Ark, Just Tell Me Whether the Mission's Complete

Gravel had never heard anyone talk about doing bad things so openly.

And he wanted her to steal from police officers. Wasn't that adding crime upon crime? This devil was clearly trying to torment her to death.

She'd kindly helped him watch his home, and this was how he treated her?

Waaaah—

Seeing that Gravel wouldn't budge, Luo Chen knew it was time to raise the stakes. He turned to Lin Yuxia.

"Miss Lin Yuxia, get her ten third-grade elementary school test papers, plus every textbook up through sixth grade."

Before long, Lin Yuxia got the books Luo Chen wanted from the bookstore owner and stacked the two thick piles in front of Gravel.

Together, those books cost over twenty thousand Lungmen Dollars—far beyond what Gravel could afford.

Gravel stared wide-eyed at the mountain of textbooks and couldn't help swallowing.

Normally, the books she studied from were trash she'd picked up at scrap yards.

Not only were pages and lines missing, but the editions were outdated compared to Lungmen's newest ones.

As for newly printed textbooks, they were even further beyond her means.

After all, once she'd washed her hands of crime, all she had left was a loan of over a hundred thousand. Barely covering food, shelter, and living expenses for three years was already her limit. Buying new books was pure fantasy.

Luo Chen really was a devil, using something like this to tempt her into corruption.

But she had to hold the line. She absolutely couldn't steal anything.

No matter how much Luo Chen offered her, it was impossible.

With that in mind, Gravel turned her head away, forcing herself not to look at the things on the table.

Luo Chen smiled. "Little sister, I'm very scared right now, you know?"

"What are you scared of?"

"I'm scared you won't know what's good for you. Then I'll have no choice but to report you to the nearby officers."

Luo Chen's Corporate Rescue Lesson

Inside the meeting room.

After excluding Luo Chen, the troublesome thorn, Motley began assigning work from the podium.

"Colleagues, for this drill, we'll still follow the previous drill model."

"First, we'll find a bank and settle on a date with them. They'll cooperate with us when the time comes, and then we'll submit the plan to headquarters."

At that moment, someone raised a hand and repeated Chief Swire's instructions for the villain team.

"Team Leader Motley, but Chief Swire said robbing banks every time is too unoriginal. This time, she wants us to come up with the scenario ourselves, and we don't need to submit it to headquarters."

Yet Motley merely smiled and shook his head.

"You can't take everything the higher-ups say completely seriously. If we really commit crimes at random and the drill turns into an embarrassment, making the Lungmen Guard Department lose face, what then?"

"Will we bear that responsibility, or will Chief Swire bear it?"

"A drill is just going through the motions. As long as nothing goes wrong, we won't make mistakes."

"I support Captain Motley's decision." Director Li, formerly of the office, was one of Motley's staunchest supporters and immediately took the lead in agreeing.

The others had no objections either. The villain team quickly approved the drill scenario.

Motley put on a show of writing down a bank heist plan in his notebook, then listed the tasks he'd assigned one by one.

Once he'd finished the superficial work, Motley stood up.

"Next, Director Li, Secretary Ellie, and the other administrative colleagues will remain here to draft the report. Everyone else will come with me to select a suitable bank for the drill."

Central Ring Street.

One of Lungmen's busiest commercial streets.

"Picking a bank is a science in itself. If the location is too remote or the roads aren't wide enough, it'll seriously affect the reporters' filming..."

"To make this drill more effective... we should..."

Motley led more than a dozen subordinates as he pointed at the banks along the street and shared his thoughts.

Just as Motley was getting into the swing of his speech, a little girl dressed as a newspaper seller timidly stepped in front of them.

"Sir, w-would you like a newspaper? It's only five Lungmen Dollars, and you'll learn about the latest current events."

"No." Interrupted out of nowhere, Motley was extremely displeased. He snorted and waved his hand as if shooing away a fly, telling her to get lost.

But the newsgirl seemed unable to understand his meaning. Not only did she fail to leave, she forcefully squeezed into their group and pleaded in a trembling voice.

"Uncles and aunties, please buy a newspaper. I haven't sold a single one all morning."

Her pleading didn't earn their sympathy. Instead, it only made them impatient.

The deputy captain who had once helped mediate a fight noticed Motley and the other leaders darkening their expressions. He immediately shoved the newsgirl to the ground, scattering newspapers everywhere.

"What does it have to do with us that you haven't sold any? Go play somewhere else, brat."

Seeing Wang Hao shove that annoying fly to the ground, Motley felt a little better.

But as a leader in the Lungmen Guard Department, he still had to consider the impression he made on passersby.

"How can you push someone? Give her five Lungmen Dollars and send her away."

Motley pretended to rebuke him, glanced around to make sure no one had noticed what they'd just done, then continued leading the group onward.

The former deputy captain smiled and said sorry, little girl, tossed down a five-Lungmen-Dollar note, and rejoined the group.

What none of them noticed was that two pairs of eyes were watching them from a black sedan parked by the roadside.

"Miss Lin Yuxia, what do you think of these officers?"

"Why do I feel like they're so arrogant? Just like Victoria's nobles, they think they're superior to everyone else. Are they also the sort inside the Guard Department who only know how to flatter and brown-nose?"

"Miss Lin, you're an excellent judge of character. They really are officials in the Guard Department who made mistakes. Don't they resemble those unscrupulous subordinates of yours who love bullying others?"

