After leaving the secret room, Lin Qing took the elevator along the special corridor made of glass and metal and left.
When he returned to the second group's office on the first floor, both Patrol Officer Han and Qin Qin were there.
"Finished learning the combat skill?" Patrol Officer Han glanced at him.
"Yeah, I'm not sure if I can get started yet," Lin Qing replied.
He really wasn't very confident, especially since the success rate for beginners in the Free Body series of combat skills was only 4.1%.
Although the hoarse voice had said he had a thirty to forty percent chance, it was only that much after all.
"You still have a chance before the visualization map in your mind becomes blurry."
Patrol Officer Han said, "These few days are when your visualization will be clearest, so the possibility of getting started is the highest. If you can't get started in these days, there is even less hope once your memory becomes blurry."
Lin Qing nodded slightly.
"The key is to get started."
Patrol Officer Han continued, "Once you're started, the rest is much simpler. Just accumulate experience slowly, and once you adapt and become familiar with the variations of the combat skill, you can unleash forty to fifty percent of its power."
"As for higher?" He shook his head slightly, "That's up to fate."
Lin Qing understood what he meant.
The first step was 'to get started'.
The second step was 'to master' it. With more practice, one could always adapt to the variations of the combat skill. Once mastered, nearly half of the combat skill's theoretical power could be unleashed.
But the third step, 'instinct', was to unleash the true power of the combat skill. This required integrating the skill's variations into one's instincts, making it a part of one's body.
That was the hardest barrier, as many people couldn't achieve it even with ten or twenty years of practice.
"But if I fail to get started, I can learn the same combat skill again, right?" Lin Qing suddenly asked.
"Learn it again?"
Patrol Officer Han glanced at him and said, "In theory, yes. But if you fail the first time, it indicates that your talent for this combat skill is average. Even if you manage to get started later, adapting will take a long time."
It seemed that he was afraid Lin Qing would not take it well and patiently explained, "Others who succeed on their first try might master it within a year or so, but you might need several years or even longer. And once you've learned it, switching to another series of combat skills would also be affected. If you fail to start the first time, it might be better to try a new combat skill."
Lin Qing nodded slightly and said, "I understand."
Of course, he still planned to stick with learning the 'Min' combat skill.
He was different.
Others thought this way because they weren't sure they could practice the combat skill to the level of 'instinct'.
But as long as he could get started, he could already pre-use the 'Min' combat skill at the 'instinct' level.
This way, when he learned other combat skills from the Free Body series, he would have an added bonus!
By then, it shouldn't be so hard to get started.
As long as there were enough merits, even if the visualization memory in the mind became blurry, relearning it could make it clear again, and with time, one was bound to get started!
That was his plan.
So even if he failed once, it was no big deal. He would just continue next time.
"Lin Qing, which combat skill are you learning?" Qin Qin was curious.
"Little Qin, that's a secret," Patrol Officer Han looked at her.
"Oh, I forgot." Qin Qin immediately covered her mouth, "Pretend I didn't ask."
Lin Qing also understood.
Even if he wanted to tell, it would only be to the Patrol Officer, since the Patrol Officer needed to plan actions based on the members' strengths.
...
Time passed day by day.
Every day, in addition to practicing the Sunrise Training Method three times, studying for exams, and patrolling at night, Lin Qing also kept trying the newly learned combat skill.
With his current memory and the ability of a Memory Master, stable visualization was easy.
The challenge lay in what followed.
In theory, visualization could induce a psychological state that turned the mysterious energy within the body into a much stronger form of biological electricity, akin to that naturally occurring in humans.
Only if this step was successful would he be considered to have started.
After starting, one could use this simulated biological electricity to stimulate the body and nerve conduction, enhancing the electrical signals and gradually getting the body to adapt.
Whether one could get started was up to the individual.
Talent, luck, compatibility, state—all would have an influence.
"Although failure wouldn't be a big deal, it would of course be best to succeed on the first try."
"A thirty to forty percent chance isn't that small..."
As time moved on and Lin Qing continually attempted, he could feel the mysterious energy within his body becoming increasingly restless, even causing a faint tingling sensation.
It seemed... he was just a bit away from successfully simulating biological electricity.
But being just a bit off was not enough; the combat skill still had not begun, leaving Lin Qing rather helpless.
However, there was no use in panicking if he couldn't start.
"Hopefully, I'll succeed before the visualization diagram becomes blurry."
"Otherwise, I'll just have to wait for the next time..."
Lin Qing's attitude was quite relaxed.
With a 4.1% success rate, he had naturally prepared for failure.
If it didn't work out, he would just pre-use the Seventy-Seven Training Method to maintain a decent self-defense capability.
After all, with his Entropy talent, as long as he seized the opportunity, his achievements wouldn't be too bad.
...
Before he knew it, the night of December 24th arrived, and the professional examination was scheduled for the next day.
However, at eight o'clock in the evening, Cousin Chen Yanan suddenly sent a WeChat message, asking him to make a trip to the hospital to discuss some key points about the exam face to face.
...
Xiao Shan District People's Hospital.
"Sis, the exams are starting tomorrow, and you are only telling me about the key points today?"
Lin Qing sat somewhat helplessly by the hospital bed, peeling an apple for Chen Yanan with a fruit knife.
"The key points I'm referring to aren't the stuff from the books," Chen Yanan said, leaning back on the hospital bed and giving him a sideways glance, "It would have been useless to tell you before."
