It had been several hours since the evening news, and the deaths of High Prosecutor Angel Foster and Chai Ke continued to have repercussions; not only were the citizens of District 17 involved, but also individuals from other districts who joined the discussion.
Through the explanations of enthusiastic netizens, Song Lan realized the severity of the situation.
For instance, High Prosecutor Angel Foster was from the powerful Foster Family of the core region. The Foster Family's influence stretched far and wide, owning three districts and dominating the Arbitration Office so completely that almost every judge since the establishment of the United Government had been a member of the Foster Family.
Then there was Chai Ke, who had a bounty worth as much as 620,000 on his head, and had committed 11 offenses in District 17, each one meriting a death penalty. Even burdened with such a hefty bounty, Chai Ke had brazenly made frequent public appearances in District 17, treating the Law Enforcers as if they did not exist. Because of this, he earned the title of being the most notorious criminal in recent years.
Until not long ago, Chai Ke was arrested in a manhunt, and because of this, Angel Foster rose from a mediocre official to become a City Hero.
Song Lan had just heard about these two names, but upon further investigation, he realized the significance of their stature.
In other words, this incident wouldn't be easily dealt with.
Under public pressure, the department of Law Enforcers issued a statement promising to catch the culprit within a week; Chai Ke's underlings and business partners also vowed to find his murderer first and ensure that person would die a gruesome death; although the Foster Family hadn't commented on Angel Foster's death, it was easy to guess that they wouldn't let the wrongdoer go unpunished.
While sitting in front of his computer screen, Song Lan's innocent psyche suffered a major blow.
Life had finally given this honest man a hard blow.
For an average person living in the year 2166, it was undoubtedly a dark era.
The increasing crime rate, combined with an unemployment rate of 33%, made life a struggle for the average person.
As a worker from the year 2020, Song Lan's only goal at the moment was to keep his comfortable and high-paying job, save enough money to find a peaceful place away from all the trouble, and enjoy a peaceful retirement.
This had been Song Lan's dream in 2020, but before he could achieve it, he had mysteriously traveled to the year 2166, where he could encounter nine criminals for every ten people he met.
After a period of online study, Song Lan was more determined than ever to lead a low-profile life.
Because in 2166, a special group called superhumans emerged.
The netizens gave these superhumans the title "rescuers," created fan websites for them, and firmly believed that they were heroes who could lead people out of darkness.
Even though there were no certified rescuers in the department of Law Enforcers in District 17, that didn't stop Song Lan from getting to know how strong these superhuman beings were from online, he felt they only lacked an "invincible" label on their faces.
In addition to the rescuers active in the core region, areas like District 17, a marginal urban area, also gathered a large number of hard-core criminals capable of silencing crying children in the night — just in the first half of this year, seven criminals with bounties of over 500,000 had appeared in District 17.
Every time Song Lan saw these introductions on the internet, he felt how terrifying the era was, he didn't want to deal with these hard-core criminals who might induce nightmares.
While lamenting how terrifying the era was, Song Lan didn't forget to heat up the food in the pot.
He heard the roaring sound of the landing hovercar, which meant that Lu Xiang would be home in less than two minutes.
Soon, there was the sound of a key in the lock behind him.
"I'm home."
Song Lan turned around at the sound, Lu Xiang had already undone her hair tie, and her chestnut hair cascaded down immediately, her icy gaze softened considerably when she shifted it onto Song Lan.
Then, as if she suddenly remembered something, she parted her ruby lips, stiffly stretched out her arm in the act of stretching, and her emotionless voice prolonged the sound, "Ah, I'm really tired today--"
Song Lan approached her, he always felt Lu Xiang's tone of speech was a bit unusual today.
In his memory, Lu Xiang had always been so serious that it was somewhat rigid. When not working, she was taciturn, usually acknowledging him with a glance when she got home.
He nervously took the bag from her hand, and then--
"Clack."
The zipper of the bag was not closed, and a thin booklet fell to the floor.
"A Love Tip Every Day."
"Ah."
"Ah."
Both of them stared at the thing on the floor and simultaneously uttered a mono-syllable, the suffocating silence thus permeated the room.
In the end, it was Song Lan who broke the awkward silence, but his tone also became somewhat unnatural, "There are braised ribs and dry pot cauliflower today."
"Mm."
Lu Xiang nodded, expressionlessly snatched the bag from Song Lan's hand, bent down to pick up the book, swiftly stashed it away, and acted as if nothing had happened.
Then, without a word, the two of them focused their attention on the steaming hot dishes.
Cooking was one of the few useful skills that Song Lan brought from 2020. It was also a result of persistent persuasion and coaxing from his parents who believed cooking well could help him find a wife.
If evaluated based on the outcome, it seemed like their beliefs held some water.
However, they probably never dreamed that by 2166, cooking would nearly become a lost art.
The main reason was that people of this time didn't need to cook. All they had to do was inject themselves with a nutritional supplement every morning to maintain their energy throughout the day.
Under the impact of technology, chefs had become a scarce profession that only appeared among the upper class in the core area.
Indeed, Song Lan managed to find a girlfriend thanks to his cooking skill.
At first, he planned to adapt to the local custom and use the supplement to sustain himself. Yet, as a young man from the 2020s, he felt uncomfortable after just three days of using the supplement.
Being a stranger in a strange land in 2166 was bad enough. If he couldn't even have a proper meal when he got home, what was the point of living at all?
So, to be able to eat, Song Lan had made a lot of effort to purchase kitchen utensils and ingredients online.
What used to be common stuff had become a luxury these days. If it weren't for the decent salary from the Law Enforcers Department, he might not have been able to even afford a meal.
He remembered being caught cooking for the first time by Lu Xiang. Whether she had seen his online purchases at the department was doubtful.
Since then, Lu Xiang often visited to "discuss work," because she was "passing by," or on the pretext of "nice weather."
Perhaps after mooching off him for some time, Lu Xiang felt guilty and proposed that he move in with her since her house was considerably large.
Honestly, he had accepted Lu Xiang's invitation mainly to save on rent.
However, situations changed quickly. After living together for a while, Lu Xiang suddenly confessed her feelings to him one night.
Song Lan could still vividly remember that night. Not only because it was the first time a girl confessed to him, but also because Lu Xiang had done so unexpectedly, speaking while still holding some files she had brought from the department.
"We're both single, why don't we give it a try?"
Her manner and tone made Song Lan feel as if he was attending a job interview.
Even though the process was somewhat surprising, he now had a stable job and a girlfriend. Everything seemed to be on track...
Yet Song Lan never expected that the window of opportunity God opened for him was actually a prelude to a wrecking ball about to hit his house.
He just came home from work as usual, prepared dinner as always before his girlfriend returned home, and somehow found himself entangled in this bizarre situation.
"... Song Lan."
Lu Xiang was rather anxious today. Therefore, the delicious food didn't taste as good as usual.
The main reason was, the techniques suggested by "A Love Tip Every Day" didn't work. According to the book, after her stretching and complaining about the tiresome day, the couple was supposed to engage in some intimate behaviors under the influence of the romantic atmosphere.
However, she was not a person who easily gives up.
"A Love Tip Every Day" also mentioned that compliments could greatly reduce the emotional distance between a couple.
"Hmm?"
Hearing Lu Xiang's call, Song Lan who was cooking looked back at her, giving her a puzzled look.
"The food is delicious, just like...just like...braised pork ribs."
"But, the dinner for tonight is braised pork ribs."
"Oh."
Lu Xiang nodded awkwardly, making up her mind at the same time.
After handling this case, she should go to the bookstore to buy a "Beginner's Guide to Complimenting".