Ark, Just Tell Me Whether the Mission Was Completed

As for the final addendum, he filled in the transaction Lin Yuxia and Luo Chen had agreed on long ago.

—Two leads for the Lungmen Guard Department's investigation.

[Recently, an outside gang has infiltrated Lungmen. Their methods completely disregard Lungmen's rules, as they openly smash and loot property, forcibly seizing innocent civilians' assets through violence. Video evidence of their crimes has been sent to Officer Luo Chen's email.]

[This gang is called the Razor Gang. They are suspected of colluding with officials from the Governor's Office, because most of the areas they occupy are slated for acquisition under the Governor's Office's development plans.]

[In addition, an organization called the Reunion Movement is growing within the slums and should be treated with the utmost seriousness.]

Like he was practicing calligraphy, Lin Ge Rui lightly lifted his pen and set down the final stroke.

Then he handed the questionnaire back to Luo Chen.

Luo Chen took the questionnaire and glanced at it. When he noticed the contents of the addendum, a trace of confusion appeared on his face.

"Mr. Rat King, I haven't received the video evidence you mentioned."

Lin Ge Rui stroked his beard and chuckled, beckoning to Lin Yuxia.

"Yuxia, come add Officer Luo Chen's email, phone number, and contact details. I can't figure out these things on phones."

Boom.

Watching Uncle Lin's clumsy little scheme, Chen Huijie felt her mind buzz.

Wasn't the saying that old ginger was spicier?

Why were you setting Luo Chen up to meet Lin Yuxia instead?

How had an old hand like you failed to see that Luo Chen, that thing wearing human skin, was no good?

Suddenly, Chen remembered the discussion Luo Chen and the others had just held about building a new gang.

Something about either studying or killing people. Those who refused to study would get electrocuted, those who led others in refusing would be locked in a dark room and made to listen to language tapes for twenty-four hours, and repeat offenders would be dragged off to solve middle school math problems. One wrong answer meant a nail hammered beneath a fingernail.

A father and daughter who could accept such hellish torture naturally weren't good people either.

Maybe, in their eyes, something like Luo Chen wearing human skin really was talented.

If Luo Chen colluded with them in the future...

Chen expressionlessly watched Lin Yuxia exchange contact details with Luo Chen with a smile, and suddenly felt that Luo Chen's plan to turn the Rat King directly into a universally despised pest was the choice most beneficial to Lungmen.

He Really Was a Fucking Animal!

After putting away the questionnaire, Luo Chen seemed like a different person, overflowing with enthusiasm.

After having a few drinks with the Rat King and his daughter, Luo Chen, afraid of repeating the mistakes of his previous life, tactfully declined the drinks offered afterward.

However, the drinking session did not end. Chen Huijie, who had been sitting there with a dark expression, silently questioning her life, took over the battlefield.

She was feeling deeply frustrated and conflicted.

She neither wanted Luo Chen to make this matter bigger nor wanted Lin Yuxia and her father to fail to see Luo Chen's true face.

That conflicted feeling made Chen Huijie extraordinarily miserable. With nowhere to vent, she could only use alcohol to blow off some steam.

Then Lin Yuxia and her father were both dumbfounded.

They drank two bottles of baijiu, yet Superintendent Chen's expression did not change and her heartbeat did not quicken. Instead, she grabbed Lin Yuxia and kept drinking.

Facing Chen Huijie, who drank alcohol like water, the Rat King and his daughter soon could not hold on any longer.

Looking at the two mice swaying drunkenly, Luo Chen pulled up Superintendent Chen, who was still drinking alone, and bid the two farewell.

After leaving the restaurant, Luo Chen did not return to the dormitory. Instead, he dragged Chen Huijie straight to the Lungmen Guard Department headquarters.

In front of Chen Huijie, Luo Chen stuffed the questionnaire Lin Ge Rui had personally filled out into a document envelope. Then, with a solemn expression, he handed the document to Chen Huijie.

"Superintendent Chen, my practical assessment has been completed. Please sign for it."

"I hope you will keep your promise and let me join the Lungmen Guard Department."

After saying that, Luo Chen even gave Chen Huijie a salute before turning and leaving.

"You... you're still treating this as a mission?"

Chen Huijie quietly stared blankly at Luo Chen's retreating back, feeling as though all strength had been drained from her body.

Touching the document envelope in her arms, Chen Huijie felt an unreal, dreamlike sensation.

Today's experience had been nothing short of a nightmare.

Had she known this practical assessment would cause something like this, she would never have assigned such a task.

She had clearly wanted the newcomers of the Lungmen Guard Department to gain experience in the Lower City, to recognize once more the complexity of human nature without wavering in their sense of justice.

To experience what she herself had gone through when she first came to understand society.

But Luo Chen's methods made her younger self seem fucking stupid.

Back then, she had struggled through the Lower City for over a month. She had been robbed, scammed, and gotten into dozens of vicious fights.

Only in the end did she discover that the Rat King's true identity was connected to her classmate, Lin Yuxia.

Later, after Lin Yuxia admitted it herself, Chen Huijie learned that the uncle running a snack stall was actually Lungmen's underground emperor, the Rat King.

She had gone through countless hardships to uncover the Rat King's identity, coming to understand society's dangers and the complexity of human nature.

But Luo Chen? He had lain in his dorm room, moved a few fingers, and lured out the Rat King with nothing but rumors. He had even dragged her aboard the pirate ship with him.

