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

The air in the ward seemed to be drawn into a vacuum in that instant.

"The tiger...said something?"

Ignoring the pain in her wound, Su Xiaoxiao suddenly propped herself up, and due to the large movement, a small section of the IV tube turned red from the backflow of blood.

She stared wide-eyed, her face filled with disbelief.

Qin Mingyue stood expressionless at the foot of the bed, her fingertips lightly swiping across the tablet.

The video footage played again, showing a close-up of the zoo's surveillance camera.

The huge Siberian tiger was not only riding an electric scooter, but also cursing and swearing. It even asked the food delivery guy next to it for a cigarette while waiting at a traffic light.

Lu Jingyan slowly put down the porcelain bowl of black rice porridge in his hand.

"Click".

The bowl collided with the bedside table with a crisp sound, breaking the deathly silence.

He showed no panic, nor did he reveal even the slightest awe of the unknown power.

Instead, a hint of rational annoyance flashed in those deep black eyes.

"After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it is forbidden for beings to become spirits; this is the rule."

Lu Jingyan's voice was cold, exuding an unquestionable authority of the rule of law.

He stood up, walked to the bedside, and awkwardly yet forcefully pressed Su Xiaoxiao back into the blankets.

"Captain Lu, what are you doing? This is an epic discovery!"

Su Xiaoxiao struggled to reach for the tactical computer placed next to her.

"As the technical core of the special investigation team, I must immediately access the city's surveillance data..."

"Your only task now is to close your eyes and go to sleep."

Lu Jingyan pulled over the blue sterile blanket and carefully tucked every corner of it around her.

He even pressed down hard on Su Xiaoxiao's shoulder, stuffing her in like a giant silkworm cocoon.

"But those reports..."

"I wrote."

Lu Jingyan casually picked up Su Xiaoxiao's tactical computer, which was covered in anime stickers.

Su Xiaoxiao was stunned.

She stared at Lu Jingyan's pale yet cold profile, speechless for a long time.

It should be noted that due to the frantic purge of system hosts during this period, there were more than three hundred backlogged case reports.

That was Su Xiaoxiao's most troublesome paperwork; each document required meticulous data entry based on the provisions of the Criminal Law.

Lu Jingyan, carrying his laptop, turned to look at Qin Mingyue.

"Forensic Doctor Qin, keep an eye on her for me. If she dares to touch her phone, give her a sedative injection."

Qin Mingyue pushed up her glasses, a playful smile curving her lips.

"No problem, I have the highest dosage."

Su Xiaoxiao huddled under the covers, watching Lu Jingyan's black figure disappear through the door.

Her heart suddenly softened completely, as if she had been stuffed with a big ball of pink cotton candy.

"The tenderness of a seemingly tough, straight man..."

Su Xiaoxiao muttered something under her breath, her eyes inexplicably becoming moist.

She knows Lu Jingyan too well.

This man doesn't know how to buy flowers, doesn't know how to say sweet words, and even the porridge he cooks tastes like gunpowder.

But he will help you shoulder the most tedious and complicated pressures, and use the most hardcore methods to keep you out of it.

Special Investigation Team of Provincial Department, Director's Office.

Night had fallen, and the entire building was shrouded in deep silence, except for this one window that still shone with a cold, white light.

Lu Jingyan sat behind a large desk, a pair of blue light protective glasses perched on his nose.

"Da, da, da, da..."

The rhythmic clicks of the mechanical keyboard echoed in the empty room.

He stared at the screen while casually flipping through a thick legal dictionary.

[The perpetrator, Shi Dahai, illegally implanted unapproved microelectronic devices and is suspected of attempted bigamy...]

According to Article 258 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, and considering the circumstances of using hypnotic frequencies to disrupt the will of citizens...

His thinking was terrifyingly clear, and thanks to his absolute rationality, the reports he wrote were textbook-perfect.

Every word was precise, and every charge was perfectly matched.

This is what Lu Jingyan considers the ultimate in romance.

