Jiang He's reputation was not confined to Southwind Academy. Among the upper classes of Southwind City, she was widely discussed as idle gossip.
Fatty Sun had not expected this younger brother of his to have such a legendary upbringing.
"But he's still a Tier 2 Professional. As long as you toy with him a little, there shouldn't be any problem..." he reminded him. "Little brother, you can't really do anything to him, or it'll become troublesome. His identity in the Research Department is also a protective talisman."
"Sure, I'll follow your lead, big brother." Su Chen readily agreed.
If he could pry Qi Chuan's mouth open, things would become much simpler.
Seeing that Su Chen was not fixated on it, Fatty Sun finally relaxed. "Hmm... go with your new colleagues. They should be returning right about now. They earned a collective honor, so they ought to celebrate."
"A newly promoted Tier 2 Professional... I'll follow along in secret to avoid any accidents." Fatty Sun's tone was relaxed.
Fatty Sun took him downstairs to the security hall. Three floors had been hollowed out to create the vast space, which was filled with Inspection Guards who had either finished patrols or were preparing to head out. Their low voices formed a noisy din.
In lounge 0512, Fatty Sun pushed open the door. The excited chatter inside abruptly paused, and several pairs of eyes turned toward them.
"Chief Sun..." A man stood up. His upper body was bare, covered in numerous scars, and he had a close-cropped haircut.
"Old Zhao, this is your new team member, Su Chen. Get acquainted." Fatty Sun stepped aside, revealing Su Chen.
"Su Chen, this is Zhao Xiong, your patrol captain."
Zhao Xiong looked at him with an odd expression, while the other six also kept glancing his way.
Everyone had received notice yesterday about the parachuted-in second-generation heir. At first, they had complained about gaining another freeloader.
Yet that morning, they had inexplicably received orders to raid a black market hideout, then inexplicably earned a collective Third-Class Merit.
Some of the smarter ones quickly realized that this had been tailor-made for that second-generation heir.
With benefits falling from the sky, their resentment naturally vanished. They even felt rather grateful.
"Zhao Xiong, come with me." Fatty Sun called Zhao Xiong away.
Su Chen stayed behind to greet his teammates. There were four men and two women. Aside from Zhou Xiong, who was a Professional, the others were not, though they were far from ordinary people.
"Lily, didn't you say you wanted to repay the favor with your body?" someone teased, looking toward the woman in a cropped tank top. Her bronze skin and well-proportioned muscles spoke of years of rigorous training. Her shoulder-length short hair framed a fairly pretty face, and she carried herself with a valiant air.
"Handsome, interested?" She was not shy either, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Enough joking around." Zhao Xiong returned and said in a deep voice, "We've got an emergency shift. Change into your gear and assemble in five minutes."
Everyone was surprised, and several glances went toward Su Chen. They realized it might have something to do with him.
Still, no one said much. They reopened their lockers and took out their equipment.
"Su Chen, your combat suit hasn't arrived yet, so you won't wear one today," Zhao Xiong said.
The group was well trained. They finished changing in four minutes, boarded a patrol vehicle, and headed toward their destination.
"Captain, what's the mission?" A burly man with a scarred face leaned over to ask.
They had introduced themselves earlier, so Su Chen knew his name was Han Da.
"We received intelligence that a location may be concealing contraband." Zhao Xiong kept his eyes ahead.
"Oh." Han Da leaned back, looking thoughtful.
Su Chen watched the light outside the window gradually darken. He had not expected the aggrieved party to be a Tier 2 Professional. He just did not know what class of profession Qi Chuan had.
About half an hour later, they finally arrived at their destination: an upscale apartment building. With their uniforms, they went straight up to the sixteenth floor.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Inspection Guard?" Qi Chuan opened the door. He had already seen Zhao Xiong and the others through the peephole and seemed somewhat confused.
But after opening the door, he spotted Su Chen standing to the side. His expression immediately changed slightly. "Su Chen? You!"
Su Chen responded with a smile.
"Mr. Qi Chuan, we received a report and suspect that you may be concealing contraband here. We have been ordered to investigate." Zhao Xiong was meticulous.
"Contraband?" Qi Chuan's face turned cold as he stared fixedly at Su Chen.
"Move!" Han Da rudely tried to force his way in. He shoved Qi Chuan, but staggered backward himself.
"You're resisting?" Han Da's expression turned ugly.
"Move aside," Zhao Xiong said seriously.
Su Chen swept a glance toward Fatty Sun, who was faintly visible at the end of the corridor.
Qi Chuan's expression was ugly. He had not expected that a mere refugee back then could now use influence to bully others.
He knew why they had come, and he knew what would happen next, but there was nothing he could do. He could only helplessly step aside.
"Lily, the living room. Han Da, the bedroom..." Zhao Xiong swiftly issued orders. The others scattered, while he remained in the living room, watching Qi Chuan.
"Tsk..." Su Chen looked around the apartment. It was not small and had been kept very tidy. The enormous floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the nightscape.
More importantly, a wedding photo of Qi Chuan and Jiang He hung on the wall.
"You and Teacher Jiang really must have a deep relationship." Su Chen stood before the wedding photo with a sigh, stroking Jiang He's image.
The corner of Zhao Xiong's mouth twitched. Touching another man's wife's photo in his own home was a bit too much...
The muscles in Qi Chuan's cheeks twitched, but his face remained expressionless.
Su Chen lowered his hand from the photo, his tone full of sentiment and lingering fondness. "Your wife was really exquisite..."
Flames erupted in Qi Chuan's pupils, and the room's temperature suddenly rose!
Zhao Xiong's muscles tensed. Nearby, Lily, who was pretending to search for things, widened her eyes.
But it lasted only an instant before Qi Chuan restrained himself and became expressionless again.
Because Fatty Sun had appeared in the doorway. Though his body looked like it was covered in fat, it radiated a chilling aura. The killing intent in those mung-bean-sized eyes made Qi Chuan's heart tighten.
He really can endure... Su Chen felt it was a pity. His status was different now. If Qi Chuan truly attacked him, it would count as an assault on an Inspection Guard, changing the nature of the matter entirely.
Fatty Sun could kill him on the spot if he wished.
"Captain, we found it." Han Da emerged from the bedroom, holding a small glass bottle containing a gorgeous pink flower.
"Powder Poppy, a hallucinogen. Level-One contraband. Please come with us." Zhao Xiong spoke in a deep voice.
Qi Chuan seemed to have expected this. He merely sneered and cooperatively held out his hands.
The electromagnetic shackles locked tight. The group returned to the Inspection Department and threw him into a temporary holding cell.
"...Hmm, he's a mid-tier Tier 2 Professional—a Fire Refining Soldier..." Zhao Xiong looked through the glass at the silent Qi Chuan, then lowered his head to examine the test data. "His professional development progress should still be under 5%..."
"Su Chen, we can hold him for seven days at most." Zhao Xiong looked at the young man beside him.
"I understand." Su Chen nodded. "Can we keep starving him?"
"We have to provide food, but he's a Professional and has high nutritional needs. We can give him low-nutrition meals, which is practically the same as starving him," Zhao Xiong said.
"Arrange it that way." Leaving those words behind, Su Chen turned and left, deciding to question Qi Chuan again in a few days.
"Captain, what does this second-generation heir want? He's not even going that hard on the guy." Han Da sidled over and asked slyly, "Want to add a little something?"
"Do as he said. Don't make decisions on your own," Zhao Xiong rebuked.
Han Da nodded sheepishly.
Before you continue