Chapter 83: Unprecedented

Chu Tianyao is dead.

Although Chu Tianyao’s body had already been pierced by armor-piercing rounds and was clearly beyond saving, Lin Qing still waited until the order level changed before disengaging the combat technique.

Once activated, this purely defensive state could indeed leave peers helpless, but the energy cost was truly immense.

Fortunately, he had already pushed the original Sunrise Cultivation Method to its absolute limit, and his body stored enough mysterious energy—he’d only consumed two or three tenths of it.

“Phew.”

After returning to normal, Lin Qing released Chu Tianyao’s ruined corpse.

Dozens of wasp-like drones hovered in the air around him.

“Finally dead…”

Lin Qing looked at Chu Tianyao’s corpse and felt a pang of emotion.

Not only was this a first-class merit, but it also avenged his cousin.

And he hadn’t revealed his true strength.

If he had unleashed his full power, he could have killed Chu Tianyao in a few strikes—even one-on-one—but that would have been too outrageous.

This clever method solved the enemy while concealing his strength.

Perfect.

If everything goes smoothly, the first-class merit will be his soon.

“Then I can learn the original ‘Zi Zai Shen,’ and those three awakening methods…”

Thinking of this, Lin Qing felt a strong sense of anticipation.

Once he mastered the original ‘Zi Zai Shen,’ he would meet the requirements of the elite training contract and qualify for genetic optimization benefits!

“Lin Team Leader.”

A patrol officer from afar approached cautiously, disbelief in his voice: “Chu Tianyao is dead?”

“Dead through and through.” Lin Qing glanced at Chu Tianyao’s corpse—his body was too damaged to confirm whether he was a member of the Light Society.

The tiny sun tattoo might have been destroyed too.

“Lin Team Leader, you’re incredible.” The patrol officer couldn’t help exclaiming, “That’s Chu Tianyao.”

All the surrounding patrol officers stared at Lin Qing, their faces filled with unmistakable shock, admiration, and reverence.

There was no helping it.

Chu Tianyao, an S-class fugitive who escaped from Qinghu Island Prison, was infamous, a name that struck fear into the hearts of countless patrol officers.

He had publicly murdered a patrol officer and left another critically injured—his cruelty was undeniable.

And yet, the same day his infamy spread, this young patrol officer eliminated him? “Just luck.”

Lin Qing shook his head slightly. “Notify the city bureau.”

“Yes!” The patrol officer snapped to attention and saluted sharply.

Suddenly—

“Xiao Qing?”

A voice, laced with disbelief, sounded from behind.

Lin Qing froze, turned, and saw his cousin Chen Yanan standing at the hospital entrance, staring in disbelief at Chu Tianyao’s corpse on the ground.

Her right pant leg, once empty, now appeared as if it had never been missing—a slender foot rested beneath it, looking utterly natural, supporting her weight.

“How did you get out?” Lin Qing couldn’t help staring at her right leg. “You just had surgery—how are you up already?”

Chen Yanan took a deep breath. “The doctor said I should get up and walk to adapt.”

She hurried over, staring at Chu Tianyao’s corpse. “That’s Chu Tianyao, right?”

“Didn’t you see him yourself?” Lin Qing studied her leg curiously.

“Precisely because I saw him, I can’t believe it.”

Chen Yanan took another deep breath, studying Lin Qing closely. “Did you really kill him?”

Lin Qing smiled. “Can’t I?”

“Are you an alien in disguise?” Chen Yanan blurted. “A few months ago I told you not to bother avenging me—I’m still in the hospital, and you’ve already taken out Chu Tianyao?”

“You don’t understand genius.” Lin Qing shook his head deliberately.

Chen Yanan fell silent, just staring at him—her eyes suddenly reddened.

She suddenly remembered: the day she was hospitalized with severe injuries, her brother had seemed unusually calm. The next day, without warning, he chose the patrol path—and was immediately promoted.

He had always just been going through the motions. Even after mastering the 4-6 version of the cultivation method, he’d hidden it, never once considering promotion.

But that day, he changed completely.

Now she was certain: her brother had joined the patrol solely to avenge her.

As for the “danger” he mentioned—it was clearly an excuse. With her as a patrol officer, how much danger could there really be? “Xiao Qing.”

