Chapter 803
Chapter 803 - 789 Sedimentation
1,897 words
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10 min read
After returning, most Explorers entered a brief vacation period.
Lu Ping’an had also planned to take a month off, but evidently, he, having drawn too much attention this time, didn’t have the luxury to slack off.
He went back to his hometown and busied himself for two or three days before being compelled, willingly or otherwise, into a new round of work.
Lu Ping’an’s "voluntary request" did not attract much attention; some high-level officials even thought it was just his way of making a good impression to find some work, to contribute more with his exceptional combat prowess.
"They don’t understand, they are always products of a society governed by peace and order, cogs in the national machinery, concerned with utilizing everything to its fullest and observing seniority in rank..."
Having experienced war, Lu Ping’an was more certain about the importance of "power" in the New Era.
In the eyes of the superiors, that so-called temporary security team was just a group of "Prisoner Army," a temporary measure, a clever trick to use foreigners to control foreigners... A trick that often had no follow-up once the moment passed.
But Lu Ping’an saw the reality that gathered a large number of "reformable" Order-level strongmen... it was easy to summon them, but hard to disband them.
These strongmen had lost everything, they were vital gears slipped from the machinery; given a platform and an opportunity, most would become "gears" of the new society.
And those core gears would radiate outwards; they were indeed phoenixes fallen on hard times who, once finding a perch to rest on, could quickly soar again.
"This system is likely to become the norm..."
Frontline officials and commanders in the rear see things differently, as intelligence feedback comes much slower in the office.
Lu Ping’an, being a frontline special agent increasingly dealing with cases involving outsiders, could sense the wariness and unease most outsiders felt towards themselves... They subconsciously distanced themselves from the locals, looking at everything around them with suspicion and vigilance.
To use an inappropriate analogy, it’s like a black person walking in a strange area, and encountering either a black police officer or a white one... eh, actually it’s more severe than that.
After all, black people and white people belong to the same species, whereas the situation at hand might involve beings from different levels of the food chain being forcibly crammed together, facing aliens you might worry not about whether they enforce the laws properly but whether they will drag you into an alley as an extra meal... In fact, bias and rumors were already everywhere, and Lu Ping’an had heard the latest Rumor that Eastern Country People’s recipes included almost all organic matter.
"...Thank you, please do not believe in rumors, Eastern Country People don’t eat chairs, stones, or aliens." These days, Lu Ping’an had helplessly repeated statements like this multiple times.
There were too many rumors, and refuting them was difficult. Many had become numb, too weary to argue.
At this time, the temporary teams of outsiders, with their clear advantages as law enforcers.
Cheap, highly affinitive, and "extremely loyal"... This advantage was not limited to the world of law enforcers and professionals; the civilian situation was even more pronounced: many professionals took up civilian security and private detective services, and a large number of professionals even entered civilian life, competing with Ordinary People for jobs.
Clearly, the widespread adoption of outsiders as foundational laborers and of Exotic Realm Supermen as reserve combat power was inevitable.
Therefore, those Order-level strongmen were naturally more valuable.
Speaking of matters concerning himself, Lu Ping’an foresaw that the Special Service Team would most likely become one or two native detectives leading a bunch of auxiliary police from the Foreign Domain.
Reform is often comprehensive; it wouldn’t be surprising if soon the Bureau of Anomaly Management would see a wave of Exotic Realm leaders becoming section chiefs, department heads, and maybe even Deputy Directors.
"...The so-called general trend is that once you see it, you can’t change it, you can only adapt to its course."
With the implementation of the Explorer system, all of this was bound to happen; an inevitable impact on all industries was unavoidable, one could only adapt to it, not try to counteract the trend.
When the door opens, resources and wealth come in, and so do outsiders... You can’t possibly resort to slaughtering or isolating them right away, can you?
Lu Ping’an thought about it, took action, and then was unsparing with his subordinates.
"...Lu Ping’an, I heard you’ve been quite aggressive in the temporary security team?"
"Uh, not too bad, I suppose. Being a young fellow who just advanced to fourth-tier, they were a bit resistant, so I just showed them a thing or two," Lu Ping’an said with a laugh as he walked down the dormitory corridor, responding to the inquiries from his "seniors."
"I see, so the rumor that you’ve beaten up two Order-level warriors at once is just a rumor then...."
"Yep, it’s a rumor."
"Ha, I thought so..."
An acquaintance casually asked, they were Lu Ping’an’s "colleagues" from before and found his ascent to be expected... In their view, Lu Ping’an was merely a very strong Captain level.
Even if his strength had improved and he’d really advanced to fourth-tier, it shouldn’t mean that he could climb up to the heavens instantly, beating up Order-level individuals like they were Spoiled Children, as the rumors suggested.
