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

"Mr. Lu." The middle-aged man maintained a standard military posture, his breathing rate remaining unchanged.

"The nation needs you. The chaos in the galaxy has been quelled, but our own massive police system still needs someone who knows the rules to steer it."

He paused for half a second, lowering his voice slightly.

"The higher-ups have spoken. This position is absolutely yours."

The plasma engines of the private jet were still humming low beside us. Waves of heat washed over our faces, carrying with them the pungent smell of aviation fuel.

"Wait two minutes."

He walked past the middle-aged man to the rusty public sink and picked up the old thermos he had just placed beside it.

Tighten the lid. The red goji berries inside the thermos swayed slightly.

"Director." Lu Jingyan turned his head and looked at his old superior who was covered in sweat.

"I'll revisit those vendors at the East Street market next week. I don't want them to fight over a few cents in stall fees again."

The old director suddenly came to his senses and slapped his thigh.

"Hey! Hey! Don't worry, go ahead! I'll keep an eye on things at the Municipal Bureau, nothing will go wrong!"

He took half a step forward, then abruptly stopped. His eyes were a little red.

Lu Jingyan didn't say anything more.

He took his thermos and turned to step onto the red gangway. His leather shoes made a steady, muffled sound as they landed on the alloy steps.

The cabin door slowly closed. The special plane broke through the clouds and headed straight for the capital.

Three hours later.

The capital city. The highest command center for the police force.

This building is located on the edge of the Third Ring Road. It is entirely made of reflective one-way glass, making it look like a black steel behemoth stuck upside down in the ground.

The frosted marble floor in the lobby was so shiny it was like a mirror, and even the soles of shoes were slippery when you stepped on it.

"Commander-in-Chief Lu! You've finally arrived!"

Deputy Commander Ma was a fat man nearing fifty. He wore a crisp white shirt, and his belt was stretched taut over his belly.

He greeted us with a broad smile, stretching out both hands from afar.

"You must be tired from your journey! The banquet to welcome you has been booked at the state guesthouse next door. Our department heads are all there waiting for you."

As Deputy Commander Ma spoke, he glanced at Lu Jingyan out of the corner of his eye.

He had heard that this guy was a ruthless character who could dismantle alien warships with his bare hands. He had imagined him to be a monster with three heads and six arms, but he turned out to be a young man wearing an old summer police uniform.

She looks clean and fair-skinned, more like a newly qualified civil servant.

Lu Jingyan did not shake his chubby hands.

He held the thermos in one hand and glanced around the hall.

In the center of the hall stood a three-story-high holographic projection. Various prevention and control slogans were scrolling across it. The sound was a bit too loud, giving me a headache.

The banquet has been cancelled.

Lu Jingyan withdrew his gaze. Without stopping, he walked straight towards the elevator.

"Huh?" Deputy Commander Ma stood there, stunned, his hands awkwardly hanging in mid-air.

"No, no. Mr. Lu, everything was arranged according to the rules. Everyone was waiting to toast you..."

"My rules do not include drinking during work hours."

Lu Jingyan stepped into the elevator. He turned around and looked at Vice President Ma, who was still standing outside.

"Notify all supervisors on duty that a meeting will be held in Conference Room 1 on the top floor in fifteen minutes. Anyone who is even one minute late will not need to clock in tomorrow."

The elevator doors closed.

They completely shut out Vice President Ma's liver-colored face.

Fifteen minutes later. Conference Room One.

The oval-shaped mahogany conference table is ten meters long. Brand-name items and high-end mineral water are laid out on the table. The air is filled with the aroma of fine green tea.

A dozen or so department heads sat upright, dressed in suits and ties, barely daring to breathe.

The central air conditioning in the conference room was running at full blast. The cold air blowing on the back of my neck sent chills down my spine.

Lu Jingyan sat in the main seat.

The pure black leather boss's chair was too soft; one would sink into it as soon as they sat down. He frowned, strained his back, and straightened his spine, not leaning against the backrest.

He placed the thermos on the table with a dull thud.

"I just took over and I don't want to hear those fancy quarterly summary reports."

Lu Jingyan interlaced his fingers and rested them on the edge of the table.

Who is the head of the archives department?

A middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses quickly raised his hand. The chair legs scraped against the carpet, making a faint rubbing sound.

"President Lu, this is Old Chen from the archives department." Old Chen swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

"Retrieve all the case files of unresolved civil disputes and minor criminal cases within the capital region from last month."

Old Chen was stunned for half a second.

"Minor cases? Mr. Lu, those are just trivial matters like stolen bicycles and neighborhood fights. Don't you value the compilation of major cases?"

"Major and serious cases are being monitored by special task forces; they can't escape."

Lu Jingyan looked at him with a cold, hard gaze.

"Nine out of ten cases reported to the police by ordinary citizens are trivial matters. If we can't even find a bicycle, then the national emblem on the police badge is just a piece of scrap metal."

Old Chen was startled and quickly looked down to operate the tactical tablet in front of him.

Half a minute later.

The holographic projection in the center of the conference room lit up. Hundreds of electronic case files floated in mid-air.

Lu Jingyan reached out and opened a file codenamed "092" in mid-air.

The screen displays a police call log.

