Chapter 3 One Week

Working overtime is impossible.

In his previous life, Luke spent most of his days staying up late and working overtime.

As a child, he stayed up late to finish his homework, and later, working overtime became the norm.

Enough.

He had really had enough.

Living so earnestly, diligently, and hard, what did it get him? An occupational disease, and he saw God before he was forty.

He wants a more fulfilling life this time around.

...

Luke's mother lives in the Eno community.

There's a small commercial plaza on the east side of the community. It's not large, but it has supermarkets, convenience stores, fast food restaurants, and gas stations.

Luke didn't want to stay at the police station, nor did he want to go back to his mother's house so early.

He just wanted to find a quiet place to relax.

Luke parked his motorcycle in front of a milk tea shop.

It was his first time trying milk tea in Los Angeles, and the clerk recommended boba milk tea.

"Oye."

Luke was intrigued, but when he got the milk tea, he realized it was actually large-grained bubble milk tea.

"Fuck!"

Luke felt cheated.

He found a seat by the window and sat down, taking a sip of the milk tea. It was sweet, even worse than the milk tea back home.

Then, he started to daydream.

This was Luke's favorite thing to do after his move.

He still couldn't figure out why he had ended up in Los Angeles.

When he first arrived, Luke felt disoriented and desperately wanted to contact his relatives and friends in China.

But out of professional caution, Luke knew he couldn't do that. He tried to restrain his strong desire and learn about the situation in China through other means.

This is a parallel world. Though it is also 2022, there has been no pandemic here, and he can no longer go back.

So, he has to try to accept his new identity, but adjusting to life abroad is not as easy as one might think.

Before he knew it, half a month had passed...

"Om..."

A voice suddenly sounded in Luke's mind, [The host is successfully matched, and the detective system will be activated... The first trial will reward you with an 'Adventure Card'.]

"What the hell?"

Luke thought he was hallucinating. Then, an options menu appeared in his mind, and a warehouse interface appeared on the left.

Luke patted his head and took a big sip of milk tea, but the interface remained in his mind.

Soon, Luke calmed down. Although it was incredible, what was it compared to time-travel?

Ruling out the possibility of mental problems, Luke's first priority was to determine if this so-called 'detective system' was harmful to him.

Luke checked himself but found no abnormalities and did not feel any discomfort. For now, he did not find any harm from the 'Detective System.'

Next, he needed to study the 'Detective System.'

There was a card on the warehouse interface with the word 'adventurous' written on it, and a small line of comments below it read [passive card, function unknown].

Luke thought, "System, what is the use of this card?"

There was no response.

He asked several times, but still no response.

He could only understand it literally - passively triggering some kind of adventure.

Sounds pretty good. I wonder if I can get some money?

Suddenly, Luke's occupational instinct kicked in.

He felt like he was being watched.

Luke regained his senses and glanced around. There were not many customers in the store, and no suspicious figures were outside the window.

"Could it be that I'm overreacting?..."

Having a system suddenly appear, it's inevitable to feel a bit worried.

Luke calmed down. The system couldn't be seen or touched. As long as he didn't mention it, no one would be able to detect it.

He was just a poor man in Los Angeles. There was nothing worth peeping at except for his good looks.

As for that Harley motorcycle, strictly speaking, it still belonged to the bank.

The Harley was bought with a loan from the original owner. It cost $20,000, with a down payment of $4,000, a loan of $16,000, and a yearly interest of $600.

The monthly repayment was $1,400.

Luke's current monthly salary was around $6,500.

It seemed like a decent income, but after deducting taxes, he actually got less than $5,000. Besides the motorcycle loan, there were also credit card loans and foreign debts.

At the beginning of the month, after paying off the car loan and card loan, there were only a few hundred dollars left for living expenses.

Luke just wanted to make money and rent a place of his own.

He didn't want to live the rest of his days relying on others.

After work, lying on his own sofa, watching TV shows, drinking beer, and eating fried chicken, that was real life.

For now, he could only live this kind of life in his dreams.

Hopefully, this card would bring him some good luck.

...

Thursday morning, 8:58 am.

Luke walked into 'The Robbery-Murder Division' humming a song.

With the system, he was in a good mood.

The white bald man, David, looked over, and Luke flipped him off before he could speak.

David wasn't angry. "Congratulations, you won the lottery."

"What do you mean?" Luke was wary. Had the 'Detective System' been exposed?

Impossible.

That thing couldn't be seen or touched. How could it be found?

David pointed to the captain's office. "Queen Susan summoned you."

"A childish trick. I won't be foolish enough to throw myself into the trap." Luke breathed a sigh of relief but still had a bad feeling.

"Believe it or not, I did my part." David shrugged, as if to say it didn't matter whether Luke believed him. "Good luck, you'll need it."

...

A few minutes later, Luke entered the captain's office.

"Captain, are you looking for me?"

"Yes." Susan pointed to the chair opposite and motioned for Luke to sit down with a poker face.

"What's your order?"

Susan leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table. "I've been transferred to the 'Robbery-Murder Division' for a short time, and I can sense that you don't like me. Neither do I. But I hope we don't bring this emotion to work."

"You misunderstood. I never thought like that."

"Luke, your whole state has been off since your last injury. You refuse to work overtime, you pick and choose tasks, and you're always absent-minded during meetings.

If you can't take your current job seriously because of an injury, I can help you apply for a transfer to a more relaxed position."

If it had been a few days ago, Luke might not have cared about the transfer, but now it was different.

He had just gotten the Detective System and hadn't figured out how it was triggered, but from the name, the 'Detective System' seemed related to his police work.

He didn't know if changing jobs would affect the 'Detective System.'

Even if it was for the system, he had to stay for now.

"After the last injury, my mindset did change. I realized that my family is the most important thing, and I wanted to spend more time with them, so I didn't want to work overtime.

I believe in my ability. I can complete my work well without working overtime, and I will become an integral part of this team."

"I would like to believe in you. But your current state and what your colleagues say about you make me doubt it.

I want to see some action and real change, not just words. If not, I will help you apply for a transfer. Understand?"

"Give me half a month, and you'll see my value in the team." Half a month would be enough for Luke to understand the 'Detective System.'

Susan said without a hint of emotion, "You only have a week."