Ark, Just Tell Me Whether the Mission Was Completed

"Lastly, I'm assigning you homework. You must repeatedly memorize the four key points I mentioned earlier and put them into practice."

Hearing that Luo Chen was finally going to stop talking, the lectured crowd became more excited than the next.

"Of course, of course! We'll memorize every word without missing a single one."

"No problem. I'll write them down today and hang them on the wall."

"We'll definitely keep them in mind. I'll also make sure they remember the officer's teachings."

Luo Chen's lecture had nearly made their heads explode.

As for the four key points Luo Chen had mentioned, nobody had paid them any real attention.

Who would have thought that something as simple as money laundering would turn into an actual class?

A lecture was one thing, but he had even assigned homework afterward.

Big brother, you were taking this way too seriously.

Still, once this cop left, nobody would be around to control them. They just had to muddle through for now.

The trainees' enthusiasm pleased Luo Chen. If everyone could respect their work and love their profession, this land would become a better place.

He nodded approvingly, then turned to face Lin Yuxia.

"Miss Lin looks positively radiant today. It seems you had a good night's sleep."

"I have Officer Luo to thank for all his hard work. If it weren't for you, I'd definitely still be at my wits' end."

Lin Yuxia's words carried sincere admiration.

She had already seen what the Lungmen Guard Department had done in the latter half of last night.

After seeing it, she had felt both impressed and horrified.

The Lungmen Guard Department had actually defeated smears with smears, forcibly turning the person who had spread rumors about her father into a bottomless scumbag who took money to do anything through slander and fabrication.

Fortunately, the Lungmen Guard Department had never intended to deal with her or her father. Otherwise, she did not dare imagine what would have happened.

Her father might really have been chopped into minced meat by her mother.

"Serving the people is no hardship. Miss Lin, do you still remember the development strategy for gangs in the new era that we discussed last night?" Luo Chen asked with a modest smile.

"You mean reforming the gang education system?"

Lin Yuxia recalled Luo Chen's fantastical ideas from the previous night.

At the time, his confidence and determination had swept her along, but after sleeping on it and calming down, she realized that Luo Chen's ideas were still somewhat unrealistic.

Just like those economic experts—what they said sounded nice, but actual governance was another matter entirely.

"Exactly!"

"You must understand that theory is only theory. Any theory that has not been tested by practice is ultimately just a dream."

"After our discussion yesterday, I kept thinking about how to apply the theory to practice and launch an educational pilot program."

At that point, Luo Chen deliberately paused, prompting Lin Yuxia to guess what came next.

"Could it be that Officer Luo already has an idea and plan for the pilot program? So quickly?"

"That's right. This concerns the people of Lungmen, so naturally I need to act quickly. To find a suitable pilot location, I specifically came here to look around today."

"Then how do you plan to conduct this pilot program?"

Luo Chen said, "Today, I met a very young thief. She was exceptionally skilled at stealing."

"I consider myself fairly capable at preventing pickpocketing, but in front of that person, I did not notice at all that I had been robbed."

"From that, it is clear that girl must have tremendous learning ability and talent. I think she can be guided onto the right path and encouraged to use her talent in learning. In the future, Lungmen may gain an outstanding doctor—or perhaps a lawyer."

"You want a habitual thief to become a lawyer?"

Lin Yuxia's beautiful eyes widened roundly. Her pupils seemed to contract slightly in surprise, glinting with disbelief.

The corners of her mouth dipped slightly, revealing an emotion that was equal parts shock and confusion, as if she were saying, Are you kidding me?

"No matter how much we talk, it is better to see it once. Miss Lin, why not come with me and see how an educational pilot program should actually be carried out? With the right teaching methods, even a thief can aspire to become a lawyer."

"Fine. Then I'll wait and see."

When the people at the agency saw Luo Chen preparing to leave with Lin Yuxia, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Both of them were formidable figures. Even without targeting them, their mere presence made everyone afraid to breathe too heavily.

Now that they were leaving, they could finally be free.

However, before anyone could celebrate, Luo Chen looked at them with a devilish smile.

"I think these students are all promising as well. Since this is our first pilot program, it would be best to bring these promising students along so they can sit in and learn."

This Was the Lower City

In a narrow alley leading to the slums.

"Haha, ninety-nine, one hundred. Ten thousand! There's actually so much money."

"After paying this month's protection fee and rent, I'll still have nine thousand left."

"I can buy a new bed. I heard goose-down quilts are really warm, but I wonder if that's true."

Gravel counted the money in her hands, the corners of her lips lifting to reveal a row of white teeth. Laughter rose from the depths of her heart and echoed through the air.

People in the Lower City were all poor. Usually, getting their hands on a hundred in cash was already a big score.

Picking the pocket of a naive big brother from the Upper City was more profitable than stealing from several thousand poor people in the Lower City.

