As Jiang Yin had expected, during the two hours of patrol, she didn’t encounter any incidents related to Monsters at all.
Instead, she ended up helping several lost tourists find their way and moved a vegetable jar for an elderly lady living in an alley.
Now she looked even more like a neighborhood police officer.
“I thought this job would be… a bit more exciting?”
Lunch was on Ning Rong.
They ate at the Lanzhou Noodle House not far from the street she had just patrolled…
It was a rather simple meal.
“Stop fantasizing about those novel plots while you’re in this country.”
Ning Rong had brought along newbies before and knew exactly what Jiang Yin was imagining.
“In most cases, our work is these boring patrols.”
“So, there are still special cases, right?”
“There are.”
Ning Rong nodded, then suddenly switched to the mental communication channel.
[From my personal work experience, the frequency of Monster incidents in our city is about once a month.]
[That high?]
This frequency was completely beyond Jiang Yin’s expectations—she’d lived in this city for thirty years.
While she’d occasionally heard about Monster incidents, it was never that frequent.
Once a year at most.
Once a month was way too exaggerated.
[Because most Monster incidents aren’t known to ordinary people.]
This wasn’t deliberate concealment.
In most Monster incidents, there weren’t even any casualties or witnesses, so naturally, ordinary citizens wouldn’t know.
Relevant data was only stored in the Bureau’s Archives.
According to Ning Rong’s explanation, the Bureau’s general process for handling Monster incidents was like this.
Concerned citizens—many of whom were really just ordinary people—would find somewhere felt unnaturally cold, or someone’s behavior was extremely suspicious, and would call in a report to the Bureau.
Then the Bureau would send Investigators equipped with all kinds of magical devices for preliminary investigation.
The vast majority—about 299 out of 300 reported calls—had nothing to do with Monsters.
They were usually false alarms: the cold feeling might be from a nearby cold storage facility or just bad feng shui, and strange behavior might simply be a wanted criminal rather than a Monster.
In real cases, there were incidents where a landlady noticed abnormally high utility bills in her rented house, and even though there were only one or two tenants, dozens of food deliveries were being made daily.
The Investigator took it seriously and brought a full set of equipment for the initial investigation.
Then…
They discovered it was actually a temporary base for an online scam gang.
The abnormal utilities were because the group was stealing electricity, and the food deliveries were because thirteen grown men were living in an 80-square-meter apartment.
Of course, such incidents weren’t the Bureau’s responsibility and were typically handed over directly to the District Public Security Bureau for handling.
As for the rare true Monster incidents, most of them were almost harmless and involved the lowest-level Monsters.
[Ordinary people usually misunderstand Monsters, thinking they must be powerful and cause murder cases. But in reality, most G-class Monsters are only the size of Stray Cats, with attack power not much stronger than one. Some are even just stray animals possessed by resentment, forming Monsters.]
[These Monsters don’t directly hunt humans to absorb resentment and grow stronger. Instead, they rely on contact and intimidation to gather resentment, so there’s rarely actual harm. Many people have even experienced Monster incidents without realizing it.]
After lunch, Ning Rong took Jiang Yin back to the car and continued her explanation.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever experienced a sudden chill down your spine or felt uneasy for a long time after something brushed against you.”
“Is it possible that those are caused by Monsters too?”
Jiang Yin asked doubtfully.
“Most are just psychological or physiological effects, but in a few cases, it really is Monster influence.”
“After all…”
Ning Rong pouted.
“The resentment of working people is heavier than even Evil Sword Immortal. Just one sip is enough for a G-class Monster to stay full for three or four days.”
Jiang Yin: “…..”
Sorry that the resentment of us laborers increases your work pressure!
But what can we do about it?
“The only resentment heavier than that of working people is that of students. Their emotions fluctuate more, their life and academic pressure is greater, and sometimes the malice from those around them is even stronger.”
“Especially in high school. It’s our key patrol target.”
Ning Rong slowly drove the car to the entrance of City No. 1 High School.
Jiang Yin looked at her school uniform, then at the campus, which was completely different from her memory—clearly renovated.
She roughly understood what she was supposed to do next.
“This area used to be handled by another teammate. She did such a good job that she eliminated almost every potential Monster incident at its root.”
Ning Rong’s expression turned a little melancholic, which made Jiang Yin’s mood heavy as well.
She carefully asked, “…Did she sacrifice herself?”
“She graduated.”
“Ha!?”
“She enrolled in the local University last year. So my patrol area expanded again, and since I didn’t have a valid reason, I couldn’t enter the campus directly. I had to sneak in, which was a hassle.”
At this point, she looked at Jiang Yin with a genuine smile.
“Fortunately, you arrived just in time.”
Taking out a school ID from the car’s storage compartment, Ning Rong pinned it to Jiang Yin’s chest and nodded in satisfaction.
“If you’re questioned, just say you’re a student from Class One, Grade Three. Your student status has already been registered. That Teacher is also a member of the Bureau, so there won’t be any issues.”
“I’ll patrol the nearby residential area. Let’s meet back here in thirty minutes, okay?”
“I have a question. Didn’t you say that unawakened Magical Girls can’t easily detect hidden Monsters?”
Jiang Yin obediently raised her hand.
“Then what’s the point of me patrolling alone?”
“It’s fine.”
But Ning Rong waved her hand casually.
“I just finished sweeping this area yesterday. There won’t be any Monster activity for at least half a month. Bringing you here is just to help you get familiar with the work.”
“Uh… okay then.”
Jiang Yin had nothing more to say and got out of the car to start working.
However, as she walked straight toward the school gate to talk with security, she failed to notice Ning Rong’s slightly mischievous smile in the car.
“Did the kid go in?”
“She did.”
A girl’s clear laughter rang through the Bluetooth headset.
Ning Rong tapped her fingertip on the steering wheel and gently reminded,
“Don’t overdo it. This is just to familiarize her with handling sudden incidents.”
“Relax, relax~ Ning Rong-jie.”
“Don’t you trust my work? I guarantee our dear uncle will be safe and sound!”
‘It’s exactly because you’re in charge that I can’t relax.’
Ning Rong muttered internally, but when she considered the possible consequences if that troublesome girl heard her, she changed her tone before speaking.
“Taotao is indeed very reliable.”
“Of course~”
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