Chapter 3: Resignation?

Xiaoshan District People's Hospital.

When Lin Qing arrived at the ward, his cousin Chen Yanan had already come out of the operating room and was now lying in the hospital bed.

She, who had previously appeared tall, powerful, and robust, now showed obvious weakness; not only was her face pale, but her usually neat and crisp short hair was somewhat messy and matted, and thick bandages were wrapped all over her body.

Her aunt sat by the bedside, her eyes still red and swollen from crying, holding an apple and peeling it.

Her cousin Chen Ruizhe stood with his back to the door, facing the window, silently gazing at the distant urban sprawl in the night outside; his suit was still on, obviously he had come directly from the company.

The ward was silent, the atmosphere feeling somewhat oppressive.

"Sister."

Lin Qing closed the door, walked to the bedside, frowned, and asked, "How are you? Why are you injured so badly?"

Cousin Chen Ruizhe turned around, glanced at Lin Qing, sighed silently, and did not speak.

"Nothing much." Cousin Chen Yanan frowned slightly and said, "As for you, why did you come over alone in the middle of the night?"

"Enough." Her aunt, with slightly red-rimmed eyes, said, "What is your own situation? Why worry about Xiao Qing?"

Lin Qing knew his cousin always treated him like a real younger brother, and now saying this was just to change the subject, so naturally he didn't mind.

He frowned and asked, "Sister, your skills are so strong, you've learned the 'Combat Technique', and you were even issued a gun; tonight was just a temporary mission, how could this happen?"

The "Chaoyang Cultivation Method" of the Chaoyang Martial Arts Hall, as a martial arts foundation for exercising physical qualities, was spread to an extreme degree, wishing everyone would learn it.

However, the 'Combat Technique' truly used for fighting was spread very little.

There were regulations long ago—personnel outside the legally permitted scope of martial arts hall students, public security systems, the military, etc., were not allowed to learn the 'Combat Technique'.

Otherwise, they would have to go in and tread the sewing machine.

This was mainly because the Combat Technique was too powerful and easily threatened social order.

As the patrol team captain, Chen Yanan, who had learned the Combat Technique, could handle ordinary armed criminals; fighting one hundred of them alone would not be difficult.

Now she was injured like this? Chen Yanan fell silent for a moment and said, "Tonight's inspection mission was originally going smoothly, but unexpectedly we happened to dig out an escapee who had broken out of Qinghu Island Prison."

"An escapee from Qinghu Island Prison?" Lin Qing's eyes changed slightly.

Qinghu Island Prison was one of the three prisons with the highest supervision level in the country; the walls were high, the electric fences dense, the security strict, and the armed forces and high-tech facilities equipped were countless.

This era was not a hundred years ago; prison breaks had long become nonsense that only appeared in TV dramas and movies.

Let alone Qinghu Island Prison, even for prisons with lower supervision levels, it was unlikely that prisoners relying solely on bare hands could break out.

There actually was a prisoner who managed to escape from Qinghu Island Prison? "It's not what you imagine; that escapee didn't escape on his own."

Chen Yanan leaned back against the hospital bed, shook her head slightly, and said, "However, he was indeed formidable; I was far from his match. If it hadn't been for the team's firepower support, I would have more than just these injuries."

Lin Qing knew that some matters within the public security system were confidential to the outside world, and his cousin certainly could not speak freely about them.

Moreover, from the order level of 0.3, it could be seen that this world was absolutely far more dangerous than what he had seen.

"These injuries?"

Her aunt could not help but look at her daughter, her expression somewhat agitated, and spoke through sobs, "You were injured like that last night; the doctors said if you had been brought in any later, it might have been too late to save you. You don't even know if your leg can recover now, yet you still treat it so lightly?"

"Mom." Chen Yanan was somewhat helpless, but had nothing to say.

Lin Qing then realized that at this moment, Chen Yanan's right leg was covered flatly by a pristine white quilt, without a single wrinkle; the contour of the right leg was completely invisible. This empty quilt seemed only to want to hide the limb that no longer existed.

"Sister, your leg..." Lin Qing could not help but ask.

Although he had only inherited the predecessor's memories, after the complete fusion of all memories, it naturally could not have no effect on him.

The predecessor's feelings for Chen Yanan were very deep; even crying right there on the spot would be normal.

"That leg was kicked into dust by that escapee, but that person was also shot twice by me; even if he didn't die, he wouldn't be comfortable." Chen Yanan shook her head. "Just change to a mechanical leg later."

Lin Qing frowned tightly: "Prosthetic technology isn't mature yet, right? The neuron connection rate is generally not high either; this..."

His cousin was very fond of the martial arts path; once she changed to a mechanical leg, it was hard to say how much of her strength would remain, but it was unlikely she could make further progress.

"What are you thinking? Even standing on one leg, sister can still crush you."

Chen Yanan looked at him and showed a slight smile: "But Xiao Qing has indeed grown up and become much steadier; I thought you would cry."

"... Sister." Lin Qing was somewhat helpless. "You should think about your leg."

