When Qin Ze saw the enormous character for "law" on the young man's chest, he immediately sensed trouble.
"Why is law enforcement at my door?!"
Law enforcement officers were like the Brocade-Clad Guard of the Great Ming, except they wielded even more power.
They kept watch over officials and commoners, interrogated suspects in major criminal cases, and even eliminated exotic beasts.
Every officer was also an expert, at least a second-tier martial artist.
"Can I help you, officer?"
Qin Ze guessed the officer had come because of the exotic beast.
But he couldn't admit it even if they beat him to death.
His clones were his trump card for staying alive.
Besides, the bead had already been eaten. It wasn't as if he could shit it out and give it back.
"Qin Ze, eighteen years old, home address: Jingyuan Residential Complex, building 2, apartment 2201. Student in Class 1, Year 3, at Second High School. College entrance exams in three months."
"Hospitalized at Jiangcheng First Psychiatric Hospital for two months and discharged this afternoon."
"Is this you?"
The officer took out a headshot of Qin Ze.
"No," Qin Ze said, shaking his head.
Officer: "?"
"If that's all, I'll close the door and get back to making dumplings."
Qin Ze had just started closing the door when the officer wedged his foot in it.
"It is you," the officer said sternly.
Qin Ze: "If you knew, why the hell did you ask?"
The officer said in a low voice, "We can't skip the proper procedures. Is this you?"
Qin Ze: "That's not me."
Officer: "..."
Qin Ze chuckled.
Hit a bug, didn't you?
"Looks like I'll have to take you back to the Law Enforcement Department for questioning."
The officer put away the photo, and the aura of a second-tier martial artist erupted from him.
"All right, it's me," Qin Ze said, following his heart.
The officer withdrew his oppressive aura. "Where were you between six and six fifteen this evening?"
Qin Ze thought for a moment. "On my way home."
"Did you walk?"
"I got a ride."
"Where did you find a ride out in the middle of nowhere?"
"I got lucky and found a ride I was fated to catch."
There aren't any surveillance cameras in the outskirts anyway. You can't check.
"License plate number."
"What kind of question is that? Who makes a point of memorizing the plate when they get a ride?"
"Did you see anyone suspicious near the foot of the mountain?"
"No."
The officer took out a golden badge, which also bore an enormous character for "law."
The moment Qin Ze saw the badge, an irresistible, majestic righteous aura surged into his body.
In the face of that righteous aura, Qin Ze couldn't lie.
He had the feeling that if he lied, he would surely die.
Qin Ze opened his mouth, ready to recount everything that had happened that evening in full detail.
Just then, the majestic righteous aura bearing down on Qin Ze suddenly spread out among his clones.
Very little righteous aura remained on Qin Ze, and it was no longer irresistible.
He immediately closed his mouth and looked at the golden badge with feigned confusion.
"Have you lied?" the officer asked.
"No." Qin Ze shook his head. "If a single word I just said was false, may my sister never get married in this lifetime."
The officer watched Qin Ze for a moment, then put away the golden badge.
The majestic righteous aura vanished instantly, and Qin Ze felt much more at ease.
"If you remember anything else, you can report it to the Law Enforcement Department."
"Valuable leads will be richly rewarded."
Qin Ze put on a thoroughly bewildered expression. "So what exactly happened?"
The officer sneered. "An S-rank exotic beast died at the foot of the mountain below the psychiatric hospital. You left early, or you'd be in his belly by now."
"Oh my god!" Qin Ze cried. "That's terrifying! How could there be an exotic beast in the city?"
The officer snorted. Just as he was about to leave, he sniffed hard.
"Why does it smell so strongly of blood?"
The officer leaned forward and looked into the apartment.
Qin Ze stepped aside. "I wanted some fish."
"I just killed one. Want to try my cooking?"
The officer looked around the living room, then closed the door and left.
"A second-tier martial artist is already that strong. Wouldn't a third-tier martial artist defy the heavens?!"
Qin Ze patted his pounding heart.
For the first time, he realized how terrifying the martial artists of this world were.
"I need to work hard at cultivating."
To survive in troubled times, the only hard truth was to make himself strong.
He opened the bathroom door. The clones were all sprawled on the floor, looking as though they couldn't go on living.
"That badge was way too fierce."
"If this were a cultivation world, it would count as a high-grade magic treasure at the very least."
"I felt like everything in my heart was laid bare."
"I nearly pissed myself."
"You already did."
Qin Ze clapped his hands. "Get back to work."
Fortunately, the officer hadn't come in to search the apartment. Otherwise, there would have been no explaining a room full of clones.
After leaving the residential complex, the officer took out his communicator and contacted his superior.
"I've already checked out that psychiatric patient. He passed the law badge's test."
"Besides, an unranked martial artist doesn't have the strength to kill an S-rank exotic beast."
"I'll continue tracking it down and investigating."
The call ended.
The officer glanced back at Qin Ze's still-lit window, feeling that something about him was strange.
He couldn't put his finger on it.
After three hours of tireless effort by several Master Qins, the cleanup was finally finished.
Summoned by his good buddy, Qin Ze arrived early at an open-air food stall, ordered, and sat outside waiting for him.
Before long, a fatty came running over, panting.
"Brother Ze!"
"You're finally out of the hospital!"
The fatty was named Lin Zhiyuan. He and Qin Ze had been in the same class from elementary school through high school.
"Brother Ze, this meal's on me. Let's celebrate your discharge!"
After each of them had eaten a skewer of kidneys, Qin Ze said seriously, "Fatty, I've made up my mind. From now on, I'm going to cultivate hard and take the martial arts exam."
Fatty looked at Qin Ze as though he were a complete stranger. "Brother Ze, we haven't even started drinking. How are you already wasted?"
Qin Ze shook his head. "I'm serious."
In this world where martial might reigned supreme, martial artists were the ones on top.
The people at the helm of those major corporations and conglomerates were all martial artists too. Ordinary people simply couldn't hold on to such vast family businesses.
Becoming a martial artist was a prerequisite for getting ahead.
Fatty blinked, then laughed.
"Brother Ze, you're messing with me again."
"Who at school doesn't know the two of us are trash?"
"If we could become martial artists, even sows could climb trees."
"After graduation, I'll get you straight into my family's company. I'll be the general manager, you'll be the deputy, and we brothers can go on living the good life."
Fatty's family owned a sizable business, though Qin Ze didn't know exactly what it was.
"What tier martial artist is your dad?"
"Second tier."
Qin Ze said, "Have you ever thought about what'll happen decades from now, when your dad's gone? If you're not even a first-tier martial artist, how will you hold on to the company?"
The smile gradually faded from Fatty's face. He could tell Qin Ze was serious about discussing this.
"Sigh!"
"Let's worry about the future when it comes."
Fatty chose to keep lying flat.
Cultivation was out of the question. He was trash, after all.
"Are you really willing to hand your family's wealth over to someone else?"
"Who says trash can't cultivate? In this martial arts exam, I'm going to show the whole school that even trash can become a martial artist!"
Fatty was swept up in Qin Ze's rousing words.
"Damn!"
"Brother Ze, you're right. Starting tomorrow, we'll cultivate hard and defy the heavens to change our fate!"
Qin Ze nodded. "That's my good brother. Cheers!"
Just as the two were dreaming about their future, a girl's startled cry rang out from the next table.
"Let go of me!"