"Susie told a long ti ago, honey, please don't join the army.
They just like to make a fuss and fight.
They look a bit weird in their tight pants.
Their table manners are terrible and rude.
They have a passionate sense of humor, but their jokes are crude."
Jack had always thought the song the officers sang during drills was pretty weird, but that's how the instructors taught it, and everyone sang along. It was always the sa tune, and the instructors liked to change the lyrics, making them as vulgar as possible.
The slightly overweight middle-aged man next to him was singing with great enthusiasm, even though he was almost out of breath.
Three years later, Jack saw a familiar character from an Arican TV series again. His feelings were quite complicated. This middle-aged man was John Nolan, the protagonist of *The Rookie*.
This was the last Arican TV series Jack watched before his ti travel. He couldn't possibly rember the plot of each episode of this kind of episodic series, but when he saw John, he finally realized why Zoe looked so familiar.
Zoe was the police chief who was shot and killed by thugs while protecting John in the show. Jack didn't recognize her at first glance because the real Zoe was much younger and prettier than the actress.
"Hey, Jack, what are you thinking about? Today is the last driving test, do your best." Nolan put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him quickly towards the training ground.
"Thinking about how to beat you," Jack said.
Nolan, this oddball — a forr construction worker in his forties — ca to the police academy and competed with a group of young people. A group of students with an average age of 30 couldn't beat him. Except for the physical fitness test and the academic knowledge written test, Jack had to go all out in other events to get first place.
In yesterday's pistol shooting test, he was careless and Nolan took first place, costing him 4 experience points.
The experience points in this ridiculous system are very difficult to obtain. Passing the daily test only gives 1 experience point, and you have to get first place to get 5 points.
Jack was likely to fail his driving test again today. He'd barely driven in his previous life, and after transmigrating, he got his license again under Zoe's guidance, but he still hadn't bought a car. His driving skills, honed to a re "proficient" level under the guidance of the police academy instructors, were nowhere near John's level, a seasoned truck driver.
Seeing the indicator on the panel that upgrading the "proficient" skill to "master" would cost 5 system coins, Jack thought about it and gave up.
Although there were daily tests starting in week fifteen, he'd only accumulated 2 coins so far, far from enough.
If he could get two of the four comprehensive dals from the police academy upon graduation, it would be worthwhile for the spot Zoe had specially reserved for him.
Don't think Arican society is devoid of social niceties; Zoe must have owed a lot of favors for that reserved spot, and he didn't want to let her down.
Once he receives the system rewards for officially becoming a police officer, he'll consider upgrading his skills. Jack can't recall the plot point of Zoe's death, so he plans to max out his healing skills first, then keep a close eye on Nolan. If absolutely necessary, he'll even take a bullet for Zoe to avoid the plot-induced death.
After all, Zoe is the first woman in this world he was involved with.
Sure enough, after the driving test, Nolan, who ca in first, proudly danced around awkwardly, pointing at Jack with both hands: "The first round of drinks tonight is on you."
Jack rolled his eyes in annoyance.
[A/n: i will refer John Nolan as Nolan for the most of the ti as i am getting confused b/w john and jack. It may be for just , but who cares]
....
"I really don't understand, how did you, the youngest police academy cadet, and the oldest, beco such good friends?"
Jack, Nolan, and Lucy t up at a small bar tonight.
Lucy Chen, who has an Asian face, pointed back and forth between the two handso n, one young and one old, with her index finger, posing the probing question.
Jack shook his head, indicating that he didn't understand either, and gestured to ask Nolan.
Frankly, he initially approached Nolan intentionally so he could keep an eye on him and help rescue Zoe. Unexpectedly, they ended up becoming best friends among the trainees.
Nolan shrugged and glanced at him sideways. "Everyone looked at with pity or sympathy, thinking I was in police training at my age because I'd just gotten divorced and was experiencing a midlife crisis."
"Only Jack asked if n only truly think about doing sothing for the world when they reach middle age and shed the influence of hormones."
"Really?" Jack feigned confusion. "I rember asking if only middle-aged n turn their interest to things like upholding justice when they can't get it up?"
"Hey!" Nolan, embarrassed and angry, felt his dignity had been challenged, but he glanced guiltily at Lucy.
Lucy, laughing uncontrollably, secretly placed her hand on Nolan's thigh to comfort him.
Jack, observing the exchange between the two, gave a knowing smile. "So, how are you two going to shut up?"
He knew that at the beginning of the show, that Nolan and Lucy had a secret affair, and judging from their current appearance, they were probably already together.
Neither of them expected that Jack would see through their deception in just a few days. Lucy, feeling guilty, started making things up: "I have a few close girlfriends, all models."
Jack raised his right hand, rested it on his chin, narrowed his eyes slightly, and asked in a magnetic baritone voice, "Dear Lucy, look at . Do you think I look like soone who couldn't find a woman to have so fun?"
He finished speaking with a smile, revealing two shallow dimples and srizing smile.
Lucy's expression froze instantly; she even forgot to breathe, as her heart skipped a beat.
"Hey, you're cheating," Nolan quickly pulled Lucy close, asserting his ownership.
Jack, of course, had no interest in seducing Lucy. In fact, he had long been frustrated by the way Arican TV writers would create all sorts of random relationships when they couldn't co up with a story.
But now that he'd co to this strange world, he was quite interested in observing whether these flesh-and-blood characters would still be like puppets manipulated by writers in Arican TV shows, controlled by fate, or whether they would live their real lives according to their true personalities.
At least for now, Jack remained optimistic. For example, the original trio of rookie officers had lost one guy but gained him.
Then there was Hannah, the Texas girl he'd never seen in Arican TV shows, and the masses he saw — they all lived normal lives, with their own joys and sorrows.
