Misery Horror/Crime 1990
SlothfulxQuiet
## Annie Wilkes

Chapter 1: Taser! Taser!
"Huh? Where's my tattoo?!"
Zhao Yu rolled up his sleeves and was shocked by the sight of his own two arms, which were white and unblemished. Previously, they were covered by a tattoo of two Oriental Dragons, drawn by one of the most famous tattoo artists in the area. They looked intimidating, to say the least.
But...where were they now?
Zhao Yu raised his head and found himself sitting in a brightly lit office that was split into many small cubicles.
At the moment, the office was in a state of chaos--phones ringing nonstop, documents flying around, and a flurry of office workers running through the hallway, each of them with anxiety and exasperation written all over their face.
"Alright, alright, everyone, gather around!" A middle-aged man clad in a brown jacket appeared and directed everyone's attention. "Team Leader Qu Ping shall now describe to us the situation regarding Taser Rape Cases. Tonight, we're moving out, so everyone listen carefully!"
Another person quickly pulled over a whiteboard which was filled with words, along with many pictures posted on it.
Upon hearing the announcement, many workers quickly crowded around the whiteboard, pulling up chairs whenever convenient before sitting and watching intently.
As for Zhao Yu, he merely remained in his own seat.
At the moment, he was still in a state of shock. Zhao Yu touched his right ear--perfectly intact! As he remembered, his right ear should have been split in two during a scuffle with some runt.
Zhao Yu wished he could see his own face with a mirror or something. He looked around and his eyes fell on a photo sitting on the office desk. The photo depicted a young, handsome man wearing a police uniform, but the man looked exactly like himself!
Holy sh*t!
The shock was finally passing, and the man felt foreign memories flood his mind. Zhao Yu finally realized: Could it be? That he had encountered the legendary...Mind Cross Over?!
He could still clearly remember that he was previously the top strongman for the Qing Long Mafia, a true ruffian to the bone. Although his actual name was Zhao Yu, everyone called him King Fighter Zhao.
What happened right before?
Jesus Christ!
What Zhao Yu finally remembered came as a shock--he had already been subject to the death sentence by lethal injection!
The memories came back more clearly now: when the medicine slowly entered his body, and the slow spreading fear that came with it. He was muttering some old sayings, "Better an honorable death than living like a dog..."
But, mid-way through his muttering, how did he suddenly appear here?
Could he have actually crossed over into another body?
It was so sudden; there were no warnings or signs, or even reincarnation into a baby.
With new memories entering his mind, he was shocked to realize that not only did he still reside in the regular world, but his current identity was an investigator in the Key Case Investigation Unit. In other words, he was a police officer!
So, where he was sitting was the office of a police station.
Jesus Christ.
Zhao Yu could not believe his eyes, from a street ruffian to a Key Case Investigation Unit member, h-how could this be? The contrast made his head spin.
The man ran a hand over his head; he previously had many blade injuries on his head that messed up his hairline. That has lead to his baldness--both for convenience and intimidation. But now, he possessed long, jet black hair, presenting the image of a handsome young man.
"Everyone, since the twelfth of this month, our city has had three cases of Taser Rape incidents." At this time, a female investigator with short hair and large eyes was briefing everyone about the situation surrounding their mission.
Zhao Yu quickly found the female investigator within his memory: she was the Team leader of the Key Case Investigation Unit, Team B. Despite her youth, she possessed a sharp mind and incredible nerves, contributing to her high success rate in crime solving. The woman was also incredibly popular with the higher-ups. Usually, any cases that required full team cooperation were led by her.
"The victims have always been scantily dressed young females, usually with some problematic habits," Team Leader Qu Ping started her introduction. "The crime scenes were usually places such as bars and the like. The crimes were all committed after midnight."
"According to our victim's description, the perpetrator first followed her into an empty alley, then knocked her out with a taser shock before proceeding to rape her. After the act, the perpetrator then peed on the victim."
Upon hearing the word "peed", the entire crowd turned quiet.
"We've run tests on the urine sample," Qu Ping continued, "and have concluded that all three cases were indeed done by the same person. Also, when the third victim woke up in the middle of the crime act, she managed to scratch the perpetrator's face during the ensuing struggle. With this, we have also obtained blood samples as well."
Team Leader Qu Ping was still explaining the situation in front of the white board when the previous middle-aged man wearing the brown jacket suddenly turned his head towards Zhao Yu. The man waved his hand absentmindedly and commanded, "Hey, Kid, tonight we're definitely working overtime. Why don't you run along and get us some coffee?"
Zhao Yu threw a glance at the man; he was the Key Case Investigation Unit's vice-captain, Liu Changhu. During Zhao Yu's internship here, the man often bullied Zhao Yu, forcing him to do menial work more like a servant than anything.
Also, the Zhao Yu of this world was not some ruffian or fighter, but a weak-willed boy who had just recently completed his internship towards becoming a full-fledged cop. Not just Liu Changhu, but many other more experienced co-workers often teased him as well, giving him work that was obviously not his responsibility.
"Oi! Hurry up!" Liu Changhu's smile faded when he saw Zhao Yu's lack of reaction. "Didn't you hear me? What're you spacing out for?"
This Zhao Yu now was no longer just the spineless wimp he used to be. How could he start letting them push him around? The man slammed his hands loudly on the table and stood up in one swift motion.
His sudden action had shocked Liu Changhu, even Team Leader Qu Ping could not help but pause and turn to look at him.
"I- I'll do it instead!"
No one expected the interruption when a bell-like, feminine, voice rang out as the Team stared at Zhao Yu. Everyone watched as a slightly chubby, ponytailed female, wearing a huge pair of glasses came into view.
The girl's name was Li Beini, a new intern at the Key Case Investigation Unit. Unfortunately, she was also a little eager. It had not even been a month since she had started, but she was already head over heels in love with Zhao Yu.
It was not much of a surprise, though. Despite Zhao Yu's weak personality making him a constant target of bullying, he was easy on the eye, to say the least: 5' 10'' tall, elegant, young, and handsome. The man was definitely the type to turn heads on the street.
When Li Beini saw her crush become the target of the verbal attack, she quickly stepped forward to help, "Vice-Captain Liu, I, I will go instead! I'm still an intern, these kinds of chores were mine to begin with!"
The girl flashed a smile at Zhao Yu before leaving for the lobby to make coffee.
Seeing the girl leave, Liu Changhu shot Zhao Yu an angry look before turning away. Zhao Yu also realized this was not the best situation to unleash his anger, and calmed himself enough to sit down. He was still considering the whole situation. Despite his transition, his memories were crystal clear, because only a few minutes ago he was on death row.
The him from the previous life was prosecuted for murder, although Zhao Yu knew himself that he was framed. The victim was the boss of a real estate conglomerate. Zhao Yu was only following the orders from higher-ups to rough them up a little, but there was no way he could have caused their death.
Besides, even if it was death by battery, it would have been manslaughter. There was no way it would be prosecuted as murder! Therefore, his death sentence was clearly due to some outside influence!
Remembering this much, Zhao Yu could not help the rage flaring within him. His knuckles cracked with force as he tightened his fist. If he found the people who framed him, he would make them pay!
At this time, Li Beini came back with everyone's coffee, distributing them among all the workers. The girl's face overflowed with enthusiasm. She even gave out appreciative comments like, "Thank you for your hard work!" and "Good luck!" as she gave each person their coffee.
Finally, she stepped in front of Zhao Yu, winking at him as she put the last cup of coffee before him and lowered her voice, "Officer Zhao, this cup has two bags of sugar in it! We will definitely be working overtime tonight, but I believe you can do it!"
Even before Zhao Yu showed any reaction, the girl had already turned around to put the plate away, with a smile on her face.
Captain Qu Ping had finished explaining the case, and stepped aside to give the floor to Captain Jin Zhenbang, the top brass of the investigation unit. Captain Jin was already over fifty years old, with peppered gray hair. The man was immensely serious during work, rarely cracking a smile.
"So basically, everyone will be quite busy!" Captain Jin spoke in a resounding, formal tone, "This Taser case had already occurred three times, any more offenses and it will become a serial offense. We cannot take this responsibility. We must try to take care of this case as fast as possible, so everyone please stay alert."
"Then Team A is responsible for evidence gathering. Since the culprit followed the victims, he must have appeared at the bar the victims had frequented. Search through all the camera recordings, find this person! Not only that, but also check all the cameras near the bar, and car registrations. Do not let a single trace of evidence escape."
"Understood!" all the officers confirmed.
"Team B, your responsibility lies in cross-examination," Captain Jin commanded. "We don't have any data on the culprit's blood, so we cannot use blood comparison. However, the culprit's urine is an important piece of evidence. Even though we cannot find any match with the basic tests in the station, we can ask hospitals and other medical centers for possible matches. As long as the culprit has had a body examination before, we can definitely pin him down!"
"Of course!"
"Also, the taser used by the culprit, all the cell phone signals within the area, and the victim who saw the culprits face, this evidence cannot be ignored. Make sure to have people check through all of them!"
"Yes!"
"Alright then, now that every Team has been assigned their job, there shouldn't be any problems. Please head out as soon as possible." The man finished up his speech and closed his notes, ready to turn around and leave right away.
No one expected a dissenting voice to speak out in the crowd.
"Hold up, there's a problem!"
Everyone turned their head to see the source of the voice was none other than Zhao Yu.
Even Captain Jin paused shortly in confusion, but urgently asked: "What is it, Zhao Yu? What seems to be the problem?"
"Me!" Zhao Yu pointed at himself. "I'm feeling under the weather right now, so I'll be taking my leave. You all can enjoy yourselves and take care."
2
Zhao Yu's words instantly made the entire office deathly silent.
The group of investigators who were ready to start working all froze in place, staring at Zhao Yu in disbelief.
In their eyes, the man must have been crazy. Captain Jing was the top brass of the Key Case Investigation Unit. The investigation plan had already been set in motion, yet Zhao Yu was suddenly asking for the day off? Not only that, but to say it so boldly, how foolish could he be?
Besides, even if it really was some kind of emergency, there was no need to bother Captain Jing about it; usually just letting a Group Leader know would suffice. To ask for work leave from the Captain himself as Zhao Yu had done was no different than taunting the Captain.
And of course, hearing Zhao Yu's discurtious tone, Captain Jing's expression darkened immediately.
"Oi…" Vice Captain Liu Changhu jumped at the opportunity. The man tilted his head and yelled, "Zhao Yu, are you crazy? Looks like your recent promotion to an official officer has gone to your head. Don't you see everyone's trying their best to catch the criminal?! To ask for the day off right now, how could you face yourself?"
With vice-captain Liu's words, other investigation members also began taunting him, pointing fingers at Zhao Yu in dissatisfaction.
Captain Jing only shook his head in annoyance before turning and leaving the lobby.
"You see?" with the captain gone, Vice Captain Liu was even more conceited. Pointing a finger at Zhao Yu, he laughed coldly, "Zhao Yu, kiddo, you're just being foolish now. Asking for a day off just because you are feeling under the weather? Where are you uncomfortable? Cramps? Do you need someone to buy you some pads?"
Vice Captain Liu's words became increasingly crass. The lobby rang out in laughter with his words.
But suddenly, among the laughter, Zhao Yu unexpectedly picked up a glass full of coffee and threw it straight at Liu Changhu's head!
Liu Changhu was caught off guard by the projectile, and quickly held up his hand to brace against it, but even though he blocked the glass cup, the boiling coffee spilled all over him.
The cup smashed into pieces as it fell onto the ground.
"Zhao Yu, have you gone mental?!" Liu Changhu's rage flared. He was about to point at Zhao Yu and give him a lecture when Zhao Yu charged at him; like a beast, he roared and rammed straight into Liu Zhang-Hu with his shoulder, sending the vice-captain flying back.
Liu Zhang-Hu's back crashed harshly into the whiteboard, sending the object rolling back a fair distance.
"F*ck off, stupid po-po!" Zhao Yu pointed right at Liu Changhu and cursed wildly, "Liu, I've already tolerated you for far too long! Who the hell do you think you are? Didn't you say you like coffee? Had enough yet?"
Zhao Yu's sudden outburst stunned all the investigators around him. No one expected it. The usually mild-mannered Zhao Yu, how did he become so violent?
"Zhao Yu, you, you maniac!" As the vice captain of the Key Case Investigation Unit, how could Liu Changhu tolerate such disrespect? His face was like a tomato as he got to his feet again, ready to fight with Zhao Yu.
Yet Zhao Yu was the strongest strongman around; he had little to fear as he stepped forward, prepared for the death brawl.
At this time, other investigators could no longer stand and watch, they all quickly stepped forward to stop the escalating situation. However, everyone only wanted to please the vice captain, trying to restrain Zhao Yu and letting the vice captain take a few swings at Zhao Yu to save the vice captain's face.
Yet against their expectations, Zhao Yu's strength was unbelievable. With just a swing of his arm, the investigators, who were all physically fit, were all sent flying to the side. Someone even slammed into a cubicle, sending a computer crashing into the ground, breaking the monitor.
Within moments, the office was filled with chaos. Even group leader Qu Ping stepped forward to try to diffuse the situation. Li Beini hurried towards Zhao Yu instead.
"You stupid po-pos!" Zhao Yu roared, pointing a finger at the crowd, "All the times you've abused me, I remember them all! I'm warning you now, if anyone still has the nerve to mess with me after today, don't blame me if I don't hold back!"
Zhao Yu's violent words had Zhao Beini frozen in fear. All the investigators were in a state of confusion. No one could figure out why the previously gentle and meek Zhao Yu had become so wild.
"Zhao Yu!" Liu Changhu's lips were shaking in anger. "You, I see you don't want to work here anymore!"
"Who the hell cares?!" Zhao Yu's eyes bulged as he shouted back in disdain, "This is the Key Case Investigation Unit? Blah! Me being a po-po, I can't even face the shame!"
Finishing his outburst, Zhao Yu pushed up his sleeves, even whistling a little as he made his way out of the office. As he exited, he purposely slammed the security door harder than he needed to, making the entire office shake for a while.
Only after he had been gone for some time did someone dare to speak out weakly, "Did Zhao Yu go wrong in the head? What police officer calls themselves po-po?"
"Yeah! He was so gentle before, how did he turn out like this? Almost like some kind of thug!"
"Zhao…Zhao Yu…" Vice Captain Liu was shaking in anger. He grinded his teeth as he yelled, "You! Just you wait!"
Sending the police station into a state of chaos gave Zhao Yu great satisfaction, but the confusion in his mind did not cease.
He was not sure how he crossed into such a regular world? Not only that, what happened to the Zhao Yu that had his body stolen? In this kind of situation, did it count as possession, or reincarnation?
The new memories told him that the Zhao Yu of this world had the same birthday as himself, was born in the countryside, had aged parents, and a poor living situation.
The two had the same starting point, but as they grew, they walked two completely different paths in life.
One chose to fight and die in the streets, becoming a street thug; the other excelled in school and entered the Public Security University of China, becoming a proud member of the society, and then a policeman.
This sort of crossover was beyond ironic. Before, he was always tailed by the police, but his role had reversed completely. Now he was a police officer himself.
"Don't tell me. I will have to chase down other thugs with a gun now?" Thinking far ahead, Zhao Yu couldn't help but contemplate his own future. Now that he had crossed over, what was he supposed to do? Should he leave the police and go back to his thug life? Or keep his job, and have a stable income?
Thinking back and forth, Zhao Yu quickly came to a brilliant decision, "Screw it all, first things first, to celebrate the successful crossover, let's enjoy life for the moment!"
Before his execution, he had to sit in jail for two whole years. It had been a long time since he had lived freely. He was not exactly hungry right now, but there were other bodily needs he craved.
And so, Zhao Yu waved down a cab, planning on having some fun in the red-light district. First, take care of his own bodily needs; other problems he could worry about later.
The car engine started up with a hum, Zhao Yu saw a pack of smoke besides the driver, and took one without even asking, dangling it in his mouth.
The driver was fairly gracious too, even handing Zhao Yu his lighter.
Zhao Yu clicked the lighter on and lit his own cigarette. But only inhaling once, he started coughing violently as if he was choking.
Zhao Yu felt like he was going to cough his own lungs out, the feeling was unbelievably unpleasant.
"Jesus Christ!" The man cursed to himself. Could it be that the Zhao Yu of this world had not even smoked before?
Unexpectedly, he barely finished his thoughts when he felt a rumbling in his mind, followed by a clear, androgynous voice speaking out suddenly, "Miracle System successfully engaged, randomizing."
"What the hell was that?" Zhao Yu turned to the cab driver, but the driver's blank expression told him that he had no idea what Zhao Yu was talking about.
Zhao Yu suddenly realized, only he could hear the voice just now.
"Gen Dui Hexagram" The voice in his mind was loud and clear, "'Gen' for mountain, and 'dui' for lake. Lake in the mountain, not hard to find. You are blessed. Good luck with come. Take it easy."
The words were spoken quickly, and stopped within a few seconds, returning to silence.
Zhao Yu gaped, he didn't remember a single word of what was said. "What the hell was that?"
Why were there voices in his head?
'Am I going crazy? Wait!' Suddenly, Zhao Yu remembered the first few words, "Miracle System!"
"Miracle System?! Oh!" Zhao Yu finally remembered the familiar routine, in all the crossover dramas he had watched, there were always some magical system that appeared. Using this system, promotions, and escaping crimes were all easily achievable!
'Aha…Holy Sh*t!'
He had obtained the Miracle System?
"But…This Miracle System…what does it do?"
Chapter 3: True Love? Priceless: A Night? Three Thousand!
Since this is the Miracle System, should there be some sort of introduction?
But when Zhao Yu tried to search through his mind, there was no such thing. He could not even recall the strange voice that had just spoken to him.
He angrily slapped his head over and over, but there was no change.
"What the hell is this!"
Just now the voice spoke too quickly. He did not even hear it completely, only remembering a few words related to the lottery. He could not help but think, could it be that the so-called Miracle System was just some lottery system?
If so, did I win the jackpot, or the complete opposite?
Hmmm…
Zhao Yu could not help but feel a little disappointed. Even if he had won some sort of system, it was probably the easiest one to win in history.
He tried to smoke a few more puffs, but realized that after his violent cough session just now, the cigarette was already extinguished.
He sighed heavily. He returned to searching through his memory, and realized the Zhao Yu of this world was in a terrible financial situation--living in the work dorms, eating in the Police Station cafeteria, and he did not even have a thousand dollars worth of savings.
Looking at the situation, it seemed like his only source of income was the salary from the police station.
How sad!
Back when he was a thug, every day was a feast. Even though he did not live in any fancy houses, there were hot girls here and there and every night was always a party. His life could have been compared to that of a king's.
Compared to now, it seemed like his old life was much better. But back then, every day was death match after death match; the danger level was much higher than just being a policeman. Also, there were too many scums; it was easy to just die because of some hidden agenda--he was a living example of such!
Zhao Yu quickly scanned through his memories, and realized the current world and his old one were not very different except for a few details. Although they lived in the same city, there were not any familiar faces or places from his previous life, none of the old gangs existed, and of course, none of his old friends or underlings.
But even if they did, none of them would recognize Zhao Yu now, because the current Zhao Yu was a policeman!
He sighed again. "Let's not think about this anymore!"
Zhao Yu turned his eyes to the front. The car was not far from the most infamous red-light district within the city. He figured he would first play around for a bit and have some fun before he would worry about anything else!
