"Speak."
Chen Yanan, without turning her head, continued munching on her apple while scanning gossip news on her phone.
"Sis, have you heard of the Yuanhong Society?" Lin Qing asked.
Chen Yanan turned to look at him, replying, "Why are you asking about that? Kids shouldn't pry into this stuff, it's not good for you."
"I've already had contact with them," Lin Qing said, "the merit I earned recently was for capturing a fighter from the Yuanhong Society's underground boxing arena."
"Just a fighter? Then there shouldn't be an issue."
Chen Yanan breathed a small sigh of relief, "I've heard of the Yuanhong Society's underground boxing arena too, but I don't know how to get in, and it's not worth tangling with such a large underground force just for a little salary."
"I don't plan on tangling with them either," Lin Qing nodded.
He added silently to himself, "*For now at least.*"
After all, it was his backup plan for earning merit.
"That's good then."
Chen Yanan continued, "The Yuanhong Society appears to be just an underground organization. Technically, at the Captain Level, there's no need to fear them, but I feel that the Yuanhong Society's power might be greater than we imagine."
"How so?" Lin Qing inquired, curious.
"The reason I'm currently in the hospital is related to the Yuanhong Society."
Chen Yanan explained, "The night I was seriously injured, during a temporary operation, I led several teams to search a venue suspected of human trafficking. It was Yuanhong Society's territory, and while we were only halfway through the search and hadn't delved in deep, I unexpectedly encountered that terrifying fugitive from Qinghu Island Prison."
"That fugitive from Qinghu Island Prison, is he connected to the Yuanhong Society?" Lin Qing frowned.
"That possibility can't be ruled out."
Chen Yanan nodded, saying, "Even though I think it's unlikely for a provincial underground force like the Yuanhong Society to possess such strong martial power, the appearance of that fugitive from Qinghu Island Prison was too suspicious. It really seemed like a cover-up."
Lin Qing pondered.
*If that's the case, if he forcefully searched the Yuanhong Society's underground boxing arena, would he also run into that fugitive from Qinghu Island?*
*No matter what, this had to be taken into account in the future.*
*Better safe than sorry.*
"Anyway, be cautious,"
Chen Yanan advised, "That fugitive from Qinghu Island Prison is incredibly terrifying, and in all of Lin'an City, only Yuan Anping, the General Captain of the City Patrol Bureau, could possibly face him in a fight."
"What level of strength does the General Captain have?" Lin Qing couldn't help but ask.
"I'm not sure either,"
Chen Yanan said, "But he's definitely mastered the Original Chaoyang Method, and his combat skill is extremely strong. If he gets serious, he could probably defeat me in one move."
*One move to beat someone at the Captain Level?*
Lin Qing somewhat understood the gap in strength and couldn't help but sigh silently.
*Even though he had strength comparable to the Captain Level now, there was always someone stronger, so he had to keep working hard.*
*Luckily, he would soon have two Third-class Merits, plus the one Zhao Jiayi lent him. By then, he could learn a new combat skill.*
*Once he also advanced an instinct-level combat skill, his power would significantly rise.*
*Although two combat skills had obvious weaknesses, with no absolute certainty of opposing the Yuanhong Society's underground boxing arena's armed forces, it was at least enough for self-protection.*
*Then he could start considering beginning the search of that underground boxing arena.*
...
After chatting with his cousin for a while, seeing that it was nearing nine thirty in the evening, and the patrol time for today was about to start, Lin Qing left.
Upon arriving at the sub-bureau, each team had already started their shifts according to the schedule.
The four members of Team Seven were also ready to go.
"Where is Captain Han and Team Two?"
In the sub-bureau's yard, Lin Qing looked around, unable to help but ask.
Since Team Seven was formed, every operation had been alongside Team Two.
The official reason was that Team Seven was new and inexperienced, but he suspected Xiao Peidong didn't want to give him a chance to make money, so Captain Han was ordered to act together.
But tonight, there was no sight of Team Two gathering with them.
"Captain,"
Zhao Jiayi chimed in nearby, "Team Two left at nine, didn't tag along with us. They said there weren't enough people tonight, so they split up to act separately."
Lin Qing was enlightened, waving his hand, "Alright, let's move out."
...
Team Seven's main patrol area was between Yucai Road and the auxiliary road of Peace City Road, focusing on several bars, an entertainment city, two abandoned schools, and a deserted amusement park.
These abandoned places often became hideaways or trading points for some lawbreakers, which was why they required irregular patrols.
Of course, anyone holed up in these places usually didn't pose much of a threat.
