Chapter 259-1: Yin Linlin of the Heavenly Punishment Unit (1)

Hang City, Special Office of the Public Security Bureau.

Yin Linlin rubbed her eyes, yawning as she knocked on the door to the Team Leader’s office.

She was an elite Apostle of Hang City’s Armed Division and also a core member of the Heavenly Punishment Unit stationed in the city.

It just so happened that this weekend was her turn to be on vacation. She had been happily sleeping in when Team Leader Jiang’s deathly barrage of calls woke her up.

Team Leader Jiang hadn’t said clearly on the phone what it was about, but Yin Linlin knew, it was almost certainly some troublesome task again.

That alone put her in a terrible mood. She hadn’t even bothered to put on makeup, just threw on her uniform and rushed to the office.

Yet even without makeup, as the ‘flower’ of the Armed Division, she still drew countless glances from passersby as she hurried down the street.

After all, a beautiful security flower attracts attention wherever she goes.

But those gazes vanished as soon as she stepped into the Public Security Bureau, especially once she entered the Special Office.

The male colleagues all sat up straight, eyes firmly fixed forward. Only a few female colleagues greeted her.

Yin Linlin was long used to it. As the flower of the Armed Division, she had countless admirers.

Thanks to Team Leader Jiang’s constraints, the colleagues in her own department were manageable. But Apostles from other departments were harder to shake off, even after countless rejections, they never gave up, which was endlessly exhausting.

In the end, she’d had no choice but to resort to force, dragging those pursuers onto the Arena in the Book of Arena and beating each of them into submission.

This method was extremely effective, immediate results. Those suitors had been thoroughly crushed by her overwhelming strength… but it was perhaps too effective, which was why she was already twenty-seven and still single.

Yin Linlin pushed open the door to the Team Leader’s office and walked in.

Inside, Team Leader Jiang, both head of the Armed Division and captain of the Heavenly Punishment Unit, was wearing a very complicated expression.

Seeing this, Yin Linlin felt her heart sink. This is bad. Not only is my vacation going down the drain, I might have to work overtime for days on end!

Team Leader Jiang’s expression remained conflicted as he slowly spoke.

“Linlin, there’s a task over here…”

She groaned internally, her face instantly showing the expression of someone who just wanted the world to end.

“This task… Ah, I don’t know if I should say you’re lucky, or if your best friend is lucky. What a pity I’m not in the Fifth Difficulty Chapters anymore, otherwise, such a good job, I’d have to snatch it for myself.”

The more Yin Linlin listened, the more it felt off.

What did he mean by lucky? What did he mean by her best friend being lucky?

If it was an overtime mission so tough that only the Armed Division’s strongest Apostle could handle it, how was that lucky?

Team Leader, could you maybe tone down the sarcasm?

“Team Leader Jiang, please, just spare me this time… It’s been three whole months without a single day off. I finally get a vacation, and you give me a mission.”

“If you want to snatch it, be my guest, give it to someone else. I’m begging you, let me just sleep in…”

Yin Linlin looked ready to cry. Overtime was one thing, but did he have to act like working overtime was her good fortune?

If she didn’t have to mind her superiors, she’d have liked to hang him from the street lamp out front to teach him the price of exploiting the working class.

Team Leader Jiang lit a cigarette and gave her a teasing look.

“You’re sure? Then I’ll just assign the mission to someone else…”

“I’m absolutely, positively sure!”

Seeing there might still be hope for her vacation, Yin Linlin didn’t hesitate a second.

“All right then, looks like I’ll have to assign it to another Heavenly Punishment member… I’ll call Li Xingyue right now and recommend someone else…”

Team Leader Jiang pulled out his phone, pretending he was about to dial, but was immediately stopped by Yin Linlin grabbing his arm.

“Wait, Team Leader, did I hear you right? You just said…Li Xingyue?”

Li Xingyue was her closest girlfriend, in other words, her sworn frenemy.

Little Xingyue wants me to be her muscle? Really now. She could have at least told me in advance, then I could have refused to her face.

“Team Leader Jiang, let me make that call. I’ll refuse Little Xingyue personally!”

