Strolling by the Seaside

Skill: Observational Power
Skill Level: Advanced
Function: Enhances attention, memory, and cognitive abilities through training and techniques, enabling the rapid detection of characteristics and anomalies in things.

Observational power is exceedingly crucial for a police officer.

When someone brushes past you on the street, you might only remember their gender, a general impression of their face, and the color of their clothes. As for specific details, you would likely find them hard to notice, and even if you did, you might not recall them clearly.

If that person happens to be a meticulously disguised suspect, you would very likely miss the opportunity to apprehend them.

Conversely, a person with strong observational skills sees things with greater precision, possesses a sharper mind, detects traits that ordinary people struggle to find, and judges the other person's identity with heightened accuracy.

This allows for the swift apprehension of suspects.

To give an even simpler example: if you throw a deck of playing cards into the air and try to pick out the Ace of Spades from the fifty-four cards before they hit the ground, an ordinary person would find their vision dazzled the moment the cards are tossed, making it utterly impossible to locate the Ace of Spades among more than fifty cards.

However, after prolonged and extensive training, someone with strong observational skills can still accomplish this feat.

There are typically five methods for training observational power, and this is one of them, known as "aerial scanning." Picking a single card out of a multitude is merely a foundational exercise. As the difficulty gradually increases, one might need to memorize the landing positions of multiple cards.

Having mastered the advanced observation skill, Han Bin looked at everything around him with a slightly different perspective, though it would take some time to fully adapt.

......

The next day, after taking Zhang Haiyan to identify the crime scene, the case was essentially concluded.

Dai Minghan arrived at the Special Investigation Team office and bestowed exceptionally high praise upon the Third Squad.

Simultaneously, it was announced that the Criminal Investigation Third Squad had been honored with the advanced collective title of "Police Star of the Month," while Han Bin received the title of "Advanced Individual."

Dai Minghan also stated that he would apply for a Collective Third-Class Merit for the Third Squad and an Individual Third-Class Merit for Han Bin.

Han Bin's Individual Third-Class Merit went without saying; whether in previous cases or these two homicides, he had made immense contributions to cracking the investigations.

As for the Third Squad's Collective Third-Class Merit, first, under Zheng Kaixuan's leadership, the five members of Han Bin's unit had solved two murder cases; second, Zeng Ping and Zhao Ying had not been idle either, leading the remaining squad members to crack two other criminal cases.

It could be said that every member of the Third Squad contributed to earning this Collective Third-Class Merit, and it was hard-earned.

Of course, this was still only in the application stage, and whether higher-ranking leadership would approve it remained to be seen.

This month was absolute harvest time for Han Bin. Regardless of whether he ultimately secured the Individual Third-Class Merit, the selection for the Police Star advanced award alone netted him a handsome bonus for the month.

With no active cases on his hands, Han Bin was able to leave work right on time.

After eating dinner, he sliced up a fruit platter, popped open a can of beer, and sprawled on the sofa to watch television, enjoying a rare moment of leisurely peace.

Han Bin put on a movie starring Jason Statham. Many of Jason's films were not released domestically, but whenever one made it to the screens, he always made time to visit the cinema.

He watched the older movie Crank. Both the first and second installments were classics, and Han Bin had already seen them two or three times. Although the plots were firmly etched in his memory, the fight choreography remained genuinely thrilling.

While watching the film, Han Bin also played on his phone, sending a message to Tan Jingya.

"What are you up to, beauty?"

Two minutes later, Tan Jingya replied: "Binging a show."

"What show?"

"Bones."

"That's quite a heavy taste," Han Bin remarked.

"Takes one to know one."

"What season are you on?"

"Bones is pregnant."

"Then you've still got a long way to go. Enjoy the binge."

The two exchanged casual banter. Although it didn't spark any grand chemistry, they at least shared some common ground.

