11: Chapter 11: Lin Chen, a Level D Officer at the Detention Center

Morning light pierced through the thin mist, falling onto the slightly aged platform of the intercity train station.

Lin Chen, carrying a simple pack, boarded the early morning train bound for Qingyang Town.

The sharp chime of closing doors rang out, and the train slowly started, gradually accelerating and leaving the dense buildings of the city center behind.

The scenery outside the window began to thin out, with vast stretches of green belts and scattered industrial parks flashing by.

The early morning train was packed.

Most were commuters in work clothes or cheap suits; they leaned against the seatbacks or held onto railings, their faces wearing the exhaustion of sleep deprivation and the numbness toward another day, as a silent drowsiness filled the carriage.

Lin Chen closed his eyes, resting in the rhythmic swaying of the train.

The half-hour journey passed quickly.

"Qingyang Town Station, we have arrived."

Walking out of the station, he saw wide and clean streets lined with shops and neat signs, with a constant flow of pedestrians and beasts.

Everything was in good order, lively but not noisy, and the infrastructure seemed quite complete.

While waiting at the bus stop, Lin Chen looked into the distance and could clearly see the deep blue silhouette stretching across the horizon like the spine of a sleeping giant—the Duanshan Mountains.

South of the mountains lay Qinglan City, located at the northernmost part of Donghuang;

North of the mountains was the vast, endless wilderness collectively known as the Beast Territory, a paradise for countless wild beasts and a place of hidden dangers and secrets that humans had yet to fully explore.

With its unique geographical location, the Duanshan Mountains served as a strategic buffer zone between the Donghuang Federation and the surrounding Beast Nations.

Following the address his father gave him, Lin Chen took a short bus ride and soon arrived at the Qingyang Town Beast Control Bureau on the west side of town.

It was a square, five-story building with steady gray-blue exterior walls. The Federation emblem gleamed in the sunlight, exuding the solemnity typical of a government office.

After explaining his purpose to the front desk, Lin Chen was led to an office on the third floor.

He knocked and entered. Behind a large desk, a middle-aged man in a crisp uniform who kept himself in quite good shape looked up at the sound.

He had a square face and slightly darkened skin from years spent outdoors, but his eyes were exceptionally bright. A smile immediately spread across his serious face upon seeing Lin Chen.

"Xiao Chen is here! Come in and have a seat."

"Hello, Uncle Li."

Lin Chen greeted him politely.

Although he didn't see his father's old classmate and longtime friend often, he had a deep impression of him.

Both his father and Uncle Li had joined the Beast Management Bureau after graduation. Uncle Li, with his exceptional methods and talent as a Beast Tamer, had risen through the ranks and was now the Director of the Qingyang Town Beast Control Bureau, overseeing this area.

As for his own father... sigh, better not mention it.

"Don't be too formal here; treat it like your own home. If you need anything, just tell me."

Director Li Haotian waved his hand, gesturing for Lin Chen to sit on the guest sofa while he returned to his desk, took a dark blue badge from a drawer, and handed it over.

Lin Chen took it with both hands.

The badge was hard, with the emblem of the Beast Management Bureau printed on the front, and two lines of text below:

Qinglan City Public Security Bureau, Qingyang Town Stationed Office

D-rank Staff: Lin Chen

Director Li Haotian said slowly, "D-rank is the level for temporary assistants. Authority is limited, mainly involving patrol assistance, information recording, and handling simple tasks. However, it comes with all the basic protections."

Lin Chen nodded in understanding.

From what he had seen and heard, he had some understanding of the rank system in the Beast Management Bureau.

His father, Lin Jianjun, was a C-rank Staff member of the Beast Management Bureau, a formal member whose salary and benefits far exceeded those of a D-rank Staff member.

As the Director of the Beast Control Bureau, Uncle Li was a higher B-rank Staff member, with even better benefits.

"As you know, the bureau has been busy lately, and we're short-staffed."

