The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

What? You're transferring me to the Fushan Town Police Station to be a grassroots police officer?

Chen Shi felt like his world had collapsed; his head was buzzing, and he felt dizzy. He had fought his way through countless battles to pass the provincial public security bureau exam and become a policeman. On his very first day as a full-fledged officer, he was transferred back to his hometown to work as a grassroots clerk. He couldn't accept it.

This story begins two months ago. The ex-wife of the provincial public security bureau chief was the president of a commercial bank. She embezzled and accepted bribes, and fled with the money. She was intercepted at the airport by the anti-corruption bureau and brought back.

The case involves the provincial public security bureau chief, who is under investigation.

At the time, Chen Shi was a trainee police officer who was assigned to monitor the provincial public security bureau chief. His superiors emphasized that he was not allowed to meet with anyone.

Chen Shi strictly followed the leader's instructions, standing guard at the door, delivering three meals a day and daily necessities, while refusing entry to everyone else.

Once, an old lady came to deliver dumplings to the director and wanted to go in to see him, but Chen Shi stopped her. He said that the dumplings could be delivered, but the person could not go in. If anything went wrong, he would be held responsible.

The old lady only said one sentence, "I'll remember you," before turning and leaving.

Chen Shi later learned that the old lady was the wife of the former deputy secretary of the provincial party committee.

The head of the Public Security Bureau was a close associate of the former deputy secretary of the provincial party committee. After a month-long investigation, he was found to have no connection with his ex-wife's corruption and bribery, and was reinstated to his original position.

When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer as well. Chen Shi was in a terrible situation. He offended this big shot and was directly transferred back to his hometown town to work as a grassroots police officer. He could see his entire life from the beginning. He would be lucky if he could even get a deputy section chief position.

A promising future, ruined in an instant.

The head of the investigation section patted Chen Shi on the shoulder: "Young man, you're still young. You're serving the people no matter where you are. Do a good job."

Chen Shi wanted to curse. "Are you even speaking human language? Why don't you go to the grassroots level to serve the people? Why are you scrambling to get into the provincial department? Isn't it because there are more opportunities here? If you work here for three to five years and don't cause any major problems, you can easily become a deputy section chief."

But when you get to the town's police station, there are only a few deputy section chief positions, basically one for each person, and everyone is waiting in line.

As a newcomer with no connections, it's almost impossible to get a chance.

Once you're over thirty, if you don't get promoted, it means the organization has given up on you and you can just lie back and collect your seniority until you retire.

The head of the investigation section left with a smile, leaving Chen Shi standing there dumbfounded.

Looking back now, I realize I was tricked by the head of the investigation department. I didn't understand before why he would send a trainee police officer to monitor the director.

This is a dead end. This kind of bigwig is involved in all aspects, and nobody knows whether the higher-ups will take action against him.

If the person sent to monitor is too strict and offends the director, and if the higher-ups don't intend to touch him, and the director is reinstated, he'll be the first to deal with you.

If the higher-ups want to take action against him, and you let your guard down and he meets with other people, colluding with others or something, you'll be dealt with too.

Neither way is good; everyone here is a cunning fox, and nobody wants to take on this hot potato that has landed on their head.

Chen Shi was heartbroken. He should have thought more carefully back then. He shouldn't have just done whatever his boss told him to do. If it was a trap, he should have refused decisively. He would rather offend his boss than offend a powerful figure. With just one word, that person could send him to a remote town 500 kilometers away, leaving him with no chance to turn his life around.

Offending your boss might just result in them giving you a hard time, but you can still salvage the situation.

Chen Shi sighed. He had thought that entering the system would be a smooth path to advancement, with everyone being friendly. He never expected that it was a place fraught with danger, where everyone was a wolf in sheep's clothing. If he was not careful, he would be crushed to pieces.

It's no use saying all this now; the matter is settled. All we can do is go through the transfer procedures and report back to the Fushan Town Police Station.

After completing the formalities, Chen Shi was extremely depressed and reluctantly left the Public Security Bureau.

Standing at the entrance, he glanced back at the gate of the Public Security Bureau. He knew he would probably never have the chance to return here again in his lifetime.

Chen Shi comforted himself, thinking, "Thank goodness I have an understanding girlfriend. I can seek comfort from her." He took out his phone and called his girlfriend, Qin Min, who answered quickly.

"Hey, where are you?"

"What's wrong? I'm at work."

I'll pick you up after get off work.

"Are you that free today?"

"It's a long story, let's talk when we meet."

"All right"

After hanging up the phone, Chen Shi hopped on his electric scooter and headed towards the bank where Qin Min worked.

Qin Min works at a commercial bank and has just been promoted to a full-time employee after completing her internship. The two were in the same year, but from different schools. During their university years, they dated for three years, spending every weekend together. They felt empty inside if they didn't see each other.

Their classmates and friends all envied their loving relationship; plus, they had been together for four years since graduation a year ago.

Qin Min is a local from Yizhou City, from a middle-class family. She treats Chen Shi very well, and every time she goes home, she brings him some food.

Chen Shi sped along, and thinking of how good his girlfriend was to him, his bad mood improved somewhat.

Arriving at the bank, Chen Shi stopped his electric scooter, took out his phone, checked the time: 5:20. In ten minutes, his girlfriend would be off work.

After waiting for almost an hour, Qin Min finally came out. When she saw Chen Shi, she walked happily to his side.

Chen Shi complained, "Why did it take you so long to come out?"

Qin Min smiled sweetly: "You've just been promoted to a permanent position, how can you leave right after get off work? You have to work overtime to show the boss that you're leaving before the boss does. The boss will think that you're not getting enough work and will give you more."

"There's another way to say that."

"This is the workplace, not school. Nobody will show mercy to women here. This is something a senior colleague told me secretly because I treat her to milk tea every day."

Chen Shi thought to himself, "I'm so stupid. I just bury myself in my work and don't even bother to learn from my seniors. A word from someone who's been there is much more useful than just working hard."

I am a typical example of what not to do.

Chen Shi rode his electric scooter with Qin Min to a barbecue restaurant near his rented apartment.

After stopping her electric scooter, Qin Min asked, "You want to eat barbecue again? I don't want to."

"I'm in a bad mood, come have a couple of drinks with me."

"I can tell, his face is practically screaming that he's unhappy."

"Is it that obvious?"

"It's too obvious. This is a taboo within the system. Don't show your unhappiness on your face. People can tell your mood at a glance. You have to be able to keep your emotions hidden."

When people are feeling down, they don't want to talk.

Chen Shi walked into the barbecue restaurant, feeling very upset, though he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

He ordered a lot of barbecue and a case of beer.

Qin Min said gently, "What's wrong? Why are you drinking so much? Did your promotion deadline get delayed?"

Chen Shi shook his head, opened a bottle of beer, and gulped it down in one go.

The beer spilled on Chen Shi's clothes, so Qin Min quickly grabbed some tissues to wipe them off.

"Drink slowly, no one's going to take it from you. What's wrong? Did your boss criticize you?"

Chen Shi shook his head again and picked up another bottle of beer. Qin Min snatched the beer away, saying, "You're going to drive me crazy. If you don't tell me, I won't give you any."

Chen Shi looked pained, scratching his head and stammering, "I've been transferred back to my hometown."