That same day.

In less than half an hour, Lu Chao completed all the onboarding procedures.

Even as he walked out the main gate of the Patrol Department, with a gentle breeze brushing against him, he still felt a bit dazed.

According to Yang Wangtao’s instructions, someone else would handle severing his ties with the cleaning crew and the labor company. All he needed to do was report for duty tomorrow at nine in the morning.

He glanced down.

In his right hand, he carried a garment bag containing two neatly folded, brand-new patrol uniforms.

The dark blue fabric, the crisp shoulder lines, the metal insignia... all were faintly visible inside the bag.

In his palm was also a special, palm-sized ID card.

It had a blue leather cover, with the two silver words ’Patrol ID’ standing out prominently.

He opened it to find a smooth, stiff card inside, bearing a recently taken ID photo of him.

A neat buzz cut, sharp and well-defined features.

Staring at the picture of himself, Lu Chao’s expression was complex. His gaze shifted slightly downward.

[Level Three Patrolman: Lu Chao]

’From this moment on, I’m a patrolman?’

As he finally came to his senses, Lu Chao found that he was surprisingly calm.

’Perhaps it’s because this is just a Level Three position, a temporary rank.’

’Or perhaps it’s because my goals have quietly expanded, no longer limited to just this.’

He thought silently, then closed the ID and slipped it into his pocket.

BUZZ BUZZ!

Just then, the watch on his wrist vibrated softly, indicating a new message.

Lu Chao subconsciously tapped it open and read the contents.

[#Cleaning Crew Group#]

[Leader Cui: @All Members, there’s been an explosion on Seventh Street. Six bodies total. The Patrol Department has already completed its on-site investigation! Everyone, assemble before 2 PM!]

As soon as the message was sent, a series of "Roger" replies popped up one after another.

Lu Chao stared silently for two seconds, his gaze sweeping over the avatars of his colleagues. It was as if he could see scenes from the past playing out—being ordered around in the streets and alleys, silently enduring the stench and gore.

His expression flickered as he glanced at Fatty Cui’s username and avatar.

Finally, his eyes grew calm, and Lu Chao let out a soft laugh.

...

In October, autumn quietly settled over Ring City.

A biting autumn wind swept through, and the leaves of the gingko trees lining the roads rustled as they fell.

Cars kicked up wakes of dry leaves, children played and laughed on the green lawns, and kites flew high over the concrete plaza.

Everything should have been normal, same as always.

But in the Iron Ring District, two major events occurred during this transition from summer to autumn.

The Patrol Department issued a rare city-wide arrest warrant, drawing a great deal of attention.

There were four wanted criminals in total, all of them Professional-level experts at minimum.

Detailed information on their strength, physical characteristics, and clear facial photos were all released with the warrant.

This news was like a giant boulder dropped into a calm lake, creating a thousand ripples. It caused widespread panic, but at the same time, the high bounty amounts attracted the attention of many.

In addition to that, there was the second event: the minor martial arts tournament, held as scheduled. It was led by several large martial arts halls, including Thunder Extreme, Gale, and Crimson Fire, with over a dozen small and medium-sized boxing halls participating.

Various Martial Arts schools exchanged techniques and sparred. Several talented disciples displayed exquisite skills and were featured in newspaper headlines, attracting the attention of some companies who began extending olive branches.

And among them, the previously unknown Jinshi Boxing Hall emerged as a dark horse, making a name for itself overnight.

"Did you hear? Senior Brother Shen was the star of the show at the tournament the other day."

"That’s right! He even defeated a disciple from the Thunder Extreme Martial Arts Hall."

"I heard the Biotechnology Company is planning to sponsor Senior Brother Shen..."

Excited discussions broke out one after another inside the boxing hall.

Many disciples instinctively turned their gazes toward the center of the ring, where the upright figure of Shen Tianchen was sparring with Lin Qingxue in a lively back-and-forth.

With every move, a powerful gust of wind was generated. The vigorous aura from his Life Energy, which exceeded thirty points, radiated outward, causing the other Fighting Level senior brothers to lower their heads in shame.

"Senior Brother Lu, is it true that Senior Brother Shen put on an incredible display of power that day and defeated two disciples from the Thunder Extreme Martial Arts Hall in a row?"

Li Dong, who had just finished his stance training, was breathing heavily. Even so, he wiped away his sweat and hurried over to Lu Chao’s side, asking curiously.

