Ian Song knew exactly why Max Lin had scheduled him for night patrol—it was nothing more than a show of authority to put him in his place.
He’d just joined the City Special Police and already made a big splash; after taking the D-Class Gene Nutrient, he’d become a seventh-level Warrior, now even stronger than Max Lin. No wonder the squad captain was jealous.
If Ian hadn’t just joined the City Special Police, Max probably wouldn’t even have gotten the squad captain job.
So Max was plenty jealous of Ian, and when it came time to make the patrol schedule, he made sure to "take care" of him.
But Ian didn’t really care.
With his cultivation, he could go months without sleep if he had to. Besides, night patrol wasn’t even every day—just twice a week.
So he just smiled and said, "Captain Lin, I’ll do as arranged."
“Yeah.”
Hugh Xu sighed to himself. Anyone with eyes could see Max Lin was targeting Landon Lu on purpose, and he understood why. He couldn’t help but feel a bit of contempt for Max.
Once Max Lin left, Hugh Xu tugged Ian’s sleeve, signaling him to step outside for a chat.
"Landon, you’d better watch out for Max Lin in the future."
"Thanks for the heads up, Hugh. I will." Ian nodded.
Soon enough, Ian’s first night patrol day arrived.
The patrol shift ran from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next morning.
Night patrols didn’t have many people—just six officers per battalion, five battalions total, so only about thirty for the whole city.
Thirty officers to cover all of Plumridge City—it was a heavy workload.
Tonight, Ian’s patrol partner was Zack Huang.
Zack had only been with the City Special Police a little over three years. He was a peak fifth-level Warrior, straightforward and cheerful, but most famous for being totally henpecked by his wife. The whole squad teased him for it, but he didn’t mind—in fact, he enjoyed it.
As he liked to put it, "I respect my wife—I’m not afraid of her."
In the patrol flyer, Zack was passing on his experience to Ian: "Landon, our patrol covers three road segments and one block. The road segments are no problem—the real challenge is Greenwillow Street. It’s Plumridge City’s famous entertainment strip, packed with clubs and bars. Fights break out all the time. But with so few of us, unless someone gets seriously hurt or there’s major damage, we should let both sides settle privately. Remember—don’t just charge in and start arresting people!"
"Thanks for the advice, Zack. I'll remember that." Ian nodded. In this world, the City Special Police handled all sorts of matters—pretty much a mix of traffic cops, patrol officers, and detectives. Luckily, with SkyGrid around, their workload was a lot lighter.
Otherwise, even with five hundred officers working nonstop, there’s no way they could handle everything.
Their patrol flyer swept through the three assigned road segments first—nothing happened. Here, whether it’s ground cars or skycars, everything’s managed by smart systems, so traffic accidents are rare.
Next, their flyer arrived at Greenwillow Street.
The whole street was bustling, with flyers constantly landing at the entrances of all the clubs and entertainment venues.
"Landon, you ever been here before?" Zack asked.
"Nope."
Zack grinned, "You’ve gotta try it sometime—this place is a blast. Too bad it’s way too expensive for lowly officers like us to just drop by whenever."
"Really? Well, when I get a chance, you’ll have to show me around, Zack."
"Deal!"
They circled Greenwillow Street but didn’t spot any trouble, so they moved on to patrol the other three streets.
Loop after loop, two hours flew by in a blink.
The crowds and traffic on the other road segments started thinning out, but Greenwillow Street just got busier.
Patrolling was honestly pretty dull work.
"Landon, want to grab a nap? I’ll keep watch," Zack offered.
"No need, I’m feeling fine. Why don’t you get some rest instead?" Ian smiled.
"Sounds good."
Zack didn’t stand on ceremony—only two hours down, with eight more to go before shift ended.
Round and round, lap after lap, and suddenly it was already one in the morning.
Suddenly, the patrol car’s AI system chimed: "Fight in progress at Red Sun Nightclub. Officers Zack Huang and Landon Lu, please respond!"