"Xicheng District. The complainant stated that their tricycle used for street vending was stolen at the entrance of the residential area at 10 PM last night. The police unit responding to the case is the Third Branch of Xicheng District Public Security Bureau."

Lu Jingyan scrolled down the record.

My gaze lingered on the "Processing Results" section.

"Due to damaged surveillance cameras at the scene of the crime and the lack of eyewitnesses, the evidence is insufficient, and the case will be temporarily suspended."

He read the words aloud. His voice was calm and even, revealing no emotion.

"Has the head of the Third Precinct in Xicheng arrived yet?"

At the end of the conference table, a tall, thin man suddenly stood up. The movement was so abrupt that his knee slammed against the table, causing him to wince in pain.

"Reporting to General Lu! This is Liu Hai from the Third Division."

Liu Hai quickly wiped the fine sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

"Liu Hai. Is the surveillance camera in that neighborhood where the crime occurred really broken?" Lu Jingyan leaned against the edge of the table, his gaze fixed on Liu Hai across the long table.

Liu Hai's eyes darted away. His fingers unconsciously fiddled with the seam of his pants.

"Yes, it's broken. We sent someone to check it out; the camera's wiring is old and hasn't been powered on for a long time."

Lu Jingyan picked up the thermos. He unscrewed the lid and took a sip of water.

There was a thunderstorm last night. It stopped at 9:30 pm.

He put down his cup and tapped his finger twice on the table.

"There are three low-lying sections of road near the entrance of this community that are perpetually flooded. If a tricycle is stolen, its tires will definitely run over the mud and water, leaving at least two kilometers of mud tracks on the asphalt road."

The meeting room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Your police dispatch log states that the dispatch time was 10:00 AM. Twelve hours after the incident."

Lu Jingyan's tone suddenly turned cold, like a razor blade coated with ice.

"The mud stains were long ago run over by the morning rush hour traffic. You didn't even conduct a site investigation; you just glanced at the broken camera and closed the case."

Liu Hai's face turned deathly pale instantly, and his lips trembled.

"Mr. Lu, that night the team was short-handed... plus it was raining heavily..."

"Not having enough manpower is an excuse? You can't dispatch officers just because it's raining heavily?"

Lu Jingyan stood up.

His military boots clicked on the carpet as he walked up to Liu Hai. His towering 1.88-meter frame loomed over him, blocking the overhead fluorescent light.

"I don't want to get wet in the rain, so I'm taking off these clothes and going home to hold my child."

Liu Hai's legs went weak, and he almost fell back into the chair.

"I was wrong, Mr. Lu! I'll go back and investigate again right away! I promise I'll find the car!"

"No."

Lu Jingyan turned around and walked back to the main seat.

He pulled out a piece of white paper, picked up a ballpoint pen from the table, and quickly wrote a few lines.

"Liu Hai, the chief of the Xicheng Third Branch, has committed serious dereliction of duty and negligence in his duties. He is suspended from his duties for self-reflection and will be subject to investigation by the internal supervision department, effective immediately."

He pushed the paper forward, towards Deputy Commander Ma.

"Vice President Ma, issue this order immediately."

Vice President Ma's chubby face turned ashen, and he nodded repeatedly, his hands trembling as he held the documents.

"Yes, yes, yes! We will carry it out without hesitation!"

Lu Jingyan placed his hands on the table. He glanced around at the silent executives in the conference room.

"I'm going to set a rule here today."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word struck a chord in their ears.

"Starting today, a comprehensive 'rectification order' will be issued."

"All body cameras of frontline police officers are required to be connected to the network 24 hours a day. Anyone who dares to cut off the recording at the scene of a crime using excuses such as 'out of power' or 'not turned on' will be stripped of their uniform and dismissed on the spot."

Several managers who usually liked to be flexible were so frightened that their palms were sweating and they were clutching the hems of their clothes tightly.

"After receiving a call, you must arrive at the scene within five minutes in the city. If you say there's traffic or the road is too far, get out of your car and run there yourself."

Lu Jingyan picked up the thermos.

"I don't care how you were officials before. Here, I don't put on airs. Meeting adjourned."

He picked up his cup, turned around, and walked out of the conference room.

The room full of high-rise employees were left sitting in the air-conditioned room, not daring to make a sound for a long time.

The top-floor office of the general command headquarters.

Excellent view.

Lu Jingyan stood in front of the giant floor-to-ceiling window that occupied the entire wall.

The glass was cold.

Outside the window, the capital city's bustling night view unfolds.

Countless elevated highways, bustling with traffic, weave together like glowing veins in the heart of this vast steel jungle. Neon lights flash, turning half the sky crimson.

Behind the lights of countless homes lie countless dark corners.

He had one hand in his pocket, looking down at the bustling capital.

Aliens are easy to capture because they rely solely on brute force.

But the laziness, greed, and shirking of responsibility rooted in the soil of the earth are like an invisible net, sticky and tangled, impossible to sever or untangle.

He can't find all the corrupt officials by just holding meetings and scolding people every day.

Lu Jingyan stood before the giant floor-to-ceiling windows of the headquarters, overlooking the bustling capital. He knew that individual strength alone was insufficient; he needed to build an iron-willed disciplined force armed with advanced technology.