Chapter 213: Thunder Talisman, Military Gear

When the armed patrol team arrived, Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and Yue Jincheng all stopped what they were doing, even raising their hands high to show they had no intention of continuing to fight.

Around the three of them, streaks of sword-light were weaving back and forth.

This sword-light was like bolts of lightning rapidly surging through the air, and the cold, killing intent it emitted made the skin on Zhang Yu’s hands and face sting.

Zhang Yu thought to himself: “Is this a military-grade flying sword?”

He knew it was different from the civilian-grade flying swords he had seen before; this military-grade flying sword, usable only by armed patrol members, could transform sword energy into a rainbow, forming sword-light that could expand and contract at will.

Zhang Yu thought: “If that military-grade flying sword were to strike right now, it would probably cut through the three of us like slicing through melons and vegetables.”

At the same time, four people dressed in patrol team armed combat suits had already taken positions above Zhang Yu and the others.

Zhang Yu shot a quick glance and could feel waves of hot pressure from surging blood and qi, as if four giant fire furnaces were floating over their heads.

“Must be a military-grade combat art.”

Zhang Yu thought to himself: “With military-grade flying swords and military-grade combat arts, even peak Qi Refining cultivators who graduated from university decades ago, like Teachers Lei Jun and Wang Hai, would probably collapse at the first contact and die in an instant before them.”

And Zhang Yu knew that this was merely the armed force of the Patrol Department, one of the eight divine duty departments under the Heavenly Court, stationed in the suburbs of Songyang City on the first level of Kunxu.

He sighed inwardly: “It’s precisely because the Ten Great Sects strictly control military-grade and above combat arts, remains, and artifacts… that they can make so many high school students, college students, corporate dogs, and even rich people obey the rules laid down by the Ten Great Sects.”

“Force, after all, is one of the most fundamental foundations behind all social rules.”

Meanwhile, on the other side, Yue Jincheng was being extremely well-behaved, not daring to make any move.

After becoming a company security guard, the first lesson Yue Jincheng learned during orientation was never to engage in armed conflict with any government or divine duty department.

Especially the armed personnel among them; all kinds of military-grade forces were absolutely not something company employees like them could resist.

If they were injured or even died in the process, they would receive no compensation, and the company would offer no death benefits whatsoever.

So at this moment, Yue Jincheng was being extremely cautious, not daring to make any move that might cause misunderstanding.

He had heard many stories of people who raised a hand or reached into a pocket, were suspected of wanting to fight back by armed personnel, and were immediately killed on the spot by flying swords.

The next moment, Zhang Yu and the others felt that one of the armed team members had released a silver light from his eyes that swept over them.

Then the man looked at Zhang Yu and said, “Was it you who used the Thunder Talisman?”

Zhang Yu immediately pointed at Yue Jincheng and said, “He stole my…”

The man waved his hand: “I’m not asking about that. We’ll talk about the case later. First, I need you to settle the call fee.”

“Huh?”

What did that mean?

Pay first, then enforce the law, after reporting?

Even though he had been living in Kunxu for a year, Zhang Yu was still shocked.

The man, named Gong Zhe, snorted upon hearing this and said, “What’s with the ‘huh’? If you can’t even afford the call fee, we’ll turn around and leave right now. Call the cops again yourself and wait slowly.”

Ever since an incident where a reporting party’s balance was insufficient after a patrol team enforcement, and they defaulted on the premium enforcement service fee for the Thunder Talisman, the patrol team has required payment before enforcement each time they are summoned by the Thunder Talisman.

Hearing this, Yue Jincheng beside him looked at Zhang Yu with great hope, silently praying that the other party couldn’t afford the payment.

Yue Jincheng thought to himself: “This Zhang Yu is a pauper. What if he really can’t pay?”

Under everyone’s gaze, Zhang Yu pulled out his phone and said, “I’ll pay.”

The minimum charge for a single Thunder Talisman dispatch was a call fee of ten thousand. Zhang Yu had naturally prepared for this, and now obediently took out his phone to settle the bill.

Seeing that the ten thousand call fee had arrived, Gong Zhe nodded in satisfaction, and the way he looked at Zhang Yu immediately became full of goodwill.

And maybe it was Zhang Yu’s imagination, but he felt that after he paid, the four armed patrol members in the sky seemed more spirited and more imposing.

Gong Zhe puffed out his chest, looked at Zhang Yu, and said, “Greetings, esteemed Thunder Talisman premium-class customer. This is Gong Zhe, patrol team member from District Seven, Songyang City, sending you regards.”

“Please describe the details of the case.”

At this moment, Gong Zhe and the other three members were all looking at Zhang Yu with expectant and excited expressions, thinking: “Kidnapping! Homicide! Business dispute? Better yet, a tax evasion case!”

“It’s been so long since we’ve had a case!”

“Make it something big, with a value of tens of millions or more.”

No wonder Gong Zhe and the other three were starving and eagerly waiting—after all, as armed personnel of the patrol team, their income had been shrinking year after year, steadily declining.

