Chapter 60: Secret

After the commendation ceremony ended, as Lin Qing was preparing to leave the auditorium to learn new combat techniques in the secret room, he saw Chief Yuan Anping approaching with a tall, cool-looking female inspector.

It was none other than Xu Qiu, ranked number one among the inspectors of Lin'an City.

"Chief."

Lin Qing offered a greeting.

Yuan Anping said with a smile, "Let me introduce you; this is Captain Xu from the Upper District Branch."

"I've long heard of Captain Xu's name." Lin Qing nodded slightly to Xu Qiu.

"Indeed quite young." Xu Qiu sized up Lin Qing, then asked, "Do you have a partner?"

"Huh?"

Lin Qing was slightly stunned and couldn't help but look at Yuan Anping, questioning with his eyes: What is she up to?

Yuan Anping pretended not to see, turning her head away as if admiring the scenery.

"Do or don't? Give me a straight answer." Xu Qiu looked at Lin Qing and asked again.

Lin Qing thought for a moment and chose to lie: "Yes."

Xu Qiu made an "oh" sound, glanced at Zhao Jiayi not far away, and said, "I saw your executive assistant down there just now; she's quite pretty. You must have spent a lot of money on her face, right? You like this kind?"

In the crowd, Zhao Jiayi innocently puffed out her cheeks and muttered to herself, "You're the one who got plastic surgery..."

Lin Qing also knew that in this era, plastic surgery wasn't much different from getting a hairstyle, just more expensive.

So Xu Qiu's words carried no real contempt.

"What does Captain Xu want to say? Just say it directly." Lin Qing was too lazy to waste more words.

"Straightforward, then I'll speak plainly."

Xu Qiu said seriously, "You and I are both people favored by the Inspectorate Headquarters. Although you haven't yet mastered the original Morning Sun Cultivation Method and still have a long way to go to reach the Inspector Chief level, I have high hopes for you."

"We might be colleagues in the future, and we're both from Lin'an. I think your appearance, age, and talent are all good, and I'm quite satisfied."

She looked at Lin Qing. "If you're willing, we can start dating to see how it goes. Of course, this is also my probation period for you. As long as you formally enter the Headquarters, the probation will be considered passed. I can ask my family for help to transfer you to a good department."

I didn't ask you to be this direct... Lin Qing was momentarily speechless.

It sounded like her family background was quite significant?

Moreover, Yuan Anping was just watching the show from the side, unwilling to interject, and hadn't said a single word.

"How about it? Think about it."

Xu Qiu thought for a moment more and said, "I checked the horoscope yesterday. You're a Scorpio, I'm a Virgo, and our compatibility rate is 90%. Among all the inspectors in Lin'an City, we are the most suitable."

Lin Qing didn't answer her; he simply waved at Zhao Jiayi not far away, who was pretending to know nothing and facing away with her back to them, saying, "Jiayi, come here."

Zhao Jiayi turned around in a pretentious manner, pointed uncertainly at herself, and then walked over.

"Captain Xu, I only look at faces."

Lin Qing pointed his thumb at Zhao Jiayi. "She's a Cancer, and her compatibility rate with a Scorpio is 100%."

Zhao Jiayi blinked her exquisite, beautiful big eyes.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qiu glanced at Zhao Jiayi, then looked silently at Lin Qing.

After a few seconds, she shook her head slightly disappointedly. "I thought you also only liked purely natural ones... then forget it."

Lin Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

In this era, plastic surgery was too easy, easily exploited by criminals, so plastic surgery records weren't hard to find.

And the biggest drawback of his current life was that his natural looks were already quite good, which meant his genes for appearance were superior. When others checked and found no plastic surgery records, they naturally thought he was rare.

"However, there is one more thing to discuss with you."

Xu Qiu said, "You've been targeted by the Crimson Kite Society, right? The fugitive Chu Tianyao from Qinghu Island might still attack you. But I have a plan. If you're willing to act as bait and cooperate, we might be able to capture Chu Tianyao and eliminate the threat once and for all."

Act as bait? Lin Qing continued to shake his head: "Then there's no need."

"No need?"

