Suddenly, Ning Linglong flicked her finger.
"THWACK—"
A steel ball shot out, smashing into the mask of Big C, who had just poked his head out, with a CLANG.
Big C's mask shattered instantly, as if a bullet had pierced his brain. With a THUD, Big C fell back into the steam car.
"Let's put that aside for now!" Li Kang shook his head, clearing away the chaotic thoughts, and said with a deadpan expression, "First, arrest them! Then… interrogate them!"
Li Kang's eyes turned icy. 'They dared to go after the black box. These are no ordinary robbers—we have to hit them hard!'
"Leave it to me." The young rookie, Wall Announcements, had finally found a chance to shine. He gave a serious salute, rubbed his hands together, and rushed forward full of anticipation, diving into the steam car like a monkey.
Then, the steam car swayed left and right, and the dog-headed man's screams periodically echoed from within.
"Done!" Wall Announcements leaped back onto the roof of the steam car, gripping several ropes. With a hard pull, he dragged out a line of securely bound people, all tied together, and threw them onto the ground.
"Are you sure this isn't a problem?" Chu Bamboo glanced out of the corner of his eye toward the bank next to them. Through the cracked glass, he could see the terrified and dumbstruck faces of the civilians and bank employees who were too scared to flee.
"With Kung Fu, isn't all this perfectly normal? It's just a little extra strength!" Li Kang said, full of righteous confidence. "Even leaping over rooftops and scaling walls, isn't that also Kung Fu?"
Chu Bamboo blinked and gave a thumbs-up. 'Fine. It's not like I know the inside story anyway. I'll just go with whatever you say!'
"So, about that auxiliary police officer position…"
"..." Li Kang rubbed his hair in frustration. "For now," he finally said, "I'll grant you temporary Honored Guest Elder authority."
Even though Chu Bamboo had requested it, how could he dare give him the status of a mere auxiliary officer?
The famous Mr. Zhu of the slums, who was also involved with the black box and had performed a great service... To put it bluntly, if this news got out, people who didn't know better would think that he, or even the Officials, had a problem with the slums and were about to launch a major crackdown!
This could very well cause the slums to riot. It sounded incredible—granting one person an auxiliary officer position could incite a riot?
But honestly, Li Kang didn't think it was an exaggeration. He knew the slums, and all of Jinghai City, too well. This city, a national leader in industry, was like a steam boiler with its pressure being desperately contained.
Chu Bamboo was that pressure release valve. If he were to remove Chu Bamboo... this incident could very well become the fuse that caused the steam boiler to explode.
"If you really want to join us, you still have to pass the exam to get in, you understand? It's just that…"
The words about the civil service exam, which he had heard about before, went in one ear and out the other for Chu Bamboo. After all, he already knew the answers.
What he was pondering now was this temporary Honored Guest Elder authority…
Chu Bamboo felt a flicker of anticipation. 'No matter how you slice it, this should count as temporary Level 1 Authority, right? I wonder what I can scrounge up from the base this time.'
Ning Linglong thought for a moment, then jabbed the mountain-like Guan Fei beside her with an elbow before walking toward the bank nearby.
"Right, what are we lazing around for!" Guan Fei also snapped out of it. He picked up the young rookie like a chick and said, "Get to work... Calming the public is also an important part of our job."
Chu Bamboo watched from a distance as the group, acting in their capacity as official police, finally calmed the situation.
Many of the people who hadn't dared to leave the bank before now finally felt safe enough to flee…
"So, what's gotten into you, Mr. Zhu?" Li Kang said sarcastically. He only dared to have this conversation after all his teammates had left.
"What do you mean, 'what's gotten into me'?"
"Don't play dumb with me! I practically half-watched you grow up. I know better than anyone the terrifying Energy you possess! If you had wanted to take the civil service exam, you would have passed it long ago. Hell, your Official rank might even be higher than mine by now!" Li Kang said calmly.
To reach a position higher than his at seventeen… it was unbelievable!
Li Kang's position in the Jinghai City civil service system was unique. Even publicly, he was with the Third District Special Operations Brigade and the deputy director of the Third District Police Chief Bureau. Combined with his covert status… he was truly on par with the actual director!
In all of Jinghai City, there weren't many people above him. Ordinarily, it would be impossible at seventeen, or even thirty-seven. Reaching his level by forty-seven would be considered normal.
But the person before him was someone who had overturned the underground order of the slums at age eleven or twelve, then forged an entirely new order in that lawless land where even the officials couldn't reach.
He was practically a superman!
"You have no desire to be an Official!" Li Kang's tone was certain.
"You're right. That's why I just want to get stronger! By the way," Chu Bamboo raised an eyebrow, "speaking of which, can this temporary Honored Guest Elder authority be used to apply for a Cultivation Technique?"
"No."
"Oh!" Chu Bamboo wasn't too disappointed. In fact, he would have been more surprised if the answer had been yes. "You won't reconsider?" he asked casually.
"The black box is important, but…"
"I'm not talking about the black box! I'm talking about…" Chu Bamboo's words stopped abruptly.
Li Kang paused, then followed Chu Bamboo's gaze to see… Ning Linglong walking over with Lu Muxue, her expression complicated.
"Captain, this is…"
"The daughter of Vice Governor Lu. She also has another identity: the little princess of the Xue Group," Chu Bamboo introduced her calmly.
"??? What?" Ning Linglong was shocked. She instinctively turned to Lu Muxue. "Didn't you say you were a relative of Director Lu?"
But the moment the words left her mouth, Ning Linglong knew she'd been foolish. 'Perhaps that was just a cover identity! Of course, it's also possible she was telling a partial truth—who's to say Director Lu can't be related to the Vice Governor?'
Lu Muxue ignored Ning Linglong, however. She bit her lower lip, seeming to be both anxious and relieved as she said, "So you really did know everything."
Li Kang: "!!!"
The realization dawned on him, and he looked at the smiling Chu Bamboo in astonishment.
Chu Bamboo said slowly, "This contribution should be no less than saving the black box, right? In fact, on a certain level, it might even be greater!"
Director Lu—the director of the Third District Police Chief Bureau!
Vice Governor Lu was the one in power most likely to succeed the old governor in Jinghai City.
As for the Xue Group, their influence within this city wasn't actually that great. The problem was that the group was rooted in the Celestial Capital!
One of the two capitals!
Indeed, it might not be a corporate giant in the Celestial Capital. But for a group to grow to that size, it was bound to have connections with people in power. The situation in the Celestial Capital was just too complex…
And especially when he thought about the connection between this group and the Vice Governor that Chu Bamboo had just revealed in a few short words… It was terrifying.