Los Angeles Legendary Sleuth

Heinz Bock was rather satisfied with this outcome.

Compared to the 2 million dollars in compensation from the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, it was a lot less, and more importantly, he had nipped a potential problem in the bud by settling with Luke.

Luke and Daisy were also quite pleased; indeed, they had been covertly filmed, but at the time they were just walking past the camera and it was unlikely that even their faces were clearly captured, so even if it were uploaded online, it wouldn't have had much impact.

Both parties felt like they had gained something, and all were happy with the outcome.

Staying at the hotel was no longer an option.

By the time they had returned to the Luke family's home, it was after one in the morning, and both were quite tired. After washing up, they went straight to bed.

...

The next morning, ten o'clock.

Luke brewed a pot of tea and sat in the yard, watching Daisy drive away.

Having gone to bed in the wee hours, Luke didn't wake up until after eight in the morning and caught sight of the partially covered, graceful figure beside him.

Luke's mind began to race, and he took the opportunity for a morning romp.

He felt completely relaxed afterward.

With Daisy at work, Luke was somewhat bored.

He was still on vacation that day and didn't want to waste time doing nothing at home, so he decided to take his Harley to the beach for some sun.

Upon arriving at the seaside, with its blue waters and skies, stepping on the soft sand, he would occasionally see seagulls gliding across the sky.

Luke walked over to one side, laid down a towel, lay on it, casually placed an ice-cold cola on a small table beside him, and as a breeze blew by, distant waves rose, with someone surfing on the sea.

Luke took a sip of his chilled cola and watched with interest.

The surfer appeared to be a beginner, repeatedly falling into the water and swallowing several mouthfuls of salty water.

Surfing is both an exhilarating and dangerous sport, as well as a great way to pick up girls. Luke had researched surfing online and knew it was difficult; water is inherently unstable, and finding balance on a board on the water is easier said than done.

Although he liked the idea of surfing, Luke wasn't planning on learning it for the time being.

It seemed like too much of a time sink; learning it required a significant amount of energy.

As a detective, Luke was already busy with cases, and during the rare breaks, he would rather lie down all day than learn surfing — he just didn't have the energy or the interest.

Speaking of learning, Luke was reminded of the various learning cards given by the system; at first glance, they seemed like skills that could be acquired with time, appearing somewhat trivial. However, their potential impact was significant.

The key lay in the word "time."

Everyone knows the adage "learn as long as you live," but how many actually achieve it?

How many people, after leaving school, have stopped looking at a textbook? Don't they want to learn? Don't they know the value of learning or that it's beneficial for the future?

Of course they know.

Then why don't they learn? Is it because they lack ambition?

Of course not.

The main reasons are the lack of energy and time.

Take the police force, for instance; the job is dangerous, demanding, and stressful. On the rare occasion they get a break, they need to relax to avoid psychological issues—where would the energy to learn new skills come from?

The learning cards solve this problem by shortening the time required to learn skills, increasing the motivation to learn, and turning the impossible into the possible.

Basking in the sun, a sea breeze caressing him, sipping on an ice-cold cola, watching bikini-clad women, and recalling the $200,000 in compensation money he had received the night before, Luke felt incredibly happy.

Luke now had over four hundred thousand dollars in cash in his hand.

Money is truly yours only when you spend it. Luke took out his phone and started browsing Amazon, planning to reward himself with some purchases.

Watches are nice; they can be worn as jewelry and also signify status.

He thought about buying a Patek Philippe; he looked and researched for a long while, but when it came to placing the order, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford it or that he didn't like it. It just felt... pretentious.

Spending tens of thousands of dollars on a watch seemed like paying an "idiot tax"; it felt foolish.

Of course, it might also be because he had only just earned the money, and his mentality hadn't quite caught up yet. He would wait and see.

Luke then turned his attention to massage chairs. After working so hard every day, relaxing at home in a massage chair sounded perfect—this was more practical.

He compared several models and read reviews, but in the end, still didn't place an order.

It wasn't about the money this time.

But rather, it was that he couldn't make a decision based on just pictures; he needed to experience it personally.

He marked the models he liked and decided to visit a physical store to try them out before deciding which brand and model to buy.

After playing with his phone for a good while, Luke was ready to stand up and stretch.

Upon standing, his view improved, and even more bikini-clad beauties came into sight.

"Eh..." Luke suddenly spotted a familiar figure.

No.

It was two.

Jenny and Jackson were lying on the nearby beach.

Jenny was wearing a dark gray one-piece swimsuit, and though not particularly stunning, her figure was quite nice.

Jackson sat up, chatting and laughing with Jenny.

Luke felt it was somewhat inconceivable and sneered to himself, how did those two end up together? She's helping him apply sunscreen!

He hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to pretend not to see them or to really ignore them.

As Luke was about to lie back down, Jackson inadvertently turned his head and saw him, freezing for a moment.

Their eyes met.

Then, Jenny noticed Jackson's odd behavior and turned to look as well.

Being a police officer, she still had that alertness.

"Vice Captain Luke... oh no, I mean Captain Luke now," Jenny greeted him nonchalantly with a wave.

Luke pretended he had just noticed them and walked over with a smile, "Hey, you two sneaked off to have fun, why didn't you invite me along?"

Jackson rose to his feet, stammering, "Uh... we... Captain, did you come here alone?"

"Yes."

"Why are you here alone?"

Luke chuckled, the subject change was rather clumsy, "I occasionally enjoy some alone time.

But why did you two come together?"

"Uh..." Jackson faltered again, "I often come to this beach, and Jenny likes sunbathing...

So, we came together."

Now that they had run into each other, Luke didn't feel like playing dumb anymore, "So, it was you who invited Jenny, are you two on a date?"

"No!"

"Impossible."

Both Jenny and Jackson denied it.

Luke spread his hands in acceptance, "OK, I don't want to be a gossip, so let's pretend I never asked.

See you later."

Luke turned around and went back to his own lounge chair.

After a while, Jackson came over and took a seat on the lounge chair next to him, "Captain, congratulations. You're officially in charge tomorrow."

"Thank you." Luke raised his glass in a toast.

"Uh... actually, Jenny and I aren't what you think."

"What do you mean?"

"I... we're roommates."

Luke was even more surprised, "You're living together?"

"nonono, roommates, not living together," Jackson waved his hands, explaining, "The place where I used to live was quite far from the detective bureau, and Jenny just happened to be looking for someone to share the rent, so...

We became roommates."

Luke laughed, "That's a good excuse."

"We're really just friends and colleagues."

"I'll keep it a secret." Luke gave him a knowing look.

"Keep a secret?" Jackson frowned, helpless, "We truly are just roommates."

"Don't worry, I'm not Captain Susan, as long as it doesn't affect work!

Doesn't affect work!" Luke smirked, I don't believe you, there's no such thing as pure friendship between men and women.

Looks can be deceiving, this guy's got game, appearing all honest and simple, yet he makes moves on a female colleague.

Totally shameless.

Suddenly, Luke also fancied the idea of finding a female roommate, but the first one that came to his mind wasn't Daisy, but the gorgeous detective Orty.

Pah, despicable.