17: It's not easy to be a caring citizen.
Captain Qiao was a bit allergic to the 'hero saving the beauty' trope.
"Take these people down for a statement. If there are no issues, let them go home. As for this kid, leave him to me. I'll interrogate him," he said, pointing to the people behind him.
"Yes, Captain."
Shen Yi was led alone to another small room. Captain Qiao sat opposite him, smiling jovially, "Alright, tell me, what happened again today?"
"Captain Qiao, I ran into that woman who robbed you last time today. I originally thought I'd catch her and bring her to you, but then a few people surrounded me and beat me up. Do you think this counts as a work injury? After all, I was helping you catch a criminal," Shen Yi immediately said with a fawning tone.
"Hmm? You ran into that person again? How did you encounter her?" Captain Qiao was surprised. He had just been about to leave to investigate some special places for information about that woman, but before he even left, he heard clues about her.
Shen Yi recounted everything that happened that evening, from start to finish.
"How did you know the address of the Black Bucket? Not just anyone can get in there. Even our people can't get in, if it weren't for..." Captain Qiao stopped halfway, not continuing. It seemed there was some special hidden reason.
"Such an obvious address, and you couldn't find it?" Shen Yi asked curiously. Even Huang Ren could get in with a ticket; how could the Ability Bureau not find it?
"We'll talk about that later. How did you subdue that Black-clothed woman? Even I can only fight her to a draw," Captain Qiao still couldn't believe Shen Yi could subdue that woman.
"Captain Qiao, who is this woman? She's so powerful," Shen Yi asked curiously.
"I only know she's from a mysterious organization, codenamed Night Owl, real name Ji Luo. She's connected to the recent missing persons cases in Lin City. You don't need to know too much about these things. In the future, stay far away from her and watch your life. Don't freeze up just because you see a beautiful woman," Captain Qiao patted Shen Yi.
"What makes me curious, though, is why she came after you," Captain Qiao couldn't figure it out.
"Ji Luo?" He noted down her name.
"She asked me why I was following her. She probably mistook me for your accomplice when I saved you last time," Shen Yi said.
Captain Qiao's mouth twitched. How could he have the nerve to say he saved him? If it weren't for him last time, he would have almost finished his investigation by now. Now, not only were there no clues, but he also got beaten for nothing.
Seeing Captain Qiao's expression, Shen Yi said again, "Captain Qiao, I've provided such an important clue this time. Is there any benefit? At least I've made a contribution. It's very reasonable for me to ask for a reward, right?"
He then pointed to his face, "Look, to gather intelligence for you, I fought against evil forces and suffered numerous injuries. Even if there's no reward, shouldn't there be some medical expenses? You can't discourage the public, right, Captain Qiao?"
"Do you know how much psychological damage disfigurement can cause to a teenager in their prime? To steal first-hand intelligence for you, I've already sacrificed my youth." Listening to Shen Yi's increasingly absurd words, his mouth twitched again.
Captain Qiao found that ever since he met Shen Yi last time, his twitching habit had settled in. Every time Shen Yi spoke, he felt an urge to slap him.
"Captain Qiao, you should change your name to Qiao Si," Shen Yi suddenly blurted out, watching his mouth twitch from time to time.
"No reward, no medical expenses. Do you want free food at the Bureau for seven days?"
Captain Qiao felt that he was probably infected. His palm was particularly itchy now. He looked at his palm, then at Shen Yi.
"Ah, being a warm-hearted citizen isn't easy," Shen Yi sighed, feeling a bit uncomfortable under his gaze.
"Alright, you can go back. Don't worry about the rest. This is my phone number. If you encounter her again, call me immediately. Also, be careful yourself. Don't wander around alone late at night," Captain Qiao waved his hand, stopping his urge to continue speaking, and pulled a business card from his pocket, slipping it into Shen Yi's hand.
By the time Shen Yi returned home, it was almost ten o'clock. His parents were already asleep. He quietly returned to his room.
He looked at his attribute panel.
Name: Shen Yi
Talent Level: E-rank
Spirit: 12
Strength: 8
Ability Level: First-tier Two-star
Ability Type: Fire (Hidden Ability not awakened (21/100))
Ability Technique: Reconnaissance (Proficient: 0/100)
Available Free Attribute Points: 0 points
Seeing his Ability Technique change from Novice to Proficient, he tried to use the Ability Technique.
Closing his eyes, the fire elements within him began to spread outwards, dense red light points expanding in circles. Shen Yi now looked like a radar, sending out signals in all directions.
As the fire elements spread, images constantly appeared in Shen Yi's mind. Everywhere the Ability reached, it clearly fed back into his mind.
As soon as he used the Ability Technique, Shen Yi felt like a new world had opened up. The things around the room clearly imprinted into his mind. He turned off the lights in the room, but for him, his surroundings were still as clear as day. He could even see small insects flying in the room perfectly clearly.
The fire elements spread outwards, and everything in the entire house clearly fed back into his mind.
Shen Yi saw that his parents were already asleep, and his father was occasionally snoring.
When the fire elements tried to enter the downstairs room, he clearly felt a thin film in the downstairs room, isolating the Fire Ability.
Everyone's home has a most basic Ability isolator, which is also for protecting their privacy.
He continued to increase the intensity, continuously releasing the Ability Technique from the room he was in.
After about a minute, he felt he had reached his limit. A headache struck, and he immediately slumped down.
"It seems this is the limit of my Reconnaissance Ability for now. Not bad, a fifty-meter radius. This will already handle most situations he faces in the future." He was very satisfied with this Ability Technique.
"Reconnaissance Proficiency +1"
The system's voice rang in his mind.
Shen Yi quickly checked his attribute panel.
Name: Shen Yi
Talent Level: E-rank
Spirit: 12
Strength: 8
Ability Level: First-tier Two-star
Ability Type: Fire (Hidden Ability not awakened (21/100))
Ability Technique: Reconnaissance (Proficient: 1/100)
Available Free Attribute Points: 0 points
"Ha!" Like discovering a new continent, he could even increase proficiency this way. It was simply too heaven-defying. As expected, those with cheats were beasts.
He sat on the bed, preparing to meditate to recover his mental strength, and then try again. But as soon as he entered meditation, he fell onto the bed and fell asleep.