The air in the Chief of Police's office was stagnant, smelling of old leather and the weight of a century of bureaucracy. Behind a desk carved from dark mahogany sat Commissioner General Zhang, a man whose face was a map of political compromises. To his left stood Inspector Gao, looking as pristine as a statue, and to his right, Captain Lin Bing, her eyes fixed on the floor. This was the quintessential "Suppression" phase—the establishment's attempt to reign in a "Chaos Investigator" who had become too loud for comfort.
"Superintendent Lu," Zhang began, his voice a low rumble. "You arrested the son of the city's largest tax contributor on a live stream, bypassed three separate warrants, and utilized 'intuition' that isn't found in any forensic manual. Do you have any idea how much political fire I'm taking right now?".
Lu Cian stood in the center of the room, his uniform still rumpled from the chase. He felt the hunger from the Adrenaline Overclock gnawing at his gut, but he pushed it aside, focusing instead on the new power pulsating beneath his skin.
[System Notification: Hostile Environment Detected.]
[Current Reputation: +150,000 RP. Public Support: 72%.]
[System Note: They aren't trying to punish you; they're trying to see if they can own you. Use 'Terror Aura' to remind them that the spider doesn't take orders.]
Lu Cian didn't offer a salute. Instead, he activated Terror Aura (Intermediate). The temperature in the room seemed to drop five degrees. The shadows in the corners of the office deepened, and the air grew heavy, making it difficult for the Commissioner to maintain eye contact.
"I solved a locked-room murder in three hours that your best detectives would have called a suicide for three months," Lu Cian said, his voice cold and devoid of its former "jinxed" stutter. "The public doesn't care about your tax contributors, Chief. They care about the fact that a 'Superstar Cop' just proved that no one—not even a Young Master—is untouchable".
Inspector Gao stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he felt the invisible pressure radiating from Lu Cian. "Fame is not a substitute for procedure, Lu Cian. You've alerted 'The Cleaners'. You've compromised the long-term investigation for a few million 'likes' on the internet".
"I didn't alert them, Gao. I invited them," Lu Cian countered, turning his head slowly toward his rival. "By making this a public spectacle, I've forced them to move. And when they move, they leave traces".
He turned back to the Commissioner. "You have two choices, Chief. You can suspend me and face the immediate 'Explosion' of public outrage on Weibo—which, by the way, the System tells me is currently trending with my name—or you can let me lead the Special Cases Unit to finish what I started".
[Netizen Comment: 'Look at the Chief! He's sweating! Lu Cian is dominating the room! #ArbiterOfTruth'].
Commissioner Zhang looked at the screen on his desk, watching the Reputation Points and public metrics climb in real-time. He looked at Lu Cian, who stood like a dark monolith in the center of the room, then at Gao, the perfect but "silent" detective.
"You have seventy-two hours, Lu Cian," Zhang finally muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. "If you don't bring me the head of 'The Cleaners' by then, I'll personally strip your rank and throw you in the North District camps".
"Three days?" Lu Cian's lips curled into a predatory grin as he turned to leave. "I'll give you the truth in two. But I'm going to need a 'Wallet' with deeper pockets than the police department's PR budget".
As he walked out, he caught Captain Lin Bing's gaze. For the first time, the "Ice Mountain" looked less like she wanted to arrest him and more like she was afraid of what he was becoming.
Lu Cian tapped his HUD. It was time to visit Su Qing. He needed her private tech, and he needed his first official purchase from the System Shop: Psychometry (Level 5).