How is Kobe's peak strength?

Seeing the young officer's unconvinced look, Captain Li couldn't help but speak earnestly: "I'm not trying to put you down, kid, but don't get any ideas just because she's pretty. Did you see the insignia on her shoulder?"

The officer shook his head. He'd been too busy looking at her face to notice anything else.

Captain Li gestured with his hands: "Two bars and one star! Do you think you're good enough for her?"

The young officer looked at his own insignia—not a single bar, just two flowers. The vast gap left him stunned: "Captain Li, how did she get promoted so fast? Doesn't she have to serve out the years?"

Captain Li sneered: "That's why I told you not to reach for what you can't have. She's a female doctor. The moment she joined the police force, she was already a First-class Police Superintendent."

The officer swayed in the wind. The words "female doctor" put immense pressure on him. Just that alone meant they had nothing in common to talk about.

"Don't think that just because she's a female doctor, she's some pushover. Someone like you, she could take down three or five at once. And her honors, tsk... You've got no chance!"

Captain Li crushed the young officer's hopes in one blow, leaving no room for a comeback. He'd heard something about Superintendent Shen's background—she wasn't some desk ornament sitting in an office. She'd climbed up through her own efforts. Of course, her family wasn't ordinary either. Old Wang from the Riot Squad was a protégé of her father.

It wasn't that Captain Li looked down on the young officer, but the gap between them was too obvious. That's why he wanted him to give up the idea early.

"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—don't bully a youth for being poor"... That saying wasn't wrong, but it depended on the person.

Captain Li was confident in his judgment. With the young officer's brains and ability, if he worked diligently, he might just scrape by to a Second-class Police Inspector before retirement. So he shouldn't dwell on things he shouldn't think about. If he had time to daydream, he'd be better off considering what to have for dinner.

In the director's office, Captain Li pushed open the door and saw the new colleague. He immediately understood why the young officer had been so distracted.

She really was beautiful!

Bright eyes and white teeth, well-proportioned features, slightly sharp brows that added a shrewd and capable air to her delicate face. Even without makeup, she could outshine the police department's reigning beauty.

"Captain Li, Third-class Police Inspector Shen Menghan reporting for duty!"

Her voice was pleasant too, carrying an ethereal, otherworldly quality—but it was a bit cold!

Captain Li nodded: "Superintendent Shen, you're too polite. We're all colleagues from now on. Just call me Captain Li like everyone else."

After the director gave a few instructions, he had Captain Li take Shen Menghan to familiarize herself with the work environment. On their way back to the office, many people cast admiring glances at the new beauty.

"Xiao Shen... You don't mind me calling you that, do you? We're all colleagues now, and always calling you Superintendent Shen feels too awkward!"

"No problem. I want to integrate into the work environment as soon as possible."

"By the way, you just arrived in Fengning City and finished your onboarding today. How are you planning to handle accommodation? Live in the dorms or rent a place? If you're renting, I know someone. Want me to introduce you?"

Hearing this, Shen Menghan's lips curled into a meaningful smile: "Captain Li, no need to trouble yourself. I know a landlord who runs an apartment. His name is Russell. You probably know him too!"

Captain Li blinked, surprised: "What a coincidence. The person I was going to introduce you to is him too."

"Heh, I haven't seen him in a while. I was thinking of catching up with him."

Captain Li sensed something fishy: "Uh... let me ask a presumptuous question. What's your relationship with Xiao Luo?"

"We used to date!"

Captain Li sucked in a sharp breath. Damn it, Russell, you sly dog, you kept that secret buried deep!

Aijia Apartment!

When Russell got home, he felt a wave of unease. His killer ex-girlfriend was coming, and he wasn't prepared. Since they'd parted on good terms, forgetting each other and going their separate ways wasn't possible. The past was still vivid in his mind, and that was the problem. When they met, should he arrest her or just let it slide like a fart in the wind...

Frustrated, Russell lit a cigarette to ease his mind. Just then, the phone on the computer desk suddenly rang.

It wasn't his phone—it was his father Luohan Tang's phone!

Russell frowned. This phone hadn't rung in a long time. Getting kicked out of the group, his killer ex suddenly showing up, and now this call—it all made him involuntarily connect the dots. It seemed to be foreshadowing something.

An unfamiliar number with no saved contact. The note said "spam ad." It looked ordinary, no problem at all, but Russell knew the target was Luohan Tang—not the landlord Luohan Tang, but the killer identity Luohan Tang.

Twenty-four people had marked this number as a real estate agent. That was the designated signal from the Assassin Group!

Russell was silent for a few seconds. Since the other side had made their move, he could only counter as they came. Let's see whose skill was superior. After answering the call, he lowered his voice, imitating Luohan Tang's accent, and spoke the code: "Answer me. How is Kobe's peak strength?"

A dead man answering your call—scared yet?

"Uh... Hello, sir. A shop near the subway entrance, down payment of 150,000. Would you like to know more?"

Russell: "..."

"Sir? Sir, are you still there?" The voice on the other end suddenly had a flash of realization: "Kobe's peak strength... I think if Paul had gone to Los Angeles that year, he definitely could have led him to a championship."

When you don't know how to talk to strangers, trashing Kobe is never wrong!

"..."

Russell silently hung up the phone. He pressed a button on the screen, and it changed to twenty-five people marking this number as a real estate agent.

Ding!

Host, please note. The fourth mission world is about to begin. A ten-minute countdown is now starting. Please prepare!

Russell raised a hand and rubbed his temples. Why did this have to butt in now? Couldn't it wait until I dealt with my troubles?

Russell said irritably: "Drop the electronic voice. It makes me want to punch you. And speak like a human!"

"Uncle Luo Daddy, I just triggered a new world node. I specially left you ten minutes to prepare. We're about to set sail!"

The system's voice, cute yet cheeky, rang out. Russell's furrowed brow finally relaxed a bit. His troubles were a tangled mess, but he could use this world mission to take a breather, sort out his thoughts, and figure out how to face his ex-girlfriend.

"Shen Xinrou... Is that name real or fake..."

Russell's mind was unsettled, and the ten minutes flew by. When his vision went dark and he came to again, everything before him had undergone a dramatic transformation.

Stretching along the straight highway, an endless expanse of blue sky and white clouds met his eyes, with rolling mountain ranges at the horizon's edge. The mountains weren't tall, nor were they lush with greenery, and when the cool breeze blew, it carried a lonely, desolate air.

It was barren!

Rumble, rumble—

A continuous roar of engines sounded in his ears, snapping Russell's attention back. He was standing beside a gas station, surrounded by seventeen- or eighteen-year-olds, each straddling a dirt bike, chattering noisily in small groups.

Russell was also riding a dirt bike. The Vehicle Driving Mastery skill made him instinctively twist the throttle, and the roaring machine shuddered with a growl.

"System, where is this?"

"Uncle Luo, Dad, don't get mad at the truth, but until a mission triggers, I don't know either!"

Russell: "..."

Trash system!

Broke-ass, begging for support!