Chapter 39: Surprise

“Team Leader Lin.”

“Brother Lin.”

“Good morning, Team Leader Lin.”

After the commendation ceremony ended, Lin Qing walked through the branch office, and every colleague he met became friendlier and more enthusiastic.

People, once they gain status, feel the whole world is filled with goodwill.

Lin Qing didn’t waste time; he went straight to the second floor of the branch office, followed the same route as last time, and found the elevator leading to the underground chamber.

After iris recognition confirmed his identity, Lin Qing took the elevator down underground.

Then, he again walked along the corridor entirely made of glass and silver metal, reaching the chamber at its end.

As before, once the chamber sealed, one wall displayed Lin Qing’s profile.

But…

This time, due to his meritorious service, his rank had been promoted to “First-Class Inspector”! He now had six Third-Class Merit Credits available for exchange. “First-Class Inspector Lin Qing, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

The same slightly hoarse voice echoed in the chamber: “The rules remain the same—you must not damage this chamber, and you must leave when time is up.”

“Understood.” Lin Qing nodded.

“Additionally, I must give you a serious warning.”

The hoarse voice said: “Once you begin training a combat technique, if you later train another, your combat technique cultivation will be affected—difficulty increases for both, even if they’re from the same series. If they’re from different series, the difficulty increase becomes extreme.”

“There’s such a thing?” Lin Qing blinked in surprise.

“You must understand—the essence of combat techniques is harnessing the mysterious energy within your body, and different applications are different natures of that mysterious energy.”

The hoarse voice murmured: “Before you adapt and master one nature of mysterious energy, learning another technique is like simultaneously controlling two different natures—it naturally causes interference.”

“So that’s how it is…”

Lin Qing pondered, then asked: “Why do you always use such a vague term—‘mysterious energy’? Isn’t there a precise name?”

This was truly strange.

In all the data he’d seen, it was always just “mysterious energy”—never a formal name. Online searches yielded no explanation.

What’s so hard about naming it? Heavenly Force? Primordial Energy? Free-floating Energy? Cosmic Energy… any of those would work. Yet it’s always this vague term: “mysterious energy” or “some mysterious energy.”

“This is a great secret. Neither you nor I are qualified to know it.”

The hoarse voice said: “Focus on deciding whether to learn a new combat technique. Better yet, wait until you’ve mastered your previous one, ‘Min.’ Otherwise, even entering a new technique will be difficult.”

“Once I’ve mastered a technique, there’s no more effect, right?” Lin Qing smiled.

“Hm?”

The hoarse voice seemed startled, then asked: “Are you…?”

“Yes, I’ve already mastered the technique ‘Min.’ Is there still an effect now?” Lin Qing asked.

The hoarse voice murmured: “Didn’t you just come to learn ‘Min’ a month ago?”

He immediately pressed: “How long did it take you to master it?”

“About ten days,” Lin Qing said.

In truth, by reverse calculation, he’d fully perfected ‘Min’ in seventeen days, reaching the higher “instinct” level.

“Ten days?”

The hoarse voice fell silent for a long moment, then said: “Try activating ‘Min’ now.”

Lin Qing didn’t hesitate—he moved his foot, his body darting swiftly, shifting left and right three times in rapid succession, then stopping.

This instantaneous directional change, this agility and speed, proved he had mastered ‘Min.’

Of course, he was only unleashing four or five percent of its full potential—just the “mastered” level.

“...No.”

After a long silence, the hoarse voice suddenly said: “If you’d merely mastered ‘Min,’ how could you move this fast?”

“Oh.” Lin Qing shrugged. “I got lucky—I also perfected the Seven-Seven Version of the Morning Practice.”

“No wonder…”

The hoarse voice understood, then added: “Since you’ve mastered ‘Min,’ learning a new technique from the same series won’t affect you.”

He suddenly spoke seriously: “It seems you have talent in combat techniques. Are you certain you mastered ‘Min’ within ten days? If you truly have talent in this area, the Inspection Headquarters will give you a surprise.”

“This… it’s been a month already. How can you verify it?” Lin Qing said.

