Chapter 360

"It is indeed a bit too much..."

After looking at Li Ang's tray piled into a small hill, the female officer nodded speechlessly. Then, while eating the food from Li Ang's tray, she leaned her head over, lowered her voice, and said mysteriously:

"Li Ang, the Secret Investigation Bureau has finished investigating that matter that caused such a huge stir a while ago. It should have been done by the radical rebels!"

A while ago?

"The Marquis of Jin Juan who jumped into the lake to commit suicide?"

"Even earlier!"

If it was even earlier...

Li Ang's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, and he tentatively said:

"You don't mean..."

"Of course it's the burning of the airship tower! Didn't you read the newspaper?"

"..."

"You really didn't read it!"

After giving Li Ang an incredulous look, the female officer couldn't help but complain:

"Although it's not quite the same as our job content, you are at least a member of the Police Department. Never mind other newspapers, you should at least subscribe to the 'Police Special Edition', right?"

"..."

It's not a question of subscribing or not, it's that I was the one who burned the airship tower. Even the artificial idiot from inside the airship is still gathering dust in my Mirror World right now.

And actually, you're involved in this too. After all, the fake IDs and fake uniforms I used to sneak people past the defense line were still the unregistered inventory I got from you at the Police Department...

"Forget it, if you didn't read it, you didn't read it."

Not knowing that she was also an accomplice in the airship tower attack, the female officer shook her head, gave up on explaining the importance of newspapers to Li Ang, decided to just bring him a copy when she subscribed in the future, and then said with a serious expression:

"If you don't know about the airship tower, just know that it was burned down, and a very precious special airship was lost along with it.

After the Kingdom of Kewangguo received the news, they were extremely furious and directly pressured the Kingdom through their ambassador, demanding a result within two months. Even if they can't identify the culprit, at the very least they must find the missing core components of the airship."

"So... this job was dumped on you guys?"

"What else?"

After scooping a large spoonful of rice pudding into her mouth and chewing it fiercely as if to vent her anger, the female officer, who looked quite haggard, said helplessly:

"For things like finding criminals and searching for items, if they don't ask us police in the Police Department, are they going to ask those parasites in the Finance Department?"

"Li Ang, do you know? After the Kewangguo ambassador issued a formal diplomatic note stating that if there were no results within a month, they would cut off part of their economic exchanges and temporarily suspend the airship transport lines, the top brass of the capital all panicked!

The Princess, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance... a large number of high-level officials have been pressuring us in turns these past few days. Except for the Princess who offered some help, the rest of them have had tones more severe than the last. In just a few days, the Minister of Public Security's hair has turned white with worry...

Don't just listen to me, hurry up and eat, it'll be cold if you don't!"

"Oh, oh!"

After forking a piece of fried cod into his mouth and chewing it twice without really tasting it, Li Ang frowned and thought deeply:

"No wonder there are so few police officers coming to eat lately, and each one of them is like you, looking as if they haven't slept well for days. Have they all been sent out?"

"Exactly!"

After forking a piece of apple pie from Li Ang's plate, the female officer said with a look of bad luck:

"Especially us in the Secret Investigation Bureau, because we've been following the rebel matter all along, we're the ones being scolded the most. The new director who just took office is called in by the Minister of Public Security to be scolded every day, and after coming back with a face full of spit, he scolds us... look, look over there!"

As the female officer spoke, she pointed with her fork to the side of the two of them. Li Ang followed her movement and saw a police officer with even heavier dark circles than Yisha, sitting at the dining table with a hunched back, using a spoon to scrape mashed potatoes with lifeless eyes, his head bobbing up and down from time to time.

Honestly, watching him eat like a chicken pecking at rice, Li Ang really doubted if he

even knew where the spoon was. He felt like he might shove the spoon into his own nose at any moment.

"He's from our bureau's field team on rotation yesterday. He just finished his patrol and returned this morning. He has to go back for a meeting after he finishes eating..."

After looking sympathetically at his colleague who was exhausted to the point of death, the female officer said with lingering fear in her eyes:

"He was in the third round of patrols, which is already much easier. Those of us in the first round of patrols didn't sleep for a full 70-plus hours, ran all over most of the capital, and felt like we were going to die when we got back...

I'm really impressed! Those rebels are simply sick in the head! Wouldn't it be better to use this spare time to take out the Minister of Finance? Even raiding the Wang Gong would be fine! Why must they attack the airship tower?

Seriously, I'd rather they go back to trying to assassinate my dad like before than have to work this much overtime... 70-plus hours! I don't even know how I managed to hold on back then!"

"..."

Ah, this... sorry, when I attacked the airship tower back then, I really didn't know it would have this consequence...

"Um... Yisha..."

Looking at the female officer who was chewing on fish bones with hatred and might burst into a tirade against the "rebels" at any moment, Li—the mastermind behind the airship tower incident and the culprit who caused the entire Police Department to work overtime—Ang couldn't help but feel a bit guilty and said:

"You still haven't told me what you need my help with."

"Oh right, almost forgot..."

After spitting out the fish bones in a very unladylike manner, the female officer raised her head and looked at Li Ang with eyes full of hope:

"In your Cleanup Bureau, do you have anything that is particularly good at finding people? Or... someone who is particularly good at finding things?

Although there is still more than a month until the maximum deadline notified by the Kingdom of Kewangguo, I have to go participate in the fourth round of patrols tomorrow. If I still can't find anything, I'll have to participate in eight or nine more rounds of these patrols, or even more... woo..."

After swallowing a large mouthful of beef stew, not knowing if it was because it was hot or because of the foreseeable hellish overtime for the next two months, the female officer pleaded with teary eyes:

"Please, Li Ang, can you help me out? Even if you can't find the culprit who attacked the airship tower, finding the things the Kingdom of Kewangguo lost would be fine too! If this continues, I'm afraid I really won't be able to hold on..."

"..."

I'd like to help you, but the problem is that the culprit who attacked the airship tower is sitting right in front of you eating, and the things the Kingdom of Kewangguo wants are sitting in my cufflinks... I can't exactly arrest myself and hand myself over to you, can I?

"Sorry, I don't think I can help with this favor..."

After apologizing in his heart to Yisha, who had been caught in the crossfire, Li Ang, knowing that no matter how much she investigated there would be no results, tentatively suggested:

"How about this: I'll go ask our director for a note saying there's a special situation that requires someone's assistance in the investigation, and then you can take the note to ask for leave, go to my office, and take the opportunity to nap for a few hours to get some rest?"