Chapter 8

"Here."

As he spoke, a steaming hot drink was tossed into the police car.

"Thanks, but it's black tea? I wanted coffee."

Feeling the warm black tea, Lu Ping'an grumbled a bit.

It wasn't that he was really dissatisfied with the free drink; it was already good to have a hot drink from a vending machine at this time.

But he should have been sleeping soundly in a warm bed, not sitting in a police car on the street, which made him a bit annoyed.

Xia Qin smiled and didn't say much more. She had spontaneously decided to take him out on patrol.

"Hang in there, it's almost dawn. I'll treat you to breakfast later."

"Don't try to tempt me with breakfast; I'm not a kid."

"Sure, sure, a sixteen-year-old who isn't a kid. Do you want your big sister to order you a kids' meal at KFC?"

Lu Ping'an felt a bit helpless. Although being young was a good thing, the other party seemed to really treat him like a precocious little brat, which was quite frustrating.

"How do you feel about your first night on duty?"

"It's quite subtle. It seems pretty boring, and I can't really help much. I can only watch from behind."

"Actually, over 90% of the nights are like this. Our job isn't to defeat some evil overlord but to prevent potential disasters before they happen..."

Lu Ping'an rolled his eyes and didn't say much more. He had already seen through everything and didn't bother to explain.

Wanting to recruit him? Wanting to give him a political lesson? He didn't even know if he would still be around in six months, so what was the point?

But the reason he was willing to waste his precious all-night gaming time to patrol with her was because of her promise.

"Alright, alright, little brother Lu Ping'an. If you want me to write you a recommendation letter and get you some internship credits, you really need to intern for a few nights to understand the workflow of a grassroots guardian. Otherwise, if you say you've interned with a guardian and the examiner asks you a detail, you'll be in trouble."

This was the reason. Becoming a "First-Class Guardian" and having internship experience were both bonus points for the special college entrance exam.

"By the way, you're giving me three thousand for one night. Are professional guardians really that well-paid?"

"Not exactly. You know we only have three people on duty in our team. The higher-ups give us money to hire temporary helpers... Okay, I know you don't want to hear this. Professional guardians are well-paid, with an average salary ten times higher than ordinary people."

This was the main reason Lu Ping'an was forced to comply. He was very short of money, very short.

"760,000? Gulp, kill me."

Thinking of the bill he had just received, Lu Ping'an had no choice but to comply.

He had found the biggest similarity between the two worlds: extremely expensive medical bills.

"Don't joke, your life isn't worth that much."

Although he had assured his parents back home over the phone last night that he could handle all the family's debts,

he really couldn't handle it in the short term.

"Didn't you say that high-interest loans and such could be handled by the relevant authorities?"

High-risk targets, on the other side of being monitored by the relevant authorities, also had someone helping them avoid overly troublesome situations.

A super "unexploded bomb" that wasn't tempted by an evil god and didn't have the ability to lose control, being messed up by bullies or high-interest loans, would really make one want to cry.

"Our logistics and accounting departments are professional. You also required that your parents' house be saved. 760,000 is the result after squeezing out all the unnecessary stuff. It would have been over three million... Now it's like a mortgage, 6,000 a month for 20 years, which is the best solution. If you get your license and work hard, you can pay it off in three to four years."

It was 1998, and a few hundred thousand was not a small amount. A city apartment would cost more.

Lu Ping'an sighed helplessly. Other穿越者 (time travelers) survived great dangers and awakened with special abilities, becoming invincible.

He, on the other hand, had a huge debt right from the start, which was really unfortunate.

But Lu Ping'an also knew this was the best solution at the moment.

It was equivalent to the "official" side stepping in to clear and buy out his messy debts, and he only needed to pay the legal and minimum part.

The downside was that he now owed money to the "officials," and there was no way to avoid it.

"Can it be a 40-year loan? 60 years would be even better."

But 6,000 a month was still too much. The average salary in the ancient city was less than 2,000, and a regular job couldn't pay off the debt.

"......Don't be too greedy. Do you think this is buying a house? This is already the best solution I've managed to get for you."

Xia Qin was both amused and annoyed. Did this guy really think it was easy for the abnormal management bureau to step in and forcibly buy out his debts? You really owe money, and other people's money is real.

She had spent two and a half days running around, contacting several departments, beating up a few scoundrels, and owing favors.

"Tsk, no imagination. You haven't seen real super mortgages, where a family has to pay for 200 years..."

While saying things no one could understand, Lu Ping'an actually remembered this favor.

With his experience from two lifetimes, he knew that rules are dead, but people are alive. Xia Qin could have handled it strictly and left this mess to him.

"Once you enter the Ancient City Great Secret Academy, you become a probationary guardian, with subsidies and relocation fees. The first two years will be enough to pay off the mortgage. If you want to pay off your debts quickly, you can take the professional qualification exam in your first year and start taking commissions, though it's a bit difficult."

As she explained the "arrangements" she had made for him, she closed the car door, turned on the police car's radio, and headed to the next task.

She indeed planned to get Lu Ping'an on the road as soon as possible, but due to the recent shortage of personnel, the workload was heavy, and overtime had become the norm.

