Lin Zhiyan gazed up at the helicopter above. For an instant, she felt as if she had returned to the lecture halls of Dijing University, witnessing a legend of the psychic discipline for the very first time.
That year, he had taken the stage with a precision of telekinetic control that no one could comprehend.
Now, his development of psychic power had reached an even higher tier.
As a fellow psychic practitioner, Lin Zhiyan had clearly seen a surge of psychic power wrapping around the bullet that struck down the Greenwood bandit.
The Special Counter-Terrorism operatives were the most stunned.
Everything had happened too fast for them to observe closely, but one fact was indisputable: the most dangerous superhuman had been sniped from the helicopter in one shot.
The moment the Greenwood bandit saw the helicopter, he had fled. His divine power had remained active during the escape, only to abruptly fail after a gunshot, followed immediately by another shot that took his life.
From start to finish, barely two minutes had passed, without any sustained struggle in between.
"Brilliant!"
Only Zhang Like paused in a daze, before shouting over the comm channel with a flushed face, "Hahaha! A mission like this really does need you, Old Lu! If you'd been here from the start, how could so many people have died?!"
What counter-terrorism feared most was urban warfare. Even for a Special Counter-Terrorism squad with an average life force of twenty points, navigating the complex terrain of street fighting could easily lead to casualties. The sheer power of modern firearms was not something their few dozen points of life force could withstand head-on.
Superhumans with over fifty points could hardly all be dedicated to counter-terrorism, and certainly would not appear in a remote backwater like Nanhai West Circuit.
This was the painful reality of security operations.
Lu Zhao was a special case; by all rights, he shouldn't have been stuck at Ant Ridge either.
While the speaker meant nothing by it, the listeners took it to heart.
The Special Counter-Terrorism team's faces darkened instantly upon hearing Zhang Like's shout over the channel.
11:05.
The battle concluded. Firefighters and local police entered the scene, methodically cleaning up the aftermath.
The helicopter slowly touched down on the open ground.
Lu Zhao stepped down from the aircraft and immediately felt countless gazes turning toward him from every direction.
Zhang Like hurried forward to meet him and said, "If you hadn't come, we really would've bought the farm here today."
Then he lowered his voice. "Counter-Terrorism lost six men and they're fuming with rage right now. When you speak later, make sure to pin the blame on Lü Jinshan."
Following his gaze, Lu Zhao saw the limping Special Counter-Terrorism operatives.
The elite armed police looked utterly battered, every one of them wounded, with only a few still able to move freely. Even without Zhang Like's warning, their resentment was written clearly across their faces.
A man with the rank of major walked in their direction.
At that moment, Lin Zhiyan, flanked by her assistant and several special investigation team operatives, stepped forward to place herself between Lu Zhao and the Special Counter-Terrorism company commander.
"You deserve the primary credit for swiftly eliminating the ringleader and stabilizing the situation in this operation. I will report your merit to the prefecture."
Lin Zhiyan's delicate features were still slightly disheveled, but the gratitude in her voice was unmistakable.
Proud though she might be, she was at least fair.
Lu Zhao's impression of her improved slightly, and he raised a hand in salute. "Thank you, ma'am."
Lin Zhiyan followed up smoothly, "Your abilities are exceptional; staying at a border defense station is a waste. Would you like to join the special investigation team to assist with the inquiry?"
Lu Zhao looked thoughtful, while Zhang Like winked and signaled frantically from the side, wishing he could accept on his behalf right then and there.
Joining the special investigation team would get him away from Lü Jinshan's reach, ensuring an incident like today's would never happen again.
Lu Zhao shook his head. "I currently have active duties and cannot take on multiple roles for the time being."
In another half-month, the flood season would begin, when flash floods would wash demon beasts from the Mei River in Miye Sanjiang down into the area.
Every year brought about a hundred of them, half of which were aquatic.
