

Xiao Wang stood up, nodded to Wen Lujia, and followed Xu Liyan out of the office.

Only after the two had gone a little farther did Wen Lujia shift her gaze to their backs, lingering especially on Xiao Wang. The corners of her lips lifted almost imperceptibly.

Following behind Xu Liyan, Xiao Wang recalled what had just happened.

He immediately guessed why Wen Lujia had acted that way.

A young woman of twenty-five or twenty-six serving as captain, leading one—or even a whole group—of team leaders in their forties or fifties, with those team leaders possibly commanding quite a few veteran employees beneath them.

As the leader of a violent agency,

absolute strength was one thing, but personal authority was equally important.

Xiao Wang followed Xu Liyan to an area marked Group Three.

"Dong'er, new group member. Get him arranged."

After saying that, Xu Liyan gave Xiao Wang no further acknowledgment and went to his own desk to sit down.

Xiao Wang's eyes flickered. From Xu Liyan's tone, he sensed a trace of unwelcome hostility.