Chapter 16: The Hope of Entry

After leaving the secret room, Lin Qing took the elevator out along the special corridor made of glass and metal.

When he returned to the second squad’s office on the first floor, both Team Leader Han and Qin Qin were there.

“Finished learning the combat technique?” Team Leader Han glanced at him.

“Yeah, but I still don’t know if I can even enter the threshold.” Lin Qing said.

He truly had little confidence—after all, the success rate for entering the threshold with the Zizai Body series was only 4.1%.

That hoarse voice had said he had a three or four in ten chance, but that was all it was—just three or four in ten.

“As long as your mental visualization hasn’t blurred yet, you still have a chance.”

Team Leader Han said: “These next few days are when your visualization is clearest—your chance of entering the threshold is highest. If you can’t enter during these days, once the memory fades, you’ll have no hope left.”

Lin Qing nodded slightly.

“The key is entering the threshold.”

Team Leader Han said: “Once you enter, it becomes much simpler—just accumulate slowly. Once you adapt and become familiar with the technique’s changes, you’ll be able to unleash about forty to fifty percent of its power.”

“As for higher levels?” He shook his head slightly. “That depends on fate.”

Lin Qing understood his meaning.

The first step is ‘entering the threshold.’

The second step is ‘mastering’—with enough practice, you’ll always adapt to the technique’s changes; once mastered, you can unleash nearly half its theoretical power.

The third step, ‘instinct,’ is when you truly unlock the technique’s full theoretical power—you must integrate its changes into your instinct, making them part of your body.

This is the hardest hurdle; many people fail to achieve it even after ten or twenty years of practice.

“But if you fail to enter the threshold, can you try learning the same technique again?” Lin Qing suddenly asked.

“Try again?”

Team Leader Han glanced at him. “Theoretically, yes—but if you fail the first time, it means your talent for this technique is average. Even if you eventually enter the threshold, adapting to it will take much longer.”

He seemed to sense Lin Qing might be discouraged and added patiently: “Others who succeed on the first try might master it in a year or two, but you might need several years—or longer. And once you do master it, switching to another series of techniques will be affected. If you fail to enter the threshold the first time, you’re better off trying a new technique.”

Lin Qing nodded slightly. “I understand.”

Of course, he still planned to stick with the Min technique.

Because he was different.

Others thought that way because they couldn’t be sure they’d ever reach the ‘instinct’ level.

But he, once he entered the threshold, could directly pre-claim the ‘instinct’ level of the Min technique.

That way, learning other Zizai Body techniques would gain him bonuses! Then, entering the threshold wouldn’t be so hard.

With enough merit, even if his mental visualization blurred, learning it again would make the memory clear again—given enough time, he’d eventually enter the threshold!

This was his plan.

So even if he failed once, it didn’t matter—he could just try again next time.

“Lin Qing, which combat technique are you learning?” Qin Qin asked curiously.

“Little Qin, that’s confidential,” Team Leader Han glanced at her.

“Oh, I forgot.” Qin Qin immediately covered her mouth. “I didn’t ask.”

Lin Qing understood.

Even if he wanted to tell someone, he could only tell the team leader—after all, the leader needed to plan operations based on members’ abilities.

……

Days passed one by one.

Besides practicing the Morning Practice Method version 4.6 three times daily, studying for exams, and night patrols, Lin Qing kept trying his newly learned technique.

With his current memory and the Memory Master ability, stabilizing his visualization was easy.

The difficulty lay in what came next.

The mental state induced by visualization could theoretically make the mysterious energy inside his body mimic human bioelectricity—only far stronger.

Only when this step succeeded could he be said to have entered the threshold.

Only after entering the threshold could he use the simulated bioelectricity to stimulate the body and nerve conduction, amplify the electrical signals, and gradually acclimate the body.

Whether he could enter the threshold depended entirely on the individual.

Talent, luck, compatibility, and condition all played a role.

“Even if I fail, it’s not the end—but succeeding on the first try would be best.”

“A three or four in ten chance isn’t small…”

As days passed and Lin Qing kept trying, he felt the mysterious energy inside him grow increasingly restless, even causing faint tingling sensations.

It seemed… just a tiny bit away from fully mimicking bioelectricity.

But if it was even a little short, it wouldn’t work—the technique stubbornly refused to enter the threshold, leaving Lin Qing frustrated.

Still, if he couldn’t enter the threshold, panicking wouldn’t help.

“I hope I succeed before the visualization blurs.”

“Otherwise, I’ll just have to wait for another chance…”

Lin Qing’s mindset remained calm.

With a 4.1% success rate, he’d long prepared himself for failure.

If all else failed, he could pre-claim the 7.7 version practice method—he’d still have decent self-defense capability.

After all, with the Entropy Reversal talent, as long as he seized opportunities, his achievements wouldn’t be poor.

……

Before he knew it, it was the night of December 24th—tomorrow was the professional exam.

But at eight p.m., his cousin Chen Yanan suddenly sent a WeChat message, asking him to come to the hospital to discuss exam essentials in person.

Xiaoshan District People’s Hospital.

