He knew it. Rewards were never that easy to earn!
There was no such thing as a free lunch from heaven.
It was all traps, damn it!
By the time they finished watching the tape, it was already pretty late—
Damn, that really had been watching a tape.
Back in his previous life, Fang Wen had been more than familiar with that kind of thing. But since coming to this world, this was honestly his first time encountering it.
Which was strange, really. Human desires might take many forms, but in the end, they all circled back to a few basic things.
So how had this world failed to develop any sort of adult industry?
By all logic, in such an unstable era, businesses like that ought to have been even more common.
Otherwise, with his salary, he would have lost his virginity ages ago—
…Alright, maybe not. If his coworkers caught him during an anti-obscenity raid, wouldn't that be the end of him?
When the pressure got too much, it was probably better to stick with Miss Five Fingers after all.
He had gotten through all these years that way already, hadn't he?
"Mmm—" Sitting in Zhu Yuan's car, Fang Wen stretched lazily.
He had finally made it through the day.
Once he dropped Zhu Yuan off at home, he was planning to move back to his own place for a few days.
The two of them both needed some time to cool down.
Zhu Yuan's affection level hadn't even reached the point of being in love yet, and that sudden flutter of emotion might have just been a product of the atmosphere.
Even if something did happen between them in the future, it should only happen once both of them truly understood their own feelings.
Besides, that didn't conflict with the final commission anyway. After all, the mission only said: bring Zhu Yuan home.
It didn't specify which home, and it definitely didn't say that he had to stay there too.
[Host, when did you get smarter?]
"…I think you should shut up as soon as possible."
He glanced at the clock. 8:50 PM. It had already been nearly two hours past the normal end of the day shift.
Aside from a few coworkers on night duty, everyone who should have gone home had already done so.
Only Zhu Yuan would stay this late.
She had said she had forgotten something just now, told Fang Wen to go ahead first, and then turned back.
But even if she were just picking something up, it shouldn't have taken twenty minutes, right?
After thinking it over for a moment, Fang Wen more or less understood. It was probably still the aftereffects of those tapes from earlier.
Honestly, if Fang Wen hadn't confirmed that the situation was already beyond saving and put on headphones early to watch something else, there was no way he would have endured it.
Even just listening to the sounds—or just watching the images—would probably have been too much.
Unless someone was completely incapable in that department, probably no one could have handled that calmly.
…Yeah. Better go check on her.
After hesitating for a long while, Fang Wen still found himself worried about Zhu Yuan.
In terms of raw strength, Zhu Yuan could beat up several versions of him at once. If she ran into a robber, the one whose life needed worrying about was probably the robber's.
But she was still, in many ways, a girl who had yet to truly experience the world.
Sometimes people could become strangely fragile. Zhu Yuan was probably no exception.
And besides, he wanted to get home and rest as soon as possible too.
Too much had happened today. He needed time to properly process it all.
…
"Vice-Captain Fang? Do you need something else?"
The policewoman on night duty looked puzzled when Fang Wen came back again.
"Oh, no, I'm fine. Have you seen Zhu Yuan?"
"You mean Captain Zhu Yuan? She seemed to head down to the underground training hall just now."
"Alright, got it. Thanks."
Following the corridor to the elevator, Fang Wen pressed the button for Floor B1.
Ding—
Before the elevator doors even opened, Fang Wen could already hear the unending crack of gunfire and shouts from inside.
Everyone was working hard, huh.
He couldn't afford to be left behind either!
As Fang Wen walked deeper into the training hall, he watched with interest as officers practiced target shooting or sparred in close combat.
The deepest section housed the best training equipment in the entire precinct.
And there was also an unspoken rule here:
The strong ruled.
Zhu Yuan was naturally one of the Public Security Bureau's finest.
When he walked over, sure enough, there she was—currently engaged in an unrestricted close-quarters combat exercise with another policewoman.
Of course, both of them were wearing full protective gear, and they were using blank rounds and wooden training weapons.
Even so, the scene was still intensely dangerous.
Just as Fang Wen arrived, Zhu Yuan performed a sliding sweep, boldly slipping through the gaps in her opponent's whirling three-section staff and darting behind her. Without even taking much time to aim, she raised her pistol and fired three quick shots locked onto the opponent's upper body.
Zhu Yuan's personal weapon was a customized handgun—the Violence Bringer K22. Calling it a handgun was honestly misleading. It was even more outrageous than an ordinary hand cannon. Fang Wen had absolutely no doubt about the power the fist-sized muzzle could unleash.
Even if they were only blanks, taking one to the head would still leave a nasty lump.
Yet her opponent, dressed in a fitted cyan vest, was no less formidable. Sensing the incoming attack from Zhu Yuan, she threw herself to the ground without even turning her head, causing Zhu Yuan's shots to miss entirely. At the same time, the three-section staff in her hands twisted and snapped like a whip, knocking aside the stray shots before slamming straight down at Zhu Yuan, who was still on the ground.
