Chapter 001: Inspectorate

　　Silver City.

　　Inspectorate.

　　The young Henry Thompson, slightly thin and with dark circles under his eyes, looked as if he had stayed up all night.

　　Wearing the Inspectorate’s level-three inspector uniform, Henry Thompson stepped into the Inspectorate’s office area.

　　As a semi-newcomer who had only joined the Inspectorate a year ago, Henry Thompson didn’t have much seniority. He usually arrived a bit early, did a simple cleaning of the office area, boiled a kettle of water, and waited for the other colleagues to arrive.

　　But today, Henry Thompson arrived a little later than usual, and at this moment, quite a few people were already in the office.

　　Seeing Henry Thompson enter, a middle-aged woman at the front desk, also in uniform, greeted him warmly with a teasing tone, “Little Henry, you’re late today, your dark circles are showing. Did you go out and have fun last night?”

　　Henry Thompson showed a pure smile, looking very innocent and honest, and quickly waved his hand, “Ms. Grant, don’t say that! I haven’t even found a girlfriend yet. If rumors spread, no one will want to marry me!”

　　“Hahaha, you kid, you’ve been in the Inspectorate for a year and still can’t handle a little teasing like this.”

　　The middle-aged woman seemed to really enjoy joking with Henry Thompson.

　　The way she looked at Henry Thompson was also a bit different from the others. After laughing heartily for a while, she suddenly brought up an old topic, “Little Henry, you don’t have time to cook by yourself, and the food outside isn’t clean. Come to my house for a meal sometime.”

　　Henry Thompson smiled again, but still declined, “Ms. Grant, I don’t want to trouble you.”

　　Before Ms. Grant could reply, a burly middle-aged man nearby snorted and interjected, “Little Henry, is your Ms. Grant just inviting you for a meal? She’s inviting you to be her son-in-law! Kid, how can you not get the hint!”

　　“Hahaha!”

　　The office instantly erupted in laughter.

　　Even after her intentions were exposed, Ms. Grant wasn’t embarrassed. She widened her eyes and scolded spiritedly, “I’m happy to! Little Henry is great—good character, smart, and good-looking. If he really became my son-in-law, I’d laugh myself awake in my dreams!”

　　After she said this, everyone laughed, but many also nodded in agreement.

　　Many people thought highly of Henry Thompson.

　　The middle-aged man who had spoken earlier didn’t mind being scolded. Instead, he said regretfully, “Little Henry is great, it’s just a pity!”

　　Pity for what?

　　As soon as he said this, the others all showed a bit of regret on their faces.

　　But Henry Thompson himself didn’t care much, his smile bright, “Mr. Carter, I made my own choice, what’s there to regret?”

　　The man surnamed Carter still felt it was a pity and sighed, “You can’t say that, Little Henry. The Inspectorate is good, and you became a regular after half a year. Now you’re a level-three inspector, which is not bad for most people. But if you hadn’t dropped out of Silver City Ancient Academy, and waited until you graduated, if you then joined the Inspectorate, you would have started as a level-one inspector—the highest entry level!”

　　At these words, everyone was eager to chime in.

　　Behind Henry Thompson, the young, sassy Anna Brooks who had just entered quickly added, “Exactly, Henry Thompson, why did you drop out early for no reason? Look at us, we don’t even have a chance to get into Silver City Ancient Academy. You only had two years left to graduate! For us, to get from level-three to level-one inspector, even if things go smoothly, it takes at least five years. If not, it could take a lifetime, and even then, reaching level one would be lucky!”

　　There was a hint of envy in her words—envy for the graduates of Silver City Ancient Academy.

　　And also some regret—regret that Henry Thompson was only two years away from graduating, but suddenly dropped out and chose to join the Inspectorate.

　　When Henry Thompson joined the Inspectorate, even the director of Silver City Inspectorate came to ask about it, and even tried to persuade Henry Thompson to go back and continue his studies, saying that if he really wanted to join, he could apply after graduation.

　　Unfortunately, although Henry Thompson was easygoing, young, and polite, he was very stubborn on this matter.

　　He, who was usually obedient, refused to go back and continue his studies.

　　Anna Brooks even knew that Henry Thompson’s mentor at Silver City Ancient Academy had tried to persuade him not to drop out, as he had a bright future ahead.

　　Listening to everyone discuss his situation, Henry Thompson still wore a big smile.

　　He walked to the corner to boil water, busying himself while responding with a smile, “Isn’t it good to start as a level-three inspector? Besides, if I waited until I graduated from Silver City Ancient Academy to join, wouldn’t I have missed out on two years of getting to know all of you? That would be too much of a pity.”

　　“Hahaha, well said!”

　　Everyone burst out laughing; his words were pleasing to hear.

　　Henry Thompson was sweet-talking and young—just turned twenty this year, the youngest in Silver City Inspectorate, and a top student. Hearing his flattery, everyone felt good.

　　Early in the morning, the Inspectorate office was filled with laughter and joy.

　　As for Henry Thompson dropping out of Silver City Ancient Academy, no one said much more. Only Henry Thompson himself didn’t seem to mind; otherwise, no one would have brought it up, since dropping out of the academy was indeed a major regret in life.

　　As for what Henry Thompson was thinking at the time, and why he made that choice, no one felt it was right to ask.