Beneath the night sky.

Watching the convoy disappear into the distance, the patrol officers stood in unusual silence, their eyes filled with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

Until at last.

"Alright, back to work!"

Yu Yong, who had been seeing off the convoy, barked a few orders. The others snapped back to reality and resumed their tasks.

The "Madman" machine guns, grenades, and other weapons were carried away in special wooden crates. The three hostages were reunited one by one with their terrified families, after which they repeatedly thanked the patrol officers, some even walking up to Lu Chao to bow in gratitude.

Amid the ensuing noise, Lu Chao watched as the hostages and their families were escorted away by other officers. The middle-aged doctor was also handcuffed and temporarily taken into custody.

He hesitated for a moment before turning to Chen Xiao, who was walking over, and asking, "Just who is that Miss Su?"

’To make a Captain like Yu Yong so deferential... Even the Patrol Department wouldn’t dare to obstruct her convoy. Her status is undoubtedly higher than I imagined.’

"Well..."

Chen Xiao furrowed his brow, admitting he didn’t know either.

He then glanced at Yu Yong, who was busy giving orders to others, and seemed to want to say something but held back.

As if sensing his gaze, Yu Yong walked over, shook his head, and smiled. "You, Third Squad... no, I should say, you personally."

He looked at Lu Chao and lowered his voice. "Qiu Shan and his crew were certainly audacious."

"And you actually managed to save Miss Su. Tsk, tsk. A true hero emerges from the young."

Yu Yong’s voice was filled with admiration, and his expression flickered with a mix of lingering fear and relief, as if saving this person was far more important than killing Qiu Shan and his men.

This only made Lu Chao more curious. Beside him, Chen Xiao was practically scratching his head in frustration and couldn’t help but urge, "Uncle, who in the world is that Miss Su?"

"You kid..."

Yu Yong shot him a look, then hesitated slightly.

After a quick glance around, he lowered his voice again. "Miss Su is from Red Maple Shelter City."

"Her father... is the current Red Maple City Lord."

As the words fell, both Lu Chao and Chen Xiao’s expressions froze in shock.

’Red Maple Shelter City?’

’That’s one of the mega-shelter cities in the wastelands. Strictly speaking, it’s no weaker than Ring City, and its territory is even larger.’

’And unlike the laws of the Alliance Country, a shelter city’s Lord is essentially the absolute ruler of their entire domain. Even some of the great warlords of the wastelands have to tread carefully around them.’

’That’s why the news of Red Maple Shelter City applying to join the Alliance Country made major headlines. Every new development attracted a great deal of attention.’

"I see."

Lu Chao’s confusion completely vanished.

’No wonder when the Patrol Department was settling the mission rewards, a good number of the intermediate-grade potions were sponsored by Miss Su.’

’At the same time, he finally understood why the ever-arrogant Ruan Hui had looked so sullen earlier.’

’So it turns out I didn’t just take a share of the credit.’

’I also cost him a priceless opportunity to connect with someone of a higher station?’

As he pondered this, he saw Yu Yong take half a step closer, his expression a complex mix of admiration and emotion.

"Speaking of which, we really have you to thank for this."

"If it weren’t for you, our casualties might have been significantly higher..."

Yu Yong remarked with a sigh, his eyes complex and filled with a flurry of emotions.

Even he hadn’t been very confident he could have pulled off a frontal infiltration of the factory, let alone kill Qiu Shan himself.

Delaying any longer would have only played into Ruan Hui’s hands and put Vice Director Liu in an even more passive position.

Fortunately, the young man before him had accomplished it all.

He didn’t know if it was because Qiu Shan’s group was heavily injured and their strength greatly diminished, or if Lu Chao had used some special trick to succeed.

In any case, the result was something everyone had witnessed: the young man before them had done it with his own hands, and no one could take that credit away.

"Actually, it was also thanks to Captain Yang. Without his help, I couldn’t have done it."

Unexpectedly, Lu Chao didn’t take all the credit.

Instead, he shook his head gently and looked toward the other patrol officers being treated and supported outside by the vehicles. "Besides, without Captain Yu and the cover from our other brothers, we never would have lasted this long."

"The credit for this belongs to everyone."

Lu Chao said frankly, having his own considerations.

’Without the help of Yang Wangtao and the other patrol members, he might have been able to kill Qiu Shan and his men, but it definitely wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.’

’Besides, thinking back on the cold glares from Ruan Hui and his group...’

’Since I’ve already secured the greatest credit, there’s no need to be overly high-profile.’

’For the time being, he didn’t want to expose the existence of [Adrenaline]. He just wanted to keep more trump cards for self-preservation, just in case.’

"Haha..."

Yu Yong was a bit surprised to hear this, but his surprise quickly turned into an appreciative smile. He clearly hadn’t expected Lu Chao to be so modest.

"No wonder this kid Chen Xiao is always telling me about you."

"Calm, reliable, and acts with measure. He’s lucky to have a teammate like you."

He shook his head and smiled, causing Chen Xiao to scratch his own head helplessly.

Noticing Lu Chao’s exhaustion, Yu Yong thought for a moment before nodding. "You’ve worked hard today. Go home and get some proper rest for a while."

"I will report the full story of this incident to Vice Director Liu and request commendations for you and Captain Yang."

He promised, granting him a week of leave on the spot without asking for more details about the infiltration operation.

’Since the outcome was good, it wouldn’t be too late to ask Yang Wangtao for the details after he wakes up.’

Hearing this, Lu Chao didn’t act coy.

In his weakened state, he was indeed extremely tired.

"Then I’ll have to trouble Captain Yu."

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, he was finally helped away by Chen Xiao.

Looking around, he saw that Ruan Hui and his group had left at some point.