Chapter 1

Silver City.

Inspection Office.

Young Li Hao, slightly slender in build, with dark circles under his eyes, as if he had stayed up all night, stepped into the Inspection Office area in his third-level inspector uniform.

As a semi-newcomer who had joined the Inspection Office for only a year, Li Hao had little seniority. He usually arrived a bit early to clean the office area and boil some water, waiting for his colleagues to arrive.

However, today Li Hao arrived a bit later than usual, and many people were already in the office area.

Seeing Li Hao enter, a middle-aged woman at the desk near the door, also in uniform, greeted him warmly with a teasing tone, "Little Hao, you're late today. Your dark circles are showing. Did you go out last night?"

Li Hao smiled innocently, as if he were very simple and honest, and quickly waved his hands, "Sister Yu, don't say that. I don't even have a girlfriend yet. If it gets out, no one will marry me!"

"Ha ha ha, you kid, you've been in the Inspection Office for a year, and you can't even handle a little teasing."

The middle-aged woman seemed to enjoy teasing Li Hao.

Her eyes also had a different look as she laughed heartily and then said, "Little Hao, you're always alone and don't have time to cook. The food outside isn't clean. Come to my place for a meal."

Li Hao smiled again but still declined, "Sister Yu, I don't want to trouble you."

Before Sister Yu could speak, a middle-aged man nearby sneered and interjected, "Little Hao, is Sister Yu inviting you for a meal? She's asking you to be her son-in-law. You kid, why aren't you getting the hint?"

"Ha ha ha!"

The office area instantly burst into laughter.

Sister Yu, whose intentions were revealed, was not embarrassed. She widened her eyes and said fiercely, "I'm happy to do it! Little Hao is so good, with good character, a good mind, and a good appearance. If he were my son-in-law, I'd be smiling in my dreams!"

When she said this, many people nodded in agreement, even though they were still laughing.

Many people had a good impression of Li Hao.

The middle-aged man who had spoken earlier, not bothered by the scolding, said with some regret, "Little Hao is good, but it's a pity!"

What a pity?

When he said this, others also showed a regretful expression.

Li Hao himself didn't seem to care, smiling brightly, "Brother Zhou, I made my own choice. What's there to regret?"

Brother Zhou still felt it was a pity and sighed, "You can't say that, Little Hao. The Inspection Office is good. You turned regular after half a year and are now a third-level inspector. That's good for others. But if you hadn't dropped out of Silver City Academy, and graduated, and then joined the Inspection Office, you would have started as a first-level inspector, at the very least!"

When he said this, everyone was eager to speak.

Behind Li Hao, a young and spicy Chen Na, who had just entered, quickly joined in, "Exactly, Li Hao, why did you drop out early? Look at us, we don't even have a chance to get into Silver City Academy. It's just two years until graduation. We have to work hard from third-level to first-level inspectors, and even if we go smoothly, it takes more than five years. If not, we might never make it to first-level in our entire lives!"

Her words carried a hint of envy, for the graduates of Silver City Academy.

There was also some regret, for Li Hao, who was just two years away from graduation, suddenly dropped out and joined the Inspection Office.

When Li Hao joined the Inspection Office, even the head of the Silver City Inspection Office had inquired and tried to persuade him to continue his studies, suggesting he wait until graduation to apply.

Unfortunately, although Li Hao was easy to talk to, young, and polite, he was very stubborn about this matter.

The usually obedient Li Hao did not agree to go back to school.

Chen Na even knew that Li Hao's mentor at Silver City Academy had advised him not to drop out, saying he had a bright future.

Listening to everyone discuss his situation, Li Hao still smiled.

He walked to a corner and started boiling water, busy and smiling, "Starting as a third-level inspector isn't bad. Besides, if I had graduated from Silver City Academy and then joined, wouldn't I have missed two years of getting to know all of you? That would be a pity."

"Ha ha ha, you're right!"

Everyone laughed, finding his words comforting.

Li Hao was very sweet and young, just twenty years old, the youngest in the Silver City Inspection Office, and a high achiever. His flattering words made everyone feel good.

The office area was filled with laughter early in the morning.

Regarding Li Hao's decision to drop out of Silver City Academy, no one pressed the matter further. Li Hao himself didn't seem to care, otherwise, no one would have mentioned it, as dropping out of the academy was indeed a significant regret in life.

No one asked much about how Li Hao had considered his decision and why he had made it.

According to Li Hao, he had dropped out to start earning a salary, as the academy's tuition was too high and he couldn't afford it.

However, as a student at the academy, was lack of tuition really the reason?

The laughter gradually subsided as several leaders of the Inspection Office arrived.

The Silver City Inspection Office was the headquarters of the city's law enforcement agency.

