Ark, just tell me if the mission is complete or not, Chapter 16

Lin Yuxia kept her face stiff, not daring to take the bait of Luo Chen's words, nor even daring to make a sound.

Originally, she felt that as a gang leader, she had already seen too many people who acted inhumanely, but compared to Luo Chen, she found them almost endearing.

She wondered if Ch'en Huijie could actually handle a subordinate like this.

She did not know if it was concern for an old classmate or humanity's curiosity toward the unknown.

Lin Yuxia desperately wanted to figure out what was going on in Luo Chen's mind at that moment:

"Officer Luo, seeing them kill someone, do you have no thoughts on the matter?"

Luo Chen felt that Lin Yuxia's question did not sound like it came from a gang boss.

Instead, it sounded like an innocent young girl.

"Ms. Lin, you cannot be soft-hearted when running a gang. Countless people are killed on this land every day; if I had to have thoughts every time someone died, I would never get anything done."

"Besides, for some people, death is the most painless ending."

"If they fall into the hands of certain factions, there are a hundred ways to make them wish they were dead."

"Ms. Lin, you must never be soft-hearted when facing enemies in the future. Not every enemy is as kind as I am."

Luo Chen, like a gentle older brother, carefully explained the cruelty of the world to Lin Yuxia.

In the end, he even said something inexplicable, which left Lin Yuxia completely bewildered.

Wait, no?

Am I the gang leader, or are you?

Why does it feel like you, a Lungmen Guard Department officer, are the underground emperor of Lungmen?

Chapter 23: People only believe what they want to believe.

"Officer Luo is as humorous as ever, but we are not enemies."

"I hope we never are. I have a very good impression of Ms. Lin, and I don't want to interrogate you in an interrogation room." Luo Chen paused: "But if that day ever comes, I hope Ms. Lin will be lenient by confessing."

Lin Yuxia: "How did you just assume I would be a prisoner in an interrogation room? Even Ch'en Huijie wouldn't dare to be so arrogant."

"Superintendent Ch'en is too bound by her own interests. She has a heart full of passion but lacks the resolve to cut off an arm to survive." Luo Chen said bluntly, without any concern for his superiors. "To achieve great things, one must be ruthless not only to others but also to oneself."

"I didn't expect you to understand Ch'en Huijie so well. Have you known each other for a long time?"

"It has been a week since I joined under Officer Ch'en."

"You have only known Ch'en Huijie for a week?"

Lin Yuxia took two steps back and re-examined Luo Chen.

Having only known him for a few days, Ch'en Huijie was already able to take him to a dinner party and introduce her own father to him?

How could someone like Ch'en Huijie trust him?

Lin Yuxia thought about it from every angle, and in the end, she could only consider Luo Chen's physical appearance.

Looking at him now, Luo Chen had fair skin, shiny black hair, and a strong, steady presence.

Although he looked above average in terms of looks, he was still inferior to her father and Governor Wei, so he shouldn't have such a strong appeal to Ch'en Huijie.

Could it be that Luo Chen had some other hidden talents?

As she thought about this, Lin Yuxia's gaze gradually drifted down from Luo Chen's face, past his chest, and further down.

"Ms. Lin, your expression just now was a bit off-putting. I hope you weren't thinking about anything disrespectful." Luo Chen said.

Lin Yuxia's body trembled slightly:

"Uh... I was just wondering how that loner Ch'en Huijie managed to become your partner on the same front within just a few days?"

Luo Chen did not hide it and stated the reason directly:

"I used threats to make Superintendent Ch'en submit obediently."

"After all, someone like Officer Ch'en, who is a sweet-hearted person on the inside but lacks the necessary capability, is very easy to coerce."

"As long as it doesn't cross her bottom line, using the safety and stability of Lungmen as a bargaining chip makes it very easy to tie her down."

Lin Yuxia smiled and said nothing.

She suddenly realized that she was still too young.

How could Luo Chen and Ch'en Huijie have only known each other for a few days?

He proposed one point, and she had actually believed it foolishly.

It seemed that there was still a gap between her and the real big shots on the path of worldly wisdom.

Not to mention compared to the previous generation like her father or Governor Wei.

Even Luo Chen, who was her own age, could pull her into his pre-set environment in just a few words and have her spinning in circles.

She still needed to settle down and learn more.

Luo Chen held his forehead as if he had a headache:

"Ms. Lin doesn't believe me? Sigh... people are just like that; they only want to hear what they want to hear, not the truth."

Lin Yuxia shook her head:

"Officer Luo, please don't mock me. I was indeed careless just now."

"Thank you for teaching me a vivid lesson: one should not easily believe what others say."

"Does Ms. Lin think I was lying to you just now?" Luo Chen said: "I was actually quite sincere, telling you everything I knew."

The sun was directly overhead, casting light onto Luo Chen's face. On that calm, unruffled face, there was no sign of any joking.

For a moment, Lin Yuxia believed Luo Chen's words from the bottom of her heart, thinking that everything he had just told her was true.

