Star Gate

“But you must be careful—Law Enforcement is much more dangerous than Classified Affairs. They suffer casualties and fatalities every year, particularly with cases like self-immolation. Try for a desk job if you can, don’t head to the frontlines. This matter is much more complex than it seems! If the enforcement team can’t handle it, it’ll very likely arouse attention from higher up.”

Li Hao nodded silently, forestalling further words from his superior. Wang Jie rather liked the young man, but since this was Li Hao’s ultimate goal in joining the Inspectorate, there was nothing further he could say.

“Just let me know if you’d like to come back afterwards. You’re welcome back anytime!”

“Thank you, sir!”

Wang Jie smiled. “No worries. Go report to the enforcement team first and see when the official transfer will come in. Classified Affairs needs to hold a farewell party for you!”

“Thank you, sir!” Li Hao repeated. Everyone in the department was very nice to him. Honestly, if the situation wasn’t what it was, staying put would be a good choice.

……

Li Hao didn’t tell his colleagues that he was being transferred out after he left the department head’s office. He didn’t pack anything either. After letting Chen Na know that he was stepping out for a bit, he headed for the law enforcement team’s area.

Law Enforcement and Classified Affairs were both located at Inspectorate headquarters, but they were in different buildings. Classified Affairs was placed behind the main lobby, whereas Law Enforcement was in the building next door. That entire building was Law Enforcement purview—a much more extravagant affair compared to Classified Affairs.

No one stopped the uniformed Li Hao when he entered the building. Law enforcement team members bustled in and out of their territory, each of them quite ferocious. Compared to them, Li Hao was too weak to be of note.

Since no one questioned his presence, he headed upward to look for Liu Yan. As vice captain of the team, she had her own office. All of the offices were on the sixth floor.

The young man made quick work of the stairs and found no one on the relevant floor. There were only empty hallways leading to senior offices with nameplates emblazoned on the walls. He looked around and quickly knocked on a particular door.

“Come in!” Liu Yan sounded much more aloof when she lacked the coquettish lilt of last night. Her voice immediately lightened when the young man pushed the door open. “Aw, isn’t it Little Hao. Looks like you didn’t sleep well last night and missed big sis this morning.”

“Good morning, Vice Captain Liu!” Unperturbed, Li Hao performed a circumspect salute. A beguiling figure held no allure for him, not to mention he was hardly in the mood given the danger that stalked him. Besides, this vice captain was absolutely not as simple as she seemed. She ran with Liu Long; Li Hao didn’t want to make trouble for himself.

“Little Li Hao, what are you being so serious for?” Liu Yan dimpled delightfully, a stark contrast to the ramrod straight young man. He swept the office with a surreptitious gaze and quailed inwardly.

The office was massive! It seemed to rival all of Classified Affairs and ran at least two hundred square meters long. But that wasn’t the main point—it was normal for Law Enforcement to have more impressive accommodations. What was unusual were the weapons of mass scale destruction that Li Hao glimpsed scattered around.

What was a third gen vortex gun worth? The pistol was complete trash in a place like this!

A Galewind One!

Li Hao had heard of this model and make before. It was a devastating submachine gun that could load three hundred rounds at the same time for repeated fire.

There’s a fourth gen Hawkeye!

The most advanced sniper rifle there was, its effective firing range was five hundred meters with an even larger reported maximum range.

And a second gen Armorpiercer!

Those were rumored to punch straight through iron and steel.

……

How is this an office, this is a private arsenal! Li Hao was at a complete loss for words.

Liu Yan’s smile deepened when she saw the changes in Li Hao’s expression. “Don’t be startled, little Li Hao. These are just models. I keep them around for fun, they’re not real!”

…do you take me for a fool?

Models?? The sheen of metal and the glint of light reflecting off of them… these are models?? Do you think I’m blind?!

The law enforcement team was really something! Liu Yan was openly displaying incredibly dangerous weapons in her office.

“Really, they’re just toys!” Liu Yan chuckled and suddenly threw a black grenade at Li Hao. “Play with it, nothing’s going to happen!”

Li Hao’s pupils constricted violently as he hastily caught the projectile. Sweat beaded his forehead. Holy fuck! This isn’t going to explode, is it?

“Don’t worry!” A merry Liu Yan walked over and casually yanked the pin out of the grenade. “See, the pin was still in! Nothing would’ve happened.”

Li Hao’s scalp went numb with horror. Are you crazy?! She’d yanked out the pin! He wanted to run screaming out of the office. Thankfully, Liu Yan laughed and quickly took the grenade, tossing it out the window.

