Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“It’s snowing! It’s snowing!” Ran Tao pointed outside the window and said, “I knew it. It was so dark outside, so I knew that it would definitely snow!”
“This is the first snow, right? Just in time!” Zhao Yu came before the window and watched as he sighed with emotions. “Nanjiang hardly gets snow, right? Is this snow from God to signify that we have managed to right the wrongs of the Headless Female Corpse Case and bring justice to the disgraced?”
“That’s unlikely, Team Leader.” Zeng Ke stood next to Zhao Yu and said, “Cui Lizhu’s mother died because of a car accident that was caused by a slippery road, which was most likely caused by snow, too! From what I see, the probability of it snowing here wasn’t any lower than it snowing in the North!”
“Team Leader, there’s something that I can’t understand…” Ran Tao said. “I saw Li Fei pouring petrol all over himself and you lept towards him. Why didn’t anything happen to the two of you? You weren’t even burnt!”
“Oh, my motherf*cker! Can’t you just be glad when something good happens?” Zhao Yu took an unreasonable attitude towards the reproach.
He then quickly hurled the customary excuse that he had used in the past. “Don’t you know what is called assistance from God? Let me be honest with you, I have the body of the Buddha’s warrior attendant, so no ordinary fire can burn me. If you don’t believe me, let’s compete and see if you can win against me!”
Ran Tao stuck his tongue out and retorted, “I hold you in contempt!”
“Zeng Ke, come over and take a photo for me! Hurry up.” Then, the three men heard Wu Xiumin’s excited voice.
They turned around and saw that Wu Xiumin was fiddling with the Tamil Star. She had the gemstone around her neck!
Due to the gemstone’s uniqueness, the special investigation group had yet to hand it in as evidence. It wasn’t because they had any other sneaky intentions, but Division Chief Jiao had told them to do as such. As the gemstone involved diplomatic matters, Division Chief Jiao had to request official approval from her higher ups before revealing the gemstone to the world again.
“It is so beautiful!” Wu Xiumin enjoyed taking photos with it as she complimented the gemstone. “The Tamil Star! It once witnessed the rise and fall of the Indian Empire! It is such a rare opportunity that is hard to come by, just to see it! If I were to upload to my news feed in the future, those ridiculous friends of mine would definitely be green with envy.”
After she took dozens of photos using various poses, Wu Xiumin finally took off the gemstone necklace and told Zhao Yu, “Come, Team Leader, I have to pass this off to the Bai Ling Evidence Department soon. It is an opportunity that’s hard to come by. Hurry up and take a photo!”
“Forget it!” Zhao Yu waved her off. “I won’t wear that, even if you beat me to death. This thing isn’t any lucky charm! Do you realized that there was not one person who had any good luck after having it on their person? I want to live a life, so take it away!”
“D*mn!” Wu Xiumin naturally got angry. “I just took so many photos with it around my neck, and then you make such a remark! You are ridiculous!”
“Ah! Team Leader, you’re right! This gemstone is cursed. Whoever wears it is unlucky!” Ran Tao seized the chance to make fun of Wu Xiumin. “Sis Wu, you are in big trouble! Why not let me buy you a few drinks tonight to chase away that unluckiness?”
“B*stards! Not one of you is a good man!” Wu Xiumin held the gemstone angrily and said, “Forget about it. I shall pass this over to the Evidence Department now. This is apparently a scorching hot bomb, so it’s best not to store it with us!”
“Ran Tao!” Zhao Yu quickly signaled to him. “Hurry up and follow Sis Wu. Take care of the gemstone. This is no funny matter!”
“Okay.” Ran Tao hurried over to keep Wu Xiumin company and the pair walked together to hand over the gemstone.
“Actually, it was just a blue stone. What possessed those people to the point where they lost their rationality over it?” Zhao Yu sighed, then told Zeng Ke, “Zeng Ke, Cui Lizhu was detained temporarily. Figure out a way for me to see if there’s a way to bail her out. Money is not an issue!”
“When you write the report later, remember to emphasize more on Cui Lizhu. Bring her up more. That way, it’ll be easier for me to apply for her to be a special investigator and assign her to our group later!” Zhao Yu said.
“Wow! That’d be great!” Zeng Ke patted his chest and said, “Let me take care of this. To be able to transfer a cat burglar to our special investigation group to become one of our colleagues, now that’s interesting! I feel that Cui is really capable, and in the future, when we need her to take something or use her other skills, it would definitely be useful!”
