Although Yuan Chenyang was the Inspection Department Minister, Su Chen did not simply assume that the place was his personal domain.
No matter how much could be handled behind the scenes, it was best to follow the official procedures when possible. Jiang He still held the title of honorary researcher in the Research Department.
After tidying up a little, Su Chen headed out.
This was his first official time moving about Southwind City. The weather barely changed from day to day; it was always foggy and gloomy, hardly conducive to a good mood.
Following the servants' directions, he entered through the open entrance of the floating rail platform. Standing at the edge of the somewhat aged platform, he felt the metal grating beneath his feet tremble faintly, signaling the approach of something enormous.
The long, silver metal construct did not travel along rails. Instead, it floated roughly a person's height above the ground, silently gliding along the routes reserved between the city's buildings.
Its body was covered in polished metal plating, with several elegant blue energy patterns flowing along its sides.
It was midday, and the carriage was not completely quiet. The low, continuous hum of the engine formed the background as some people quietly discussed today's vegetable prices while others complained about the recent refugee riots.
Beep—
Someone had sent him a message. It was Hu Xiang, asking where he was since no one could find him at school.
Bringing me money? Su Chen replied with three words: "Inspection Department."
It was quite some time before Su Chen arrived at Inspection Department Station. Few people got off here, and his arrival drew the attention of some of them.
The platform hovered directly halfway up the high-rise. Inspection patrols stood guard in full gear, dressed mainly in dark blue and wearing black metal armor that covered their shoulders, chests, and thighs.
The moment he stepped off, several people approached him. Their captain looked him over. "Who are you? What are you here for?"
"Reporting in."
"Reporting in? A newcomer?" The captain looked deeply suspicious as he stared at Su Chen's overly youthful face.
When Su Chen nodded, he took out something resembling a walkie-talkie. "Headquarters, do we have any newcomers reporting in today?"
"None today." A crackling reply came through, and the captain's gaze narrowed slightly.
Then another voice sounded over the channel. "Wait, there should be a newcomer recently."
What the hell? Why only say half of it?
The captain cursed inwardly, but his expression changed slightly. He knew it was not the operator's fault.
New members had fixed reporting times, so the operator had checked and found none scheduled for today.
But there were special cases—those who could report in at any time. People like that generally had connections.
Soon, another response came through the walkie-talkie. "The Internal Affairs Division has been notified. Division Chief Sun is heading down."
Fatty Sun was coming to receive him personally?
The captain became even more puzzled. He forced an awkward smile onto his face. "Please wait a moment, sir..."
Before long, a bustling figure came rushing out from inside. His body was round with fat, like a ball, yet he moved with remarkable agility.
"Ah, you must be Brother Su Chen..." Before he even came close, the man had already squeezed out a fawning smile, his features scrunched together. "You're finally here."
"Hello." Su Chen responded reservedly.
"No need to be so polite. Just call me Old Sun. Come with me..." He beamed as he led Su Chen into the building.
"Su Chen? What second-generation heir is this, to make Fatty Sun grin like a chrysanthemum?" Watching the two enter, the patrolling guards muttered among themselves.
"Who knows? He must be here to pad his résumé again."
Division Chief Sun's enthusiasm was almost more than Su Chen could handle. He gave Su Chen a detailed introduction to the building's layout and arranged a private room for him.
"...Of course, you don't need to live here, but if you ever feel like it, you'll need somewhere to stay, right?"
"Oh, right. I've assigned you to Patrol Team Seventeen. They rotate patrol duty only once every three days. Of course, you don't have to go if you don't want to."
"We'll see when the time comes." Su Chen waved a hand.
"Ah, such dedication to the job. You're exactly like the Inspection Minister, cut from the same mold." His face was filled with emotion.
Su Chen admired him inwardly. He was pretty good at changing expressions himself, but compared to this Division Chief Sun, he was still far behind.
"Oh, right. You said the room you arranged for me has a gravity training room?" Su Chen asked.
"That's right." Fatty Sun nodded. "Division chief-level dorms come with training rooms as standard."
"They have miraculous effects on physical training," he added. Yet beneath his smiling eyes was unmistakable surprise.
He had seen plenty of second-generation heirs, but this one did not seem to be the type who only craved pleasure.
"Then I can give it a try..." Su Chen was quite interested. Fatty Sun was absolutely an expert at reading people, and he immediately moved to take him there for a trial.
However, just as the two stepped out of the office, they saw a group of fully armed guards hurrying downstairs.
"Something happened again?" Fatty Sun frowned slightly. He fiddled with the silver ring on his arm, and a somewhat blurry virtual interface appeared, rows of information flashing across it.
"...It's nothing major." He breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at Su Chen beside him, an idea stirring in his mind. "Brother, want to experience responding to a scene?"
"No." Su Chen shook his head. He was not that curious.
Fatty Sun was even more surprised. For someone so young, he was remarkably composed.
Though he continued speculating inwardly, he maintained his high level of enthusiasm on the surface and led Su Chen to his room.
It was even larger than Old Yuan's room, with floor-to-ceiling windows, a private bathroom, and even a bathtub with a massage function.
The gravity training room was not large and could only adjust to one times gravity.
"Brother, can you handle it?" Fatty Sun asked worriedly from outside, only to find that Su Chen's face had merely reddened slightly before he exhaled.
A professional? At such a young age.
He was surprised, but when he thought of Yuan Chenyang, he felt relieved. Anyone accepted as the minister's student naturally could not be ordinary.
Su Chen felt the omnipresent gravitational pressure. This even pressure could make physical training twice as effective with half the effort.
He fell in love with the place immediately. As for Old Yuan's villa, he could go back whenever he had time.
He emerged from the training room in high spirits. "Division Chief Sun, do we have supplies of Blackflame Potion here? And Revitalizing Potion?"
"Sup-supplies?" Cold sweat immediately broke out on Fatty Sun's forehead. He said awkwardly, "Blackflame Potion is rather expensive. As for blood-activating potions, I can probably find a way to allocate a few portions each week."
He said helplessly, "The Finance Division... belongs to City Lord Zhang. We can't push them too far."
"As for Revitalizing Potion, ninety-five percent of our people are physical-type professionals..."
"I understand." Su Chen nodded. "Blood-activating potions first, then."
Though their effect had diminished considerably, having something was better than having nothing.
Old Sun was immensely relieved. He said he wanted to throw Su Chen a welcome dinner that night, but Su Chen naturally declined. After some back-and-forth, the man finally left reluctantly.
Yet just after the door closed, he returned, his expression strange. "Someone downstairs is looking for you. He's from the City Patrol Guard."
"Hu Xiang?" Su Chen asked immediately.
"It's him." Fatty Sun nodded. "He's already downstairs."
Su Chen nodded. "Let him come up."
Old Sun gave the order, and before long, Hu Xiang hurried over in the elevator, his expression grave.
The moment he entered the room, he blurted out, "Old Zhao is dead."
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