Chapter 99 - 98: It’s All Tricky, Writing Is Tough

A moment later, they returned to the real world.

With a loud splash, the surface of the sea where the secret realm entrance was located broke open.

Li Jing shot out of the water on his sword, followed closely by Li Qidao and the other eight patrol officers.

Upon returning to the real world, they tactfully chose to hover over the entrance of the secret realm on their swords.

The secret realm was currently in a state where entry was permitted but exit was not.

Claiming they wanted to leave was not an option.

Just as the nine of them surfaced, the hundred plus Management Bureau personnel maintaining Zhou Tian’s Great Formation at the secret realm entrance turned their attention towards them in unison.

Seeing the nine clad in Management Bureau uniforms but wearing the patrol officers’ insignia, many of the Management Bureau staff were taken aback.

Under the watchful gaze of numerous Management Bureau personnel, Li Jing waved his hand to retrieve Chen Jing’s immortal message number from his storage space and chose to make a voice call.

Seeing this, Li Qidao and the others hung in the air behind him, waiting silently.

The patrols involved in this secret investigation were all experienced old hands.

Not only were they experienced in case handling, every one of them was also a man of the world.

If not for these qualifications, they wouldn’t have been chosen by Chen Jing for this important task.

For this mission, Li Jing was the first to achieve merit.

Moreover, he was Chen Jing’s "son-in-law".

Contacting Chen Jing was undoubtedly his job.

Anyone who tried to interfere simply didn’t know their place.

Over here, Li Jing’s voice call had just connected and Chen Jing was on the line very quickly.

"Li Jing?"

Chen Jing’s puzzled voice rang out.

"Director, the matter has been handled. Could you please liaise with the Management Bureau personnel for us?"

Li Jing broke the silence and said.

"The others and I just exited the secret realm and we are being stopped within Zhou Tian’s Great Formation."

"You finished the job so quickly?"

Chen Jing was surprised, then said.

"Come directly to my office. Tell the others that I want the detailed action report within half an hour."

"Understood,"

Li Jing responded and turned back to inform the others.

"The Director wants our action report within half an hour."

Before he could finish, one of the Management Bureau staff members maintaining Zhou Tian’s Great Formation nearby gestured at them, indicating that they could leave.

Seeing this, Li Jing nodded in acknowledgement to that person and urged Qingfeng into a streak of light.

The others didn’t delay either and immediately followed suit.

...

Not long after, they arrived back at the North City Patrol Branch.

Li Jing went alone to Chen Jing’s office and gently knocked on the door.

"Knock, knock."

Just as his knock sounded, Chen Jing’s voice came from inside the door.

"Come in."

Getting this response, Li Jing pushed the door open.

Inside the office, Chen Jing was sitting behind his desk.

Seeing Li Jing, he lifted an eyebrow.

"Good job, I knew you would come through! Only four hours passed since you left the Patrol Branch, and you’ve already figured out the situation."

While speaking, he stood up.

"I’ve learned part of the situation from the Management Bureau. Your alias, Lu Yangcheng, is quite distinctive."

At these words, Li Jing gave an embarrassed smile.

Chen Jing’s action was indeed quick.

Even in the few minutes it took for him to fly over here, Chen Jing had already learned some details from the Management Bureau.

It was lucky that he hadn’t told Su Qiong his real name, otherwise, he would have been famous within the Disaster Management Bureau by now.

Lu Yangcheng...

Bro, sorry!

After apologizing silently to Lu Yangcheng, Li Jing touched his cheek to remove the Changing Appearance Talisman, revealing his original face.

About to speak, Chen Jing pointed to the seat where he had just been sitting, patted the computer on the table and smiled cheerfully.

"Let’s skip the idle chat for now. Sit down and write the detailed report. The Management Bureau is waiting for the news. We’ve directly killed a senior researcher from the Research Institute, we need to give them an explanation."

"Er..."

Li Jing’s face rigidified.

