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!"