Outside the car window, the scenery and pedestrians on both sides were coated with a layer of black mist. The black one-way glass allowed Lin Fei to see outside from within, while those outside couldn't see inside.
The car was very comfortable. The leather seats were so soft that one could sink halfway into them with just a light sit. Lin Fei's nose also caught a faint whiff of incense.
In the front driver's seat, Lu Jun glanced at Lin Fei in the backseat through the rearview mirror.
"How is it? Not a bad car, right?"
"It's okay," Lin Fei pointed to the air conditioning, "Mind turning up the temperature? I'm sweating a lot." Sitting down without moving, Lin Fei felt the pain in his thighs ease significantly.
"Sorry," Lu Jun nodded and immediately turned off the air conditioning.
He didn't ask how Lin Fei got hurt, and Lin Fei didn't say, simply taking out a napkin from his pocket and continually wiping off the sweat.
The two were silent for a while.
"Can you tell me what my basic benefits and duties will be after joining the society?" Lin Fei suddenly asked.
"Of course, everything's been prepared in advance." Lu Jun handed over a white sheet of printed paper. Lin Fei took it and scanned it roughly. It was all about the benefits of joining the society, as well as the costs and duties involved.
There were densely packed dozens of items, most of which involved legal circumvention. This made Lin Fei chuckle to himself. In a society where killing was child's play, they had such detailed methods to skirt the law. It was indeed a stark contrast.
"Feels like a big contrast, doesn't it? Our society, an institution of violence independent from reality, still pays so much attention to the law," Lu Jun said with a smile. Without waiting for Lin Fei's response, he continued, "Actually, when I first joined the society, I thought like you do now, but after understanding our society's true background, I found it to be quite normal."
"Oh? How's that?" Lin Fei crumpled the sweaty napkin into a ball and tossed it into a small trash bin at his feet.
"Shueisha, in essence, represents a violent law enforcement society on behalf of the state. Our existence is to combat a much bigger group of people. You'll understand this point later on," Lu Jun explained.
"So, we're akin to a violent institution tacitly sanctioned by the state?" Lin Fei pinpointed the crux sharply.
"Hehe," Lu Jun chuckled, not replying, which was as good as an affirmation.
Lin Fei lifted the printout in his hand, "It says here that I'm entitled to the treatment of a deputy division-level national official, with a dedicated car service to and from work, but there's no annual salary to speak of. Pay and such are all given upon task completion. So, can I understand it to mean that we're somewhat akin to a union established by the state in secret, dealing with incidents the state cannot openly handle through task assignments, while also absorbing violent elements that may cause negative impacts and unrest in society and employing them for our own use?"
"Very astute!" Lu Jun seemed a bit taken aback.
"It's not difficult to come up with the idea for this society, but actually implementing it is as hard as scaling the heavens. I truly admire the person who managed to set up this structure. A little thought reveals the enormity of the resistance involved," Lin Fei expressed his genuine admiration for such boldness and audacity.
"It's not as difficult as you imagine," Lu Jun shook his head, "Our existence has its own significance. You'll find out in time."
The car drove for about fifteen minutes, and finally stopped at the busiest intersection in the commercial district behind Ping City, at the corner of Court Street.
"The Ping City branch of the society is here," Lu Jun said, reversing into a parking space, pointing to the sign of Rainbow Grand Hotel above on the right side of the road.
Lin Fei looked through the car window. The hotel entrance was bustling with people, and two young girls in white cheongsams stood on both sides of the entrance, greeting each guest with an exaggeratedly sweet welcome. The white marble lions on each side looked fierce and majestic. Above, the words "Rainbow Grand Hotel" were squarely written, not in calligraphy but in simple block letters. The all-glass façade of the building vaguely exuded a modern vibe.
Lin Fei had heard about this place before—it was the only star-rated hotel in Ping City. He didn't expect that it was not only a hotel but also had another identity.
"Let's go, time to get out," Lu Jun opened the car door, and they both entered the hotel one after the other. But Lin Fei's school uniform and the white sneakers he wore made him stand out excessively in such an environment.
Probably, if Lu Jun hadn't produced a silver VIP card in advance, Lin Fei would definitely have been stopped by the greeters at the door.
"If your family isn't in too difficult a situation, you should avoid dressing like this in the future. I won't be available every day to escort you to the branch," Lu Jun said, shaking his head and pointing at the cheap white sneakers on Lin Fei's feet which stood out on the red carpet.
"No money. If you guys give some real benefits, I might consider it," said Lin Fei flatly. "But for now, shouldn't you take care of my injury first?"
"Of course."
They got into the staff-only elevator where two slim hotel employees with light makeup resident greeted Lu Jun with a respectful "Good morning, Manager Lu."
Standing next to Lu Jun, the young female employees seemed to disdain Lin Fei, purposely standing far from him. This experience only deepened Lin Fei's awareness of the immense impact of his white sneakers.