So there wasn't much danger involved.
The biggest downside was that these areas didn't offer any lucrative opportunities.
Lin Qing didn't mind much, even profitable venues wouldn't allow him to make millions in two months.
As time edged toward midnight, Team Seven finally finished the routine check of an entertainment city and a bar. The most troublesome parts were done, leaving only the deserted amusement park as tonight's last target.
This was also the easiest part, as a single patrol around was usually all it took.
"Stay sharp, everyone. Once we patrol around, we can go home and sleep."
After the patrol car stopped at the entrance of the deserted amusement park, Lin Qing clapped his hands, ready to lead the team out of the car when Han Ying, sitting across from him, clasped her hands together and softly said, "Captain, can I ask you a favor?"
"Can I refuse?" Lin Qing looked at her.
"You can't...."
Han Ying pleaded pitifully, "I haven't eaten tonight, and didn't get a chance to eat at the entertainment city either. I saw a night market on the way, let me grab something to eat, okay? After all, there's not much to patrol around this amusement park."
"Alright, you can drive," Lin Qing said, "Hurry up and come back."
"Captain," Ruan Bing, beside him, couldn't help but chime in, "I'm a bit hungry too, I'd like to go along."
Lin Qing glanced at him, knowing the guy had long since wanted to leave Team Seven, and didn't bother to say much, casually saying, "If you want to go, just go."
After all, it was just patrolling around the amusement park, missing two people wouldn't be a big deal.
"Let's go."
After getting out of the car, Lin Qing pushed open the gate of the amusement park and led Zhao Jiayi and Teng Feiyu into this long-abandoned playground.
With the glow from the Sleepless City of the Coastal City urban circle in the distance, they could barely make out the outlines of the abandoned amusement park.
This amusement park had existed before the apocalypse of a century ago, renovated several times during civilization's rebuilding, but now it lay in ruins.
Under the urban circle's illumination, the most prominent feature was the Ferris wheel at the center of the park.
Soon, the three checked several spots in the amusement park that could easily conceal people, like abandoned shops and merry-go-rounds, traversing half of the park and arriving at the central open square, where a stage stood not far away.
About a hundred meters away stood that gigantic Ferris wheel.
"Captain, is there a break in patrols around New Year?" Zhao Jiayi asked softly beside him.
"Only shift swaps, no holidays," Lin Qing said casually while observing their surroundings.
"Oh... grumble grumble...."
"Did you speak in dialect just now? What did it mean?"
"Nothing...."
Teng Feiyu remained silent throughout, today's continuous setbacks had left him feeling frustrated, and a rift had developed between him and Lin Qing, making him even contemplate switching teams, so he naturally didn't want to talk.
Suddenly—
[Current Order Level decreased by 0.3]
A blood-red alert flashed in his vision.
"Hmm? 0.3?"
Lin Qing slightly squinted his eyes, entering a fully vigilant state immediately.
He continued his patrol while discreetly observing the surroundings. However, being on an open plaza with nothing concealing it, he couldn't see any enemy shadows.
Suddenly, Zhao Jiayi's footsteps also paused slightly beside him before returning to normal.
"Where was the enemy? Or was it another kind of danger?"
*Lin Qing wasn't too nervous. With his current strength, a 0.3 degree threat wasn't too dangerous.*
At that moment—
He suddenly sensed a nameless feeling of crisis sweeping over him. Instinct or subconsciousness made him abruptly turn and look towards the direction of the Ferris wheel.
"Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!"
Razor-sharp whistles cutting through the air came suddenly from above!
Time seemed to slow down dramatically.
They were three dark, slender blurs, rushing from the air at a terrifying speed beyond what the human eye could easily follow, coming straight from a hundred meters away at the Ferris wheel!
Arrows?
"Watch out!"
Lin Qing's pupils contracted slightly. With no time to locate where the arrows came from, he shouted and promptly drew out his stun baton from behind his waist.
These arrows were insidiously fast, close to an arrow speed of 700 fps, more than two hundred meters per second!
In just a fraction of a second, the dreadful arrows were upon them!
In a flash, Lin Qing judged—
Each of the three arrows was aimed precisely at him, Zhao Jiayi on his left, and Teng Feiyu on his right!
"Clang! Clang!"
At that moment, Lin Qing's arm became a blur, and with prior judgment, he batted away two arrow shadows with pinpoint skill using his stun baton.
But there was still one arrow shadow he failed to deflect, just brushing past his baton as it flew toward Teng Feiyu!
"Thud!"
With the sound of an arrow piercing through flesh, blood spurted out violently!