As expected, when Li Xiang's mother heard that her son had quietly earned a second-class merit, she couldn't stop smiling and kept praising her son for growing up.

She immediately said she would ask for leave from the factory manager, go grocery shopping, and return home to celebrate with her son in the evening.

Parents always hope for their children to succeed. Now that her son has earned a second-class merit at the police station, how could she not flaunt it?

This time, Li Xiang planned not to take Coalball back but gave a key to his dorm room to Sun Zhidong, asking him to come every day during his absence to clean up after Coalball and feed it dog food.

"Finally going back? I'll take you to the station."

Sun Zhidong knew Li Xiang didn't have a car and always took the bus home, so he offered to take him to the station.

"Alright, but take me to the supermarket first, I want to buy some things for my parents."

When he didn't have money before, he wished his parents would even subsidize him a bit when he came home for the holidays.

Now, his salary had increased, supplemented by bonuses, and he had some savings. It was time to show filial piety to his parents.

Li Xiang went to the supermarket and bought cigarettes and alcohol for his father, some health supplements, snacks for his mother, and then headed to the station.

"Thanks."

After saying goodbye to Sun Zhidong, Li Xiang went in, bought a ticket home, and began waiting in the waiting room.

Li Xiang's hometown is a county city named Jing'an County under Jinghai City. There's a town called Xinqiao Town in the county, and in the town, there's Li Family Village.

He's from this village. Every time he goes home, he first takes a bus to the county, then transfers to a local bus to the village's entrance, and it's only a short walk from there.

At four in the afternoon, Li Xiang stood in front of his house door and shouted inside, "Mom, I'm back."

His house, like his neighbors', was a two-story building with a courtyard enclosed by a wall. It was a private standalone house, but such homes aren't valuable in the countryside.

"Coming, coming, opening the door for my precious son."

A jubilant voice came from inside, followed by hurried footsteps as the courtyard gate swung open.

"Mom, I missed you so much."

Seeing his mother open the door, Li Xiang went up and gave her a big hug.

During his lowest times, only his mother consistently encouraged him, always believing he was the best.

"You kid, spending money recklessly again, why buy so many things?"

"It's not expensive, just a token of appreciation from your son."

His mother flipped through the items Li Xiang bought, seeing cigarettes and alcohol inside, she feigned anger, "You bought cigarettes and alcohol for your dad, such a waste of money. Don't you know to save it for your marriage? You're not even married yet, has he reached the age to enjoy life?"

Li Xiang was speechless at his mom, she couldn't go three sentences without mentioning marriage.

"Mom, I'm not in a hurry, right now is the peak period of my career, so I'm not considering matters of love for now."

"Fine, mom will listen to you. Those girls who didn't appreciate you before should be regretting it now that you've earned merits and awards. My son is definitely a sleeping dragon."

His mother was much more open-minded now, as Li Xiang was not successful in love but was in his career. For some people, getting married a little later has become the norm.

That evening, his mother cooked a table full of dishes Li Xiang loved, and his father opened a bottle of the good wine Li Xiang bought to have a couple of drinks with his son.

"Dad, you drink, I've quit drinking."

His father was taken aback, then grasped the context, "Quitting drinking is good. Now that you're in the police force, there's a ban on alcohol, you must quit. Your third uncle's son-in-law is also a police officer, he was caught for drunk driving and got dismissed by the police department, he had to become a security guard instead, drinking just leads to trouble, it's best not to drink."

"You should drink less too. What's so good about drinking?" his mother chimed in.

His parents bickered often, it had become a habit over the years.

Although his mother nagged, she still fried a plate of peanuts for Li Xiang's father to snack on with his drink.

Li Xiang's father took a sip of wine, picked up a peanut, and savored it, "I just like this taste now. What fun is life if I give up smoking and drinking?"

"By the way, son, how did you get this second-class merit? You're just an auxiliary police officer, right?"

"I caught a fugitive by accident while on duty."

"Caught a fugitive? Such a dangerous thing, make sure you don't rush in next time."

This incident went quite viral online last year, but his parents, who weren't tech-savvy, didn't see the news and didn't know about it. Now hearing their son caught a fugitive, they immediately became worried.

If fugitives get desperate, it would be way too dangerous. One can't capture all fugitives, but they only have one son. Such a dangerous thing must not happen again.

"Don't worry, I'll protect myself."

The family was harmonious, now that Li Xiang was making something of himself, his parents also felt proud.

That evening, Li Xiang went through a free dungeon again and gained 3000 skill proficiency points.

Over the past few days, he had accumulated quite a lot of skill points and could finally upgrade his Maga Skill to Grandmaster Level.

[Ding, skill upgraded, current skill: Maga Skill (Grandmaster Level), Trait: Integration and Understanding]

In an instant, it was like a switch in Li Xiang's brain flipped. All the theories regarding the Maga Skill flowed through his mind, his muscle memory strengthened, and even the previously learned Military and Police Combat Technique integrated into his martial arts system.

"I really want to find someone to spar with."

Feeling itchiness in his hands, Li Xiang immediately spent 100 diamonds to enter a desperate survival dungeon and without hesitation, rushed to fight the group of hooligans.

He was in perfect form,

in perfect form.

Li Xiang almost took down every opponent in one move without any unnecessary action, as if every step was calculated to use the least effort to achieve maximum benefit.

When the Boss appeared, he, who previously needed to spend some effort despite knowing the opponent's moves at a master level, could now defeat him in a single strike, his combat power overwhelming.

Is this the power of a Grandmaster?

Li Xiang clenched his fist, feeling strength at his fingertips, it was truly wondrous.

The next day, Li Xiang got up early and tidied up the yard.

Director Song and the others would be coming over soon. The house was too messy, and it wouldn't do, so he helped tidying up the place.

Soon, sounds of gongs and drums echoed outside, and the villagers came out to watch the excitement.

It turned out that the city bureau and local government partnered, the pomp and circumstance to deliver the congratulatory message were quite the spectacle.

The honor guard, donned in police dress uniforms, proudly carried the plaque of the second-class hero's household and marched towards Li Xiang's house, followed by the leading cadres.

"Are they going to Li Xiang's house?"

"A household of a second-class hero, so impressive, I heard Li Xiang's mom mentioning it just yesterday."

"If only my son could be so successful."

Li Xiang's parents, hearing the commotion, also came out of the house. They were so excited they hadn't slept, waiting for this moment since last night.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.