The staff carried tremendous force. From the sharp howl it sliced through the air with, no one would doubt how much damage it could do.
Even if it was only made of wood!
Zhu Yuan reacted just as quickly. Realizing that in her current position she had no chance to get up and evade, she rolled sideways and fired again. Even if her opponent tried to pull back at the last second, she would lose the opportunity to press the attack and might even be directly struck, ending the match right there.
What a brilliant move—defending by attacking.
"Excellent…" Fang Wen applauded.
These two were the strongest duo in the Janus District Guangying Branch of the Public Security Bureau—
At least, openly speaking.
Either one of them alone could easily wipe out a gang of a hundred men.
The cyan figure hopped back several times in quick succession, opening up some distance.
"Zhu Yuan, take a break first."
At the moment, Zhu Yuan was breathing heavily. Combined with the fact that she wasn't in great physical condition to begin with, she could only nod in response.
Fang Wen stepped in at just the right moment and handed over two cups of tea.
He had just gotten the hot water from the water dispenser nearby.
"Good~"
The one dressed mostly in shades of cyan—Zhu Yuan's sparring partner, and also her best partner—was a legendary figure within the Public Security Bureau:
Qingyi.
Rumor had it she had already served in the bureau for decades.
If Qingyi hadn't had absolutely no interest in the busy position of vice-captain of the Special Operations Unit, then based on seniority alone, it was doubtful the position would ever have fallen to Fang Wen.
But with Zhu Yuan and Qingyi around, there was already more than enough top-tier combat power.
He could just be the dependable support in the back.
That was what he had once thought—
Until that day when he was separated from Zhu Yuan, and the anxiety and terror he felt made him realize something:
No one could remain at his side forever, except himself.
"Senior Qingyi, you're back from your business trip. Did it go smoothly?"
"Mm. Headquarters has just issued the notice for Public Security Patrol Month. In a few days, why don't the three of us take a walk through Sixth Street together?"
"Ah, Senior Qingyi, about that—Fang Wen is actually on leave right now…" Zhu Yuan said, pressing a hand to her still-heaving chest now that she had finally caught her breath.
"I see. No matter."
Qingyi nodded. In her view, workaholics like Zhu Yuan—people who didn't even want their vacation days—were rare. If you were on leave, then you should rest properly.
After all, there would be plenty of workdays in the future. On that point, she spoke from experience.
"Depends on whether I'm free. Sixth Street, right? If I have time, I'll stop by."
Fang Wen didn't reject it outright.
He still had to return the equipment he had borrowed anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to make the trip while he was at it.
"Recently, criminal elements have been unusually active. Zhu Yuan, Fang Wen—you should both be careful."
Qingyi said it suddenly, without warning.
Zhu Yuan and Fang Wen exchanged a glance.
"Understood. Thank you for the reminder, Senior Qingyi," Zhu Yuan replied.
Fang Wen, meanwhile, pinched his chin.
Police officers needing to be careful of criminals?
That was an awfully suggestive thing to say.
The moment Fang Wen made that connection, he noticed that both Qingyi and Zhu Yuan had turned their gazes toward him, so he nodded as well.
"Mm. We'll be careful."
He deliberately emphasized the word careful.
Qingyi smiled when she heard that.
"Good!"
As she spoke, Qingyi pulled a videotape out of the bag she carried with her and handed it to Fang Wen.
"Fang Wen, help me return this videotape to Sixth Street tomorrow. The bureau's probably going to be very busy these next few days."
"Sure." Fang Wen raised an eyebrow as he took the tape.
…
After leaving the training hall, Zhu Yuan lowered her head, looking as though she wanted to say something but couldn't quite bring herself to do it.
"Zhu Yuan…"
"Fang Wen, I think tonight I'll stay at the station—"
"I'm planning to move back to my own place for now."
"Ah?"
Fang Wen jingled the car keys in his hand.
"That's your home. There's no reason you shouldn't go back."
"Of course, I also know some unpleasant things happened today."
"I'm sorry for making things difficult for you."
The apology in Fang Wen's expression, together with the gentle look in his eyes, made Zhu Yuan's heart tighten painfully.
But she couldn't bring herself to ask Fang Wen to keep sharing the bed with her either.
If things continued like that, there really was a chance something might happen.
As a rather traditional woman, Zhu Yuan felt that certain things should wait until after meeting each other's parents—
Or even until after getting engaged.
Waiting until after marriage…
It wasn't as though that was impossible, either. But after seeing those videos today, she didn't know whether she could really suppress that kind of curiosity anymore.
And besides…
Zhu Yuan covered her eyes, while her cheeks once again flushed with a rich rose-red warmth.
"Zhu Yuan? I'll take you home first, alright?"
"Mm…"
He really looked that big. After we're married… will I actually be able to handle it?
-------
My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
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