Xu Qiu frowned slightly. "Chu Tianyao has already mastered the original Morning Sun Cultivation Method and controls combat techniques from more than one series. You don't know when you'll catch up to him. During this time, aren't you worried about encountering Chu Tianyao again?"

Lin Qing shook his head and said no more. He was about to enter a period of rapid transformation; once his strength was sufficient, he wanted to deal with Chu Tianyao personally.

This wasn't just for the First-Class Merit, but also to avenge his cousin Chen Yanan.

Wanting him to be bait and also stealing his First-Class Merit?

How could Lin Qing possibly agree? After being refused by Lin Qing again, Xu Qiu looked at him silently once more.

After ten or so seconds, she suddenly turned around and said without looking back, "Fine. I never give people a second chance."

Having said that, Xu Qiu left briskly and gracefully.

After she left, Lin Qing looked at Yuan Anping speechlessly. "Chief Yuan Anping, won't you explain?"

"Ahem."

Yuan Anping was somewhat embarrassed. "After Xu Qiu saw your file, she said you were quite good and insisted I introduce you to her. I thought you were single anyway, so I agreed."

Lin Qing lowered his voice and asked, "Did she also sign the Elite Training Contract?"

"Yes. Although Xu Qiu isn't a combat technique genius, her cultivation progress is very fast."

Yuan Anping said, "Two years ago, she had already mastered the original Morning Sun Cultivation Method. She only recently mastered all the combat techniques of the Free Body series. She's estimated to be transferred to Headquarters in three months."

He sighed, "She probably wants to earn a First-Class Merit before entering Headquarters. I heard that in Headquarters, merits can be exchanged for even more benefits."

Lin Qing understood.

No wonder Xu Qiu's strength was already at the Inspector Chief level, lacking only merits. Yuan Anping had previously said he was the heir to the Chief position and hadn't considered Xu Qiu at all.

It turned out Xu Qiu was destined for Headquarters.

"Can she fight Chu Tianyao?" Lin Qing asked.

"She's a bit weaker than Chu Tianyao, but they are on the same level." Yuan Anping said casually.

Lin Qing pondered thoughtfully.

……

After the brief interlude, Lin Qing wasted no time and went straight to the secret chamber for learning combat techniques.

……

"Let me see; the merits have indeed been recorded."

In the dim light, that slightly hoarse voice said, "Two second-class merits? Not bad. It's been less than ten days since you last studied the combat technique 'Micro'; have you already mastered it?"

"Yes." Lin Qing nodded slightly. "Today, I'll study 'Strength' first."

The hoarse voice fell silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Before that, I will ask you a question on behalf of the higher authorities. It is very important to you; you had better answer truthfully."

Lin Qing hummed in acknowledgment.

"Judging from the action records of your meritorious deed, if you had only mastered three combat techniques, the difficulty of this operation would have been quite high."

The hoarse voice paused, then asked slowly, "Have you already cultivated one of the techniques in the Free Body series to the instinct level?"

Lin Qing had long known he couldn't hide it, so he immediately nodded and said, "Yes; the combat technique 'Agility' has already been cultivated by me to the instinct level."

This was the first combat technique he had learned; nearly two months had passed. Even for a combat technique genius, reaching the instinct level was not so exaggerated by then.

"As expected..."

The hoarse voice couldn't help but sigh, "In less than two months, to cultivate a combat technique to the instinct level is even faster than anticipated. Generally, cultivating a combat technique to the instinct level requires at least ten times the duration needed to master it."

Doing the math, Lin Qing confirmed he still fell within the category of combat technique genius, so it wasn't too out of the ordinary.

Mastering the combat technique took less than ten days; cultivating it to the instinct level should normally take about three months.

He was just a bit faster, that's all.

"In that case, I'll inform you of a secret in advance."

The tone of the hoarse voice suddenly became serious and earnest as he solemnly said, "One day in the future, if you learn the original 'Free Body' combat technique and cultivate it to the instinct level, we strongly advise you not to leak this information to anyone, including the headquarters."

"Do not leak it?" Lin Qing couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

(End of this chapter)