Help her clear away all her worries so that she can still get a good night's sleep in this chaotic world.

By the time I finished writing the 180th report, the sky outside the window was already beginning to lighten.

Lu Jingyan took off his goggles and reached out to press his sore eyes.

He stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

His brain didn't stop working all night; instead, it was spinning rapidly.

"The tiger in the zoo talking was the trigger."

Lu Jingyan stared at the gradually awakening Jinghai City in the distance and muttered to himself.

"The high-dimensional energy released after the system's main body was destroyed was not completely annihilated, but rather merged with the magnetic field of this world."

He took a cigarette out of his pocket, but didn't light it; he just fiddled with it between his fingers.

"This is not called spiritual revival."

"This is called a logical variation of the physical environment."

Lu Jingyan sneered, his deep eyes filled with arrogance.

"Whether it's the evolution of carbon-based life or the rampant spread of demons and monsters."

"As long as you live on Chinese territory, you must obediently pay taxes, display your license plates, and abide by the law."

Just then, the temperature in the office seemed to fluctuate slightly.

This fluctuation was subtle, but under Lu Jingyan's rule-level perception, it was as obvious as a thunderclap.

He turned his head sharply and his gaze locked onto a potted green ivy on the windowsill.

Su Xiaoxiao moved it in herself a few days ago, saying it would add a touch of life to the office.

The once sparse and droopy pothos plants were now trembling slightly.

As Lu Jingyan approached, his pupils suddenly contracted.

The plant was growing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In just a few seconds, the lush green vines spread up to the ceiling and wrapped tightly around the entire window frame.

The strangest thing is that the originally soft green leaves have now become as sharp as blades.

In the dim morning sunlight, the surface of the leaves shimmered with a cold... metallic luster.

Lu Jingyan reached out and gently touched the leaf with his fingertips.

"Sizzle—"

A tiny spark ignited at the point of contact between the fingertip and the blade.

This plant has not only become metallic, but it has even been imbued with a high-voltage current.

"Has it already spread to the plant kingdom?"

Lu Jingyan withdrew his hand, his face as dark as the sea before a storm.

He suddenly pushed open the window and looked down at the entire city.

Due to the dramatic temperature difference and energy fluctuations overnight, most of Jinghai City was shrouded in thick fog.

Beneath that thin layer of mist.

The shrubs in the green belt are making a crackling sound as they grow taller.

A stray cat was perched on a lamppost, emitting a series of sharp laughs that sounded exactly like the cries of a human baby.

The balance of order in the city completely collapsed at this moment.

Lu Jingyan slowly pulled out the walkie-talkie from his waist.

His voice was hoarse yet resonant, carrying a chilling, murderous aura that seemed to pierce the dawn.

"Zhao Tiezhu, wake up all the brothers on duty."

"Tell the equipment department to abandon the conventional fishing nets and prepare high-voltage insulating suits and liquid nitrogen freezing boxes for me."

Lu Jingyan abruptly pulled open the drawer and slammed a stack of still-damp case closure reports onto the table.

His eyes were as cold as ice.

"The old script has ended, and the new reckoning has officially begun."

On the other end of the walkie-talkie came Zhao Tiezhu's hoarse voice, sounding groggy yet instantly roused.

"Boss, who are we going to arrest this time?"

Lu Jingyan looked at the green ivy gleaming with a cold metallic light outside the window, a cruel smile curling at the corner of his lips.

"Whether it's hairy, spiky, or has no shadow."

"Anyone who becomes a spirit by not following the rules, arrest them and send them back to labor camp."

The moment he hung up the call, the pothos plant on the windowsill seemed to sense a murderous intent.

The vines suddenly sprang up like venomous snakes, crackling with blue electricity as they coiled around Lu Jingyan's neck.

Lu Jingyan didn't even turn his head.

He grabbed the metal vine with his backhand and crushed it with just one hand.

"Violent resistance to law enforcement in the police station?"

"The crime is compounded."