Jimmy had been stuck at home for two weeks, venturing out only a few times to buy food and hardly doing anything else. Finally, he received a call from the police station, informing him to return to work.

Jimmy carefully organized his clothes and car, placed the newly made single-barrel police light in the vehicle, and drove to the police station.

Cage hadn't set out to patrol yet; he was waiting for Jimmy's police light. Upon seeing the compact single-barrel police light, Cage was very surprised. The current single-barrel lights were still the old-fashioned type with a mechanical rotating base, large in size and heavy in weight, whereas Jimmy's new police light was only the size of a palm, shaped like a round cylinder with a suction cup at the bottom. It had a switch on the suction cup and was connected to a power cable. Just plug the light into the car's power supply, and it could be used directly.

After trying it out on his patrol car, Cage found that its brightness wasn't very high during the day, but it was much nicer-looking than the old police lights. Having seen the old lights for decades, he really liked this new type of police light.

"Jimmy, good job, I like this light. Put it on my car. I'll test it for a couple of days," Cage said.

"OK, but this light is intended for undercover police cars as a portable version. It might not look right on a regular patrol car," Jimmy replied, noting the awkward appearance of his small, single-barrel light next to the traditional long-barreled light on Cage's patrol car.

"Don't worry about that, I'm off to patrol. You go get your gear," Cage said, dismissing Jimmy's concern.

Cage then rejected Jimmy's suggestion outright and drove out of the parking lot in his police car.

Jimmy didn't mind; after all, it wasn't his patrol car that looked odd. He changed into his uniform, picked up his equipment, and set out in his own patrol car to patrol the roads.

Having been cooped up for two weeks, Jimmy suddenly found road patrol not so unbearable, even feeling a bit excited, wondering which unlucky person would encounter him today.

He soon spotted his first target, but was unable to issue a ticket. The brake light was only working on the right side. Jimmy followed in his police car, turned on his police light, gave a warning, and then returned.

In the past, police officers had immense authority. Now, police officers in the United States must carry body cameras and cannot engage in any misconduct as it can easily lead to complaints. But around the year 2000, police behavior was still largely self-regulated; the kind where they could beat someone up over a slight provocation and then make an arrest were all too common.

For someone like Jimmy, who was slightly excited and would stop and warn someone over a minor issue, it barely made the news or even raised an eyebrow.

After warning a few more drivers with minor issues, Jimmy, feeling satisfied, went to find a quiet spot to rest. Despite having air conditioning in his patrol car, sitting under the shade of a tree and enjoying the natural breeze was much more comfortable.

Jimmy spent some time practicing reloading his firearm while keeping watch. With no assignments coming from dispatch, he decided not to hit the road.

The "Nokia tune" rang out again, and Jimmy picked up the phone to a long-missed voice.

"Hi, Jimmy, your patent came through. If you have time, come down to the law school so we can handle the paperwork," the voice said.

"That's great news, thanks, Professor Morgan. I'll head over shortly. Goodbye."

Jimmy hung up the phone and then called Cage to take a leave of absence.

By the time Jimmy arrived at Bowden Law School, Professor Morgan was already waiting in his office with two students who had helped apply for the patent and trademark.

"Jimmy, you seem eager, arriving so quickly. There are some documents here that you need to sign, and then we can proceed with the paperwork. You'll be able to wait at home after that," Professor Morgan said.

"Thank you, Professor Morgan. This is the second piece of good news today."

"Oh? What's the other good news?"

"I was put on administrative leave before, and I just started back at work today. Hahaha, it's all police department stuff, nothing to worry about."

Jimmy picked up a few documents from the desk, glanced at them, and signed.

"Is that everything? If there's nothing else, I need to go back on patrol. I'm still on the clock."

"That's all, just wait for the rest."

"Then, goodbye, Professor Morgan."

Jimmy left the law school and returned to his patrol area. He had bought lunch on the way, even though it was a bit early, but eating lunch early wasn't such a bad thing.

After a break, Jimmy continued his patrol. He couldn't spend all day slacking off, not just half a year into the job.

Jimmy ambled along a rural highway, not turning on his lights unless it was a major issue. Arkansas, being a traditionally conservative state in the South, had a notably high rate of gun ownership. Being casually stopped and berated by someone was not a trivial matter, even though Jimmy could now rely on Heart Eye. Yet, black-and-white films could never match the vividness of the real world.

He thought the afternoon would end uneventfully until the dispatch center notified him of a suspicious sedan parked askew by the roadside, which needed to be checked out. Jimmy drove to the location, arriving 15 minutes later.

A dark green Honda, with an Accord badge. Jimmy wasn't particularly familiar with cars, but it seemed to be from the Accord series, looking rather angular compared to the smoother frames of later models.

Jimmy walked straight to the driver's side after confirming earlier that there was no one inside. However, since Heart Eye couldn't provide a directly visual reality, he still chose to check it out in person.

Jimmy circled around the sedan and peered through the front and rear glasses, looking for any contraband or bags. There seemed to be no signs of a collision; it looked like someone had intentionally parked it there.

"Adam28 calling the dispatch center, check the plates, in-state, XXX-XXX"

"The vehicle is not reported stolen, status normal."

"Adam28 calling the dispatch center, no person around the roadside vehicle, no signs of traffic accident, no collision marks around. Guessing the vehicle possibly broke down, and the driver had someone else pick them up."

"Dispatch center received."

After checking things out, Jimmy started the patrol car, turned it around, and used the push bumper to reposition the skewed sedan back properly by the roadside, since it was partially blocking the lane earlier. During the day it was manageable, but at night it could easily lead to an accident.

After sorting out the vehicle, Jimmy prepared to head back, but suddenly he noticed something amiss. On the roadside grass, there was a gray T-shirt not far from where the sedan was parked, about 5 to 6 meters away. He had only checked the car earlier and hadn't observed the surrounding environment. The presence of this clothing in such a scenario was somewhat unusual.

"Adam28 calling the dispatch center, I noticed something unusual around that car earlier. I found a gray T-shirt about 4 to 5 meters from the car. It seems it hasn't been on the ground long, as there isn't much dust on it, and no signs of blood or other unusual marks. I'll check around a bit more."

"Dispatch center received. Do you need backup?"

"Not for now."

"Dispatch center received."