Chen Yanan suddenly rose on her toes and hugged Lin Qing—tears spilled uncontrollably.

“Jie, everyone’s watching.” Lin Qing sighed.

“Can’t I be moved for a moment?” Chen Yanan wiped her tears, punched his shoulder lightly, then let go.

Lin Qing didn’t know what to say.

Though he wasn’t used to such emotional scenes and found them awkward, he also felt… alright.

“Is your leg really fine?” Lin Qing asked.

“More than fine—I feel better than I ever did before.”

Chen Yanan wiped her face with her sleeve. “The surgeon said my adaptation to this prosthetic is extraordinary. In all her years, she’s never seen a case like mine.”

“Oh?” Lin Qing asked curiously. “How much of your strength can you still use?”

Chen Yanan smiled. “I’m stronger than before. The prosthetic’s power output exceeds what I can generate with my combat technique. Want to feel it?”

As she spoke, she kicked off her slippers, lifted her right leg, flexed her ankle, and wiggled her delicate white toes with surprising agility.

“So flexible?”

Lin Qing stared, then crouched down, pulling up her hospital pants to examine her ankle and calf—they looked exactly like real flesh and bone.

He couldn’t help asking: “Jie, isn’t this leg a prosthetic? Why does it look so real?”

“Isn’t it beautiful? Long, pale, slender.”

Chen Yanan smiled. “Bio-synthetic material, artificial skin, internal skeleton still mechanical—but I feel no difference from a real leg. Even easier to control.”

Lin Qing poked it with his fingertip—the texture was indistinguishable from real skin, even slightly warm.

“No wonder it’s so expensive.” Lin Qing sighed. “But this leg’s prettier than your original one. Doesn’t that feel weird?”

Chen Yanan had always had long, straight legs, but even her natural ones couldn’t match the perfection of artificial design.

“It’s fine—I can adjust it.”

Chen Yanan suddenly chuckled, shifting her leg toward him. “Go ahead, touch it. I’m happy—let you touch all you want.”

“…You’re a pervert.” Lin Qing’s lip twitched.

“Pfft.” “But does this leg have sensations?” Lin Qing asked.

“The doctor said everything’s there—high realism.” Chen Yanan replied. “Just doesn’t bleed.”

Lin Qing understood.

“Lin Team Leader.”

A patrol officer hurried over, saluted, and reported: “We found Xu Qiu and her assistant unconscious near the cordon.”

“Unconscious?” Lin Qing blinked.

Xu Qiu was a patrol chief—her strength nearly matched Chu Tianyao’s. How could she be unconscious?

“How severe are her injuries?” Lin Qing asked.

“No external wounds detected. Vital signs are normal—just unconscious.” The officer replied.

Lin Qing nodded. “Since we’re at the hospital, move Xu Chief and her assistant to a ward for examination.”

…

After the city bureau’s main team arrived and took Chu Tianyao’s body away, Lin Qing followed his cousin back to her room.

The door was open. Even from a distance, Lin Qing heard a soft, elegant female voice inside.

“...So please consider carefully. Cases like Miss Chen’s level of adaptation have never occurred in our company before. Further cooperation would benefit us both.”

Inside the room, besides her brother and aunt, a blonde woman with blue eyes, dressed in a lab coat, was speaking fluent Chinese to them.

“Miss Chen is back.” The blonde woman smiled. “How do you feel?”

“Miss Anna.” Chen Yanan marveled. “Even better than I imagined.”

Anna smiled. “It’s largely because of your exceptional adaptability—not just your high neural interface rate.”

She turned to Lin Qing, smiling. “You must be Lin Qing, Team Leader? Actually, our company should thank you.”

Lin Qing asked: “Why?”

“Without you, we wouldn’t have encountered a case like Miss Chen’s extraordinary adaptability.” Anna said softly.

“Extraordinary adaptability?” Lin Qing looked at Anna.

Anna nodded gently. “Though the Hongjun prosthetics are nearly perfect, they’re extremely complex. After neural connection, most users need three to five days to fully adapt and feel them as their own limbs, based on our recent data.”

She glanced at Chen Yanan. “But Miss Chen adapted perfectly immediately after surgery. It’s almost unbelievable.”

Lin Qing understood.

Normal users needed three to five days. His cousin adapted instantly after surgery—remarkably fast.

