Ark, Just Tell Me Whether the Mission Was Completed

"Hey! Little girl! Don't just study all day. Look how skinny you've gotten!"

"I still have a piece of bread at home. You know how to pick locks, right? Go get it yourself."

"Oh, right. If you're short on money, there's still ten thousand Lungmen Dollars in cash in my drawer."

Hearing the number ten thousand, Gravel's clenched fists sprang open as if she'd been shocked.

She frantically shook her head, her lips trembling as she said, "Don't give me money. I don't want money, and I definitely won't steal from you."

"Mm, study hard! I'm looking forward to seeing you fail the exam."

Luo Chen was quite satisfied with Gravel's answer. He gave her a gentle smile, then continued on his way to work.

Do one good deed in the morning, stay happy all day.

It was truly cause for celebration that a pickpocket could turn over a new leaf and throw herself into studying. Truly cause for celebration.

Luo Chen left in high spirits.

Inside the room, Gravel's shirt was already soaked through with sweat, and waves of sour body odor rose from her.

After the panic came intense rage.

Gravel ran to the window and stared in the direction Luo Chen had left, fury blazing in her eyes as though she wanted to devour him.

That demon!

How could he be so sinister?

He had deliberately encouraged her to pick the lock, then planned to use that as an excuse to saddle her with another loan.

Gravel was absolutely certain that if she picked open Luo Chen's front door, there would definitely be nothing inside.

Then that demon would make up a pile of nonexistent stolen items and pin them all on her.

How hateful. One day, she would definitely make him pay.

Gravel silently recited her vow of revenge. She knew that now wasn't the time.

But she believed that one day, through studying, she could become a lawyer or even a high court judge.

And when that day came, she would personally judge Luo Chen and strike him a fatal blow.

To achieve that goal as soon as possible, she had to master multiplication and division within ten thousand today.

Gravel clenched her fists, turned around, and prepared to continue studying.

But just then, she suddenly realized something:

"If someone steals from Luo Chen's home, he won't blame it on me, will he?"

Lungmen Guard Department, Public Security Management Brigade office area.

The rookie, Luo Chen, stepped into the spacious, brightly lit office. His expression was both excited and nervous.

He wore a brand-new uniform and tightly hugged the document bag containing the Lungmen Guard Department Regulations, as if he were holding his own future.

He looked around. His colleagues were all busy—flipping through documents, making calls, speaking with suspects, slacking off with coffee, reading newspapers. Everyone was doing something.

Except no one paid any attention to Luo Chen, the new officer.

Luo Chen didn't mind. Carrying his document bag, he found the office with the brigade captain's nameplate hanging outside.

At that moment, an officer in a new uniform like his was standing outside the captain's office.

Luo Chen recognized him. During the training camp some time ago, he had been one of the top twenty elites.

His name was something like Todd. He was a Liberi birdman.

With a standard bodybuilder's physique, he looked like a future pillar of the Lungmen Guard Department.

"Luo Chen... you actually got hired."

Todd recognized Luo Chen at a glance.

After all, Luo Chen's dead-last score had been so spectacular that he was hard to forget.

Todd leaned closer to Luo Chen curiously, wanting to ask what kind of connections he had and how he'd gotten in. But Luo Chen ignored him completely.

That left him puzzled, and he continued asking, "Luo Chen, why aren't you saying anything?"

Luo Chen glanced at him as if he were an idiot. His expression seemed to say, How did trash like you get into the Lungmen Guard Department?

According to the Lungmen Guard Department Regulations, discussing matters unrelated to work during working hours was prohibited.

He didn't even understand something that basic.

How had he gotten into the Lungmen Guard Department?

Todd felt displeased after being looked down on by Luo Chen, but since he was also a newcomer reporting for duty, he decided not to stir up trouble.

There would be plenty of time to settle today's score later.

Meanwhile.

The sudden appearance of an unfamiliar officer in the office area gradually drew the attention of the other officers.

Rumors that someone with connections was joining the Public Security Management Department had caused quite a stir recently.

With two unfamiliar officers suddenly appearing—one clearly promising, the other clearly useless—the officers in the office naturally recognized Luo Chen as the one with connections.

"Look... isn't that black-haired guy the connected hire who got into the Lungmen Guard Department despite placing last?"

"What do you mean, last? He was the worst in history. They say he ran a hundred meters in twenty seconds, like a baby crawling."

"They'll recruit someone like that? What kind of family background does he have?"

"He doesn't have any family background at all. He's an orphan. Who knows what Officer Ch'en was thinking? I suspect she deliberately let him in to disgust Officer Swire."

"That can't be, can it... Could he be Officer Ch'en's kept boy toy?"

"Would Officer Ch'en like some scrawny pretty boy like that? Wouldn't his pelvis shatter the moment she sat on him?"

"Everyone has their own tastes. Maybe that's exactly what she's into."

