Epoch of Twilight

Zhao Qiang tried to pry by asking, “Oh, really? Do you have a crush on that woman? I think so, otherwise you wouldn’t be so passionate about her. I heard that the two of you are living together. Is it true?”

They had met all the family members of the victims, and Zhao Yali had been the most impressive one. They had only found out that she was not his sister after talking with her. Captain Chen and Zhao Qiang had decided to tease Luo Yuan to get back at him.

“I’m not that kind of person.” Luo Yuan was speechless. Although he did like her, he would never have done that to Chen Weiqiang.

“Hey, enough. We’ve got more important matters to discuss,” Captain Chen interrupted Zhao Qiang. “Here’s the deal, Luo Yuan. Would you like to join the police? We’re talking about an official officer role, which is different than working in federal defense,” Captain Chen told him.

“An officer? I thought that required specific qualifications,” Luo Yuan said uncertainly.

”That’s how it used to be. However, ever since we reported the snake incident, the Chief Minister has been paying close attention to this issue, and he issued a memorandum to recruit more policemen. That’s why I wanted to check with you.”

Captain Chen had been impressed by Luo Yuan’s performance. Most importantly, he admired his character. Luo Yuan had saved his life, and he had also been willing to sacrifice himself for his friend.

”What’s happening? Is the situation getting worse?” Luo Yuan did not agree right away. He was too shocked.

”I don’t want to hide the truth from you. You will find out eventually. We are facing a workforce shortage in almost all levels, but especially in the villages. There are too many criminals and people just keep going missing. I also heard that the government is going to burn down the forest once they have enough manpower,” Captain Chen said, looking very serious.

In fact, the police force was not the only department in need of new recruits. The city armed force had to do the same thing. All weapons had to be regularized and several tons of them had been shipped to the city. This news could not be disclosed to the public if they wanted to avoid chaos.

Luo Yuan hesitated. He had never wanted to be a cop. Besides, the risk of being a policeman was a lot higher than it used to be. He could get killed anytime. However, it was difficult to predict the future. No place was 100% safe anymore. If the villages had become so dangerous so fast, then the danger would soon spread to the city as well.

“I need to think about it,” Luo Yuan told Captain Chen after some consideration.

“Alright, I understand,” Captain Chen agreed, nodding his head. Since the day they had come back from the forest, several policemen had left on medical leave and two had handed in their resignations. Wang Fei had been one of those two.

“Oh, here you go!” Captain Chen seemed to remember something. He passed a parcel to Luo Yuan with a smile and said, “Your eyes were very sharp. I was so sad to go back to the office and find this. All the snakeskin has been used to make bulletproof jackets. There are eight pieces in total and the Chief Officer treasures them all. I’ve been asking to have them for quite a long time, but he only gave me one,” Captain Chen told Luo Yuan. “It’s made of four layers of snakeskin, and it’s stronger and lighter than any normal bulletproof jacket. To be honest, I felt like keeping it for myself,” he explained sadly.

“Oh dear! It’s done,” Luo Yuan said happily as he took it into his hands and touched it. It was so light, it barely weighed 250 grams1.

He opened the parcel and held the bulletproof jacket in his hands. It was a vest with a few snake scales attached to the front with superglue. It felt so smooth and shiny when he touched it. It was like artwork. Its only imperfection was its hard material. However, it was still considered a good piece compared to the heavy bulletproof jackets made of iron plates.

Luo Yuan secretly used his superpower to analyze the vest.

”Snake Skin Bulletproof Vest.”

”Materials: Snakeskin.”

”Rarity: Light Blue Color.”

”Weight: 0.2kg.”

”Protection: 14-18.”

”Secondary Functions: Protection against certain animals (Weak).”

”Equipment Requirements: None.”

”Comments: This is a good bulletproof vest, perfect for preventing bullet and knife penetration. Since it is made from rat snake skin, it could protect you against rats, frogs, and birds. Then again, it could also make them more aggressive.”