"Falsifying testimony? Reporting fake intelligence? Capturing scapegoats?"

Listening to the words from his teacher, the young SWAT officer was momentarily stunned, then shook his head repeatedly.

"How can that be acceptable, Mr. Tsunemasa..."

"We have already gathered enough evidence to settle the matter peacefully. Why overturn all these correct answers for the selfish motives of an Apprentice Death God?"

"If Mr. Nyctalopia wants revenge, let him go to Death Domain to seek revenge, go kill the Mutant Creatures, why bring disaster upon the innocent?"

"Mr. Tsunemasa, forgive me for not understanding... Are we, the SWAT team who scored full marks in every assessment and idealizes truth-seeking, merely lapdogs serving Apprentice Death Gods?"

Perhaps due to it being his first mission, the young officer called Xiao Shen grew more agitated as he spoke, clearly unable to accept his teacher's words.

"You..."

Looking at his student's youthful and naive expression, Tsunemasa shook his head helplessly, merely sighing with a bitter smile: "Still too young."

"Let me ask you, in your opinion, what is the core and critical responsibility of our SWAT Special Operations unit, indeed the entire Nest City's enforcement departments?"

"It is undoubtedly to protect the citizens of Nest City. To protect their property; to protect their lives; to protect them from oppression and humiliation by others."

Xiao Shen instinctively recited the officer code ingrained in him.

But Tsunemasa shook his head without hesitation.

"No, that's not it. Every Nest City resident knows we can't protect them, otherwise we wouldn't be called stinking cops behind our backs daily."

"Then... should it be upholding the weak and punishing the strong, fighting crime?"

Xiao Shen tentatively offered an answer.

"Not that either. The strong in Nest City are incredibly strong and will remain so; you and I are not fit to chastise them."

"As for fighting crime... Well, you might try your hand at being a Vigilante, but trust me, once you see the truth of this damn city where there's not a single good person, you'll be disheartened, thoroughly demotivated... then become a qualified SWAT officer."

"But that still isn't our responsibility."

At these words, the young officer suddenly had a sense of realization.

He squinted his eyes, cautiously asking: "Are you saying our responsibility is actually to maintain stability?"

"Avoid trouble whenever possible; as long as the world is peaceful... to be precise, as long as the upper echelons are peaceful, we can iustifiably take high salaries, live happily until retirement."

"But isn't this essentially being a dog?"

"Oh, you can't say it like that."

Tsunemasa wagged his finger, smiling: "The situation in Nest City is far more complex than you imagine; using 'being a dog' doesn't quite fit."

"Though you've got half of it right in your first half-sentence, we do indeed need stability, as it concerns our benefits and pensions... but compared to this passive term, I prefer [balance]."

"Nest City's powers are deeply intertwined: the upper and lower councils, old and new nobles, the military, giant corporations, and Apprentice Death Gods... They struggle against each other, not knowing how many conflicts have broken out, both openly and secretly, for profit."

"We, as the sole organization standing high yet relatively neutral, have the greatest task of finding ways to balance their interests and strengths."

Saying this, Tsunemasa pointed to a tall building in the Upper District far away.

"Take the recent situation for example: our weaponry giant in Nest City, [Rosh Heavy Industry], recently opened a new department, starting to research Mutant Creatures' abilities, hoping to thereby produce more powerful weapons."

"This is surely going to displease some Apprentice Death Gods, since Mutant Creatures have always been their prey."

"But Rosh Heavy Industry's research is legitimate and compliant; even though it might break the balance, the Apprentice Death Gods have no reason... or rather, are unwilling to pay the cost to forcefully stop them..."

"So at this moment, it's time for us to play our role."

He smiled and picked up pen and paper, flicking off the raindrops from the pen holder as he wrote softly: "August 15, 2077, Apprentice Death God Mad Spirit defeated Mutant Creatures in R9 District... valiantly protecting the citizens present with great spirit."

"But afterwards, the brave Mad Spirit was schemed against by Vice Director [Li Yang], long hidden by Rosh Heavy Industry's new department, eventually perishing along with the citizens, his remains burned by Li Yang with high-temperature flames, with the mutant creature remnants taken by Li Yang for company research."

"Writing like this not only improves Mad Spirit's reputation but also gives his mentor Mr. Nyctalopia ample reason to kill Rosh Heavy Industry's Li Yang, earn a large sum... and terminate their experiments."

"And Rosh Company? They might suffer some loss, but after all, Li Yang is merely a vice director, his position in the company not very high, and he is just an ordinary person by background. Even if he dies, it's no big deal... the company won't turn against Apprentice Death Gods for him."

"In the end, Rosh Company will likely cease research. Thus, balance is achieved, isn't it?"

Tsunemasa spoke lightly, as if he had done similar things countless times.

"But in doing so, what about that Vice Director named Li Yang?"

Xiao Shen frowned deeply, speaking solemnly: "He did nothing, yet has to bear it all in the end?"

"I heard his family isn't well off; he's a low-ranking commoner who fought desperately for education, relied heavily on stimulants to get an engineer position, then entered Rosh Company to work."

"He has a mother with a genetic disease who requires daily injections of targeted drugs to survive, solely relying on his salary to live."

"If he were to die..."

"That has nothing to do with us."

Tsunemasa ruthlessly interrupted Xiao Shen's concerns.

"Stop with the useless sympathy. Someone like him, powerless and without backing... trying to climb in a giant corporation, is inherently a scapegoat."

"If people like him don't take the blame, who should bear the Apprentice Death God's wrath? You? Or me?"

Tsunemasa's words were like a bucket of cold water, completely extinguishing the fire in Xiao Shen's heart.

Though the young officer did not like his teacher's words, he had to admit that Tsunemasa was not wrong.

In this damn world, reasoning and truth-seeking are utterly useless... their best approach, always, is to find underlings to carry the blame.

"Alas..."

Xiao Shen sighed, learning from Tsunemasa's manner, pulling out paper and pen to fabricate a never-happened event.

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