Xue sighed helplessly as he looked at Lila sitting across from him.
"Captain, are you working overtime?" Lila tried to make conversation.
"Well, overtime, I should have left work three minutes ago, but you......" Xue paused, "Explain, the course of events."
"After work, on my way home, I encountered a robbery, and then I couldn't control myself and... killed the person." Lila has difficulty speaking, "Will I be punished?"
Xue thought for a while, "No, because those two people have criminal records, and you were acting in self-defense. You are a member of the Investigation Department, and although you are an intern, you have immunity, so you don't have to bear legal responsibility for casualties that occur in the course of your official duties. This matter can be resolved internally without being transferred to other departments, otherwise the procedures will become more complicated and troublesome."
Lila said: "Captain, I was not executing the public..."
Xue looked at her sternly: "You are just carrying out your duties."
Lila: "......I understand."
Xue plans to abuse his position to cover up this matter.
Xue, the lab report has been delivered. Adam reported.
"Screening." Xue said.
The holographic projection device in the office changes its angle, and the two bodies lying on the autopsy table are vividly presented.
One person's facial bones were terrifyingly sunken, and the flesh and blood on their head were mangled to the point that they would need to be pixelated. The other person had a subtle knife wound on their chest, and their body was covered in blood.
Lila lowered her head, her gaze avoiding the two corpses.
Galvin died from a fractured skull, severe blows to the temples, and shattered skull fragments piercing the brain, resulting in death within an hour.
"Seth, the cause of death was a sharp object piercing the chest. The sharp object precisely penetrated through the space between the third and fourth ribs on the left side of the deceased's chest, stabbing the heart, resulting in an instant death. The time of death was also less than one hour."
Xue was surprised and raised his eyebrows. He saw Lila's pale face and laughed, "I thought you really didn't have any feelings. If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time you've killed someone."
"How could I not feel anything." Lila covered her forehead, the contents of her stomach were churning.
Luckily, she hadn't eaten anything in the past few hours, otherwise she would have vomited.
When the incident first happened, she didn't feel much of anything, only a sense of unreality, as the events unfolded beyond her expectations.
"But now as she listens to Adam recount their autopsy report, her brain unconsciously replays the scene of her killing, over and over, which helps her regain a sense of reality. "Don't vomit in my office, the bathroom is to the left as you go out." Xue said, "Your basic skills learned at the academy are not bad, I've seen your internal recruitment scores, the practical courses like tracking, combat, investigation, and shooting are all close to perfect. Lila, you are one of the most outstanding new recruits in the Investigation Department in recent years."
He poured Lila a glass of ice water: "Drink it slowly."
Lila downed the iced water in one gulp, the refreshing chill helping to slightly cool her mind.
"You should have gone to the criminal investigation team, but I requested you to come over. The field team is more challenging than other departments. We need to face danger, confront criminals directly, and encounter many unexpected emergencies during patrols, even risking our lives." Xue said, "If you cannot adapt to this type of field work, you can apply for a transfer to another team after your internship period."
Lila did not answer.
"You can consider it, personally, I hope you stay, our field team is lacking new people." He said, "By the way, is your home on An'ning Street in the Harbor District?"
"Yes," Lila said.
"The security there is too poor, there are many gangs, it is difficult to manage, there are murder cases every month, and the Bay Area is the most prevalent for illegal transactions." Xue suggests, "Move to a safer place to live."
"But I don't have any money to move house." Lila said sadly, "That house was left to me by my mother, and I took out loans to go to university, I owe the bank 300,000... It'll take me until the year of the monkey to pay it all off."
Xue was momentarily at a loss for words.
"Once you get your permanent position, you can move into the employee dormitory." He said, "You'll be able to apply for a permanent position in another week, so take your time. Also, your personal communication device seems to have been damaged during your last field work, so..."
"Can the loss be reimbursed? This is due to work-related property damage."Lila said in a low voice.
She laughed, "No."
He bent down and rummaged through the drawer of the desk, "This is the communication device uniformly issued to formal members by the Investigation Department, just the basic model, you can use this first."
Lila took the box and said: "Thank you, captain."
"Are the other team leaders as caring and concerned about their team members' lives as you are? If they weren't, I wouldn't have applied to transfer out of the field operations team."
Xue: "......"
He cleared his throat, pretending not to have heard.
"If you really can't get over the hurdle of killing someone, go to the psychological treatment office." Xue finally explained, "Chief Yang of the psychological treatment office is an excellent therapist who will help you alleviate your troubles."
......
Xi stood like a fool on the first floor of the Juncha Building, he found a spot to sit down and wait for someone.
The record-taking was already over, as an eyewitness, the things he saw were limited, and there was not much he could say.
The interrogator gave him a high-tech instrument similar to a lie detector and asked him a few questions, then let him go.
He waited for Lila in the first-floor reception hall.
Ten minutes had passed, the floor number of the elevator descended, the elevator door opened, and Lila stepped out.
"You haven't left yet?" Lila said in surprise.
"I've been waiting for you," Xi said.
"Let's hurry back home, the subway stops running at 12 o'clock." Lila said.
Xi quickly nodded, thinking, "I was just waiting for you to say that."
The second world has long since entered a cashless society, and he is unfamiliar with how to pay here, and he also can't find his way home. What should one do if they get lost?
So he thought of Lila. Lila also lived on Anning Street, and once her business was finished, they could go back together.
Lila led Xi to the tram station in a familiar way.
Xi looked around in amazement, left and right, and when he saw the projected advertisement in midair, he let out a small gasp, marveling at the splendor of holographic imaging technology.
"What year are you in?" Lila inquired discreetly.
"A freshman, I just received the admission notice this morning and was admitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering." Xi scratched his head.