The elevator reached the seventh floor. Lu Jun led Lin Fei out of the elevator; along the way, many greeted him, though with much more casual titles, suggesting that their statuses weren't too disparate.
The two entered a room marked with a medical office sign. They found the on-duty hotel medical staff who treated Lin Fei's injuries and prescribed some oral medication. Lin Fei finally breathed a sigh of relief.
A bone fracture was neither serious nor trivial, it all depended on the treatment. Prompt attention could speed up recovery and prevent complications.
After sitting in the infirmary for a while, Lu Jun went out alone. He soon returned with a silver card. After asking the medical staff to leave, Lu Jun directly tossed the silver card to Lin Fei.
"This will be your club membership card from now on. Don't lose it."
Lin Fei picked up the card and clearly saw it was stamped: F Grade—Lin Fei.
Besides that, there was nothing else on it.
"What does this 'F' stand for?"
Lu Jun had a look on his face that seemed to say, I knew you were going to ask that.
"It represents a division of Combat Power, initially categorized by the state. You belong to the lowest level, which is F Grade Combat Power."
"But wasn't it said that Sun Chengbin was a core member of the club? How come I'm only... F Grade?" Although Lin Fei already knew about this classification, he still feigned curiosity as he asked.
"Because the highest level in our club is only D Grade," Lu Jun said with a sigh.
"So, what privileges does this status grant me?" Lin Fei continued to inquire.
"Of course, there are privileges," Lu Jun nodded and said, "This card signifies that you are directly under the club's leadership, other government departments have no right to interfere with your actions. As you join us, all your information will be classified and entered into the National Secrets Archive. Also, you have the privilege to issue a task once—with the cost paid by you. Lastly, the most important point is."
Lu Jun's expression grew serious.
"We have the right to kill with immunity."
"No way," Lin Fei was taken aback, "Is this department really so powerful that I could join so easily?"
"Heh, of course it's not that simple. Our immunity is conditional, restricted to when we are carrying out missions issued by the state. Additionally, there are quotas for killing. And we must execute a public mission for the country every year—naturally, there is compensation. However, such missions are always extremely dangerous," Lu Jun explained.
"I still think it's a bit exaggerated. If there are no limits on the members of such a powerful department, wouldn't indiscriminate killings cause tremendous social unrest?" Lin Fei honed in on the key point.
"Actually, it all comes down to strength. If you're strong, you enjoy more benefits and better treatment. If you're weak, there are more restrictions. The right to kill with immunity is enjoyed by strong members of the club, while those of us who are weaker are just honest, undertaking Low Level missions and getting the compensation we deserve," Lu Jun shook his head, "I'm telling you this because you have the potential to enjoy these privileges. Of course, potential needs to turn into actual strength, and that requires a lot of things in between. Right now, I'm merely painting a big picture for you."
"You got injured this time, do you want revenge on the other party?" Lu Jun asked with a smile.
"Of course, is there a way?" Lin Fei asked, puzzled, "It would be even better if it were through legal means," he added.
"I have no way, but you do," Lu Jun smiled mysteriously.
"A chance to issue a mission?" Lin Fei recalled what he had said earlier, "I am just a poor student, I don't have anything valuable to offer."
"Issuing a mission also has its levels. You are just at the lowest F Grade for now, but if the target is similarly low, then it's not a problem. You need to understand, in our club, not only are there civilian powerhouses, but also many members from very powerful family backgrounds. They are usually very welcoming towards simple missions issued by promising new entrants like you."
"What do you mean?" Lin Fei picked up on the underlying implication.
"To put it frankly, normally there would be many layers of reviews and approvals required for your club membership registration, including an observation period. However, as soon as your information was submitted, the achievement of killing Sun Chengbin added a lot of points for you. The club is very welcoming to talented newcomers like you, so the various procedures went through very quickly. Of course, the most important factor is that you do not have the immunity to kill, yet you have killed someone. On this point, you should be very clear that if you did not join the club, you know what the consequences would be," Lu Jun explained simply.
Lin Fei smiled candidly: "I know, the moment I stopped in the woods, I already understood that this would be the outcome."
"So, when the dangerous public missions come down from above..." Lu Jun didn't continue, but his meaning was clear.
"How many people like me are there in the club?" Lin Fei suddenly asked.
"Many," Lu Jun hesitated for a moment, but still did not say anything more.
"Then, how many members are there in the Ping City club in total?" Lin Fei asked again.
"Approximately over two hundred," Lu Jun also knew what Lin Fei wanted to ask, "You're right to think that newcomers like you are popular because you can replace the old members in executing public missions. Every year, we recruit a large number of people nationwide. But equally, every year there's a large number sacrificed to the public missions."
"What's usually involved in a public mission?"
"There are escort missions, international investigations. There are also counter-invasion and border missions likely, anyway, they are all extremely dangerous," Lu Jun said frankly. "Don't worry, they're usually not executed by a single person, but by many members from different areas working as a team."
"Then, take me to meet the local club members," Lin Fei finally made his request.
"No problem."