Given that they had never met in person, after chatting for a bit, conversation began to run dry. Han Bin seized the opportunity to extend an invitation: "Are you free tomorrow? Let me treat you to dinner."

"I appreciate the thought, but let's skip the dinner. Eating out every day makes you sick of it ages ago. I've already bought groceries and plan to cook for myself tomorrow noon," Tan Jingya politely declined.

"Do you mind an extra pair of chopsticks?"

"I do."

Han Bin: "..."

After a brief moment of silence, Tan Jingya mused, "I've been busy with work lately and haven't been to the beach in ages. Want to go take a walk by the ocean?"

"Sure."

"Let's meet at the beach near Whale Mall, then."

"OK."

Ending the chat, Han Bin went back to the movie. He reached the scene with the old lady at the racetrack—that particular segment was a classic that made him laugh every single time he watched it.

......

The next morning.

Han Bin took a taxi to the vicinity of Whale Mall. The area around the mall was a bustling street of shops and snack vendors, located only about a hundred meters away from the coastline.

Arriving by cab, Han Bin walked onto the beach, where clusters of tourists were taking photographs by the shore. The ocean breeze blew against his face, carrying a distinct chill.

Han Bin always loved looking at the sea. Compared to the boundless ocean, human beings were so insignificant, and the worries and troubles in one's heart instantly became trivial, drifting away on the ocean winds.

"Ring, ring, ring..." His phone rang. Han Bin glanced down to see Tan Jingya's name on the caller ID.

Scanning his surroundings, he spotted a woman in the distance making a phone call. She wore a pink T-shirt and light-blue skinny jeans, boasting a tall, curvaceous figure. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, exuding a stylish, elegant, and goddess-like aura.

Han Bin pressed the answer button: "Hello."

"I've arrived. Where are you?"

"Right here." Han Bin waved at the beauty in the distance.

The woman put away her phone, slipped it into her small handbag, and walked toward the shoreline.

Han Bin smiled to himself, thinking his luck was pretty good today—at least it wouldn't turn into a comical farce like the female corpse case at the beach last time.

Tan Jingya walked up to him and glanced at her light-blue wristwatch: "Am I late today?"

"Not at all. I'm the one who came early," Han Bin said.

"I was actually a bit worried you'd stand me up again," Tan Jingya teased.

"To express my apologies, let me treat you to a cup of coffee," Han Bin proposed.

"Let's talk about that later. Let's walk along the beach first; I've been run ragged with work lately and I'm exhausted," Tan Jingya said, stretching lazily. Her alluring, curvaceous figure drew sideways glances from quite a few passersby.

Han Bin thought to himself that his mother actually had pretty good judgment, and perhaps he should listen to her suggestions more often in the future.

Tan Jingya took a few steps forward, turned her fair-skinned cheek, and asked, "By the way, I heard you're a criminal police officer?"

"Yes, at the Yuhua Precinct."

"What a coincidence. I'm a cop too," Tan Jingya said.

"Which department are you in?" Han Bin recalled his mother mentioning that Tan Jingya was a recent police academy graduate.

"Care to guess?"

"There are so many departments in the police system, guessing blindly isn't easy. But if we use the process of elimination, I'd say you definitely aren't a criminal investigator."

"Why? Do you think I'm incapable of being a criminal investigator?" Tan Jingya's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, as if she felt rather unconvinced.

"You really don't fit the profile of a criminal investigator," Han Bin said with a straight face.

"Then tell me, how do I not fit?" Tan Jingya batted her pretty eyes, her long eyelashes exceptionally lovely.

"First, your hair is a bit too long; it's inconvenient for operations," Han Bin noted.

"I tie my hair up in a bun when I'm on duty. It doesn't get in the way."

"Second, your skin is too fair. Criminal investigators are exposed to wind and sun; you couldn't maintain skin this delicate."

Tan Jingya raised her snow-white chin: "I was born with this beauty."

"Third, you're too pretty. You stand out far too much."

Tan Jingya: "..."