Yang Wenqing entered the main building of the branch bureau and, as usual, followed procedure by heading first to the personnel office of the Archives Division on the first floor. The person receiving him was once again a middle-aged female police officer wearing glasses.
After verifying his transfer order and identity information, the female officer stamped a document and instructed the young Li beside her, "Li, take Police Sergeant Yang to report to the Major Crimes Unit."
"Yes!"
Li hurriedly rose to his feet and gestured for Yang Wenqing to proceed. "Police Sergeant Yang, please follow me."
The two left the office, walked to the stairwell at the far end of the right side, and went up to the second floor. There was another corridor here, with most of the rooms on either side tightly shut. Different plaques hung on the doors: "Forensic Examination Room," "Trace Analysis Room," "Evidence Storage Room," and so on.
Li led Yang Wenqing to a heavy solid-wood door at the end of the corridor. The bronze plaque on it read, "Major Crimes Unit Chief's Office."
Knock, knock.
After the knock sounded, a steady male voice came from within. "Come in."
Li pushed open the door and entered with Yang Wenqing. They stopped before a desk, stood at attention, and saluted. "Deputy Director Gao, Li Shen of the Archives Division has been ordered to bring Police Sergeant Yang Wenqing to report for duty."
Yang Wenqing had already stood at attention. Naturally, he recognized Deputy Director Gao before the desk. He too wore the white uniform of a Police Commissioner, with a single silver star on his shoulder, yet he was as different from Wang Ren of the Public Security Office as heaven was from earth.
"Mhm. You've worked hard. You may leave first."
Deputy Director Gao waved Li away before turning his gaze to Yang Wenqing with a smile. "Relax, young man." As he spoke, he raised a hand and pointed to the chair before his desk. "Sit down first."
Li respectfully withdrew from the office. As he closed the door, he looked at Yang Wenqing sitting before the desk, his eyes full of envy.
As Yang Wenqing sat down, he quickly swept his eyes over the office and Deputy Director Gao. It was his habit to first observe his surroundings whenever he arrived somewhere new. The office was spacious and simple. Along the left wall stood a row of tall filing cabinets, while on the other side was a massive whiteboard covered in case-related photographs and sticky notes, all connected by a tangled web of lines.
Deputy Director Gao had a resolute face, deep wrinkles at his forehead and the corners of his eyes, and eyes as sharp as an eagle's. His hair was cropped short, half of it already gray.
This was the Major Crimes Unit's actual person in charge, one of the branch bureau's two deputy directors.
"Li Yi from the Operations Division spoke very highly of you. I have high expectations for you as well. After all, you're the first police officer in the past ten years to reach the Qi Refining Stage at the age of twenty." Deputy Director Gao spoke softly.
Yang Wenqing was about to respond, but Deputy Director Gao waved a hand.
Then Deputy Director Gao picked up a file, changed the subject, and asked, "Which spells have you learned?"
Yang Wenqing rose and replied, "Reporting to Director, I have learned the Immobilization Spell, the Body-Protecting Golden Light Spell, the Tracking Technique, and the Demon-Breaking Spell."
Deputy Director Gao nodded. "Not bad. Your former superior in the patrol unit also rated you highly. He said you were diligent and eager to learn, and that you could grasp many things as soon as you learned them. It seems his words were true. You need to master every spell as quickly as possible, especially those spells that a Veteran Police Sergeant must master."
"Yes!"
Yang Wenqing answered loudly.
Deputy Director Gao extended a finger toward the badge on Yang Wenqing's chest. "Give me your badge."
Yang Wenqing did not hesitate. He immediately removed the badge and placed it on the desk.
Deputy Director Gao picked up the badge with his right hand and formed a hand seal with his left, using the badge on his own chest to connect with Yang Wenqing's. At the same time, he said, "The Major Crimes Unit has three squads, responsible for investigating all major cases across the county's six towns and six districts. The Third Squad's captain was transferred a few days ago to serve as deputy chief of the West City Public Security Station. You will temporarily serve as acting captain of the Third Squad."
"However, the Third Squad is still somewhat short-handed. If you know anyone trustworthy, you can report them to me. There's no rush; think it through before you say anything. Also, the Major Crimes Unit generally does not wear police uniforms."
After saying that, he lowered his head and looked at his own uniform. "Of course, unless you reach my position."
He said those final words in a joking tone.
