Chapter 17: Policy

The morning sun shone on Chen Ling's face. His eyelashes fluttered as he slowly opened his eyes.

"I'm back..." He rubbed the corners of his eyes and let out a long sigh.

After drawing the prize, he wandered on the stage for a long time but still couldn't find any exit. It wasn't until the stage bell rang and the curtain opened that he automatically returned.

"Current Expectation Value: 23... Close to the death line again." Chen Ling recalled the characters on the screen before he left, muttering to himself, "I need to do something quickly..."

"Brother..."

The covers were pulled back, and Chen Yan rubbed his reddened eyes and sat up in bed. "Morning."

"Morning." Chen Ling glanced at the clock on the wall, took out his last few copper coins from his pocket, and handed them to Chen Yan. "I'm going out for a while. I don't know when I'll be back, so you'll have to get something to eat yourself today..."

"Brother, where are you going?"

"To catch myself."

Chen Ling put on a cotton overcoat, tucked the envelope the Enforcer gave him yesterday into his chest pocket, then turned and ruffled Chen Yan's hair. "Don't ask too many questions about the details. Just wait patiently for me at home, okay?"

"Understood." Chen Yan nodded obediently.

After watching Chen Ling leave, Chen Yan got out of bed and looked at the two large holes in their doorway. His brows immediately furrowed.

"How am I supposed to fix this..."

He glanced at the few copper coins left in his hand, quietly put them away, then took out a clumsy hammer and wooden planks from inside the house and started comparing their sizes.

Just then, a figure appeared behind the large hole, startling Chen Yan.

It was a man wearing a wool overcoat, a dark blue scarf wrapped around his neck, and a pair of silver-rimmed glasses on his nose. He looked refined and intelligent.

But at that moment, as he looked at the house with only two large holes remaining in front of him, a look of bewilderment appeared in his intelligent eyes.

He wanted to say something, but felt it would be impolite. So he tried to knock on the door, but after circling the house, he couldn't find where the door was.

He returned to the hole and looked inside.

"Can I help you?" Chen Yan tilted his head.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Chen Ling here?"

Hearing his brother's name, a hint of wariness flashed in Chen Yan's eyes. He scrutinized the man for a few moments, then asked again, "Can I help you?"

The man took off his white gloves and pulled out a letter from his overcoat pocket. He unfolded the letter, held it in his hand, and calmly spoke into the house:

"I heard that Mr. Chen needs a doctor."

"So, I'm here."

A biting wind blew into his collar, making Chen Ling shiver uncontrollably.

"Young man, where are you headed? Can I give you a ride?" A lean, dark-skinned man pulling a rickshaw hurried to Chen Ling's side, grinning to reveal a row of yellow teeth.

Chen Ling glanced at him. "The Enforcer Headquarters."

"Oh, I know that place well. I just dropped off two others. You're all going to be reserve candidates, right? Tell you what, since we've met, I'll charge you seven pieces instead of ten. Interested?"

"...Never mind."

"Six, six pieces, no less."

"I don't have any money on me."

"No money?" The man frowned, glanced at him a few times, and muttering, walked away with his rickshaw. "No money, wanting to be an Enforcer... Bad luck."

Chen Ling: ...?

Chen Ling thought to himself how rude people in this world were. He rubbed his reddened hands, and couldn't help but quicken his pace towards the center of District Three.

Until last night, Chen Ling had been pondering how to prevent the Enforcers from noticing any clues and investigating him again... Now, he had an answer.

That was: to become an Enforcer.

Become an Enforcer, participate in all actions investigating disasters, then interfere with them so they can never pinpoint him.

"I become, I participate, I disrupt, I flee."

This was Chen Ling's current strategy.

Chen Ling walked through several streets, and finally stopped in front of a colossal building that resembled a glazed dome.

"How magnificent..." Chen Ling gazed up at the dome, sighing with awe. "How much funding must that have consumed?"

In a district filled with two-story mud-brick houses, the appearance of such a unique building was as conspicuous and out of place as an art museum suddenly erected in a rural village in his previous life.

At that moment, several other young people, holding letters, hurried towards the headquarters. They exchanged glances, offering polite smiles and nods.

Approximately seventy people in District Three passed the written examination. Generally, the elimination rate for the martial arts test is 50%, so only about thirty people become Enforcers each year. Although this year's martial arts test has changed form, the final elimination rate will remain the same.

In short, everyone entering this building right now was a potential competitor.

Chen Ling entered the headquarters building. Beneath the glazed dome, several rows of people were already standing neatly.

Like Chen Ling, these people were dressed in ordinary civilian clothes. Standing in rows of ten, each person held their head high, chest out, every muscle in their body taut. They looked like warriors constantly awaiting a summons.

Chen Ling was quite late, so he could only stand at the edge of the last row. After he took his place, an Enforcer scanned a list and nodded slightly.

"Everyone is present."

Another Enforcer picked up a prepared speech and was about to begin when the headquarters' main doors were forcefully pushed open, and two figures slowly walked in.

Han Meng tossed his finished cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it with his foot. The four silver markings on his black trench coat gleamed. He calmly swept his gaze over all the reserve candidates, and an inexplicable sense of pressure instantly enveloped everyone present...

Except for Chen Ling.

Chen Ling raised an eyebrow in surprise, his gaze unconsciously falling on the back of Han Meng's head...

He hit him so hard yesterday, and he's already healed today?

Is this guy's head that tough?

"It's Han Meng!"

"It's really him... He's here too?"

"Who's Han Meng?"

"He's the Chief Enforcer of our District Three, and the only four-mark Enforcer in the district."

"They say he's a super genius; he was promoted to four-mark at 24. He even outclassed all the Enforcers of his generation in Aurora City... He's the pride of our seven districts!"

"Outclassing Enforcers of his generation in Aurora City? Really? If he's that incredible, why wasn't he recruited into Aurora City?"

"I don't know... They say he had a conflict with a powerful figure in Aurora City."

"I heard he's a great fighter. My mom really likes him."

"...How old is your mom?"

"Almost fifty, I think."

With Han Meng's appearance, the reserve candidates immediately began to whisper among themselves. Even the numerous Enforcers standing nearby unconsciously straightened their backs, their expressions serious and solemn.

Han Meng stood still beneath the dome, when he suddenly felt a chill at the back of his head, as if someone was scrutinizing his weak spot...

He instinctively looked back, and saw a group of reserve candidates secretly watching him.

After their gazes met Han Meng's, all the reserve candidates lowered their heads, daring not to speak further. The entire headquarters fell silent.

"My name is Han Meng, and I am currently the highest-ranking officer in District Three." Han Meng adjusted his demeanor and spoke slowly. "For the next three days, you will undergo your martial arts assessment. Of these 72 individuals, only 30 will ultimately remain..."

30 people... That's even lower than the expected pass rate. Chen Ling mused.

This ratio also surprised the other reserve candidates. They couldn't help but exchange confused glances and resumed whispering.

"However, among these 30 individuals, three will gain early qualification to enter the 'Ancient Military Archive'..."

At Han Meng's words, the entire headquarters erupted in an uproar. Even the Enforcers standing by widened their eyes.

Chen Ling didn't understand.

Among the many reserve candidates present, more than half didn't understand either.

Seeing this, Han Meng unhurriedly began to explain: "Do you know the difference between an Enforcer and an Enforcer Officer?"