I Play Dungeons in the Police Station-Chapter 104 - 100: Sober-Minded Among Mortals

Li Xiang waved his hand and, upon learning the truth, glanced at his phone to find that the system had already issued a task completion alert:

[Ding, task completed, reward: experience +400, diamonds +2000]

[You have leveled up to Lv.6 and acquired 1 free attribute point]

This was the true reality of the case.

Task completed, not only did he gain 2000 more diamonds, but he also leveled up.

Li Xiang felt delighted; the Criminal Investigation Team was where he belonged. Being an auxiliary police officer truly had no future; standing guard for four hours at a police outpost only earned him 100 diamonds.

The cost-effectiveness was extremely low; compared to this, it was like heaven here.

"Li Xiang, I apologize for what happened earlier. I shouldn’t have doubted you."

Zhou Man took the initiative to apologize to Li Xiang at this moment. Previously, she had a preconceived notion and felt sympathy for Zhang Xiuting, pitying her, but she didn’t anticipate the final twist in the situation, which shattered her world view—something she still couldn’t quite accept.

"Xiao Zhou, you’ve just joined the police force not long ago. You’ll get used to it in the future. Working in criminal investigation, you’ll encounter all sorts of bizarre cases. It’s only a matter of thinking the impossible, not doing it, and you’ll understand sooner or later."

Su Jiayi, seeing Zhou Man was a bit down, immediately offered comfort. As a fellow woman, Su Jiayi understood her feelings.

"It’s okay."

Li Xiang didn’t mind much. At this moment, he was already fantasizing about countless diamonds flying towards him. As for Zhou Man, he really didn’t think much of it—a young girl, that’s all.

Captain Cao glanced at the time; it was already ten o’clock at night. In order to solve the case, everyone had worked tirelessly. Originally, they planned to hold a welcome dinner for Li Xiang, but because of the case, everyone only ate a cup of instant noodles.

Now that the truth of the case had come to light, they had accomplished a major task, so Cao Gang proposed, "We’ve been working overtime till now, and I’m starving. How about going out for a late supper together, as a welcome for Li Xiang?"

"Yes!"

Cao Gang’s proposal instantly received everyone’s approval and support.

Having been busy until now, everyone’s stomachs were growling, so when Captain Cao offered to treat them to supper, there was an immediate chorus of agreement.

Leaving the unit, Li Xiang got into Mao Ji’s car, heading together to a food stall.

This was the perfect timing for a late-night snack. When the five of them arrived, the barbecue place was bustling with activity.

"Order whatever you like, eat to your heart’s content. Boss, bring us two bottles of cola for starters."

Because they were detectives and some were driving, they didn’t drink alcohol, opting for cola with their barbecue to cut the grease.

None held back, picking out what they liked from the menu. When it was Li Xiang’s turn, he glanced at what others had ordered, then added a few skewers of pork belly and cauliflower, and handed the menu to Cao Gang.

"Add more, this little won’t be enough for anyone."

As Cao Gang said this, he made a quick note, adding quite a bit more.

"That’s enough, Captain Cao. Let’s eat first, and order more if we need to. It’s a waste if there’s too much."

Hearing Su Jiayi say this, Cao Gang relented, handing the menu to the waiter to wait for the dishes.

The barbecue was served swiftly, and in no time, various skewers were laid out on the table.

"Come on, raise your glasses, let’s welcome Li Xiang to our big family."

"Thank you, everyone. Please take care of me from now on. If there’s anything I’m not doing well, I hope you’ll be tolerant."

Li Xiang quickly picked up his water glass and saluted everyone in return.

"There’s nothing you haven’t done well; your work’s so good it gives me pressure."

Zhou Man also picked up her water glass to clink with Li Xiang’s, saying playfully. She was an intern in Team One, a graduate from the police academy, and the better Li Xiang was, the more pressure she felt.

Both were essentially new arrivals. Zhou Man had already set her benchmark to Li Xiang; as a professionally trained student, she couldn’t be outdone by Li Xiang.

Everyone was quite hungry, and the chef’s grilling speed couldn’t keep up with their eating pace.

While everyone was drinking cola and chatting, they suddenly heard a conflict arise at two neighboring tables. Two intoxicated men, faces flushed, were getting into a scuffle.

