Enforcer Manual
Chapter 280: Glorious Image_1

Chapter 280: Chapter 280: Glorious Image_1

Song Lan never expected the issue of education to arise so suddenly, leaving him utterly unprepared.

He hadn’t seriously considered the matter of raising a child in either of his two lifetimes, but now, after what Lu Xiang had said, he felt he indeed should prioritize the issue.

Because the educational environment of 2166 was vastly different from the familiar landscape of 2020, where compulsory education was the norm and the vast majority of children would attend school from elementary through high school. However, in 2166, schooling was an option only considered by families above the middle class.

Moreover, for most middle-class families, the exorbitant tuition fees and cybernetic implants were costs they would bear at any expense, for their children to attend school and hopefully be chosen by a corporation to become "corporate people."

As for those children of the same age whose families couldn’t afford to send them to school...

The majority had already started buying weapons and joining gangs.

And there were quite a few "ambitious youths" who had already made a name for themselves within these gangs.

Even after several targeted crackdowns on gangs, the Law Enforcers only managed to dismantle the major gangs in District Seventeen; the remnants mostly regrouped, forming new small gangs scattered throughout the city, with robberies and crimes still occurring regularly.

The only difference now was that, with the assistance of the Horn Bug surveillance squads, robbers were often apprehended the same day they committed their crimes.

However, after the restoration of the border trade routes, indeed a number of people registered with the Mercenary Guild.

The Law Enforcers could only address the criminal acts, not the underlying social issues that fueled them. In this city, with its persistently high unemployment rate, it wasn’t just minors at risk—adults constantly had to guard against being laid off and sent home.

The new mayor had started addressing these issues, but the effects of any reform wouldn’t be immediate, especially with large corporations obstructing progress. If he could improve the employment rate in District Seventeen within his first term, that would be an achievement in itself.

Song Lan assessed the situation and figured that with his and Lu Xiang’s salaries, they could only be considered slightly above middle class in District Seventeen, and their income had significantly decreased due to their issues with the Foster Family and the Inspection Department.

These days, there simply wasn’t a way out for ordinary people.

Going to great lengths to afford their children’s education only meant to turn them into "corporate people" exploited by large companies, and as for joining gangs at a young age, it was a dead-end with jail time inevitably awaiting.

"Director Lu, what do you think?"

"What do I think about what?"

Lu Xiang, who had been dealing with the week’s documents, looked up in confusion and glanced at Song Lan.

"About the children’s education issue."

"You mean Anfiya?"

"...Yes."

Song Lan hesitated for a moment, not wanting to push the conversation too far ahead of its time.

"I’d respect her personal wishes. If she wants to go to the central district after graduation, I could try to contact my former classmates. Since it’s come to this, we should also pay closer attention to her psychological state lately."

The extensive military-grade cybernetic implants hadn’t turned Anfiya into a cyber-mad individual, but they had made her prone to violent outbursts, the kind to draw a gun at the slightest provocation.

This was common among gang members, but in school, drawing a gun on a classmate would result in punishment.

"Due to her parents’ circumstances, Anfiya could easily become a target for bullying, and I’m worried she might react too fiercely in anger and end up sending someone to the hospital."

That was a somewhat toned-down way of putting it.

With the cybernetics Anfiya possessed, if she were ever to harbor a murderous intent, she could easily snap an ordinary person’s neck even without a gun.

She certainly didn’t want a day to come when she’d receive a notice from the school informing her that little Anfiya had had a disagreement with a classmate and sent the other party straight to the morgue.

"That won’t happen. Just make an appearance on the day of the report and the children of those company executives shouldn’t dare to provoke Anfiya."

"Why?"

Lu Xiang was puzzled. Based on her experience as a Law Enforcer, she knew the kids from big corporations were no easy targets—they had caused plenty of cases before.

Breaking others’ arms and legs was just the tip of the iceberg. The department’s backlogged files contained numerous records of victims being beaten to death.

Deaths in District 17 were hardly rare. After committing a crime, the parents of the perpetrators would often just pay off the victim’s family and intimidate them into silence, and the case would usually go no further.

"I checked their class list—several of them have records with us."

"It might have been like that before, but things are different now."

"Haven’t you heard?"

Song Lan struck up the exaggerated tone of the gossips who got drunk at Gold Diggers’ Bar, "People on the street are saying that now the Law Enforcers are the real bosses of this city, even the new mayor has to act according to our wishes."

"Who said that? I wasn’t aware."

This was outright slander!

She had always held herself to strict standards, and she never condoned the misdeeds within her department, so how had their reputation sunk to the level of the Chai Ke Group?

She had to make it clear once more, "We have never done anything to threaten the new mayor."

In fact, since Aureliano was elected, they had hardly spoken; everybody was too busy with their own endless workload.

"How can you say there’s none? Didn’t you go to the mayor’s office before and have a big argument with him? You even flipped over his desk, didn’t you?"

Song Lan pulled up a piece of gossip news on his cell phone, with the headline proudly stating, "The real power behind the scenes in District 17? The deadly threats from the Law Enforcers!"

"That was you who asked me to go!"

Lu Xiang felt a tightness in her chest—it was like swallowing a bitter pill, especially since the report was accompanied by the photo of her intimidating Aureliano and storming out.

"Your acting was so convincing that even the mayor himself was scared by you. But don’t worry, when the mayor was later interviewed by the press, and this incident was brought up, he clarified the misunderstanding, stating that it was a trap set to lure the Assassin into the open. Not only did it not damage your image, but you also received praise for being brave and shrewd."

Song Lan said, "In short, Director Lu, your shining image is now deeply rooted in people’s hearts. Those executives from big companies definitely won’t want to provoke you at such a crucial time, and besides, even if Anfiya really did have an argument with a classmate, isn’t Elmon there to keep an eye on things?"

Elmon really was a good kid.

Mature, calm, and ambitious—Song Lan believed he would defuse any irreparable situations before they escalated.

"I suppose I’ve finally realized."

Lu Xiang took a deep breath, "It’s all your doing, and I’m the one left carrying the can."

"How can this be considered carrying the can? This glorious image is something the Inspection Department and the Foster Family have dreamed of for ages."

"No, if you don’t compensate me, I really can’t swallow this grievance."

Despite her words, Lu Xiang’s face showed no sign of anger.

"What kind of compensation are you thinking of?"

"This isn’t the place to talk about it."

Lu Xiang gave Song Lan a sidelong glance, "We’ll talk in detail after we get home tonight."