"In the future, if you have any tasks, come and ask me first, I'll help you look them over."
Chen Yanan sat on the hospital bed and instructed, "In a while, I'll summarize some key points and precautions about patrol work and send them to you. Read them carefully and keep them in mind."
Lin Qing nodded slightly, feeling a warmth that had been absent for some time.
For people in the post-apocalyptic world, care, love, and kinship were luxuries. He hadn't experienced them for a long time and didn't reject them.
Even if all betrayals had a price, human nature was not something to test.
The waxing and waning of human emotions was normal; staying clear-headed was enough.
"You are following Group Two's Captain Han, right?" Chen Yanan inquired.
"Yes." Lin Qing responded, "What kind of person is Captain Han?"
"Han Linsong is quite decent,"
Chen Yanan said, "However, he has severe OCD and is a bit rigid, rule-driven. But he is also fair and upright in character. Although you won't find any underhanded benefits following him, you don't have to worry about him engaging in petty schemes. Moreover, he won't covet your deserved credit—this I am quite assured of."
Lin Qing slightly arched his eyebrows.
It was said that patrol work sometimes offered illicit benefits, such as during inspections in casinos or nightclubs. Inevitably, one could stumble upon sensitive illegal zones where those in charge might offer bribes to prevent trouble.
Of course, temporary patrol officers like himself weren't usually involved, so he had only heard about this.
"No wonder..."
Lin Qing suddenly frowned, "No wonder that surname Xiao specifically assigned me to Group Two. Does he not want me to rake in any underhand profits?"
He looked toward Chen Yanan and asked, "Does surname Xiao worry I'd earn money to treat your leg?"
Chen Yanan nodded slightly and explained, "In the past, I had grand ambitions and despised such small gain; I didn't want to hinder my career progress, so I rarely accepted bribes. Therefore, I don't have much in savings."
She sighed, "Now, when I am in need of money, that surname Xiao is probably worried you'd earn underhanded profits during this period to help me acquire better mechanical prosthetics."
"If my strength doesn't drop much, then his chance of becoming a permanent officer shrinks." She smirked mockingly, "But he deliberately assigned you to Group Two. With a rigid and upright supervisor like Captain Han, you won't be able to gain any illicit benefits in the short term."
Lin Qing slightly shook his head.
Indeed, Xiao Peidong, that shameless person, also had deep schemes.
"It doesn't matter."
Chen Yanan said nonchalantly, "Surname Xiao is overthinking it. Considering the recovery and preparation, it will be just two or three months at most before I undergo the prosthetic surgery. You, a newly permanent patrol officer, even if allowed to earn underhanded money, how much could you possibly raise in two to three months?"
She reached out and patted Lin Qing's hand, "Being in Han Linsong's group is already the best outcome."
"However..."
Lin Qing frowned slightly and said, "If I could gather more money, perhaps I really could get you a better pair of mechanical prosthetics."
"Don't think too much," Chen Yanan shook her head, "With the family savings, plus my work injury insurance and disability subsidy, we have nearly two million already. Your brother asked his classmates in the urban circle, and this sum can already buy the Dawn Group's G21L model of mechanical prosthetics and a backup battery."
"And the higher tier, the G53 series mechanical prosthetics, starts at at least five to six million."
She shook her head, "Even if you're capable, gathering another one or two million in two or three months, spending so much more money would only improve endurance and such aspects; the performance wouldn't change qualitatively, so it is completely unnecessary. Do you understand?"
Lin Qing nodded slightly.
It was just a thought for him; if he could gather enough money, he would naturally do his best to help.
"It's good you understand."
Chen Yanan looked at him reassuringly, "You've grown up."
She couldn't help but think to herself that perhaps she had overprotected him in the past, not allowing him to experience much hardship. Now, with her incident, he had matured significantly.
It was like dealing with someone else... Lin Qing murmured to himself, then asked, "Sister, do you know how to quickly learn combat skills?"
"What else could there be besides achieving merits?" Chen Yanan glanced at him.
"The felon who injured you, what level of merit would it be if he were dealt with?" Lin Qing suddenly asked.
Chen Yanan couldn't help but glance at him and said, "Don't seek your own death, kid."
"I'm just asking." Lin Qing shook his head, "I'm not that overconfident."
"True..."
It was then that Chen Yanan said, "If someone could tackle him, it would definitely be a first-class merit. He's much stronger than me and almost has no weaknesses. Even bullets can hardly cause effective damage to him. Even if he is targeted, he still manages to escape; I guess only the General Captain of the City Bureau, Yuan Anping, might be able to handle him."
Bullets can hardly tackle him?
Upon hearing this, Lin Qing felt a surge of desire.
Wasn't this the strength he was pursuing?
Unfortunately, even his cousin couldn't match that person's strength, so his strength was even further behind.
"Merit..."
Chen Yanan thought for a moment and suddenly said, "How about this? I have two unused third-class merits under my name. I'll apply to transfer them to you. If you gather one more third-class merit, you could also try to learn a combat skill."
"Merits can be transferred?" Lin Qing was surprised.
Chen Yanan nodded and explained, "Third-class merits can be transferred, but honors and records cannot be, so they can't be used for promotion, but they can be transferred when it comes to substantial rewards involving the merit exchange."
She regretfully added, "However, I've used my eight third-class merits and two second-class merits over the years to try to learn combat skills."
"Doesn't that mean you've learned six combat skills?" Lin Qing couldn't help asking.
Three third-class merits to learn one skill, one second-class merit for two skills.
With these merits, after learning six skills, Chen Yanan exactly had two third-class merits left.
"Six skills?"
Chen Yanan couldn't help but glance at him, "That was just six opportunities to try to learn. How could I master them all? After six attempts, I only managed to get a basic grasp of three skills, and I really delved deep into only two."
"Is it that hard to learn?" Lin Qing asked with interest.
"Of course it's hard. The Inspection Bureau has four series of combat skills, totaling twenty-three skills; you're bound to find one you can grasp. It all depends on your luck."
Chen Yanan continued, "I consider myself very lucky, having tried six combat skills and succeeded in grasping three. If one is less fortunate, they might not grasp any of the ten combat skills."
Lin Qing suddenly understood.
He wasn't worried, as after he completed the Sunrise Training Method 'repayment' edition, he could approach learning combat skills.
"All my two third-class merits go to you."
Chen Yanan glanced at Lin Qing and said, "You're short one third-class merit, so you'll have to figure that out yourself."
"I'll do it myself," Lin Qing nodded.
Helping him cut down most of the difficulty was already nice.
"Aren't you skilled with guns?"
Chen Yanan advised, "Get promoted to a level three Patrol Officer early, then you'll have the right to carry a gun."
Lin Qing hummed in agreement.
It was soon, maybe even this month.
...
After leaving the hospital, Lin Qing didn't feel like going to school anymore. Since he planned to follow the Patrol system, whether he took the college entrance exam was no longer so important.
He headed straight home.
After a cheap but not so tasty lunch, Lin Qing started practicing the Sunrise Training Method 'repayment' version.
Completing it only needed a perfect practice 65 times, which didn't seem a lot.
However, after only practicing once, Lin Qing realized something was wrong.