Ark, Just Tell Me Whether the Mission Was Completed

Ch'en shoved her phone into her pocket and bolted for the door.

Hoshiguma was left behind, staring after her with a suspicious look.

"I only asked one question, and Old Chen ran away in panic. She doesn't really have some weird fetish, does she?"

Soft light spilled into the one-person dormitory.

Luo Chen lay on the bed with his eyes closed. He was not sleepy right now, but he enjoyed this peaceful afternoon.

He could skip a nap, but he could not go without having one.

Plenty of energy was the start of a positive attitude.

Bang—

Ch'en forcefully shoved open the door to Luo Chen's dormitory.

During the practical assessment, all the recruits were out carrying out missions. Ch'en had barely needed any effort to find the only training dormitory that was still occupied.

"Officer Ch'en, what brings you here so suddenly?"

Luo Chen, whose nap had been interrupted, did not get angry. He simply sat up from the bed calmly.

"And you're asking me what I'm here for?" Ch'en looked at the room, identical to the one in the video screenshot, and nearly laughed in fury.

Luo Chen had caused such a huge mess, yet he was asking why she had come?

"I'm asking you: did you upload this video?"

Ch'en slapped the phone onto the table. The video was playing on its screen.

To keep Luo Chen from denying it, Ch'en had also pulled up the IP address located by the technical department.

"According to the technical department's analysis, this video was filmed in this room. Do you have anything to explain?"

"Did you do it or not?"

Faced with the accusation, Luo Chen calmly asked a question in return:

"Officer Ch'en, do you think the Rat King's negative publicity shouldn't be allowed to spread?"

Luo Chen's question immediately stumped Ch'en.

If an ordinary citizen had been asked, they would surely say that the Lungmen Guard Department had no reason to concern itself with a gang leader's bad press.

Besides, the more negative news there was about a Lower City gang boss, the more it highlighted the Lungmen Guard Department's righteousness.

But Ch'en was not an ordinary citizen, nor was she an ordinary officer. As an inspector of the Lungmen Guard Department, she knew far more than most people.

Although the Lower City was a problem left over from history, the Lungmen Guard Department truly lacked the ability to bring it under its administration.

Furthermore, the Governor's Office above the Lungmen Guard Department, in the interest of maintaining balance, would never allow the Lungmen Guard Department to expand with all its strength and swallow up the Lower City.

Therefore, from the Governor's Office's perspective, the Rat King, the underground emperor of the Lower City, was effectively the Lower City's inspector of the Lungmen Guard Department.

"Luo Chen, this is complicated. The Rat King is key to Lungmen's stability."

Unable to explain it clearly in just a few words, Ch'en could only put it that way.

But Luo Chen heard a different meaning in her words.

He raised a hand and cut her off.

"The Rat King has occupied the Lower City for twenty years. There must be people within the Lungmen Guard Department and the Governor's Office protecting him."

"I'd expected the people shielding the Rat King to come looking for me sooner or later, but I never thought that person would be you."

"Collusion between the authorities and criminals, snakes and rats in the same nest. What kind of hell are Lungmen's people living in?"

"When the gang runs into trouble, the first to step forward is actually the Lungmen Guard Department, the very institution that represents Lungmen's righteous side. How absurd and laughable."

"Officer Ch'en, ask yourself honestly: are your actions worthy of the oath you swore beneath the Lungmen Guard Department's banner?"

"Are you still an officer of the Lungmen Guard Department?"

Luo Chen's voice was stern and forceful. Every word struck Ch'en's heart like a heavy hammer.

His brows were tightly furrowed, and his eyes carried deep disappointment and dissatisfaction, as though he wanted to pass those emotions directly to the person before him.

With an expression of heartbroken indignation, Luo Chen lectured Ch'en until she was utterly dazed, to the point that she nearly wanted to apologize.

How Did I Become the Villain?

Ch'en stood before Luo Chen with her head lowered in shame, an indescribable grievance welling up inside her.

She opened her mouth, intending to defend herself, but Luo Chen beat her to it again.

"Officer Ch'en, I know you have your difficulties, but people need to have principles."

"I understand you. Everyone makes mistakes, but what matters is having the courage to admit them and correct them."

"Though the crimes you have committed are serious, they are not beyond redemption. As long as you are willing to return to the right path and accept the law's punishment, I am willing to help you find your direction in life again."

"Please understand that the dignity of the law cannot be challenged. Running away will only make things more complicated. But if you choose to turn yourself in, you will not only be taking responsibility for yourself, but also for your family and society. Your surrender will bring a measure of comfort to your family and peace to society."

"The organization will uphold fairness and rigorously assess your specific circumstances. Your case will never be needlessly escalated. At the same time, depending on your conduct, you will be given the opportunity to atone through meritorious service."

Just as Luo Chen was urging Chen Huijie to reform as soon as possible and turn over a new leaf—

Ch'en, who had been lectured into hanging her head, suddenly realized something.

Something was wrong.

Luo Chen had clearly been the one spreading rumors and slandering someone.

So how had she become the utterly evil villain instead?

With that thought, Ch'en straightened her back again, and her tone hardened.

"Enough. Who do you think you're talking to?"

"Who's the inspector of the Lungmen Guard Department here, you or me?"

"Look at you... sigh!" Deep helplessness filled Luo Chen's eyes.

That disappointed expression seemed frozen on his face, forming a heavy shadow that engulfed the entire room. The corners of his mouth drooped slightly into a bitter curve, as though he were grieving for Ch'en's future.

