I'm playing a the police station simulation-Chapter 1: Guard Duty Catching Thieves

 

Winter in December, the freezing wind of the north.

Li Xiang, wrapped in a thick police uniform and a padded coat, braved the wind at Jinghai City's Times Square, maintaining public order.

The icy wind blew on his face, turning his strong nose bright red.

Next to him was a guard booth, but he couldn't take shelter inside since the task didn't allow it. Resting inside the booth wouldn't count towards completing the mission time.

Some well-meaning folks suggested he seek refuge in the booth since there were no bosses watching. But did he really need to be so spineless?

No way!

Even though no bosses were watching him, there was an "Eye in the Sky" keeping tabs on him.

Li Xiang rubbed his frozen hands and pulled out his phone to check the task bar:

[Task Name: Security Duty]

[Task Description: Patrol Times Square, keep an eye out for suspicious individuals, vehicles, or behavior, and take necessary action to resolve problems promptly.]

[Task Duration: 4 hours (Task in progress 181:51/240:00)]

[Task Reward: XP +50, Diamonds +100]

"Man, it's freezing. Just one more hour, and I'll be done with the task. Gotta have a hot pot dinner tonight to warm up."

His phone had gone through a transformation. Ever since he got bored last month and downloaded a "Police Simulator" game, whenever the police department assigned him duty, his phone would update the task description accordingly.

At first, he thought his phone was being tapped. But when he showed the phone's content to others, they couldn't see these task details. That's when he realized that only he could see this information on his phone.

Whenever the department assigned him a task, the phone would synchronously send him rewards.

In the freezing wind, after waiting for another hour, Li Xiang's phone made a "ding" sound, indicating the completion of the task.

He stretched his stiff legs, leaned against the door of the guard booth, and stepped inside. The warm air from the air conditioner blew on his face, making his nose tingle. He quickly grabbed a tissue and wiped his nose.

Then he took out his phone and looked at it, tapping on the game icon for the Police Simulator.

"Check attributes."

His phone instantly displayed his three-dimensional attributes:

[Player Name: Li Xiang]

[Identity: Auxiliary Police Officer, Hongqiao Police Station]

[Level: lv.2 (150/200)]

[Strength: 10]

[Agility: 10]

[Constitution: 10]

[Intelligence: 10]

[Available Attribute Points: 1]

[Skills: None]

[Skill Points: 0]

[Diamonds: 500]

...

"Just need 500 diamonds to unlock the first challenge."

Feeling refreshed inside the guard booth, Li Xiang closed his phone, took off his gear belt, and hung it up neatly. "Off duty, time for hot pot."

Times Square was the most popular street in Jinghai City for eating, entertainment, and leisure. After a long day, office workers enjoyed eating, drinking, and having fun here before heading home.

Every time Li Xiang finished his duty, he would come here to have a hot pot meal.

Chuanchuanxiang was a rotating hot pot restaurant where all the dishes rotated in the center, and customers gathered around to pick whatever they wanted from the conveyor belt in front of them.

"Boss, give me a spicy hot pot base."

"Sure, find a seat anywhere you like."

Li Xiang went to the condiment area, prepared the sauce, and then sat down, choosing his favorite skewers. As he ate, his body

 gradually warmed up.

"Auntie, can I have a spicy hot pot base?"

While Li Xiang was engrossed in his meal, he suddenly heard a soft and sweet voice. He looked up and saw a girl sitting across from him, wearing a long white down jacket. She took off her hat, revealing long, shiny black hair.

With an oval face, she wore sunglasses that covered half of her face, giving her a playful and cute look.

Li Xiang glanced at her when he heard her voice but continued eating. However, while picking his dishes, he would occasionally steal glances at her.

During one of these glances, he noticed something odd. There was a man next to her, constantly moving back and forth behind her, with his eyes fixed on her pockets.

Something wasn't right about this guy!

Just as Li Xiang started feeling uneasy about the man's behavior, he sprang into action. Seizing the opportunity while the girl was focused on her skewers, he swiftly and stealthily took her phone from her pocket, then quickly headed towards the exit.

[Ding, triggered a random mission!]

[Mission Name: Catch the Thief]

[Mission Description: Even during off-duty hours, catching a thief is part of the job.]

[Mission Requirement: Apprehend the thief.]

[Mission Reward: XP +200, Diamonds +600]

[Accept? Yes/No]

"600 diamonds? Thief, you're not getting away!"

Everything happened so fast. Li Xiang only had time to accept the mission before rushing out, without even being able to warn the girl that her phone had been stolen.

The thief, realizing he had been caught, ran even faster, weaving through the crowd in an attempt to shake off Li Xiang.

Inside the hot pot restaurant, the customers only started realizing what had happened after Li Xiang rushed out.

"What's going on? Was there just a thief in the store?"

"Quick, check if anything's missing!"

"Thank goodness, all my stuff is still here."

Lin Feifei, who was slow to react, heard the commotion and swallowed the last bite of meat. She calmly wiped her mouth with a tissue and asked, "Was there just a thief?"

She instinctively glanced around and then reached into her pocket, only to find it empty. "Ah? My phone was stolen!"

Now Lin Feifei was panicking. She could lose anything, but not her phone!

The key to her latest single's accompaniment track was stored on her phone. This was her first solo concert, and she planned to thank her fans with the latest single. If she lost the key to the accompaniment track, it would lead to a performance mishap.

Plus, she had already started the pre-release promotion on a certain microblog. The concert would feature the debut of a new song, and fans were eagerly looking forward to it. If there was a performance mishap, the losses would be huge. It would affect the investors, her management company, and most importantly, disappoint her fans.

Thinking about the consequences of losing her phone, Lin Feifei anxiously chased after the thief.

"Hold on, miss, you haven't paid yet!"

Just as she ran to the entrance, Lin Feifei was stopped by the restaurant owner, who asked her for the payment for the hot pot.

"Oh, I'm sorry. How much is it?"

"Let me count your sticks."

While the owner counted the sticks, Lin Feifei waited anxiously. Finally, the owner calculated the total.

"It's 82 yuan in total. Just give me 80."

"Okay, let me scan it."

Just as Lin Feifei was about to pay, she suddenly realized that her phone had

 just been stolen. How could she make the payment without her phone?

"Auntie, I'm sorry. My phone was just stolen."

In all her years, Lin Feifei had never experienced such an embarrassing situation. Not being able to pay for the meal would make it seem like she was trying to dine and dash.

"So the thief stole your phone!"

Lin Feifei: "..."