Chapter 46: Patrol Officer

Life seemed to have settled into complete calm.

Lin Qing took one EPS-series high-energy sustained-release serum daily, exactly enough to repay the debt from four rounds of the Qiqi training method.

Estimated properly, he would clear the debt by February 25th.

In addition, he now had to repay the debt for the combat technique “Speed.”

Patrol duties gradually returned to their mundane routine, with not even a single third-class merit opportunity arising, and hardly any major criminals uncovered.

If not for the order level still being only 1.2, Lin Qing might have truly believed society’s security had improved completely.

Meanwhile, the Gongan Bureau kept pressuring the patrol unit daily to increase efforts, complaining that disappearances kept occurring and accusing patrols of being useless.

This made Lin Qing understand—

Beyond the reach of sight, darkness still concealed evil and chaos.

Beneath the surface of this calm life, currents still surged violently, ready to swallow him at any moment.

Even if Xiao Peidong didn’t know the Patrol Headquarters’ investment in him, he would surely fear his potential and dread his promotion to Patrol Officer.

He would inevitably respond.

If Xiao Peidong was truly a mole for the Yuanhong Society, once his threat was confirmed, he would be in real danger.

Thus, this calm was merely an illusion.

One day, this peaceful life would be torn apart by the hidden storm.

Lin Qing also understood that all he could do was strive to strengthen himself, become stronger, and accumulate more hidden cards.

…

In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.

【“Combat Technique ‘Speed’” fully repaid】

On the afternoon of February 6th, Lin Qing finally completed the final round of the combat technique “Speed,” repaying his advanced debt.

“Finally paid off…”

Lin Qing exhaled slightly, didn’t want to wait any longer, and immediately summoned the Entropy-Reverser interface, his will shifting—

“Order.”

“Advance, Combat Technique ‘Micro’!”

The very night after he learned Combat Technique “Micro,” he had already successfully entered its foundation.

After cultivating both “Agility” and “Speed” to the instinctive level, further cultivation of the Free-Body series techniques became noticeably easier.

He achieved foundation in just one and a half days.

This speed was already extremely fast; even without advancement, Lin Qing was confident he could master Combat Technique “Micro” within three months.

But not using advancement would be foolish.

This was the most efficient form of self-effort.

He simply loved relying on his own efforts.

“Boom!”

At that moment, countless mysterious pieces of information flooded into Lin Qing’s mind.

According to the Entropy-Reverser’s projection—given his talent and compatibility with the Free-Body series techniques—he must fully permeate every sinew, bone, skin, and muscle with the formless force generated by mysterious energy, making it omnipresent and refined to its absolute limit.

Only after completing 46 repetitions could the technique’s transformation be perfectly integrated into instinct.

Then, Lin Qing’s mind suddenly flooded with vast memories.

They were his attempts to cultivate Combat Technique “Micro,” from clumsy beginnings to near-perfection, through countless grueling sessions.

By the time he perfectly integrated Combat Technique “Micro” into instinct, too much time had passed.

Simultaneously, his body began trembling at an astonishing frequency, as fine threads of strange, formless force rapidly permeated his entire body—sometimes spreading like mist, sometimes condensing like hair, effortless and exquisitely precise.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes.

“Success.”

Lin Qing looked at his hands, feeling an indescribable strangeness.

He suddenly picked up a retro-style porcelain cup and flicked it lightly with his fingertip.

The flick, devoid of any visible force, caused the cup to tremble slightly, then silently shattered into countless fragments that fell from his hand in a soft rustle.

“Huh…”

Then, Lin Qing’s hand blurred into a motionless afterimage, enveloped entirely in invisible airflow—barely a whisper of wind, yet he caught every falling fragment in his palm. Not a single shard escaped.

“Micro…”

Lin Qing gently clenched his fist, and the cup’s fragments dissolved entirely into fine powder.

Instantly, his figure flickered, appearing before the trash bin two meters away; he shook his hand, and the powder fell precisely into the bin.

His palm remained pristine, untouched by a single speck of dust.

“Indeed, it’s completely different…”

“It’s time.”

A faint smile appeared on Lin Qing’s lips.

…

In the private training room beside the team leader’s office at the Xiao Shan District Patrol Branch.

“Huh…”

Xiao Peidong slowly exhaled, wiped his forehead with a tissue, then sat down to rest.

He pulled out a seemingly ordinary metal tube from the nearby cabinet, poured its pale gold liquid into his mouth, and waited silently for the effect.

“No wonder the EPS-series high-energy sustained-release serum is so powerful…”

Xiao Peidong smiled faintly, “If I keep this up, I’ll soon reach the limit of the Qiqi training method—but…”

He slowly suppressed his smile, glancing at his right arm, where a sun-like peculiar tattoo was gradually emerging, deepening his gaze into complexity.

It was his greatest secret, his most painful memory, and the driving force that had pushed him forward until now.

Xiao Peidong took a slow, deep breath, making the tattoo on his right arm vanish.

“No slackening—I must climb as hard as I can…”

“The genetic modifications the Organization once tested on me were excruciating, but they also made me more attuned to second-tier mysterious energy; once I can sense the outside, I’ll soon master the original Sunrise Training Method…”

“I just need the Super-Sense Original Serum in Zhou Yang’s hands.”

Xiao Peidong’s gaze grew colder, “That sly fox already got the Super-Sense Original Serum but refuses to give it to me, still trying to bargain. Hmph, once I rise to power…”

He always felt urgency, as if an invisible beast chased him without pause.

Because…

He had seen the true darkness of this world.

Even that was only the tip of the iceberg, yet it had turned him into a wild dog trapped in a whirlpool, helplessly howling, forever unable to escape.

So he could only be a house dog—swimming desperately, never drowning in water, yet doomed to drown if he stayed in it.

“I wonder when Lin Qing will master his second combat technique…”

Xiao Peidong always worried, but could only try to reassure himself.

“The Qiqi training method isn’t easy to master—he probably hasn’t succeeded yet… Even if he has, as long as I master the original Sunrise Training Method quickly, he won’t steal the team leader position…”

Suddenly—

“Ding.”

A sound came from the office.

Only when receiving critical information did the team leader’s workstation make this noise.

“What is it?”

Xiao Peidong frowned slightly, then his hands shimmered with metallic luster as he crushed the metal tube into a ball and tossed it into the trash before walking into the office.

He sat before the workstation and opened the newly received critical message.

The next moment, he froze, his eyes filled with disbelief and stunned shock.

“How is this possible…”

【First-Class Patrol Officer Lin Qing’s application for Deputy Team Leader assessment results: Confirmed mastery of two combat techniques, achieved Qiqi version of Sunrise Training Method, accumulated six third-class merit credits. Application approved.】

【Patrol System confirmed: Lin Qing’s rank upgraded to ‘Third-Class Patrol Officer’】

【Xiao Peidong, Acting Team Leader, must promptly verify records and adjust deputy team leader duties for newly promoted Patrol Officer Lin Qing】

【Finally, let us congratulate Comrade Lin Qing on his promotion to Patrol Officer!】

(End of Chapter)