Just as the clerks were gossiping, several squad captains who had just finished the morning meeting in the conference room walked out.

"Why aren't you working? What nonsense are you talking about?"

"Captain Carter, over there—that connected hire has arrived." Wang Hao, the First Squad captain following behind Carter, patted his arm and pointed toward Luo Chen.

"Everyone's talking about him? He's just someone with connections. What's there to talk about?"

"This connected hire isn't ordinary. He's got Superintendent Ch'en backing him."

Wang Hao's words earned a disdainful snort from Carter. "The Public Security Management Brigade isn't under Superintendent Ch'en's command. Superintendent Swire doesn't tolerate even a grain of sand in her eyes. If he's really useless, he'll be kicked out in less than a week."

"Besides, those are just rumors. Superintendent Ch'en is such a serious person—would she casually open the back door for someone?"

"Is this kid even worthy?"

Wang Hao chuckled and teased, "We're not qualified to judge Superintendent Ch'en. We're just little shrimps. We'd better stay away from this guy."

"Look at you, acting so scared. He's just someone who got in through connections. What's there to fear? Watch me put him in his place."

The Department Was Already on the Verge of Collapse

Carter casually tossed his meeting notebook to Wang Hao, rolled his neck, and walked toward Luo Chen.

Luo Chen was standing around with nothing to do, his head raised as he watched the clock on the wall and mentally timed the brigade captain.

"Eighteen minutes late without cause. Is this the work attitude of a Public Security Brigade captain?"

"If he can't give me a reasonable explanation later, I'll report him to the disciplinary department."

Just then, a burly middle-aged man with a dog's head, built like the God of Death of the Desert, walked toward Luo Chen.

His brows were tightly furrowed, and his gaze held a hint of scrutiny.

Having read everyone's résumés, Luo Chen recognized the dog-headed man at once.

He was the troublesome deputy captain Carter whom Aunt Hoshiguma had mentioned.

"You're the new Luo Chen?" Carter's voice carried a trace of coldness.

Todd, who was standing nearby with his sturdy build, immediately shuddered all over and clamped his mouth shut, not daring to look Carter in the face.

But Luo Chen showed no sign of nervousness. He responded politely and proactively extended his hand.

"Yes, Captain Carter. Hello. I'm Luo Chen, the new recruit reporting today. Please guide me in the future."

But Carter had no intention of shaking his hand. He examined Luo Chen from head to toe, deeply dissatisfied with his skinny appearance.

"Your uniform is reasonably presentable, but that's all that's presentable about you. The muscles on your body can't even support the lines of your clothes."

"I really don't understand why the Lungmen Guard Department would let someone like you in."

Luo Chen lowered his head without saying anything, looking as though he felt wronged.

This instantly made Carter's already poor impression of Luo Chen even worse.

A Lungmen Guard Department officer acting like an elementary school girl, looking all pitiful just because someone criticized him a little.

How could someone like that shoulder the responsibility of the Lungmen Guard Department?

Luo Chen, meanwhile, frowned slightly.

He had known long ago that Carter was a troublemaker, but he hadn't expected that before Luo Chen could investigate Carter's issues, Carter would come looking for him himself.

What did that mean?

It meant the atmosphere within the Public Security Management Brigade had reached an extremely dangerous point.

At any moment, it could fracture due to internal conflict.

As everyone knew, a group without internal unity couldn't merely fail to perform normally—it could perform even worse than average.

Good thing I came today. Otherwise, how could a department like this serve the people better? Luo Chen thought.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and decided he could no longer conduct a covert investigation.

As an upright, exemplary Lungmen Guard Department officer.

For the people of Lungmen and for the development of the Lungmen Guard Department, he now had to start dealing with the destabilizing elements in the Public Security Management Brigade.

"Deputy Captain Carter, could you come to the balcony with me? There are some things I'd like to discuss with you."

Carter immediately laughed when he heard that.

"The balcony? Don't tell me you want to slip me a red envelope, kid. Let me tell you, I don't fall for that."

"Don't get any crooked ideas."

"As a newcomer, you should honestly follow the rules."

Carter lectured him several times in a row.

But Luo Chen didn't reply. He simply walked toward the balcony on his own and slammed the balcony door shut with a bang.

That made Carter rather awkward.

A deputy brigade captain had been door-slammed by a rookie. Wasn't that humiliating him?

He glanced at the amused looks from his surrounding colleagues, and the expression on his face instantly turned vicious.

"A troublemaker, huh? I'm best at dealing with troublemakers."

Everyone else in the office area turned to look through the balcony's transparent glass.

They were curious how Carter would deal with this troublemaker.

It wasn't as though the Public Security Management Brigade had never had troublemakers before. But as long as Carter went over and beat them up with his fists, then sent them to clean toilets, they would become obedient within a few days.

As for whether a deputy captain beating up a rookie counted as a violation?

By procedure, of course it counted as a violation. A rookie had the right to report the issue to their superiors.