"Alright, then." Lin Qing finished slicing the apple and offered half to Chen Yanan, "So, what is it?"
Chen Yanan took a bite of the apple and said with a smile, "It's simple, scoring a bit lower on the written exam is beneficial for you."
"Scoring lower on the written exam?" Lin Qing asked, puzzled, "Why?"
Chen Yanan glanced at the hospital room door, then whispered, "After you become part of the Patrol Department, it won't be long before they set up a team for you, and the City Bureau will also arrange team members for you, right?"
She took another bite of her apple and asked, "Do you know how the City Bureau deals with new team leaders like you?"
"The branches are definitely short on staff, so they should be dispatching new Patrol Officers from the City Bureau over, right?" Lin Qing said.
"That's correct."
Chen Yanan nodded, "But the key thing is, the leaders at the City Bureau often send some juniors with influential backgrounds to the Inspection Bureau to 'gild' their resumes, and then use this experience to secure better positions within other security systems or the military."
Lin Qing nodded his head.
He had also heard about this from chatting with his colleagues in Group Two recently.
Because the very nature of the Patrol system is essentially to stir up trouble, it is relatively easier to earn merit, and as long as one has enough merit, one can learn Combat Skills, which is a significant temptation.
Therefore, it is not uncommon for these second-generation individuals to 'gild' their resumes in the Patrol system and then leverage their connections to transfer smoothly to other systems.
It seems like a lateral transfer, but in reality, it's an undercover promotion.
After all, you can't expect someone from the Patrol Department who learned Combat Skills to just be a regular military officer or a regular police officer, can you?
"These golden boys love group leaders who are poor in cultural knowledge."
Chen Yanan said, "They haven't learned Combat Skills themselves, have no advantage in strength compared to you, and have to obey your commands, so they hope that you, as their leader, are deficient in cultural knowledge, not understanding enough, so that they have the chance to obtain a greater share of the merit."
Lin Qing asked with confusion, "Isn't that just sharing the merit though? Then shouldn't I score higher?"
"It is about sharing merit, but it's also an opportunity for you."
Chen Yanan explained, "These second-generation kids all have influential backgrounds, and they definitely know more than you. Since they want to 'gild' their resumes, they naturally come prepared."
Lin Qing understood.
During his half-month at the Inspection Bureau, he only had good luck on the first day, earning Third-class Merit, but he hadn't encountered such luck again.
These second-generation kids were there to 'gild' their resumes, and perhaps they knew where opportunities to earn merit were.
Even if he were only sharing in the merit, he would be able to accumulate merit faster.
"This is a good thing."
Chen Yanan continued, "So aim to score as low as possible on the written exam, while performing as well as you can in other assessments, such as marksmanship, fighting, and physical fitness. The golden boys will feel more secure following you if they see your assessment results and will choose you first."
"Okay, I got it," Lin Qing nodded in understanding.
No wonder his cousin had wanted to tell him in person; indeed, this kind of thing was not suitable to discuss over the phone.
To the officials, personal privacy was just like the Emperor's New Clothes, wasn't it?
"Cousin, your Patrol Major exam scores were so poor, was it because..." Lin Qing suddenly realized something.
"Oh, that's not why."
Chen Yanan slightly lifted her chin, "Do you really think someone like me who barely scored three hundred points on the college entrance exams needed to deliberately keep my scores that low?"
...you're pretty proud of yourself... Lin Qing was at a loss for words.
"By the way, didn't you earn Third-class Merit once through sheer luck?"
Chen Yanan suddenly asked, "Adding the two instances of Third-class Merit I gave you, you should have enough to learn a Combat Skill, right? Have you learned one?"
"I have," Lin Qing nodded and sighed helplessly, "But I haven't mastered it yet."
"Which one?" Chen Yanan asked with interest.
"The 'Min' from the Free Body series," Lin Qing answered candidly.
He couldn't tell others, but it was fine to tell his cousin; after all, he only had the opportunity to learn Combat Skills thanks to her.
"Oh? You learned that one too." Chen Yanan laughed, "As expected of my little bro, even choosing the same Combat Skills as me."
"Sis, you also..." Lin Qing was surprised.
Chen Yanan said with a smile, "Yes, since I practiced Tai Chi, I learned the three Combat Skills 'Soft,' 'Min,' and 'WeChat' that are more suitable for leveraging Tai Chi's strengths. However, I only mastered 'Soft' and 'Min,' just starting 'WeChat.'"
Lin Qing suddenly understood.
Tai Chi Boxing is about overcoming hardness with softness and also emphasizes perception. Indeed, the Combat Skills 'Soft' and 'Min' are very suitable.
"How long have you been studying 'Min'?" Chen Yanan asked.
"This is the fifth day," Lin Qing replied.
"Five days..."
Chen Yanan pondered for a moment and then suddenly smiled brightly, "Since I can't really use my hands at the moment, I'll take on a little trouble and help you out."
"Help me?" Lin Qing couldn't help asking, "How?"
"The key to mastering the Combat Skill 'Min' is the simulation of bioelectricity."
Chen Yanan explained, "I can transfer my simulated bioelectricity to you, letting you feel it carefully. Although you won't be able to use it as your own, you'll be able to experience it genuinely, increasing the chances of you mastering it."
"You can do that?" Lin Qing's eyes lit up.
"Give me your hand."
Chen Yanan grabbed Lin Qing's palm and muttered, "Your hands are even softer than mine..."