121: Chapter 119: A Father’s Love is as Great as a Mountain 121: Chapter 119: A Father’s Love is as Great as a Mountain Applause resounded throughout the hall,

forcing a blush onto the faces of those standing on the stage.

Jiang Yuan was placed at the very center of the stage; to his left was Mu Zhiyang, and to his right, a young sniper from the Armed Police, with Zhu Huanguang further beside him.

The young sniper’s cheeks were so red they were practically stewed.

He could only be twenty-one or twenty-two years old.

If he hadn’t joined the military, he would probably just be graduating from The Great Learning and stepping into the life of job hunting, renting apartments, and having his dignity trampled on.

But because of one shot that hit Old Hu, saving Mu Zhiyang in the process, he was rewarded with a second-class merit, and his life had undergone a monumental change.

The most fundamental aspect was that, if he wanted to retire, he was qualified for a transfer to another position.

That meant he would have a post to fill upon retirement, a favorable condition hard to come by for the average soldier.

Mu Zhiyang’s cheeks, on the other hand, were bone white.

He now hardly wished to recall the moment he was wounded.

The ferocious gang leader and the bullets flying by were terrifying, and having seen his own wounds in the mirror, Mu Zhiyang felt even more frightened.

This time, he truly owed his life to the decisive action of the young Armed Police soldier beside him.

Had he hesitated for even half a second or aimed slightly off, Mu Zhiyang would certainly have been smoked by the subsequent 9mm bullets.

Beneath the stage,

even the leaders from the ministries were looking up at Jiang Yuan and the others.

At the very least, for this moment, the ceremony guaranteed them all the spotlight.

A leader from the provincial department placed a second-class merit medal on Jiang Yuan.

It was a bronze medal with the national emblem as its base, featuring five stars in the center and a multicolored ribbon of blue, yellow, white, and red.

The medal’s appearance was a bit rustic, but the sense of history and honor it brought made Jiang Yuan feel fulfilled and at ease.

At the same time, a system prompt appeared before Jiang Yuan:

Reward: Personal Second-Class Merit

Reward Content: Image Enhancement Technology (LV5) (Adjustable)

Jiang Yuan quickly realized that the Image Enhancement Technology (LV3) he had obtained as a personal commendation last time had been replaced by LV5 Image Enhancement Technology.

He tentatively clicked on the bracket on the right side, and sure enough, a list of options appeared:

Criminal Image Technology (LV4)

Document Examination Technology (LV4)

Trace Inspection Technology (LV4)

…

The arrangement was the same as last time, the only difference being that the technology level had all become LV4, and if he chose a more detailed project, he would get LV5.

Clearly, if Jiang Yuan wanted to change the reward skill he obtained, he now had at least one opportunity to do so.

Jiang Yuan hesitated for a moment but did not make any changes.

He had already experienced how useful Image Enhancement Technology was, and in the current era, Image Investigation was truly a powerful weapon for solving cases.

It wasn’t as useful in the mountains previously, but in the city, its use was immense.

Moreover, the strength of LV5 technology was significant, and he decided to put it to use first.

By now, Jiang Yuan had gained a clear understanding of the difference between LV1 to LV5.

The most basic LV1 technology was about what a qualified professional should know.

Within the entire professional system, it was beginner level, but compared to ordinary people, it was already a decent level of expertise.

As of now, LV1 fingerprint technology was slightly better than Wang Zhong’s abilities.

LV2 was the skill level of a high-standard professional in a city.

It was above average within the professional system and served as the backbone.

In criminal investigation technology, the top level of a county or city bureau would hover around LV2.

LV3 represented provincial experts, already first-class in their industry.

Most experts participating in fingerprint battles would have LV3 related fingerprints expertise.

Zhu Huanguang, who also received a third-class merit, had a slightly higher than LV3 level.

LV4 was the pinnacle at the provincial level, a national level expertise, signifying mastery of a certain technology.

Zhu Huanguang was just a step away from LV4, or when attending the fingerprint battles organized by the ministries, the high-level experts there would have LV4 expertise.

LV5 was the national pinnacle and represented international expert level within that skill, master-class within the industry, a rarity in any country.

Jiang Yuan could have chosen a broader range of technologies, such as LV4 Criminal Image Technology, but considering the various levels of expertise, he prioritized the narrower yet more advanced LV5 Image Enhancement Technology.

Next time he received recognition for his achievements, he could choose again.

Jiang Yuan’s thoughts were simple and straightforward.

For him now, solving ordinary cases within his reach was possible using any method, but when he encountered difficult cases, he needed breakthrough techniques.

The award ceremony concluded, giving way to the formal oath-taking assembly.

That was how it always was in the police system, except for model-level awards.

Otherwise, it would either be a small celebration or piggybacking on the ceremony of various conferences.

For the leaders, kick-starting the ceremony by awarding the meritorious police officers was quite uplifting.

An oath-taking assembly was essentially about clarifying several questions: What are we preparing to do?

Why do it.

What impact will it have on the nation, society, the collective, and individuals?

Sometimes, certain leaders would also honestly state the conditions for awards and punishments, including details like the amount of travel subsidy.

Breaking this process down, it was actually not much different from forensic anthropology.