The position Chen Jing pointed at was the "throne" of the director.

Would it be appropriate for him to sit on it?

He didn’t know how to write the final report!

The reports he mentioned to Li Qi earlier were just perfunctory.

If he was really to write a report, where would he start?

Besides, the case was so complex, it would take ages to elaborate it word by word.

Half an hour, there was no way to finish it!

Li Jing gently coughed and said weakly.

"Uncle, I have never written an action report before, I don’t even know the specific format, can...can I use oral narration?"

"You’ll have to join the patrolling team sooner or later, you’d better start learning what you need to learn sooner. When you join the team, you’ll have to write a report even for catching a minor thief, let alone such a sensitive case?"

Chen Jing shook his head and said with deep meaning.

"I can teach you the report format if you don’t understand it. The case relates to unknown wisdom civilization in the secret realm, the written report must be detailed. After this mess, it has to be archived as top-level classified information, you can’t escape from it."

He said lightly and then jokingly added.

"Also, there’s one more thing you need to understand. If you narrate to me verbally, wouldn’t it eventually turn into me writing the written report?"

"..."

Li Jing.

What Chen Jing said was harshly true.

If possible, he would want to brazenly ask his uncle to take over the job.

But he didn’t dare to.

With a sigh, Li Jing reluctantly stepped forward.

Seeing this, Chen Jing smiled approvingly and made room for him.

When Li Jing sat down, Chen Jing began to speak.

"There should be a lot of situations for you to report here, the Management Bureau is completely in the dark about this case, make sure to write everything down. I’ll give you two hours to write the report clearly, so I don’t have to look for you later."

While talking, he took out his phone, clicked on it a couple of times and put it on the table.

Li Jing instinctively looked down when he saw this.

Then, a transfer interface came into his sight.

The recipient was him.

The amount was fifty million!

At the moment, the transfer wasn’t completed, it was just in the filling in interface, the password still needed to be entered.

Just as Li Jing had cleared his view of the status on the phone screen, Chen Jing’s nonchalant voice sounded.

"Cheer up, you’re only one step away from the fifty million reward I promised. Once the report is completed, the reward will be transferred."

"..."

Li Jing.

City dwellers really are cunning.

Chen Jing’s move was extremely tricky.

It made him dare not have the slightest intention of taking things lightly.

Taking a deep breath, Li Jing didn’t say a word, and his hands touched the keyboard.

Seeing that the young man finally regained his spirit because of the reward, Chen Jing revealed a satisfied smile. He left his phone next to Li Jing, took a seat on the sofa, crossed his legs leisurely, and took out a tablet to kill time.

...

Two hours passed in a flash.

Li Jing was sitting in front of the computer, his head aching.

Typing was really hard.

Not to mention typing word by word, there were often situations where you knew what to say but didn’t know how to write it.

Brain cells were dying off in droves.

Chen Jing saw Li Jing sitting there with a worried look on his face, but he didn’t rush him.

Li Qi and other patrollers were very punctual.

As soon as half an hour had elapsed as Chen Jing had instructed, the reports of the eight people had been uploaded to the patrol system.

Chen Jing had read all eight reports.

Besides Li Qi’s report, which mentioned that Li Jing had found a suspicious invisible object at the scene, the other people’s reports were pretty much the same, nothing particular.

The whole incident was entirely led by Li Jing alone.

Only he knew about the inside story.

Under these circumstances, Chen Jing naturally couldn’t rush Li Jing.

After all, Li Jing was just an amateur.

Unlike Li Qi and others who were experienced patrollers and had long been accustomed to how to articulate their thoughts in the most concise manner.

If they wanted to clarify the matter and handle the Management Bureau and Research Institute, they could only wait patiently.

While patiently waiting, Chen Jing couldn’t help but take a secret glance at Li Jing, who was sitting there scratching his head and cheeks from time to time.

There was no doubt about Li Jing’s ability to handle cases.