Gong Zhe often sighed inwardly: "Sigh, public security keeps getting better, and every fucking bastard prefers sneaky tricks instead of drawing blades. How are we combat personnel supposed to create results? Clock out on time every eight hours, can't even get overtime if we want to. We have to help other departments with logistics and paperwork to earn some extra cash to barely get by..."

At this moment, Gong Zhe and the three others looked at Zhang Yu, hoping he would give them something big.

Zhang Yu pointed at Yue Jincheng and said, "He tried to steal my phone. When I caught him, he wanted to run. My classmate and I tried to stop him, but he hit us instead."

Gong Zhe was silent for a moment, then asked again, "That's it?"

This fucking trivial matter and you had to use a Thunder Talisman to call everyone here?

In that instant, the high spirits Gong Zhe and the others had just moments ago deflated again. Gong Zhe said flatly, "Pay the bill first."

Zhang Yu looked at the 8,000-dollar charge on the bill and couldn't help asking, "How is it eight thousand? Didn't you just fly over here? Didn't you even fight?"

Gong Zhe glanced at him and said flatly, "This is a protected area. Do you think we don't have to pay for tickets, breathing fees, and respiration fees to come in?"

"And later, taking you back to handle the case, collect statements, investigate evidence... doesn't that take work hours? Isn't that workload?"

Zhang Yu had no choice. After paying five thousand, he said to Bai Zhenzhen beside him, "Zhen, I'm out of money. Could you help me pay the remaining three thousand?"

Seeing this, Gong Zhe and the others grew even more disappointed. Fucking broke like this, why use a Thunder Talisman? Why not just obediently call the cops?

After collecting the money, Gong Zhe said, "Alright, all three of you come with us."

…

Moments later, Zhang Yu and the others arrived at an investigation bureau on the outskirts of Songyang City.

Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen, as the complainants, were taken to an office in the case-handling area.

Gong Zhe said flatly, "Wait here. Someone will come later to get your statements."

No mistake—every word and sentence is clearly visible!

Zhang Yu said, "By the way, that guy had an accomplice. He ran off before you arrived. Maybe you can check the nearby surveillance cameras and ticket purchase records..."

Gong Zhe frowned and cut him off, "Alright, we have our own methods for handling cases. We don't need you to teach us."

For such a minor phone theft case, Gong Zhe really couldn't muster any interest. He'd rather use the time to pick up some side job and earn more money.

After Gong Zhe left, Bai Zhenzhen glanced at the camera in the office but didn't speak to Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu, however, opened his phone and informed the Wandering Four-Way God Deng Bingding about what had happened.

Of course, unlike the simple phone theft story he told Gong Zhe and the others, Zhang Yu added some of his own speculations when telling Deng Bingding.

For example, he suspected that the guy had been following him recently, secretly filming his training sessions, maybe investigating his participation in the Foundation Establishment Exam.

After all, Zhang Yu couldn't tell the patrol team about intelligence related to the Foundation Establishment Exam.

As for Zhang Yu's message, Deng Bingding only replied with three thumbs-up emojis.

Zhang Yu wondered in his heart, "What does that mean? Is she going to help or not?"

Fuji chuckled and said in Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen's minds, "Based on my understanding of righteous gods, three thumbs-up is a pretty high rating. One level higher would be three flower emojis."

"This is all code among the righteous gods. You'll understand it naturally after seeing more."

Next, Zhang Yu also sent a message to Yunni, telling her about his phone being stolen and being taken to the investigation bureau.

Yunni replied: Which investigation bureau?

Yunni: I'll find you someone familiar.

Yunni: Oh, and did you get your injuries checked?

Yunni: If it comes to mediation, what's your psychological price range?

Looking at the lines Yunni sent, Zhang Yu knew she was treating this as an ordinary theft and brawl case, teaching him how to make the other party pay more compensation.

About ten minutes later, just as Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen were waiting and cultivating, Gong Zhe returned to the office.

But this time Gong Zhe had a slight smile on his face: "If Captain Yun hadn't contacted me, I wouldn't have known you two are also in the patrol team. Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I'm very familiar with your Captain Yunni—we even had a meal together last month."

After being greeted by Yunni, Gong Zhe's gaze toward Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen seemed to carry a hint of the warmth reserved for one of their own.

He said, "Don't worry, in this matter you two are completely victims."

"I'll have someone come over to take your statements, and then you can leave."

"As for that guy, he's truly audacious—attacking a divine auxiliary in broad daylight. This time he'll have to pay through the nose."

With that, Gong Zhe left again.

His behavior caught Zhang Yu off guard, who thought to himself: "It seems Yunni carries quite a bit of weight in Songyang City."

But after Gong Zhe left, a full half-hour passed without his return.

Zhang Yu grew impatient and couldn't resist wanting to step out to see what was happening, only to find the office door locked at some point.

Meanwhile, Bai Zhenzhen from the other side said, "Yu Zi! Look!"

Zhang Yu followed her gaze through the office window and saw Yue Jincheng swaggering out of the investigation area, accompanied by several patrol team members.

Bai Zhenzhen exclaimed, "Is he just going to be released like that?"

As if noticing Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu watching from behind the window, Yue Jincheng gave them a slight smile before turning and walking away.