Yin Linlin decisively pulled out her phone and dialed, fully intending to deliver a live demonstration of what ‘plastic sisterhood’ meant.

But the call wouldn’t connect, it kept giving a busy tone…

Team Leader Jiang took a long drag of his cigarette, crossed his legs, and spoke unhurriedly.

“This morning, Li Xingyue asked me to assign someone to a task, she named you specifically.”

“For this kind of cross-city joint mission, not only did I have to agree, but it also needed higher-up approval. If it were anybody else, I’d have probably turned it down. But her background is just too powerful. I couldn’t refuse her outright.”

“Since you don’t want to go, you can refuse her yourself. Saves me from Li Xingyue coming to pick a fight with me…”

Yin Linlin nodded repeatedly as she listened. That’s right, finally get a vacation, and Little Xingyue just makes one call to ruin it all. Is there no justice left in this world?!

Unfortunately, the call still wouldn’t connect. It kept giving the busy signal, but she refused to hang up, she kept redialing over and over.

“The mission’s details, ” Team Leader Jiang continued, “not only require you to contribute your effort but also your money. Ai, just hearing it is enough to break a person’s heart…”

Yin Linlin was instantly furious. Good old Little Xingyue, leaning on her powerful backing to treat her best friend like livestock, huh? No wonder she hadn’t contacted her directly and went through Team Leader Jiang instead.

If Little Xingyue dared bring this up to her face, she’d march straight to Wen City and challenge her to a duel!

“The specifics of the mission, she got her hands on a…”

Just then, the call connected.

Yin Linlin had no interest in listening to Team Leader Jiang’s rambling anymore. She raised her phone and started coldly laughing.

On the other end, the Black Stocking Lady sounded bewildered.

“Little Xingyue, is it that I haven’t drunk you under the table in too long, and you’re getting bold again?”

Li Xingyue, “???”

“Don’t worry, since I’m on vacation these next couple of days, I’m booking a high-speed rail ticket to Wen City right now. By noon today, I’ll show you exactly how to spell the words ‘little weakling.’”

Just then, she heard Team Leader Jiang leisurely say, “This kind of party-based Easter Egg Bookmark is pretty rare. Li Xingyue also said there’s a top-tier expert overseeing it. It’s basically a guaranteed-clearance group. Sigh… It’s a pity I’m no longer in the Fifth Difficulty Chapters, otherwise, do you think this good fortune would ever fall to you?”

“Huh?” Yin Linlin was stunned.

A string of keywords flashed before her eyes: party-based Easter Egg Chapter, top-tier expert overseeing, guaranteed-clearance group…

On the other end of the call, Li Xingyue had also heard Team Leader Jiang’s words. After thinking for a moment, she quickly deduced what had happened.

She returned Yin Linlin’s cold laugh in exactly the same tone.

“Heh heh, since you don’t intend to participate in the Easter Egg Chapter, I’ll give the spot to someone else.”

“I was only looking for you because your in-game Shell is very well-suited for the Outer Demon Invasion Easter Egg Chapter. But it seems this was a case of falling blossoms with no flowing water…”

“Wait, wait, Little Xingyue, that’s not it! Good little sister, no, good elder sister, I was just joking with you just now.”

“‘Little Weakling’ is me, I am the ‘Little Weakling.’ The reason I wanted to come to Wen City was just to make it easier to form the party face to face. I absolutely never meant any disrespect…”

Yin Linlin gritted her teeth and glared at Team Leader Jiang. At this point, how could she not realize she’d been played?

Team Leader Jiang leisurely blew out a smoke ring, looking utterly relaxed.

From the phone came her dear friend’s bright laughter.

“So, what about the entry fee?”

“…Good elder sister, whatever you say, it’s fine by me!”

“Not bad, very sensible. Now hurry and book your ticket…”

Yin Linlin hung up the call with a forced smile. Then… she suddenly lunged forward.

“You surnamed Jiang, I’ll kill you!”

On the second floor, all the Armed Division Apostles simultaneously looked up.

From upstairs came a chorus of clattering crashes, and Team Leader Jiang’s shrill, tragic wails…