Chapter 372: 372 It

"Li Ang! Your affair's come to light!"

The female police officer, dark circles heavier than ever, slammed the tray onto the table with a loud "clatter," then plopped down opposite Li Ang, her eyes full of irritation as she whispered:

"I already know—you're the one who attacked the boarding tower!"

"…"

"Oh."

After a brief silence, Li Ang speared half a beef pudding with his fork and placed it on her plate, then poured half his soup into her bowl.

"Sorry for the trouble."

"…"

And that's it? That's all?

After waiting a moment with no further words, the frustrated female officer snapped:

"That's it? You've got nothing else to tell me?"

"…"

"Um… today's pudding was made with eye meat, tasted great, and had Aunt Diana's special sauce on top—I worried you'd be too busy to eat, so I asked for two extra pieces…"

"Don't play dumb! That's not what I asked!"

The female officer jabbed her fork hard into the beef pudding, leaned in, and growled:

"Speak up! What exactly happened? Or I'll bring men to arrest you right now!"

"And… damn it! Why are you still wearing that old coat? Because of that outfit—identical to the suspect's—I've already received multiple complaints! Can't you just get a new one?"

Huh?

Li Ang blinked, puzzled, and asked:

"This coat's fine—durable, dirt-resistant, warm. A new one like it would cost over a silver wheel, and I've seen on my way to work that three or four out of ten people wear something similar. Why would anyone report me for this?"

"Lots of people wear it on the street, but hardly anyone in the Police Force does—it stands out too much… Just swap it out when you get a chance. If someone reports you again, I won't clean up your mess!"

Crushing the pudding into her rice with a vicious fork, the officer scooped up a spoonful and ate it. As the savory meat broth spread through her mouth, her tense expression finally eased. She nodded slightly:

"Tastes good enough… Now tell me—what really happened at the boarding tower? Speak!"

You can't even be silenced by food… Hmm… With something this big, silence would be strange.

Shaking his head slightly, Li Ang organized his thoughts, then said seriously:

"In short, something dangerous was there. If left unhandled, it would cause major trouble, so I went over."

"…"

"…"

"That's all?"

"That's all."

"…"

"To be honest, I'm not withholding it because I don't want to tell you—it's just better if fewer people know."

After taking a sip of soup, Li Ang helplessly spread his hands:

"You know, we're both in the Police Force, both doing 'maintain order' work—but our duties are completely different from regular cops. I'm already telling you more than I should because of our relationship."

Think about it—if your Secret Investigation Unit got a mission to find out the Finance Minister was betraying the kingdom, selling state secrets for years, and you went to arrest him under cover of night… Would you go blabbing about it?"

"…"

Fair enough… bullshit!

Nodding in agreement at first, the female officer then scowled in annoyance:

"Fine, you can't talk about the mission—but you just walk away after finishing it, while I'm stuck working overtime nonstop!"

"Except for that one day when I came back from city patrols and actually got a full night's sleep, I've only slept four or five hours a day for the past week! Do you have any idea how awful that is?"

"Mm-hmm, tough job, tough job."

Plucking a piece of salmon from her plate and shoving it into his mouth, Li Ang glanced at her heavy dark circles and felt a pang of guilt. He couldn't help suggesting again:

"If you're really that exhausted, why not take a nap in my office? You know now—it's a case that'll never yield results. No point grinding yourself to dust."

"No thanks!"

Chewing the fried chicken block fiercely, the officer snapped:

"Our Secret Investigation Unit doesn't have your flexibility. We've got dozens of cases! The boarding tower case is closed, but others aren't.

After lunch, I'll apply to be reassigned to another special task force… By the way, do you know about the drowned Hou Jue, Jin Juan? If I'm transferred, I'll probably take over that case."???

Oh no… why do you always get these cases?

"What's wrong?"

Not getting a reply from Li Ang, the officer paused her soup-drinking, lifted her head, and unconsciously flicked her pink tongue across her greasy lips. She looked at him, puzzled:

"Why are you silent again?"

"…"

Because I know you'll be stuck working overtime again—and you'll find nothing. As the friend who caused this, I feel just a little guilty…

"Nothing…"

Giving her a look of faint pity, Li Ang sighed:

"Good luck."

"I'll definitely succeed!"

Sniffing, the officer huffed:

"I'm an elite field agent of the Secret Investigation Unit! If I weren't worried about rumors over too-rapid promotion, my record over the past few years would've already made me head of the field team—or even given me a shot at becoming the next director of the unit."

As long as your 'interference' cases don't land on me, I solve nearly everything. Even without reading the file yet, I've read enough in the papers about Jin Juan Hou Jue's case. I've spotted several inconsistencies—I'm confident I'll crack it!"

"Mm-hmm, I believe in you—you'll do great… Uh, I'm done eating, so I'll be off!"

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Li Ang quickly finished the rest of his meal and, driven by guilt, hurried out of the Police Force cafeteria and back to the Cleanup Bureau, planning to speak with the director about the female reporter.

But as Li Ang pushed open the door of the Cleanup Bureau, walked through the dim corridor, and reached for the director's office door, it swung open ahead of him—two familiar figures appeared before him.

"Mr. Li Ang, it's been a while."

With a friendly hand extended, the elderly investigator—born with a smiling face—smiled warmly:

"You've probably heard about Jin Juan Hou Jue. He was under the Total Bureau's Word-Spell protection, so as per protocol, we need to speak with relevant personnel about basic matters. Hope we're not disturbing your work."