The hoarse voice said, “Aren’t you supposed to learn a new combat technique today? The techniques of the Zizai Body series are fundamentally one whole, with similar difficulty levels. If you could master the Min Technique in a short time, you can master the others just as quickly.”

The hoarse voice said: “Aren’t you here today to learn a new technique? Techniques in the Zizai Body series are fundamentally one whole—their difficulty is nearly identical. If you could master ‘Min’ in a short time, you can master others just as quickly.”

Lin Qing understood his meaning.

“Master a new technique within ten days to prove yourself?” Lin Qing nodded. “Alright, I’ll try.”

The hoarse voice said, “I’ll be straight with you—I’ve always valued talent in the Patrol Headquarters. If you can prove your aptitude for combat techniques, the Patrol Headquarters will do its best to cultivate you.”

The hoarse voice said: “Let me be clear—Inspection Headquarters always values talent. If you prove your talent in combat techniques, we’ll do our best to cultivate you.”

“First, we’ll provide you with the best high-energy slow-release fluid—ten free units—to help you push the Seven-Seven Version to its limit and increase your chance of mastering the original Morning Practice.”

“Second, the rule that permits exchanging merit credits for techniques was set by the Morning Martial Arts Gym. We can’t bypass it, but if you earn a First-Class Merit, Inspection Headquarters can pre-open partial access to ‘Special-Class Merit’ privileges—for example, letting you learn the true original ‘Zizai Body.’”

“Third, when your strength is sufficient, you’ll qualify to join the Global Elite Inspection Unit. Until then, your city’s Inspection Chief will personally teach you the original Morning Practice.”

The hoarse voice echoed through the chamber.

After hearing these surprises, Lin Qing’s lips slowly curved upward.

He’d been right. Exposing his special talent in combat techniques truly brought major benefits! Just the provision of the best high-energy slow-release fluid was already a huge advantage!

One unit of the MY-series high-energy slow-release fluid—even with inspection officer privileges and purchasing through internal branch channels at welfare prices—cost 180,000.

Ten units meant they were effectively giving him 1.8 million for free! He didn’t need much.

Just four units of the MY-series high-energy slow-release fluid, maintaining triple efficiency, would let him complete the advanced Seven-Seven Version of the Morning Practice in forty days. “Are all ten units of the MY-series high-energy slow-release fluid given to me?” Lin Qing asked.

“Of course not.”

The hoarse voice chuckled softly. “Let me correct two misunderstandings.”

“Misunderstandings?” Lin Qing said.

The hoarse voice slowly said:

“First, it’s not a gift. You’ll purchase them like you would through internal branch channels at welfare prices—you may only consume them yourself. If you exhaust all ten units without reaching the limit, you’ll only get the highest discount rate for further purchases.”

“Second…”

The hoarse voice smiled. “Who told you the best high-energy slow-release fluid is the MY-series?”

Lin Qing blinked.

“The ten units of high-energy slow-release fluid Inspection Headquarters provides you are the most efficient EPS-series.”

The hoarse voice said: “They offer quadruple efficiency and enhance your physical potential, increasing your chance of mastering the original Morning Practice!”

He chuckled lowly. “The EPS-series isn’t sold publicly. Even at the highest internal discount, each unit costs 1.2 million.”

Lin Qing drew a deep breath.

He’d never even found the EPS-series online. Even the highest discount was 1.2 million per unit? What was the original price?

Several million? Ten units would be worth tens of millions?

This was only the first benefit. The next two seemed even more astonishing.

One: earning a First-Class Merit unlocks partial access to ‘Special-Class Merit’ privileges.

The other: the city’s Inspection Chief would personally teach him the original Morning Practice?

The team leaders at inspection branches held the rank of “Inspector.”

But the Inspection Chief?

As far as he knew, the entire Lin’an City had only one Inspection Chief—

Yuan Anping, the Chief Inspector of the City Inspection Corps. Even the Director of the City Inspection Bureau held only an administrative rank, not an inspection title.

Only those fulfilling inspection duties held inspection titles; otherwise, like other departments in the branch office, they had no inspection rank.

So that meant…

If he succeeded, Chief Inspector Yuan Anping would come to teach him personally? (End of Chapter)