“Okay!” Zhao Yu smiled, then added, “Oh yeah, I just received a call from Division Chief Jiao. The provincial office arranged a banquet tonight as a mini celebration. We have to attend. Inform the other two later!”
“Okay!” Zeng Ke promised and started working on the computer.
Zhao Yu turned around and looked at the snow outside the window again. Although the snow wasn’t heavy, he felt that it suited the situation perfectly.
Li Fei’s arrest and confession signified the solving of the Headless Female Corpses Case and the Gem Theft Case. This was unprecedented in the Central Criminal Division’s entire history!
The level of both cases wasn’t low, especially the Headless Female Corpses Case. In fact, it was once named the most major national case, and it happened almost twenty-four years ago! To be able to solve such a major case was a merit worth recording in the history books for Zhao Yu’s special investigation group, as well as for him personally.
He wondered what kind of life he would be living in the future. He’d certainly have to deal with a plethora of invitations for various kinds of social activities, as well as would be receiving various commendations and awards.
Once the announcement of the case’s resolution was made, it would definitely be on the front cover of every publication and become the hot topic across the nation! As his was the special investigation group that had solved the case, they would all naturally be in the article and in the limelight!
Actually, Zhao Yu knew that, gauging from the number of victims in the crime, the Headless Female Corpses Case might not be greater than the Qinshan Bank Hidden Corpses Case, while years pending might not be longer than the Mianling Kidnap Case too.
However, the Bank Hidden Corpses Case happened secretively and the attention it received was much lower. This was because the police didn’t want to make a big scene at the time, either. As for the Mianling Kidnap Case, it was restricted to a small region, so it only heavily influenced Qinshan itself.
In contrast, the Headless Female Corpses Case’s dead bodies appeared in various places, and the victims were from various cities too. Hence, the influence of the case was much greater, as it spanned across almost the entire nation.
Also, as the victims’ heads were chopped off and their bodies were exposed in such an eerie way, the case was extremely eye-catching, which had caused a widespread panic in the public’s hearts. Besides, due to the long period of time that the case had stayed idle, allowing the murderer to roam freely, there were many stories and tall tales that were created among the people. Hence, the case’s details and notoriety had spread like wildfire!
Because of these things, Zhao Yu was clear that the Headless Female Corpses Case had set the bar high. Moreover, besides the major cases recorded in Captain Jin’s yellow cover notebook, there must be many similar cases in other regions.
So, in the future, the special investigation group that he led would definitely have tough work ahead and a long way to go. They would have a wider platform now, so they would have even more difficult cases awaiting them!
…
Although the standard of the banquet was high, the higher ups maintained a low profile, as the case had yet to go to trial. As such, they were merely a few important higher ups, as well as the members from the special investigation team that attended the dinner. They were also only served ordinary dishes and champagne with a low alcohol content.
During the dinner, Zhao Yu started boasting like every potter who praises his own pot. He boasted shamelessly and credited himself for the achievement. He even quoted Captain Jin’s famous maxim, “There’s a liter of tears behind every crime case,” and explained his unique viewpoint about the case.
The higher ups felt that he had a novel style and listened to him attentively. They were impressed by this charming leader of the special investigation group!
Division Chief Jiao nodded her head continuously and looked highly upon Zhao Yu’s obvious capabilities. She even expressed her intention to request her higher ups to reward Zhao Yu and his teammates with a special commendation as encouragement.
At the same time, Division Chief Jiao also expressed the other higher ups’ and her ardent expectations towards the special investigation group that was led by Zhao Yu. They hoped that the special investigation group could continue to solve similar pending cases to unearth the truth and bring victims justice. In turn, they would be awarded higher accomplishments and rewards.
Although he knew that there was tough work ahead and a long way to go, the higher ups’ expectations happened to be Zhao Yu’s same personal intentions. As he had come to the post to solve the major cases in the yellow cover notebook, he was naturally that much closer to his goal!
After the banquet, Zhao Yu didn’t return to the hotel, but drove himself to a famous local Chinese restaurant. Zhao Yu had already had dinner, so the reason he went there in the snow was naturally not for supper.
It was because he had something that he had to do. There was a miracle adventure waiting for him in the restaurant…
