"Brother Vader, is... is this really okay?" Firehead touched his clothes uneasily. "Chief Knight said that the uniform is a symbol of our identity. We have to wear it neatly when we're on duty."
"And we'll be punished if we get it dirty, not to mention that we're not wearing it at all." Whistle kept looking around as if he was afraid of being seen by his peers.
"Don't be long-winded. Wearing it is enough of a symbol. If you stand in the snow in midwinter, people will know that there are policemen hundreds of steps away. How can you arrest people then?" Vader spat. "You're from Border Town, right?"
"Yes." At the mention of this, both of them suddenly became spirited. "My father is a hunter who used to live in the old street. He's very skilled. He can even shoot a fox in the neck with an arrow. "
"Me too. My father always says that hunting is not stable and that it's better to go mining. He even prepared a hoe for me. If His Highness hadn't become the lord, I'm afraid I would have to stay in the mine. "
"I can see that." Vader shrugged. Only the children of a hunter's family would have such a strange nickname. "Since you're from Border Town, you should be more concerned about the order of the town than an outsider like me, right? Even I'm not afraid of punishment. What are you afraid of? Is it more important than upholding the rules set by His Highness? "
"This..." The two hesitated for a moment and then said as if they had made up their minds, "You're right."
"Brother Vader, you're not an outsider anymore. Haven't you already got your ID card? His Highness said that those who get this card are all his subjects, "Whistle muttered.
Vader smiled and said no more. He continued to stare at the row of caves on the east side of the temporary area.
It had been nearly three months since he became a policeman and he had completely adapted to life in the Western Region. He originally thought that the "patrols" would have nothing to do without extortion or fraud, but he didn't expect that they would be so busy every day.
The police were needed to receive refugees, deal with civil disputes, and even catch those vicious criminals and spies... Apart from fighting demonic beasts, the First Army didn't interfere with the security operations in Border Town at all.
This was very different from what he had expected.
In Valencia, the patrol team was more or less a supplement to the city guards. They had to do some of the dirty and tiring work, but they did not get many benefits. That was why many members of the patrol team were used to looking for extra money. But in Border Town, the police and the First Army were more like separate systems, the former for internal affairs, while the latter for external affairs.
What made Vader even more astonished was that apart from the direct orders from their superiors, their targets were actually reported by the citizens. That's right, the townspeople had changed Vader's view of ordinary people. These lazy and stupid people would actually take the initiative to keep an eye on suspicious people and report them to City hall. Every time a foreign merchant ship arrived in town, the Ministry of Justice would receive five or six such reports.
Very quickly, Vader realized the enormous power contained within. No spy could completely avoid contact with the outside world or completely blend in with the natives the moment they arrived at a certain place, unless they had grown up in that place. When everyone became a vigilant sentry post, what enemy could hide themselves?
Of course, not every capture would yield results. For example, the sneaky person they caught the last time turned out to be a noble of the Kingdom of Dawn. Vader was prepared to be punished, but there was no response from the higher-ups, as if they had turned a blind eye to his beating of a noble. This further strengthened his view.
"'Gold' has appeared!" Firehead exclaimed in a low voice.
"Don't worry about him. Just pretend to sweep the snow," Vader said calmly. "He didn't bring any goods. He's just here to investigate the situation."
Gold was the code name of the target. Two days ago, the Ministry of Justice received a report that serfs were smuggling grain. Lord Carter attached great importance to the matter and immediately assigned the task to Vader, asking him to catch both the person and the goods, calling it a gold hunt.
However, the task did not proceed smoothly. After some inquiries, they initially locked on to the target. Five or six people took turns to monitor the temporary residential area for two days, but in the end, they did not even find a trace of the target.
Vader was clear that the reason for the lack of progress was that the police uniforms were too conspicuous here. He had lived in the Western District for a long time before, so he naturally knew that as long as a City hall official appeared, the news would quickly spread. The Eastern District was not much better. The people living here were all serfs, and their black uniforms were as eye-catching as fireflies in the night sky.
Therefore, he simply persuaded Firehead and Whistle to take off their uniforms, put on a tattered coat, and disguise themselves as snow sweepers, blocking the main road between the Eastern District and Border Town. As long as there was a suspicious person passing by, it would definitely not escape their eyes.
After circling around the Eastern District, Gold returned to the cave. However, when it reappeared, it was carrying a large cloth bag on its back.
"He really is smuggling wheat …" Whistle clenched his fist.
"Damn it, he simply doesn't care about His Highness's words," Firehead said angrily. "Let's arrest him now!"
"Don't worry." Vader waved his hand. "Didn't Lord Carter say that we want both the person and the goods to be caught? We'll act in three groups. "Vader ordered according to the previous plan to trap the Rats." Firehead, you set off now and first go to the area around the old city wall. If he wants to enter the inner city, there's only one way for him to go. "
"Okay."
"Next, I'll follow him. This requires a certain level of skill, so I'm the most suitable." He licked his lips. "Finally, Whistle. Keep a distance of about a hundred steps from me, and slowly keep an eye on him. Just don't make eye contact with Gold."
"Got it."
"Then let's begin!"
Although the three of them did not have a hierarchy, they still obeyed Vader's instructions.
Vader shouldered the broom and calmly walked three or four steps in front of Gold. According to his past experience, following from behind would easily arouse the target's vigilance. However, if he were to "lead the way" in front, it would greatly reduce the target's vigilance. If he could roughly figure out the area the target wanted to go to, this kind of accompanying method was the most reliable. His attention was completely focused on Gold. As long as there was even the slightest change in the other party's footsteps, he was confident that he could pounce on him within a few breaths.
After passing through the gap in the old city wall, Gold stopped and leaned against a corner of the street to rest. Obviously, the other party also knew that if he continued to walk towards the center of the town, the chances of encountering the police would greatly increase. Vader took a few more steps forward and turned into a fork in the road, waiting for the buyer to appear.
Not long after, a townsman pushing a small cart appeared. Similarly, he looked left and right for a while before slowly making his way to the side of the serf. After opening the cloth bag and inspecting it, the townsman took out a handful of coins from his bosom. At the same time, Vader gestured for them to take action.
The three of them rushed towards the target from three different directions. The trader was immediately dumbfounded and stood rooted to the ground, not knowing what to do.
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