Chapter 59: Merit Points Secured

“The final step...”

Lin Qing looked at the cup of freshly mixed emerald-green solution on the coffee table and exhaled slowly.

He then picked up the syringe box beside him and withdrew a syringe filled with pale blue transparent liquid.

Carefully removing the protective cap from the needle tip, Lin Qing slowly depressed the plunger, releasing a single drop of pale blue liquid onto the emerald-green solution.

“Drip.”

As the pale blue liquid fell into the emerald-green solution, that tiny drop triggered a violent transformation—the entire volume within the measuring cup shifted in seconds, the emerald hue vanishing entirely, leaving only clear, transparent liquid and a fine layer of sand-like crystals slowly precipitating at the bottom.

“It’s real!”

Lin Qing’s eyes lit up; a faint smile appeared as he glanced approvingly at the syringe in his hand, ready to begin the injection.

This vial of Hyper-Sense Original Liquid contained 10.5 milliliters; he had only used 0.05 milliliters for the test.

According to the detailed data sent from headquarters, a single injection of 10 milliliters of Hyper-Sense Original Liquid was more than sufficient.

“Good thing the test method was simple—otherwise I’d have had to risk going to the lab.”

Lin Qing had originally assumed verifying such an advanced artifact from an alien civilization would require highly specialized equipment—like mass spectrometry or NMR spectroscopy.

Yet such a simple method could detect it? Still, according to the data from headquarters, the composition of Hyper-Sense Original Liquid wasn’t complex—the key was one component not native to Earth, available only from the Zhixing Group of extraterrestrial origin.

“Begin.”

Following the instructions for Hyper-Sense Original Liquid, Lin Qing began the intravenous injection.

After securing the tourniquet, waiting for the vein to swell, disinfecting the injection site, and slowly pushing the plunger, he fully administered the entire vial of pale blue Hyper-Sense Original Liquid.

The syringes circulating on Earth were specially manufactured by the Zhixing Group for urban dwellers, designed to suit human physiology.

Just one minute after injection, Lin Qing began to feel dizzy, his vision growing faintly blurred.

“Hmm...”

Leaning back on the sofa, Lin Qing took deep breaths; dizziness was normal—temporary mild cerebral hypoxia, accompanied by subtle chromatic hallucinations.

Symptoms typically subsided after thirty minutes.

Additionally—5.7% of users entered a coma, and 1.6% experienced brief fever.

Though not an “Ou Emperor,” Lin Qing wasn’t unlucky enough to trigger either of these low-probability side effects.

After thirty minutes, he had fully recovered.

“It feels different from before.”

Lin Qing closed his eyes, sensing a subtle, elusive change within himself—as if a thick layer of soil buried his perception, muffling all external sounds to near silence.

He wasn’t in a hurry.

The effects of Hyper-Sense Original Liquid would last one to two months, during which his perception of mysterious energy would continuously amplify until it surpassed a threshold, allowing him to vaguely sense external mysterious energy.

Then, he could finally begin the original Dawn Cultivation Method! Lin Qing still remembered clearly—

The elite patrol training contract from headquarters stated that if he mastered the original Dawn Cultivation Method and the original “Zizai Body” combat technique within this year, he would qualify for all gene-optimization benefits.

Only then would he have a chance to break the genetic chains and awaken his genes.

“For the next one to two months, I’ll focus on mastering combat techniques.”

Lin Qing mused silently.

In eight days, he’d clear his debt for the combat technique “Wei”—then his merit points would surely arrive.

One week later.

On February 16, the Xiao Shan District Patrol Division held another commendation ceremony, even grander than the last.

After all, they had eradicated a key base of the Yuanhong Society; the merit points granted were at least two Second-Class Merits—naturally, the ceremony had to be more elaborate.

Besides personnel from Xiao Shan District, patrol officers from other divisions of Lin’an City also attended, along with several leaders from the city patrol bureau, including Yuan Anping.