The young man had an active mind, which Chen Jing greatly appreciated.

His decision to involve Li Jing in the secret investigation was a spur-of-the-moment idea.

He was surprised at how swiftly the issue was resolved in just four hours.

This matter was not merely about solving a crime; it had a direct impact on whether or not the Management Bureau could continue its exploration of the secret realm.

The entrance to the Big Secret Realm usually wouldn’t last more than fifteen days.

The entrance channel to a Small Secret Realm was relatively less stable, typically lasting seven to eight days.

The longer the Management Bureau stayed bound to its headquarters, the less favourable the situation.

Resource collection was secondary.

If they couldn’t recuperate after being tricked by an unknown civilization within the secret realm, they would not only fail to save face but also dampen the morale of the future Disaster Management Bureau’s secret realm exploration team.

The impact would be far-reaching.

And it was not just the Small Secret Realm in Jianghai City.

For the staff of the Management Bureau, death was not frightening.

It was just part of their job.

But if people died meaningless deaths without even understanding what had happened, who would be willing to stay in the Management Bureau?

Because Li Jing was simply decisive in resolving the problem, one could say that his North City Patrol Branch had done a big favor for all the management bureaus nationwide.

Chen Jing was very satisfied with this.

He was currently considering whether or not to initiate some "ideological work" with Li Jing.

He wasn’t worried about retaining people.

His family was rich if nothing else.

Li Jing, if he wanted to be a patrol inspector, would definitely apply for the North City Patrol Branch which Chen Jing was in charge of.

The real concern for Chen Jing was...

Li Jing and Chen Yuran have shown no signs of romantic involvement whatsoever.

This was a real problem!

But considering his daughter’s obstinate nature, Chen Jing could only feel a sense of dull pain in his head.

While he was ruminating, Li Jing paused to catch his breath before raising his head from the computer screen.

"Uncle, I’ve finished writing the report."

"Hmm?"

Chen Jing composed himself and stood up, walking over to his office desk.

He placed his hand on the mouse and, ignoring Li Jing’s instinctual attempt to stand up, studied the lengthy action report.

"Why didn’t you include the reason why you initially suspected Liu Yushan in the report?"

"It involves my personal privacy."

Li Jing immediately responded, and then added,

"It also involves a collaborator who is a bit special. It’s not convenient to mention her in the report."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jing frowned, but remained silent and nodded.

A patrol inspector’s action report must be detailed.

But there were exceptions when it came to items relating to an inspector’s personal privacy and sensitive information about collaborators.

The Patrol Branch was progressive in these matters.

As long as the criminals were caught and the evidence was definitive, it was acceptable for sensitive information to be withheld.

Li Jing had learned about the relevant rules while preparing for his own patrol inspector exam recently.

As a result, he felt it was better to explain things directly.

Getting Chen Jing’s approval, he breathed a bit easier.

It didn’t matter much to him personally.

In the report, he couldn’t mention that the crucial information came from Su Qiong, at most he could write that they worked together to discover the thousands of Parasite Insects hidden underground at the base.

After finishing up the action report, Li Jing glanced at Chen Jing’s phone on the desk, hesitating to speak.

Seeing this, Chen Jing let out a small smirk, picked up his phone, and clicked a couple of buttons.

Soon after, someone’s pocket started to vibrate.

Upon feeling the vibration, Li Jing instantly knew that his fifty million reward had arrived.

Resisting the urge to check his balance on the spot, Li Jing looked up and asked with a shy smile,

"Uncle, it’s getting late. Can I..."

"Go ahead."

Chen Jing waved his hand dismissively and said,

"I need to communicate with the Management Bureau and the Research Institute now and won’t have time for you. If there’s any follow-up, I’ll notify you separately."

"Alright."

Li Jing eagerly got up.

Just as he was about to leave, Chen Jing spoke up.

