Accidental Hero: The Rookie Who Outshines the Force - Chapter 12

The wounds on Hou Sida’s body—enough that two bottles of medicated oil weren’t enough to cover—were without a doubt courtesy of the probationary officer from Sanliqiao Station.

Which meant his account just now hadn’t been fabricated. It had really happened.

Hiss—!

The officers from Chengxi Station all felt their scalps prickle.

This trainee wasn’t just any rookie. He was a fighter!

Too fierce!

In the office, the way everyone looked at Lu Cheng carried a hint of unease, if not outright fear.

Lu Cheng scratched his head.
“I held back, really. It’s just that Hou Sida refused to surrender. I had no choice but to beat him until he stayed down.”

That shouldn’t count as excessive force… right? he wondered.

After all, if he hadn’t subdued him, Hou Sida would never have complied.

Clatter.

The officer taking notes dropped his pen, his mouth falling slightly open.

For a moment, everyone almost pitied the thief.

Every punch had landed hard. Just imagining it was painful enough.

The case record was written down exactly as Lu Cheng recounted it.

At Chengxi Station, there were three probationary officers assigned—two of them had even been classmates with Lu Cheng at the academy.

Back at school, they were the star students, always at the top of the rankings.

Lu Cheng? Somewhere in the middle of the pack. Aside from being easy on the eyes, nothing about him stood out.

“Lu Cheng, you sly dog. You hid your skills well. Who’d have thought?”

“Unbelievable! We’re all probationary officers, but on day one you’re already out catching crooks. I haven’t even finished memorizing the disciplinary code!”

It was absurd!

We’re all still stuck grinding in the novice village, but this guy’s already out raiding bosses.

Director Hao Jianping himself offered Lu Cheng a cigarette, admiration written all over his face.

“Director Hao, I don’t smoke. Thank you.”

“Not smoking is good. Ninety-nine percent of us in this line of work end up chain smokers.”

Hao Jianping lit one for himself, puffing thoughtfully as he studied Lu Cheng.

To be honest, he wanted to ask outright: “How about transferring to our station?”

But in the end, he didn’t.

Transfers were troublesome, and outright poaching was a guaranteed way to make old Chen Weimin flip the table.

Still, what a promising seedling! If trained properly, this kid had a bright future.

Hao Jianping was convinced that Lu Cheng would stagnate in Sanliqiao. Chengxi Station, with its talented officers, always got priority when the Bureau needed reinforcements for major cases.

Sanliqiao? Forgotten by both heaven and earth. No future at all.

And everyone could see it too—Director Hao personally offering Lu Cheng a cigarette was as good as a stamp of approval.

So the others quickly warmed up to him as well.

One officer, a seventh-dan free fighting expert, even joked about sparring with Lu Cheng, drawing cheers from the rest.

Lu Cheng was tempted. He wanted to test the limits of his Level 1 [Combat Mastery].

But in the end, he declined. It was still work hours, and he had to get back to report in.

At that moment, Su Qingwu was lounging at home in her pyjamas, a facial mask on, and a copy of Principles of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis in hand.

Her pale, slender legs were crossed casually, dainty feet tucked into pink slippers. Her ten toes looked like carved pearls, smooth and round.

For a criminal investigator, the most precious luxury wasn’t wealth or power—it was a rare day off.

Usually, cases meant back-to-back overtime, sleepless nights, and endless strain.

The phone on her desk rang. Su Qingwu glanced at the display and answered.

“Hello, Director Yang.”

Five minutes later, she hung up.

There was a flicker of surprise in her eyes.

Yang Zheng had called to ask about Sanliqiao’s probationary officer—Lu Cheng. She was puzzled. She barely knew him herself.

But apparently, on his way back from dropping her off, the rookie had caught yet another thief.

One in the morning, another in the afternoon.

Was he born with some kind of “Heaven-defying Luck Against Thieves” physique?

Director Yang had briefly explained the case. Su Qingwu was curious about how Lu Cheng had tailed that career pickpocket and managed to subdue him one-on-one.

That thief wasn’t just some small-time crook. He was a seasoned professional, always alert, always moving from one place to another. Even after the police caught on to his trail before, they’d never managed to pin him down.

Yet now he’d been taken out by a probationary officer.

On his first day on duty.

She couldn’t help but wonder what was going through that thief’s mind after such a humiliating fall.

Even she, who had excelled both at the academy and after joining the Bureau, had spent her probation period buried in paperwork and statutes. Actual arrests hadn’t come until much later.

But Lu Cheng? Day one, and he’d already bagged two criminals.

That really was the stuff of “dream openings” in games.

Su Qingwu opened WeChat.

Lu Cheng’s contact sat pinned to the top of her list. They’d just added each other but hadn’t exchanged a single message yet.

Her pale, slender finger tapped it. His profile picture was Iron Man, his username Mango Sago Lu, and his signature read:

“To prevent the world from being destroyed, to protect the peace of the world, to uphold love and justice. A charming and righteous hero. White hole, a bright tomorrow awaits me.”

The corners of Su Qingwu’s lips curved upward.

An amused, childish label was instantly affixed to Lu Cheng in her mind.

After leaving Chengxi Station, Lu Cheng caught the No. 11 bus back to the old street on Fengshan Road and retrieved the police-issued e-scooter he’d left parked there.

He hadn’t even locked it earlier in the rush.

Shame no one had stolen it. Would’ve boosted his arrest record.

With Hou Sida’s case wrapped up, the system reward arrived.

A new skill.

[Memory Reinforcement Lv.1]: Enhances the host’s memory capacity and recall speed by 100%.

Lu Cheng didn’t feel much difference physically. Probably something he’d have to test out in practice.

Back at Sanliqiao, the e-scooter’s battery was nearly drained.

After plugging it in to charge, he walked into the office—just in time to find Chen Weimin gathering everyone to assign probationary officers to their mentors.

Typically, a veteran could take one or two rookies, no more. Training was secondary; they still had their own work to do.

Once paired up, each rookie called out a respectful “Master.”

Zhao Han was grinning from ear to ear. His brilliant apprentice had already caught two criminals on day one, while he himself hadn’t managed that in months.

As for Lu Cheng, despite having a system, he wasn’t arrogant. There was still much he needed to learn from Zhao Han.

Zhao Han, thirty-seven, a First-Class Police Inspector with one star and three stripes on his shoulder, was one of Sanliqiao Station’s pillars.

In the police force, many officers resisted promotion once they reached his rank.

Because moving up to the next—two stripes and one star—meant you were basically “old.”

And who wanted to admit they were getting old at not even forty?

Flowers might bloom for a hundred days, but youth never returns.

Ah, youth…