“I’ve already reported Miss Chen’s case to the company.”

Anna said earnestly. “We’ve confirmed her exceptional adaptability to this type of prosthetic—this is precisely the direction our company is pursuing. We hope to establish further cooperation with her.”

Chen Yanan thought for a moment and said, “Let me consider it.”

“Naturally,” Anna smiled. “Our company also needs to discuss a suitable contract proposal before going over the details with Miss Chen.”

She stood up and said, “Then I won’t disturb you further. Feel free to message me anytime.”

After Anna left, Lin Qing asked, “Was she the one who performed your surgery?”

“Yes.”

Chen Yanan nodded. “She’s one of the personnel from Dawn Group handling mechanical prosthetics. I think she lives in the Urban Circle.”

Lin Qing was surprised.

Working or studying in the Urban Circle was one thing; living there was another.

The former meant you were an elite talent the Urban Circle needed.

The latter meant you had already become part of the Urban Circle and earned its residency permit.

This wasn’t something money alone could buy—especially money from outside the Urban Circle.

“Cooperation...”

Lin Qing mused, “I don’t know what kind of cooperation it is. Sister, think carefully before deciding.”

Cousin Chen Ruizhe added, “If the terms are generous and there’s no real downside, you might as well accept. Maybe Dawn Group would offer you a long-term Urban Circle visa—or even a pass?”

He shook his head slightly, unable to help sighing. “Getting an Urban Circle visa is absurdly difficult. I once tried to enroll in a training program in the Coastal Urban Circle—my scores and credentials were solid, but I couldn’t get the visa through no matter what.”

Lin Qing had heard that getting an Urban Circle visa was extremely hard.

Especially for public officials, under the joint strict review of the World Government and the Urban Circle, the approval rate was even lower.

Yet the Urban Circle possessed technology, development, economy, knowledge, resources, and opportunities far surpassing Earth’s. Its safety and comfort levels were also incomparable to anywhere outside.

Every night, the never-sleeping Urban Circle radiated endless light, becoming the world everyone yearned for.

If one could go, few would refuse.

“I’ll take another look.”

Chen Yanan shook her head slightly. “Dawn Group is a major Urban Circle corporation—they probably don’t even notice me. Even if they want me to participate in experiments, it’ll likely be outside the Urban Circle.”

She smiled. “I’m a patrol officer—a public official. Getting a visa is too hard. Even Dawn Group has to follow the Urban Circle’s rules, right?”

Lin Qing mused, “Resigning might help.”

“There’d still be a record,” Chen Yanan shook her head. “It’d still have an impact. Honestly, I’ve given up hope.”

“Staying outside the Urban Circle isn’t bad either.”

Auntie couldn’t help saying, “Isn’t a quiet, ordinary life good enough?”

Chen Ruizhe turned away helplessly.

“I just want to see it,” Chen Yanan sighed. “Too bad the Urban Circle doesn’t offer tourist visas—if it did, I’d really go take a look.”

Lin Qing suddenly remembered the hoarse voice’s words inside the War Strategy Chamber.

It sounded as if even going to the Urban Circle wasn’t necessarily a good thing.

“When are you returning to duty?” Lin Qing asked.

“In a few days, during your evaluation—you’ll definitely become the team leader,” Chen Yanan said casually. “I’ll be your deputy.”

Lin Qing shook his head. “I’m not interested. Besides, I’ll be leaving soon...”

At that moment, a knock came at the door.

Lin Qing went to open it and found a patrol officer from the Municipal Bureau’s General Team standing outside.

“Captain Lin.”

The patrol officer immediately saluted and reported: “Inspector Xu Qiu has regained consciousness.”

“Oh?” Lin Qing had just wanted to ask how she had collapsed.

“Also,”

the patrol officer said, “The Municipal Bureau has issued an order: the Inspector from headquarters and three Senior Patrol Leaders will arrive at Lin’an City International Airport at 10:45. All Lin’an City patrol officers are ordered to assemble.”

“The Inspector and three Senior Patrol Leaders are coming?” Lin Qing nodded. “Good. I’ll go find Inspector Xu. I’ll go with her.”

Fourth update today! Wrote seventeen thousand words today—drained dry, not a drop left. A few moon tickets to replenish me~~ (End of Chapter)