After the car stopped, Zhao Yu put the cab driver's pack of cigarettes and lighter in his own pocket. When the man saw twenty-nine displayed on the fare meter, he quickly pulled out his police badge.
"Key Case Investigation Unit on the job! Thank you for your cooperation!" Zhao Yu spoke with a stern expression, "I've already memorized your plate number, just wait for your Exemplary Citizen Certificate!" Ignoring the driver's confused expression, he opened the car door and disappeared.
In his memory, the old Zhao Yu was a goody two shoes--he never would have come to this sort of dubious place. But the current Zhao Yu was experienced, and he knew all the fun places could not be found by walking through the front door.
So, the man turned into a hidden alley. It did not take long for him to find a small iron door with a few youngsters standing in-line outside.
Even though the small iron door looked rather dingy, what was behind it was without a doubt a luxurious location.
Zhao Yu had no patience to wait in line, and walked straight towards the entrance.
The door was guarded by a muscular staff member with a nose ring who blocked his path, "Sir, our bar is members only. Are you a member?"
"F*ck off!" Zhao Yu simply cursed him out, nearly spitting on the man's face. He pushed the man aside, then pulled the iron door open and strutted in without a care.
In Zhao Yu's perspective, some rules simply did not apply to him. Despite the burly build of the staff member with the nose ring, he was not sure what to make of Zhao Yu, so he could only watch as the fearless man disappeared out of sight.
Inside was indeed a luxurious private bar. Many colored lights reflected on the wine glasses, magnificent decorations all around, emotions ran high, and scantily clad youngsters were enjoying themselves on the dance floor, shouting non-stop.
Zhao Yu knew these sorts of bars usually were not run by upstanding businesses, but by some powerful mafia groups. From property rights to management, everything was within their control. Back when he was on the streets, Zhao Yu commanded many of these kinds of places just by himself--he could be considered a pro at this!
Of course, he also knew that within some of these darkened, private rooms, there were always many illegal activities occurring. If you wanted to catch criminals, it was like a dime a dozen in these places.
But today, Zhao Yu was only here to enjoy himself. He only wanted to satisfy his manly urges. After making a few rounds around the bar, he quickly found his target.
Sitting in front of the bar was a slim, dainty female. The woman wore a black-and-white striped, business casual outfit. She was slightly plump, elegantly postured, with a face to match her beautiful figure.
Her cheeks were reddened, with many wine glasses laid before her; it was clear she had been drinking more than a little.
Girls like these were easy targets. Zhao Yu was celebrating inside--he should be able to take care of this fast and easy.
"Hey beautiful, are you by yourself?" The man barely took a seat before he started his classic pick-up lines, "How about a drink or two with me? I know some amazing cocktail recipes. Are you interested in trying some?"
The woman had a spacey look on her face as she looked at Zhao Yu contemplatively, smiled, and hiccuped, "Sorry handsome, your pick-up line was wasted! Haha, I'm not just some pure and pretty face. I'm not here for a date!"
Oh…
As soon as the woman opened her mouth, Zhao Yu understood. This woman was not some innocent drunk girl--she was here for business.
Originally, Zhao Yu was just here to pick up a pretty girl, and he had no intention to pay for it.
He thought about changing his target, but was somewhat bitter. Firstly, the woman simply stood out too much, there were no other girls there that could match her looks. Secondly, everyone else was already paired up. So it would be hard to engage other girls in any conversation.
Ah!
Zhao Yu made his decision--as long as it felt good, what's some money! He would consider it a celebration for himself for successfully crossing over!
And so, he sat right beside the woman, continuing the conversation. "Hey beautiful, so those feelings of yours, how much are they?"
"Ha!" The beauty laughed coldly, readily putting up three fingers, "True love? Priceless. one night? Three thousand! Also, I won't go home with you, or to some cheap motel. Four-stars and up or bust!"
"Holy sh*t!" Zhao Yu slammed the table, "Is this a robbery? Three thousand? Four-star hotel? My God! Say, do you do discounts?"
"Handsome, I can tell you're in this business!" The woman did not even bat an eyelash. "You should know, with this price, there's no discount! If you have the guts and the money, we leave now, and I guarantee you will be satisfied. If not, move out of the way and don't waste my time!"
"My God." Zhao Yu searched through his memory, and realized that even if he put his entire savings together, it was not even enough for a motel. So, he could only angrily yell at the woman, "Okay, I've decided to leave!"
Little did he know, it seemed as if someone had overheard their conversation. Zhao Yu had only just moved aside when a man clad in a brand name suit came with a wad of cash and sat in Zhao Yu's seat.
"Let's go, girly!" The man chewed his gum and slapped down the cash, "There's no money concern with me. Tonight in Shangri-La, we go round after round, how about it?"
.
When the woman saw the money, her spacey expression vanished, instantly replaced by liveliness. She pretended to nod her head coyly, and left with the rich man without any hesitation.
The woman didn't even look at Zhao Yu as she left. Zhao Yu's frustration was insane. He clenched his fist and angrily stared as the foxy pair left and told himself, "Gold diggers! The less I see them, the better!" But as he stared, he saw a man sitting at the bar.
The man was wearing a black windbreaker and a baseball cap. His head was down, and the collar of the windbreaker was propped up, covering most of his face, only revealing two gloomy eyes.
The man's eyes never left the gold digger who was just drinking, now that the beauty was leaving, his eyes followed the woman into the distance, as if deeply entranced.
Because the beauty was leaving from Zhao Yu's side, as the strange man's eyes followed the woman, he and Zhao Yu's gazes suddenly met.
"What the hell are you looking at?!" Zhao Yu had thought the man was mocking him, and immediately flipped him off.
The man in the wind breaker shook a little as if surprised, then immediately stood up and left, disappearing within moments.
Zhao Yu ordered one of the cheapest cocktails, wanting to quench his own thirst, but his mind immediately jumped to a very important issue.
'Holy Sh*t! That guy in the windbreaker; could it be that guy?'
4
Could there really be such a coincidence in the world?
Zhao Yu tried to convince himself otherwise--he was probably thinking too much. There was no way. He had just finished listening to the briefing for the Taser Rape Criminal Case, and had he really seen the culprit himself?
Those kind of odds must be smaller than winning the lottery!
Zhao Yu held the wine glass in his hand, yet he could not drink properly at all. The man in the windbreaker was just too suspicious!
Baseball cap, lowered head, gloomy expression, and that suspicious feeling.
Zhao Yu thought about group leader Qu Ping's case briefing. The Taser Rape Case victims were all females with questionable habits. It fit that gold digger perfectly.
Not only that, but the culprit's face had been scratched, and the man in windbreaker was covering his face with his collar. Could it be?
Could it really be that the male in the windbreaker was the Taser Rapist?
Having come to that thought, Zhao Yu could no longer sit around. He figured even if he was wrong, he still had to take a look. He put down his wine goblet and quickly went in the direction where the male with the windbreaker had run off to.
The bar exit was a plain, small iron door, similar to the entrance. Zhao Yu rushed out and immediately emerged into a narrow, dark alley.
It was already 10:00 at night, and the alley was deathly quiet. Zhao Yu looked both ways. Using the moonlight, he quickly saw the shadow of someone fleeing past on his right.
"Huh?" Zhao Yu paused for a moment, even more suspicious now. He quickly ran in that direction.
Chasing and being chased were both Zhao Yu's previous specialty. Not only was he fast, but he was also light on his feet, and there was no sound in his pursuit.
The shadow had disappeared to another small and dark alley. The alleyway headed straight towards the parking lot.
When Zhao Yu walked past a green trash can, he suddenly saw someone on the ground. It was the rich man who had just left with the gold digger.
But right now, he was lying face up, completely out cold.
'Holy sh*t!' Zhao Yu was stunned. By the way the man laid stiffly on the ground, Zhao Yu was eighty percent sure that the man had just been knocked out with a taser!
If the man was already tasered, then what about the woman?
Zhao Yu lowered his head and stared into the darkness. He could not see anything, but he heard shuffling from around a corner somewhere ahead.
'Holy Mother of Jesus!'
Had he really hit the bullseye?
Zhao Yu couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He looked to the side again and conveniently noticed a short rod, which he picked up.
He tiptoed towards the corner nervously, and poked his head out. He suddenly saw the man in the windbreaker from the bar on the ground messing with something.
Taking a closer look, Zhao Yu could see the gold digger was already knocked out on the ground, and the male in the windbreaker was hurriedly removing her clothing!
Zhao Yu's eyes bulged. There was no question now. What was happening before him explained everything. The Taser Rapist that the police were trying so hard to catch was currently right in front of him!
"Alright, kiddo!" Zhao Yu thought to himself. "Meeting me here today, you should count yourself unlucky! It's time to eliminate the enemy of the public!" Beating people up was Zhao Yu's specialty. He moved forward in one swift step, and before the man in the windbreaker could react, Zhao Yu slammed the stick into the back of his head.
Zhao Yu was strong to begin with, but he was even more forceful using the rod. With a loud clacking sound, the stick had even broken in half!
The man in the windbreaker had not expected the ambush, and jumped up in surprise. He then glared at Zhao Yu with a look of immense evil, the taser in his hand rattling menacingly.
"No way?!" Zhao Yu thought. He was thunderstruck, and stared blankly at the man in the windbreaker. "How can it be that the man is unharmed? Was his skin made of iron or something?"
But the man in the windbreaker glared at Zhao Yu for two more seconds, then his eyes rolled backwards, his legs gave out, and he fell to the ground completely out cold!
Zhao Yu let out a long breath of relief, then quickly pulled out his phone.
-
An hour later, Zhao Yu was back in the police station office.
Right now, the office was in even more commotion than before. All the investigators were nervously waiting for comparison results.
Li Beini's cute, large eyes were wide as she gave a thumbs up, "Senior, you're amazing! To catch the criminal singlehandedly! So, when you said you wanted the day off, was it to hide your true intention? Tell us, did you already find the information about the criminal long ago?"
He was not sure why, but Zhao Yu felt nothing for cute girls like Li Beini. Maybe it was her lackluster figure, or that she looked too young, or maybe too average?
Seeing her talking nonstop, Zhao Yu was somewhat annoyed and spoke up, "Can you go make some coffee for me?"
"Sure! Sure!" Li Beini could not have been happier as she ran towards the break room.
At this time, Liu Changhu spoke to no one in particular, "Hmph, don't be too happy too early! We're still not sure whether we caught the criminal or not! If it was a mistake, someone's in big trouble!"
The words were clearly directed at Zhao Yu, but right now, Zhao Yu was exhausted, and simply ignored him.
But right as Liu Changhu finished, group leader Qu Ping excitedly ran into the lobby and exclaimed, "Comrades! The results are out: blood and urine both match, as does the taser type. We can assuredly say that this person is the culprit of the Taser Rape Case! Case closed!"
Hearing this, the office broke out in clapping, some happy, some excited, and some jealous, but everyone's eyes all turned towards Zhao Yu.
Just an hour ago, Zhao Yu had fought with the vice captain over asking for the day off. No one could have expected that only an hour later, the person who solved the case so quickly was also Zhao Yu!
Everyone was definitely confused. Everyone wondered what kind of method Zhao Yu had used to catch the culprit.
"Yay! That's great, officer Zhao!" Li Beini placed the coffee in front of Zhao Yu, complimenting him excitedly, "Congratulations! Once you get your reward money, don't forget to invite us out for some food!"
"Reward money?" Zhao Yu thought back, indeed, the investigation unit had a rule. Usually the officer who caught the criminal would be awarded prize money based on the situation. Not only that, but it would also be recorded in their records, greatly helping them with promotions or exams later on.
'There's money to be made catching criminals? Good! Good!' The side of Zhao Yu's mouth tilted up, and he threw a glance at Vice Captain Liu. Liu Changhu was unhappy to begin with. Seeing Zhao Yu taunt him, he crossed his arms, no longer speaking.
"The culprit's taser was modified by himself. The voltage goes up to 30,000 volts which can instantly knock a person out!" Group leader Qu Pin continued, "The culprit's name is unknown. We only know that he is a high school student, but he could've stopped going to school. Due to the injury, the culprit is currently in the emergency room while under surveillance, and currently cannot be questioned. Little Zhao, your attack was a little too strong!"
"What? Too strong? You've already said it! A 30,000 volt taser. How could I not?" Zhao Yu spoke confidently, "If I didn't knock him out, I could've been the one in trouble!"
"The doctor said because of that one hit, he probably will take two to three days to regain consciousness!" Qu Ping smiled, having no intention of blaming Zhao Yu. She turned to Liu Changhu and requested, "Vice captain, tonight we need someone on duty at the hospital, can you arrange it?"
Liu Changhu nodded, but his eyes lit up and he hurriedly turned to Zhao Yu. "Alright then, little Zhao, since you caught the guy. Tonight, how about you work a little more and guard the culprit too?"
"Ahhh," Zhao Yu simply ignored him, stretching instead, then spoke lazily, "I'm tired, you guys can do whatever! I already caught the culprit for you guys. I'm going to go and take a good nap now. Ah-ha."
"You!" Liu Changhu's face twisted in anger. "Zhao Yu, this is a police station, we have our rules, what kind of attitude is that? What? You caught a criminal, and now you're the king of the world? Hmph! If you ask me, you probably just got lucky, so what's there to be proud of? Oh right, just before, who was it that said they didn't care about being a police officer? Who-"
Liu Changhu was talking excitedly, but faltered when he saw Zhao Yu grab his glass cup, still filled with coffee. He flinched, then reflexively backed way, ducking behind the side of a cubicle.
Zhao Yu picked up the glass cup quickly, but raised it to his mouth and took a gulp, having no intent of throwing it.
With this, Liu Changhu felt even more awkward hiding behind the desk.
Zhao Yu had wanted to tease Liu more, but as the coffee entered his stomach, a clear, crisp voice suddenly spoke, "Today's Adventure was completed. Completion rate: seventy-five percent. Congratulations, obtained one invisible item, please accept!"
5
Another voice!
"Again?!" Zhao Yu was caught off-guard. He had wanted to listen more carefully, but the voice disappeared as suddenly as it came, returning to silence.
"Reward?!" The man only remembered the word reward. Reward, reward, where are you?
Just as he was thinking of the word, his mind suddenly displayed a virtual image. There was a small, round black ball displayed on the image in 3D.
Zhao Yu clicked on the black ball using his thoughts, and a voice suddenly rang out in his head, "Invisibility Eavesdropper device. One time use. After usage, allows for invisible eavesdropping, completely undetectable. Lasts forty-eight hours."
"What? What?" Zhao Yu was puzzled by the sudden introduction, and hurriedly clicked on the ball again, causing the voice in his head to replay the description of the Invisibility Eavesdropper device.
"Officer Zhao, I put two bags of sugar in this cup of coffee again!" Li Beini watched Zhao Yu's spacey expression, and assumed he was simply enjoying the coffee too much.
Zhao Yu was instantly pulled back to reality, and was dismayed by the crowded noise around him. He wanted to find a quieter place and ponder this new development. Ignoring Liu Changhu's unpleasantry, and Li Beini, he stood up and left the office.
Yet, as he exited the room, he came face to face with Captain Jing Zhenbang. Zhao Yu had never been close with the captain, so he lowered his head and tried to walk past him.
Unexpectedly, Captain Jing blocked him from leaving and asked, "Zhao Yu, didn't you say you wanted to take the day off? How come you caught the criminal instead?" The captain asked very seriously, "I don't understand. How did you know that the culprit would appear in that place tonight?"
"Cap'n Jing, I really do not feel well today. Can I tell you some other time?"
Zhao Yu spoke quickly and tried to leave again, but Captain Jing suddenly patted him on the shoulder and spoke wisely, "Little Zhao, no matter what, if you can catch the criminal, then you're worthy of the uniforms we wear! Good job! Keep up the good work!"
Captain Jing's words shocked Zhao Yu. In his memory, the stern and strict captain rarely praised anyone.
What was wrong with him today?
Captain Jing walked into the office after he finished talking to Zhao Yu. As soon as he entered the room, Liu Changhu's ill-intentioned complaints started up yet again.
Zhao Yu did not care to argue anymore, and headed straight for his own dorm.
While it was technically a dorm, the room was more like a small office behind the main building. The living space was tiny and shared among three people, and there was not even a private bathroom.
Zhao Yu's roommates were two of his coworkers from the patrol section. The younger roommate was alright, but the older one had a thunderous snoring issue--every night was quite a headache.
Luckily, the snoring one had night shift tonight; otherwise, Zhao Yu was sure to have a sleepless night.
It was already four in the morning now, nearly dawn. Zhao Yu returned to his dorm, but went to bed without washing up. He climbed on his bed right after taking off his shoes, ready to hit the hay.
Yet the night of this magical adventure had already doomed him to sleeplessness. First, executed by lethal injection, then crossing over to a different world, swapping his identity completely, and obtaining the mysterious System and item reward. All these strange encounters swirled in his mind endlessly, preventing him from sleeping.
Especially this weird Miracle System. Zhao Yu had a feeling that his amazing luck today, catching the Taser Rapist, was not some strange coincidence, but was set up by the Miracle System.
Maybe when the Miracle System was engaged, something was changed, allowing Zhao Yu to coincidentally capture the criminal?
After the case was closed, the system even told him his completion rate was seventy-something percent. This completion rate probably referred to the completion rate of the quest given by the Miracle System. Back when he was at the bar, had he not chosen to chase down the man in the windbreaker? If he had not chased him, could his completion rate have been drastically lower?
Then that meant, no matter how many opportunities the Miracle System set up for him, in the end, it was up to him to take those opportunities in order to succeed?
Thinking up to this point, Zhao Yu could not help but feel somewhat excited. By having this Miracle System, if he met similar cases in the future, could he also solve them magically like he did today?
"Wow! If this was really the case, then won't I end up being a Master Detective? The reward for that is massive…"
Only after that thought, did he finally start falling asleep…
-
In truth, being a policeman was not an easy job. Despite most of the Key Case Investigation Unit working practically overnight yesterday, most people still came to work today--nobody would take a day off so easily.
This was because new cases could happen at any moment, and they must be prepared for them, always.
Of course, that did not apply to Zhao Yu. The next day, Zhao Yu was barely waking up at 10:30am.
In the end, he was awoken by the thunderous snoring; otherwise, he would have slept even longer. The elder roommate had come back from his night shift, and was happily snoring away.
Zhao Yu really wanted to pummel the snoring man. He scratched his messy bed hair and looked around. The room was messy, not to mention smelly--definitely not a suitable place to live.
Seeing this, Zhao Yu suddenly had an idea--living like this was just depressing, so why not rent a different house starting today?
Because he lived in the police dorm, the old Zhao Yu was often assigned extra work from the senior investigators. If he left, then naturally he could avoid this type of problem.
Besides, the current Zhao Yu still was not used his new identity. Going to work was still tolerable, but if he had to live in the police station too, that would just be too awkward.
First the bathroom, then washing up, Zhao Yu did not feel much like cleaning up. After combing his bed hair, the man headed straight for the police station. He did not go in order to do work; but only wanting to use the computer at the office to find a good house to rent.
As he climbed the stairs, he ran into a few officers smoking along the way. The smell of the smoke aroused his own old addiction.
Stopping by a corner at the stairs, Zhao Yu took out the cigarettes he had confiscated from the cab driver, dangling one in his mouth as he lit it.
