Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

The first rays of morning sunlight pierced through the clouds and shone on the damaged bronze door of the St. Fino Noble Academy.

The once magnificent school gate, a symbol of wealth and class, now resembles a torn mouth, silently recounting the madness of last night. The roar of sports car engines is gone from the campus, as are the groups of wealthy children chasing and playing. Instead, the air is filled with the clear voices of students reciting their lessons from the school buildings, and the synchronized, almost hypnotic chants echoing across the playground.

"One two one! One two one!"

"Where there's a will, there's a way!"

Su Xiaoxiao controlled the drone, slowly zooming in on the playground.

Millions of viewers in the live stream went wild instantly.

The lush green lawn that once hosted lavish parties has now been divided into neat vegetable plots. And the once arrogant F4, like the dozen or so other "young masters" who participated in the bullying, are now dressed in drab tracksuits, sporting shiny spiky hair, and are... farming under the supervision of their instructors.

Long Zesi, with a small hoe stuffed into his cast-covered hand, was laboriously loosening the soil around a row of bok choy, his movements as clumsy as an ape that had just learned to use tools. The others were fetching water and pouring manure, their expressions more bitter than if they had eaten bitter herbs.

On the nearby synthetic track, another group of "trainees" were conducting formation training, standing at attention and marching in formation, their thin clothes soaked with sweat.

This is no longer some noble academy; it's clearly a strictly managed labor camp!

Lu Jingyan leaned against the car, not going in to disturb this "peace." He simply watched quietly as those ordinary students, once shrouded in gloom, now walked in twos and threes in the sunlight. Although their faces still carried a hint of timidity, the fear in their eyes had dissipated, replaced by a long-lost sense of ease.

Just then, several students ran out of the teaching building and headed straight for him.

The one leading the group was the skinny boy whose face was covered in blood last night. He had changed into a clean school uniform, and although his face was still bruised and swollen, his eyes shone with an astonishing brightness.

"Officer Lu... Officer Lu!"

The boy ran up to Lu Jingyan, so nervous that he could barely speak, and bowed deeply.

The classmates behind him worked together to unfurl a bright red banner.

The banner was made overnight, and the velvet still carried the fresh scent of ink. Two lines of large, gilded characters gleamed in the morning light:

"A true hero in the fight against organized crime, Officer Lu upholds justice."

"Officer Lu, thank you!"

The boy looked up, his eyes red-rimmed, his voice trembling with tears, "If it weren't for you, we...we might have lived in their shadows for the rest of our lives. This banner was made with money pooled together by all the students in our school who had been bullied. Please accept it!"

After he finished speaking, he bowed deeply again.

Looking at the youthful yet sincere face before him, and then at the somewhat tacky yet substantial banner, Lu Jingyan felt a slight thaw in the icy field of "absolute rationality" that had been covering his heart.

He didn't say those polite things like "It's what I should do."

He simply reached out and solemnly accepted the banner, then patted the boy on the shoulder, his tone still calm, but with a touch more warmth:

"Study hard and get into police academy. When you put on this uniform, you'll be able to protect even more people."

The boy nodded vigorously, his eyes shining even brighter.

This scene was faithfully captured by a drone camera and spread across the entire internet.

After a brief silence, the chat in the live stream erupted with unprecedented enthusiasm.

[I'm moved to tears! This is true positive energy! This is the ending we wanted to see!]

Officer Lu not only catches bad guys, but also gives people hope. I'm a fan forever!

[Extremely satisfying! Watching those scumbags farm and then seeing the good people being thanked has wiped away all my fatigue from the day!]

[I strongly recommend this be implemented nationwide! Send all those involved in school bullying to farm! This would not only reform their thinking but also solve the problem of unsold vegetables!]

Public opinion on the internet has completely reversed.

The previous criticisms of Lu Jingyan's showmanship have vanished without a trace, replaced by endless praise for his ruthless methods. The hashtag #LuJingyanSingleHandedlyReorganizesJinghai# immediately topped the trending searches, followed by a bright red "hot" label.

[Ding! Host behavior detected as triggering a positive social effect; justice has been served!]

[The "Reorganization of Elite Academies" incident has concluded perfectly, and the system has settled the rewards!]

[Uprightness Value +200000! Congratulations, host, on your promotion to "Second-Class Superintendent"!]

[All beginner missions completed, the climax of Volume 1 story reached! System shop features fully unlocked!]

As Lu Jingyan listened to the series of notification sounds in his mind, he let out a long sigh of relief.

The beginner's protection period for this first volume is finally over. What follows is the true, bizarre core of this world.

He carefully folded the banner and handed it to Xiao Zhang next to him, preparing to get in the car and go back to the station to catch up on some sleep.

In the special investigation team's office, Su Xiaoxiao's clear voice, tinged with anxiety, suddenly came through his Bluetooth headset.

"Captain Lu! Captain Lu, something terrible has happened! Quick, check Weibo!"

Lu Jingyan frowned slightly, took out his phone, and opened that familiar app.

A brand new trending topic is climbing rapidly, and its popularity is even showing signs of surpassing that of "rectifying elite academies".

#Actress Su Qingge posts lengthy article accusing police of excessive force#

Clicking on it reveals a typical "short essay".

The entire piece is meticulously crafted, emotionally charged, and beautifully illustrated. In the photo, Su Qingge, tears streaming down her face, tenderly feeds porridge to a young man with a bandage wrapped around his hand. That young man is none other than one of the "ugly sons of capital" that Lu Jingyan had recently shoved out of a talent show.

In her short essay, Su Qingge tearfully accused her "younger brother" of being a child who was not well-behaved, but was subjected to abuse of power and violent law enforcement by a police officer with "powerful connections," resulting in a broken wrist and severe mental trauma.

At the end of the article, she also pointedly tagged the official account of the Jinghai Municipal Public Security Bureau, questioning, "Is this the elite you've cultivated? Public power is not a tool for some people to vent their personal grievances!"

This short essay instantly ignited her millions of fans.

In the comments section, countless fans and online trolls, unaware of the facts, began to launch a frenzied attack on the Jinghai police and Lu Jingyan.

"I feel so sorry for the older brother! He's still just a child! Does that give the police the right to beat people?"

"I'd heard long ago that Lu Jingyan is a lawless rich kid who does whatever he wants just because his family is wealthy!"

"Resist police brutality! Demand an explanation from the police! Give our brother justice!"

Looking at the distorted and fabricated statements on his phone screen, Lu Jingyan was not angry at all; instead, he chuckled softly.

The laughter was soft, yet it carried a cold, hunter's excitement at spotting his prey.

"Captain Lu, what do we do now? The PR department's phones are ringing off the hook, they're telling us to issue a statement to clarify things right away." Su Xiaoxiao's anxious voice came through the earpiece.

Lu Jingyan turned off his phone and started the car. Morning light streamed through the car window, casting interplay of light and shadow on his handsome profile.

"clarify?"

He gripped the steering wheel, gazing at the road stretching ahead, a playful smile curving his lips.

"Why clarify? Doesn't she like performing online?"

"Then let her act to her heart's content. Su Xiaoxiao, pass the word down, prepare to close the net. This time, we're going to fish out a big one in the entertainment industry."