Director Li Haotian glanced at the time and picked up the internal phone to dial a short number: "Xiao Zhang, come here for a moment."

Before long, a young man in his early twenties with a somewhat youthful face knocked and entered: "Director, you were looking for me?"

"Yes. This is Lin Chen, a D-rank assistant here for a summer internship. For the time being, let him follow you to get familiar with the situation and procedures."

Uncle Li instructed, then said to Lin Chen, "Xiao Chen, this is Zhang Zhi. If there's anything you're unsure about, feel free to ask him."

Hearing this form of address, Zhang Zhi raised his eyebrows.

"Hello, Brother Zhang. I'm Lin Chen. I'll be in your care for a while." Lin Chen took the initiative to greet him.

"Hey, don't be so polite. Just call me Zhang Zhi; there's not much of an age gap between us."

Zhang Zhi's eyes were bright, and his smile was hearty: "Come on, I'll take you around the bureau first to get familiar with the environment."

After saying goodbye to Uncle Li, Zhang Zhi led Lin Chen out of the office to give him a tour.

"This is the duty room..."

"This is the cafeteria. I recommend trying the morning clay pot rice noodles; the taste is superb."

Giving introductions along the way, the two arrived at the training room.

The training room at the Beast Control Bureau was much more complete and well-equipped than the old site in Lin Chen's residential complex.

It was divided into a physical training area, a skill range, a simulated obstacle course, and even a small recovery room with basic treatment equipment. The various training machines also looked much more professional.

However, there weren't many Beast Tamers training—only a few people, and they all looked about the same age as Zhang Zhi.

Lin Chen understood this.

Older staff members like his father's generation had long recognized their own limits and lost the drive to nurture and train beasts. Unless there were mandatory training quotas or promotion requirements, they would never set foot in the training room.

Young staff members like Zhang Zhi, who had only graduated a year or two ago, were still full of fighting spirit and boundless expectations for the future, which was why the training equipment wasn't gathering dust.

For Lin Chen, this was undoubtedly good news.

After a full tour, Lin Chen had a general understanding of the daily operations of the Beast Control Bureau.

Returning to the public office area on the second floor, Zhang Zhi arranged a temporary workspace for Lin Chen.

"Our usual work is actually quite simple."

Zhang Zhi sat down and began to introduce the specific procedures: "Most of the time we're on standby, receiving alarms from the command center for our jurisdiction, or handling reports from citizens who walk in, then processing or reporting them based on the situation."

"Additionally, we perform scheduled street patrols, mainly in high-traffic areas like the central streets, stations, and markets, to prevent disputes and check for any illegal carrying or unrestrained behavior of beasts."

"Oh, since you're in a temporary position, you don't have to work night shifts. You can leave after the evening patrol, and you have weekends off unless there's a special duty notice."

Lin Chen nodded thoughtfully.

This way, he would have more time to train the Flame Claw Beast to improve its strength as quickly as possible.

As they talked, the sunlight outside was just right, spilling onto the polished floor through the glass.

Zhang Zhi looked at the quiet street outside, stretched comfortably, and said casually, "Looking at the weather, today should be fairly qui—"

"Pah, pah, pah! Xiao Zhang! You can't just say things like that!"

An older staff member diagonally across, holding a thermos and looking somewhat aged, suddenly looked up and waved his hands repeatedly: "In our line of work, that's the biggest taboo! It's easy to attract trouble!"

Zhang Zhi was stunned and gave an embarrassed smile: "Brother Liu, I just thought the weather was nice..."

Old Liu shook his head, looking like a veteran dealing with an inexperienced youth, and lowered his head to continue blowing on his tea leaves.

Ring, ring, ring!

The telephone rang urgently and sharply, instantly shattering the relaxed atmosphere of the office area.

The smile on Zhang Zhi's face suddenly froze, and he subconsciously sat up straight.

Old Liu didn't stop blowing on his tea, only letting out a cold snort: "Heh, I knew it."