The result was as expected, with just one breath, he started coughing violently again.
But between the violent coughs, a clear voice rang out in his head again, "Miracle System engaged, currently randomizing…"
'My God!' This time Zhao Yu was more prepared. As soon as he heard the voice start, he focused on the words, carefully trying to remember each of them.
"Dui Xun Hexagram. 'Dui' for lake, and 'xun' for wind. Wind on the lake makes small waves. Smooth sailing regardless of your choice of way."
The voice stopped as soon as it finished the line. Even though Zhao Yu tried his hardest to remember, he still failed to remember much. The only thing he remembered was "wind," and "smooth sailing."
The last word especially made Zhao Yu feel much better. It looked like this game of roulette treated him well. Even though he could not quite understand it, he still connected it to roulette.
Could it be, that this Miracle System made use of some sort of roulette wheel? If so, then he must be sure to research it well, so he would be well prepared when his luck failed him.
6
Zhao Yu could not help but feel somewhat nervous. What did the Miracle System have planned for him this time? He hurriedly checked for the reward he obtained yesterday--the Invisibility Eavesdropper was still there! Without a doubt, this thing was made for eavesdropping. It was completely undetectable, and was definitely a valuable item.
Zhao Yu trekked back to the office, but saw that the office was not nearly as crowded as before There were only a few investigators working in their cubicles. People like Liu Changhu, and Qu Ping were not there.
Seeing Zhao Yu's arrival, a few of the investigators could not help but awkwardly stare at the man. No matter how they saw it, yesterday Zhao Yu was just out of ordinary. The usually meek man-child had acted like such a violent thug, but then had single handedly solved the Taser Rape Case. It was hard to imagine.
But Zhao Yu could not care less about the stares, and headed straight for his work computer.
His neighbors were Zhang Jingfeng and Liang Huan, the two were responsible for investigating cold cases. The so-called cold cases were those that happened a long time ago, but were still unsolved. As a part of the Key Case Investigation Unit, these cases were naturally of significant importance--usually involving robbery if not murder.
In these cases, due to the long downtime, most evidence or important personnel tended to disappear, drastically increasing the difficulty of the cases. Some cases could be left unsolved for over twenty to thirty years without a lead.
Because of this, the Cold Case Investigation Department was one of the least popular departments, and everyone avoided being transferred over. Not only were the investigations often fruitless, but there was often much pressure from the higher-ups. If there were not enough results in the allocated time, they would be punished.
Zhang Jingfeng and Liang Huan were a pair of unfortunate souls. Due to various reasons, the two had been transferred to the department this year.
At the moment, the two were looking at a stash of photos and pouring through some file records with difficulty.
Zhao Yu was waiting for his computer to turn on, so he snuck a peek out of curiosity, only to see the photos were all of bloody corpses!
"Bro, what the hell was this? Hella brutal!" Zhao Yu asked with minor interest.
"This…"
Zhao Yu's words were crude to say the least, making it hard for the other two to accept.
"This..." Zhao Jingfeng spoke first, "This was a murder case from ten years ago in the uptown area! The victim died very brutally, got slashed forty-something times!"
"Oh?" Although the computer had booted up, Zhao Yu had become interested in the case. He hurriedly picked up a photo, looking at it carefully.
"This case made a huge commotion at the time," Liang Huan said. "The victim was a jobless wanderer, walking around aimlessly, not to mention a gambling addict as well! Probably due to his debts with loan sharks, after being hacked to death, 'return debts' were written all over the wall, as well as things like an 'an eye for an eye'. Because of the brutal death, this case was named H-Gang Murder Case!"
"Yeah!" Zhang Jingfeng followed up, "According to the previous policemen working on the case, the victim's blood was all over the house. His wife even ended up with mental issues thanks to this! After the case, half the people uptown moved out in fear. The government had to enact their plan ahead of time and demolish the place early!"
"Ah…" Zhao Yu examined the picture intently, and asked, "With this much commotion, how come the case still hasn't been solved?"
Zhang Jingfeng sighed helplessly, "If this case was already closed, us two wouldn't be here suffering right now! In the beginning, the station pretty much mobilized everyone, searching day and night, even taking down quite a few gangs in the process. But the weird thing is that there wasn't a sliver of the killer's identity anywhere. The case ended up going cold like that, and now it's just a headache for Captain Jing."
"And now," Liang Huan spoke again, "The area was already demolished. Other than these photos and some incomplete file records, we don't have any other evidence. Where could we go and investigate? This is already a dead case!"
"Because it's almost the ten-year mark, the higher-ups especially want us to investigate this case." Zhang Jingfeng sighed again, "If we can't solve it, then the two of us are probably going to be demoted to traffic duty!"
"Yep, Zhang!" Liang Huan smiled bitterly, "Let's just go practice now!" He made a slamming motion, "First thing I do, is to go down to those cars parked illegally near my apartment building, and ticket them all!"
"Hahaha…" Zhang Jingfeng could not help but laugh, then copied the same motion for ticketing.
"Say," Zhao Yu drummed on his nose as he looked at the two, then picked up one of the photos, "Bro, I have a few things to say, dunno if I should-"
"Go on, go ahead!" Zhang Jingfeng noted, "We've accepted our fate at this point!"
"That," Zhao Yu furrowed his brows, "It's like this, I think this H-Gang Murder Case, isn't right, or at least the name is wrong!"
"What?" The other two were more than a little shocked, exchanging a glance with each other.
"You guys misunderstood. A real gang wouldn't operate like this!" Zhao Yu pointed at the photo, and started his analysis, "Think about it, if you guys owed me tons of money, would I try to force you to repay the debt, or just kill you straight up?"
"Uhh…" Liang Huan pondered, "Obviously, force them to pay the debt!"
"Exactly!" Zhao Yu continued, "The gangs are only looking for money, there's no reason to murder him, alerting the police. Even if the victim owed them millions or billions! They definitely wouldn't kill him!"
"We have an occupational say..." Zhao Yu quickly corrected himself, "I mean the gangs have an occupational saying, called 'go hard, die fast.' If you hack them forty-something times, to do something so brutal, wouldn't it be obvious it would cause a huge commotion? To cause such a huge commotion can only be bad for them, with no benefit in return." Zhao Yu continued, "In fact, the gangs vandalizing, breaking glasses, destroying cars, and threatening women or kids are only trying to force people to repay their debt. If you kill them without reason, how would you get your money back?"
"R-Right?" Zhang Jingfeng's eyes lit up, "How come I didn't think of this?"
"Then…" Liang Huan pondered, "The old police's investigation target was wrong? It wasn't done by a gang? Bro, what do you think?"
"Forty-something cuts." Zhao Yu thought about it more, "Murder only takes one, yet the murderer hacked the victim forty-something times. My guess is that the victim and the murderer had some sort of deep-seated grudge. The killer purposely made this especially brutal just to mislead the police into thinking it was gang activity. This is called a diversion!"
"Oh. Makes sense…" Zhang Jingfeng considered the possibility, "But the record already showed that the victim was a jobless bum, and had quite a temper too. He had many enemies, and bad relationships with the neighbors too. To investigate this much is," he paused, at a loss for words, "difficult."
"Uhh, is the victim's wife's still around?" Zhao Yu suddenly asked, "Are they still crazy?"
"Nope!" Liang Huan thought back on the records and answered, "Already remarried, with a kid now too. Apparently she's doing pretty well!"
"Then why don't you guys ask her? If the victim had any enemies, she would know. If she doesn't, then it's not too late to start practicing ticketing people!" Zhao Yu turned back to his own computer, "Not to mention, maybe the wife and the murderer could have some sort of connection!"
"W-what?" Liang Huan almost knelt in front of Zhao Yu in gratitude, "You mean..."
"Forty-something cuts. A crime of passion is possible, right?" Zhao Yu started searching up rent information on his computer, "Why don't you guys look it up, it's not like..."
Before Zhao Yu could even finish his sentence, Zhang LiangFeng and Liang Huan rushed out of the office.
7
Zhao Yu was truly penniless, he did not even have money to buy data on his phone, and had to look up house rental information on a computer instead.
In the end, among the mass of advertisements, he randomly picked a few that were near the police station. Showing no regard for work hours, the man threw on his jacket and left the workplace.
As for Zhao Jingfeng's investigation, he did not have high expectations. If just a few of his words could solve a cold case that had been plaguing the Investigation Unit for ten years, it would really be the joke of the century!
Executed by lethal injection but having escaped death and crossed over, and then obtaining the magical, so-called Miracle System had put Zhao Yu in a great mood. As he strolled down the street, the sun beamed upon him warmly as he walked with an extra spring in his step.
He started realizing that being a Key Case Investigator might not be so bad. Catching criminals and getting rewards, not to mention some special privileges. That kind of life did not sound bad at all!
Maybe it would be better to stick around for a bit, and not think about going back to his old business just yet.
Zhao Yu's first rental possibility was in a shopping district near the police station. The house was being advertised by a shopfront called Da Feng Ge Fruit Company.
The owner was a pale, bulky man named Jiang Dafeng. He was highly personable and was often laughing. Seeing Zhao Yu arrive with the advertisement, he hurried forward and greeted him warmly.
As it turned out, his fruit shop was located within a standalone three-story building. The first floor was the shop, the second was his own home, and the third floor was an open space spanning about sixty square meters. Conveniently, the man wanted to rent it out.
Zhao Yu looked around and decided he really liked this place. One, because it was convenient for traveling. Two, because there were not any barbecue places or other food stands around to disturb his sleep at night. Lastly, the house was even furnished, allowing him to move in immediately.
The chubby Dafeng also suggestively told him that the neighboring shopfront was similar to his own, with a few college students living upstairs. "The students are like models, if you rent my room, you might even be able to take care of some of your…personal issues!"
Through the bars on the balcony, Zhao Yu indeed saw many feminine articles of clothing that were being hung dry on a drying rack.
'Wow! Nice place!'
Zhao Yu's eyes narrowed at the idea, his thoughts were decided. "The place I need is this place right here, right now!"
Zhao Yu asked for the price and was immediately shocked. The house was two-thousand yuan a month, and must be paid biannually. Right now, Zhao Yu would not be able to pay that much!
"Any discount?" Zhao Yu asked.
Dafeng Bro was also very straight forward and immediately nodded, "Then 1,980 yuan! If it's too much, you can also pay seasonally instead!"
"Jesus Christ!" Zhao Yu immediately started cursing, "This sh*tty place is this expensive? Is this a robbery? I'll tell you now, as a policeman, I can arrest you now! Do you believe me?"
But Dafeng Bro knew the rules, "There's nothing wrong with me renting out my property. Why would I be afraid of you? This is downtown--the perfect area. Not to mention the daily eye candy. My price is already dirt cheap! If you don't want it, fine, I've got a line waiting for it!"
"Jesus! Who the hell do you think you are? I don't want it, then!" Zhao Yu cursed angrily as he left the fruit shop, mumbling to himself, "If this were my previous life, I'd have already gotten a bunch of people and wrecked the shop! You'd have to pay me to live there!"
Hmph!
Zhao Yu left the shop angrily. His good mood had been killed by the stupid fatty. He walked into a wonton store and ate three bowls of wontons before he felt like he had let off some steam.
If that one would not work, then he had to go to his backup. The other house was a boarding room for rent. To get there, Zhao Yu had to cross through the narrow alleys in the L.C. District.
This area looked just like Zhao Yu's previous world. He had often brawled in these alleys, and knew the area like the back of his hand. He easily found a short cut.
It was exactly noon, the residents were all preparing or eating their lunch. The alley was basically empty.
As Zhao Yu crossed through, he suddenly saw a suspicious shadow running through one of the alleys. Zhao Yu was not sure why, but he reflexively hid before whoever it was saw him.
The kid was wearing a dark green hat. He was of average height and skinny, almost like a student. Yet he looked very nervous, as if he were doing something questionable.
'Interesting!' Zhao Yu used to deal with these delinquents often, and followed the kid out of curiosity. Despite the kid being on high alert, constantly checking left and right, Zhao Yu was experienced in stealth and avoided all detection.
Finally Zhao Yu followed him into a dark corner. There was a tattooed man with dyed blonde hair waiting.
The two exchanged no words when they met. The youngster immediately handed the other man some sort of black USB, while the blonde pulled out an envelope in exchange.
'Huh!?' Zhao Yu watched from the sideline. Even an idiot could tell that the two must be making some sort of illegal deal! If Zhao Yu rushed out now, he could definitely catch them red-handed, adding more credit to his criminal catching record.
But Zhao Yu was used to this sort of activity. He knew there were other, more beneficial ways to deal with this.
So he simply waited silently in the shadows until the blonde disappeared with the USB. Zhao Yu then strode forward and immediately pinned the youngster with the green cap against a wall.
"Freeze! Police!" Zhao Yu spoke with confidence. He thought, "Hmph, now that I am a police officer! No need to fear!"
The young boy nearly collapsed upon hearing the word "police," and suddenly broke down and started sobbing. When the cap came off, Zhao Yu realized that it was not a boy at all! But a short-haired girl! Judging by her childish appearance, at best, she was a middle schooler.
Zhao Yu was taken by surprise, but still darkened his expression and scolded, "Do you know why I caught you?"
The little girl was shaking nonstop, she raised her head and begged, "Mr. Policeman, I know I was wrong, I won't do it again."
"Save it! Tell me the truth now, Or…Or I…" Zhao Yu paused for a bit, then started again, "I'll call your parents!"
"No! No!" The girl looked much more anxious now, "Please don't tell my parents. If my dad finds out about this, he'll kill me!"
Zhao Yu saw the girl was not a threat and let her go, but snatched the envelope. Opening it, he saw that there was a huge wad of cash.
"Woah!" Zhao Yu had assumed the envelope probably contained money, but he did not anticipate it would be this much. He questioned the girl in a hurry, "Quick, this money, how'd you get it?"
Hearing this, the little girl started wailing. She grabbed Zhao Yu's arm and begged pitifully, "Mr. Policeman! This was really my first time, please let me go. I know I'm wrong, I won't do it again!"
"Oi, Oi…You're getting your snot on me!" Zhao Yu pushed the girl off, "Don't cry anymore. First tell me, what did you just hand to the other guy?"
8
Apparently the thing the little girl handed to the blonde really was a USB. The USB contained two game account's usernames and passwords, both for a currently popular game.
"So, it was just about game account theft!" he thought.
Zhao Yu was secretly relieved that he did not dash out just then to catch them red-handed. The grand Key Case Investigation Unit Officer coming out to catch two measly game account thieves? if it ever got out, he would never be able to live it down.
But the man was also somewhat strange to think two game accounts would be worth this much money? According to the girl there was ten-thousand yuan in the envelope. That was his salary for the next few months!
"Sir, this was honestly my first time. The money, I don't want it anymore!" The little girl was still talking through her tears, "Can you let me go? I honestly won't do it again!"
"Pfft…" Zhao Yu spoke abrasively, "That deal just now was completely wordless and smooth, yet you say that's your first time?"
"I…" The little girl could not retort.
"Say, if you're stealing game accounts, why with cash? Isn't it easier to just do online transactions?" Zhao Yu was rather curious.
"Mr. Policeman…" The little girl answered honestly, "I still don't have my social security card! I can't open a bank account! Besides, online transactions always can be traced!"
"Oh?" Zhao Yu was a little surprised, "Couldn't tell, but are you a pro at this? Say, with all the money you got from hacking, what do you do? Go buy more equipment for games?"
"No! No!" The little girl must have seen an opportunity because she had stopped crying and answered very honestly, "The money is for my mom's illness. She has uremia!"
"Humph!" Zhao Yu huffed. Obviously he did not believe these sorts of amateur lies.
"It's true!" The girl was serious. "One examination needs a few thousand yuan! Just the money from my dad selling fruits really isn't enough! He's so concerned, he wants to rent out the floor above our house!"
"Wait!" Suddenly Zhao Yu stopped dead in his tracks. He examined the girl carefully and realized she looked a little familiar. "Tell me the truth, what's your name? And your dad's. if you lie, I'm taking you to the police station!"
"I'm really not lying. My name's Jiang Xiaoqing," the girl answered. "My dad's name is Jiang Dafeng. Da Feng Ge Fruit Company on Shun Feng Street is also my house…"
"Holy…No way?" Zhao Yu's thoughts were replaced by exclamation marks. The second biggest coincidence in the world had just landed in his lap. He had just fought with the owner of the Da Feng Fruit Company, and now he had caught the daughter red-handed, doing illegal activity. This sort of coincidence must be second to none!
This time Zhao Yu no longer doubted the power of the Miracle System. It had to have something to do with it.
"Mr. Policeman, sir?" The girl saw Zhao Yu spacing out but was too afraid to run, so she stood obediently in front of him and asked weakly, "Say, can you let me go? The money…oh…stolen fee…I don't want it anymore!"
"Oh!" Zhao Yu returned to reality. Looking at the envelope in his hand, he suddenly had a plan. He hurriedly returned the envelope to Jiang Xiaoqing. "What do you mean you don't want it? Here…you take it! It's alright, since we're all friends. Here, this is no problem at all!"
"Oh…you…" The girl was shocked this time instead, "You know my dad?"
"Mm…you see!" Zhao Yu's thoughts changed. He spoke, "I…just rented out your house! Now that I know your house situation, if it's to save your mother, then I can turn a blind eye! There's no worry, just continue on your way!"
"Really? Really?" The little girl stood there stunned, feeling like her entire worldview had been turned upside down. "You…you aren't playing with me, right?"
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Zhao Yu was all smiles, a model example of someone with hidden agendas. "Hehehe…Just so you know, I know all about this area. If you have any problems later, Uncle here can take care of it for you! Just…this…" He pointed at the envelope in the girl's hand, "You see?"
"Oh!" The little girl knew immediately, "I see, so you want a protection fee!"
"Eh?" Zhao Yu put his hand over her mouth in a hurry, "What protection fee? That just sounds rude. This business…is our cooperation. You're the technician, and I run the business. Since we're cooperating, then obviously we should split the reward?"
"Mister…I think…" The little girl asked rather meekly, "I'm also…doing the business side, right?"
"Hm…" Zhao Yu wrinkled his brows.
"It's fine, I'm the subordinate in this discussion anyway!" Jiang Xiaoqing was blunt and concise, "You not arresting me is already good enough! Then…How much do you want to split…?"
"The rule on the street is you, thirty; me, seventy." Zhao Yu was a pro in this field, "But, since I know your dad well, I'll be nice. You, forty; me, sixty, how about it?"
"Huh? No!" The little girl argued helplessly, "My mom really needs the money, that won't be enough!"
"Mm!" Zhao Yu frowned, "Then fifty-fifty, that's final! Just do your thing one time every month! Gotta teach those addicted kids a lesson anyway! Every day, wasting their parent's money on games and equipment. They deserve to lose their account. This way, they can learn their lesson!"
Even though he was trying to convince the girl into doing more questionable activities, Zhao Yu spoke as if they were on the side of justice. The way he talked, full of confidence, spoke volumes for his God-level shamelessness.
Jiang Xiaoqing was only an inexperienced child, how could she win against Zhao Yu? In the end, she gave up.
Twenty minutes later, Zhao Yu was holding the five-thousand yuan "reward" he had obtained from Jiang Xiaoqing. The man was walking back to Da Feng Fruit Company as he planned to rent out the house.