Most of the disciples hadn’t gone to the tournament that day because they were all busy training, hoping to break through to the Fighting Level sooner.

"Yeah." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Standing by the rest bench, Lu Chao picked up his sports bottle, took a sip of water, and nodded slightly, offering a brief confirmation.

He had gone to watch the matches that day and had truly witnessed the combat techniques of various Martial Arts schools. It had been an eye-opening experience.

He had also personally witnessed Shen Tianchen challenge the Thunder Extreme Martial Arts Hall and defeat two of their disciples in a row, causing them to lose a great deal of face.

"That’s incredible."

Li Dong’s face was filled with awe at his words, his eyes shining with envy and admiration.

Lu Chao wiped his sweat with a towel and didn’t reply, his gaze simply sweeping over the crowded training area.

Ever since Shen Tianchen made a name for himself at the tournament, the Jinshi Boxing Hall’s reputation had soared along with his, and many new faces had appeared.

Not only had the number of regular students doubled, but the number of official disciples in the training building had also increased significantly.

Furthermore, several Fighting Level men and women with extraordinary auras and sophisticated attire, clearly from the inner city circle, had also taken the initiative to join the hall and often sparred with Shen Tianchen.

Lu Chao watched all of this quietly, his expression as calm as ever.

Without joining in the excited discussions, he looked at his panel, a faint glimmer of light flashing in his eyes.

[Life Energy: 24→25!]

[Potential Progress: 20%]

’Finally, another increase.’

Looking at the data on the panel, Lu Chao nodded to himself.

In one month, he had increased his Life Energy by a full five points, a pace not much slower than when he was at the Fighting Level.

’This was partly due to my two innate talents, and partly supported by a massive expenditure of resources.’

Some of it came from Brother Hao’s support, some was from his Patrol Department salary, and there was also the three or four thousand yuan he’d taken from the masked man that day.

After paying a deposit on a new place, he had converted most of his money to purchase two basic Life Potions, which he consumed at the same time.

On top of that, there was the slow nourishment from dozens of kilograms of Exotic Beast Meat.

’Potions are still the most effective.’

’The effect of ordinary Exotic Beast Meat is too slow. It’s barely more than filling my stomach and requires a long, grinding effort to accumulate any real benefit.’

A thought surfaced in his mind. Lu Chao knew very well that this rate of improvement was not his limit.

With [Plunder Growth], he could improve much faster, but unfortunately, the money in his pocket could only support him this far.

’If only another windfall would come my way.’

A strange light flickered in his eyes as Lu Chao subconsciously thought of the Rock Gang and the masked man.

Both sudden encounters had brought him considerable gains, but things had been calm and peaceful recently, with no further surprises.

TAP, TAP!

As he was pondering, approaching footsteps interrupted his thoughts.

Zheng Wu, dressed in a white training uniform, walked over slowly, accompanied by a short-haired girl who looked to be around twenty.

She was tall with an oval face.

Her hair was a meticulously styled chestnut color, and the collar of her white training uniform was trimmed with a silver cloud pattern, exuding an air of understated elegance.

"Junior Brother Lu, this is a new junior sister, Fang Jingyi..."

Zheng Wu took the initiative to introduce her, explaining that she was also a fighter and had completed the paperwork to join the hall today.

Lu Chao wasn’t surprised. The hall’s recent fame had indeed attracted many new people.

"Junior Sister Fang."

He nodded slightly, greeting her in a calm tone.

Based on his experience these past few days and her attire, he guessed that she was probably another rich young lady from the inner city circle.

"So you’re Senior Brother Lu."

However, unlike his calm demeanor,

Fang Jingyi seemed somewhat surprised. Her slender brows twitched as she looked him up and down with a hint of inquiry.

"Junior Sister Fang, you know Junior Brother Lu?"

Zheng Wu picked up on her tone and asked curiously. Lu Chao was also a little puzzled.

Facing their gazes,

"No, I didn’t know Senior Brother Lu before this."

Unexpectedly, Fang Jingyi just chuckled softly.

As if speaking casually, she stared at Lu Chao and said in a teasing tone, "I’ve just heard Senior Brother Shen and Senior Sister Lin mention you."

"Breaking through to the Fighting Level in three months... how interesting. Hehe, that’s considered rare, even in the inner city circle."