Li Xiang and the others listened, and it seemed that the two were irritated by the cramped seating, escalating the conflict.

"Who the hell you think you are pushing, huh? Do you own this restaurant?"

"What’s wrong with you? Is your ass so big? Occupying so much space?"

"My big ass is none of your business. Wanna fight? Believe it or not, I can take you out."

"Oh, I’m so scared, if you don’t take me out, you’re my grandson."

The more they cursed, the more aggressive they became. The whole eatery noticed the conflict between the two tables, and a waiter rushed to get the owner.

During his three years as an auxiliary police officer, Li Xiang had mostly been called out to disputes like these in roadside stalls. So seeing this, he responded reflexively and said to Captain Cao: "I’ll go check it out."

"Okay."

Li Xiang approached them and addressed the one who was shouting the loudest: "Brother, say a little less. Let’s turn a big issue into a small one and let the small one disappear. It’s such a trivial matter, fighting won’t help."

"F*ck you, who are you calling brother? Get lost, or I’ll beat you up too if you annoy me."

Seeing that he was still unreasonable, Li Xiang took out his police badge and said to him, "Wanna try hitting someone?"

"Oh dang, boss, where’s my food? Is it ready? I want to treat this police officer to a barbecue."

Although the man was drunk with a flushed face, his mind was still clear enough. Upon seeing Li Xiang show his badge, he immediately slapped his head, acting nonchalantly and calling for the boss to serve the food.

"I’m not eating your barbecue now, but can we let this slide?" Li Xiang asked seriously.

"What matter? There’s no problem at all. Come on, fate brought us together, let’s have a drink."

Li Xiang was prepared to take action if the guy attacked an officer, but he didn’t expect the person to change course, now trying to build camaraderie.

Seeing the man become so sensible, Li Xiang turned to the other person: "And you? Is there still an issue?"

"No issues, we’re like brothers now, meeting through our arguments. Come, brother, I toast to you, you’re a real man."

The other man also followed suit. Seeing Li Xiang’s badge, he instantly became submissive. Noticing the man he was arguing with was preparing to toast the police officer but was ignored, he quickly took his glass and offered a toast.

"Right, right, we’re brothers now through cursing each other, you’re a real man."

"Cheers."

Seeing how quickly they chickened out, Li Xiang shook his head. In the real world, a badge could turn swords into plowshares; police were a powerful group.

If it were a game, police would have guns, and enemies would wield AKs, making police a weaker group.

But with continually enhancing skills, Li Xiang believed that he could become a powerful force both in reality and in games.

Watching the two, who were just arguing and red-faced, now arm-in-arm, drinking and calling each other brothers, he mused that there really are all sorts of wonders in this world.

"Aren’t they hilarious?"

When Li Xiang returned, his colleagues, who had been observing the whole time, burst into laughter. They’ve seen many cases of drunken disorder, but rarely did they see such clarity after drinking. Nonetheless, they couldn’t deny that Li Xiang played a crucial role in preventing the conflict from escalating.

The barbecue dinner was very enjoyable, the case was solved, stomachs were full, and conflicts resolved, this was the simple yet fulfilling life of a detective.

At eleven thirty in the evening, the gathering ended, and Mao Ji drove Li Xiang back to his rented unit.

"You live in this place?"

Seeing the environment of the urban village, Mao Ji was somewhat in disbelief that Li Xiang was living here.

"Yeah, it’s cheap, 500 yuan a month. It’s just me, as long as I have a place to sleep, I’m fine."

"Well, the treatment for auxiliary police used to be low, but now that you’ve made it, you’ll have good benefits and welfare. Getting a mortgage to buy an apartment with your housing fund shouldn’t be a problem, and the repayment pressure will be small too."

Mao Ji comforted him, believing that someone with Li Xiang’s talent just needed time to stand out.

He believed that from today onward, Li Xiang would just keep getting better.

"Yeah, we’ll see then. Thank you, Brother Mao, for giving me a ride back so late."

"No need to be formal."

Watching Mao Ji leave, Li Xiang then took out his key to open the door. Hearing the key turn in the lock, the charcoal inside immediately ran to the door, rhythmically clawing at it with its two little paws, and making a ’woo woo’ sound.

Clearly, hearing his owner return made it overly excited.