Chapter 9

"What's going on..."

Lin Qing looked at his hands and frowned slightly.

He had merely completed one full session of the Four-Six Version Morning Practice, and his body no longer absorbed the mysterious energy.

His body cells were like they were full, refusing to take in any more.

"Appetite has limits..."

Lin Qing searched online for a while, and finally understood.

Logically, although his body had already transformed to its first limit, his body cells should still be able to consume the mysterious energy—just not undergo further transformation.

This situation now? He was full.

A normal person's body could only practice this once per day.

So, calculated this way, he would need sixty-five days to repay the advanced Four-Six Version Morning Practice.

"More than two months—that's not slow, even quite fast..."

"But there seems to be a way to speed it up."

In this age of abundant information, and with the Morning Practice being promoted nationwide, information about it was never restricted.

Lin Qing quickly found the solution to this situation.

"The cheapest method... consume High-Energy Sustained-Release Liquid, which makes body cells hungrier. The K1 series is specifically for those who haven't broken through the first limit. One set of High-Energy Sustained-Release Liquid costs... discounted price 89,999 kuai?"

"Ninety thousand per set? And this is the cheapest? One set has ten vials?"

Lin Qing was speechless.

Normal practitioners of the Morning Practice usually need hundreds, even thousands of sessions, to gradually approach perfect practice.

One vial of High-Energy Sustained-Release Liquid only allows two extra sessions per day—equivalent to triple efficiency.

One set of ten vials only adds twenty extra sessions—and it costs ninety thousand?

If you need hundreds or thousands of sessions, wouldn't you have to spend millions?

"Only the rich can afford this..."

Lin Qing felt helpless.

He only had a few thousand kuai in savings—he couldn't even afford one set.

Actually, he only needed two sets.

Twenty vials of High-Energy Sustained-Release Liquid, enough for twenty days, would let him practice two extra times daily, finishing the remaining sixty-four sessions in just over twenty days.

But one hundred and eighty thousand was too much.

"I'll deal with it when I have money."

Lin Qing thought to himself, "After probation, a Level Two Patrol Officer earns four thousand a month, a Level One Patrol Officer five thousand... That's not much at all. No wonder some people take bribes or earn side income..."

Even after passing his professional exam and being promoted to Level Three Patrol Officer, his salary would only rise to seven thousand.

The main change upon becoming a Patrol Officer was gaining firearm authorization—but the salary increase wasn't significant.

His cousin, a Level Two Patrol Officer, earned only twelve thousand.

Compared to ordinary people, it was high pay—but compared to the wealthy, it meant nothing.

He could probably borrow money from his cousin, but she had already transferred her merit to him and was currently in urgent need of funds himself—he didn't want to burden her further.

What difference would it make if he broke through sooner?

Learn the Seven-Seven Version faster? Even if he mastered the Seven-Seven Version, without learning two combat techniques, he still wouldn't qualify as deputy team leader, let alone join the Morning Martial Arts Gym.

"I'll get money when the chance comes."

Lin Qing wasn't in a hurry, "Right now is my rapid advancement phase. Once I master the Seven-Seven Version and combat techniques, earning money shouldn't be hard. Slower is fine."

Although he couldn't skim any graft under Team Leader Han, once he passed the Patrol Professional Exam and earned one or two merits, he could leave Group Two—then Team Leader Han couldn't touch him.

Once his strength increased, earning money would become easier.

If he could master the original Morning Practice, even the City Patrol Bureau's Main Team would invite him—his status would be entirely different.

... He could only repay the debt once a day, so for most of the remaining time, Lin Qing focused on studying professional books related to the patrol examination.

Each month, the Patrol Bureau holds a professional exam on the 25th; today is December 11th, leaving fourteen days.

With his current memory, if he applied himself, he might pass this month's exam.

When he reached nine p. m. reading, his phone suddenly emitted a soft chime.

Lin Qing opened it and saw a WeChat message from Team Leader Han.

【Team Leader Han: On-duty patrol tonight. Wait at the entrance of your residential compound at ten o'clock.】

"Wait at the compound entrance?"

Lin Qing was puzzled—did they really come to pick him up?...

Night was dark, the cold biting.

Lin Qing's physical condition had improved significantly—he felt no chill with his thermal underlayer and patrol uniform combined.

Even a temporary patrol uniform only lacked a shoulder patch; the fabric was nearly identical and equally warm.

Tomorrow, when the Logistics Department delivers his shoulder patch and full patrol uniform, he'll be a true Patrol Officer.

Just after ten, a black patrol vehicle, resembling a stretched limousine, sped down the street and stopped smoothly before him.

The window rolled down, revealing Team Leader Han and others inside.

"Get in."

The patrol vehicle's interior was spacious: besides the driver and front passenger, the rear had two opposing rows of seats—six could squeeze in.

Besides Team Leader Han, there was the slender short-haired girl 'Xiao Qin' and three other male patrol officers.

One drove, one sat in the front passenger seat; in the back, Xiao Qin and a lean, buzz-cut youth sat opposite Team Leader Han.

Lin Qing glanced, then sat beside Team Leader Han.

"Team leader, why did you go out of your way to pick me up at my door?" Lin Qing said. "I could've just gone straight to the branch office—it's not far anyway."

"It was just a detour," Team Leader Han said calmly.

"A detour?" Lin Qing asked, puzzled.

"Hahahaha…"

Xiao Qin smiled and said, "It wasn't exactly to pick you up—tonight's patrol route is on Tie Shi Street, so there's no need for you to run back and forth."

"What a coincidence?" Lin Qing raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Not a coincidence at all—we deliberately assigned the task to the Tie Shi Street district," Xiao Qin chuckled.

Lin Qing grew even more confused: "Deliberately assigned?"

"Nothing special—all newly confirmed patrol officers get this treatment."

Xiao Qin smiled. "Patrolling your neighborhood first is to make sure those unruly types around your place know you're now part of the patrol team. Hmm, you could call it a show of force."

Lin Qing understood.

"There is indeed a mission."

Team Leader Han said flatly: "A new gang has recently appeared on Tie Shi Street—called the Blue Scarf Gang. They seem to have outsiders among them, so we'll coordinate with Public Security to gather intel."

Soon after, the patrol vehicle pulled over to a secluded corner of Tie Shi Street, where a bar with flickering neon lights stood nearby.

"The main members of the Blue Scarf Gang usually gather at the Tie Shi Bar at night."

"According to the preliminary undercover investigation by temporary patrol officers already on site, only newly recruited members of the Blue Scarf Gang carry blue neckerchiefs; the officers have no distinguishing features. The gang leader is known as 'Camel.'"

"Once the operation begins, Zhang Yufei and Liang Jun, you two will secure the front and back entrances of the bar."

"Lin Qing, Qin Qin, Wang Hengyi—you three, gear up and come with me inside for the search."

"We must record facial features and fingerprints of everyone in the bar—patrons and staff alike. If identification fails, take blood samples for on-site DNA analysis and cross-reference with the database. That's Public Security's requirement."

"Begin operation."

(End of Chapter)