“Sis, the exam’s tomorrow, and you’re only telling me the essentials today?”

Lin Qing sat helplessly beside the hospital bed, holding a fruit knife as he peeled an apple for Chen Yanan.

“The essentials I’m telling you aren’t from textbooks,” Chen Yanan said, glancing at him with a look of mild annoyance. “Telling you earlier wouldn’t have helped.”

“Alright.” Lin Qing sliced the peeled apple in half and handed her one portion. “So what is it?”

Chen Yanan took a bite and smiled. “Simple—your written exam score should be low. It’ll help you.”

“Low written score?” Lin Qing frowned. “Why?”

Chen Yanan glanced at the door, then whispered: “Once you become a Patrol Officer, you’ll soon be assigned your own team, and the municipal bureau will assign you team members, right?”

She took another bite. “Do you know how the municipal bureau typically assigns officers to new team leaders like you?”

“The branch probably doesn’t have enough staff—they’ll likely transfer new patrol officers from the municipal bureau,” Lin Qing said.

“Correct.”

Chen Yanan nodded. “But the key is, municipal bureau leaders often assign well-connected juniors to the patrol system to gain experience—then use that record to transfer laterally into other security or military branches for better positions.”

Lin Qing nodded.

He’d heard this from colleagues in the second squad recently.

Because the patrol system essentially involves seeking out trouble, it’s relatively easy to earn merit—enough merit lets you learn combat techniques, which is a strong incentive.

So it’s not uncommon for second-generation elites to use patrol service as a stepping stone, then transfer to other systems.

It looks like a lateral move—but it’s really a promotion in disguise.

After all, you can’t let a Patrol Officer who’s learned combat techniques end up as just a regular soldier or police officer, can you?

“These second-generation elites prefer team leaders who lack academic knowledge.”

Chen Yanan said: “They haven’t learned any combat techniques, so they have no physical advantage over you—and they have to follow your orders. So they want you to be ignorant, so they can grab more merit for themselves.”

Lin Qing frowned. “So they’re just here to take credit? Then shouldn’t I aim for a high score?”

“They’re taking credit—but it’s also your opportunity.”

Chen Yanan said: “These second-gen types all have connections and know more than you do. Since they’re here to gain experience, they’ve already prepared.”

Lin Qing understood.

In the half-month since joining the patrol bureau, he’d only gotten lucky once—earning a third-class merit—and since then, nothing.

But these second-gen elites, being here to gain experience, likely knew where opportunities for merit lay.

Even if he only shared in their merit, he’d accumulate it faster.

“This is good.”

Chen Yanan said: “So keep your written score low, but perform as well as you can in other areas—marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, physical fitness. When these second-gen elites see your record, they’ll feel safer following you and will prioritize joining your team.”

“Got it,” Lin Qing nodded.

No wonder his cousin had insisted on telling him in person—this kind of thing couldn’t be discussed over WeChat.

To the authorities, personal privacy was just the emperor’s new clothes. “Sis, your patrol exam score was terrible—was that because…?” Lin Qing suddenly realized.

“Oh, no.”

Chen Yanan lifted her chin slightly. “Do you think someone who scored under three hundred on the college entrance exam needs to deliberately lower her score?”

…You’re kind of proud… Lin Qing had no reply.

“By the way, didn’t you get lucky and earn one third-class merit?”

Chen Yanan suddenly asked. “Add the two I gave you, that’s enough to learn one technique—have you learned it yet?”

“I have.” Lin Qing nodded, sighing. “But I haven’t entered the threshold yet.”

“Which one?” Chen Yanan asked with interest.

“The Min technique from the Zizai Body series.” Lin Qing answered frankly.

Although he couldn’t tell anyone else, it didn’t matter to tell his cousin—he had learned these combat techniques solely because of her.

“Oh? You learned this one too?” Chen Yanan smiled. “No surprise—you picked the same combat art as I did.”

“You too, sis?” Lin Qing was startled.

Chen Yanan chuckled: “Yes, I’ve trained in Taiji, so I chose the three combat arts—Softness, Agility, and Precision—that best complement Taiji. But I’ve only just begun Precision; I’ve mastered only Softness and Agility.”

Lin Qing understood.

Taiji uses softness to overcome hardness and emphasizes perception—Softness and Agility were indeed well-suited.

“How long have you been studying Agility?” Chen Yanan asked.

“Five days,” Lin Qing said.

“Five days…”

Chen Yanan pondered, then suddenly smiled: “Since I can’t move right now, I’ll make the effort and help you.”

“Help me?” Lin Qing asked, surprised. “How?”

“The key to mastering Agility is simulating bioelectricity.”

Chen Yanan said: “I can transmit my simulated bioelectricity to you, so you can feel it closely. You won’t be able to absorb it yet, but experiencing it firsthand will give you a better chance of entering the realm.”

“You can do that?” Lin Qing’s eyes lit up.

“Give me your hand.”

Chen Yanan grasped Lin Qing’s palm and muttered, “Your hand’s even softer than mine…”

(End of Chapter)