Half an hour later, Brian Li, Yvonne Chen, and Shelley Ji were successfully apprehended.
The reason it took half an hour was that Brian Li was not only a War-General-level Warrior, but also a Psychic Adept, while Yvonne Chen and Shelley Ji were both ninth-level Warriors.
Although it took considerable effort and several SWAT officers were injured, the successful capture of Brian Li and the others left the entire Fifth Battalion elated.
Ian Song and Ryan Zhou also returned to the SWAT base.
At present.
The three suspects were being interrogated separately, and SWAT Minister Harvey Zhang personally arrived to observe the interrogation of Brian Li, the One-Eyed Thief.
Since the Nirvana Spirit Elixir was found in their hotel suite, it was almost certain that Brian Li was the One-Eyed Thief.
The interrogation went smoothly; Brian Li readily admitted to being the One-Eyed Thief, but stubbornly refused to reveal his methods.
Harvey Zhang didn’t mind; as long as Brian Li confessed and the stolen Nirvana Spirit Elixir was recovered, that alone was enough to make Plumridge City’s SWAT Department stand out.
Of course, as the battalion that discovered the clues and captured the One-Eyed Thief, the Fifth Battalion became the center of attention.
That same day, the SWAT Department held a press conference to announce to the entire Federation that the One-Eyed Thief Brian Li had been successfully captured.
After the press conference, Minister Harvey Zhang received praise from the mayor of Plumridge City.
The One-Eyed Thief had evaded capture for five years, yet was finally caught in Plumridge City, bringing honor to the mayor as well.
Afterward, Harvey Zhang met privately with Ian Song and praised him lavishly. However, Ian didn’t claim all the credit—instead, he attributed most of the success to Sean Xiao, Ryan Zhou, and Leon Liu.
Ian was no rookie in the workplace—he had served as Grand General, base leader, and even emperor.
Now, as a probationary SWAT officer, even if he took all the credit, he wouldn’t gain much. By sharing the merit, he might get fewer immediate benefits, but he’d build goodwill with his superiors, who wouldn’t forget him when they gained from his actions.
Sean Xiao, Ryan Zhou, and Leon Liu were very pleased with his tact. Leon, in particular, was secretly glad he had insisted on bringing Ian into his squad. If Ian had joined another team, even with the same merit, Leon wouldn’t have benefited nearly as much. So, he looked at Ian with special appreciation.
That night, the SWAT Department hosted a grand celebration banquet. Except for Jason Jiang’s squad, which was still in the hospital, almost everyone attended—even Minister Harvey Zhang showed up.
The next day, provincial SWAT officers from Westchuan Province arrived to take custody of the One-Eyed Thief and his two accomplices.
On the third day, rewards were distributed.
Fifth Battalion captain Sean Xiao was transferred to the provincial SWAT Department as captain of the Second Battalion. His position remained the same, but his rank was promoted from Major to Lieutenant Colonel.
Deputy captain Ryan Zhou was also promoted, becoming captain of the Fifth Battalion with the rank of Major.
Leon Liu was directly promoted to deputy captain of the Fifth Battalion, with the rank of Captain.
As for Ian Song, he was officially promoted from probationary to full SWAT officer. In addition, he received a reward of 500,000 Federation Credits and a vial of D-Class Gene Nutrient.
After injection, Gene Nutrient can enhance a Warrior’s strength with no side effects.
A vial of D-Class Gene Nutrient sells for about 300,000 credits on the market.
With Leon Liu promoted to deputy captain, the Seventh Squad captain position in the Fifth Battalion became vacant. After several days of discussion, the role was assigned to Max Lin.
Max Lin has served in City Special Police for over six years and reached peak sixth-level Warrior, though his talent is only average.
A week passed in the blink of an eye, and the One-Eyed Thief incident gradually faded.
One day, after work, Ian Song returned home and found a girl in military uniform standing at his apartment door.
No need to guess—it was definitely Donna Dong.
"Why are you here again?" Ian Song frowned.
"Do you really hate me that much?" Donna Dong said, looking aggrieved.
Ian Song didn’t reply.
"The conscription drive is over. I’m leaving soon," Donna Dong said gloomily.
"Is that so?" Ian Song responded indifferently.
"Now that I’m leaving, are you happy?" Donna Dong looked at him.
Since she was about to leave, Ian Song felt there was no need to keep teasing her. He said, "No."
"So, you’ll miss me when I’m gone?" Donna Dong’s eyes lit up.
Ian Song’s face darkened. "Not really."
Donna Dong: "...!"
After a moment, Donna Dong said softly, sounding rather downcast, "Once I leave this time, we probably won't see each other for a long while. Can you cook for me one more time?"
Ian Song hesitated slightly, then nodded in agreement.
There was a market nearby, so the two of them went together and bought a lot of groceries.
Back at the apartment, Ian Song busied himself in the kitchen while Donna Dong stood at the doorway watching him.
An hour later, dinner was ready. Seeing the table full of dishes, Donna Dong’s eyes sparkled, and she immediately transformed into a foodie, devouring everything in sight.
After dinner, Donna Dong volunteered to do the dishes.
After washing up, she walked over to Ian Song, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV.
"Ian."
"Mm."
"Will you miss me when I’m gone?"
"No."
"You’re terrible! I’m about to leave and you can’t even say something nice."
"Fine, I’ll miss you."
Donna Dong’s eyes lit up. "You said it! You have to remember to miss me!"
"Smooch!"
Donna Dong kissed Ian Song on the cheek, then ran out of his apartment blushing.
Ian Song rubbed his cheek where he’d been kissed and shook his head helplessly.
The next day, at the office area of the Fifth Battalion’s Seventh Squad in the City Special Police Department.
As the saying goes, 'a new official lights three fires.' Having just taken over as squad captain, Max Lin naturally wanted to assert his authority.
"The new patrol schedule is out. Take a look, everyone—any comments?"
Max Lin projected a holographic display, showing the Seventh Squad’s patrol schedule.
Looking at the patrol schedule for the coming week, Ian Song noticed that all his shifts were scheduled at night.
Everyone preferred daytime patrols; night shifts were tough and few people wanted them.
"Captain Lin, Ian just joined the City Special Police and has no experience with night patrols. How about I swap shifts with him? Once he gets used to things, then he can do night patrols." said veteran teammate Hugh Xu, who was sitting next to Ian.
Over the past few days, Ian Song had gotten to know the Seventh Squad members well, and he was closest with Hugh Xu, who had answered many of his questions.
Hearing this, Max Lin’s expression darkened slightly.
Another teammate, Zhou Yangwu, chimed in with a sarcastic tone.
"Ian just joined the Special Police and already made a big contribution. What’s night patrol to him? Hugh, you should mind your own business!"
Zhou Yangwu was close to Max Lin, and over the past few days, he’d never shown Ian a friendly face.