Chapter 67: Suspicion

As a stream of scorching mysterious energy flowed through him, Lin Qing walked up to the mirror and stared at his reflection, smiling faintly.

At this moment, his face had become seven or eight percent similar to that of the Chief, Yuan Anping.

“I can adjust it a bit more.”

Lin Qing stared into the mirror, recalling the Chief’s appearance in his mind, and slowly controlled subtle changes in his skin, flesh, and bones.

Soon, his face had become nearly identical to that of Chief Yuan Anping.

“Now the build.”

Lin Qing shifted his shoulders, and his shoulder width and arm span subtly altered, his joints slightly shrinking; his height dropped by about three centimeters.

Now, except for the hairstyle, he resembled the Chief by over ninety percent.

“The hairstyle can be covered with a hat…”

Lin Qing nodded slightly in satisfaction, then withdrew the mysterious energy flowing through his entire body.

Simultaneously, his appearance and build gradually returned to their original state.

“Changing form consumes quite a bit.”

Lin Qing sensed the depletion of his internal mysterious energy and began to understand the limits of this ability.

The greater the change, the greater the consumption.

Maintaining the change, however, was manageable—he could sustain it for a long time.

Of course, there were limits to the transformation.

For example, height could increase by at most twelve centimeters; body fat could not change drastically, and weight could only be adjusted by about twenty kilograms up or down.

“Still, it’s another useful skill.”

Lin Qing nodded slightly, not giving it much thought.

After all, his fingerprints, iris patterns, and DNA hadn’t changed—only his appearance, and even then, he needed deep familiarity with the target to replicate them accurately.

“Captain, Director Kou is looking for you—he seems urgent.”

At that moment, Zhao Jia’s voice echoed through the communication channel inside the private rest room.

…

“Lin Qing, what’s going on?”

In the branch director’s office, Kou Guoyong sat behind his desk, frowning tightly as if suppressing anger: “Didn’t I tell you yesterday, when you led the team to raid Yinghai Group, to make sure your patrol officers kept their hands clean?”

Lin Qing frowned slightly. “What? Did Yinghai Group lose something?”

He knew the patrol system was uniquely structured, with uneven personnel quality and a poor culture.

So before yesterday’s raid, he had explicitly warned them.

“The vice president of Yinghai Group lost valuable items.”

Kou Guoyong said gravely: “A luxury watch and a jade pendant carved from extraterrestrial ore—total value over four million. This isn’t a minor matter.”

Lin Qing frowned. “But when I assembled the team yesterday, I ordered each group to cross-check one another to prevent this. Why did Yinghai Group suddenly report the loss today?”

“Don’t ask me.”

Kou Guoyong sighed helplessly. “The Gongan Bureau is complaining loudly. Many believe you’re too young to manage the patrol team properly, which is why this happened.”

Lin Qing laughed. “I am young, so are there voices saying I shouldn’t be confirmed in my position?”

Kou Guoyong didn’t answer, only sighed softly.

“I told you yesterday the situation was delicate—be careful.”

He hesitated, then added: “Besides, there are voices within the branch saying that after last night’s roll call, every group cross-checked one another and found no one with dirty hands—except you, the team leader, who wasn’t checked at all. If the theft truly came from within the patrol team, then…”

Kou Guoyong didn’t finish, but Lin Qing understood his implication.

“They suspect me?” Lin Qing clicked his tongue.

“I know this hurts.”

Kou Guoyong shook his head slightly. “But these voices exist. Everyone knows your cousin needs money for a mechanical prosthesis—of course some will suspect you.”

Lin Qing fell silent, laughing bitterly. He couldn’t speak of the Elite Patrol Training Contract’s contents. “But don’t worry.”

Kou Guoyong said, “This is an internal patrol issue. The municipal bureau plans to follow tradition and assign the Shangcheng District patrol team to investigate. You’ll likely be asked to cooperate—internal problems solved internally, no Gongan involvement.”

“Let them investigate.” Lin Qing said casually.

Then he added with a smile: “If they happen to find the stolen items in my home, that’ll be interesting.”

“Do you think someone’s framing you?” Kou Guoyong frowned.

“I won’t mention anything without evidence.”

Lin Qing shook his head slightly, looking at Kou Guoyong. “Director Kou, if this really happens, will I be dismissed and investigated?”

“Not likely.” Kou Guoyong shook his head. “Even if you’re innocent, or even if you did it—you’re still one of Lin’an City’s seventeen patrol officers, an elite talent. At worst, you’ll write a self-criticism, lose a few months’ salary, and return the items. That’s it.”

He paused. “But the municipal bureau leadership’s impression of you will turn sour—it will definitely affect your end-of-month evaluation.”

Lin Qing raised an eyebrow. “So… they won’t confirm me as team captain?”

“Even if you’re framed, they’ll at least delay your confirmation.” Kou Guoyong nodded slightly. “No matter how strong you are, if the municipal bureau leadership has a poor opinion of you, you won’t become a confirmed captain.”

Lin Qing let out a quiet “Oh.”

“Whatever.”

He turned and walked toward the door. “I’m going to visit the former captain, now disabled. Come investigate if you want.”

…

Xiaoshan District People’s Hospital.

“Do you think it’s the Yuanhong Society framing you?”

Chen Yanan, leaning beside the hospital bed, listened to Lin Qing’s account and shook her head. “Yinghai Group has problems, yes—but it’s the provincial leader. Even if it makes minor mistakes, higher-ups will cover for it. Unless there’s confirmed ties between Yinghai Group and the Yuanhong Society, the authorities won’t touch it.”

“I know.” Lin Qing nodded, continuing to peel an apple.

“So your confirmation is in danger.”

Chen Yanan sighed. “Even if they find nothing, the municipal bureau leadership probably won’t confirm you, given your current reputation.”

Lin Qing smiled indifferently, handing her the peeled half-apple. “Leaders are like that. Patrol officers just need to carry out frontline missions. Leaders have to consider far more.”

Chen Yanan blinked, stunned by this nonsense.

“It’s nothing. Honestly, I don’t care whether I’m confirmed or not.”

Lin Qing bit into the apple. “I joined the patrol to learn combat techniques and climb faster. A rank is enough—I don’t need to be a leader.”

“It’s my fault for dragging you down.” Chen Yanan patted his leg. “To others in the bureau, you clearly need money for my better prosthesis. Even if they understand, they’ll still have opinions.”

“Let them talk.” Lin Qing didn’t care.

“Oh, by the way.”

Lin Qing suddenly said: “Speaking of prosthetics—has Liming Group contacted you?”

He’d kept the contract secret and hadn’t told Chen Yanan she’d receive the top-tier mechanical prosthesis.

“How did you know?”

Chen Yanan stared at him in surprise. “This morning, Liming Group notified me—they’ll prepare my implant surgery soon, and told me to get ready.”

“Good.” Lin Qing smiled.

“Do you know what’s going on?” Chen Yanan couldn’t help asking. “The scheduled time is still far off, and we haven’t even paid yet.”

“You don’t need to pay.” Lin Qing shook his head. “Sister, I signed a confidentiality contract—I can’t say more, but I can tell you this: it’s a headquarters benefit. Just prepare for the surgery.”

Chen Yanan suddenly understood. “That makes sense. You’re a combat technique genius—special treatment is normal.”

Suddenly—

“Knock knock knock.”

A knock came from outside the room.

Lin Qing turned to see Xu Qiu, the tall, cold, No. 1 patrol officer in black patrol uniform, entering with two patrol officers.

(End of Chapter)