Even the practical assessment questionnaire had been personally filled out by the Rat King.

"Damn it... he really is an animal."

The next day.

Sunlight outside streamed through the glass windows and fell across the Lungmen Guard Department cafeteria.

A group of officers sat by the windows, eating while discussing the latest hot topic.

"Did you see today's headlines?"

"That woman who accused the Rat King of abandoning his family was exposed as someone abroad who gets paid to read scripts."

"Forget the Rat King—she even acted the same way against a Victoria duke. Videos of her spreading rumors about people overseas have all been dug up."

"Even those experts who previously called the Rat King a scumbag and a disgrace have changed their tune."

After hearing this, one of them snorted disdainfully.

"Pfft, bullshit experts. They're just chasing clout. The moment they saw the wind change, they immediately changed sides. The Rat King has been in Lungmen for decades. If he were really such a vile scumbag, someone would have exposed him long ago."

"Brother Zhang, that's not what you said yesterday. Yesterday, you said it was normal for a gang boss like the Rat King to have over a dozen wives."

"I... I said it was possible. I never said it was certain."

"Hahaha."

Listening to the people around her talk, Hoshiguma took a bite from her half-eaten bun and scrolled through the latest news on her phone.

"People actually believe such obviously fake news?"

"The Lungmen Guard Department officers' ability to avoid scams needs improvement."

Just as Hoshiguma lamented the officers' lack of scam awareness, a young man carrying a bowl of porridge walked over to her.

"Ghost Sis, why are you eating at the cafeteria today?"

The young man had beautifully defined features. His soft black hair looked calm and bright beneath the sunlight, while his brown eyes under long, delicate brows were clear and shone with innocent light.

He wore an immaculate white shirt. The fabric was fine and soft, gently clinging to his skin and outlining his elegant yet muscular physique.

The collar hung slightly open, revealing his refined collarbones and long neck, giving him an air of unrestrained elegance. His sleeves were rolled to his elbows, exposing firm forearms and smoothly defined wrists that displayed his distinctive masculine charm.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Hoshiguma felt that Luo Chen seemed more energetic than before.

He looked very much like a successful man.

"It's Xiao Chen. I worked the night shift yesterday and was just about to head back to sleep." Hoshiguma warmly invited Luo Chen to sit across from her.

"Xiao Chen, you're only having porridge this morning?" Hoshiguma looked at the single bowl of vegetable porridge on Luo Chen's tray in confusion.

"Money's been a little tight lately, so all I can afford now is the cafeteria porridge." Luo Chen smiled brightly. "But don't worry, Ghost Sis. I spent all night collecting bottles yesterday, so I can have an extra bun at noon to restore my strength."

Watching Luo Chen reveal such a bitter truth with the sunniest possible attitude,

Hoshiguma felt an indescribable wave of pity rise in her heart.

She imagined what Luo Chen had gone through the previous night, imagined how he had rummaged through one trash can after another in the cold night, ignoring the filth.

He had endured hunger while constantly searching for bottles.

At that thought, Hoshiguma felt as though something had tightly gripped her heart. It ached, heavy and painful.

She pushed the two buns she had not yet eaten toward Luo Chen.

"I still have two buns. Eat them."

Luo Chen shook his head. "Ghost Sis, if you give me your buns, you'll be hungry too."

"I don't want you to go hungry because of me. If I want to eat, I'll buy food. Even if I have no money right now, I'll do everything I can to earn it with my own hands."

Hearing that, Hoshiguma felt even more bitter inside.

Luo Chen really was such a good kid. Not only was he kind-hearted, he was considerate of others.

If not for his physical ability and talent holding back his character, Luo Chen would definitely have become an elite of the Lungmen Guard Department remembered throughout history.

"Ghost Sis, didn't you say a few days ago that you would introduce me to a job? I wonder if there are any suitable ones?"

Luo Chen blinked his bright eyes, clear and innocent like emerald springs in a deep forest.

"I looked, but..."

The words stuck in Hoshiguma's throat, and she could not force them out.

How could she possibly say that there was no suitable job because Luo Chen was too useless?

Helplessness, guilt, and other emotions surged through Hoshiguma's mind.

It definitely was not because Luo Chen was too useless. She was the useless one.

She had only thought that she ought to help Luo Chen somehow, but had not taken it seriously at all.

How could she possibly find a good job by spending only five hours a day visiting four employment agencies?

"Ghost Sis, has finding me a job been too difficult for you? I'm sorry, Ghost Sis... I suppose I should be the one looking for work myself."

Luo Chen lowered his head, speaking in a somewhat weak voice.

That made the helplessness and guilt in Hoshiguma's heart even heavier.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Chen. I didn't take it seriously enough... I got delayed by work matters. I don't have work during the day today, so I'll go find you a job in a little while."

Hoshiguma, her eyes full of bloodshot veins, clenched her fists and made up her mind.

Yet her words grew increasingly timid.

She felt especially ashamed toward her former comrade.

That person had only one child left, yet she could not even find him a job.

It Is Our Duty to Crack Down on Shady Businesses.

"No need, Ghost Sis. I'm already very touched that you care."

"You're an inspector with the Lungmen Guard Department. You carry far more important responsibilities. If you delayed your rest because of me, I'd feel guilty to death."

"I've already decided to find work myself."

"But..."

Luo Chen looked at Hoshiguma with a troubled expression.

With all that groundwork laid.