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

Three hairy heads peeked out from outside the iron gate.

All the police uniforms were brand new. The epaulets still showed the two-striped probationary insignia, and the creases on the clothes hadn't been ironed out.

The slightly taller boy in the middle was clutching a blue folder tightly in his hand. He swallowed hard and peered through the crack in the door.

"Hey, I heard from the old director that the legendary 'God Lu,' who supposedly recruited Superman and sent aliens to work on sewing machines, went back to his old unit today?"

He nudged the crew-cut young man next to him with his elbow and muttered in a low voice.

"Which muscular guy with three heads and six arms is it? Is he two meters tall and covered in scars?"

The crew-cut young man shrank his neck, looking around nervously as if he had done something wrong.

"Shh! Keep your voice down. This is the Special Investigations Unit. Anyone you pick out is a veteran who's solved major intergalactic cases. Don't shout."

The three people squeezed together at the doorway, staring at each other as they peered into the office.

The room was a mess. I didn't see any two-meter-tall muscular men.

Then I saw Old Li, the veteran detective, sitting at his desk by the window, holding a stainless steel lunchbox. He was slurping up a long instant noodle with his mouth full of grease.

On the other side was a pretty girl. She had her legs crossed on a chair, crunching away on potato chips, while typing rapidly on a keyboard with one hand.

These two don't look like the kind of formidable characters who could suppress an alien fleet at all.

Finally, all three of them turned their gazes to the workstation in the far corner.

There was a young man sitting there.

He was wearing an old, faded summer police uniform. The edges of the short sleeves were a little frayed, but on him, it somehow managed to create a sharp and upright silhouette.

The man was looking down at the case file.

His profile was clean and sharp, with a straight nose. His deep black eyes were fixed on the paper, devoid of any extraneous emotion.

On the corner of the table sat a chipped stainless steel thermos. The lid was open, and a few plump red goji berries floated in the hot water, wisps of steam rising from them.

"That one?" The tall guy was a little disappointed, muttering under his breath, "Looks like a recent graduate who just got in as an office worker. All clean and tidy, can he beat aliens? Maybe he got in through connections."

The old-fashioned exhaust fan in the office creaked and groaned as it whirred.

Lu Jingyan didn't look up. He drew a horizontal line on the file with a black carbon pen in his hand.

"What are you doing standing at the door?"

His voice wasn't loud. His tone was steady and calm, without any official airs, yet it clearly pierced through the noise of the fan.

"Go inside. Close the door behind you; the draft in the hallway has messed up the case files."

The three newlyweds outside the door simultaneously shuddered.

Like a middle school student being called out by the head teacher, he quickly pushed open the iron gate and shrank back inside. He then closed the door tightly behind him.

The tall boy forced himself to walk forward. He clutched the blue folder in his hand, his palms sweaty.

After slurping up the last mouthful of soup, Old Li wiped his mouth with a tissue.

"A new intern, right?" Old Li leaned back in his chair and pointed in Lu Jingyan's direction. "You have some materials to submit, right? Take them over and show them to Lu."

The tall boy quickly bowed and scraped as he slowly made his way to Lu Jingyan's table.

"Um... Officer Lu, hello." He stammered for a moment. "This is a public security dispute that happened yesterday at the East Street vegetable market. Our instructor said that the special investigation team is meticulous in handling cases, and asked us to bring it over for the big shots here to review."

He handed over the folder with both hands. The plastic cover was almost deformed from his grip.

Lu Jingyan put down his pen.

His long, slender fingers gripped the edge of the folder and pulled it over. He opened it.

The paper rubbed together, making a dry, rustling sound.

Lu Jingyan's gaze swept over the transcript. He read it quickly.

The office was quiet. Su Xiaoxiao even ate her potato chips softly, tilting her head to watch the commotion.

Less than half a minute later, Lu Jingyan's gaze stopped in the middle of that page.

He raised his eyelids and glanced at the reserved, tall boy.

"Did you write this transcript?"

"Yes, I wrote it." The boy's heart skipped a beat. "Is there a problem? I followed the standard template given by the police academy..."

Lu Jingyan picked up the pen and touched one of the lines of text with the tip.

"The two parties had a heated argument over a dispute about their stalls encroaching on each other's boundaries, which escalated into minor physical contact. Zhang lost control and kicked over Li's water bucket."

After reading this passage, he turned the folder around and pushed it in front of the boy.

"The qualitative analysis is vague, and the causal relationship is discontinuous."

Lu Jingyan leaned back in the hard wooden chair. His tone was calm and unhurried, like an older brother helping to reason with his neighbors.

"Who started the verbal abuse? Was it a minor physical contact, a push or a scuffle? What triggered Zhang's emotional outburst?"

The boy was stunned by the question, and a layer of fine sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Well... we got into a heated argument and kicked a bucket. The bucket was full of live, cleaned fish, and it spilled all over the ground."

Lu Jingyan picked up the thermos cup next to him.

He blew away the goji berries floating on the water's surface and slowly took a sip of warm water. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down with each swallow.

"Writing a case file is not like writing a novel; you don't need to summarize the main points here."

He put down the cup, and the glass liner hit the table with a dull thud.

"Every word can eventually become evidence in court. Even in a dispute over two bunches of scallions or a few fish, the responsibility must be determined down to the smallest detail."

Lu Jingyan picked up a pen and quickly wrote a few lines on a yellow sticky note. The handwriting was strong and powerful, penetrating the paper.

"Check the surveillance footage of the surrounding businesses to confirm whether Li verbally provoked anyone before the bucket was kicked over."

He tore off the sticky note and slapped it onto the case file cover.

"Go find Zhang again. Check if there are any fish scales left on his shoes. If there are, it means the bucket is less than half a meter from his stall, and Li crossed the line first."

The boy stared at the sticky note, his mouth slightly agape, and remained lost in thought for a long time.

He originally thought that the people in the Special Investigations Unit were all cold, aloof, and godlike figures who only cared about shooting criminals with guns.

But this young policeman, sipping goji berry water, dissected a mundane, commonplace case with the precision of a meticulous surgical procedure, all in just a few words.

That kind of innate criminal investigation experience is definitely forged through countless trials and tribulations at muddy crime scenes.

"Take it back."

Lu Jingyan pushed the folder forward.

"Collect evidence again following this line of thought. After determining liability, have the parties involved affix their fingerprints again. Don't try to fool the court with such ambiguous evidence."

The boy's hands were trembling slightly. He quickly grabbed the folder, bending over at a ninety-degree angle.

"Yes! I understand! Thank you for your guidance, Brother Lu!"

His voice was loud and clear, filled with heartfelt admiration.

Lu Jingyan didn't say anything more. He opened the drawer, took out another thick kraft paper file, and continued reading.

After the three newlyweds finished their business, they took the files and retreated to the entrance of the hall.

When he pushed open the iron gate, the tall boy still couldn't resist.

He slowed his pace and walked over to Old Li, who was tidying up his lunchbox.

A bold newcomer couldn't resist pulling aside a veteran detective beside him, pointing at Lu Jingyan's retreating figure and whispering, "Master, who exactly is that handsome guy who looks like a hermit monk?"