Enforcer Manual
Chapter 122: Not a One-Man Battle_1

Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Not a One-Man Battle_1

All afternoon, Song Lan’s mood fluctuated.

Because he received a personal directive from his supervisor:

Go home together after work, ride in her car.

Logically speaking, the fact that Lu Xiang could finally get off work on time should be something to celebrate. He should at least prepare three dishes and a soup to celebrate. However, the message Lu Xiang sent him came just after he had passionately performed a "caring citizen" skit in front of his three subordinates.

For the first time ever, Song Lan did not watch a movie in the afternoon. Instead, he held his head in his hands, leaning back in his office chair and staring blankly at the ceiling.

Roger and the others were fine. After all, they weren’t members of the action department. Their understanding of the "caring citizen" was only limited to the legends circulated among the departments. However, Lu Xiang was different. She was not only the person who interacted with the "caring citizen" the most, but she also met Song Lan face to face during the city’s full meeting.

What’s more, with Lu Xiang’s deliberate mind and long-term experience in criminal investigation, it is indeed possible she could infer his identity from that single sentence.

But, he still did it.

Maybe deep down, he doesn’t really mind if Lu Xiang knows his secret?

Caught up in wild thoughts, it was time to clock out.

For the first time ever, Zhuang Chi had to remind Song Lan, the zealous regular of getting off work at Law Enforcers, about the time to leave. However, the three didn’t think much of it. They simply attributed Song Lan’s unusual state to the anxiety of playing the "caring citizen" in an upcoming interview. After all, it’s extremely difficult to handle this role in front of the camera. Any slight negligence would reveal flaws to the public.

As members of the department, they, of course, prepared their interview well in advance, finalizing the locations, scripts, and every other detail.

Ten minutes after the three left, Lu Xiang walked through the door.

"Let’s go, I’ll give you a lift."

Her tone was as usual. Or perhaps, over ninety percent of the time, Lu Xiang seemed impassive in both her work and personal life.

The two went out one after the other without exchanging words, left the office building, and boarded the hover car.

With the humming of the engine, the hover car slowly ascended.

Song Lan leaned against the window, looking at the city from this perspective for the first time.

As is well-known, District Seventeen is a "triple high" city, with high crime rates, high unemployment rates and large numbers of disappearances. However, unlike the ruinous city people imagine, this city seems at least glamorous on the surface.

Tall buildings, luxurious entertainment venues.

As the evening set in, the colorful giant billboards began to illuminate. Neon lights outlined the city’s colorful nightlife, and what came into view wasn’t poverty or sin, but the illusion of living for entertainment.

"When I graduated, I wanted to work for the ’Anomaly Investigation Bureau’ in District Three," Lu Xiang suddenly said. "It is a department specifically assigned to handle cases involving prosthetic modifications and psychics."

With her top comprehensive performance, this should all have come naturally.

However, the result she received was that the chief of the Anomaly Investigation Bureau personally vetoed her application. Then her second, third, and fourth choices were all rejected in succession, leaving her future uncertain and waiting for instructions.

"That’s weird. Who wouldn’t welcome talented people like you, with your ability and attitude towards work?"

This wasn’t flattery. Song Lan was genuinely curious.

Isn’t someone like Lu Xiang, who gets things done and talks less, every department’s dream catch? If they were department leaders, they would do everything they could to have employees like Lu Xiang. Then, they wouldn’t have to worry about anything. The staff would have all the work done below them.

"Maybe it’s because of the internship before graduation."

Well, Lu Xiang finally found the answer after coming to District Seventeen. During her plot to arrest Chaika, she encountered multiple obstacles, the most prominent of them being the Inspection Department, an institute seemingly protecting the justice of the oligarchic government.

She gradually realized that criminals also had levels of severity, and both the Law Enforcers and the Anomaly Investigation Bureau essentially existed to tackle the criminals that the oligarchic government wanted to bring down.

It was also recently that she noticed that whenever she felt down, there was always one person who could inspire her.

This happened in the Lainal case and during the attack by Phine.

Upon careful thought, Fitim, the department head of consulting, had started working even before he officially became the department head.

Perhaps it was time for her to return the favor.

"Why do you suddenly want to talk about this?"

Song Lan knew that everything he was hearing was just a buildup. Lu Xiang calling him to get into her hover car and confining him in this small space wasn’t just to reminisce about the past.

What’s coming will come sooner or later.

"Because I happened to hear that your once dreamt of becoming an actor, but you had to give up your dream because of some reason."

"Indeed, there are more disappointments than satisfactions in life."

Song Lan nodded.

Actually, his dream of becoming an actor wasn’t a complete lie. After all, there are various types of actors. He wanted to be a rather unconventional one.

In this aspect, General Borusalino was his role model.

Perhaps in the near future, there would inevitably be a war between the oligarchic government and the foreign Rebel Army, a war that would engulf the whole world. Then, it would be the real test of his acting skills.

"I’m curious about your recitation capabilities."

Lu Xiang smiled, "Can you recite a phrase for me with the tone you used before?"

She took out the text she had prepared in her phone’s memo.

This time, her smile didn’t seem stiff at all. It wouldn’t make people associate her with the cold-blooded female assassin. It was a reflection of her current mood.

"You’ve come, I leave them to you."

While speaking, Lu Xiang tilted her head to observe Song Lan’s reaction with interest.

Compared to hearing Song Lan recite this line, she was more interested in his reaction to seeing this line of text.

"Ahem—"

Song Lan cleared his throat. He had already prepared mentally when he was in the office, but when he finally said it, his voice was dry and without emotion, "You’ve come, I leave them to you".

This time, it wasn’t about denying his identity as the "caring citizen". But Lu Xiang’s current expression made him feel like he was being publicly executed.

"Your recitation still needs some work."

Lu Xiang happily exited her memo and put away her phone.

She didn’t delve deeper on this matter. As both "A Love Tip Every Day" and the textbook on psychology from her school wrote, it’s often better to stop when it’s enough.

"It seems we should start working on hiding the ’caring citizen’ identity... Song Lan, let’s work hard together for the future of District Seventeen."