Luo Chen smiled and nodded. Every organization had role models who worked hard, acted positively, and moved forward for their ideals.

But likewise, every organization had people whose original aspirations had been obscured by fame and profit, turning them into people who pursued vanity and power.

The ideals and passion they once had were replaced by the temptation of money and status. Gradually, they lost themselves in the allure of a prosperous world. Their eyes saw only fame and wealth. For those illusory things, they wouldn't hesitate to betray their principles and values, even sacrificing others' interests.

They became cold and selfish. They no longer cared about those around them, caring only about their own gains and losses. They forgot the pure, passionate person they once were, and lost the people and things they had once cherished.

A gang boss could forget that the first time he threw a punch was to protect his brothers. A Guard Department official could forget that his first training session was for the sake of justice.

For these lost lambs who had strayed from the path, Luo Chen truly wanted to save them harshly.

"Now that you put it that way, I do feel they're all burdens to the organization. But how should we correct them?"

There was a trace of helplessness in Lin Yuxia's voice. This was precisely the problem that had been troubling her.

A few days ago, she could still use entrapment to keep her underlings in line. But after that stopped working, the issue became even more painful for her.

"Miss Lin..."

"Officer Luo, just call me by my name. We're friends."

"Then don't call me Officer either. Yuxia, do you remember what I told you about breaking through that sense of powerlessness?"

"You mean becoming stronger than evil?"

"That's right. It sounds rather vague, but a small demonstration will make it clear. Next, I'll show you my method of rescue. Record my example completely. If you compile it into a book later, it'll definitely become a bestseller on corporate management."

Lin Yuxia nodded solemnly and took a notebook and pen from the payment meant for Gravel.

After confirming that his secretary was ready, Luo Chen took out his phone, looked up the number for the roadside bank, and called it.

"Hello! Is this the manager of the Great Yan Trading Company? I... I'm a concerned citizen, and I have a lead to report."

"When I passed by your bank just now, I heard a group of people pointing at it and saying this bank looked good, that it probably had a lot of money, and asking when they should make their move."

"They also talked about how many minutes it would take the Guard Department to get here by the shortest route..."

"I suspect they're bank robbers."

"They're there. Of course they're still there."

"Manager, if you can look down from upstairs, you'll see a group of people saying things toward your building. Yes, on the east side. You see them, right?"

"Alright... I don't need any thanks. Just don't tell those bad people I was the one who notified you. I'm afraid they'll retaliate against me."

"Oh no, it looks like someone noticed me. I'll hang up first."

At the same time.

Motley and the others were evaluating the surroundings of the Great Yan Trading Company.

"This bank is good. The view is open, and there's a flat central avenue right in front. Reporters can film here without interfering with our drill..."

"It is good, but this is the Great Yan Trading Company. They already have very strong security. Wouldn't using this as the drill site make the scenario a little unrealistic?"

"It's a drill... We're not actually robbing a bank. Why think so much about it?"

As they spoke, they climbed the bank's steps and entered the front doors of the Great Yan Trading Company.

Yet the moment they stepped inside, the iron security gate slammed down, while protective grilles rose over every window.

Immediately afterward, the bank alarm blared. More than forty fully armed guards took the high ground on the second floor of the trading company's lobby, holding powerful crossbows at the ready.

Motley and the others jumped at the sudden change. While they were still struggling over what to do next, a crossbow bolt struck the trash can beside them.

The trading company's announcement system sounded at once.

"Under Lungmen law and Great Yan Law, our company has the right to question suspicious individuals who enter our premises. Remain where you are immediately, state your purpose, and present relevant identification."

With the trading company's guards aiming heavy crossbows at him, Motley didn't show a trace of panic. He raised a hand to signal everyone around him not to move, then reached for his identification.

"We aren't bad people. We're officers from the Guard Department. Look, I have..."

Motley searched through the pockets of his coat again and again. After fumbling for a long time, all he found was the notebook he'd written in during the meeting. The officer identification that should have been there was nowhere to be found.

At that moment, the others also discovered that their own officer IDs had vanished as well.

Among all of them, the only thing they found was the notebook containing the bank heist plan.

At that instant, sweat slowly seeped from Motley's forehead.

Since Things Had Come to This, They Might as Well Read for a While

Motley and the others stared at one another, while ten thousand Originium Slugs stampeded through their minds.

Right now, they desperately wanted to imitate a popular online phrase from Lungmen not long ago.

Guys, who gets it? Such a huge officer ID just vanished.

"What is that thing in your hand?"

The manager of the Great Yan Trading Company stood on the second floor, his gaze deep as the night sky. A short sword was concealed in his sleeve.

As a manager from Great Yan, he was a capable warrior himself. If these people truly were petty thieves daring to covet the Great Yan Trading Company, he would make them pay the price.

Motley raised the notebook in his hand and shouted.

"This is my meeting notebook. We're officers from the Guard Department."

Whoosh—

Yet the other party didn't listen to his explanation. With a flick of his sword, he sent it flying and pinned Motley's notebook to the floor.

"I'll read it myself."

The trading company manager waved a hand. An armed guard slowly approached Motley and the others, picked up the notebook, and handed it to the manager.

The manager casually flipped through two pages, then took two heavy breaths. "You've got some nerve, researching how to rob the Great Yan Trading Company?"

"And you even have clearly assigned roles and accomplices! You're lawless and utterly ignorant of your own limits."

"Take them all down. Beat them up, then send them to the Guard Department."