As it turned out, after he left someone else had come for the house. Two young men had set their eyes on the property. When Zhao Yu arrived, they had just paid the rent. The chubby Jiang Dafeng was standing there laughing as he thumbed through the bills!
"Stop!" Zhao Yu immediately roared as he strode over, causing everyone to jump.
"What…what kind of situation is this?" Jiang Dafeng raised his head to see Zhao Yu.
He did not even have time to react. Zhao Yu was already inches from him, savagely yelling, "Holy sh*t, you stupid fatty! Didn't you say you already rented the house to me? How come I come back with the money and you've already rented it to someone else? Do you still want to live? Huh?"
Zhao Yu's fierce expression intimidated the two young men, who were too afraid to open their mouths.
"N…No..." Jiang Dafeng was confused, "Didn't you...say you didn't…"
"Didn't f*cking wh..." As he cursed, Zhao Yu grabbed hold of a piece of sugar cane. "Look here...you want me to crush your stupid shop?" When he finished, he pointed the cane at the two men, "I'll say it right now, whoever it was that wanted to rent this house, you should reconsider. I'll be watching your every f*cking move, if you guys have some unfortunate…"
"You…" Jiang Dafeng was enraged as he yelled, "If you keep this up, I'm calling the police!"
Zhao Yu immediately pulled out his own police ID. "You want to f*cking call the police?! First I'll search your shop. Just now, someone reported you're selling rotten fruit…"
The two young men already took their money and disappeared before Zhao Yu could finish. Jiang Dafeng raised his hands in defeat.
"Alright, alright! Bro, you win! You win, you can take the house, alright?" He sighed in defeat, "Geez, the shameless are truly invincible!"


## Paul Sheldon

9 Lost Hand Case
It was 5:30 in the morning, with the sun just peeking over the horizon, and most of the city still shrouded in the shadows.
Jiu He Street's KFC was open twenty-four hours. The shop was currently only occupied by two middle schoolers trying to catch their morning recitation. The two were sitting near the entrance, quickly chewing through their delicious chicken sandwich.
Suddenly the door opened. A person wobbled into the store. It was a woman wearing a brand-name windbreaker, yet the windbreaker was stained with blood.
The woman's hair was a mess, and she was clearly exhausted. She nearly fell to the ground as she pushed open the KFC's heavy glass door. She limped with immense difficulty towards the middle schoolers, her voice was weak as she called out the best she could,
"H…H…Help…"
The two middle schoolers raised their head and nearly screamed. They shuffled back many steps, dropping their soymilk in the process because the woman did not have a right hand! At the end of her right wrist there was only an ugly wrap with a bandage that was overflowing with blood, yet the hand…wasn't there!
...
'Comfortable! Yay!'
At 7 o'clock that night, Zhao Yu was lying in his giant bed in his new house, feeling comfortable to no end. Although the rent was still two-thousand yuan a month, the landlord's daughter was paying now. These sorts of luxuries, where in the world could you find them?
"Hehehe…" Zhao Yu couldn't help but chuckle. With the five-thousand yuan he got from Jiang Xiaoqing, after paying the rent for his house, and giving Jiang Dafeng four-thousand yuan for the first two months, there was still one-thousand left as his allowance.
Jiang Dafeng could not be bothered to argue with Zhao Yu. So long as Zhao Yu paid the rent, he supposed it was fine and just agreed to the deal. The two signed the rent agreement then and there, and Zhao Yu finally had a satisfactory place to stay.
Zhao Yu was a man of much stealth. If he greedily took the entire ten thousand from Jiang Xiaoqing today, then he would have made a lot of money at the moment, but then there would be no second time. Now that he had a cooperative relationship with Jiang Xiaoqing, every month he would obtain some of the money. Obviously, the second option was more beneficial.
Of course, Zhao Yu knew that encouraging the little girl into hacking gaming accounts, and then putting the money into his own pocket were both against the law. Especially considering that he was a police officer, the offense would be even worse.
But, the Zhao Yu now did not really see himself as a true police officer. He still had the same character prior to crossing over, and had even considered returning to his old profession! Things such as what he had done to Jiang Xiaoqing today could not even be compared to all the questionable things he had done in his old life.
Thinking this far, Zhao Yu comfortably enjoyed his situation, and even considered that with the leftover one-thousand yuan, maybe he could get a better phone.
Right at the moment, the system in his mind spoke suddenly. The androgynous, neutral, and machine-like yet amazingly clear voice said, "Today's Adventure has been completed. Completion rate: seventy-nine percent. Obtained one invisibility device, please accept!"
Again? What kind of rewards did he get this time?
Zhao Yu could not wait a second longer as he rushed to check in his mind. In his head there was an extra black, round ball.
Upon clicking it, the system's voice started immediately, "Invisible Tracking Device: after use can achieve invisible tracking ability, undetectable, lasts for forty-eight hours."
Invisible Tracking Device?
Zhao Yu thought it over. "It's probably just something used to track people. Put it on someone, then immediately know their position?"
This time Zhao Yu could not help but feel a little disappointed. He had expected some better rewards from the system! Like some overpowered items for x-ray vision, wall phase, cloning skills, or even some just some kind of invisible camera or knock-out pills, maybe.
But it had only been eavesdropping or tracking so far. Not to mention, it had a time limit. What fun is that?
Zhao Yu started pondering again. This time the adventure completion rate was seventy-nine percent. If it was higher, would he get something even better?
But how could he get a higher completion rate?
He thought maybe he should restart the system again, and this time carefully observe what happens.
So he pulled out his cigarette, lit it and breathed in deeply. But strangely, this time he did not even cough. He tried taking a few more puffs but had absolutely no reaction.
'Huh? What happened? How come it doesn't even work anymore?'
He breathed in deeply over and over until he could not catch his breath, yet the magical Miracle System did not appear. His mind was quiet as usual.
"Hm…" After a short moment of panic, Zhao Yu calmed down and started analyzing the situation. Thinking back to the two times he managed to activate the system and complete the adventure, he quickly realized a possibility: "Could it be…the Miracle System could only be activated once a day?"
So today he already used it up, and had to wait till tomorrow?
Zhao Yu was focused on figuring out the mystery of the Miracle System when his phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Li Beini.
"Hello? Officer Zhao, where are you? How come you still haven't arrived? The entire unit's waiting on you!" said Li Beini's urgent voice.
"What's up? Go where?" Zhao Yu answered lazily.
"No way?" Li Beini sounded surprised, "Didn't you get the text? The Lost Hand Case! The whole team is at the office for a meeting! Hurry up and come…hurry…"
The line shut off, and Zhao Yu now saw the phone notification. Due a sudden case today, everyone was required to be at the police station at exactly 7:00pm for a meeting to analyze the situation. The entire team must be there.
Looking at his watch, it was almost 7:30.
'Holy sh*t!'
Zhao Yu was rather agitated. Yesterday he did not get any sleep, today he finally got some shut eye, but how come there was another case out of nowhere? With a name like the "Lost Hand Case," too?
At first, he was much too lazy to go. But after thinking about the name "Lost Hand Case," it sounded somewhat interesting. After much contemplation, he rose from his bed and headed for the police station.
When he entered the office, it was just like yesterday. The lobby was packed with worried faces. Everyone was crowded around a white table, currently focused on listening to team leader Qu Ping's case introduction.
Captain Jin was also there. After seeing Zhao Yu arrive late, his expression darkened.
Vice Captain Liu Changhu smiled evilly at him, as if waiting to see Zhao Yu make a fool of himself. But as soon as Zhao Yu accepted the coffee given to him by Li Beini, his smile instantly froze.
"This time, if we do not catch the culprit quickly," Team Leader Qu Ping pointed at the whiteboard, "the culprit could repeat the offense within a short amount of time, and this tragedy will repeat!"
Zhao Yu had just sat down as team leader Qu Ping finished up her introduction, letting Captain Jin talk. Captain Jin first praised the lightning fast speed at which the unit closed the Taser Rape Case, followed by pointing out the importance of solving the Lost Hand Case as quickly as possible. The speech ended with a motivational speech calling everyone to attention and to quickly solve this case.
Zhao Yu listened carefully for a long time, but could not understand a single thing. The only thing he understood was when the tasks were distributed. He was assigned to the Victim Investigation group.
The meeting had just finished, and Zhao Yu was about to ask Li Beini for details when his way was blocked by Liu Changhu.
"Hehehe…" Liu Changhu smiled darkly as patronized Zhao Yu, "What's up, Zhao? Just now you were so late. Did you look for evidence yourself? Did you find anything, Mr. one-man army? Can you solve the case by tonight while you're at it?"
10
In regard to Liu Changhu's taunt, Zhao Yu did not even blink, "None. Of. Your. Business!"
After he finished, Zhao Yu wanted to leave but was once again blocked by Liu Changhu.
"Halt!" Liu Changhu pulled out a form, putting it in front of Zhao Yu. "Zhao Yu, as your vice captain, I am just being fair! Today you didn't clock in for work, and didn't ask for the day off from any leaders. Not to mention, you arrived at the investigation meeting half an hour late. According to the rules, I must mark you down for absence!"
"Che…"
Zhao Yu had thought it was something important. But just an absence? He looked lazily at Liu Changhu, but could not be bothered to care.
However, Liu Beini and the others were very surprised, because in the police station, very few people ever got marked for an absence, since being absent had severe consequences!
Because the Key Case Investigation Unit's investigators were often doing field work and working overtime, their attendance was not documented by something simple like signing their name on a card, but rather, they were noted by every team's team leader personally. Based on the overtime situation, they were given breaks accordingly. This allowed for some wiggle room for the workers.
Zhao Yu was a part of Team A, so his attendance was naturally managed by the Team A Leader. But Team A's Leader, Mao Wei, was currently injured and hospitalized. Thus, the attendance duty for Team A had temporarily been given to Vice Captain Liu Changhu.
Despite the strict attendance rules, there was still some breathing room. Usually taking a day off here and there was reasonable. Unless there were emergency cases, people normally would not care too much.
But today, Liu Changhu clearly had something against Zhao Yu to decide to mark him down for an absence.
In regular jobs, being absent usually did not have many repercussions, but in the police department, absence reflected on your attitude. The higher-ups gave very strict punishments: Absent once, lose one month worth of salary and stripped of the possibility of being Yearly Model Investigator; absent twice, denounced in front of the entire Investigation Unit; and on the third time, you would be transferred out of the Key Case Investigation Unit.
The repercussions of an absence could not be ignored! Liu Changhu doing such a thing was clearly an act of revenge.
That was not even the extent of Liu Changhu's actions., Liu Changhu also took a slip from the attendance sheet and smiled, "Oh, also, last night you went crazy and smashed one of our computer monitors. Here's the bill, 1,800 yuan! I've already asked the higher-ups, and they all agreed that you should pay it! Later just submit the money to the Finance Department…Hey…"
Seeing Zhao Yu putting a hand on his coffee cup, Liu Changhu retreated in a hurry. "You…You better watch your attitude! If you go crazy again, I'll report you for assault. The office has cameras, don't be rash…"
"Vice Captain Liu!" Li Beini could not watch anymore, her expression was determined as she argued with Liu Changhu, "Last night we all saw it! The computer wasn't smashed by Officer Liu!"
"How was it not him?" Liu Changhu craned his neck condescendingly, "If it wasn't him going crazy, how would the computer have been smashed?"
"Right!" Another young Investigator chimed in, "If it wasn't for Zhao Yu pushing me, I wouldn't have bumped into the computer! This was definitely his responsibility!"
"Yeah!" A few other investigators took Liu Changhu's side. The atmosphere within the office immediately turned hostile, everyone was ready to fight.
"Hehehe…" Seeing the start of a fight, Zhao Yu smiled instead. He gently put down the coffee cup then walked right in front of Liu Changhu, his voice strangely calm, "Vice Captain Liu, we have an old saying back in my hometown, 'always leave a way open for yourself, and victory will be yours.' Do you want to push it this far?"
"Hmph! You are the one who doesn't respect authority! I don't like you, so what?" Liu Changhu raised an eyebrow, giving a very definitive answer.
"Alright!" Zhao Yu smiled, "I, Zhao Yu, ain't afraid of you. Since you aren't afraid, then you and I can have a stand off, and see who lasts longer!"
"Kiddo, you…" Liu Changhu was shocked, and took some time to digest what Zhao Yu said before roaring against the other, his eyes bulging, "You little rascal, who do you think you are? I'm the grand Key Case Investigation Unit vice captain. Me? Scared of you? Watch me wipe you off the face of the earth!"
"Sure!" Zhao Yu smirked, even whistling a little, "Nozunodie! I've never been afraid of authority, come at me! That monitor's 1800 yuan, think I'll give it to you? Also, if you dare mark me down as absent, make sure to watch your back, and your ancestor's grave. One day it'll be gone and you won't even know it. Oh, check your wife's closet, in case someone put a skeleton in it…"
Zhao Yu's chain of insults stunned not only Liu Changhu but also the entire investigation team. These people had never seen such crude insults in their life. They could not even fight back. The group was completely at a loss of what to do.
After his long speech, Zhao Yu had no change in his expression, yet Liu Changhu looked like he was about to have a heart attack, his face red with anger.
"Zhao Yu…you…you little rascal...you…" Liu Changhu huffed and puffed yet no words came out. He knew Zhao Yu had a violent temper, but had no idea how skilled Zhao Yu was using such crude language.
Zhao Yu smiled, satisfied. He had wanted to continue, but the office door suddenly swung open and Captain Jing Zhenbang walked in. His expression was of immense dismay as he shouted at the group, "Do you guys think this is appropriate? Huh?" The old man's eyebrows were raised high as he angrily yelled at the group, "Everyone's on the same investigation unit. Now that there's a case, the people are waiting for us to catch the criminal, and you guys have the energy to fight each other? What kind of image are you painting of the police?"
Seeing the old man truly angry, the group went silent. No one dared to make a noise.
"Zhao Yu!" Jing Zhenbang turned to Zhao Yu and yelled, "Your problem, I've already heard it. You youngsters are just too rash, try to look at the big picture more, got it? Don't keep trying to always solve problems with your fists, people will laugh at you! Here…" As he spoke, the old man pointed to Liu Changhu, "Liu, cancel Zhao Yu's absence. It's been more than a decade since we've had an absence mark. If the Bureau Chief found out, how could I face the shame?"
"But Captain…" Liu Changhu began to argue.
"Shut up!" The old man's voice was thunderous, and with one look silenced the vice captain. Then, he turned to Zhao Yu again, "As for the computer, you can't avoid it. Destroying public property, and for personal reasons too, this one's on you!"
Hearing this, Liu Changhu's face once again showed a triumphant smile.
Zhao Yu clenched his fist and nearly yelled out "I'll pay you my ass," but Jing Zhenbang raised a hand to stop him, " I've always tried to be fair with what I do. Kid, when you solved the Taser Rape case, you truly surprised me! How about this, we'll make a bet. If you can solve this Lost Hand Case we have right now, then the computer, I'll pay it for you!"
"What?" Zhao Yu gaped, he would have never imagined the old man would make a bet with him.
"Captain! Nononono…" Liu Changhu's eyes became alert, and he spoke up, "We simply can't bother you with such a foolish bet, how about this, I'll bet with Zhao Yu instead! If Zhao Yu can solve this case within the allocated time. I'll pay the computer fee!"
"Ah? Holy sh*t?" Zhao Yu thought. He was never one to be intimidated, so he slammed his hands down on the table. "Alright, stupid Liu, no going back! Within a week, I will definitely solve this case, this Lost Hand Case!"
11
With the bet placed, the group dispersed, and everyone went back to their own business.
Li Beini rushed to Zhao Yu and pulled him aside, "Zhao Yu, what's been up with you recently? Is something wrong with your brain? This is the infamous Lost Hand Case! How could you make a bet like that?"
"Lost Hand Case? Waddup?" Zhao Yu replied casually.
Zhao Yu searched through his memory and quickly found the related keyword. His memory jumped to around the same time last year. At the time, he was just an intern investigator, but had been sent to help the forensics department with setting up new equipment instead of participating in the case.
"Waddup?" Li Beini sighed helplessly, "Quite a few officers lost their jobs thanks to this case. If the case was this easy, we wouldn't be talking about it today!"
Zhao Yu finally remembered. Last year around the end of April, Qinshan City had two cases of a serial Lost Hand Case, causing a huge commotion. The victims' right hand had been chopped off using a sharp tool without mercy.
Due to the slow progression of the investigation, one of the victims continued to complain. That added with the paparazzi's interference, the case became wildly public, dragging the police department's name through the mud. Including the previous leader of team B, quite a few police officers were forced to quit. Team Leader Qu Ping had been promoted during that time as a replacement. Despite the massive effort from the police department, the case was still cold to this day.
"You really don't know? Or are you just messing with me?" Li Beini's eyes were wide. "This morning at 5:30, near Jiu He street, another Lost Hand Case happened!"
"What? Again?" Zhao Yu was surprised.
"Yeah!" Li Beini replied, "Otherwise, why would we have an emergency meeting? Didn't you see we were all prepared for the worst? Especially Team Leader Qu Ping, she hasn't even eaten yet!"
"Oh…" Zhao Yu finally remembered. No wonder when he had come to look up houses to rent, most of the investigators were missing! It was because of this case.
"Just now, Team Leader Qu Ping already explained," Li Beini continued, "there was a one year gap, but the modus operandi was exactly the same! If there isn't some unknown factor, the crime must have been committed by the same person!"
"Interesting…" Zhao Yu looked at the case record. According to the record, the victim of the current Lost Hand Case was a thirty-six-year-old housewife. The husband worked with construction materials and was fairly well off.
At the time of crime, the lady had just finished attending a party. She had been knocked out while walking to her BMW. By the time she woke up next morning, her right hand had been chopped off. The culprit had even gave her simple first aid to prevent her from bleeding out.
The two cases from last year were about the same. The victim was always a female around thirty years old.
"No way?" Zhao Yu muttered to himself as he looked at the information, "With his sort of case, how could you not catch the culprit? With cameras everywhere, there should at least be photos?"
"You aren't wrong!" Li Beini shook her head and sighed, "But there really wasn't any video evidence! This culprit is like a ghost, and now he's got quite the reputation! If you ask me, just save up some money and pay for the monitor! You can't win this bet!"
"Bah! Little girl, don't go raining on someone else's parade. It's discouraging." Zhao Yu spoke calmly, "If the culprit is really bold enough to repeat the offence again, I guarantee he will be captured!"
"I'm not afraid the case won't be solved!" Li Beini wore an expression of worry. "I'm worried that you won't solve the case!"
"What do you mean?" Zhao Yu didn't understand.
"Just now your bet with Vice Captain Liu was clear!" Li Beini furrowed her brows, "Only if you solve the case, and catch the culprit by yourself, does it count as your win! If Team Leader Qu Ping solves the case, you still lose!"
"Um…this…hmph!" Zhao Yu thought about his Miracle System, and simply huffed with confidence, throwing the case records aside."No need to fear! Anything's possible. Who knows, maybe I'll have solved the case by tomorrow! If you ask me, the culprit of the Lost Hand Case was probably the victim's husband. These sh*tty housewives just spend too much money, so the husbands don't have to put up with it anymore, and chop their hands off!"
"Ah…Jesus…" Li Beini slumped back into her chair, very much disappointed in Zhao Yu.
