Chapter 30: You Have a Cheat—Why Not Use It?

"Dead?" Leon frowned upon hearing Cole’s words.

He pushed the succubus off himself, stood up, and surveyed the hall. It was then he noticed that the Public Security Bureau officers were leaving Price one after another, clearly having received word that a life had been lost back at the bureau.

Seeing this, Cole immediately drove Leon back to the Public Security Bureau at high speed. Upon arriving at the crime scene, Leon discovered that it wasn't just the suspect who was dead; the officer guarding him had also been killed.

Glancing at Marcus, who stood nearby with a gloomy expression, questioning those around him, Leon crossed his arms and leaned against the wall.

"Brother, how come you don't look worried at all?" Cole asked, confused by his demeanor.

Leon shrugged and replied, "Didn't the Chief tell us not to get involved in this?" He added, "Besides, the captain hasn't even arrived yet. Why should we be in such a hurry?"

This was, of course, a pretext to handle Cole; in reality, he felt the situation was suspicious.

As if on cue, Danika walked up to them, yawning. "...What's the situation now?"

"Chief Marcus is interrogating the cleaner who found the bodies," Leon answered casually. Since the officers had been at the team-building event in Price, only the cleaning and duty staff were left at the bureau. The person who discovered the bodies was an elderly cleaner.

"What about the surveillance?" Danika crossed her arms, though she soon lowered them, seemingly finding the buttons on her chest too tight. "Wouldn't it be easier to just check the footage?"

Leon shook his head slightly, indicating he didn't know.

At that moment, Cole spoke up timidly from the side, "The day before yesterday, the Chief said he was worried the bureau’s surveillance might have malfunctioned due to those bugs earlier, so he sent it for maintenance."

"?"

Leon’s brow furrowed tightly. The coincidences were piling up—so much so that he wondered if Marcus had sent someone to eliminate the suspect. But that didn't make sense; if the Chief were truly the one backing the smugglers, there would have been no need to authorize the arrest in the first place. Everything happening now felt like looking at flowers through a thick fog.

Danika clearly reached the same conclusion. After a moment of silence, she rubbed her temples with a headache. "Forget it. Since the Chief told us not to worry about it, let’s just pretend we don't know anything."

Leon agreed. But the very next day, someone came looking for them.

***

Looking at the smiling blond man before them, Danika’s expression sank. "What do you want, Higgins?"

Facing the question, the man named Higgins replied in a gentle tone, "Danika, I’ve already spoken with the Chief. Your squad will be heading outside the city with me in a few days."

Danika’s expression turned serious. She repeated, "Outside the city?"

"Outside the city," Higgins confirmed, explaining the reasoning. "The matter regarding the smugglers has been under my charge for a long time. I’ve recently uncovered some clues, and combined with yesterday’s incident, I’ve decided to head outside the city in a few days to investigate. Your squad has excellent combat capabilities and is already informed about the case; there’s no team better suited for this."

As he spoke, Higgins turned to smile at Leon, clearly aware of his identity.

"...I understand," Danika sighed. "Is there anything else?"

"No, that’s all. I’ll leave the rest to you."

With that, Higgins departed under the watchful eyes of Leon and the others. Once he was gone, the office area fell silent for a long time until Danika finally said helplessly, "You heard him. Prepare yourselves well over the next few days. I don't need to describe what it's like outside the city."

"Cole, give Leon a brief explanation of the situation outside."

Since arriving in this world, Leon had never stepped outside the city, so he naturally knew nothing about it. However, judging by Danika’s reaction, it was likely far from safe.

Cole whispered to Leon, "Brother, it’s not like it is inside the city. If you run into bugs, you're looking at hundreds or thousands of them at once. That's why we rarely go out."

Leon’s first thought was that this was a perfect opportunity to farm experience. But he quickly regained his composure; he lacked any large-scale AOE abilities, and if he really ran into a swarm, he’d be in serious trouble.

Seeing that Leon understood, Danika said, "Eat and drink well these next few days. Don't worry too much about it." Despite her words, Cole and the others still looked deeply troubled. Since the establishment of the Public Security Bureau in Frontier City No. 66, missions involving going outside the city had always had the highest casualty rates. It wasn't unheard of for a five-man squad to go out and never return.

Danika sighed at the sight, turned, and walked toward the Chief’s office, muttering, "Once this mission is over, I am definitely applying for leave..."

***

At night, Leon sat cross-legged on the sofa, maintaining his 'Inversion State' while browsing the forums.

After several days of intensive web surfing, he had a rough understanding of how people in the Federation became professionals. They bought it. The Federation officially sold professional paths, but the prices were... and many professions couldn't be bought with money alone; rarer ones usually had other prerequisites, such as holding formal Federation citizenship.

As he read, a question occurred to him: 'How does the Federation prevent buyers from passing professional information to others?' It seemed to him that people could easily crowdfund the purchase of a professional path and share it, but the Federation clearly wouldn't allow such a massive loophole.

Leon soon found the answer: when purchasing professional information, the buyer had to sign a transcendent contract. The primary content of this contract was a binding agreement prohibiting the buyer from sharing the information with others.

'No wonder...'

Incidentally, Danika had transferred him 1,000 Starlight Coins, enough for a person to live comfortably for a month. A basic salary for a regular Public Security officer was 3,000 Starlight Coins, with bonuses for dangerous missions ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands. While this was a lot compared to an ordinary citizen, it was still insufficient to purchase a professional path.

Even if he could afford it, Leon wouldn't dare. He didn't know if his communication bracelet had a backdoor for the Public Security Bureau; it was better to be cautious. After all, researching information was one thing, but actually purchasing a path was another. There was no need to risk his neck for a weak or mediocre profession.

Fortunately, he had found the information he wanted: the prerequisite for [Artisan] was a profession called [Artisan Apprentice]. There were also professions like [Gunman], where the requirements seemed simple enough.

Leon decided to take back his earlier thoughts. Guns were good. He definitely needed a gun.