Attached to the Team

It was a little past nine in the evening.

On the sixth floor of a shopping mall downtown was Food Joy Barbecue.

Chen Shaojie, Zhong Chaofeng, and Lin Yongxin sat around a table chatting.

Skewers of meat and drinks were already on the table. The charcoal in the grill glowed red; the three had clearly been waiting for a while.

Chen Yiming pushed aside the curtain and entered, spotting his younger cousin and his two colleagues.

Today, Chen Shaojie had invited two colleagues from the City Patrol out for a small get-together. He had specifically asked Chen Yiming to come and back him up so no one would bully him at work later.

Chen Yiming hadn't wanted to come, but they were family, and he didn't want other relatives gossiping to his parents. So he had gritted his teeth and shown up.

"Cousin, over here!"

Hearing someone behind him, Chen Shaojie turned and saw Chen Yiming come in. He hurriedly stood and waved.

He was still wearing his City Patrol uniform. His face looked young, but his old student air was gone, and he seemed much more imposing.

The uniform had that effect.

Chen Yiming walked over and sat beside Chen Shaojie.

The table seated four, and with Chen Yiming there, every seat was filled.

"These are my two colleagues from the City Patrol, Zhong Chaofeng and Lin Yongxin."

As Chen Shaojie introduced them, he opened the beer on the table and filled everyone's glass.

Chen Yiming sized up Zhong Chaofeng and Lin Yongxin.

Like Chen Shaojie, both were still wearing their City Patrol uniforms despite being off duty, as though they were afraid people wouldn't know who they were.

But after a moment's thought, he realized the uniforms were their protection.

At night, the streets weren't as safe as they were by day. An official uniform could usually keep its wearer safe. Once petty criminals knew who they were dealing with, few dared attack someone from an official department.

After all, even though the City Patrol's strength had declined, that was relative to East Lake City as a whole. The department was still beyond what ordinary people could afford to provoke.

"Hello. Shaojie talks about you all the time. It's good to finally meet you."

"Brother Chen, I'm Shaojie's colleague Lin Yongxin. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Zhong Chaofeng and Lin Yongxin stood and reached out to shake Chen Yiming's hand.

They had already heard from Chen Shaojie that he had a relative studying at the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy.

Now that they saw Chen Yiming in the academy's training uniform, they knew Chen Shaojie hadn't been boasting. They took him more seriously; he wasn't a newcomer they could push around at will.

The Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy was a top-tier power with a Warrior at its helm. The City Patrol, though an official department, was led by someone who had undergone only nine body transformations. The gulf between the Apprentice Realm and the Warrior Realm was vast and impossible to bridge.

As an academy student, Chen Yiming held status equivalent to a City Patrol squad captain, and his actual strength was likely greater than that of the three men's captain.

They were happy to come to this meal if it meant meeting a capable academy student like Chen Yiming through Chen Shaojie.

After the introductions, the four sat down and chatted as they grilled their food.

As they talked, Chen Yiming learned the other reason Chen Shaojie was treating them.

He wanted Chen Yiming attached to their squad so they could take assignments checking household registrations and help clear out outsiders loitering in East Lake City's urban villages.

"Cousin, could you help me out? The assignment's hours are flexible. Our squad can work entirely around your schedule, and we'll split the reward with you fifty-fifty."

Chen Shaojie asked quietly, hope in his eyes.

If this worked out, his standing in the squad would rise to second only to the captain's. After all, his cousin would be attached to the squad because of him, and they would need him to act as the go-between.

He had stumbled onto such a good opportunity right after joining, with an academy student for a cousin to back him up. How could he not be tempted?

"Checking the identities of people in the urban villages? Your captain should be able to handle that. Why bring me in?" Chen Yiming asked after a moment's thought.

He didn't know what was going on behind the scenes. The squad was clearly capable of completing the assignment, yet they wanted to hand him half the reward.

He urgently needed money, but he wasn't about to get involved without understanding the whole situation. It could cause him serious trouble.

"Here's the situation. Because of the war, the City Patrol sent a lot of its best people to the front. We're badly understaffed, and our strength has fallen sharply. That's why they're allowing outside help."

"Also, our squad captain was injured on an assignment a while ago. He's in the hospital and won't be able to fight for some time."

"We don't even have anyone in the Apprentice Realm who's undergone one body transformation. Some fairly strong bandits are hiding in the urban villages now. Our squad simply isn't strong enough to take those assignments."

Chen Shaojie explained everything honestly, not daring to hide a word.

"Will your captain agree? And do the other squad members have no objections?"

Chen Yiming voiced his doubts, looking at Chen Shaojie before turning his gaze on Zhong Chaofeng and Lin Yongxin.

Normally, no one wanted an outsider interfering with their team. Chen Shaojie's captain didn't even know Chen Yiming, so why would he hand him half the reward?

"Uh... actually, the main reason I was specially recruited was that you'd joined the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy."

Chen Shaojie looked uncomfortable as he admitted it.

After sending its best people away, the City Patrol no longer had the capacity to control every street in East Lake City. All sorts of dangerous characters had taken refuge in the outlying urban villages, far from the city center.

Every department under East Lake City's administration was already stretched to its limit. None could spare people to help the City Patrol, forcing its leaders to rely on outside help to do their own work.

That was why someone like Chen Shaojie, who seemed unlikely to be hired, had unexpectedly made it in.

"Don't worry. Leave it to me. I'll speak to the captain as soon as I get back and give you an answer as quickly as I can." Chen Shaojie thumped his chest, sounding thoroughly confident.

His father, Chen Zhipeng, had specifically instructed him on all this. He hadn't even graduated from high school; how could he have understood the ins and outs himself?

That included using Chen Yiming's status to secure Chen Shaojie's position in the City Patrol squad.

The final step was to work out a division of the benefits that satisfied everyone, get the arrangement approved, and gain influence within the squad.

"All right. Ask your captain what he thinks first," Chen Yiming agreed.

He hadn't wanted to get involved in this sort of thing. All he wanted was to train in peace, but with the world growing more chaotic, he had to find a way to earn money and protect his family.

"Cousin, just wait for my good news."

"Brother Chen, we'll be counting on you to look after us."

Chen Shaojie raised his glass. Zhong Chaofeng and Lin Yongxin raised theirs too, and all three drained them.

There were already plenty of precedents within the City Patrol, so the arrangement was almost certain to go through.

The City Patrol members would be relying on Chen Yiming's support from then on. Without realizing it, Zhong Chaofeng and Lin Yongxin grew more respectful, treating him like someone of their captain's rank.