After the oath-taking assembly, police cars transported police officers from various counties and the city bureau to a new battleground.

The majority of the organized officers specialized in economic investigation.

The group of five involved in a large number of economic cases will be the focus of this round of investigation.

The murder case was still in the deep-digging phase, and the interrogators at the examination group interrogated the four others besides Hu, as if it were their regular job, on schedule and punctually.

Bit by bit, inch by inch, they extracted information.

Chen Deling and the others were now implicated in the deaths of over twenty people; in terms of criminal cases, they had already faced the maximum penalty.

However, with economic crimes, they still exhibited some resistance.

From the police’s perspective, while the murder case was important, enough effort had already been put into it; even deploying another 1000 officers wouldn’t necessarily result in finding more bodies—at this point, given the difficulty and scope of the entire series of cases, the economic crimes would likely need to be pursued over a long period.

Jiang Yuan’s task was finished, and he returned home.

He was originally following Liu Jinghui on the “Wu Long Mountain Wild Man Case,” and now that Li Sanqiu’s case had been cracked, they no longer needed him.

Catching a ride with Wei Zhenguo, he arrived back in Ningtai County by evening.

Jiang Yuan didn’t notify anyone and just carried his bag back home.

As he entered the community and approached the entrance of the small supermarket, Jiang Yuan habitually paused but noticed that there were surprisingly few people chatting today.

“Uncle.

Aunt.” Jiang Yuan called out broadly in greeting.

The few people chatting turned to look in surprise:

“Jiang Yuan’s back?”

“Alive and kicking?”

“Then no bullshit.”

Hearing their hometown dialect, Jiang Yuan was puzzled but only smiled and said, “I’m heading home first.”

“Go ahead, go ahead,” the Jiang Village People in front of the small supermarket gestured with one hand and started to take out their phones with the other.

By the time Jiang Yuan arrived home, he saw the large room, hundreds of square meters in area, already packed with people.

Some were sitting, some standing, some walking back and forth.

Various kinds of food and drinks were placed on several tables, and people chatted and laughed while they talked…

Jiang Yuan was startled.

What was this?

Are they having a feast?

Fortunately, Jiang Fuzhen appeared soon after and pulled Jiang Yuan inside, giving his shoulder several hearty pats.

“Jiang Yuan, good job!”

“Yuanzi, impressive!”

The villagers in the living room began to praise him.

Their words were simple, but their emotions were overflowing.

To the Jiang Village People, Jiang Yuan’s emergence indeed filled a void for them.

As a well-known wealthy village in Shannan Province, with its fair share of wealthy individuals, the Jiang Village People, apart from their wealth, didn’t have any notable achievements or accomplishments.

A sense of aimlessness was prevalent among the young people; at an age when they should be making something of themselves in their twenties, the boys dreamed of racing their cars, while the girls thought about losing another 20 pounds to marry the team captain.

Although the Jiang Village People didn’t really care about other people’s opinions, Jiang Yuan’s emergence nicely compensated for their internal sense of lacking.

My Jiang Village is the home of a national second-class meritorious village.

“Alright, since Jiang Yuan is back, we’ll go to pay respects to our ancestors tomorrow morning,” declared Lao San Ye, clapping his hands, as if to set the matter.

Jiang Yuan somewhat understood, yet he was still somewhat confused, and could only ask his father, “What’s this…?”

“Celebrating you becoming a second-class meritorious citizen,” Jiang Fuzhen laughed heartily.

“But…

it’s not to the extent of paying respects to the ancestors, right?”

Jiang Fuzhen said seriously, “It is indeed.

You earned this with your life on the line.”

Jiang Yuan thought back and said, “It wasn’t that dangerous, but one of my colleagues did get shot.”

The most dangerous moment was actually when he faced Hu in a gunfight, but honestly, it didn’t need to be so dangerous; primarily because everyone was a newbie.

Not only were the young Jiang Yuan and Mu Zhiyang rookies, Wei Zhenguo and Wen Ming were novices in gunfighting as well.

Even Huang Qiangmin, who arranged the defenses and traps, was a novice.

The armed police were a little better, but even Zhou Gang and his team, who arrived that day, had not actually experienced a real gunfight.

Jiang Yuan felt that if a similar situation arose in the future, it probably wouldn’t be as dangerous.

However, Jiang Fuzhen couldn’t help but slap his son on the back: “How much more dangerous do you want it?

Do we need to send a portrait for your father?”

“That wouldn’t happen…”

“Then that’s settled.”

“No, I just feel like paying respects to the ancestors…”

“It’s good for everyone to have some fun.

It’s been a long time since our Jiang Village had a big event,” Jiang Fuzhen interrupted Jiang Yuan, his eyes glaring.

Jiang Yuan felt as if he could see a line written above his father’s head: Today’s fatherly love balance is insufficient.

“I’m going back to rest then,” Jiang Yuan said obediently and retreated to his room.

Hum.

As Jiang Yuan entered his room, his phone vibrated.

He opened it and glanced at a message, “Your account 2085 has received 100,000.00 RMB (Payer: Jiang Fuzhen, account ending in: 1937).”

His father had cashed in the meager remnants of his fatherly love for the day, tsk.