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

The dust on the construction site slowly settled back to the ground.

The acrid smell of burnt ozone mixed with the dryness of loess in the air spread with the night wind.

The SWAT team members moved swiftly. No one was shouting; only the slapping sound of tactical boots hitting the muddy ground could be heard.

Several smugglers were still thrashing about in the sand, spitting out bloody yellow sand, their eyes rolling back like dead fish out of water. The special police officer didn't hesitate to press his knee into their lower back.

He pulled out a black, thick nylon cable tie.

They tied the hands of these people, who were still convulsing, behind their backs and bound them tightly. The plastic gears meshed with a piercing click, and the cable ties dug deep into their flesh, instantly turning the skin at the edges white.

Several special police officers carried over a silver-white metal box.

It contained a captured alien anti-gravity engine. The thing was still emitting a faint blue light.

The lead veteran SWAT officer took out his handheld terminal. A "beep" sounded.

A yellow evidence seal with a barcode was affixed to the box. A photo was taken, and the information was uploaded to the Skynet system—all in one smooth motion.

Zhao Tiezhu hung the electromagnetic mesh gun back on his back.

He walked over and kicked the fat man's butt.

"Hurry up! Stop pretending and get in the Iveco!"

The fat man spat out a mouthful of sand.

With a mournful face, he limped towards the police car as two SWAT officers pushed and shoved him.

Lu Jingyan stood by the muddy puddle.

He ignored the arrests taking place over there. He pulled a black police tablet terminal from a slot in his tactical vest.

He tapped the screen a few times, bringing up the penalty system.

He walked up to the red-haired man who was so shocked by the electric shock that he couldn't move. His leather shoes stopped beside the man's legs.

"You don't need to give your name anymore; Skynet has already recognized your face."

Lu Jingyan looked at the screen, his voice steady.

"According to Chapter 3 of the city's regulations on the management of low-altitude flying objects, the use of micro-propulsion devices to take off in the urban area without prior declaration, thereby disrupting traffic order."

He pressed the confirm button.

The portable printer hanging at his waist whirred, spitting out a sheet of white thermal paper. The paper still held the warmth of the freshly printed ink.

Lu Jingyan pinched the edge of the paper with two fingers and gently pulled it down. With a crisp tearing sound, the ticket was ripped off.

"A fine of 200,000 yuan, plus 15 days of administrative detention, and the charge of illegally possessing controlled technology. We'll settle things slowly in the detention center."

He slapped the ticket onto the red-haired man's chest, which was covered in yellow sand. The paper was stuck with mud and water, making a mess.

Red Hair didn't even glance at the number. He collapsed to the ground, groaning in despair, probably never wanting to fly again.

Lu Jingyan turned around and walked towards Ye Xiu, who was standing to the side.

Ye Xiu remained in that pose.

He clutched the model worker award certificate wrapped in plastic in his hand. Like a schoolchild who had made a mistake, he stood pressed against the scaffolding.

He watched Lu Jingyan walk over, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down twice.

Lu Jingyan stopped in his tracks.

He unzipped a hidden zipper on the inside of his tactical vest and pulled out a black leather wallet.

This is the reserve fund for the special investigation team's field operations.

I opened my wallet. Inside was a stack of brand-new RMB banknotes.

Lu Jingyan stretched out his long, slender fingers and pinched the edge of the banknote. He then flicked it downwards with his thumb.

"Swish, swish, swish."

The sound of the banknotes rubbing together was crisp and clean.

The red bills fluttered between his pale fingertips. Exactly five bills, no more, no less.

He withdrew his hand, closed his wallet, and put it back in his pocket.

"Take it."

Lu Jingyan handed over the five hundred yuan, along with a copy of the parking ticket, and presented it to Ye Xiu.

Ye Xiu was stunned.

He stared at the five red bills, not daring to reach out for a long time.

"Commander Lu... what's going on?"

He stammered. His rough, hoarse voice trembled.

Lu Jingyan glanced at the mud and broken lunchbox on the ground.

"Compensation for that thirty-yuan boxed lunch."

His gaze returned to Ye Xiu's face. "The remaining four hundred and seventy is the reward money the bureau gave you for your act of bravery."

Ye Xiu's mouth was open, and he forgot to close it.

"Your timely dialing of 110 and provision of accurate clues prevented the loss of contraband."

Lu Jingyan pushed the money forward half an inch. "It meets the criteria for being recognized as a good citizen. You deserve it."

Ye Xiu's chest heaved violently.

Back when he was the Dragon King of Asura, he had hundreds of billions in his Swiss bank accounts. He bought limited-edition sports cars and booked entire islands without batting an eye. Back then, bundles of cash were just like paper towels to him.

But now.

He looked at the mere five hundred yuan, and his eyes suddenly felt sore and swollen.

The money he used to have was all earned by stepping on other people's bones. His banknotes always seemed to carry an indelible smell of blood. With a murder case on his hands, he had to sleep with a gun under his pillow, ready to spring up at the slightest disturbance.

This five hundred yuan is different.

He quickly tucked the certificate under his arm.

He frantically scrubbed his filthy work pants with both hands. Dry mud dripped off the pant legs.

He rubbed his palms until they were red, wiping away all the mud and dust, and even shaving his fingernails a couple of times on his clothes.

He then reached out his hands and carefully took the money.

The banknotes felt a little slippery to the touch. The distinctive smell of fresh ink from the ATM drifted into my nose on the autumn breeze.

This is clean money. It's untouched by karmic debts, unstained by human blood. Holding it in my hand, a weight is lifted from my heart, and I feel at ease.

"Thank you, sir..."

Ye Xiu's voice was terribly hoarse, with a clear hint of crying.

He was a muscular man nearly two meters tall. His eyes were red like a rabbit's.

Tears mixed with the dust on my face and fell down, leaving two clear white streaks.

Zhao Tiezhu walked over carrying a net gun and happened to witness this scene.

He reached out and slapped Ye Xiu's broad back. The slap was loud.

"Alright, big guy. What kind of ambition do you have, trying to shed tears like that?"

Zhao Tiezhu grinned.

"From now on, if you encounter any problems, do this: call the police if you're in trouble, don't try to take matters into your own hands. This society has rules to protect you."

Ye Xiu sniffed hard.

He nodded heavily. Tears fell to the ground.

"Yes! I understand! I've got it all in mind!"

He grinned, looking like a fool.

"I'll go to the night market tomorrow at noon... no, I'll go tonight and buy three servings of fried chicken legs to make up for it!"

The SWAT team has already finished preparing.

The engine of the armored SUV restarted, emitting a deep roar.

Lu Jingyan didn't say anything more.

He turned and walked towards the car door. His leather shoes left a steady trail of footprints on the muddy ground.

The convoy slowly drove out of the construction site gate.

The afterglow of the red and blue flashing lights swept across the loess slope, illuminating the bumpy road surface in an intermittent manner, before finally fading into the distance.

The construction site has returned to complete silence.

The night breeze was a bit chilly. It blew against my bare arms, sending shivers down my spine.

Ye Xiu clutched the five hundred yuan tightly to his chest, choking back tears as he stood at attention and saluted. Meanwhile, in a dark basement on the other side of the city, "Shadow," a high-ranking figure in the black market who had learned that the goods had been intercepted, smashed his wine glass against the wall.