The full title of Lungmen Guard Department's Senior Inspector—the beautiful and notoriously hot-tempered Inspector Ch'en—was Ch'en Hui-chieh.
If you asked Lucian, that name sounded way too gentle. It didn't suit someone with her explosive personality at all.
She probably knew it too. Unless absolutely necessary, she never reported her full name, and she never let people call her by it.
But that kind of rule didn't work on innocent children.
Sitting proudly on Ch'en's shoulders, Xiaoling beamed. "Today big brother and Hui-chieh both came! It's such a lucky day!"
"Y-yeah…" Inspector Ch'en forced a stiff smile, unable to say anything.
She wasn't wearing her uniform, and she'd even topped her head with a baseball cap—probably thinking it could hide her identity.
A Senior Inspector from the Lungmen Guard Department showing up in the Slums during her off-hours wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
Lucian tried not to laugh under her murderous glare. "Inspector Ch'en—no, Hui-chieh, you worked hard today. Doing your shift and still coming all the way out here… shouldn't you head home and rest?"
"Today was supposed to be my day off. Who do you think made me work overtime!?"
Ch'en's crimson eyes narrowed sharply. "And if you call me by my name again, I'll cut you down on the spot! Grind your bones and toss them down the sewer!"
A Senior Inspector threatening a law-abiding citizen—how exactly did one file a complaint for that?
But before Lucian could even think about recording evidence and suing her, Xiaoling's face crumpled in distress.
"Hui-chieh, do you hate big brother? Are you fighting?"
"Eh—eh!?"
Ch'en panicked instantly, flapping her hands like she was drowning. "No—no! I'm not fighting with him! He just keeps teasing me on purpose, I just—!"
"Hui-chieh… do you and big brother not get along? Are you breaking up? …If you break up, can I be big brother's girlfriend instead?"
"No! Absolutely not!" The roar burst out of Ch'en instinctively.
Then she realized exactly what she had just implied.
"No—wait! That's not what I meant! I don't mean I can't break up with him—no, that's wrong! I'm not even dating him! Who said there's anything between us!?"
"You just confessed to everything, Inspector."
Lucian shook his head dramatically. Didn't the Lungmen Guard Department do any interrogation-resistance training?
Even Xiaoling, who could cry on command like an award-winning actress, burst into giggles. She hopped from Ch'en's shoulders onto Lucian's, proudly showing off.
"Well? Big brother, did you record it? Hui-chieh said she doesn't want to break up with you!"
Lucian nodded. "Xiaoling is amazing. But don't bully your Hui-chieh too much, okay? Or I'll be the one who gets killed."
The Lung's face had gone so red it nearly matched her horns. If he kept teasing her, she really would unleash Unmatched Slash and end his life early.
Since both her favorite people had shown up today, Xiaoling was way too excited to separate from them. So Lucian took her along while delivering meals to the elderly who lived alone.
Xiaoling, energetic and sweet, was the Slums' universally loved mood-maker. Even the most reserved residents warmed up around her, which helped reduce trouble.
While she ran upstairs carrying the food, Lucian and Ch'en stayed below and talked.
"Seeing how cheerful she is, you'd never think she was sick." Ch'en let out a quiet sigh, then glanced at Lucian. "You doing good deeds is your business. But don't make yourself too visible. The rumors have already reached the Guard Department—people are saying the tea stall guy who sells Soy Milk always comes to the Slums, and maybe his food might infect people with Oripathy."
Lucian's expression turned disdainful. "Oripathy doesn't spread through food, and you know that, Inspector Ch'en. No matter how severe the case, there's no infection risk unless there's blood contact. Everyone knows this. If people still want to discriminate, that's on them. Ah, though—if I added some Originium fragments into the food, maybe it would infect people."
Ch'en's face hardened instantly. "Watch your mouth. Don't joke about that."
She wasn't reacting like the usual flustered woman being teased. She was deadly serious, staring straight at him, red eyes filled with pressure.
Lucian understood the meaning behind it, so he nodded. "Sorry. I'm not an Infected, so I can't understand their suffering. I shouldn't joke about it."
"…Not an Infected, huh."
Ch'en Hui-chieh lowered her gaze. Her expression grew complicated. "You're right. You're not an Infected. Even though you're not, you still come here all the time, helping them, feeding them… What is that? Trying to be a saint? Or trying to preach to them?"
Lucian let out a small laugh. "Laterano doesn't accept Infected either. If an Angel gets infected, she gets exiled too—never allowed to return. …Let's drop the heavy topic."
He deliberately shifted the conversation.
"Don't talk about me, Inspector Ch'en. What about you?" He shot her a teasing look. "I'm just a regular citizen. I can do whatever I want. But you're a Senior Inspector. Everything you do sets an example for your… subordinates, right? Coming to the Slums all the time looks kinda bad, doesn't it?"
Ch'en glared again. "Subordinates my ass—call them officers… no, wait—call them police!"
You cops use Gang slang yourselves, don't you?
She coughed awkwardly and pretended nothing happened. "This is my personal time. I can go wherever I want. There's no law in Lungmen that says a Senior Inspector can't come to the Slums… can't come to the Lungmen Outer Ring."
Lucian nodded approvingly. "True. This is the Lungmen Outer Ring."
It was still a part of Lungmen.
Even though it received nearly none of Lungmen's benefits—no police patrols, no property management, everyone fending for themselves, order maintained half the time by Gangs—
It was still Lungmen.
…Probably even Ch'en felt her own argument was flimsy. Her expression dimmed as she lowered her head.
Lucian looked at her side profile, briefly considered whether hugging her would get him killed… and decided not to risk it.
Instead, he grabbed a box of bright red Sugar Cubes from the Food Cart and handed it to her.
"Here. Have one. It's good for you."
"…?" Ch'en eyed the vivid Red Sugar suspiciously, then looked at Lucian, trying to figure out his angle.
In the end, she accepted it. She took one piece and popped it into her mouth.
Her pale cheeks puffed slightly, and she frowned. "Don't treat me like a kid. And is your candy even sanitary? What did you put in it? Every time I eat it, my heart speeds up, my whole body gets hot—like I ran a few laps."
Lucian answered casually, "That just means your metabolism's speeding up. All good signs."