So, she decided to take him out, to help him catch up and observe him closely.

No matter how much experience and book knowledge, nothing beats real combat. No matter how eloquent the words, nothing beats being comrades-in-arms.

The reason was straightforward: the Ancient City Great Secret Academy's exams always included a practical component.

Although Lu Ping'an's current level was far from passing... seeing how much he could improve in these short twenty days, and how much he could transform from an ordinary person, was what Xia Qin truly expected.

She knew Lu Ping'an was pretending and hiding things, and Lu Ping'an knew she knew.

Both, not very familiar with each other, were in a period of adjustment, maintaining a certain distance as a form of friendliness.

"You're still too young. If I don't push you, how can I see what you're really hiding?"

Thus, while driving, Ms. Xia laughed triumphantly.

But to be honest, after this night, Lu Ping'an had a clearer understanding of his so-called guardian career.

The special operations teams under the Abnormal Management Bureau were not like the superheroes he had imagined but more like an upgraded version of the special police.

There were too many abnormalities in this world, and ordinary public security incidents made it impractical for these special teams to patrol like beat cops.

Most of the time, ordinary police officers carried out their duties while carrying specialized pollution detection equipment.

If they encountered something they couldn't handle, officially, "Level 2 or higher pollution incidents,"

they could contact the on-duty special operations team for professional handling and suppression.

But due to the incident a few days ago, three of the seven special operations teams in Zion District were almost dissolved, leaving a severe shortage of personnel.

With fewer people, the radio in the car kept ringing every so often.

Not all pollution incidents reached the level of a secret realm. According to Xia Qin, a secret realm was at least a Level 4 pollution incident, which they might not encounter for months.

And a secret realm involving a quasi-deity was a top-level pollution incident, which she had only experienced once.

Her daily routine mostly involved handling Level 1 "polluted individuals" and Level 2 "polluted entities," preventing pollution incidents from escalating.

To put it bluntly, in one night, she took over three pollution items from the police, broke up a gang involving a person with abilities, handled two ability-related robberies, and helped the police with several seemingly "ordinary" public security incidents.

In any era, people who had just awakened to supernatural powers often became overconfident, and swift and decisive punishment was necessary and effective.

"From the north of the city to the south, she's a real tough woman, all talents focused on combat, facing dozens of gunmen and knife-wielders to dismantle a gang headquarters..."

Lu Ping'an knew where his combat and handgun experience came from. She had taken down dozens of unlucky guys in one night.

And the most outrageous thing was that she said today was relatively light.

"Damn, this world seems a bit unstable..."

On the way, Lu Ping'an also saw the real combat style of professionals.

One person, two fists, a handgun, and a pair of long legs, sweeping everything away.

The ability users she faced used various abilities, but they were all simply and directly taken down.

Quick movements, instant decisive handling, and then a close-range strike or a shot, solving the problem.

"From start to finish, she didn't use any spells (supernatural abilities)... but she should be a sword user, right? That's her main path."

This was what puzzled Lu Ping'an the most. Xia Qin had two weapons: a deep red custom handgun and a blue-green sword cane.

From what Lu Ping'an knew, Xia Qin followed both the swordmaster and fighter paths, with the swordmaster path reaching Level 2... but she never drew her sword throughout the night!

No, considering the feedback experience he had received, she hadn't used her sword for a week.

At this moment, Lu Ping'an realized that the supernatural world was not as simple as he had imagined.

Guardians of the same level seemed to have significant differences. At least, the Level 2 wild ability user he saw was directly taken down by Xia Qin, a Level 2 official.

Seeing such a fierce team leader, Lu Ping'an understood why she had the confidence to use the money for hiring helpers to "subsidize" him.

Suddenly, Xia Qin frowned and picked up the radio.

"Patrol car 116, Patrol car 117, Patrol car 200, please respond. You haven't checked in for three hours."

But the radio only produced static.

Something was wrong.

Xia Qin immediately turned on the police lights and the positioning system.

Upon arriving, Lu Ping'an sucked in a cold breath.

It was already 6:30 in the morning, and the dawn light made his heart chill.

The windows of three police cars were wide open, but inside were only large patches of red.

The red covered the ground at the intersection.

And their owners were pieced together to form a "traffic light" in the middle of the road.

Xia Qin's face turned grim as she stared at the blood-painted graffiti on the ground.

Under the "traffic light," a blood-red graffiti figure, a faceless figure with a "?" mask, was spreading its arms, as if saying something.

"......Sophist."

The whisper was full of anger, and the calm hand holding the cane cracked.

Lu Ping'an had never seen Xia Qin so angry, but at that moment, an unexpected voice sounded in his ear.

"Lu Ping'an, we need to talk."

The big cat?

At this moment, Lu Ping'an noticed that the "blood meat statue" pieced together was familiar.

It wasn't a random "sculpture" but had roots, branches, and "components" forming leaves.

In that deadly secret realm, he had seen this, only it was made of the living dead of guardians, more upscale.

"......Tree of Life? Mother Goddess?"

So, was it Kris's trouble that had come?

"Lu Ping'an, don't you want to know which path is most suitable for you? I can tell you."