Chapter 1:Crossing the Line
Buzz——!
Blinding golden lightning burst abruptly across the phone screen.
Scorching white light swallowed Damon Hart’s entire field of vision. A violent, swirling vertigo crashed into his mind. The world around him plunged into pitch black in an instant, and his consciousness was torn away in the blink of an eye.
Time seemed to stand still for a heartbeat—or perhaps centuries slipped past.
At last, the silence broke. A clear, gentle voice with a Western accent drifted into his ears.
“Hey! Hart! Wake up, buddy.”
The fog shattered, and the haze slowly lifted.
Damon Hart strained to pry open his leaden eyelids.
A delicate, fair face was inches from his. It belonged to a young white woman, her soft golden hair spilling over her shoulders. A crisp white tailored shirt outlined a slender yet powerfully built frame.
Her clear blue eyes were fixed firmly on him, brimming with worry.
Julia Hayes.
The room around him reeked of foreign flair:European-style furniture, a vintage floor lamp, and beyond the window stretched the skyline of a city he had never seen before.
An unfamiliar world. An unfamiliar city. An unfamiliar face.
Fragmented memories surged forward, hammering against his fraying thoughts. One thought cut through the chaos, sharp and unshakable.
He had crossed over.
Straight into the most coveted, yet reviled territory of the Western Continent—the Star-Spangled Federation.
Soft beige carpet lay underfoot, and a heavy mahogany desk dominated the space. Behind it rose floor-to-ceiling windows, dark navy curtains blocking out the city’s roar.
It was classic, rugged American office decor, nothing like the home he had left behind.
He knew exactly where he was.
The uniform told him everything. The blonde woman standing before him wore the standard patrol uniform of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Another flood of memories settled seamlessly into his mind.
California. Los Angeles. The second-largest city in this nation.
Los Angeles Police Department.
The body he inhabited shared his name:Damon Hart, twenty-five years old. He had just survived the brutal LAPD recruitment process at the Edward Davis Training Center in Granada Hills, completing three months of all-encompassing police training. He was already proficient with his service weapon and chokehold restraint techniques.
Today was his first day on the job.
The woman behind the desk was his direct superior:Sergeant Julia Hayes, known around the precinct as“the station’s beauty.”Thirty years old, a rock-solid mid-level supervisor who controlled shift rosters, field assignments, and rookie training.
For all her soft demeanor, she was far from harmless.
Her resume was carved from granite. Two years of frontline patrol, during which she had been authorized to open fire on command. She had shot and killed multiple armed suspects on the street, landing her in the local newspapers more than once. That was why she had been pulled off the beat and moved into a supervisory role.
Sergeant Julia Hayes, Hart repeated silently, committing the name to memory.
“Officer Damon Hart, badge number 9527,”she said, her tone cool and businesslike.“Welcome to LAPD’s Major Crimes and Narcotics Division.”
Major Crimes and Narcotics.
The deadliest battlefield in the entire department. Gangs, drug lords, the kingpins of the city’s underworld. The division with the highest casualty rate. Most rookies would beg to be assigned to traffic enforcement instead.
But Damon Hart’s blood burned hot.
He understood the soul of the LAPD. Founded in 1853, for over a century and a half it had built its reputation on iron-fisted enforcement. Once criminal syndicates took root in the city, the LAPD struck without hesitation, caring little for the storm of public opinion they might stir up.
It suited him perfectly.
He had always hated evil with a passion. Those shadows that preyed on innocent ordinary people, bleeding them dry—they deserved nothing but harsh justice.
【Ding!】
【System Notice:Host has formally reported for duty at Major Crimes and Narcotics. Binding conditions fulfilled.】
【Congratulations. You have awakened the Purge System.】
A cold, mechanical voice, devoid of all emotion, echoed inside his head.
【System Description:The Purge System recognizes only one form of reward:the elimination of organized crime. Arrest or neutralize gang targets to earn experience points.】
【Level up to unlock enhanced physical attributes, skills, and equipment. Receive departmental commendations, promotions, or official medals to gain bonus experience and exclusive abilities.】
The rules were simple, brutal, and tailor-made for him.
Strike down the wicked, grow stronger.
Uphold justice, climb to the peak.
This set of rules fit him as perfectly as his uniform.
【Host Status Panel】
Field Assignment Info
Name:Damon Hart
Rank:Probationary Officer
Strength/Constitution/Agility:9/9/10(Human baseline:10)
Skills:Handgun Proficiency(Basic), Hand-to-Hand Combat(Basic)
Free Attribute Points:0
【Exclusive Talent:Scourge of Sin】
【Effect:Absolute suppression against all organized crime targets. When facing gang members, drug traffickers, and gang affiliates, overall intimidation is increased by 20%. Pursuit speed, striking power, and skill effectiveness receive a 20%boost.】
【Talent Note:Triggers during vehicle chases, close-quarters fights, and raid operations. Break their will first, then crush their bodies.】
Hart’s pulse quickened, and a sharp, knowing smile tugged at his lips.
A talent forged specifically to subdue villains—a blade hanging over the underworld.
Yet the smile faded quickly.
He had not crossed over here to stabilize the order of the Star-Spangled Federation.
If he wiped out every gang in the city, he would only be strengthening this place, making it safer and easier for them to control. The thought stirred an uneasy twinge in his chest.
【Ding! Supplementary System Clause.】
【Settlement rules are absolute and unchangeable:Experience is awarded only for organized crime targets whose crimes are legally established.】
【Rescuing civilians, general patrol work, community outreach—none grant experience.】
【This system is bound by no mortal morality. There are no public opinion penalties, no Internal Affairs repercussions. Excessive force, property damage, public scandals carry zero negative consequences.】
【From corrupt high-ranking officials in tailored suits down to street-level thugs; if they prey on the innocent, your judgment is your reward. The deeper their sin, the richer the reward.】
The last flicker of hesitation vanished.
So this was the game.
The system cared nothing for flags or borders. It only judged those who deserved to fall.
He would bring thunder and grind the darkness to dust.
And if the Federation’s existing order crumbled in the process?
He would watch it happen with cold indifference.
“Good,”he muttered quietly, a sharp, icy glint lighting up his eyes.
Every cancer festering in Los Angeles—every gang, every cartel, every well-dressed parasite—was now on his list.
One day, he would cleanse this city with his own two fists.
“Damon Hart?”
Sergeant Hayes watched him. He had zoned out mid-briefing.
Hart snapped back to attention, his spine straight, his gaze sharp.“Sergeant.”
He had already made up his mind. Julia Hayes was battle-tested, with years of experience against criminal syndicates. That kind of expertise was what every rookie dreamed of learning. He would study under her, borrow her edge.
Hayes’s gaze lingered on him for a beat longer, a flicker of undisguised approval crossing her face.
He was the most striking recruit in this intake. Sharp, defined features, an enigmatic mixed-race handsomeness. Standing six foot two, fitted in the dark navy uniform, he looked like a sheathed blade.
The precinct was filled mostly with thick-necked white veterans and paunchy old officers. Damon Hart stood out effortlessly, no effort required.
In this open-minded city, the single, accomplished, still young Julia Hayes, who craved a little thrill beneath her routine, felt a dangerous flutter in her heart.
If he turned out to be good, she thought to herself, I wouldn’t mind something beyond work between us.
She nodded toward the chair before her desk, her tone soft yet laced with unshakable authority.
“Sit.”