Chapter 775: It

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

Slamming the tray onto the table with a loud clang, the female police officer—dark circles heavier than ever—plopped down opposite Li Ang, her eyes brimming with irritation as she whispered:

"I know now—it was you who attacked the boarding tower!"

"…"

"Oh."

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

"Sorry for the trouble."

"…"

And that's it? That's all?

Waiting in vain for more, the frustrated woman 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!"

Stabbing the beef pudding hard with her fork, the woman leaned forward, voice sharp:

"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 the street that three or four out of ten people wear something similar. Why would anyone report me for this?"

"Lots 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 woman scooped up a spoonful and shoved it into her mouth. As the savory meat broth spread through her mouth, her tense expression finally eased, and 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… It'd be strange if something this big could be silenced.

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

"Simply put—there was something dangerous over there. If left unhandled, it would've caused major trouble, so I went over."

"…"

"…"

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"…"

"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 sipping his soup, Li Ang shrugged helplessly:

"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 Bureau got a mission to catch the Finance Minister for treason, spying on the kingdom for years, and you snuck in at night to arrest him… would you go blabbing about it?"

Fair enough… Bullshit!

Nodding in reluctant agreement, the woman then grumbled angrily:

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

"Except for that one day when I came back from the city patrol 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, feeling genuinely guilty, then urged again:

"Listen—if you're that exhausted, just nap in my office… You know now this case will lead nowhere. No point grinding yourself to dust."

"No thanks!"

Chewing a fried chicken chunk fiercely, the woman snapped:

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

"After lunch, I'll apply to transfer to another special unit… By the way, have you heard about the drowned Jin Juan Hou?"

???

Wait… why do you always get these cases?

"What's wrong?"

Not getting a reply from Li Ang, the woman looked up from her soup, instinctively flicking her pink tongue over the grease on her lips, then asked in surprise:

"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 tinged with pity, Li Ang sighed:

"Good luck."

"I'll succeed, of course!"

Sniffing, the woman huffed:

"I'm an elite field agent of the Secret Investigation Bureau! If I weren't worried about rumors over too-fast promotion, my record alone would've made me a Field Unit Inspector long ago—maybe even next Director of the Bureau."

"As long as your 'interference' isn't involved, every case I get ends up solved. I haven't read the Jin Juan Hou's file yet, but I've read enough in the papers—I've spotted several oddities. 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 Clearance Bureau, planning to speak with the Director about the female reporter.

But as Li Ang pushed open the Clearance Bureau's door, passed 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 warm smile and a friendly outstretched hand, the elderly investigator—born with a smiling face—said gently:

"You've probably heard about the Jin Juan Hou. He was under the General Bureau's Word-Spell protection, so as per protocol, we need to speak with relevant personnel and ask a few basic questions. Hope we haven't disturbed your work."

(End of Chapter)