Besides the headquarters, the Inspection Office had four branches in Silver City.

The headquarters had multiple departments, and the department Li Hao was in, the Confidential Room, was mainly responsible for case archiving, reopening old cases, re-examining unsolved cases, and meeting minutes.

The Confidential Room was not a front-line department and rarely participated in external law enforcement.

Of course, if other departments were short-handed, they might temporarily borrow Li Hao and his colleagues, but overall, it was a clerical job.

...

With the arrival of the leaders, everyone began their busy day.

Li Hao did not have a private office. A third-level inspector with only one year of experience did not have the qualifications for one. The same applied to Sister Yu and Brother Zhou, who were second-level inspectors.

Li Hao's desk was near the restroom in the office area, not too smelly, but noisy due to the constant traffic. The older staff members did not like this area.

Li Hao's desk was next to Chen Na's, and they faced each other.

Chen Na had only been there for half a year longer than Li Hao, so she was also a newcomer. Both of them had little seniority.

However, the Inspection Office would soon recruit new members, and they would no longer be considered newcomers.

Li Hao was reviewing some documents when a light tapping sound came from the opposite desk. He looked up and saw Chen Na leaning on her desk, tapping lightly. Seeing Li Hao, she smiled brightly and whispered, "Li Hao, the Inspection Office has an external mission coming up, a one-month trip. Do you want to apply? We can go together and have a month of fun. The mission is very easy."

Li Hao was slightly taken aback, thought for a moment, and then shook his head, "No, there's nothing good about going out, and it might not be safe."

"It's very safe!"

Chen Na was a bit disappointed, "It's just accompanying the students from Silver City Academy..."

She paused, thinking of something, and then looked at Li Hao with some understanding and a hint of apology, "Oh, I almost forgot! You don't want to see your former classmates and mentor, right? The team leader for this trip is Professor Yuan Shuo..."

She scolded herself for forgetting this.

Wasn't Professor Yuan Shuo Li Hao's mentor at the academy?

It was said that the mentor valued Li Hao highly, and because Li Hao refused to listen and insisted on dropping out, the mentor even threatened to beat him, causing a significant stir at Silver City Academy and leading many students to criticize Li Hao for not appreciating the opportunity.

Who was Professor Yuan Shuo?

He was one of the top figures at the academy, and many students aspired to be his disciples, but he didn't even consider them.

Li Hao smiled but didn't argue.

Did he not want to see them?

Not really.

The rumors were exaggerated. Professor Yuan was just disappointed with Li Hao's choice. A few days ago, Li Hao had visited his mentor's home and had dinner with him. It wasn't as dramatic as outsiders claimed.

Of course, there was no need to explain everything. Let the rumors fly; the more you explain, the more complicated it gets.

"Professor Yuan leading the team..."

He thought to himself. Professor Yuan was one of the top professors at the academy. If he led the team, the security would be excellent. Both the Inspection Office and other departments would ensure safety.

He didn't need to worry, especially since the Inspection Office's involvement was likely minimal. The real security for Professor Yuan would probably be handled by the Night Patrol, a group Li Hao had heard about vaguely over the past year.

The Night Patrol was similar to the Inspection Office, a law enforcement agency.

However, unlike the Inspection Office, which handled public cases, the Night Patrol dealt with mysterious and unsolved cases. Cases that the Inspection Office couldn't handle or had no leads on were handed over to them.

Few people knew about this, even within the Inspection Office.

But Li Hao, working in the Confidential Room, which handled case archiving and tracking of unsolved cases, had some vague knowledge.

"Night Patrol!"

He thought to himself. His decision to drop out and join the Inspection Office was largely related to the Night Patrol, or rather, it was his main goal.

Of course, he had never told anyone about this.

The Night Patrol was a very mysterious organization. Li Hao had never heard of it before joining the Inspection Office, but he learned about it from Professor Yuan, who knew of its existence, though it was unknown to the general public.

Before dropping out, Li Hao knew that the Inspection Office was a subordinate of the Night Patrol. He had heard from Professor Yuan that some promising inspectors might be transferred to the Night Patrol.

"After a year, I'm now a proper third-level inspector from the Inspection Office. I wonder if I'll have a chance to join the Night Patrol."

Li Hao thought, feeling eager but suppressing it, maintaining a calm expression.

It should be soon!

He felt that Silver City might have problems soon, but the Inspection Office was unaware. It would likely be up to the Night Patrol to handle it.

Right now, he just needed an opportunity!

PS: New book release, seeking support. I've been revising the beginning for many days, and it's getting more and more frustrating. I'll just leave it as it is. I won't focus on the beginning; I'll take it slow and build up. I'll update twice a day during the new book period, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. It's been a while since I've written, so I need to get back into the rhythm.