I Have Infinite Skill Points

Emerging from the interrogation room of the Law Enforcement Department, Lieutenant Lige's body wouldn't stop shaking. It wasn't fear but rage that caused the tremors.

He couldn't accept the interrogation-like questioning from the Law Enforcement Department, let alone their judgment of his actions.

For recklessness in pursuit of merit, spooking the enemy, and thereby causing important leads to be severed: one major demerit and a demotion of one rank.

"Captain Li, how did it go?"

Lige walked past slowly, ignoring the question.

"Captain Li, we believe in you…"

Lige continued to walk past emotionlessly, like a soulless corpse.

"Captain Li, Director Li wants to see you."

"Oh!"

Mechanically, Lige turned and headed towards Li Weixin's office door.

"TAP TAP TAP—"

"Come in!"

"Lieutenant Lige, reporting to you."

"Lieutenant Lige? You've accepted the punishment so quickly?"

"Do I have any choice but to accept the punishment handed down by the Law Enforcement Department?" Lige asked with a bitter smile.

"You're really not convinced?"

"How do you expect me to be convinced?" Lige roared in fury, as if Li Weixin had lit his fuse. "What evidence do they have to accuse me of being reckless? On what grounds do they refute the facts I've stated? Chang Yu suddenly started packing up and left, all within less than a minute. If I had sought instructions, she would've run away by then! Was it wrong for me to order her arrest? Chang Yu self-detonated; she didn't escape from my hands. How can my actions be deemed a failure? Director Li, do you think He MingXue's judgment was fair? Is there not even a hint of him trying to protect Wang Lan?"

"Enough!" Li Weixin slammed his hand on the desk and shot to his feet. "You can still stand here and yell at me, but Lu Hua and the others can't even have their bodies pieced back together. Do you have the gall to yell? Go and look at your comrades' remains now! Look at them, and see if you can still yell!"

Pain contorted Lige's face at Li Weixin's words. "I didn't want this… I really didn't expect… They were my brothers. I'm not just upset for myself; I feel wronged for them too! They all fell in battle, yet... yet they're labeled as reckless… They..." Lige began to sob.

"So now you know to cry, to regret? Why didn't you think before you gave the order? Your mission was to monitor Chang Yu's every move. Surveillance means surveillance! What right did you have to order an arrest? Even Wang Qianfeng and He MingXue working together weren't sure they could capture Chang Yu. What's your skill level? What makes you think you could capture her? Did you really believe you're the top talent from the Suzhou City Tianjian Bureau? Have you gotten so complacent over these years that you've forgotten your own limitations?"

"But I almost succeeded…"

"How do you know that 'almost success' wasn't a trap deliberately laid by Chang Yu? Perhaps it was to lure you closer and then she planned to detonate herself, destroying this lead and taking all of you down with her? Do you think self-destruction is really a last resort, a desperate measure? Since she was being monitored by the Tianjian Bureau, she couldn't escape our grasp. Do you think that just because she slipped away from your team, she eluded the Tianjian Bureau's overall surveillance? Dream on! Even Chang Yu knew better than that! Only a fool like you would think Chang Yu was trying to flee. Was she really fleeing? She knew she was exposed, so she feigned escape to draw you closer. Then she self-destructed to obliterate this lead, planning to take you down with her. Can you honestly say that at the moment you ordered the arrest, there wasn't even a trace of glory-seeking in your thoughts? If you had reported it, the Intelligence and Communications Departments could still have tracked Chang Yu. In Suzhou City, there are cameras and surveillance everywhere; she couldn't have gotten far. Do you genuinely not understand, or are you refusing to understand? Still feel wronged? Do you still think you're wronged now?"

After Li Weixin's tirade, the defiance in Lige's eyes crumbled. Since regaining consciousness, he had clung to the belief that he was right, that he had nearly succeeded. If only he had sealed her head as well, none of this would have happened.

But now, in the face of Li Weixin's sharp words, all his persistence vanished like smoke. What if, from the very beginning, it was Chang Yu's trap? What if, from the start, Chang Yu had planned to take them all down with her?

He wasn't just wrong; he was irredeemably at fault.

Lige slowly crouched down, covering his face and wailing in grief.

"Wipe your tears. A warrior of the Tianjian Bureau doesn't let tears show on their face."

The sobbing abruptly stopped.

"This time, you were wrong. But I hope you learn from this, and I don't want to see you succumb to a single setback. Falling down isn't scary, but being unable to get back up after a fall is truly terrifying."

"Yes—"

Due to the major incident involving Chang Yu, the lead for investigating the origins of the Magical Martial Artists was completely severed. Wang Lan was keen to join Xu Shiyun's investigation plan, but he still had to attend school.

Being a student was an identity that offered protection, but it also imposed restrictions. At least, Wang Lan didn't yet have the power to free himself from these constraints.

Dare to drop out of school? Just try it. His aunt, Wang Qianfeng, and the school authorities would quickly make Wang Lan face reality.

But... seeing such a huge mission, emitting an irresistible allure right in front of him, Wang Lan really wanted to take a bite.

Wang Lan constantly refreshed the Tianjian Bureau's information bulletin board. He couldn't find any leads on Chang Yu, but he did find a posthumous promotion notice. The six Tianjian Bureau warriors who had perished while trying to capture Chang Yu were posthumously declared martyrs and awarded Second-Class Martyr Medals.