When Lin Qing took the stage to speak, the applause below was enthusiastic. The city bureau leaders seated in the front row smiled warmly—one after another, especially Yuan Anping, who occasionally whispered to a female bureau leader; her gaze toward Lin Qing grew noticeably warmer.

The second row consisted of patrol officers from various divisions; Lin Qing also took note of the top three officers ranked by Dog Pai.

Xu Qiu, ranked No. 1, was indeed young. Though not the most beautiful, she was tall, her crisp, well-tailored patrol uniform and cool, efficient demeanor drawing many glances.

“Comrades of the patrol, hello...”

The day before, Lin Qing had asked Zhao Jiayi to prepare a speech draft; after minor revisions, he memorized it.

“...Additionally, I’d like to thank my colleague, Captain Xiao Peidong—he is a respected and admirable patrol officer.”

“When I cleared the underground fighting ring of criminals, the ringleader, before dying, falsely accused Captain Xiao of being a protector of the ring, claiming he maintained long-term illicit financial ties and repeatedly abused his position to shield criminal activities.”

“Of course, anyone with eyes can see this is false—I have absolute faith in Captain Xiao’s integrity and honesty.”

“Yet despite this unjust slander, Captain Xiao charged fearlessly into the front lines, ventured deep into danger, and while searching the enemy’s safe, accidentally fell into their trap, ingested a deadly poison, and now lies hospitalized...”

Below, Yuan Anping listened with a strange expression, feeling this was clearly sarcasm.

“Charged into the front lines...?”

Everyone knew Lin Qing had single-handedly cleared the Yuanhong Society’s underground ring; for Xiao to claim he led the charge was clearly stealing credit and reaping rewards—then, in his haste to open the safe, he triggered the enemy’s trap.

It sounded like praise, but anyone who knew the truth would realize it was dripping with irony...

After stepping down, Lin Qing muttered to himself: “Even if Xiao Peidong’s connections try to bury this now, it’ll be hard... And I publicly defended him—he’s dead, so they can’t suspect me...”

Promotion in rank depends solely on ability and merit—so long as there’s no clear stain or criminal record.

But appointment to a position is different—promotion to head captain requires more than just patrol officer rank; superiors consider many factors.

Especially reputation.

You don’t need to be popular, but you can’t have a terrible reputation.

If Xiao Peidong truly was a mole for the Yuanhong Society and rose this far, he must have had powerful backing.

Under a damaged reputation, his evaluation would be difficult.

The commendation ceremony finally ended after a full hour.

The city bureau awarded 100,000 yuan and an Outstanding Patrol Officer medal; the money meant little, but the medal was valuable—it would become a crucial weight on the scale during his evaluation.

Afterward, Lin Qing checked his phone for the newly granted rewards.

“City bureau reward: 100,000 yuan; district reward: 50,000 yuan; bounty: 750,000 yuan; additional merit bonuses: 60,000 yuan.”

“Total: 960,000 yuan.”

Lin Qing checked his account balance—the 960,000 yuan had arrived; adding his previous 400,000 yuan still unspent, his savings now exceeded 1,360,000 yuan.

Moreover, his rank had been upgraded to Second-Class Patrol Officer—his monthly base salary now matched his cousin Chen Yanan’s: 12,000 yuan.

Of course...

The money wasn’t the point.

The point was merit.

“Two Second-Class Merits, and four Third-Class Merits?”

Lin Qing nodded slightly, deeply satisfied.

Two Second-Class Merits were expected, but four Third-Class Merits? Clearly, the underground ring’s security included wanted criminals or those with major criminal records—otherwise, the extra four Third-Class Merits wouldn’t exist.

“I’ll transfer three Third-Class Merits to Zhao Jiayi; these two Second-Class Merits will let me learn four combat techniques at once.”

Lin Qing mused silently.

The Zizai Body series was only three techniques short of completion.

What should he learn next?

(End of Chapter)