Lin and the members of her department had been busier than ever in their careers, not only arresting criminals thanks to all the evidence her uncle had handed over, but also realizing that managing so many people had made it painfully clear that Republic City's police department needed a larger budget and new facilities.
Not to mention the scandals caused by the corruption exposed among several high-ranking figures, which led to major personnel changes!
Another suspect was taken to the already overcrowded cells once Lin got him to admit where he had buried the bones of the people he'd eaten. On second thought, though, they gave him an isolated cell —just in case he wanted a snack and some prisoner ended up losing a finger or two in the process.
Lin had to suppress her disgust and grab a cup of coffee. Even that dark sludge was better than the bitter taste left in her mouth after dealing with that deranged man.
"I can't believe it never occurred to me to do this years ago," Lin muttered, letting the coffee hit her stomach like a punch. "How many cases could this have helped me solve in the past?"
During one of the rare moments Lin was home for something other than sleeping, changing clothes, or showering, Jin had given her a piece of advice after listening to her for a long while.
"Your mother taught you how to feel your surroundings and sense lies," he pointed out. "So use it at work!"
Honestly, Jin found it baffling that Lin didn't make more use of her inherited ability, especially given the nature of her job. Sure, it wasn't one hundred percent foolproof, but as long as she could tell whether someone was lying or hiding something, her work would become immensely easier.
"I suppose not all of us can be geniuses like him," Lin sighed, setting her coffee cup down. "Or maybe it's just our different circumstances?"
If she understood correctly, Jin constantly felt everything around him —but that amount of feedback would make her sick.
Lin, on the other hand, had to concentrate to map her surroundings with a stomp of her foot, and shifting that focus to detecting lies was even more demanding, especially since she was out of practice.
Still, she couldn't deny how practical it was. All she had to do was ask someone if they were the one who committed the crime, and regardless of the answer, she'd know the truth.
She only needed to ask the right questions, add the evidence, and voilà!
Cases solved everywhere, merit for her career and her department, and fewer criminals on the streets. Everyone won.
Well, except the guilty ones —but they were just getting what they deserved… mostly.
That last cannibal, though? Lin didn't think prison was what he deserved —something far more permanent, perhaps, especially since his menu consisted of very young meat.
"Chief," one of her subordinates entered the office carrying a document. "You need to sign this."
Lin took the folder while taking another sip of her coffee.
PFFFF!
The man glared at her —she'd just sprayed him with coffee.
By the spirits, he'd just gotten that uniform back from the cleaners this morning!
Lin ignored her subordinate's indignant look and read the document carefully. Permits, taxes, everything.
"How did he move so fast?" she wondered aloud.
What she had before her was the final confirmation of the property transfer of the Republic City Pro-Bending Arena —from the recently arrested Butakha, to Jin Beifong.
But Lin was sure her uncle had never even met that man. At least, not after his arrest.
"You just need to sign it, Chief," the man said, eager to leave and try to rinse and dry his uniform before the coffee dried. "It's just a routine step confirming that the arena meets the necessary safety standards."
As for the document, he had already verified its legitimacy himself.
Jin had taken advantage of legal loopholes and clauses to make Butakha legitimately lose ownership of the arena after being charged, which caused the property to be publicly auctioned.
Normally, this would've turned into a brutal bidding war that would have filled the city's coffers.
But for some mysterious reason, no one else seemed to receive the carefully written invitations. Jin, being the only bidder present —and with the city unable to postpone the auction to a later date— walked away with ownership of one of the most profitable places in the city for… fifty yuans.
Because he didn't have any smaller coins on him at the time.
It's said the auctioneer went pale and clutched his chest after completing the transaction, deciding to retire from the auction world altogether after what became the greatest stain on his career.
If Lin signed the document, the transfer would be immediate and effective.
Lin shook her head as she signed and handed the folder back. It seemed the stories her mother used to tell about Jin's business skills weren't exaggerated.
Recently, he had demanded an astronomical amount of money from Cabbage Corp, and just a few days later, he'd acquired the Pro-Bending Arena —the only one in the entire city.
"At least I'll be able to get free tickets if I ever want to watch a match instead of listening to it on the radio," she mused.
Not to mention, if she remembered correctly, her uncle had found a property yesterday to live on his own, and he was finalizing the purchase today.
She didn't know where it was, but Jin had already invited her to the housewarming party —and even offered for her to move in with him if she wanted.
Was she going to do it? No. She liked her own place, was used to it, and had a feeling Jin would need privacy if that "date" of his went well.
Or with Avatar Kyoshi. She was still processing that part.
…
…How were they even going to—? No. Better not think about it.
Wanting to change her train of thought, she moved on to the reports about infiltrators within the Equalists. Apparently, they were preparing to make a move soon, but no one had been able to pinpoint the exact location or what was going to happen.
While some saw them as people simply expressing their discontent, the truth was that they had already clashed with them several times, and Lin had confirmed they were learning to block chi.
They could be dangerous to benders —but luckily, her unit had metal armor, and it's not like they could punch through that, right?
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Is chapter 28 available in English for you yet? I've edited it several times, but I see that some people keep telling me it isn't, even though it's available in English for me. It's strange.