I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

As Qingdeng drew closer, the people in the formation, as if they had rehearsed beforehand, disregarded the dust on the ground and knelt down on one knee in unison to pay their respects to Qingdeng.

Qingdeng smiled and waved his hand, repeatedly indicating, "No need for formalities, please rise."

At this moment, Qingdeng suddenly realized that this seemed to be the first time in his life that so many people had knelt before him, and the first time that he had said "no need for formalities" to so many people.

The feeling of being able to command a large group of people at a moment's notice is truly quite peculiar.

In a single day, Qing Deng went from being "a subordinate who was controlled everywhere" to "a manager who manages 60 soldiers"—Qing Deng was not yet fully accustomed to this dramatic change in identity.

Qingdeng wanted to get to know the team's middle-level managers first.

So he whispered to Kuroba, "Who are the people with power?"

Kuroba said respectfully:

"Lord Tachibana, the people at the very front of the line are the warriors of our Third Division! Please allow me to introduce them to you one by one—this is Shirasaki Heijiro, who served as a burglar for 30 years! He is the most senior member of our Third Division!"

As soon as Kuroba finished speaking, a middle-aged man with mostly white hair and beard slowly stepped forward without expression.

"Lord Tachibana." The middle-aged man bowed and introduced himself in a neutral tone, "This humble official is Shirasaki Heijiro."

Qingdeng smiled and said, "Greetings. I am new here and hope you will guide me in the future."

"..." Shirasaki Heijiro nodded slightly, remaining silent.

"This is Gosaburo Midorikawa."

Kuroba pointed to the next person, Yu Li—a tall, handsome young man.

Midorikawa smiled slightly, gave a brief self-introduction, and nodded to Aoto.

"This is Akabane Koichiro."

Akabane: "..."

Standing at 1.6 meters tall with a waist circumference, Akabane, who resembled a "walking mountain of flesh," remained silent.

He neither introduced himself nor bowed to Qingdeng.

He glanced at Qingdeng coldly, then looked away, raised his head, and stretched out all three wrinkles on his chin, pointing his wide-open nostrils at Qingdeng.

Seeing that Akabane was showing no respect to Aoto, Kuroba let out an "uh" and looked embarrassed. He looked at Aoto nervously, but found that Aoto's expression was normal.

Qing Deng remained calm and unmoved by Chi Yu's rude behavior.

Noticing the gaze that Kuroba was casting, Qingdeng nodded to Kuroba, indicating "keep working," and then introduced the others to him.

Kuroba coughed a few times, composed himself, and walked up to the next person in front of Yuri—a short and thin man.

"This is Aoi Nagao. He was promoted to the rank of Yuki two months ago for his merits. He is 27 years old this year and is currently the least senior and youngest Yuki in our Third Division."

The words "least senior" and "youngest" made Qing Deng glance at Lan Jingyang a few more times.

At first glance, Qing Deng noticed that Aoi's haori was actually damaged.

The collar and both sleeves had very obvious tear marks.

Logically speaking, someone of official rank and power shouldn't be unable to afford decent clothes.

So, Qingdeng asked curiously:

"Aoi-kun, what happened to your haori?"

Dressing inappropriately in front of one's superior—this matter can be serious or minor.

Upon hearing Qing Deng's question, Lan Jing assumed Qing Deng was going to punish him, so his expression changed drastically, and he stammered:

"This...that...this...that...I...I..."

Aoi subconsciously glanced at Akabane beside her.

As if sharing a telepathic connection with Aoi, Akabane secretly glanced at Aoi at the same moment Aoi looked at him.

His eyes were filled with a fierce glint.

"!!"

Lan Jing's face turned deathly pale instantly.

A deep hesitation lingered on his face for a moment, then Lan Jing deflated like a punctured balloon, slumping his shoulders and burying his head deeply.

"I...I'm so sorry...I got up in a hurry today and didn't have time to dress properly. I accidentally wore a bad outfit. Please, please forgive me, sir..."

Everyone around... whether it was Midorikawa or Shirasaki, knew what was going on with Aoi's clothes.

But no one stood up for Lan Jing or spoke up for him.

They all had an indifferent attitude, as if it were none of their business.

Even worse, some, like Midorikawa, openly displayed a gloating expression.

