The only one who didn’t applaud—Paul Carter noticed him. In the back row, that student lazily straightened up, fiddling with a pen in his hand, doing the typical student move: spinning the pen around his thumb, a sure sign of utter boredom. Paul Carter was slightly surprised and made a mental note of that face. It wasn’t an easy face to remember—not exactly ugly, not exactly handsome, the kind you’d call “cabbage by the roadside,” easily overlooked at a glance.

Turning around, he called out to those who came with him, encouraging them: “Next, anyone interested in joining the elite competition, sign up with Chief Grant and get a form. Hand it in before class this afternoon. We’ll be staying here for three to five days, and when we leave, I’ll take all the police academy’s best with me. In the future, we’ll build a legendary iron police force known throughout the country.”

Applause. This special team was always easily roused by passionate words. As Chief Grant stepped forward, quite a few rushed up to grab the forms. In the third row, Emily Brooks turned her head and asked the somewhat disgruntled Adam Parker, “Are you signing up?”

“I’ll sign up if you do,” Adam Parker replied, setting a condition.

“Of course I’m signing up.” Emily Brooks stood up, and Adam Parker quickly followed suit—of course he had to sign up too.

Seeing such enthusiasm, Paul Carter felt especially proud. When he walked over to his old classmate and Principal Bennett, Principal Bennett casually said, “Paul, you have everyone’s profiles, just pick from those. Why make such a big deal out of it? Isn’t it discouraging for the ones who don’t get picked?”

“Profiles can’t reflect true qualities,” Paul Carter shook his head.

“What kind of person are you looking for, exactly? Look, their Instructor is right here—why not just ask him directly?” said Director Sullivan.

“I’m looking for someone with unlimited potential to be tapped. Is there such a person?” Paul Carter asked sharply.

“I don’t know, you pick,” Instructor replied with a smile.

The group chatted and left for a while. As Paul Carter looked back, he saw the students crowding up to grab forms. He deliberately searched for the student who had been whispering earlier—there he was, still chatting away, looking completely indifferent, as if it had nothing to do with him.

“Who’s the one sitting in the back left corner?” Paul Carter casually asked Instructor. Instructor glanced back and replied just as casually, “That’s Eric Foster.”

“Eric Foster? Oh, so that’s Eric Foster. When I saw the name on the list, I couldn’t believe it was a real person’s name.” Paul Carter remarked with surprise. “Eric Foster” is a legal term, meaning undisclosed or unconfessed crimes.

“No mistake—his surname is 余, given name 罪. Mr. Carter, this way please.” Instructor courteously gestured for him to go ahead, and Paul Carter left.

That left Chief Grant handing out forms. He’d given out almost all of them when he looked up and was surprised to see Emily Brooks standing beside him. He asked, a bit puzzled, “What’s up, Student Brooks?”

“Is Mr. Carter really as legendary as they say? I’ve read his reports and internal files. We all call him the King of Police in private,” said Emily Brooks, her tone tinged with admiration. Young women are always easily moved by the deeds of great heroes, especially when they’re in the same field. As soon as she spoke, a dozen or so boys and girls gathered around, gossiping—asking about the serial killer, the cross-province drug trafficking case, the explosion at the Changgang workers’ district. They were all deeply interested in those cases that now sounded almost like fairy tales.

“Hey, hey, everyone, discipline! You can’t just talk about case details outside. When you become detectives, you can look them up on the internal network. All right, all right… anyone else signing up?” Chief Grant was a bit overwhelmed by the students’ enthusiasm and tried to brush them off, but Emily Brooks wouldn’t let him go and pressed further, “What about just now?”

“What about just now?”

“How did Mr. Carter instantly see that Adam Parker was into drawing and art appreciation?”

“Yeah, Chief Grant, his dad runs an auction house, dealing in art auctions.”

“That’s right, and he doesn’t smoke or drink—how could you tell?”

“You can tell some things, but how could he even know he hasn’t caught up to Emily yet?”

The students crowded around Chief Grant, all talking at once, making quite a commotion. A few of the girls deliberately teased Emily Brooks about it. But from their words, it was clear these rookies were truly impressed by Mr. Carter’s insight. At that moment, Adam Parker was standing right next to Chief Grant, and the students’ curiosity seemed to make him a bit proud as well. He did seem to come from a well-off family. Chief Grant smiled and said, “You all think that’s pretty amazing, huh?”

“Yeah, it really is,” Emily Brooks laughed.

“I can be that amazing too. Believe it?” Chief Grant grinned and pointed at Adam Parker, “Look, Adam Parker’s shirt collar is very clean, and his fingernails are neatly trimmed—you can tell his living habits at a glance.”

“What about smoking and drinking?” a boy asked.

“Do you think someone who pays that much attention to their habits would have bad ones?”

“And what about the artistic vibe? How can you tell?” a girl asked.