Chapter 3

Overtime is impossible.

In his previous life, Luke spent most of his life staying up late and working overtime.

As a child, he stayed up late to do homework, and after starting work, overtime became the norm.

Enough.

Really enough.

Living so seriously, diligently, and hard, he ended up with a bunch of occupational diseases and met God before he was forty.

In this life, he wanted to live more easily.

...

Luke's parents lived in the Ino community.

On the east side of the community, there was a small commercial square, not very large, but it had a supermarket, convenience store, fast-food restaurant, and gas station.

Luke didn't want to stay at the police station, nor did he want to go back to his parents' house too early.

He just wanted to find a place to stay quietly, that's all.

Luke parked his motorcycle in front of a milk tea shop.

It was the first time Luke had milk tea in Los Angeles, and the staff recommended bubble milk tea to him.

"Awesome."

Luke was very interested, but when he got the milk tea, he found it was just large pearl milk tea.

"Fuck!"

Luke felt cheated.

He found a seat by the window, took a sip of the milk tea, and found it unbearably sweet, even worse than the milk tea back home.

Then, he started to daydream.

This was what Luke enjoyed most after his穿越 (穿越 means "穿越" in Chinese, which can be translated as "transmigration" or "reincarnation").

He still couldn't figure out why he had transmigrated to Los Angeles.

When he first transmigrated, Luke felt a sense of being torn apart and desperately wanted to contact his friends and family back home.

But due to his professional sensitivity, Luke knew he couldn't do that. He tried hard to control this strong desire and learned about the situation in China through other channels.

This was a parallel world. Although it was also 2022, there had been no pandemic here, and he couldn't go back.

He tried to accept his new identity, but adapting to life abroad was not as easy as he had imagined.

Before he knew it, half a month had passed...

"Buzz..."

Suddenly, a voice echoed in Luke's mind: "Host matched successfully, Detective System activated... Initial reward: one 'Encounter Card'."

"What the hell is this?"

Luke thought he was hallucinating, but then a menu appeared in his mind, with a warehouse interface on the left.

Luke rubbed his head, took a big sip of milk tea, but the interface in his mind still existed.

Luke quickly calmed down. Although it was unbelievable, compared to transmigration, it was nothing.

He ruled out the possibility of mental issues.

Luke's primary concern was whether this so-called "Detective System" would harm him.

After examining himself, he found no abnormalities or discomfort, and he didn't detect any harm from the "Detective System."

Next, he needed to figure out what the "Detective System" could do.

In the warehouse interface, there was a card labeled "Encounter," with a small note below: "Passive card, function unknown."

Luke thought in his mind, "System, what does this card do?"

No response.

He asked several times, but still no response.

He could only interpret it literally—passively triggering some kind of encounter.

It sounded good, but he wondered if it could help him make some money.

Suddenly, his professional instincts kicked in.

He felt like he was being "spied on."

Luke came to his senses, scanned the surroundings, but there were few customers in the shop, and he saw no suspicious figures outside the window.

"Am I just being paranoid..."

Having a system suddenly appeared, it was natural to be a bit worried.

Luke calmed down. The system was intangible, and as long as he didn't do anything stupid, no one would notice.

He was just a poor guy in Los Angeles, with nothing worth spying on except his good looks.

As for the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, it technically belonged to the bank.

The original owner bought it on loan for $20,000, with a down payment of $4,000 and a loan of $16,000, with an annual interest of $600.

Luke had to pay $1,400 per month.

Luke's current salary as a third-level officer was around $6,500.

In theory, Luke's income was not low, and after paying off the motorcycle loan, he should have $5,000 left.

But the original owner had no savings and owed a lot of credit card debt. A few days ago, after Luke received his salary and paid off the credit card and car loan, he only had $300 left.

Luke now just wanted to earn money to rent a place.

He didn't want to live a life of dependence anymore.

After work, lying on his own sofa, watching TV, drinking beer, and eating fried chicken—that was life.

Now, he could only live that life in his dreams.

He hoped this card would bring him good luck.

...

Thursday morning, 8:58 AM.

Luke hummed a tune as he walked into the "Robbery-Homicide Division."

With the system, he was in a good mood.

A bald white man, David, looked over, and Luke gave him the middle finger without waiting for him to speak.

David didn't get angry, "Congratulations, you won."

"What do you mean?" Luke was on guard. Was the "Detective System" exposed?

Impossible.

How could something intangible be discovered?

David pointed to the captain's office, "Queen Susan wants to see you."

"Childish trick, I'm not stupid enough to walk into a trap." Luke felt a bit relieved but also had a bad feeling.

"I've passed the message." David shrugged, indifferent, "Good luck."

...

A few minutes later, Luke entered the captain's office.

"Captain, you wanted to see me?"

"Yes." Susan's face was cold, and she pointed to the chair opposite, indicating Luke to sit down.

"Is there something you need?"

Susan leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table, "I've been in the 'Robbery-Homicide Division' for a short time, and I can feel that you don't like me.

I feel the same.

But I don't want to bring this emotion into work."

"You misunderstood, I never had that thought."

"Luke, after your last injury, your state has been off. You refuse overtime, pick and choose tasks, and are always distracted in meetings.

If the injury has made you unable to handle your current job, I can help you apply for a transfer to a less demanding position."

A few days ago, Luke might not have cared about a transfer, but now it was different.

He had just obtained the Detective System and hadn't figured out how it worked, but from the name, the "Detective System" seemed related to the police profession.

He didn't know if a job change would affect the "Detective System."

Even for the sake of the Detective System, he had to stay for now.

"After the last injury, my mindset changed. I realized that family is the most important, and I want to spend more time with them, which is why I don't want to work overtime.

I believe in my abilities. I can still do my job well without overtime and become an indispensable part of the team."

"I'm willing to believe you.

But your current state and the evaluations from your colleagues make me doubt that.

I want to see your actions and changes. Otherwise, whether you like it or not, I will help you apply for a transfer, understand?"

"Give me half a month, and I'll show you my value in the team." Half a month was enough for Luke to figure out the "Detective System."

Susan's tone was emotionless, "You have one week."