That night after going back to his apartment, Zhao Yu could not sleep. He was worried. Could his Miracle System have actually disappeared? If tomorrow he smoked and there was no response, then everything was over.
If he really did not have the Miracle System, how could he solve the case, or talk about bets?
Lost Hand Case? Why did they chop off the hand of all things? Was it really because the women were too troublesome?
Thinking this much, Zhao Yu became even more interested in the case. He calmed down and started rereading the records over and over. Despite Zhao Yu's crude nature, when he worked, he was very serious. He was the type that did not rest until he finished what he was doing.
It was this attitude that allowed him to push and shove his way to the top, becoming one of Qing Long Gang's top affiliates.
After Zhao Yu read through the entire case record, carefully memorizing all the details, he could not help but think about the difficulty. He did not imagine the case would be so complicated. No wonder the police had worked so hard but still did not crack it.
The criminal was very careful. Out of the three incidents, he avoided the surveillance camera every time. This was not something a regular person could do.
Not only that, but the culprit's methods were highly brutal. All three victim's right hands were chopped off with a single move by an axe-like weapon. Thus, the police suspected the culprit was a strong, young man.
But after forensic testing, the place where the culprit had cut the arm was very precise, right at the most fragile point of the wrist, avoiding any hard bones.
As long as the weapon was sharp enough, any regular person could have committed the act, thus they could not eliminate the possibility of a female culprit.
Also, the crime raised many questions, like why did the culprit only choose 30-year-old females with decent living conditions?
At this time last year, the culprit committed two acts within five days, then disappeared. But why did he wait a whole year before starting again?
Would it be like last year, where he would act again within the next few days?
Why did the culprit only cut off the hands of women?
Was it really related to money?
Or was it a gang?
Thinking this much, Zhao Yu could not keep his eyes open, and gradually lulled himself to sleep…
...
The next morning at six o'clock, Jiang Dafeng was about to go to the market and pick up a shipment of fresh fruit from the south.
Yet, just as he squeezed some toothpaste onto his toothbrush, he heard a chain of violent coughs coming from upstairs.
"Cough…Cough…Cough…"
"Is he okay?" Jiang Dafeng recognized Zhao Yu's voice, yet angrily spoke again, "You deserve it! Go die, shameless pr*ck."
"Wah…"
But from upstairs suddenly came a loud exclamation, shocking Jiang Dafeng, causing him to drop his toothpaste all over his slipper.
All he could hear was Zhao Yu from upstairs, "There, there! Finally! Hahaha…"
12
Due to the number of personnel required to investigate the Lost Hand Case, the Key Case Investigation unit drastically understaffed, even putting office workers, like Li Beini, on investigation duty as well.
But Li Beini was very happy today because she and Zhao Yu were assigned to the same unit. Having the chance to be with her crush was obviously a stroke of luck for her.
Similarly, Zhao Yu was in a good mood too. On the bus ride, he was even humming some tunes. While chatting with Li Beini, he entirely forgot about his bet with Liu Changhu.
As it turned out, he could restart the Miracle System. How could Zhao Yu not be excited?
As soon as he woke up, without even going to the bathroom, he lit a cigarette. But with his first breath, he started violently coughing, as if he had been shocked by electricity.
"Miracle System engaged," the excited voice started, "Kan Gen Gua. 'Kan' for water and 'Gen' for mountain. Water first, mountain second. Ups and downs are to be expected, and the good and bad will be determined."
This time, Zhao Yu was readily prepared and rushed to memorize what the system said. But due to the complexity of the words, he quickly forgot most of it. Putting what he remembered in a small notebook, he could only note words like mountain, water, and other easy words.
Even though he still could not quite understand the rules of the Miracle System, after his first two adventures, he was confident in his ability to crack the case.
"Hoho! Just watch, stupid Liu Changhu, I'm going to watch you pay 1800 yuan out of your pocket for me!"
Zhao Yu confidently departed. But unexpectedly, this time he was not very successful, nearly getting cussed out by someone.
As it turns out, the victim he and Liu Beini were assigned to question was the second Lost Hand Case victims, Yuan Lili.
According to the information, Yuan Lili was previously a piano teacher at the City Musical School. Losing her right hand caused irreparable damage to her life and work. Apparently, because she lost her hand, her husband divorced her.
Before it was Yuan Lili who contacted the first victim and complained that the police were not doing enough! This caused the media to become involved, and a few excellent officers were forced to retire.
As expected, this victim was not the nice type. She started fussing as soon as Zhao Yu and Li Beini entered the door, saying things like the police were all useless, and complaining that although a year had passed, the culprit was still at large. Was it so hard to ask for justice? Then she asked, despite already having gotten a detailed response, why there a need to be questioned again. Was it just to add salt to the wound? She even threatened to contact the newest victim, to complain about the police officers yet again…
Yuan Lili spoke fiercely, fingers pointing everywhere. It annoyed Zhao Yu greatly.
If it was not for seeing her missing right hand, Zhao Yu honestly wanted to insult her in retaliation. At least Li Beini spoke more gently and eloquently, allowing the two to finish their questioning.
Honestly, Zhao Yu was very confused to begin with. Last time, Yuan Lili's testimony was very clear and complete. Why did they have to go meet her again and waste time? Only after finishing up did he realize that this time, the topic was focused more on the newer developments of the Lost Hand Case.
The police wanted to know if Yuan Lili and the new victim had any relationship in order to decide the direction of the investigation.
But Yuan Lili stated that she did not know the new victim at all, just as she had no relationship with the first victim. This meant none of the three victims knew each other. Thus, it was possible that the culprit simply chose them randomly.
Zhao Yu truly witnessed the meaning of "leaving no stones unturned." The police investigation truly analyzed every single tiny detail, leaving no room for error.
Yuan Lili's home was located in the downtown's high-end housing area. Even though she was no longer a piano teacher, she still enjoyed the college teacher tenure. Not to mention, when she got divorced, her husband left her a large sum of money. She lived quite comfortably thanks to these things.
The district was very busy, surrounded by huge malls on all sides. When Zhao Yu and Li Beini were leaving, the narrow street was already jam packed with cars.
"Thank God we took the bus!" Li Beini celebrated, "Had we came by car, we probably would have to have dinner here! Huh? Zhao Yu, look, look…"
Unexpectedly, Liu Beini saw something interesting as she talked, and she signaled for Zhao Yu to come look.
Zhao Yu turned his head to see what it was and was equally interested.
On the sidewalk below the high-rise building, there was a huge camel, and it had two humps! A man wearing an ethnic costume was currently leading the camel. There was a tag hanging off the camel's neck, "Photos: 5 yuan!"
"Camel!" Li Beini clapped her hands in excitement like a child, "It's a real camel!"
The city Zhao Yu lived in was near the south. Other than at the zoo, it was very rare to see animals like a camel. Zhao Yu was also very interested as he stared at the large animal.
"Ah…handsome, beautiful, do you want a photo?" The man holding the camel smiled, "Five yuan per photo. Cheap, isn't it?"
"Yes, yes!" Li Beini pulled Zhao Yu by the arm, very excited as she spoke, "Let's go take one! It's a rare opportunity…"
Without Zhao Yu's permission, the man with the camel already led the large animal in front of them.
"Erm…should I sit on it?" Li Beini tilted her head as she asked.
"Sure!" The man with the camel nodded.
"Then…can we sit on it? Together?" Li Beini asked, hoping for an intimate photo with Zhao Yu.
Before the man could respond to Li Beini, a high-pitched scream suddenly came from around the corner, "Thief! Catch the thief! My wallet…"
The voice came suddenly, and all three people turned towards the noise. A young man wearing jeans ran through the three of them.
Zhao Yu saw clearly that the youngster was clutching a woman's bag that clearly did not belong to him. Without a doubt, whoever it was that yelled 'thief' was referring to that boy.
"Huh? Thief?!" Li Beini finally reacted, and pointed at the thief, "Hey! Stop! Halt! Stop running!"
The thief was not dumb and picked up the pace. Li Beini rushed and pushed Zhao Yu, "What're you waiting for? Go! Chase the thief!"
But Zhao yu did not move, and spoke slowly, "Are you kidding? We're Key Case Investigators. Catching thieves and the like, does that look like our job?"
"What kind of talk is that?!" Li Beini was agitated, "We're still police officers! Everyone's responsible for catching thieves, go, go!"
Seeing Zhao Yu's lack of drive, Li Beini rushed to hail a cab, but the traffic was awful. Even if she found a cab, there would be no way to move.
"Alright, alright!" Zhao Yu waved his hand dismissively, "Don't bother wasting your time, let's just take the photo!"
Yet, when he turned and saw the owner of the lost bag, Zhao Yu was glued to his spot as if he had been hit by lightning, and his vision spun.
"Holy sh*t! Why…Why is it her?!"
13
Life would be much less painful if there were no relationships.
In his old life, Zhao Yu had a passionate love encounter.
The 18-year-old him fell in love with a similarly 18-year-old girl!
Her name was Yao Jia!
Yao Jia was beautiful and one-of-a-kind. She could be compared to a goddess. Her flowing black hair had Zhao Yu head over heels in love with her.
The two of them were madly in love. During the days of their youth, they had created the most beautiful memories, but just like all tragic K-dramas, the result was inevitable.
At the time, Zhao Yu was youthful and rash, and fighting was a daily occurrence. One particularly violent scuffle caused Yao Jia's leg to be injured, leaving the girl permanently crippled.
Yao Jia's parents were enraged, and beat Zhao Yu horribly before taking their daughter with them to a different city. The two lovebirds never met again. Even when Zhao Yu was on the executioner's chair, watching the injection slowly enter his bloodstream, he muttered Yao Jia's name.
People always love things that they are familiar with. Even her name, Yao Jia, Zhao Yu could not forget in death.
Who knew, who would have known, who could have known?
Zhao Yu's lost love suddenly appeared in front of him again. She was the owner of the stolen bag!
Seeing his lover again, Zhao Yu felt as if he were alive again (even though he was alive)!
The Yao Jia in front of him was wearing a long pink dress with her hair in a ponytail. Even though she looked more mature now, she was still gorgeous and elegant. Despite her bag having been stolen, her movements were still very ladylike, drawing everyone's admiration to her.
"Thief! Thief! My bag!" Yao Jia had an agitated expression as she glanced at Zhao Yu from the side of her eyes but did not look directly at him. It was as if deep in her mind, she did not expect the man to help her catch the thief.
"Huh?!"
Zhao Yu came back to reality, startled. "No way? If it was Yao Jia's bag that was stolen, then this is a whole different matter! Why am I still standing here?"
Zhao Yu quickly started running after the thief, but saw that the thief had already ran far away. If he just relied on his speed, it would be too difficult to catch up.
.
But the street was jam packed with cars, even bicycles would not be able to move. There was simply no suitable mode of transportation anymore.
What should he do?
Zhao Yu turned and suddenly saw the large animal--the camel!!
"Huh? There!"
Zhao Yu did not even think twice as he snatched the leash from the owner and hopped onto the camel in one swift motion.
"Hah!"
He had rode horses before. He squeezed the camel's side with his legs, he slapped the camel expecting the animal to move. Yet no matter how he much he struggled, the camel was like a mountain, absolutely immovable.
"Bro, what are you doing?" The owner became nervous, "Get down! You can't do this!"
"Shut up, I'm the f*cking police!" Zhao Yu roared, "I'm doing my job, can't you see? Right now, I'm using your camel for public business, tell me how to get it to run! Hurry!"
The loud yell intimidated the camel owner quite a bit. Using some weird method, the owner pinched the camel's butt. The camel instantly responded, and began dashing forward at top speed.
The sudden acceleration almost caused Zhao Yu to fall off. He quickly held tight to one of its humps, trying not to fall off.
The camel was truly impressive. The wind whooshed by as it ran. It was more exciting than riding a motorcycle.
"Zhao Yu…you…" Li Beini was stunned as she stood on the sideline. She stared for a long while before yelling out, "You…careful…"
Li Beini's voice did not reach Zhao Yu at all. The camel's speed allowed them to pass Yao Jia within the blink of an eye.
Yao Jia was also stunned. She raised her head to see the large camel, and Zhao Yu awkwardly riding the camel. The image was out of the world!
The camel ran along the sidewalk. Despite the narrow sidewalk, the camel was surprisingly flexible. It did not decrease in speed at all. Before long, the camel had caught up with the thief.
At first, the thief thought he was safe! But when he turned around, he saw a gigantic mass coming towards him. His eyes bulged out in shock and he started to speed up again.
The camel was just about to catch the bag thief when the thief turned a corner, and fled into an alley.
Zhao Yu pulled on the leash, and the camel turned into the alley in pursuit.
The alley was filled with small shop stands selling pots and pans, snacks, and advertising fortune telling.
The thief was quick on his feet, and easily ran past the small shops. But the large camel could not run through with such ease. Instead, it merely ran into everything in its path, sending stuff flying everywhere!
Within seconds, pots and glass stumbled onto the floor, chairs and tables broke, even the blind fortune teller was flipped into a wall.
The alley was complete chaos and confusion.
Despite this, the camel's speed did not decrease at all. Finally at the end of the alley, it caught up with the thief. The bag thief was completely exhausted. He panted louder than the camel!
Just as they caught up with the thief, Zhao Yu noticed a huge problem. Crap! He forgot to ask how to stop the camel!
"How…How do I stop?! Stop! Stop!"
Zhao Yu tried many classic braking methods in quick succession, but the camel did not respond at all, and continued barreling forward at lightning speed. Within moments, it had passed the thief and continued forward a few meters.
"Huh?"
The bag thief looked up and saw the man riding the camel had not even tried to stop him. He quickly turned around and ran the other way, but was simply too exhausted and could only muster a saunter.
"Holy sh*t!" Zhao Yu felt his heart stop. In a moment of helplessness, he pulled fiercely on the leash and made a huge loop at the end of the alley and managed to turn around.
"No way?!" The bag thief wanted to die, but could only clench his teeth and tried to speed up again. This time, Zhao Yu did not give him a chance. When the camel caught up with the thief again, he jumped off in one smooth motion.
Making a magnificent leap through the air, Zhao Yu landed on the thief.
After the chase, the thief had already lost all hope. By the time Zhao Yu got up, he was already raising his hands in defeat.
But Zhao Yu was still angrily ignoring the thief's declaration of defeat. He punched the thief directly in the face, giving him a black eye, watching as his nose bled profusely.
"Holy sh*t! You dare to run from me!?" Zhao Yu gave the thief a resounding slap across the face, before slumping onto the ground, feeling as if his entire body was about to come apart. The camel was also quite intelligent, having felt the weight vanish from its back, it stopped automatically, and kept looking at Zhao Yu!
Zhao Yu gave it a thumbs up, "Thanks, bro!"
14
Zhao Yu's camel fiasco caused quite the commotion.
In the end, the thief, him and Li Beini, the bag owner Yao Jia, the owner of the camel, as well as the very proud camel itself, were all invited into the police station.
While they were giving their testimonies, the police station nearly exploded from complaints from all of the shop owners in the alley who had their shop wrecked. They were all complaining about the culprit, begging the police to repay their losses. The officers in the station were completely swamped.
Li Beini was worried that Zhao Yu would be forced to pay the reparation fee, and tried her best to resolve the situation.
But at that moment, Zhao Yu did not have any energy to focus on those things. As soon as he entered the station, he could not do anything except stare at Yao Jia.
When an officer came to ask questions, Zhao Yu completely ignored the officer and slapped down his investigator ID on the table. The officer was enraged, thinking it was just a Key Case Investigator abusing his authority!
"Ah!"
Zhao Yu's heart was pounding from finally seeing his gorgeous ex-lover.
"Has God finally taken mercy on me, and gave me a second chance?" The girl looked as beautiful as she was before. Her pure white skin and her stunning face were all exactly the same as when Zhao Yu had been with her.
Zhao Yu had to stop himself from rushing to Yao Jia and embracing her to confess his woes.
He wanted so badly to say, "Love! Do you know? I've missed you my entire life! Are you alright? How have you been? Do you still remember me…?"
But his remaining sense of reason stopped Zhao Yu from actually doing so. He knew he had already crossed over. The Yao Jia in front of him looked like his old lover, but was probably not the same person.
The Zhao Yu from before was not the same as the current Zhao Yu.
"She probably doesn't even know me! The biggest difference in this world is probably that I am standing in front of you, yet you don't recognize me!"
Zhao Yu stared without blinking as he watched Yao Jia give her testimony. Her name had not changed, she was still Yao Jia. But just like Zhao Yu, her life was very much different from the other world. She was now a nurse in the Downtown Hospital. A head nurse too!
The old Yao Jia would faint at the sight of blood. There was no way she could have become a nurse!
Zhao Yu's stare already caught everyone's attention. Even Yao Jia felt like his gaze was unnatural, as her face turned a bright shade of red. After her testimony, she daintily held the bag Zhao Yu worked to get back and coyly walked in front of him to thank him, "Thank you, truly! I didn't think you were a policeman! If it wasn't for you…then…" Yao Jia threw a glance at the camel outside, "I would have lost so much!"
"Ah…Hallelujah…" Zhao Yu felt drunk from hearing her very familiar voice, and started swaying like a madman.
Yao Jia clearly had no idea what to do, and could only thank him again, then turned to leave.
"Wait!" Zhao Yu stopped her, holding a sliver of hope, "Yao Jia, Jia Jia! Think carefully, do you remember me?"
"Huh? Do…do we know each other?" Yao Jia was shocked. She examined Zhao Yu up and down, but surely shook her head.
Zhao Yu sighed in his mind, but did not want to give up. He quickly called for Li Beini to come to his side, "Junior, hurry! Call my phone!"
"What?" Not only was Li Beini very confused, Yao Jia was also puzzled, not sure what Zhao Yu meant.
"I told you to do it, so just do it! Hurry up!" Ignoring the sad state of his generic brand phone, Zhao Yu put it in front of Yao Jia.
With Zhao Yu's constant urging, Li Beini called his phone.
Soon Zhao Yu's phone rang. Zhao Yu's ringtone was unusual. The music was one of the ancient classic tunes from the 80s. It was the theme song of the kung-fu drama, "Lu Xiaofeng." The song's name was "Leaving my sweet dreams."
"Thriving for life within difficulty, with a forceful smile!"
"Ah—Hero, please accompany me in my dreams!"
"Ah—Hero, please leave me my sweet dreams…"
When this old tune played in the lobby, the entire station went quiet. Everybody looked at Zhao Yu as if he were a maniac.
"How's this, how's this?" Zhao Yu looked expectantly at Yao Jia, "Do you remember something now?"
"This…" Yao Jia's eyes were large as she yelled, irritated, "This…what kind of stupidity is this?!"
"F*ck!" Zhao Yu exclaimed in his head.
Zhao Yu shook where he stood and nearly fell over. This song was old, but it was Yao Jia's favorite. Zhao Yu remembered this, which was why it was his ring tone.
Yet the Yao Jia in front of him had no reactions, meaning that she and his ex-lover really were not the same person! Her interests and personality were definitely different from the old Yao Jia.
"Erm…" finally understanding the situation, Zhao Yu hurried and stood up. His expression was much more serious, and he looked like a normal person again. He was very polite as he spoke, "Miss Yao Jia, if you don't mind, can we exchange contact info?"
"Oh…" Yao Jia showed reluctance, as she was clearly unwilling.
Zhao Yu saw her reluctance, and followed, "If I need to go to the hospital later and such, maybe I can contact you?"