But the joking tone vanished in a flash. As he constructed a new Communication Formation for Yang Wenqing's badge, he instructed him, "The Major Crimes Unit holds great authority. When necessary, it can deploy police officers from every district and town. When pursuing criminals, it can even temporarily requisition a squad of Prefectural Soldiers. But the responsibility is equally great."
He did not spell everything out, after all. He had only just met Yang Wenqing, and granting him the position of squad captain according to precedent was already due to Yang Wenqing's youth and potential.
Having lived two lives, Yang Wenqing naturally understood the meaning behind the warning. The Major Crimes Unit's authority was equivalent to the only force within its jurisdiction that could legally wield violence. That would inevitably bring many temptations, such as overtures from local powers.
"I will fulfill my duties with utmost dedication!"
Yang Wenqing made his promise.
Deputy Director Gao was very satisfied with Yang Wenqing's response. As he returned the badge, he rose to his feet and said, "Come on. I'll take you to the Third Squad's office. There are only two people left in the Third Squad now: one communications specialist and one experienced senior police officer. So the entire squad is temporarily paralyzed."
Yang Wenqing put the badge back on his chest and followed Deputy Director Gao out. They walked to the far end of the other side of the corridor. Along the way, quite a few plainclothes officers greeted Deputy Director Gao, and he responded amiably to them all. Every one of them gave Yang Wenqing a curious glance, but Deputy Director Gao did not introduce him.
The Third Squad plaque on the door at the end of the corridor was already quite old. The door stood open, and no sound came from within. Naturally, Deputy Director Gao did not bother knocking and simply pushed the door open.
The hinges turned with a soft creak, breaking the silence in the room.
It was an office that was not particularly spacious but more than sufficient. By the window stood two somewhat worn desks side by side, with scattered documents piled atop them. A filing cabinet half a person's height stood in the corner, beside a communications device whose internal Communication Formation had not been activated.
There were only two people in the room.
Behind the desk near the door sat a young female police officer who looked to be in her early twenties. She was engrossed in a thick copy of the Illustrated Guide to Basic Spell Seals. Only upon hearing the door open did she look up in alarm. When she saw Deputy Director Gao, she froze for a moment, then hurriedly stood up and snapped to attention in flustered confusion. "D-Deputy Director Gao!"
Behind the desk farther inside sat a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties. He wore a brown leather jacket and had an ordinary face, the kind that would disappear into a crowd and never be found again. Yet his eyes were unusually calm. He held a soft cloth in his hand and was unhurriedly wiping down a Class-B Type 1 Service Pistol.
Hearing the movement, he did not panic like the young female police officer. He merely stopped wiping the pistol, stood, and nodded to Deputy Director Gao. However, his gaze lingered more on Yang Wenqing beside him. When he noticed Yang Wenqing's police rank, his eyes lit up. He then looked back at Deputy Director Gao, a hint of expectation now in his eyes.
"This is Police Sergeant Yang Wenqing. Starting today, he is your acting captain of the Third Squad."
Deputy Director Gao first introduced Yang Wenqing to the two of them. Then he pointed to the young female police officer and introduced her to Yang Wenqing. "This is Liu Qin, the squad's communications specialist. She is highly gifted in information processing and rune communications."
Liu Qin immediately straightened her back and nervously greeted Yang Wenqing. "Hello, Captain Yang!"
Deputy Director Gao then looked at the middle-aged man. "This is Wu Yan, an old investigator with extensive experience. Listen to his opinions more when handling cases in the future."
Wu Yan gave Yang Wenqing a smile that was not particularly warm but impossible to fault. "Captain Yang."
After the introductions, Deputy Director Gao said to Yang Wenqing, "Liu Qin has the manual for setting up the Communication Formation and the standard rune sequences. Get the squad's basic framework up and running as soon as possible. If you have any problems, come directly to me."
With that, he patted Yang Wenqing on the shoulder. Without saying anything further, he turned and left the office.
The door closed softly, and the office fell into a brief silence. Liu Qin stood there somewhat awkwardly, while Wu Yan merely stood in silence. Clearly, this old investigator was the sort who followed orders and did not take the initiative to think through problems himself.
Yang Wenqing looked at these two team members of completely different styles—one still green, the other deep as still water—and knew that if he wanted to truly get the Third Squad running, this acting captain would likely have to put in quite a bit of effort.
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