"The tuition fees at Black Sea Academy are not cheap, have you found a way to get a loan? "Lila probed further, in order not to make her probing seem too deliberate, she specifically said, "I took a lot of detours to go to university, let me remind you not to get involved with high-interest loans."
"Okay," Xi asked, "How expensive is the tuition...how expensive is it?"
Lila recalled the information she had seen, "More than 200,000 a year, not including living expenses."
"What?!" Xi was in shock, "Why didn't they go rob a bank! This is a university that cultivates talent! This expensive tuition must be blocking many talented students from attending."
Lila looked at Xi strangely, as he lowered his voice weakly: "The tuition fee is outrageous, it's way off the charts!"
"There's no way, the rules are like that," Lila said.
"Well, I've finally learned something new..."
Education is monopolized, the gap between the rich and the poor is large, and social stratification is serious. This is the current situation in the Second World. The rich can afford to go to university and receive higher education, while ordinary people without the ability can only engage in low-paid jobs. Over time, the gap between the rich and the poor becomes wider and the social stratification becomes more entrenched.
Education in the second world is not for the purpose of cultivating talents, but for consolidating the interests of the elite class.
"Senpai!" Xi said, approaching Lila, "Is there any way to get a legal loan?"
This little guy has a sweet mouth, he's calling the senior sister now.
Lila said: "The bank, but it's not certain whether they will lend or not, and the loan interest can sometimes be quite high."
"I'm so worried that I won't be able to go to school," Xi said with a frown.
The second world is a capitalist society, and how can capitalists who do not rise early without profit possibly engage in charity?
Until the trolley arrived at the station, Xi still had a worried and anxious expression on his face.
This is very interesting. Lila has confirmed thatis a player, and he should have been in this world for less than a day, so he shouldn't have much sense of belonging here, but he is genuinely worried about the money for school.
Lila had previously triggered the "Investigation of the Port Explosion Incident" mission issued by the game system. Could it be that the mission triggered by Xi was "Successfully Enroll in the Black Sea Academy"?
If that is indeed the case, then his performance would be justified.
"Let's get on the bus." Lila walked in front, scanning her face to pay.
Xi followed suit and tried to pay by face scan, but the machine prompted: "Insufficient balance, face scan payment failed."
"What? !"
Scanned again, the machine still prompts: "Insufficient balance, face scan payment failed."
Lila looked at him compassionately and went to the identification machine to scan him once: "Facial recognition passed, payment successful."
She patted Xi's shoulder and said, "I paid for you, thank you for accompanying me to the Investigation Department."
I was almost in tears, "Damn, how can I be so poor? Is there really hope for me to go to university?"
"Work hard, and there will be opportunities." Lila gave a sympathetic look.
This is not just a reunion of fellow countrymen, but also a meeting of the poor.
Lila fully understands Xi's situation, as she too in the first world struggles with living expenses and tuition fees, though the amount she needs is not as exaggerated as over 200,000 per academic year.
The electric rail car sped along, and they got off the car at Anning Street.
"Uh, isn't it a bit dangerous for a girl to walk alone? How about I give you a ride..." Xi paused, "Given your strength, it seems you don't need me to see you off."
"Go back, I can manage by myself."Lila waved her hand.
"Goodbye, senior sister. Wait, could I get your contact information, senior sister?"
Lila took out the communicator Xue had given her, and Xi frantically fiddled with it for a long time before finally adding the contact information.
The heavy rain showed no sign of letting up. Lila opened her umbrella and left, wandering left and right for a long time before finally finding her way home.
This small building has peeling and discolored walls, with some colorful advertisements still stuck on them. The hallway has a moldy smell, and the rusty iron door is half-open and crooked.
The door creaks loudly when pushed.
She went up to the third floor, stopped at the door and grasped the doorknob.
Fingerprint verification successful. The door opened.
Lila entered the house, and suddenly a sense of intuitive premonition arose in her mind.
She looked up, and was horrified to see a dark figure sitting on the sofa in the living room.
The black shadow had a silver mask covering its face, and a pair of eyes looked through the hollow Silver at Lila.
"You're late." Silver said.
This tone, as if it were someone familiar.
"I encountered a small accident on the way."Lila responded quickly.
"Have you seen the task chip that the leader had someone deliver?" Silver person said.
"No." Lila replied in the most concise way possible. She was afraid that if she said too much, her tone would betray her.
"Yes. The leader has told me to inform you that this mission must be completed, no matter the cost. Silver person stood up from the sofa, "From today on, I am your assistant and teammate in Heihai City, and will cooperate with you to complete all the tasks. My code name is 'Silver', and you need to give yourself a code name for communication."
What's the code? Lila's brain raced.
Silver said: "The code name should be as far removed from your own characteristics as possible, the further the better, so that no one can associate the code name with you..."
Wealthy Woman.
Silver was stunned: "What did you say?"
"Wealthy Woman. Lila calmly repeated, 'Code name, Wealthy Woman.'"
She felt the code name "Wealthy Woman" was quite good, but "Wealthy Woman" had nothing to do with her, it was miles away from her.
Silver: "..."
He held his breath for a while and said, "This... is not impossible... are you sure the code name is this?"
"Alright." Lila said firmly, "Let's call it Wealthy Woman."
This is a code name that is both far removed from her own person and yet contains her beautiful hopes for the future. Her dream is to become a Wealthy Woman!
"Alright, 'Wealthy Woman'." The expression on Silver's face behind the mask was difficult to describe, "Hurry and look at the task the leader gave you."
Lila took a blue chip out of her pocket and placed it on her wristband to read it.
Your task is to completely destroy the port of Heihai City.
Lila: "??"
What is going on with these NPCs! Why can't they get along with this harbor?!