"Oh, oh okay…" Yao Jia finally relented, and pulled out her phone in a hurry. "How about WeChat? This is my QR code, you can scan it!"
"Alright!" Zhao Yu hurriedly turned on his phone, but remembered he did not have any data, so there was no way for him to use WeChat. Zhao Yu's reaction was very fast, though, as he turned on his camera and snapped a picture of the code, so he could add it later.
"Officer Zhao, honestly, thank you." Yao Jia generously shook Zhao Yu's hand. "If you really stop by downtown for something, feel free to find me! But obviously I hope you don't end up hospitalized! Haha…" Yao Jia turned around and left the station.
Zhao Yu watched her leave, feeling the lingering warmth in his hand tugging at his heartstrings.
In that moment, he made up his mind. No matter if the Yao Jia of this world was not the same as the other. No matter what her situation was, married, boyfriend, whatever, he would use any and every method to obtain her!
Everyone could see Zhao Yu's obsession with Yao Jia. So did Li Beini, who was head over heels for Zhao Yu. Seeing his reaction, she crossed her hands angrily and raised her head up in disdain.
15
That afternoon around 4 o'clock, the completion message suddenly started in Zhao Yu's brain, telling him that today's adventure was over. The completion rate was seventy-two percent, obtaining him another invisibility device.
Upon opening the item and obtaining it, he saw it was another invisible tracking device, the same as last time!
"What's this? Why couldn't it have been something newer, more fun or exciting?"
Despite feeling somewhat disappointed, Zhao Yu finally had the time to ponder about the Miracle System. Up until now, he had used it three times. Despite not fully knowing the rules, he still learned certain things about it.
He pulled out his little notepad and started analyzing the information he recorded.
First, the Miracle System could only be activated once a day, with the ending time unknown. Zhao Yu estimated the ending time had something to do with the completion rate--the faster he finished the adventure, the faster it ended.
Secondly, the adventure was random, and was not really according to his wish. Like today, he had hoped the Miracle System would help him crack the Lost Hand Case, but today's adventure was mainly meeting Yao Jia, and riding the camel to catch the thief!
Another point is, the difficult words spoken when the Miracle System engages, may have some kind of meaning. Like the third time, it had something to do with destiny, and red string of fate, which appears to be very much related to Yao Jia; and the word about going up and down, seems to refer to him riding on the camel.
Could it be that the complex words' meaning was alluding to the adventure he would have later?
The words' theme also seemed to have some sort of meaning. He remembered vaguely the words Gen Dui Gua, and Kan Gen Gua. Kan, Gen, Dui were all words used in the five-element Bagua. Zhao Yu looked them up online, and saw that it was in fact a match.
Kan represented water, Gen represented mountain. "Backfacing water." Zhao Yu vaguely felt that if he could understand the theme and the complex passage, maybe then when he used the Miracle System, then he could drastically increase his success rate.
It looked like he would have to do some more research to completely grasp the System. Once he did, he would be able to use it to his benefit, and do whatever he wanted!
Throwing the System aside, Zhao Yu had to shift all his focus towards the Lost Hand Case. Looking at it now, even if he had the Miracle System, it might not help him solve this case at all.
Not only that, it might even do things like today, adding some random adventure and wasting his time.
"If it's like this…" Zhao Yu began to think.
After much consideration, he made a brilliant decision. From now on, he would use his own power, and expend all his energy to solve the Lost Hand Case by himself!
He did end up betting after all. Losing and paying 1800 yuan was not a big deal. The important part was losing face. Just so he did not let scum like Liu Changhu get the last laugh, he would have to work hard.
Although he was mostly an amateur at crime solving, having crossed over with no formal knowledge, but in his old gang he had caught many spies. He had some confidence in his ability to catch criminals!
So that night Zhao Yu printed out more of the important records on the Lost Hand Case and brought them all home for research.
His current home was excellent, but it did not have Wi-Fi. The stupid Jiang Dafeng would rather use his own phone data than use in Wi-Fi apparently.
Actually, the reason why he did that was to prevent his daughter Xiaoqing from playing on her phone, which would interfere with her study.
Yet little did he know, his daughter was actually a master hacker. Jiang Xiaoqing had already gotten the password for the neighbor's Wi-Fi. There was no interference with her games.
Zhao Yu was also very sneaky, and got the hacked password from Jiang Xiaoqing the day he moved in. The internet the two used was from the beauties next door.
Zhao Yu laid all the information on the table, and started researching yet again, wanting to clean up all the information pertaining to the case.
Last year April 22nd, in Qinshan City's fitness gym's underground tunnel was where the first incident had taken place.
The woman's name was Gao Tian, an office worker for a foreign company. She usually lived in the capital, but had come back to Qinshan to watch a music concert.
According to Gao Tian herself, once the concert was over, she was following the crowd through the underground tunnel but was knocked out by someone. When she came to, her right hand was gone.
After the culprit chopped her right hand off, they even gave her first aid to prevent her from bleeding to death.
The strange thing about this case was that after the culprit committed the crime, there was absolutely no evidence. Even with all the surveillance cameras in the fitness gym, there was not a trace of evidence.
The victim had been knocked out despite the fact that the area had been full of people. In addition, there was a lack of light, not to mention, it was late at night and everyone was tired, thus there was no good witness that could help.
At the time, the police mobilized full force to solve the case, yet within five days on April 26th, another Lost Hand Case struck.
The victim this time was Yuan Lili, who Zhao Yu and Li Beini interviewed. Yet Yuan Lili's circumstances were even more mysterious. She was laying in her own bed when her hand was chopped off!
That day nothing happened, and Yuan Lili had simply finished washing up and went to sleep. Yet when she woke up, her right hand was gone, the shock and terror were expected.
At the time, Yuan Lili was not living in the current high-end district as she was now, but where she had lived also had quite a few surveillance cameras. The weird thing was, no matter how the police searched through the footage, there were no suspicious personnel. They even pulled up the video from seven days before the case and looked through them carefully to no avail.
According to the records, Yuan Lili's door did have signs or forced entry, but by using forensics methods they realized that the door had indeed not been forced open, but that the culprit had her house key.
Yuan Lili was home alone that day. A few days before, she and her husband had a fight, and she kicked him out of the house. At the time, the police naturally focused on her husband.
But those few days her husband had been out on a business trip. Yuan Lili and her husband had a rocky relationship. After this struggle, it was not a surprise when they divorced.
After Yuan Lili, the Lost Hand Case stopped for a whole year.
Yet the third case suddenly happened again one year later. The date was still April 22nd.
The third case victim was Luo Meina, a classic housewife, her husband, a classic uneducated rich man. That night she attended a party, but on the way back home in her car she was knocked out. When she woke up in the morning, her right hand was gone.
At the time she was laying in her own BMW. The car was stopped in an alley on Jiu He street. The shocked Luo Meina ran out of the car and asked for help from a KFC nearby, and was found that way.
Similar to the two before, other than the BMW being in the surveillance camera, there was not a single sign of the culprit themselves.
According to the field research, the culprit probably laid in wait inside of Luo Meina's car, then knocked her out once she entered.
Then the culprit drove the car into the alley on Jiu He street, and chopped off Luo Meina's hand, then put her back in the car.
And then disappeared.
"Holy sh*t…"
Seeing the data that he organized, Zhao Yu could not help but remember Li Beini's words. This culprit was like a ghost, but he did not think it would be this bad!
"Could it be…this case, is really unsolvable?"
16
When he woke up the next morning, the first thing Zhao Yu did was pull out a cigarette. He did not want to smoke for the pleasure of smoking--he had an alternative reason. Ever since the Miracle System, Zhao Yu felt a lack of attraction towards smoking. If it were not for getting to play the lottery, he did not really want to smoke at all. He felt, like he had been influenced at least somewhat by the other Zhao Yu.
Today was the "Kan Li Hexagram." Water reigned as fire weakened. The exact words were, "Fire and water coexist. Yin and yang combine. Positive and negative both persist in harmony."
Zhao Yu memorized the words. It meant that the fire element had left the Bagua. This was the first time that had happened. What would he be doing today?
In his previous life, Zhao Yu had always loved pondering needlessly. Despite knowing that there would be a new adventure today, his mind was still focused on the Lost Hand Case. He truly did not want to surrender and let Liu Changhu and others see his embarrassment. He did not believe that there was no way Lost Hand Case could be unsolvable.
After a night of intense research, Zhao Yu realized that in order to solve this entire case, he must use the current case as the launchpad! Because the previous two cases had already been researched thoroughly by the police, there would be no point in doing the research all over again. He planned to ask Team Leader Qu Ping for some information when he got to work in order to see if she had any other news. After all, she was the person in charge of the Lost Hand Case.
He woke up too early, so there was still a long time before work. Zhao Yu had too much time on his hand, so he took out a can of beer and sipped it as he went out on the balcony. This was one of Zhao Yu's small habits. When he needed to think, he liked to think over a beer.
The balcony on the third floor was about sixty or seventy square-meters. Zhao Yu sat on a chair, thinking intently as he sipped his beer. The warm sunlight poured in from the east. Zhao Yu felt highly satisfied as he enjoyed the warmth, basking his face in the sun's golden glow.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the the neighbor's balcony. The two balconies were originally connected, but were now separated by an anti-theft net. Zhao Yu saw a tall, long haired woman appear on the neighboring balcony. She looked young, at most a little over twenty. She was currently holding the newest iPhone, the speaker under her ear as she listened to messages on WeChat. Shockingly, she only wearing thin, revealing white pajamas. The semi-transparent fabric showed off her beautiful figure. Zhao Yu could clearly see that she was not wearing any underwear.
Regarding the neighboring beauties, Jiang Dafeng really was not kidding. Zhao Yu had just moved in, and only saw them once. They had a room with four people, who were all thin, tall, and beautiful girls. Their figures could be compared to models.
Yet regarding their identity, Jiang Dafeng was off the mark. Zhao Yu could tell with one glance that the neighboring four beauties were definitely not college students. The four of them often went out at night, and most of the time did not return home. How could they be college students?
Due to Zhao Yu's old job requirements, he often dealt with women like these! He did not need to hear it from them. Just from their posture and expression he could tell that these four beauties were definitely social butterflies in the night district! Despite their youth, the lack of heavy makeup, and brand names, Zhao Yu saw through their innocent appearance with a single glance. So when he saw the figure on the balcony, there was no change in his expression. The desperation he showed with that gold digger in the bar was long lost.
The white pajama beauty already had noticed Zhao Yu. As she listened to her WeChat messages she nodded confidently at Zhao Yu, completely nonchalant about her revealing clothing.
Zhao Yu also politely raised his beer can, then drank a huge gulp with a rise of his head. His motion attracted the beauty's attention. She put down her phone immediately and asked with some curiosity, "Drinking beer this early in the morning? Um…You're the newcomer, right? The fatty actually rented the room out?"
Zhao Yu politely nodded, but did not want to talk. Leaning back again, he downed the rest of his beer.
With that, the woman was more interested. She examined Zhao Yu and asked, "What do you do?"
"Investigator! Key Case Investigation Unit!" Zhao Yu's answer was very brisk. He was not sure why, but he felt a little excited mentioning his job, even a little proud.
"Oh? I couldn't tell, but you're a police officer!" The woman's expression instantly changed. Despite Zhao Yu's morning stubble, his broad frame and handsome appearance were still very enticing.
"You…" The beauty gaped slightly before remembering to introduce herself, "Hello, I'm Huahua. Mr. Policeman, if I end up in some kind of trouble, will you come and help?"
"Huahua?" Zhao Yu sighed inside, why was her name so boring? "Girl, don't tell me you're first name is Bai? Also…has your house never had pets?" Zhao Yu thought to himself. Seeing the woman waiting for his response, Zhao Yu replied without a pause, "Nope!"
Miss Huahua was very surprised by his response. Every man that had met her was desperate to please her, groveling in front of her. Yet the man in front her did not even bat an eye.
"Why?" She asked in a hurry.
"Because…I'm an investigator on the Key Case Investigation Unit!" Zhao Yu stood up slowly with a smirk, and spoke with pauses, "All those I meet, are. Dead. People!!"
Huahua stared hard for a while digesting his words, then forced an awkward smile. Seeing Zhao Yu return to his own room, she crossed her arms and muttered," Insane!"
The truth was, Zhao Yu used dry humor and ended the conversation early not because he did not care to make friends, but because he was worried he could not actively be someone's friend. He knew social butterflies like Miss Huahua much too well--if you got caught with them, there would only be tragedy. He had seen too many living examples of such. No matter what man, if they fell for that kind of woman, it was like an addiction with no return. In the best case scenario, families were broken. The worst case scenario was complete financial destruction.
When he saw those sorts of situations before, his seniors all sincerely warned him, "Remember, one shouldn't harm their own neighbors, do not date h*es, especially since she's under your command. Do not touch!"
Zhao Yu was mindful of his senior's words, and had no desire to get close to Huahua. But he knew clearly in his mind that today his adventure words were "fire and water mixes, and Ying Yang coexists." Perhaps if he had chatted more with Miss Huahua, he might have been able to date a babe. But if that had happened, the person who fell in the trap definitely would not be Miss Huahua, but Zhao Yu himself!
Of course Zhao Yu had never sworn celibacy. Regarding sex, Zhao Yu certainly was not deprived. If Huahua really was a pure college student, then he definitely would not have let go of such a good chance! Not only that, but Zhao Yu had also just met his old lover. Remembering their everlasting promise from back in their youth, he wanted to return to Yao Jia and fix his old mistake. How could he look at anyone else? Zhao Yu had already decided that once he solved the Lost Hand Case, he would use all his energy to pursue Yao Jia, and find true happiness!


## True Love?

17
"Zhao Yu, what are you trying to say? Do you think we're all slacking or something?" In the police station building B team office, Team Leader Qu Ping was currently standing there with her arms crossed, mildly angry. Many investigators on the B team surrounded the office, highly interested in seeing what the commotion was about.
"I didn't mean it like that," Zhao Yu explained. "I just felt that since the culprit cut off Luo Meina's hand, but didn't leave any evidence, he must have planned this ahead of time! So he must've followed Luo Meina for a long time. I feel like we shouldn't just focus on surveillance near the time the crime was committed, but also…"
"Alright, Alright," Qu Ping interrupted Zhao Yu immediately, not allowing him to speak. "Zhao Yu! I already know that you and vice captain Liu have that bet! You're hurrying the case since you don't want to lose! But…I hope you can understand, the police solving a case isn't a joke, or justice, but a responsibility! Responsibility, do you understand? You see…" She pointed at the few workers in front of the computer and said, "These few co-workers have already stayed up two whole nights checking the surveillance cameras! They even pulled out the records from the past two months. Are you saying that there is still a need for you to remind them? Also…"
She pointed again at the photos posted all over the whiteboard, "Do you think that over the past few days we've been playing? Did you see anyone in the entire team go home? If they weren't interviewing, they were looking for evidence. We're using all of our time and effort to solve the case, and not with just our mouths!"
Zhao Yu looked carefully at the investigation whiteboard. It was packed with various information, photos of the victim, background information, and possible suspects. There were also potential relationships, and evidence circled in red. The amount of information was staggering. It was easy to tell with one glance that it had been assembled with a huge amount of effort. It was the first time that Zhao Yu had seen this, and it was news to him. No wonder the police were always on his tail before! These people were so careful. His own photos had probably been posted often on the whiteboards too.
Seeing Zhao Yu spacing out staring at the whiteboard, Qu Ping reflexively stood in front of the whiteboard, blocking it from his view as her expression darkened, "What? Don't tell me you want information from me? Do you need…my help?"
"What?" Zhao Yu did not think that Qu Ping, as the team leader, would say something so selfish. What did that even mean? Could it be that not only Liu Changhu, but the entire Key Case Investigation group was waiting to laugh at him? Within that moment, Zhao Yu felt that all the investigators around him were smiling evilly at him. He clenched his fist and roared at Qu Ping, "Holy sh*t, you think you're so great?" He pointed at the whiteboard behind Qu Ping, "You guys were so hardworking, so focused, so capable, yet still didn't solve the case? God! If you dared to give all that information to me, I'd solve the case before you guys!"
Unexpectedly, his intimidation did not scare any of the investigators, but instead made them laugh. Even Qu Ping was unaffected, she uncrossed her arms and said, "Alright, Zhao Yu! All the information here, take them as you will! Later I'll tell Liu to make a set of complete information for you, without a single word or photo left out. We'll see how this great detective Zhao solves the case before us, okay?!"
Hearing Qu Ping's words, the investigators on team B made even more expressions mocking Zhao Yu.
"Okay, Okay!" Zhao Yu did not care at all. What he truly needed was the newest information on the Lost Hand Case, so he agreed immediately.
When Zhao Yu went back to his office desk holding a whole crate full of investigation materials, the investigators on A team looked at him with bewildered eyes. No one knew what Zhao Yu was thinking. Zhao Yu pulled a whiteboard in front of his office desk, and imitated the other one, putting up stickers and information from his book.
"Hmph! What's the big deal?" Zhao Yu thought. "Don't pretend like you guys are the only professionals, I'm not bad either!" In his old life, when he needed to catch a traitor, Zhao Yu had sat in the snow for a whole month. Just sticking pictures on the whiteboard in front of him, how hard could that be?
But it had not even been an hour before Zhao Yu felt completely clueless. He finally understood that sorting through these complex bits of information was not something that everyone could do. Despite all the information in front of him, to transform them into evidence was not as easy as it seemed. There was a need for a sharp mind, and great analytical ability, things Zhao Yu lacked greatly.
Gradually, Zhao Yu felt like he could no longer add to the whiteboard, as if his brain had short-circuited. He sighed and raised his head to see Li Beini's empty office desk. Where did the girl go? Maybe she could help him with this.
But today was the day to officially conclude the Taser Rape Case. As a member on the information team, Li Beini went with Captain Li to the city police station to report the case. They would be back the next day.
As if his day was not bad enough, just as Zhao Yu came to a screeching halt in his progress, the system in his mind started the finishing message. The system told him today's adventure was finished; the completion was a pitiful nine percent! With a completion rate like that, obviously there were no rewards.
"Holy sh*t!" Zhao Yu checked his watch. The system had not even started five hours ago how come it was already over? Could it be, that the adventure the system had given him had been wasted?
Thinking back on his day, other than talking to Miss Huahua in the morning, he did not even leave the police building. Therefore, it was easy to tell that this time the adventure's main point was Miss Huahua. If Zhao Yu had not chosen to end the conversation quickly with his dry humor, maybe something would have happened with Miss Huahua. But not getting close to Miss Huahua did not make Zhao Yu feel the least bit of regret. He was only a little frustrated. It seemed like the Miracle System did not intend on helping him solve the Lost Hand Case.
If it continued like this, what could he use to solve this case? To beat the stupid Liu Changhu? He could not rely on the system, and there was no progress on the case. Not to mention, the entire Investigation team was waiting to laugh at him. Even Li Beini was not around. Zhao Yu was completely alone.
But Zhao Yu wasn't someone who would lower his head so easily, even if the situation was hard. The thought of giving up never crossed his mind.
"It's just standing alone! Even if I stand alone, I will not fall. I will never give up until the very last second!" he thought triumphantly. "Hmph! Not to mention, there might be some random miracle that could happen! Wait…" Thinking this far, Zhao Yu suddenly remembered something, focusing on an exciting possibility. "Oh right. How could I forget 'it'?!"