“Really, everything’s fine, it’s all fake!”

KABOOM!

The room shook from the explosion and color drained from Li Hao’s face. Fake? This woman’s crazy! You threw a grenade outside and might’ve blown something up. How’s everything fine??

In the meantime, Liu Yan kept her eyes trained on the young man’s face and stopped smiling when she saw his pale countenance. “Little Li Hao, this won’t do.”

“Huh?”

“That’s all it takes to scare you?” Liu Yan returned to her seat and propped her feet up on her desk, completely disregarding what image she should present. “Supernaturals are so much more than that,” she drawled. “Some of them can manifest tiny fireballs more potent than that toy. You’ll die in a moment of carelessness. You’re so timid and afraid of even grenades. How are you to join us?”

Li Hao frowned, then quickly relaxed his brow. “I don’t know about any of this! I’m just an ordinary person and may not encounter those people even if I truly join the law enforcement team. I should be afraid, vice captain. Maybe I’ll get used to it after a few more times.”

“Oh yeah?” Liu Yan grinned. “You’re as timid as a mouse and not at all like the chief described. He says you’re as bold as a lion! I actually think you’re not short on courage either. If you were, you wouldn’t continue investigating the self-immolation cases after realizing they’re more than what meets the eye.”

“Some things just need to be done.” Li Hao recovered his calm. “We must head to the mountains even though we know there are tigers around! Just like you and the others, vice captain, you know that the supernaturals aren’t a people to provoke, but you do so anyways. I think that everyone carries a certain degree of fear with them, it’s just that some things must be undertaken no matter what!”

“Agreed.” Liu Yan nodded with full approval. “Well said. No one’s without fear. I’m afraid, the chief is also afraid. But being afraid doesn’t mean we give up!” She looked at the young man. “I don’t think you’ll be of much help, but since the chief has spoken, I welcome you to Law Enforcement. That’s not important—what’s much more important is welcome to the Demon Hunters!”

Demon Hunters!

Li Hao’s eyes widened. Was this what the small group called themselves? He reached out to shake the vice captain’s outstretched hand and didn’t understand why Liu Yan suddenly tightened her wrist. She grabbed Li Hao’s right hand, twisted it around, and slammed him to the ground over her shoulder before he could react!

The young man bounced back up, his training of three years kicking in. Clenching his teeth against the pain, he immediately jumped out of Liu Yan’s attack range.

The woman watched him quietly instead of following up, assessing his response with some admiration. “Not bad! Your vigilance is just subpar and your skills average, but your responsiveness passes muster. This is the ape style from the New Book of Five Styles, isn’t it? Your practice shows!”

Li Hao regarded her warily instead of responding. The woman looked delicate, but her hands had been like steel earlier! He could tell without checking that his arm was swollen after she grabbed it!

Her strength was incredible, it’d felt like bands of iron had constricted him!

“Just testing your skills, don’t be alarmed!” Liu Yan giggled flirtatiously, a world of pleasure promised in her gaze. She was back to her usual state, yet Li Hao no longer dared take her lightly!

“It’s good that you have the basics of the Five Styles. The ape style is not ideal for attack, but it’s suited for escape. I think ordinary supernaturals won’t be able to catch up to you if you reach the height of your teacher’s mastery!”

A new thought occurred to Li Hao. “Does Vice Captain Liu mean… that my teacher knows the ape style well?”

“Huh?” Liu Yan blinked, bursting into boisterous titters. “Who wrote the New Book of Five Styles? Elder Yuan! You’re asking if the creator of the New Book of Five Styles is good with them?”

Her peals of mirth continued for a while before suddenly stopping. “He’s very, very strong! While your teacher isn’t a supernatural, he was an ultimate powerhouse in the mundane field before supernatural power appeared! He didn’t make the crossover when the mysterious energy came… ai!”

Who knew if that sigh was for Yuan Shuo or herself? So what if one was immensely skilled in the mundane arts? The greatest expert could not withstand a single fireball, streak of blade light, or bolt of lightning from a supernatural.

That was what made everything so tragic!

But Liu Yan quickly returned to her senses and solemnity. She strode outside. “C’mon, let’s go find the chief and introduce our operations to you. You should know what your duties are and gain an understanding of the enemy and yourself. I don’t expect anything out of you, just don’t drag us down!”

Li Hao’s heart started racing. Magical abilities! Perhaps he’d learn more about the supernaturals from Liu Long. This might be where he marked his first step into that field himself. If this group dared hunt them down, that meant they understood their quarry well. This was also why he wanted to join the enforcement team. Only when he knew his enemy could he better manage the scarlet shadow.