In their past perception, Order-level individuals were all remarkable people, who could simply join the government at the State or even central level, with treatments, Resources, and benefits all maxed out; they were the limit that most people would never surpass in their lifetimes.
Watching a "familiar face" almost floating in his stride, Lu Ping’an shook his head and went off to attend to his business.
That was indeed a rumor, but a reverse one... Lu Ping’an didn’t beat up two Decree-level Battle-professionals in public, but three!
In fact, as long as his defenses weren’t breached, for him and that knife of his, it didn’t make much difference whether it was one person or several.
Of course, his entirely "Order level" state was a bit subtle to say he was at the Order level... The combat power at the initial stage of fourth-tier and the peak of Sixth-tier were entirely not on the same level.
"...Time to have some more ’fun’ with them."
In a strange environment, surrounded by strangers, where everyone is a warrior, the most straightforward way to establish authority is to step into the fray and practice.
In fact, through constant "practice," Lu Ping’an had already gained recognition from most of the strongmen.
He also realized that he wasn’t the strongest in this temporary team, as several had hidden their upper limits.
On the other hand, Lu Ping’an wasn’t just making friends through fists; he was also evaluating the character and abilities of the others, and he’d swapped a few people out after making some private reports.
He earned a fortune from the Taboo Library, with many of these people coming from different worlds, holding extraordinary systems unlike the "professionals," their "knowledge" and "paths" were great supplements to the Taboo Library, and to Lu Ping’an, they were a vast resource.
Similarly, they had unanimously chosen to "retrain" in the professional path... Having left their original worlds, their original paths might not have been severed, but most lacked the completeness of the professional path, and they were addicted to this step-by-step progression.
They bought, sold, and vitalized the "Trading Land" market with their transactions.
These days, more and more official professionals were entering the Trading Land, and some even smashed points with "resources" to forcefully push into Order level.
Lu Ping’an knew which Captain it was, and even knew that most of his resources were likely given by the Bureau of Anomaly Management, but he said nothing, just letting his "consumption" run its course.
It became apparent that the Bureau had "implicitly" approved the existence of Lu Ping’an’s Trading Land and prioritizing facilities like the Taboo Library for official professionals as a form of friendliness and welfare.
They must have decided to have those "loyal" old third-tier professionals use the Bureau’s resources to forcefully endeavor for fourth-tier, to bolster the high-level combat power of the headquarters and this city.
And the existence of "Trading Land" itself became a chip that made Lu Ping’an increasingly significant; foreseeably, it was a "benefit" capable of attracting high-order strongmen.
It didn’t need to be wholly aligned with the officials; just its presence in the Ancient City, at least appearing there regularly, was a valuable resource in itself.
"To break through to fourth-tier with money and resources without any notable side effects, something unthinkable before..."
Foreseeably, those old third-tier Captains all stood to gain from this.
Unknowingly, Lu Ping’an had become deeply embedded in this city.
And some things were indeed developing as Lu Ping’an had hoped. The originally decorative "temporary team" was being mobilized increasingly frequently... This Order-level combat power from the Foreign Domain was truly useful when dealing with certain extradimensional criminals and insurrections.
They act ruthlessly and swiftly, without political repercussions to worry about, and their combat power is extremely outstanding... Normally, it’s a huge hassle for special agents to report and dispatch an Order-level Captain, but here, several can be sent out at once.
During this process, Lu Ping’an was exceptionally diligent.
Most professionals, after entering into the Decree realm, would go through a phase of rapid growth, and Lu Ping’an was no exception. Not to mention the massive gains from his "investments," his main profession (Gardener) was also accumulating.
His little notebook was "getting thicker and thicker," amassing more and more "Decrees," yet the advancement of the "Fourth-order Scholar" was still elusively out of reach.
Runner, Scholar, Warlord (Soldier) were all on the verge of reaching fourth-tier. Lu Ping’an estimated it was just a matter of finding a core Law.
Lu Ping’an wasn’t in a rush to break through; he found himself progressing too fast, and his foundation wasn’t stable...
"I need actual combat to integrate all my abilities and at the same time, to clarify the development direction of other paths."
Thus, the Order level professionals in the team became even more unlucky.
Somehow, Lu Ping’an’s title now included the nickname "Fight Maniac."
But his personal strength, after completing numerous accumulations and acquiring another weapon, was now at a level far beyond what it was when he first returned.
Finally, the pig was fattened... ahem, all preparations were in place, and Lu Ping’an was ready to set off for Changping.
However, due to his "reckless actions," some things had changed from the original plan.
The temporary team dispatched a team of Order-level professionals to accompany Lu Ping’an, specifically to go there and show off... ahem, to maintain presence.
"...Bringing hired thugs and enforcers? Are we going to compete, or are we taking over territories? Uh, it seems both aren’t conflicting, let’s do them together."
— End of Chapter 803 —