....
"So we were tased, pepper-sprayed, and held in buckets of water until we suffocated, just to wear this thing in 35-degree heat in Los Angeles in August?"
Jack looked at the LAPD uniform in his hand with disbelief. This dark blue, almost black thing was actually made of wool.
"They said they have a short-sleeved version of the shirt, so you can choose whichever you like after you're out of your rookie status," Nolan, who was already eagerly getting dressed, said.
'F*cking kill already.'
Suppressing the swear word that was about to escape his lips, Jack reluctantly put on the $160 uniform, the biggest clothing expense he'd made since his transmigration. In fact, becoming an LAPD officer was expensive; the police academy training and uniform costs were nearly $10,000. If he hadn't sold the small apartnt and grocery store left by his parents, Jack would probably have had to take out a loan.
Fortunately, after becoming a police academy student, the LAPD started paying them salaries, and Jack still had so money left to cover rent.
"Wow, what a handso guy. You should really consider wearing that to Beverly Hills; I bet you could earn in one night what you'd make in several months as a cop," Nolan teased, seeing Jack dressed smartly.
Jack couldn't help but punch him on the shoulder: "You're not bad either. As far as I know, there are more wealthy old won there than in Foley Hill."
As a disciplined force, the Los Angeles Police Departnt places great emphasis on honor and a strong sense of responsibility. At the graduation ceremony, the trainees, abandoning their usual jovial deanor, sat upright and listened attentively to the instructions from senior officers.
This was also the first ti Jack had seen Zoe in uniform, exuding a cool, elite aura — this was probably the image she projected most often to outsiders as the highest-ranking commander of a Los Angeles Police Departnt precinct.
At the final awards ceremony, Jack and Nolan shared four overall dals, each of them snagging 2 each and Lucy also achieved top marks, which was quite an achievent for an woman in this physically demanding job.
Late at night, at Zoe's residence.
Sensing Zoe's sudden drop in mood, Jack gently stroked her smooth back and asked softly as they lay in bed, "What's wrong, princess?"
Zoe replied, blushing and angry, "Don't call that! That's what my dad' nickna. If he finds out you call that, you're dead. He'll blow your head off with his beloved Colt Python."
Ever since he accidentally learned Zoe's childhood nickna, Jack had often teased her like that when they were being affectionate.
They were silent for a mont, then Zoe suddenly cupped Jack's face in her hands, stared into his eyes for a long ti, and then pressed her pretty face against his chest again, quietly feeling the his heartbeat.
Noticing the dampness on his chest, Jack was a little surprised. "Honey, are you crying? What happened?" he asked, trying to look down. Zoe buried her head even lower, avoiding his probing gaze, before quickly wiping away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
"I just feel it's unfair to you to maintain this relationship, but I can't bear to lose you. Am I being too selfish?"
"Huh?" Jack looked puzzled, not understanding what this silly girl was talking about. Could girls really be love-struck or have such a pretentious streak?
Zoe angrily left a teeth mark on his chest: "We're about to be in a superior-subordinate relationship. You don't know what that ans, do you? Once our relationship is exposed, our careers will be completely ruined."
"So?" Jack was a little confused. He thought to himself that he'd seen plenty of outrageous relationships in Arican TV shows before. It was just a secret romance; as long as you were careful not to get caught, it would be fine.
But then he realized that Zoe was only 35 years old and already a precinct chief. This ant she had powerful connections at the top and would be under a lot of scrutiny.
"Then why did you specifically recruit into the Wilshire precinct?" Jack felt completely overwheld by this mature woman's contradictory actions.
"Back then, I thought you might just be having a fling with . After all, you're so young, maybe you'd get tired of soon, or break up with for Hannah, that's why I brought her with ."
"But I found that the longer I was with you, the less I wanted to leave you. I started to regret it. Seeing Hannah really fall for you, I started to be jealous of her, jealous of how young she was." Zoe's voice trailed off, becoming barely audible.
Jack was stunned. What kind of bizarre thought process was this? This silly girl had actually created a rival for her own affections?
Recalling his past with Zoe, Jack felt the problem might lie with him.
Initially, it was indeed a case of mutual benefit, but what could he do when a young body housed the soul of a middle-aged, warm-hearted man?
Seeing Zoe, this strong woman, busy with work, he would casually cook her sothing delicious. Noticing she didn't take care of her health, he would go to Little Tokyo to get so dicinal ingredients to make soup.
A while ago, he even used the guise of family-inherited dicinal wine to give her a massage a few tis, actually testing his healing skills to see if he could improve her skin. To be honest, after a few tis, his touch had noticeably improved her skin.
So he actually won over this stunningly beautiful woman? That's not how it's portrayed in Arican dramas!
Faced with this woman's advances, Jack couldn't possibly remain unmoved. While he'd been sowhat passive in matters of the heart in his past life, he was still quite adept at charming won.
Besides, won like Zoe, were incredibly rare. So what if she was older? Older won are more caring. She even sent him a Texas sweetheart as a backup plan before their breakup, fearing it would hurt him. Where could you find such a naive and sweet woman?
Thinking this, Jack decided to use his ultimate weapon from Arican dramas: he flipped Zoe over, pinned her beneath him, lowered his head, and whispered in her ear, "I love you, silly."
At the sa ti, he activated the system in his mind, too lazy to even check unread ssages or the experience points and system coins he'd earned from graduating from police academy. He directly selected the healing skill, upgrading it from proficient to master. Zoe was saved; as Jack said, even Jesus couldn't stop him.
Jack thought he'll use his "I love you" killer move less often in the future — it's too bad for his kidneys.
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