Chapter 5

Tsim Sha Tsui, Pearl Village Estate.

"Hello! Would you like to buy an excavator?"

"Ah—!" Li Er violently sprang up from his bed, his eyes already bloodshot. The annoying system voice had rung out over a dozen times that night, each time just as Li Er was about to fall asleep. It was driving him to the brink of madness.

Li Er glanced at the small clock by his bed; it was already four in the morning.

Li Er lay back down, utterly exhausted.

"Hello! Would you like to buy an excavator?"

"Ah—! Damn—damn—damn—damn—!" Li Er roared, covering his ears in a fit of rage.

"Hello! Would you like to buy an excavator?" The system's voice echoed directly in Li Er's mind, and covering his ears had no effect.

"System, damn your ancestors, damn your entire family..." Li Er finally lost his temper and cursed wildly.

"Ding! Answer correct, password accepted, system loading!"

Li Er was stunned.

"‘Damn your ancestors’ is the password to activate the system?" Li Er had never heard of such a system. It wouldn't work unless you cursed it?

Li Er was so tired that he could fall asleep standing, but the news that the system had activated filled him with excitement. He used his fingers to forcefully pry open his eyelids to stay awake and eagerly checked the system.

Li Er

Level: Novice

Health: 65

Vitality: 62

Speed: 68

Strength: 80

Experience: 0

...

Li Er couldn't hold on any longer and, sitting on the bed, his head drooped, and he fell asleep.

"Ring ring ring..."

Two hours later, Li Er was woken by the alarm clock.

"Damn—!" Li Er reflexively shouted, but after a few seconds, he realized it was just the alarm. He reached out to turn it off.

"Does the system really start now?" Li Er, still groggy from lack of sleep, worried he might be dreaming. He called out in what he thought was the gentlest voice: "System boss, are you there? Are you awake?"

"System grandpa! Do you want some breakfast? I'll treat you!"

"Damn, it was just a dream!" Li Er felt utterly dejected.

"What a ridiculous system!" Li Er cursed inwardly.

A bright light flashed in Li Er's mind, and the system opened.

"Huh? What's going on? Do I have to curse to activate it?"

Li Er saw the system interface.

Li Er

Level: Novice

Personal Attributes:

Health: 65

Vitality: 62

Speed: 68

Strength: 80

Experience: 0

Li Er checked the detailed descriptions. Normal people had attribute values between 50-60, experts had values between 90-100, and super experts had values between 120-150.

Li Er felt his values were pretty good, all above 60, with his strength reaching 80. As a patrol officer with no great ambitions, he was quite satisfied.

"Wait! Something seems off!" Li Er scrolled to the top of the system interface.

"Assassin Training System"

Li Er was stunned.

An assassin is a killer, right?

Li Er took a deep breath.

The air suddenly became very quiet.

"Ah—!" Li Er screamed in frustration.

"Damn—Damn—Damn—Damn—..."

Li Er ranted for five minutes straight.

This was unreasonable. As a police officer, even if it wasn't a "Police Training System," a "Male God Training System" would have been better. Li Er suspected he had read it wrong.

No, it was definitely the "Assassin Training System." Li Er saw the gray, unlit skill boxes.

Skills:

1. Stealth

2. Tracking and Countertracking

3. Lockpicking

4. Combat

5. Shooting

6. Poisoning

...

These were definitely not skills a police officer should learn.

Giving a police officer a killer's system, Li Er was sure there was some perverted bastard playing with him.

Killing is a high-risk profession, and in any era, assassins were always in danger. It was completely incompatible with his current job as a police officer.

The long-awaited system had finally started, but Li Er felt terrible.

He brushed his teeth, washed his face, changed clothes, and went to work.

When Li Er arrived at the police station, he signed in as usual, then went to the locker room to change into his uniform, tidied up, collected his gun from the armory, counted the bullets, listened to the patrol leader's briefing, and then started patrolling the streets.

Li Er patrolled with two new officers transferred from other districts. After Chen Jiajia and Zhang Dazui were reassigned, Li Er had been leading these two new officers for a few days. The three of them walked down the sidewalk on Guangfu Street, with Li Er looking particularly listless.

"Stop! What are you doing so sneakily?" One of the new officers stopped a dark-skinned South Asian man.

"Sir, I... I'm going to the toilet!" The South Asian man pointed nervously at the public restroom behind him.

"Sir!" The new officer turned to Li Er, who, though also a junior officer, was the leader of their group.

"Search him!" Li Er said indifferently.

"Put your hands up and lean against the wall!"

The new officer quickly found a small bottle of blue liquid in the South Asian man's pocket.

"What is this?" The new officer shouted.

