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

A bone-chilling cold gushed out from the cracks in the ground, and the incandescent light bulb in the interrogation room made an unsettling "click" sound due to the violent fluctuations in the magnetic field.

From the gap in the dark shadow, a figure dressed in dark blue ancient official robes with a pale green face slowly rose up.

He held in his hand a long stick covered with white paper offerings for summoning the spirits; it was the legendary mourning stick.

"The living should avoid the jurisdiction of the underworld when it handles cases."

The voice of the messenger in blue seemed to come from the bottom of a dry well, carrying a metallic, abrasive quality that made one's teeth ache.

His lifeless, pupil-less eyes swept across the entire room, finally settling on the red-clad female ghost huddled in the corner.

"You audacious wicked spirit, how dare you flee to the mortal realm and violate the law of karma! You shall immediately return with me to face judgment!"

Zhao Tiezhu was so frightened that he jumped back a big step, and the Gatling gun in his hand almost went off.

"Boss... this thing looks even weirder than the last one. Should we call a Taoist priest to help with the police?"

Lu Jingyan looked at the uninvited guest with a blank expression.

He showed no signs of fear in the conventional sense; instead, he calmly adjusted his glasses.

A faint golden halo formed around him, indicating that he possessed "Rule-Level Absolute Rationality".

The eerie, oppressive feeling emanating from the underworld vanished instantly when it came within three feet of Lu Jingyan.

"Auxiliary police? We don't need them."

Lu Jingyan put one hand in his pocket, his tone as calm as if he were asking for directions.

"Which unit in the Underworld are you from? Do you have a formal police officer's ID or a cross-dimensional law enforcement authorization?"

The messenger in blue was stunned.

He served in office for hundreds of years, and took away at least eight or ten thousand souls. He saw those who begged for mercy and those who resisted.

I've never seen anyone ask him for his ID.

"Mortal, do you know who you are speaking to?"

The messenger's tone turned somber, and he slammed his mourning staff on the floor.

"I am the seventh inspector of the Soul-Collecting Division of the Underworld. Collecting your souls is as easy as taking candy from a baby!"

"The seventh patrol?"

Lu Jingyan sneered and deftly pulled out a dark blue work ID from his waist.

He waved his credentials in front of the envoy, exuding an air of righteousness.

"I am Lu Jingyan, the director of the Comprehensive Management Bureau of Paranormal Phenomena."

"According to the Provisional Regulations on the Administration of Public Security Across Three Realms and Dimensions, any public official who is not a member of this dimension and enforces the law within the territory of Jinghai City must report to our bureau in writing."

Lu Jingyan's eyes were like knives, and his tone exuded a strong bureaucratic air.

"You didn't submit an application, didn't affix an official seal, and just emerged from underground like that. That's called 'illegal cross-border law enforcement,' understand?"

The envoy in blue stared wide-eyed, clearly bewildered by Lu Jingyan's technical jargon.

"Wha...what regulations? Can the laws of the mortal world govern the affairs of the underworld?"

"In Jinghai City, even if the King of Hell himself came, he would still have to follow the procedures."

Lu Jingyan did not back down and pointed to the red-clad female ghost on the ground, which was still continuously emitting blood mist.

"This spirit woman is now suspected of provoking trouble, intentionally damaging public property, and has a strong tendency towards violence."

"She has seriously threatened the security of our office. As the highest law enforcement officer, I have the authority to take immediate action against her."

Just then, the red-clad female ghost lying on the ground suddenly erupted.

Seeing the two sides locked in a standoff, she thought she had a chance to escape. She suddenly broke free of the remaining red rope and rushed towards Lu Jingyan with a shrill scream.

"Lu Jingyan! I want you to go to hell with me!"

The female ghost's fingernails instantly grew ten centimeters, shimmering with a purplish-black glow of corpse poison.

"court death."

Lu Jingyan didn't even blink, his fingertips quickly pressing a concealed switch on his tactical belt.

"Physical salvation procedure initiated."

At his command, the high-frequency particle oscillator that had been set up in the interrogation room instantly went into full power.

A pure white laser beam, imbued with terrifying righteousness, shot precisely down from the hole in the ceiling.

This is not ordinary gunpowder; it is the "light of the rule of law" that transforms righteousness into physical energy.

"boom--!"

The white light instantly pierced through the female ghost's illusory body.

There was no blood splattering, only countless red fragments rapidly dissolving and purifying in the air.

"No... my three lifetimes..."

Before the female ghost could even scream, her entire spirit was like a soap bubble that had come into contact with strong alkali.

In less than a second, they were forcibly sent into a miniature cycle channel that was forcibly opened by the system.

"Ding! Illegal spirit detected. Physical exorcism successful. Forcibly sent to the nearest reincarnation point."

The system's cold notification sounded in Lu Jingyan's mind.

The dust has settled.

The woman in red disappeared, leaving only charred ashes in the interrogation room.

"You...you actually..."

The messenger in blue was dumbfounded.

That was a wanted criminal he had chased down with great effort, yet this mortal blasted him to death with a single shot?

"Director Lu... isn't your method of performing the ritual a bit too violent?"

Zhao Tiezhu swallowed hard and muttered to himself.

"That's called improving efficiency."

Lu Jingyan turned off the instruments and looked back at the stunned messenger.

"I've dealt with the prisoner for you; he's been sent to the next queue. You can go back and report now."

The envoy in green was so angry that he trembled all over, and his pale green face almost turned purple.

"You madman! You've violated karma and forcibly performed a ritual for the deceased; the underworld will never let this go!"

"You wait here, I'll go back and report to the judge right away!"

Having said that, the messenger transformed into a wisp of green smoke and hurriedly slipped back through the crack in the shadow on the ground.

The gap slowly closed in the cold wind.

"Boss, is he going back to get reinforcements?"

Zhao Tiezhu put down his gun with some worry and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Those people in the underworld are very vengeful. Won't we run into trouble if we do this?"

Lu Jingyan slowly patted non-existent dust off his shoulder.

"What's there to be afraid of?"

He looked out the window at the now calm night sky, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"If the underworld has any objections, let their director come and talk to me personally. I will not respond to any complaints that do not follow legal procedures."

However, Lu Jingyan had barely finished speaking.

"Buzz—!"

A pressure ten times more terrifying than before instantly enveloped the entire Administration Bureau building.

The once-solid cement floor of the interrogation room began to ripple violently, like the surface of water.

A deep purple mist seeped from the cracks in the wall.

Accompanied by a deep, majestic, and chilling sound of chains grinding together.

A figure over two meters tall, dressed in a deep purple official robe embroidered with gold patterns, stepped out of nothingness.

He held a huge judge's pen in his right hand and a book of life and death that exuded black aura in his left.

His beard, as sharp as steel needles, swayed in the eerie wind, and his eyes flashed like lightning.

"Lu Jingyan, you've got some nerve."

The judge's voice was like rolling thunder, causing the glass in the interrogation room to shatter.

"In my three thousand years of service, I have never seen a 'mortal section chief' who dares to snatch people from the underworld."