"I'll go on alone from here. Sorry for the trouble, but you might have to wait outside for a while, Sheele."
"It's all right..."
Lin Feng waved goodbye to Sheele and stepped over the police station's threshold.
"Stop. What brings you here?"
The station guard stepped forward. Compared with the guards of the Gathered Heroes Group, he was properly dressed and well equipped. His status was clearly on an entirely different level.
Without a word, Lin Feng took the slip of paper, folded three times, from his breast pocket.
"So you're the newcomer Lord Ogre invited... My apologies for the discourtesy. Come in."
At the sight of Ogre's familiar signature at the bottom, the guard immediately became exceptionally respectful.
It seemed Ogre really did enjoy considerable prestige in this area.
Lin Feng asked one of the guards to look after Sheele at the entrance, then headed inside the station.
Once he entered the station lobby, Ogre was nowhere in sight.
There was only a girl around Sheele's age.
Unlike Sheele, she wore her chestnut hair in a high ponytail and had a lively smile on her face the whole time. She seemed more outgoing and energetic than Sheele.
What set her apart completely from Sheele's quiet demeanor was the military armor she wore-a mark of a senior officer in the Imperial Guard.
Ordinary Imperial Guard officers were issued only uniforms and batons. Never mind firearms; even police swords were rare among their weapons.
The girl's armor, however, was equipment on the same level as firearms, something Lin Feng rarely saw ordinary Imperial Guard members wearing.
"Seryu, this is the newcomer Captain Ogre recommended."
After introducing Lin Feng, the blue-haired guard left to resume his post, while the chestnut-haired girl before him wore a friendly smile.
"Hello, I'm Seryu Ubiquitous! Is today your first day in the Imperial Guard? Or are you just here for the test?"
"My name is Lin Feng. I'm here for the test."
Lin Feng answered calmly.
"What a short name! Are you a foreigner?"
Seryu's sudden yet rather friendly question caught Lin Feng a little off guard.
He had imagined the Imperial Guard would be a more serious place.
"Don't be so stiff! I only joined the Imperial Guard recently myself, you know?"
Seryu laughed happily again. Somehow, her smile gave Lin Feng a sense of warmth that did not belong in this cruel, cold imperial military.
Lin Feng had not expected to find such a lively girl as Seryu in this world of warlords, where the strong preyed on the weak.
She had just said she had only recently joined the Imperial Guard. It seemed Seryu was also an exceptionally capable soldier, by no means ordinary.
"Wait a moment, you two. Captain Ogre just stepped out for a smoke. He should be back soon!"
As Seryu spoke, Lin Feng heard a familiar sound.
It was the rattle of armor with every step. After three to five seconds, Ogre indeed entered through a side door.
"You came this early in the morning. You haven't disappointed me."
Seeing Lin Feng, Ogre nodded in satisfaction.
"Your name. Let's hear it."
"My name is Lin Feng."
"Hmm... Lin Feng... A foreigner, or have you discarded your surname or given name?"
Without waiting for Lin Feng's reply, Ogre walked out of the station lobby as he spoke. Standing at the threshold, he called toward the main entrance:
"Wave, come here!"
The guard who had greeted Lin Feng and the others earlier heard him and quickly ran into the lobby.
With healthy, sun-browned skin, short blue hair, and a cheerful expression, the guard named Wave carried a soldier's easy confidence.
Lin Feng looked him over carefully. Not only was he handsome, he was tall, lean, and muscular-clearly someone trained in martial arts.
"Wave."
"...Yes!"
Lin Feng stepped forward without a word.
"Wave, this fellow is strong. Don't hold back."
Ogre habitually cupped his right hand against the wind and lit a cigarette.
"To be safe, neither of you will use weapons. Whoever lands two hits first wins."
The moment Ogre finished speaking, Seryu raised her right hand high and swung it down sharply.
"Begin the duel!"
Lin Feng looked at the blue-haired young man before him.
His reach was longer than an ordinary person's. Without the Alucard Template, passing this test really would have been difficult.
Now, however, what he had to consider was not how to pass the test, but how to hold back so he did not beat him to death!
Wave pushed off his rear foot and charged at Lin Feng, his speed making it obvious that he was a trained professional soldier.
The muscles in Wave's right arm were already bulging as he charged.
All he needed to do next was bring his two unusually long arms down on Lin Feng's shoulders, one on each, and victory would be his.
Unfortunately, his opponent was that "Lin Feng."
Alucard's blood energy surged through his body, instantly converting into the kinetic energy of speed.
With a swift movement, Lin Feng abruptly vanished from Wave's sight.
When he appeared again, Lin Feng was already crouched against Wave's back.
The sudden weight on his back also announced Wave's defeat.
After lightly tapping Wave's spine twice, Lin Feng flipped off and landed, leaving Wave rooted to the spot in shock.
"You're kidding... Lin Feng, are... are you human?"
Beside them, Seryu's jaw dropped to the floor in shock.
If fighting Wave would have made Seryu feel inferior as a soldier,
then fighting Lin Feng made Wave feel inferior as a human!
This was a vast gap that transcended species!
"Ah..."
Ogre, the Imperial Guard captain, sighed, while Seryu and Sheele stood frozen, dumbstruck.
"The last time I saw speed like that was when the Empire's great general, Esdeath, marched off to war... Though you fall short of her, you're still a true martial prodigy."
Although Captain Ogre's assessment of him was quite high, Lin Feng was concerned with something else.
This blue-haired young man named Wave shouldn't be capable of only this much speed...
It's as if he's deliberately hiding his strength. He probably doesn't really care whether he wins or loses...
"Well then, Lin Feng, you can both report for duty starting tomorrow. Here are your enlistment forms. Once you've filled them out, get ready for hellish daily training!"
"Yes, sir!"
Lin Feng answered crisply. From this point on, a brand-new life awaited him and Sheele.
Leaving the station, Lin Feng picked up Sheele, who had not been waiting long. Next, the two still had plenty of unfinished business to take care of.
Joining one job meant leaving another. They not only had to find a new place to live, but also say goodbye to everyone at the restaurant. After all, every gathering had to end eventually.