Federal Benefits

"Team Leader…"

"Yes."

"Water."

"Eat first."

"Then at least wait for me to swallow first."

Xu Bai looked at Team Leader Zhou speechlessly, who was feeding spoonful after spoonful of rice into his mouth. He began to regret not leveling up..

After all, it was not a happy thing to be fed by a burly man, and Xu Bai almost choked several times.

Fortunately, he survived.

After feeding him, Team Leader Zhou, who was now holding his goji berry cup again, looked at Xu Bai. His gaze fell on his arms that were in casts, and he clicked his tongue.

"How many days of injury and sickness allowance will we have to pay?"

Xu Bai almost felt like passing out. 

This fellow was not worried about his injury, but the compensation.

As expected of you, Team Leader Zhou.

Su Meng, who was lying on the other bed, scowled.

"Team Leader!"

Team Leader Zhou laughed out loud and waved his hand.

"I'm just joking. Don't take it seriously. Just recuperate properly. It's fine evem if you're stuck here for half a month. After all, this time, the Department of Homeland Security is footing the bill."

Homeland Security?

Xu Bai and Su Meng looked at each other.

"Team Leader…" 

Xu Bai was curious and asked, "How did this case end up involving the Department of Homeland Security?"

The team leader sat at the end of Xu Bai's bed with his bear-like body, causing it to squeak and visibly cave in a little.

"When we brought the body back to the station and were about to run the autopsy, those guys came and snatched our case away."

Su Meng frowned.

"Eh? Isn't this case cut and dry? Liu San murdered someone and we caught him, though Xu Bai killed him…"

The team leader opened the lid of his goji berry cup and blew on the contents to cool it.

"Who knows? The Department Homeland Security is a federal agency. They have a higher level of authority."

As he spoke, he seemed to have thought of something. Just as he was about to take a sip of his drink, he looked at Xu Bai and said, "This time, the medical allowance is federal standard."

Xu Bai raised his eyebrows. 

"Federal standard? That's great. Thank you, Team Leader."

The Federation's standard medical allowance was 500 federal coins per day. If he stayed for ten days, he would receive 5,000 federal coins, which was more than half of his salary.

Xu Bai felt a little regretful. Why did he not apply for the Department of Homeland Security when he graduated last year?

However, after a brief moment of restrospection, Xu Bai felt that he did not regret it after all. 

The Department of Homeland Security was a federal law enforcement agency. Sometimes, when there was a case, they would have to travel across the country for days at a time. 

This did not meet Xu Bai's requirements. After all, his sister was warded in Feng City Hospital, and he did not want to leave her. Thus, he had chosen a local law enforcement agency that was the Feng City police department.

Most of the budget of the Feng City police department came from the City Council, and a small part came from the donations of the major corporations and wealthy people in Feng City every year.

On the other hand, the Department of Homeland Security's budget was based on the federal budget.

Therefore, whether it was in terms of salary and allowance, they offered better deals than the Feng City police department.

However, if one were to compare the local police departments, Feng City, which was considered an economic hub of the Federation, was already considered to be very well-off compared to the others.

Some local police departments did not even provide medical allowances. If they did, they would only receive about fifty federal coins a day at most.

Thus, Xu Bai did not think that the case being snatched away by the Department of Homeland Security was a bad thing. After all, he was short of money. If the Department of Homeland Security took the case, he would take their money. This was a win-win situation.

Moreover, even if he did not want them to take the case, he did not have the final say or choice in the matter. The difference between the authority of a federal agency and a local police department was immense.

Xu Bai was very open-minded about such things, and the team leader also knew this, so he simply handed the case to the Department of Homeland Security. Then, he helped Xu Bai, who had been short of money because of his sister's illness, take advantage of the Federation's benefits.

However, Su Meng, who had only just left school and started working, did not understand this.

They were the ones who took the case, suffered the injuries, and dealt with the culprit. All they had to do was write a report to close the case. However, the case was then intercepted by the Department of Homeland Security.

Su Meng was so angry that she chose to be discharged on the second day. She comforted Xu Bai and said that she would visit the Department of Homeland Security to get an explanation from them.

"You're the one who's injured. Why should the Department of Homeland Security get the benefits of solving your case? I'll go home now and ask my uncle what the Department of Homeland Security's deal is."

Before he could open his mouth to reply, Su Meng had already turned around and left the ward.

Sigh…

The fact of the matter was that he was fine with this. Not only did he not have to go to work, but he also received his salary and 500 federal coins in medical allowance every day. It was a good life.

Frankly speaking, this was the most relaxed he had been since he had started working at the department.

However…

He still had to level up.

When Su Meng rushed to the Department of Homeland Security to ask her uncle, who was in charge, for an explanation, Xu Bai, who had been tormented by the pain from his shoulders for a night, and only fell asleep after taking painkillers, could no longer endure his heart's desire or the pain. 

After bringing up his status panel, he looked at the shiny level up button, and mentally pressed it. 

Secons later…

[Ding! Successfully leveled up.]

The sudden and long-awaited feeling, which felt as if his entire body was bathed in a hot spring, surged into Xu Bai's heart and spread throughout his body.

At this moment, Xu Bai felt as if his soul had left his body. At the same time, an indescribable feeling filled him.

Xu Bai felt his body become lighter, and his eyes lit up as he felt the negative statuses and injuries disappear after leveling up.

[Ding!]

[Player Name: Xu Bai]

[Title: Feng City Police Detective (deterrence against Feng City law-abiding NPCs +10)]

[Identity: Feng City Police Department's Junior Detective]

[Level: 10]

[Character EXP: 100/1000 (5,000,100 stored EXP)]

[You have met the experience requirements to level up. Please level up as soon as possible.]

[Skills:]

[Mountain Splitter (White-grade. Has 10 levels, and can also be upgraded with Skill EXP. "One punch to split mountains!"]

[Skill EXP: 5,050,000]

[Game currency: 2,00000]

[...]