It had rained in District Three for seven straight days. Garbage, sewage, and dead rats clogged the drains, and the streets began to stink.
But what people truly couldn't stand wasn't the smell. It was how many people had died lately.
——
Two in the morning.
The lights at the Law Enforcement Bureau were still on.
Chen Yi sat at his desk eating instant noodles.
Red text kept popping up on his terminal.
[Monthly Public Safety Performance Ranking]
[Third Precinct: 2nd from bottom]
[Unsolved Major Cases: 17]
[Public Safety Satisfaction: 43%]
[Warning: If below standard for three consecutive months]
[Advanced Enforcement Subsidy will be revoked]
Chen Yi looked at the second-from-bottom ranking, dropped his fork into the noodles, and swore under his breath.
——
The door was suddenly pushed open.
A young officer rushed in, out of breath.
"Brother Chen! We got him!"
Chen Yi didn't even look up.
"Got who?"
"The granary arson guy!"
Chen Yi finally looked up.
"Evidence?"
The young officer hesitated for two seconds.
"...No."
Chen Yi nodded, as if he had finally heard the answer that let him close the case.
"Then it's him."
——
The basement interrogation room was cold.
A man was cuffed to a chair.
Blood was still running from the corner of his mouth.
"I really didn't set the fire!"
"I was just making a delivery!"
"Lots of people were there that day!"
Chen Yi sat across from him, flipping through the file.
He wasn't really listening.
"Zhou Mingguo."
"Forty-two."
"In debt."
"Divorced."
"Drunk-driving record."
He looked up.
"Good profile."
The man froze.
"What?"
Chen Yi leaned back in his chair.
"The public loves your type."
——
The man began to shake.
"You don't have any evidence..."
Chen Yi lit a cigarette.
"Right."
"Then why did you arrest me?!"
Chen Yi exhaled smoke.
At last he looked a little impatient.
"Because the case has to be closed."
——
Another alarm went off outside. Since the granary burned, District Three had rioted almost every day.
City Hall needed an answer. The media needed an answer. The higher-ups needed an answer. Everyone was waiting for someone to take the blame, and hardly anyone had asked how the fire started.
What Chen Yi needed was simpler: performance numbers.
——
He swiped open his terminal.
[Major Case Rapid Resolution Bonus]
[+3000 quota]
[Projected Quarterly Ranking Gain]
[+17]
[Promotion Probability Increase]
[78%]
Chen Yi stared at the numbers.
Like he was looking at tonight's dinner.
——
The man suddenly asked, quietly:
"What if it were you who got arrested today?"
Chen Yi laughed.
Not a happy laugh.
A very tired one.
"Then I'd be unlucky."
——
He stood up.
He straightened his raincoat.
"Wait!"
The man struggled with everything he had.
"You know it wasn't me!"
Chen Yi paused.
Then:
"Do you know how many cases I handled last month?"
The man went still.
"Twenty-three."
"Nineteen of them said they were innocent."
He looked down at the man.
"After a while, I figured something out."
"Whether they say they're innocent doesn't matter at all."
——
"What matters."
"Is whether the thing gets dealt with."
——
Three in the morning.
The Law Enforcement Bureau issued a notice.
[Granary Arson Case Solved]
[Suspect Executed on the Spot]
[Order in District Three Being Restored]
The comments section erupted in cheers.
"Thank you, police!"
"Finally caught him!"
"Scum deserved to die!"
"When it comes to public safety, it's still the Bureau we count on!"
——
Chen Yi sat beside the vending machine with a coffee, watching his precinct's ranking slowly climb on the terminal.
[Third Precinct Ranking: 7th]
At last he smiled a little.
A genuinely happy smile.
Because this month's mortgage.
Was covered.