"Try to change to a better mechanical prosthesis."

At this moment, cousin Chen Ruizhe frowned and spoke: "I have a classmate who studies medicine working at the Third People's Hospital of the Binhai Urban Sprawl; I can ask him about the situation."

He glanced at his sister's severed leg and said in a deep voice, "Moreover, you were injured on duty this time. I just checked; the cap on your work injury insurance is eight hundred thousand, plus the patrol system's disability allowance subsidy is up to sixty months' wages. If we pool our resources, we should be able to afford a high-end mechanical prosthesis."

Lin Qing pondered thoughtfully.

His cousin's salary was twelve thousand per month; if she could get the maximum disability allowance, sixty months' wages would be seven hundred and twenty thousand. Adding the work injury insurance, it indeed could buy a better mechanical prosthesis. However, he had heard that those truly high-end mechanical prostheses started at millions, even tens of millions.

It was just that his cousin's family couldn't afford that much money; it was only in recent years, because his cousin had been promoted to patrol team captain, that their financial situation gradually improved.

"That settles it then."

Chen Yanan smiled. "Everyone relax. Technology is changing by the day. In a few more years, maybe mechanical prostheses will be no different from real ones; even limb regeneration like a salamander might not be impossible."

"Stop being so careless..." Her aunt wiped away her tears and looked helplessly at her daughter.

"You do need to be careful."

Chen Ruizhe also said in a low voice: "Changing to a new mechanical prosthesis is troublesome; I heard that re-adaptation can cause neurological diseases, so try to change to a good one at once. Fortunately, I still have over three hundred thousand in savings that can be used."

"Brother, isn't that money for you to marry a wife?" Chen Yanan couldn't help but frown. "Just change me to a decent one."

"Didn't you see how high the divorce rate has become these days? Why get married?" Chen Ruizhe looked at her. "Shut up and listen to me."

Chen Yanan helplessly scratched her head.

Lin Qing watched silently from the side, understanding that his few thousand yuan simply couldn't help.

"By the way, Xiao Qing."

Chen Yanan suddenly turned her head to look at him and said, "The day after tomorrow... oh, it's already early Sunday morning now, anyway, Monday morning, remember to go to the Patrol Bureau to apply for resignation."

"Resign?" Lin Qing couldn't help but be slightly stunned.

"I can't serve as captain for the time being." Chen Yanan said. "The team also doesn't have a suitable candidate for captain; the higher-ups will most likely send down a newcomer to temporarily assume the captain's position."

She sized up Lin Qing and said, "You know, even as an unaffiliated temporary patrol officer, you're unqualified. When I was here, I could let you tag along with the team, but now that a new acting captain has arrived, he'll likely want to solidify his position completely, which means he might seize on my work errors. Do you understand?"

Lin Qing nodded thoughtfully.

Chen Yanan was already injured and temporarily unable to fulfill the captain's duties; even if her mechanical prosthetic recovered well, that would take at least several months.

During this period, if the acting captain performed well, his confirmation to the post would be quite normal.

One could say the two were in a competitive relationship.

Whether the acting captain earned merit himself or found faults with Captain Chen Yanan, both would benefit his confirmation.

And he, a temporary patrol officer forcibly inserted into the patrol team, was simply an error.

"But I've already joined the patrol team; even as an unaffiliated member, won't there be a record after I resign?" Lin Qing couldn't help but ask.

"There is an archival record."

Chen Yanan nodded. "But after all, you're only temporary, so it's not a major issue. As long as you resign before the new captain takes office and he doesn't catch you in the act, nothing will happen, and it will also prevent the acting captain from making things difficult for you."

Lin Qing suddenly understood.

But he knew clearly in his heart that with the archival record in place, the problem already existed and was destined to be unavoidable.

Therefore, his cousin's main concern was to prevent the new captain from making things difficult for him.

It was just...

He had already decided to walk the path of the patrol.

"... I understand."

Lin Qing nodded slightly and did not refuse.

Even if he said now that he could be confirmed and was confident of advancing to the Patrol Bureau level, given his cousin's current dire state, his cousin's family would only urge him to give up.

He couldn't possibly reveal the existence of the Entropy-Reversers, so there was no need to speak up in opposition.

"By the way..."

Chen Yanan suddenly said, "Recently, a new black power gang called the Blue Scarf Gang has arrived on Iron Stone Street and is quite active. Both the Patrol Bureau and the police have taken notice. I've heard the gang's leader has some real skill. Try not to go out alone at night."

Lin Qing nodded slightly.

He then asked, "By the way, sister, given your current situation, if any of your former work enemies..."

"No need to worry."

Before he could finish, Chen Yanan cut him off, pointed upward, and said with deep implication, "Protection has already been arranged."

Lin Qing didn't quite grasp her meaning, but it must involve secrets of the patrol system, probably matters he had no clearance to know.

"Alright, go back now."

Chen Yanan closed her eyes. "I just had surgery and need to rest. Don't overthink it; focus on your studies."

(End of this chapter)