Enforcer Manual
Chapter 481: Art Originates from Life_1

Chapter 481: Chapter 481: Art Originates from Life_1

After many days, Song Lan and his three subordinates gathered in the office.

On this day nearing the end of the work, the atmosphere in the psychological counseling department was somewhat heavy. The three put on a show of sitting at their various desks, and when Song Lan wasn’t paying attention, they squeezed their eyebrows and made faces, using eye contact to pass secret signals to each other.

Since the moment Song Lan returned, he had been holding an electronic publication in his hand.

The image on the cover was all too familiar to them, the first issue of "The Love Story of Law Enforcement Department." At that time, they engaged in a rather intense discussion over the cover issue. Fortunately, as the party concerned, Song Lan spent less and less time in the department, allowing them to openly discuss it at their workstations.

Eventually, Zhuang Chi suggested she find a professional designer to create a customized cover based on her description of Song Lan and Director Lu.

Thus, there was the background image that greatly resembled the Law Enforcer’s department courtyard, taken during an evening, when the director and Song Lan rode a bicycle together, embarking on their journey home from work.

This composition was provided by Comrade Valerian, who during the discussion, mentioned that for a long time the director had been coveting the back seat of the department head’s bicycle. There was an occasion when, upon seeing Song Lan give a ride to the head of the logistics department for fieldwork, the director was so angry he snapped a pen in two, which sufficiently indicated the depth of the director’s resentment.

Zhuang Chi and Roger both appreciated this idea.

In the year 2166, such a nearly retro-style image had become very rare.

According to information on the internet, the idea of lovers engaging in relationships seemed to be less heartfelt as time went by. They seemed to have forgotten the daily interactions between lovers, as well as the inadvertent heart-fluttering sensations. People had grown accustomed to booking a room at a love hotel after a busy day at work to engage in some indescribable activities to end their monotonous day.

Those who claimed to be love experts on the internet said it was an era focused on physical desires.

Therefore, they felt that the way Director and the head conducted their relationship was truly brilliant. After a while, it was hard not to think about recording one’s observations and experiences.

"First of all, I have a question,"

After skimming through the first issue of "The Love Story of Law Enforcement Department," Song Lan had no choice but to momentarily interrupt his subordinates’ lovely daydreams, "What’s with this bicycle?"

Clearly, the bicycle on the first cover was a far cry from his beloved MK-Ⅱ.

The bicycle seat had been turned into two, and there were now four pedals. The male and female leads on the cover appeared to have rented a tandem bicycle after work.

Although he vaguely guessed that this composition was born out of a romantic imagination, this disregard for the "original" instantly shattered the romantic atmosphere, making the book look more like a comedy novel.

Song Lan felt that this was a serious disrespect to his MK-Ⅱ.

"This wasn’t my fault, the first version wasn’t like this,"

Zhuang Chi, who was in the know and involved, raised her hand and reported, "The original cover had the director... cough, the female lead sitting on the back seat of the male lead’s bicycle, going home from work together. But when it was submitted, the head of the traffic management department said it represented dangerous driving and was not conducive to positive publicity for the image of the Law Enforcement Department, so it was rejected. After that, we made the necessary changes according to the traffic management department’s demands."

The exact words of the head of the traffic management department were, "The director and head of the Law Enforcement Department setting an example of dangerous driving? What kind of example would that set?"

"Boss, I didn’t want this to happen either!"

The current composition did indeed promote safe driving, even advocating the concept of green transportation, but it totally lost the original message they wanted to convey through the cover.

"Boss, don’t be angry; in fact, after the cover was modified, we achieved some unexpected results,"

Roger spoke up to persuade him, standing firmly with Valerian and Zhuang Chi, based on their relationship, "Not only did we gain readers who like romance novels, but we also unexpectedly attracted a group who thought this was a comedy novel!"

Are you three out of your minds?

Roger’s explanation didn’t have the desired effect because Song Lan didn’t find it particularly pride-worthy to be considered a comedic character.

Now he only felt that life’s annoyances were everywhere, and even the members of his department couldn’t be counted on to ease his worries.

He had just roughly finished reading the first issue’s plot, and whether it was the exposition, development, turn, or the suspense set-up, everything was beyond reproach. Except for the fact that the heavy artistic processing had made the story deviate completely from reality, he couldn’t even find any faults to pick on.

You should know, he was reading with the intention of finding faults.

These three not only cleverly integrated romantic elements, but also fully utilized the uniqueness of the "Law Enforcement Department." Many of the cases in the story were adapted from real ones, so even fans of mystery and detective novels could find a lot of joy in it.

Song Lan realized, somewhat strangely, that from the case handling process to the details of the on-site investigation, it was all quite professional. This novel had truly achieved the effect of promoting the Law Enforcement Department, giving the general public a basic understanding of their case-solving process.

If one were to set aside the romantic elements, it could even seamlessly connect to the name "Getting Close to the Law Enforcer."

Therefore, some readers even described his relationship with Lu Xiang in the story as Holmes and Watson.

He was primarily in charge of investigating cases, while Director Lu was responsible for delivering heavy blows to punish criminals. There were several scenes where Director Lu’s appearance made his blood boil, and he could almost hear the background music of Platinum Star when making a move.

Thanks to the novel’s promotion, he and his "famous detective" persona were firmly linked together, while Lu Xiang became the embodiment of combat prowess in the story’s Seventeenth District. As long as she took action, there was no gang member she couldn’t handle.

In reality, though, it was often the other way around.

"For such an important matter, why didn’t you consult with me?"

Since he couldn’t find faults with the text itself, Song Lan had to change tactics and lead the topic elsewhere.

"Section Chief, I feel like we can’t be completely blamed for this."

Valerian said, "Your attendance rate really makes it difficult to reach you, and we never really know what you are up to."

This harsh truth sent the psychological counseling department into silence.

"Then why didn’t you text me?"

"Actually, we did, and you said that we should make judgments about work matters by ourselves."

"I..."

Song Lan was momentarily at a loss for words.

He seemed to recall having indeed replied that way.

At this moment, for the first time, he recognized the flaws in the "automatic production" concept. When your subordinates are too opinionated, it can become a double-edged sword.

"But don’t worry, even though we couldn’t find you, we fully respected the opinions of the person involved. Many of the scenarios were completed under the direct guidance of the director."

"I can see that, those on-site investigation details, they’re very professional at first glance."

Song Lan had to admit, Zhuang Chi was too clever by half. At this crucial moment, bringing up Lu Xiang, the party involved plus the Boss of the department, made it difficult for him as the section chief to say much more.

"It’s not just those."

Having the rare opportunity to talk with Song Lan in the office, Zhuang Chi chose to confess honestly. "Since the three of us don’t really have any experience with romance, many of the romantic details were also completed under the guidance of the director."

A sense of foreboding emerged in Song Lan’s heart.

And Zhuang Chi’s words confirmed those ominous premonitions one by one.

— "For example, the feelings during a hug, a kiss... the director gave a relatively detailed description of them."