The South Asian man mumbled, not daring to speak.

The new officer opened the bottle and smelled it, detecting a fragrance.

"What is this?" The new officer was about to taste it when Li Er slapped his head.

"That's hand soap! You want to drink it?" Li Er snatched the bottle from the new officer.

"Ah—!" The new officer was startled, looked at Li Er gratefully, and then turned to the South Asian man, shouting, "You damn scumbag, why are you stealing hand soap from the public toilet?"

There were no pedestrians on the street, and the new officer, angry, kicked the South Asian man hard. The South Asian man didn't resist, only covering his head and pleading, "Sir, I won't do it again, I really won't. Please give me one more chance."

"You scumbag, you steal hand soap? Why don't you steal the toilet paper? Damn your mother, get ready to be deported!" The new officer cursed.

"These guys use their hands to wipe, what use is stealing toilet paper?" The other new officer sneered.

There is a hierarchy of contempt everywhere. In Hong Kong, South Asians are at the bottom of society, bullied not only by locals but also by other illegal immigrants.

Hand soap has its uses, such as washing clothes, and some South Asians even use it for bathing, washing their hair, and brushing their teeth. Li Er had seen cases of hand soap theft at the police station but had never encountered one before.

"Please, sir, don't, let me go! I won't do it again." The South Asian man kept pleading.

The new officer was about to curse again when Li Er stopped him.

"Go! Don't let me see you in this district again." Li Er threw the hand soap to the South Asian man.

The South Asian man looked at Li Er with gratitude, ready to be beaten as long as he wasn't deported.

"Thank you, thank you, sir!" The South Asian man got up and fled.

"Get lost!" The officer who almost drank the hand soap kicked the South Asian man hard in the waist. The South Asian man, not daring to stay, crawled away.

Li Er watched the South Asian man limp away, feeling a sense of shared suffering.

"Life is like being raped. If you can't resist, just close your eyes and enjoy it."

Li Er was sure he was being toyed with by that old man, God.

"Sir, why did you let that disgusting South Asian man go?"

Li Er calmly replied, "What performance points would we get from arresting him?"

The two new officers immediately understood. Stealing hand soap was too minor a crime, not even worth filing a case. The South Asians were likely penniless, and taking them to the immigration office would be too much trouble.

"Hehe, Sir Li is wise. Thanks earlier! I'll treat you to lunch!" The officer who almost drank the hand soap patted his chest and laughed.

With someone treating him to lunch, Li Er's gloomy mood improved somewhat.

After lunch, Li Er didn't return to the patrol unit's rest room but went upstairs to the CID office to give his statement about the counterfeit money case from the previous day.

"Hey! Li Er, over here!" As soon as Li Er went upstairs, he was spotted by Li Xianying, who waved enthusiastically.

"Brother B!" Li Er said awkwardly.

"I knew you'd come during your lunch break. I've already prepared the documents. Just sign and it's done!" Li Xianying smiled.

Li Xianying was a natural at making friends. They had only met once, but it felt like they had known each other for years.

"Really that fast?" Li Er took the documents from Li Xianying, somewhat disbelieving.

"Did that foreigner confess so easily?" After reading the documents, Li Er realized the case was handled so quickly because the foreigner had admitted to all the charges.

"Caught red-handed, he had no choice but to confess!" Li Xianying proudly shook his fist.

Li Er understood that each department had its own methods.

"However, your six hundred dollars will be returned next week." Li Xianying said.

"Got it! Thanks!" Li Er sincerely thanked him. A week was already fast, and he knew Li Xianying had helped.

"You're welcome!" Li Xianying waved and then asked, "Brother, have you thought about transferring to the CID? Being a patrol officer is boring."

"Ah—!" Li Er hesitated, "Not really! I like the distinctive uniform of a patrol officer. Without it, I'd feel out of place."

Li Er knew being a CID officer was more dangerous than a patrol officer. He didn't know how the system would play with him and didn't want to add more variables.

Li Xianying was taken aback. It was the first time he had heard someone say they liked the police uniform.

"Not really! We can wear uniforms in the CID too, but we prefer plain clothes. Don't you find the uniform hot?" Li Xianying countered, pointing out that Li Er's excuse didn't hold water.

This time, it was Li Er's turn to be stunned.

Oh! The CID can wear uniforms too, it's just that no one does.

Li Er was about to find another excuse when Li Xianying quickly said, "Please help! I need a partner, and if you don't come, my boss will assign that bookworm to me."

Li Er looked in the direction Li Xianying pointed. A young officer sat stiffly at a desk, typing seriously, clearly a rule-bound, rigid person.

"I'll think about it!" Li Er stalled.