Looking at Luo Chen's expression, Chen Huijie felt as if a fire were burning in her chest. It was the rage of being wronged, the grievance of being misunderstood.

Her hands clenched into fists, her knuckles turning white from the force. She struggled to control herself and keep her anger from clouding her mind.

"Listen to me. This world is not simply black and white, and it isn't as simple as you think."

"When the Lungmen Guard Department was first established, it could not control all of Lungmen. Back then, Lungmen was a chaotic mix of all sorts, with countless underground forces."

"It was impossible to wipe them all out at the time, so the Governor's Office tacitly allowed one force to take a dominant position in the Lower City."

"Forget that I'm an inspector of the Lungmen Guard Department. Even if the Governor himself were here, he could not ignore the Rat King being slandered if he wanted Lungmen to remain stable."

"Lungmen has actually rotted to this extent!" A trace of surprise flashed over Luo Chen's face, followed by a deep frown, as though he were worrying for Lungmen's people.

At that, Ch'en finally snapped and roared:

"Hey! Stop making us sound like the bad guys!"

"Did you even understand what I said? What Lungmen needs most right now is stability."

"Fine, let's say that's how it is." Luo Chen shook his head helplessly.

At that moment, his expression was like that of someone washed by a storm: pained and helpless, yet aware that the path of justice would always have rises and setbacks. Only by facing them bravely could one see hope.

"What do you mean, 'let's say'? That's exactly how it is!" Ch'en's breathing grew ragged. She felt like she was going insane.

"Officer Ch'en, even I can bravely face reality. I hope you can be more composed too. Don't lose your mind just because someone exposed your thoughts."

"Tell me, do you want me to temporarily compromise with criminal forces for the sake of Lungmen's overall stability?"

Luo Chen spread his hands, signaling for Ch'en to say whatever she wanted directly.

Ch'en was intensely displeased by Luo Chen's wording.

She had clearly done nothing wrong, yet he made it sound as though she were forcing an innocent woman into prostitution.

But she had a feeling that if she continued arguing with Luo Chen over this, he might strip her of her humanity altogether.

"I don't care how you interpret it, but you must stop spreading rumors about the Rat King and eliminate the impact they've caused."

Luo Chen nodded as if he half understood, then stared straight at Chen Huijie without saying a word.

Chen Huijie's scalp prickled under his gaze. "What do you mean?"

Luo Chen rubbed his fingers together and said bluntly, "You're corrupting an official, yet you don't even have the slightest sincerity?"

Luo Chen's tone, like that of a leader inspecting and criticizing a subordinate, left Ch'en completely stunned.

"No, where did that attitude of yours about never bowing to evil forces go?"

"Should I bow or not? Officer Ch'en, don't you know?" Luo Chen said.

"Then bow. What kind of sincerity do you want? Money, or something else?" Ch'en's expression remained flat, but the veins on her forehead twitched twice.

Luo Chen rose to his feet, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed out at the Lungmen streets beyond the window as he spoke solemnly:

"Officer Ch'en, don't use your narrow perspective to judge everyone. For the people of Lungmen, before I bow my head, I should at least learn something about this legendary underground emperor."

"As long as you give me the Rat King's contact information, I can guarantee that I'll eliminate all of the current impact."

Chen Huijie's mouth twitched. She wanted nothing more than to crack Luo Chen's head open and see just how large a brain tumor he had to say something so shameless.

Still, she hesitated over giving him the contact information.

At present, the only way she could contact the Rat King was through Lin Yuxia as an intermediary.

Who knew what would happen if Luo Chen, that inhuman bastard, met Lin Yuxia?

Lin Yuxia was nowhere near as reasonable as she was. If Luo Chen tried to act shamelessly around Lin Yuxia, she might chop him in half with one slash.

And with the matter having grown this big, Lin Yuxia definitely would not let him off easily.

She wondered how Luo Chen would deal with Lin Yuxia face-to-face.

Forget it. Why was she worrying so much about Luo Chen?

He was the one spreading rumors, and he dared to face the very victim he had slandered. What was she hesitating for?

"The number saved in the phone I gave you belongs to the Rat King's family. You can call it directly."

"Officer Ch'en, one of my practical assessment requirements says that calling this number counts as failing the mission. Now that you're telling me to call it, does that count as violating the mission requirements?"

"You're still thinking about that mission?" Ch'en was truly dumbfounded now. She had completely stopped understanding what went on inside Luo Chen's head.

"I'll remove that requirement from the mission, all right?"

"Very well. Please let me record that first."

Luo Chen recording her before the practical assessment had already made Chen Huijie extremely unhappy. Now he wanted to record her again, making her feel deeply insulted once more.

This time, Ch'en no longer pretended to be polite and asked directly:

"Luo Chen, what exactly do you mean? What kind of person do you think I am?"

Luo Chen answered instantly, "A high-ranking Lungmen Guard Department official colluding with Lungmen's largest gang, an officer who voluntarily helps a gang boss clear his name."

"You little darling... **" Ch'en laughed bitterly, already regretting asking that question.

Officer Ch'en, We're Ants on the Same Pirate Ship Now

Luo Chen placed the mission document Chen Huijie had given him and the phone from the document envelope on the table.

Right in front of Chen Huijie, Luo Chen dialed the number on the phone.

After the ringtone sounded three times, the call connected.