"For now, you should stop doing other things. I’ll speak with the Assistant Inspector Department to keep your job open. You do not need to go to work for now. Concentrate on preparing for the patrol inspector exam, and transfer directly into the patrol system. I want to see your employment information within a week."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing’s eyes lit up.

He had intended to strive to take the patrol inspector exam within a week.

The only reason he was still going to work in the Assistant Inspector Department on a regular basis was to ensure he would immediately transfer into the patrol system after finishing the exam.

Chen Jing’s words made his life much easier.

At least, he no longer had to go to work.

Running away single-handedly felt somewhat unfair to Lu Yangcheng and Yi Xiuzhu.

But since it was Chen Jing who arranged this, what else could be said, right?

"Understood, Uncle, I will apply for the Patrol as soon as I can."

...

It was close to three in the morning.

Li Jing had just returned to the villa using Sky Control.

So as not to disturb Chen Yuran who had already gone to sleep, Li Jing quietly pushed open the front door. Noticing the movement, Stinky Tofu lifted his head from his doghouse. Li Jing gestured for him to be quiet and went silently back to his guest room.

After collapsing onto the bed, Li Jing rubbed his slightly aching brows.

This evening had been quite hectic.

Especially that report, which made him feel unusually upset.

Writing reports was really hard.

Exhaling a breath of pent-up frustration, Li Jing started to think.

He could simply send a message to Lu Yangcheng and Yi Xiuzhu the next day.

But what about Liu Sisi...

That was a bit awkward.

Earlier in the night, he had sent Liu Sisi a message saying he would be busy for about three days.

But who knew after encountering Su Qiong, he would have immediately found a lead.

In just a few hours, the matter was settled.

What should he do?

Pretend he was busy and disappear for three days?

No way!

He had just begun to enjoy the Spirit Chicken from the worker’s meal he craved so much.

He had to mooch more of those worker’s meals!

Or...

He could go to the Chicken Shop tomorrow night and give Liu Sisi a surprise?

Yes!

He happily decided on this plan.

Once he had a plan in mind, Li Jing summoned his panel.

Host: Li Jing

Experience Points: 3361/4848

Level: 20

Skill Points: 2

Spiritual Power Intensity: 420

Equipment: Qingfeng (Precious Item Level 8: 2%)

Passive Skills: Momentary Space, Clothing Protection Spirit (5/5), Vanishing Skill (5/5), Spirit Control Skill (5/5), Returning to Origin Skill (4/5)

Active Skills: Palm Thunder (5/5), Spirit Strike (5/5), Sky Sword Tactics (5/5), Nine Heavens God Thunder (4/5)

It has to be said.

This wave of experience from Liu Yushan was indeed powerful.

5961, more than any previous experience Li Jing had gained.

Upon examining the panel data, Li Jing let out a sigh.

With the increasing level, the span of experience points became larger and larger.

The way the threshold changed was still a random increase.

But the previously erratic hurdle growth span had unknowingly become a steady increase.

Looking at the upgrade threshold as high as 4848, Li Jing inexplicably felt that he had passed the "novice period".

Glancing at the nourishment progress of Qingfeng in the equipment column, Li Jing sighed again.

With the continuous growth of spiritual power intensity, the efficiency of nourishment was also improving.

In just over half the night, the progress of Qingfeng, which was on the verge of being upgraded in quality, had reached 2% again.

If this rate is calculated, can it have about 5% in a day?

That is to say, in another 20 days, Qingfeng could be upgraded again in quality.

The increase in the efficiency of nourishment was undoubtedly a good thing.

The problem is that at this rate, Qingfeng would likely become a Level 1 Spirit Weapon in less than two months.

By then, it would truly have to be heavily invested in.

Gathering his thoughts, Li Jing took out the Small Obstacle.

The two skill points he obtained from leveling up, he temporarily did not intend to use them to max out the Returning to Origin Skill and the Nine Heavens God Thunder.

He’d encountered invisible beings twice already—if it wasn’t for the health bar, he would have missed them.

The Eye Technique must be arranged!