Nanhai West Circuit was eighty percent mountains, ten percent water, and ten percent arable land. Agricultural production depended heavily on the waterways; if any beast slipped through the net, people would inevitably die.
While joining the special investigation team would certainly be advantageous, as long as he was still at his post, his primary duty had to come first.
Faced with another refusal, Lin Zhiyan frowned slightly.
Yet unlike their previous sour parting, excellence naturally earned privilege, and Lu Zhao had just demonstrated irreplaceable capability.
She settled for the next best thing. "What if you were merely assigned as a temporary advisor?"
Lu Zhao answered, "I obey the organization's arrangements."
This response was neither a refusal nor truly an agreement.
To the side, both Zhang Like and the team leader's assistant breathed a sigh of relief.
The former was relieved that Lu Zhao wasn't like the old man in his own family—he was merely stubborn about certain principles, but still knew how to read the room.
The latter was astonished that this young lady possessed an unusually high tolerance for Lu Zhao.
With anyone else, her attitude would essentially be: 'If you won't do it, plenty of others will.'
This was not baseless arrogance; with the resources the Lin family could muster, they could easily recruit high-tier superhumans anytime.
However, doing so would count as a blemish on the eldest miss's record, affecting her future entry into the Nanhai Circuit Politics Bureau. Under the Federation's current system, pedigree could indeed pave the way to rapid promotion, but only up to the level below Martial Marquis.
Once one aimed for the core decision-making tier, one's record could not have any stains.
Such as being allocated superhumans beyond one's authorized level.
Matters like this were normally neither investigated nor policed, but in a political showdown against peers of equal standing, they could easily become critical vulnerabilities.
When procedural or disciplinary violations caused someone to fall, it was because someone wanted them to fall.
"Ahem, ahem."
The Special Counter-Terrorism company commander, who had been standing to the side, coughed lightly and stepped forward with a dark expression. "Team Leader Lin, we need an explanation."
He did not direct his fury at Lu Zhao. He had originally intended to, but seeing the man's rank, he shifted his target.
A first lieutenant held no decision-making power; naturally, the responsibility shouldn't fall on him.
Lin Zhiyan tilted her chin slightly, yet before she could speak—
Her assistant hurriedly cut in before her temper flared, explaining, "Company Commander Xu, prior to the mission's start, we submitted a request to transfer Platoon Leader Lu, but the border defense station did not approve it."
"Why wasn't it approved?"
That was what Xu Zhenhua really wanted to know. Pointing at Lu Zhao, he demanded, "If he had been here from the start, would so many of our men have died?! I lost six soldiers! Half a squad wiped out!"
Had Lu Zhao never shown up, Xu Zhenhua likely wouldn't have harbored such resentment even after suffering heavy casualties. They had simply been outmaneuvered by the Greenwood bandits, and insufficient manpower had caused the mission's failure.
But Lu Zhao's appearance caused the Special Counter-Terrorism team's frustration to erupt all at once. They suspected the Ant Ridge border defense station had done it intentionally.
If you had someone so capable, why hadn't you called him in from the beginning?
Were it not for the strict discipline of the Federation's military structure, the Special Counter-Terrorism operatives, having just lost so many comrades, would have already come to blows.
Seeing tensions on the verge of boiling over, the investigation team assistant was still trying to formulate a diplomatic response when he heard Lu Zhao speak up in dead earnest: "The dispatch procedure was fully compliant with regulations."
He took half a step forward, shielding Lin Zhiyan, which surprised her.
"Border defense deployments require the station chief's approval. The leadership deemed standard police forces sufficient, and therefore did not consent."
"Sir, please do not make a scene without cause."
At those words, everyone's expressions shifted.
Zhang Like had initially thought Lu Zhao had finally wised up and was playing the hero rescuing the damsel, but then he caught the underlying motive.
Xu Zhenhua's fury burned even hotter. "Which leader?!"
"Chief Lü Jinshan of the Ant Ridge border defense station."
Chapter 28