It was the first time Gravel had come across so much money. Thoughts she had once only dared entertain in her mind gradually surfaced.

Her life was getting more and more hopeful. Last month, she had used her own two hands to rent herself a tiny twenty-square-meter home.

Now, with these nine thousand, she would not have to sleep on the streets for at least the next half year.

And if she worked a little harder, she could even buy some furniture.

"Hey, brat. Judging by that expression, it looks like you found something good."

The sudden, contemptuous voice sent a chill up Gravel's spine, and she quickly turned her head.

At the corner of the alley stood seven young punks with hair dyed in every color, looking at her mockingly.

"Big Brother Hart... what do you need from me? The protection fee isn't due until next week, is it?"

Even Gravel's voice trembled as she spoke.

Clearly, this was someone she deeply did not want to see.

This punk was named Hart. He was the leader of the local hoodlums and the one who collected her protection fees.

These thugs were strong and tough, specializing in bullying the scavengers and drifters nearby.

And someone like her, alone and making a living through petty theft, was exactly the sort of target they extorted.

Compared to the gangs in the Lower City that killed without batting an eye, people like Hart frightened Gravel even more.

No matter how bloodthirsty those gangs were, they would not come after her. But Hart had threatened and bullied her time and again.

"The protection fee is due next week, sure, but the boys and I are broke right now. So what do you think we should do?"

Hart's words sounded as if he were asking for her advice, but his eyes made no effort to hide their naked mockery and threat.

"I... I don't know... Then I'll pay next month's protection fee early."

Gravel's body trembled uncontrollably like a dead leaf in the cold wind.

Every tiny shudder was like a cry of terror from deep within her heart, silently speaking of her unease.

She knew the consequences of talking back to Hart. Last week, someone had snapped back at him once, and Hart broke both of that person's legs. He died in a sewer.

Although Hart's demand for the protection fee in advance was outrageous, compared with having her legs broken, Gravel felt it was better to spend some money and pay him.

Gravel's cooperative attitude made the corner of Hart's mouth curl upward, though there was not the slightest hint of amusement in his eyes.

"Brat... looks like you really made some money. Come on, turn out all your pockets. I want to see how much you have."

Hart spoke with unreasonable arrogance.

He had originally only wanted to have some fun, but now he could not even be bothered to pretend.

No matter how much money the brat turned out, he intended to take every last cent, then beat her up to scratch his itch.

"..."

Gravel clenched her fists tightly, but gritted her teeth and could not say a word.

Though her heart was filled with uncontrollable rage, she did not dare vent it, much less resist.

Besides, she knew very well that even if she resisted, she could not pose the slightest threat to them.

Her struggle would not make Hart wary. It would only make him happier and cause him to go even further.

But she had the ten thousand she had just earned tucked in her pocket.

That money was her hope for the future. If she turned it out, they would definitely take it from her.

"What? You don't dare turn them out? Don't tell me you really made a fortune?"

"Since you made money, shouldn't you show us some respect? We've protected you for so long. You should know how to be grateful."

Seeing Gravel's frightened and conflicted expression, Hart seemed to experience a long-lost joy. He even laughed softly with his companions without concealing it, as though savoring the moment.

"Looks like I was right. You little brat, you really made money."

"You really are an ungrateful little thing."

"You won't turn them out, huh? Then we'll help you do it. For every Lungmen Dollar I find, I'll slap you once."

Hart was the first to walk out from the corner. Still smiling, he pulled out a pair of brass knuckles from his clothes.

Hearing that, even Gravel understood his true intentions.

The protection fee was only an excuse. He simply wanted someone to vent his anger on.

"I'll give you all the money... can you please not hit me?"

"Too late!"

"Please, don't hit me. I have money. I can give it all to you. I made over ten thousand today. It's all yours."

Unlike most street punks who came from failed families or were too poor to attend school, Hart's family lived in the Upper City. His parents were harmonious, and both were senior executives at large companies.

He had run away from home and formed a street gang simply because it made him happy.

He believed there should be no laws or morality in this world.

People were animals too, and they should follow the natural order, where fists ruled above all else.

How could anyone be bound by school rules, laws, or morality?

He had merely beaten up a few classmates who acted like dull, mute fools, yet the school had suspended and criticized him. This society was truly against human nature.

The strong could freely crush and toy with the weak. That was an eternal truth.

Children, women, the elderly—so long as they were weak, they could be crushed by the strong.

The purpose of the weak was to highlight the strength of the strong.

If the strong did not oppress the weak, then they were not truly strong.

Hart was addicted to the thrill of crushing the weak.

"I said it's already too late. You have ten seconds to run. But the price is that the slaps become punches."

A violent smile hung on Hart's lips.

A little girl with sticky fingers and no background—if she got beaten to pulp and tossed into a dumpster, nobody would care, right?

Gravel's eyes widened, her pupils reflecting endless darkness and unknown terror.