This moment came inexplicably, and even Lin Yuxia herself doubted whether Luo Chen possessed some special ability to bewilder her, to the point where she would believe such nonsense.

How could someone as tough as Ch'en Huijie be threatened?

Lin Yuxia really couldn't imagine that scene.

"It seems the execution is over." Luo Chen pressed stop on the recording and tucked his phone back into his pocket. "The accident is over, and it's time for us to get down to business. These guys are beyond saving, but that little thief still has plenty of room for reform."

"Officer Luo, I will find out the truth myself."

Lin Yuxia was still dwelling on the previous matter, clearly still a bit unconvinced about being "spun in circles" just now.

"Is that so." Luo Chen smiled, looked at her meaningfully for a moment, and turned to walk toward the thugs.

"Ms. Lin, you are actually quite cute."

After the thugs respectfully handed over Hart's fingers, they dragged Hart's corpse away.

After dealing with the unruly thugs, Lin Yuxia and Luo Chen slowly walked over to Gravel.

Sitting on the ground, Gravel felt like her heart was about to stop as the group approached.

She had just escaped one disaster, only to have an even more ruthless group show up—they had even easily killed Hart, the most powerful person in this area.

And if she wasn't mistaken, that black-haired man was the simple older brother she had stolen money from.

What kind of existence had she provoked?

No wonder he dared to say he wasn't afraid of a shady shop.

She was really going to die this time.

If she had known, she would have gone to buy a pillow first, just to get a good sleep before dying.

"Do you recognize me?" Luo Chen looked down at Gravel from above.

Gravel nodded, reached into her clothes to pull out the ten thousand, and offered it with both hands:

"I really didn't mean it. I'll give the money back to you, please, I beg you, just let me go, okay?"

"No, you earned that money with your own skills, why return it? That is your money."

"Huh?"

Gravel's hand, which was holding the money, froze, and she looked at Luo Chen with an expression of disbelief.

She had seen the fates of countless pickpockets who got caught—either they were beaten severely or dragged to the Lungmen Guard Department, usually amidst constant abuse.

But this was the first time she had ever heard someone say she should keep the money.

"Looking at you, you must have chosen to steal because you really had no other way to make a living, right?"

"Where are your parents? Dead? Or what happened?"

Luo Chen observed Gravel's age of thirteen or fourteen and her recent encounter with Hart's extortion, analyzing that she was a lone operator and did not belong to any gang faction.

"Dead."

Hearing Luo Chen mention her parents, a trace of panic suddenly appeared in Gravel's flustered eyes, and she lied instinctively.

In reality, she had been kicked out of her home because she suffered from Oripathy. Her parents still loved her very much; if not for the Oripathy, she wouldn't have been kicked out, and even when she was, her mother had been crying.

She was afraid that these gangsters would implicate her parents, so she said they were already dead.

"You are lying to me, aren't you? Your parents aren't dead at all. Why were you kicked out of your home?"

This sentence made Gravel tremble all over. She opened her mouth, her voice weak:

"No, no, my parents died of illness a long time ago. I'm the only one left in my family."

"Stealing your money was my fault, if you want to kill someone, just kill me."

This sentence made Luo Chen's calm mood slightly annoyed. Did he look like a bad guy?

However, looking at the girl kneeling on the ground, preparing to kowtow, he felt he still needed to explain his identity:

"What are you afraid of? I am an officer of the Lungmen Guard Department, how could I kill you?"

However, Luo Chen's words were not convincing; Gravel trembled even more violently instead.

She had seen everything regarding the seven fingers being cut off just moments ago.

"Little girl, don't be afraid. Officer brother is not a bad person. I asked about your parents because I wanted to talk to them about your education. As guardians, how can they let a minor wander around outside?"

Chapter 24: Hoshiguma Relief Fund.

"There really is no one else in my family."

"There really isn't."

After mentioning her parents, Gravel seemed to be possessed; she just repeated "no" over and over, and no matter what else Luo Chen asked, it was always "no."

Family education is a complex and common issue.

It may stem from many factors, such as differences in values, personality conflicts, or economic pressure, among others.

As an officer wanting to mediate the various problems caused by family discord, the first thing needed is communication, to understand the root of the family education issues as much as possible.

But now, Gravel's lack of cooperation left Luo Chen without a breakthrough.

Luo Chen slowly squatted in front of Gravel and rubbed her head:

"If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. Do you have a place to stay? Can you take us to see it?"

"Actually, I am an officer commissioned by the Lungmen Hoshiguma Charity Foundation to select recipients for aid. Originally, if there were three people in your family, you could actually receive three portions of relief funds."

"Since your parents are no longer here, we can only inspect your living environment to determine how much relief money to issue you."

"Relief money?" Gravel, who was lying on the ground, looked up, half-believing.

She had lived in the slums for so long and had never heard of any relief money. Why would it appear now?

And why would such a good thing fall to her? That shouldn't be right; her luck had always been terrible.

"By the way, the ten thousand you have in your hand is part of our relief money."

"Ten thousand? I only have one thousand here..." Gravel was just about to retort when Luo Chen covered her mouth.