Following that was the disciplinary report for Lige. He was penalized for suspected glory-seeking and recklessness, receiving one major demerit, a one-level demotion in military rank, and a one-level demotion in position.

Wang Lan couldn't easily judge Lige's actions, especially since it was unclear whether Chang Yu had genuinely detected the surveillance and chosen to flee. But one thing was certain: Lige was now shouldering all the blame.

「A week later, Sunday.」

Wang Lan was planning to head to the Tianjian Bureau to get an update on the situation when Xu Shiyun unexpectedly visited. Wang Lan hastily invited Xu Shiyun into his home.

"Wow, your house is huge! How many rooms does it have?"

"Not that many, only six," Wang Lan replied, leading Xu Shiyun into the sunroom. They basked in the warm autumn sunshine, feeling as if every cell in their bodies had been revitalized.

"Xu, what brings you over so suddenly? Is there anything your little brother here can do to help?"

"Nothing much, just frustrated. Lige created this mess, so why the hell should I have to clean up after him? He was so quick to try and claim credit, but now that there's a mess to deal with, where's all that enthusiasm?"

"Hasn't he already been punished?" Wang Lan said with a smile, pushing a cup of coffee towards Xu Shiyun. "Besides, even if he wanted to get involved now, the higher-ups wouldn't allow it, right?"

"Serves him right!" Xu Shiyun sneered. "If it weren't for his reckless ambition in arresting her, we might have already identified her superior by now. Actually, our Communications Department did monitor Chang Yu's sudden escape. We initially thought she might meet up with other Demon Clan spies and planned to follow that lead, but Lige ruined everything."

"I doubt Chang Yu would be foolish enough to meet with others, knowing she was under surveillance. By the way, how did she realize she was being monitored?"

"Someone must have tipped her off. Before Chang Yu left, someone used a public phone to call her, and then she started preparing to escape. We immediately launched a pursuit after finding out, but unfortunately, she got away."

"No clues were found at Chang Yu's home?"

"Nothing! We didn't find a thing."

"We monitored Chang Yu for half a month, and found nothing during that entire time?"

"Chang Yu led a very regular life—or rather, the Demon Clan spy did. Apart from work, she would just go home, play with her phone, and read books. She never went out and had no close friends."

"Didn't she act out of the ordinary when Chang Shuangyue got into trouble?"

"What could be out of the ordinary? She killed Chang Shuangyue with her own hands. When we told her Chang Shuangyue was arrested for intentional injury, Chang Yu's reaction was flawless. It was just that we didn't realize Chang Yu was the problem at that time. Hmm... wait a second..." Xu Shiyun suddenly paused. "Not many people knew we had identified Chang Yu as problematic. Even Chang Yu thought she was completely undetected, only realizing it after receiving that tip-off. How did the informer know?"

"Could it be... there's a mole?" Wang Lan asked gravely.

"That possibility can't be ruled out. It looks like the Tianjian Bureau will have to conduct an internal investigation."

"Xu, Chang Yu was replaced by the Demon Clan half a year ago. So, is there anyone she met during this past half-year?"

"I'm tracing that line of inquiry, but so far, nothing has come up. Her colleagues haven't raised any suspicions yet. However, we can't afford to exclude any possibilities now. Chang Yu was able to evade our sophisticated detection equipment; other Demon Clan members probably could too. Perhaps one of Chang Yu's accomplices is someone within Renhe Hospital."

Xu Shiyun left after a short visit at Wang Lan's place. His main purpose in coming had been to vent his frustrations. After all, with Chang Yu dead, she had left a huge mess behind. It was almost impossible for the Intelligence Department to pick up any leads from the chaotic aftermath.

Wang Lan also felt it was a pity, but with things having come to this, what could be done?

That evening, Wang Lan was enthusiastically working through practice problems when a chat notification blinked on his computer. It was a message from Jiang Xinyu.

"Happy Birthday—"

Huh?

Wang Lan pulled out his phone and glanced at it. Indeed, today was his birthday. He had actually forgotten his own birthday, which meant...

In his previous life, Wang Lan had read a saying: Before a man turns thirty, he remembers his own birthday every year. On that day, he looks forward to who might send blessings, who still remembers him. After thirty, aside from those closest to him, even he starts forgetting his own birthday. After thirty, the only ones who still send birthday wishes are family.

Looks like I'll have to start calling myself an old man from now on.

Wang Lan chuckled and replied, "Thank you!"

On the other end of the connection, Jiang Xinyu bit her finger, hesitating. What should she say? This awkward chat wasn't what she wanted, but... there didn't seem to be anything else to say, did there?

"DING-DING—"

"Hand over the red envelope."

Jiang Xinyu smiled faintly and readily sent a red envelope.

"One cent? Are you still the rich young lady I know?"

"At least it's more than you sent. When it was my birthday, you didn't even send a one-cent red envelope!"

The two of them bantered effortlessly over the internet. Wang Lan probably wouldn't have dared to be so cheeky face-to-face.

Just as he was about to retort, Wang Lan's expression suddenly changed.

His brow furrowed, an epiphany streaking through his mind like a shooting star.

Suddenly, Wang Lan shot up, grabbed his jacket, and rushed out the door.

Jiang Xinyu, who was typing rapidly, suddenly stopped. In the bottom-right corner, his chat status showed he was offline.

After a moment of stunned silence, Jiang Xinyu exhaled deeply. The moon tonight is beautifully tranquil, fitting for murder.