18
In actuality, despite the peaceful appearance of the Key Case Investigation Unit, hidden underneath was a highly fierce competition.
The rule within the unit was that other than huge cases requiring the two teams to work together, the normal cases were given to individual groups to be taken care of.
Since the Key Case Investigation Unit was split into Team A and B, there was naturally a fair amount of competition. The team with the higher case solving rate not only looked better, but also had a significantly higher annual bonus.
Thus, in order to surpass the other group, the investigators put all their effort in every case. The two team leaders were also highly competitive, not holding back one bit.
Over the last few years the teams had been fairly even, and shared the reward equally for years. But ever since Team Leader Qu Ping had been promoted as the leader of Team B, the situation changed completely. Using her own rich experience and excellent leadership, Qu Ping solved many difficult cases, and within a year, left Team A in the dust.
Last year, Team B investigators were given a whole 5000 yuan bonus over Team A. The people of Team B were ecstatic!
Ever since the start of this year, Team B was even more fierce, already having a huge lead against the other team, leaving Team A even further behind.
Under such pressure, Team A Leader, Mao Wei, obviously carried the biggest burden of all. Yet, despite all of his hard work, he could do nothing about the situation. In the end, not only did he lose to Qu Ping, but during a fierce chase he accidentally fell from a building and ended up in the hospital.
After Mao Wei's injury, the leadership of Team A was temporarily given to the Vice Captain Liu Changhu. But he could care less about the salary of Team A, and naturally did not bother competing for case solving rates. Every time there was an important case, he pushed it towards Qu Ping.
Team A was even more pitiful than before. All of them were so defeated and ashamed, seeing no way to come back.
Due to Qu Ping's exceptional performance, the higher-ups also looked favorably to her. Every time there was a large-scale case requiring two teams to cooperate, she was always the leader. Even the people of Team A listened to her instructions.
Since then, Qu Ping's pride was at its peak, being very satisfied with her achievements. But unexpectedly, during the Taser Rape Case, Zhao Yu had randomly popped in.
Not sure where the guy's luck came from, but she had not even started when Zhao Yu had already caught the culprit! It was especially shameful because Zhao Yu was part of Team A!
Despite the case being a cooperation, the reward was split, having a member of Team A like Zhao Yu steal all the thunder was something Qu Ping could not accept. She was so irritated that she did not eat simply thinking about it.
Yet, the Lost Hand Case came the following day. Qu Ping obviously could not let go of such a good opportunity in order to redeem herself. She perked up almost immediately, and worked like a machine endlessly and efficiently on the case.
Qu Ping was no stranger to this Lost Hand Case. It was because of this case that she was transferred from a county bureau's first station to the Key Case Investigation Unit. But this was the first case since her promotion that she could not solve, and had bothered her since.
Now that the culprit appeared again, it excited her greatly, and she swore she would catch the culprit this time. Not only for the victims, but also for her own pride!
Over the past few days, she had worked tirelessly with her team, garnering a huge amount of new evidence, and even making some progress in the investigation. But against the mysterious culprit, it was still like looking for a needle in a haystack.
For some odd reason, facing the jam-packed white board pasted with information, Qu Ping had a feeling that the key to solving the case was right on the board. As long as she could figure out the first step and find that key piece of evidence, the identity of the mysterious culprit would appear.
Yet, right when the team was painfully grueling over the key evidence, Zhao Yu once again appeared to barge into the case, bringing more misfortune with him.
Although she had finally gotten rid of the guy by sacrificing her giant crate of information, Zhao Yu floated back to her yet again for some reason.
Zhao Yu walked around the office with his hands behind his back as if investigating something. As he shuffled through the team B office, he completely ignored all the hostile eyes around him.
"Zhao Yu?!" Qu Ping's tone was a bit more than annoyed, "What are you doing back here? To sabotage us? Didn't I already give you all the evidence you wanted?"
After the long competition, the members of Team A and B almost felt a little like enemies. Despite only being separated by a wall, the two groups rarely visited each other. Seeing Zhao Yu come with clear ill intent, Team B prepared for the worst, guarding against him as if guarding against a thief. Just in case he stole or broke something!
"Nothing, hehe…Nothing!" Zhao Yu giggled a little at Qu ping, "You do you, I'm just here to tell that one guy something. Just now he said he was sending me the BMW surveillance camera things, I don't need it anymore! I already got too much evidence, can't use it all, hehe…that's it, go do your work now…I'm going! No need to send me off!" After that, Zhao Yu strutted out slowly.
For some reason, seeing Zhao Yu's receding figure, the members of Team B felt as if an immense weight had been lifted off of their shoulders. Even Qu Ping let out a sigh of relief.
Returning to his own desk and sitting down, Zhao Yu giggled non-stop, almost like a monkey. The investigators of Team A saw and shook their head, thinking Zhao Yu went even crazier.
In reality, little did they know that Zhao Yu had not merely walked into Team B's office for fun, but had planted a bug!
This was the Key Case Investigation Unit Office. Naturally there were many measures against bugging, but Zhao Yu's bug was the cream of the crop, completely invisible. How could it be detected?
When Zhao Yu was in Team B's office, he controlled the Invisibility Eavesdropper within his mind, easily placing it on the whiteboard.
The entire process from set-up to implanting was completely invisible. Other than Zhao Yu himself, no one could see it!
After the implanting process, a button suddenly appeared in Zhao Yu's mind which could be controlled with his mind. Once turned on, Team B investigators' conversations could be heard very clearly.
"Hehehe…" Zhao Yu smiled sneakily. Team Leader Qu had never expected this, right? This is called 'there's always someone better', I'll slip past your every guard!
Originally Zhao Yu truly had not expected that his first time using the system items would be on his own people, but this time they forced his hands. It was their fault for looking down on him!
"Hehehe…" Hearing talking coming from Team B's office, Zhao Yu was very excited. He was planning more misdeeds. Once Qu Ping saw a possible suspect, or locked on the culprit, then he would be one step ahead of them. He's going to catch the culprit and take all the glory!!
19
"Luo Meina's BMW was last stopped in an alley on Jiu He Street," one of the Team B investigators said. "That alley leads directly towards the Jiang Jun Shrine LC district then splits into many directions that can be used to go to any area in Qinshan City. We've already found all the surveillance cameras we could, but still haven't found any suspicious persons."
"Hm…" Qu Ping spoke, "If he could avoid this many surveillance cameras, there are only two possibilities! Either the culprit is very familiar with this area, or he lived around here, and after cutting Luo Meina's hand off, he went straight home!"
"Team Leader," another investigator spoke up. "Jiang Jun Shrine area is very complicated, with at least nine-hundred residents, not to mention many part-time workers with their houses rented out. It will be very difficult to investigate thoroughly. However, Yao Hui and Da Peng have already started."
"I see…try your best…" Qu Ping paused for a moment as if pondering something, then spoke up, "Liu, what does Luo Meina's blood test say?"
"Yes, Team Leader," The investigator called Liu immediately answered. "The test showed that there were two types of anesthesia in Luo Meina's system. One is a high concentration of ether, which works through inhalation. The other is an injection-based drug named Compounded Thiamine, which works intravenously."
"So first the culprit used ether to knock her out, then injected her with the other drug." Qu Ping remarked. "Exactly the same as the first two victims of the Lost Hand Case."
"The components of the medicine are long peng, ketamine, phencyclidine hydrochloride, and bucinnazine," Liu continued. "Erm…this sort of anesthetic is also known as the 'treasure of the sleeping deer,' it is used for sedating large animals…"
"Sh*t…" Zhao Yu was currently sitting at his desk, not even needing earphones to clearly hear Team B's discussion. As he heard all this, he also logged information down on his own whiteboard, putting down all the useful evidence.
He had not known, and was shocked by the fact that the medicine used to anesthetize Luo Meina was used for animals.
"I've already done some research. This type of anesthetic is usually fed to animals for sterilization. It is often used in urban villages," Liu continued. "We can't track down the source of this medicine!"
"Yes…the report also said that the dosage the culprit used on Luo Meina was nearly fatal, causing Luo Meina to be knocked out cold for nearly five hours. If it was used on someone with a weaker condition, I fear…"
"Hmm…" Team Leader Qu Ping pondered. "I remember that the first two cases of the Lost Hand Case also used the same anesthetic and dosage. Just like this time, the victims were knocked out for nearly five hours. Logically, there would be no need to use such a high dosage to cut off a hand. The culprit…why would he use such a high dosage?"
"Maybe because he's new at using the anesthetic?" one investigator suggested.
"This is already the third case," Qu Ping rebuffed the idea. "Even if he's a new user, he would've figured it out by now! Not to mention, aren't there are also instruction manuals?"
"Could it be…" another guessed, "the culprit had some kind of grudge against the victims? Purposely using large dosages and hoping they would die?"
"Even less probable!" Qu Ping quickly refuted again. "If he wanted to kill someone, why wouldn't he just leave after he cut off their hand instead of giving first aid? If you ask me, the culprit used such a high dosage because he was afraid that the victim would wake up too quickly, which may have led to the victim recognizing his identity or his escape route. Liu, look on the report, where's the injection location?"
"The back of the left hand, where the vein is. It is a common area for injection, no special notes…"
Hearing Qu Ping and other's analysis, Zhao Yu was also secretly learning their methods. It was why they were professionals at their job. Zhao Yu had to learn it well.
Yet, as he listened, Zhao Yu felt even weirder! Why was it that all the information and details he heard through eavesdropping, he was not able to find in the information Qu Ping gave him?
"Oh…" Zhao Yu finally realized, holy sh*t! "It was on purpose! The information they gave me was all useless, unneeded information!" he thought to himself.
"Really?!" Zhao Yu could not help but be agitated. He could not believe that the Key Case Investigation Unit was this shady! This sort of sabotage, and guarding against their own was almost a match for his old job!
"Che!" Zhao Yu made a sound of annoyance. After he calmed down, Zhao Yu quickly relaxed, thinking, "Since you guys sabotaged me first, don't be angry when I return the favor! This time, I'll take all the glory for sure!"
"Holy sh*t, I definitely will catch the culprit before you guys! Aren't you guys hardworking and serious? Then I'll just be more so than you!"
At noon, Qu Ping led the Team B investigators, and continued the busy investigation. They rushed for some take-out and continued their work.
Zhao Yu was even simpler. In order to continue jotting down all the information he heard, he took a box of instant ramen from someone's table which filled his stomach somewhat.
With the increasing quantity of information, Zhao Yu's white board was not full of scattered pieces of information. He had learned how to draw connecting lines between pieces of information, and how to analyze some simple evidence.
Maybe it was Qu Ping's influence. Looking at these tightly packed evidence analyses, Zhao Yu also had the feeling that the culprit of the Lost Hand Case was close at hand. Yet, every time he had this feeling, the evidence would suddenly come to a screeching halt, with no way to continue!
"Why is it like this? Did I miss something? Missed something very important?" As he thought like this, Zhao Yu could not help himself anymore. He started looking through the evidence over and over, almost memorizing it all.
Around four o'clock in the afternoon, the neighboring Zhang Jingfeng and Liang Huan had just came back from patrol. The two were shocked to see Zhao Yu's massive pile of evidence.
"Zhao?" Zhang Jingfeng asked, "What…did we….miss something?"
Zhao Yu could not even bother looking at them, and continued to stare at the whiteboard as if spellbound.
"Oh…Isn't this the Lost Hand Case?" Liang Huan recognized it instantly, and took a sip of water, sighing, "Ah! Because of this case, we couldn't even finish investigating the other case! Say, do you think a hand is more important than a life?"
Liang Huan's words finally attracted Zhao Yu's attention. He asked, "What do you mean?"
Zhang Jingfeng sat down, ranting, "See! The higher-ups want us to help Team B to investigate the Lost Hand Case, and told us to temporarily put the Brutal Murder Case on hold!"
"You guys are investigating it too? What did you guys find?" Zhao Yu saw that they had just come back. Maybe they had new evidence, so he was curious.
Zhang Jingfeng rushed to answer first, "Just talking with the traffic department and the forensics department. We followed the Captain's orders, and investigated the victim's BMW!"
"Wasn't it already investigated? Why again?" Zhao Yu questioned further.
"The day of the case, a lot of traffic surveillance cameras got shots of the BMW," Liang Huan answered, "but the weird thing is, none of them could see the driver! It's not that they could not see the driver clearly, but that they could not see the driver at all!"
"Why?" Zhao Yu was interested, "Was there a reason?"
"Yeah!" Zhang Jingfeng and Liang Huan nodded in sync eagerly.
20
Apparently. after an entire afternoon of investigation, Zhang Jingfeng and Liang Huan had finally figured out why the cameras couldn not see the BMW's driver. After the forensic department's repeated investigation, they saw that on the inside of the BMW's windshield, there were signs that something had been stuck on it with glue.
Testing showed that the residue of glue had been left by some sort of glass stickers. The professionals in the forensics department suspected that on the day of the crime, the culprit probably had done something to the windshield. He may have used some sort of one-way mirror. After taping it to the windshield, one could only see from inside, but no one could look in from the outside.
Although some expensive car films could have similar effects, there was no way for it to be as opaque as it was on the BMW on that day, to the point where the driver's silhouette could not even be discerned.
So, the culprit must have used some sort of special tape. In the end, after endless work from the forensics department, they finally found the brand of the film. Unexpectedly, this sort of one-way film was used by magicians for magic tricks! They were used during grand illusions to increase the effects. This sort of material was very special. Currently it was not produced within China, and could only be imported from another country.
"If you ask me…" Liang Huan saw there were not many people in the room and lit a cigarette, lowering his head and taking two deep puffs, "This Lost Hand Case is pretty much solved! The senior told us that the more effort the culprit put into making this a perfect crime, the more evidence is left behind. This time is definitely life that."
"Why?" Zhao Yu was curious.
"If the sticker material is that special, once we look up the source, no matter if it was bought online or in-person, we can find the target right away!" Liang Huan blew out a smoke ring. "Zhao…If you ask me…your whiteboard is full of shenanigans. It's useless!"
"Oh…" Zhao Yu thought carefully. It seemed that a perfect crime was not that easy to achieve. The more there was to consider, the more mistakes you could make. If the culprit was caught because of the glass film, he would have many regrets. If it was like this then Qu Ping must have already grabbed ahold of this evidence. "Alright, I'll monitor them, and move right away once the target appears."
At this time, Zhang Jingfeng and Liang Huan cleaned up the office, and pulled out some documents. They put on their jackets, ready to leave!
"What? Is it time to leave?" Zhao Yu looked at his watch, there was still about an hour before it was time to leave work.
Liang Huan smiled, "If it wasn't for Team Leader Qu's orders, we would've already gone home!"
"Zhao," Zhang Jingfeng patted Zhao Yu on the shoulder, "don't work too hard. Even if we work as hard as we want, in the end the reward for solving the case just goes to Team Leader Qu and Team B! Just rest up, come on, how about we go play some pool?"
Zhao Yu examined the two in front of him, and felt rather conflicted. It looked like every police officer was also different. At least the two in front of him were not that serious about their job. No wonder the higher-ups transferred them to the long term Cold Case Investigation Group!
"It's fine…I…I have something to do, you guys go!" Zhao Yu was currently busy with the case at hand. How would he have energy to go play pool?
"Alright," Zhang Jingfeng tilted his head, "we'll go play then! Once we get transferred to the traffic department, we probably won't get to play that much!" The two gathered their belongings and got ready to leave.
"Wait," Zhao Yu suddenly remembered something and asked in a hurry. "Right, you guys were looking at that murder case, how goes it? The one from 10 years ago? Did you guys find his wife?"
Liang Huan sighed heavily. "Don't even mention it!" Being reminded of the Uptown Murder case, Liang Huan quickly lit another cigarette. "Nothing but dead ends! We did find the victim's wife, but Zhang almost got murdered by her current husband!"
"What do you mean?" Zhao Yu was interested.
But right at that moment, a female investigator walked by. When she saw the three of them she immediately started yelling, "Liang Huan! What kind of attitude is this? Put out the cigarette!"
"Okay, Okay…" Liang Huan immediately threw away his cigarette, then muttered to himself, "Fierce woman..."
"This is the worst thing about cold cases!" Zhang Jingfeng continued the conversation. "Think about it, the victim's wife finally returned to normal, made a new family, and even had kids. Then we come in and rub salt in the wound. Who would like that?"
"Oh…" Zhao Yu shook his head, "So you're telling me, you guys got kicked out before you even got to investigate?"
"Not really," Liang Huan took over the conversation, "This was work after all! We're working for the people! With some persuasion, we managed to get some information. But the wife told us the same thing as before, the victim was a terrible person with a lot of enemies. People often broke their windows, and their door would be vandalized with paint. Other than that, nothing new!"
"Actually, according to the neighbor's testimony, the victim had a huge temper, and often hit his wife when he was angry," Zhang Jingfeng continued. "If you ask me, his wife couldn't wait for him to die!"
"Then…another lover? Possibly?" Zhao Yu asked. He really wanted to know if his guess was right or not.
"Definitely not!" Liang Huan answered definitively. "We already read through the huge amount of evidence, and even found some witnesses. The victim's wife was abused by the victim. Forget a lover! Every day, she was almost afraid to leave the house! Her and the current husband also met two years ago! Before that, she was single."
"Hitmen are even more out of the question!" Zhang Jingfeng answered. "The two were insanely poor, with nothing but debt. They wouldn't even be able to shell out five bucks!"
"This is the same as before. Just like a huge loop, we're back to the start again," Liang Huan said. "Other than getting hostility, we didn't learn anything! In the end, we are still going to end up directing traffic on the street!"
"Bro!" Zhang Jingfeng spoke emotionally to Zhao Yu. "Remember, no matter what method, don't ever end up on this team! This is basically a hole. There's only in, no out. You take care of yourself, we can go now!"
Zhang Jingfeng waved his hand, Liang Huan followed, and the pair of unfortunate guys left side by side. Watching their backs walk further and further away, Zhao Yu felt some sort of sadness for them. After a few years, would he end up like them too?
"No way!" The stubborn Zhao Yu woke himself up again. No matter what, he would definitely not lose the chase for the Lost Hand Case.
21 Reason for it
Zhao Yu had decided that he would fight Qu Ping and Team B to the death. He always sat attentively at his office desk, carefully eavesdropping on Team B's every action, even forgetting to use the bathroom.
As he expected, Qu Ping and Team B focused mainly on Zhang Jingfeng and Liang Huan's newest evidence, and immediately focused on figuring out the source of the one-sided film.
The type of one-sided film was rarely imported. Within a few hours they had already found all of the people who had recently bought the product. Immediately afterwards, they quickly started investigating the buyers. Team Leader Qu Ping almost mobilized the entire team for this.
But when the results from the investigation came back, bad results came one after another. As it turned out, the one-sided film had been purchased by performance groups, some used it for magic, and some for setting up the stage.
Even though not many performance groups purchased it, every group that did purchased a huge amount. According to the distributor, the one-sided films were not cheap, but most people had no use for it. Within the groups they were not guarded by any specific personnel, and were usually thrown in the storage room. Regardless of who they were, workers, other performers, or even audience members, anyone could take some and leave.
Because of the chaotic situation, if they really wanted to continue down this road, the workload was going to be difficult. From the looks of it, this evidence was pointless, and they were back to square one.
