Chapter 280 - 156: Pledging Loyalty

Chapter 280: Chapter 156: Pledging Loyalty

Inside the office.

Yang Wenqing did not immediately tackle the mountain of documents piled high. Instead, he walked over to the full-length mirror in the corner and stood before it.

His reflection stared back at him, dressed in a crisp, white uniform. The two silver stars on his epaulets gleamed under the soft light of the room. He was not yet thirty, but he had already ascended to a height others might only reach after a lifetime of effort.

His master had been right. Many police specialists at the Marrow Cleansing Realm within the City Defense System could go decades without an opportunity for promotion. Most people only reached this level by patiently putting in their time. Even Director Gao himself had languished for decades, only making this final step forward when a vacancy opened up in the Lingshan New District.

Yang Wenqing stared at his reflection for a few moments. After ten seconds or so, he closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into his body.

Within him, his Qi Sea surged with power. His three hundred and sixty-five acupoints twinkled like hidden stars. The sense of utter clarity brought by his Purity Body was as distinct as ever, but what reassured him most was the circulation of the nascent Five Yang Qi among his five major organs.

Yang Wenqing let out a slow breath. Between his promotion to the Marrow Cleansing Realm, accepting a master, the bombing case, and the bloody battle in the mining district, he hadn’t had a single moment to catch his breath. Now, he could finally relax, if only slightly.

He walked over to his large desk, sat down, and leaned back slightly. Closing his eyes, he allowed the Five Yang Qi within him to circulate on its own, following the pathways outlined in the Entry Level of the Yuqing Secret Skill, nourishing his weary mind.

After resting and clearing his mind for about fifteen minutes, Yang Wenqing opened his eyes again, his gaze perfectly clear. He sat up straight and began to methodically sort through the urgent tasks that required his attention.

First, the bombing case. The city was still under lockdown because of it, severely impacting civilian life. Moreover, the case was officially registered with the municipal bureau.

With the municipal bureau’s resources and resolve, a breakthrough was inevitable as long as they were willing to invest in digging deep and following the clues. The difficulty, therefore, wasn’t in solving the case, but in withstanding the pressure and pursuing it to the end, regardless of cost. It appeared the bureau, and even higher authorities, were taking this case extremely seriously. That saved him a great deal of trouble; all he had to do was cooperate and provide intelligence.

Second, the surge in human smuggling cases. Yang Wenqing was almost certain that the same network was behind both the smugglers and the bombing. The timing was too coincidental otherwise—an explosion had just rocked the city when they began forcibly smuggling people in.

Third, and most important, was the clandestine group that the municipal bureau’s special case office was investigating, and the suspected Taiyan Cultivator, Zhu Sheng, behind it. This matter concerned the fundamental security of the New District, was the key to rooting out the mole in the municipal bureau, and could even impact the higher-ups’ diplomatic strategy toward the Jade Whale Sect.

Yang Wenqing gently tapped his forehead. He had his own ideas about this case. He planned to establish a secret investigation team, one that would operate outside the City Defense Bureau. The team should be small, its members wouldn’t need high levels of Cultivation, but their backgrounds had to be spotless.

Furthermore, to prevent a Taiyan Cultivator from invading their minds and turning them into puppets, each member would have to undergo a consciousness screening using the special memory space on the top floor of the precinct’s Folklore Division.

Beyond those three issues, the fourth matter was the port expansion, the construction of strategic reserve warehouses, and the establishment of two new security substations.

Although these projects were technically the responsibility of the Civil Affairs Bureau, the City Defense Bureau was responsible for coordinating security and would have future jurisdiction. The candidates for the heads of the two new substations needed to be finalized as soon as possible, and he had to ensure they were his people—or, at the very least, reliable. This directly pertained to his future practical control over the Port District and the Warehouse District.

However, due to the speed of his promotions, Yang Wenqing’s family foundation was still shallow, and the number of people he could truly call upon was small. But that didn’t mean he had no one. After a moment of deliberation, the beginnings of a plan for selecting his candidates started to form in his mind.

He had allies. The first to come to mind was naturally Wang Ren. Their ten-year collaboration had always been decent, and using someone he recommended would also serve to deepen the connection with the family behind him—killing two birds with one stone.

The second option was the Sun family, which was now deeply bound to the Yang family—or more accurately, Vice Director Sun’s faction. For the past decade, the Yang and Sun families had been constantly joined through marriage. Many of the next generation of eligible children had wed, and their interests were so deeply interwoven that it was impossible to separate one family from the other.

Such a relationship was far more stable than a simple alliance of interests. It would be ideal to have the Sun family recommend one or two of their own children or confidants to head one of the substations.

Once the personnel issue was sorted, the next matter was equipment. Future upheaval in the New District was foreseeable. If war were to actually break out, the City Defense Bureau’s focus would instantly shift from policing to defense. Whether for responding to another potential attack or for conducting high-intensity daily patrols, their current equipment and operational forces were clearly insufficient.

He needed more patrol Flying Shuttles to tighten the surveillance net over the New District’s airspace and key areas. At the same time, the operations division also needed to be expanded, which meant recruiting and training more elite officers.

Fortunately, the Lingshan New District was prosperous with ample tax revenue, so the City Defense Bureau’s budget was relatively generous. As long as his proposals were reasonable, applications to the municipal bureau and the Provincial Hall for special equipment procurement and an increase in headcount were very likely to be approved.

The more Yang Wenqing thought, the clearer his path became. He spread out a memo pad and, using a personal shorthand of symbols and lines that only he could understand, quickly jotted down the key points.

Coincidentally, just as he finished writing out his notes, there was a soft knock on his office door.

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal Liu Min, head of the General Affairs Section. Her pace was measured and unhurried, and she wore a professional smile, a file folder in her hand.