Aoto took in the changes in the expressions of Aoi, Shirasaki, Midorikawa, and the others.

Akabane and Aoi stared at each other with completely different gazes—though the scene was fleeting, Aoto still keenly captured it and stored it in his mind.

But Qingdeng remained silent and unmoved.

"It's alright, there's no need to be so anxious."

Qingdeng reached out and helped Lanjing up, allowing him to straighten his back again.

"It's just a trivial matter, I don't care."

After patting Lan Jing on the shoulders and offering a few words of simple comfort, Qing Deng followed Hei Yu to the next person, Yu Li...

……

It was nearly half an hour later before they finally met all 10 members of the Yuli and 50 members of the Tongxin.

Remembering the faces and names of 60 people... This is a considerable task for anyone else.

But for Qingdeng, this task was a piece of cake.

His photographic memory... this talent that enhances memory is not just for show.

Whether it was Yu Li, a middle-level manager, or Tong Xin, a grassroots staff member, Qing Deng had memorized their faces, names, and... their attitudes towards him.

"Kuroba-kun, please join the team. I have some things to say to you."

"Yes!"

Kuroba responded loudly while bowing his head in greeting.

As Kuroba quickly returned to the formation, Qingdeng arrived at the very front of the formation.

Qingdeng's tall stature allowed him to "view all the mountains as small" and overlook his subordinates without having to stand on a high platform.

"Everyone!"

Qingdeng stood with his hands behind his back, took a deep breath, and after gathering his strength and emotions, shouted:

"I've always disliked empty, boring official jargon and platitudes, so I'll just speak frankly and from the heart!"

"As you all probably know, before I was transferred to the Fire Thief Reorganization, I was a member of the Hokuban-sho-cho-machi.

"During my time in Sadamachi, I only gained two experiences."

Qingdeng held up two fingers.

"Experience in how to investigate cases."

"And... experience on how to minimize the wear and tear on the knife while increasing the efficiency of chopping people."

"Apart from the two matters mentioned above, I know nothing about or am unfamiliar with anything else."

"I've never worked in the Fire Thief class before. I'm not familiar with the day-to-day operations of our team."

"I have never led such a large team before. I have only managed 3 Gang Yin before."

"There are so many things I can learn from scratch."

"In the future, I may make some mistakes in decision-making in the aforementioned areas."

"I urge you all to work together with me in the future to build a better Third Division!"

Qing Deng finished his brief speech.

He looked up—there were very few people reacting…

A small number of people listened attentively to his speech—such as Lan Jing. He was completely absorbed throughout, his eyes never blinking.

A small number of people adopted a disdainful attitude, not bothering to listen to what Qing Deng was saying—such as Chi Yu.

A small number of people are completely absorbed in their own thoughts, and it's unclear whether they were daydreaming just now or now—like Shirasaki.

Most people looked numb and indifferent, as if they didn't care about anything in the outside world—like Kuroba and Midorikawa.

The 60 people displayed four distinct and clearly differentiated types of reactions and expressions.

Upon seeing this, Qing Deng couldn't help but chuckle.

At this moment, he sincerely felt that Jako no Chutaro was not exaggerating; the Third Division did indeed have quite a few arrogant and unruly soldiers who were difficult to manage.

He had colleagues who were hostile to him because of "bloodline theory" and "red-eye disease".

Later, some of his subordinates disobeyed him because they were "young" and "inexperienced".

Thinking of this, Qingdeng secretly mocked himself:

—A pair of irreconcilable colleagues and an overbearing subordinate…what a “harmonious” officialdom environment!

At that moment, a rapid shout suddenly rang out behind Qingdeng:

"Tachibana-sama! Tachibana-sama!"

Qingdeng turned his head and saw a thief dressed in black, who had been a clerk, riding a horse and hurrying over.

"Lord Tachibana! Lord Kurosawa and Lord Okubo summon you! Please return to the government office immediately!"

"Summon me?" Qing Deng raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I understand."

I was planning to thoroughly inspect the Third Division's base next.

It now appears that this plan will have to be put on hold for the time being.

Suddenly, he was urgently called back... I don't know if something urgent has happened, but obeying orders and rushing back to the yamen that the thieves had changed his name is the right thing to do.

After telling his subordinates to "disperse," Qing Deng hurriedly left.