Hearing this, not only Qu Ping and her team members, but even the eavesdropping Zhao Yu felt despair.
It seemed like they were still underestimating the culprit's abilities. This person's execution and planning were flawless, with no openings at all, he was a genius of crime!
Even though following the trail of the one-sided film was almost useless, Qu Ping did not give up completely. She still left two investigators on the scene to continue the investigation, but everyone else was transferred back to the office.
This time, Qu Ping undoubtedly felt great pressure. If she failed to solve the Lost Hand Case, it was very possible that she would follow in the previous team leader's footsteps and be forced to resign.
But Qu Ping had already exhausted all of her strength, having already pulled out all of the evidence and thoroughly examining them. But by this point, besides not even having caught the culprit, she could not even give a decent description of them yet. Compared with her spotless record, this was unprecedented.
Soon, it was almost dawn, and despite the team continuing their tireless analysis, the talking slowly died down.
Zhao Yu was the only person in the Team A section of the office. He laid down on the desk for a long time, but heard nothing from the eavesdropper. It seemed that Qu Ping's crew were at their limit.
"Holy Sh*t" Zhao Yu turned around and carefully stared at his own whiteboard.
On the center of the whiteboard was the number "4.26." This number represented April 26th. Last year, the first case happened on April 22nd. The second case occurred four days later on April 26th.
Coincidently, this year's incident had also happened on April 22nd. Thus, the investigators were all worried that this year would repeat the last, and that there would be a fourth incident on the 26th. If a fourth incident occurred, then the consequences would be heavy. The media would surely stir a huge commotion, and the police officers involved would be heavily criticized. Right now, the entire office was covered with a thick gloom.
It was already past dawn on April 25th. If the culprit really was readying for another attack then there really was not that much time left for the police.
"But the culprit…who is it?" Zhao Yu scratched his head and continued to ponder the case without stop.
Regarding this case, besides following Qu Ping's ideas, Zhao Yu also had his own ideas.
He held onto an incomplete idea, feeling that the reason why this case was taking to long to solve may not have been because the culprit was sneaky, but because of Qu Ping's idea being wrong from the start.
Such as the fact that although Qu Ping and her team had never said it aloud, the team had already come to the conclusion that the culprit was a male! This was because during the first case, the culprit was out in a crowded area but managed to pull the victim into a small electric-supply room in the underground tunnel. Not to mention, chopping off a person's hand with one stroke took a lot of strength. If the victim was female, then those two things would have been very difficult to accomplish.
But…what if they were wrong? What if the culprit wasn't a male? What would happen?
Using the BMW one-sided film as an example, the culprit had taken such advanced measures as not to reveal anything, even their own silhouette.
But why would the culprit be so careful so as to not even reveal their own silhouette?
Could it be…that the silhouette would expose something?
Like…exposing the fact that she was…a woman?!
Other than that, Zhao Yu also felt that Qu Ping often had the wrong idea, including the culprit's motive.
By this point, the culprit had already cut off the hands of three females. But why did he cut their hands off in the first place?
Qu Ping and the team had always thought that the Lost Hand Case's victims were randomly chosen. They were sure that there were no connection between the culprit and the victim! Their reasoning was sound as the three victims had never met each other. They were not classmates, and never even went to the same school.
Worrying about whether she was wrong or not, Qu Ping had carefully researched if the three victims had any mutual acquaintances. From her research, even though there were one or two mutual acquaintances, they obscure relationships with little investigational value.
Since there were not any relationships between the culprits and the victim, Qu Ping obviously thought that the Lost Hand Case had been done by a mentally ill person. She figured that the culprit had endured some sort of mental trauma, like housewives spending too much money, and got his revenge with this crime.
But Zhao Yu did not think that was the case.
Even though he had not been a police officer before, his ability to judge certain problems was not weaker than any detective in the unit.
The three victims not knowing each other. Their body shape, appearance, height, clothes, hair length, and even job were all completely different. The only similarity among the three was their gender, age, and family's financial situation.
Zhao Yu felt that if the culprit really had some sort of perverted tendency, then they would at least pick victims who looked similar. If they were cutting people's hands off because their housewife was a large spender, then they would at least pick victims who looked like their wife.
Not to mention, the information already showed that despite the victims being from wealthier households, they did not really have spending issues.
Thus, Zhao Yu had doubts regarding Qu Ping and her team's judgement.
"What if the culprit didn't have any mental issues?" he thought.
Due to Zhao Yu's old, rather special job situation, he had seen many cases out of grudge or revenge.
For some reason, he felt that the Lost Hand Case in front of him felt very similar to case where the motive had been a grudge. The culprit who had chopped off those womens' hands was not just doing it because of their own interests or issues, but because they were actually out for revenge!
And the reason why Zhao Yu thought that was not just a guess, but because of a very specific reason!
22
Zhao Yu realized that all of the hands were missing! It was the same for all three victims--their chopped off hands had been missing at the scene of the crime, and were still missing. Without a doubt, the hands must have been taken away by the culprit!
But why did the culprit take them?
According to Zhao Yu's understanding, the culprit might have thought kept the hands as trophies! He would keep his trophies, and in future, every time he looked at the victims' hands, the hatred inside him would lessen.
This behavior was very similar to some of the feuds that Zhao Yu had experienced, so he felt that these Lost Hand Cases was some form of revenge. The culprit's targets might have been chosen purposely, not randomly.
Zhao Yu deduced that the victims might have previously offended the culprit, whether intentionally or unintentionally, so the culprit chopped off their hands to take revenge on them!
But…what kind of hatred could have caused the culprit to decide to chop off their hands? Also, why was it the right hand and not the left hand?
Like previous investigations, after thinking about it from this perspective, Zhao Yu soon arrived at a dead end.
The investigations had shown that the victims did not have any black marks or offended anyone. According to their colleagues, neighbors, and relatives, they had good reputations and were not the kind of people who caused trouble. Moreover, the three did not know one another, and their paths had never crossed. Why would they have anything to do with that sick and cruel crime?
The truth...what was it exactly? Who was the one who chopped off their hands?
While thinking, Zhao Yu seemed to have fallen into a repetitive maze, unable to get out. Gradually, his head got heavier. He could not even hear the sound from the listening device clearly, let alone think about the case.
Fortunately, Zhao Yu did not forget an important thing, which was to activate the miracle system in his brain.
Since it was past midnight, it was a brand new day, so he should be able to do another calculation! Taking out a cigarette and lighting it, a loud cough suddenly came from Team A's office.
At dawn, Zhao Yu was awakened by the alarm from his own mobile phone.
"Ah, Hero, please chase the dream with me…"
Zhao Yu was startled and suddenly sat up straight! It was only then that he realized he had not gone home last night and had fallen asleep on the table.
"Oh yeah…" he suddenly recalled last night before sleeping. He seemed to have activated the miracle system and did a calculation. What were the words? Was it "Gen Li Gua" or was it "Gen Xun Gua?"
He could not stop scratching his head. He did not even remember the title, let alone the words! He had been so tired that night that as as soon as he had closed his eyes, he fell asleep.
"Ah, Hero, please chase the dream with me..." The mobile phone was still vibrating on the table.
Zhao Yu unlocked his phone and was surprised to see that the call was from Jiang Xiaoqing, the daughter of his landlord Jiang Dafeng.
He looked at his watch. It was past seven, so she should have been in school by this time. "Why is she calling me?" he thought.
Zhao Yu did not want to answer, but the phone was ringing non-stop. He was afraid that Jiang Xiaoqing might have something important to tell him, so he pressed the answer key.
"Phew, you finally picked up the phone!" Jiang Xiaoqing sounded relieved, "Well...where are you? It seems like you did not come back last night? I left you a message on WeChat, did you see it?"
"I had to work overtime! What's up?" Zhao Yu answered curtly.
"Well...you...erm…" Jiang Xiaoqing sounded awkward and seemed to have something difficult to say.
"Speak quick! I have cases to settle!" Zhao Yu got impatient. He hurriedly switched on the listening device to check if Qu Ping and her team had any new developments.
"How about this...I can't speak clearly over the phone, I'll be reaching your unit soon, could you come out for a while?" Jiang Xiaoqing sounded anxious and spoke very fast.
"Oh please, I'm really settling serious stuff!" Zhao Yu became more impatient, "If there's anything, can't we talk tomorrow?"
"It would be useless tomorrow! Well...you…" Jiang Xiaoqing seemed to have mustered up her strength before saying loudly, "Didn't you say that we are partners? Now that I am in trouble, you should help me out. We agreed on that right?"
Hearing this, Zhao Yu started to worry. He was worried that someone might have discovered the stolen number incident and said hastily, "Alright, alright...I'm scared of you! I'll go out now, will that do?"
After ending the call, Zhao Yu did not rush out of the office. He switched on the listening device and checked on Team B's situation, but there was only silence.
He was unsure if there had been a change in the situation. He ran to the corridor in a hurry, leaned on Team B's window, and looked inside. Upon looking inside, he felt relieved.
He saw Team B's members were all like him, sleeping on their office tables! Only team leader Qu Ping was still standing in front of the whiteboard, thinking deeply about the case.
It was good that they had not solved it yet! Zhao Yu felt completely at ease. It was only then that he tidied his hair and clothes, and walked toward the main gate of the police station.
When he arrived, Jiang Xiaoqing was already waiting there, dressed in her school uniform. In the breeze, the young lady's thin physique was even more obvious. With tight lips and dodgy eyes, she looked very nervous.
Zhao Yu saw and pulled her hastily into the alley at the side, "Speak, why are you looking for me?"
While talking, Zhao Yu saw a bottle of unopened cola at the side pocket of the young lady's school bag and took it without any hesitation. He opened the bottle and started drinking.
The young lady was still thinking about her own problem and did not bother about the cola. She opened her mouth a few times and finally mustered enough courage to speak to Zhao Yu.
"Could you...be my dad for today, okay!?"
"Aeerruucckkk!" Zhao Yu spit out the cola. He did it so quickly, that some came out from his nose. "Horkkhorkk...horkkhorkk…" Zhao Yu looked terrible, coughing and using his sleeve to wipe his face.
"There's a parents meeting this morning, and all parents have to participate. I can only find you!" Jiang Xiaoqing said hastily, "If my dad goes, I'll be dead!!"
"Stop!" Zhao Yu was perplexed, "You...I...your dad? Am I that old? Can't I be your brother?"
"You can only be my dad!" Jiang Xiaoqing said seriously, "I've already intercepted my dad's mobile phone information and copied it to your phone. My teacher won't be able to tell!"
"Holy Sh*t…" Zhao Yu was about to kneel down, "Big Missy, should I give you a job at the police station! You're so professional?"
"Please!" Jiang Xiaoqing begged, "The parents meeting starts at eight o'clock, I'll pay for the cab fare okay?"
"Enough!" Zhao Yu shouted with a stern face, "If your real dad knows about it, I'll be chased out of the house, do you know that? Why don't you hire a person! It's impossible for me to go. Let me be frank, I really have an important case to investigate today! Get going, quick! Quick! If not, you won't be able to make it in time for the bus!
Zhao Yu had lost his appetite for the cola. He closed the cap and gave it back to her.
23 Missing Link
Looking at Qinshan Second Middle School's solemn and magnificent gate, Zhao Yu felt his legs become heavy, gluing him to his place.
Qinshan Second Middle School was one of the biggest, most famous middle schools within the entire district! Many people would give up everything just to get themselves into the school.
Zhao Yu never would have dreamed that Jiang Xiaoqing would be attending the Second Middle School! Not to mention, she was in the eighth grade, and that in a month and half she would be taking the High School Entrance Examination!
He was even more surprised that Jiang Xiaoqing did not want her own father to come to the parent conference; not because her grades were too low, but because her grades were too good!
As it turned out, Jiang Xiaoqing was the Second Middle School's genius. Every mock exam that she had taken, she was always ranked in the top three among the entire school.
The little girl was very interesting. She told the school that night recitation did not fit her learning style, and that she wanted to study at home. The teachers did not even dare to say no to their best student. With just a simple notification to Jiang Xiaoqing's father, she was allowed to skip her night recitation.
But the teacher did not know that Jiang Xiaoqing's so-called "father" was not actually Jiang Xiaoqing's father. Even before Zhao Yu, the kid had already faked her parent contact information multiple times.
The reason she did not want to show up for night recitation was because she went to study hacking in internet cafes, teaching herself how to scam peoples' accounts. Although she did these things, her grades never slipped, so her actions were not noticed by the school or her parents.
Jiang Xiaoqing's grades and capabilities almost put Zhao Yu to shame. He was not sure why, but as he stepped through the school gate, he had a feeling that he did not fit in. His heart sped up and he started sweating buckets. Even back when he walked into another mafia's territory to taunt them, he had never been this nervous. At that moment, he truly regretted agreeing to pretend to be Jiang Xiaoqing's dad.
With the Lost Hand Case taking up so much of his time, he did not have any energy left to spare for this. But Jiang Xiaoqing had pulled out her trump card, and had stumped the experienced, and street savvy Zhao Yu.
Jiang Xiaoqing had said it like this, "Think about it. Both of our lives are at stake here. If you don't come to the parent conference with me, my scamming will be exposed! And when it does, you won't get any money! Also, you might even face heavy repercussions since you're a policeman!"
Her move had been checkmate for Zhao Yu! Of course, Zhao Yu could simply not admit the truth and escape, but he also had a lot at stake and realized it was not worth the trade. With no way out, Zhao Yu could only reluctantly become her "dad."
"Don't worry," seeing the other's reluctance, Jiang Xiaoqing tried to make the situation less intimidating for him. "It's only a parent conference, all of the parents are going to be there. You just have to sit in a chair and listen! If our homeroom teacher asks you to make a speech, you can just say something random. Just don't say why I don't attend night recitations!"
Zhao Yu could not do anything except follow the little girl.
After Jiang Xiaoqing opened the gate with her card, she brought Zhao Yu to the school's music building. The building was fairly old, with many eaves and pillars, almost looking like it was from the 70s or the 80s. You could even see the yellow five-point stars that were scattered on the walls, somewhat faded from age.
In fear of affecting the students' studying, the parent conference was organized in the music building's lobby. The lobby could hold up to a hundred people. Using it for the parent conference almost felt like a waste.
But the sign-in at the door was very strict. Every participating parent must use their phone to scan their WeChat code. Thankfully the hacking expert Jiang Xiaoqing had already taken care of everything, and Zhao Yu did not have any problem getting in.
Because students were not participating at the parent conference, Jiang Xiaoqing left for class once she led Zhao Yu to where he needed to be. As she was leaving, she was still worried, and threw several glances back at Zhao Yu.
Zhao Yu was unprepared, so he simply found a seat near the front and sat on a chair.
The eavesdropper in his mind was still turned on. Even if he was acting as Jiang Xiaoqing's dad, he could not slack off at his real job. He was still keeping an eye on Team B's every move.
But even as Zhao Yu was sitting in the music building, Team Leader Qu Ping was still out of ideas, unable to continue.
There was still some time before the start of the parent conference, so there were not that many people yet. Among them, there was a forty-something year old mother. When she saw the piano on the podium, she looked incredibly interested, and ran up to begin playing a tune.
Unexpectedly, she was apparently a pro, playing a gentle and soothing, yet incredibly difficult tune.
The clear and elegant music rang through the lobby, lifting the mood of the parents present. Everyone stood by the piano player and listened with great interest.
Zhao Yu may have been a crude person, but he was very interested in music. Leaning against his seat, he was also enraptured by the sound of the piano.
Zhao Yu sat at the perfect spot as he could see everything that was happening. Unconsciously, his eyes were drawn to the piano player's beautiful, pearly white, long hands.
It was probably the influence of the Lost Hand Case, but in his mind, Zhao Yu was considering, "Such beautiful hands. What would be the best way to chop them off?"
The woman's hand fleeted across the piano agilely yet with strength, producing beautiful notes. The music was almost alive, filled with emotions and tugging at everyone's heartstrings. The entire room was spellbound. It was easy to tell this female parent's piano skills were not simply average.
When the music ended, the seated parents were all stunned in silence for a few seconds before they started clapping loudly.
"Hehehe…Shan Shan's mom!" Another mother praised, "I didn't notice before, but your piano skills are amazing! Even better than professionals!"
"I don't know what you mean!" Shan Shan's mother, who had just been playing the piano, smiled humbly, "I haven't played in so many years! Not to brag, but during our time, to reach the tenth level of piano was much more difficult than today!"
"Oh! You're piano level ten! We've already known each other for so many years, how come you've never mentioned it? Were you hiding it?" The other mother laughed.
"Haha…" Shan Shan's mother laughed, "It's not like I do this for a living. Why should I tell people? Actually, I was just being nostalgic, almost emotional! I still remember twenty years ago, I was right here attending a piano tournament, and almost got accepted into the Central Music School!" She continued, "Even though this place looks old, at the time, the Second Middle School's School of Music was known to be the musical paradise in Qinshan City! A lot of famous people graduated from here! Sigh! If I worked harder at that time, maybe, I could be living a whole different life!"
"Hahaha…joking again." Another female parent noted, "Your Shan Shan is so excellent already! If you went to some Music School, where would you get such a wonderful kid?"
"True, haha…" the mother laughed.
Hearing the discussion between the two, Zhao Yu felt like he had caught something. He tried hard to remember something. Then suddenly, as if struck by lightning, he hopped up from his seat.
"Holy sh*t! Piano!" He thought. "Piano!! Pianoooo!!"
Could it be that the key to the Lost Hand Case was right here?!
2singing concert, but a musical concert, and it seemed to have been related to piano.
With this thought, Zhao Yu immediately gave Li Beini a call. Li Beini had already gone to work, so Zhao Yu asked for her help in checking related records. Li Beini responded quickly, telling him that the concern Gao Tian attended that night was the special tour of Germany's Prince of Piano, Clayderman!
"Prince of Piano!?"
Gao Tian had arrived from different part of the country, which undoubtedly showed that she had a great passion for piano!
"Piano again! Then...what about the third victim Luo Meina? Did she also have a connection to piano?" Thinking of this, Zhao Yu immediately asked Li Beini to investigate further if Luo Meina had any connection with piano while also investigating the relationship between the other victims and piano.
Chopping off one's hand just because one knew how to play the piano seemed ridiculous, but Zhao Yu felt that his hunch about piano could very likely be the key to the Lost Hand Case!
As it was time for the parents meeting, Zhao Yu had to be seated, pretending to listen to the class teacher. However, in his heart, he could not hold back. It was as if the grass had grown as he anxiously awaited Li Beini's reply.
Li Beini had not known where Zhao Yu was. Once she had gathered the information, she called Zhao Yu directly, and he answered naturally as if there was no one else around. Li Beini told Zhao Yu that she had gathered detailed and reliable information on the three victims of the Lost Hand Case: Gao Tian, Yuan Lili, and Luo Meina. When they were young, they all reached the tenth level of piano!
Hearing this shocking news, how could Zhao Yu remain seated? This was how the scene happened.
Outside the hall, when he was taking notes on the stone table, Zhao Yu felt his hands trembling! Ever since he had gotten involved in the mysterious Lost Hand Case, Zhao Yu had always felt that if the murderer was after revenge, these three people must have had something in common. However, after a long search, it was still in vain. But ever since the piano clue appeared, it was different! The three people were all linked together by piano!
Zhao Yu felt that this was no coincidence. "Maybe, the real answer lies here!!"
giberish
(fmO)