[I know you’re asking for a beating]
All members of Major Crimes Unit 1 were off duty today.
After being met with a locked door at the Unit 1 office while clutching his brown paper bag containing the jacket, Lu Ting’an felt a massive headache coming on.
His individual strength was too meager; he definitely needed police assistance to find the body. But the current situation was incredibly awkward. That corpse had absolutely nothing to do with him; he wasn’t even sure if the person had actually been murdered, nor did he know where the man lived. Coming in to report the case under these circumstances was bound to look suspicious.
‘Maybe I should just forget it?’
No, that wouldn’t work. Given the persistent nature of these nightmares, if he didn’t find the body and some clues, he feared he’d be dragged back into that corpse-water for several nights in a row. If he could, he really wanted to just cling to Gu Yingzhou and get a good night’s sleep, but the man was clearly a straight-laced guy who avoided him like the plague…
As he paced back and forth at the office door, Ah Hai finally couldn’t stand it anymore and walked over.
“Master Lu, Unit 1 is on holiday today. Are you looking for them for something? Do you want me to give you their phone numbers?”
Lu Ting’an shook his head. “Never mind.” After a moment’s thought, he decided to try his luck. “Besides Unit 1, who else handles major cases?”
Ah Hai was confused. “Major cases, meaning—”
“Homicides.”
Ah Hai’s expression instantly turned solemn. “Homicides are only ever handled by Major Crimes.”
Ordinary officers dealt with neighborhood disputes and brawls, but once human life or massive sums of money were involved, Major Crimes would open a file. In this era, legislation wasn’t comprehensive, surveillance and detection systems weren’t advanced, and with so many people doing evil, Major Crimes stayed busy.
“Master Lu, do you want to report a case? Upstairs, there are Major Crimes Units B and C; they can also open files.” He paused, continuing his briefing, “Unit C has had two big cases piled up over the last fortnight; they probably don’t have time for a new one.”
Lu Ting’an nodded. “Understood. I’ll find Unit B.”
Ah Hai: “But—”
There were no “buts.” Lu Ting’an ignored his hesitation and turned to leave.
Ah Hai scratched his fingers, feeling a sense of unease in his heart.
But… Major Crimes Unit 1 and Unit B don’t get along… Especially Unit B’s leader, Officer Zeng. He acted like he’d swallowed gunpowder whenever he saw anyone from Unit 1. Even if a dog from Unit 1 wandered into their office, it would probably come back with two black eyes.
Unable to let it rest, Ah Hai chased after him for a few steps toward the staircase.
‘Nothing bad’s going to happen, right?’
Major Crimes Unit B
Zeng Yixiang sat at his desk with his legs crossed, a meat bun dangling from his mouth.
Several recent newspapers lay on his desk. Whatever news he was reading made his expression sour. His teeth clamped down hard, causing the bun to fall onto his polished leather jacket, and he winced as the hot juice from the bun scalded him.
“F*ck!” He cursed under his breath, tossing the newspaper onto the desk in a fit of irritation. He glared at his subordinates nearby. “The revolver lost by the station five years ago still hasn’t turned up a single lead. It’s been ten days since the Nandong Bank robbery, and we haven’t even figured out the basics—who the robbers are, their escape route, or if they colluded with the bank manager!”
“No wonder some journalist is writing in the papers again that I can’t compare to Gu Yingzhou!”
Zeng Yixiang jabbed a finger at the newspaper, looking like he wanted to poke two holes through Gu Yingzhou’s name. “Their unit cracked the public toilet female corpse case in less than three days and saved the star of the Baihui Club. And you lot? When are you going to bring back some useful leads? Can you stop saying, ‘Ah, I don’t know, Sir~’ every time I ask you something?”
The members of Unit B: “…”
Zeng Yixiang was always snide when he lectured people, especially when he mimicked their voices; it was embarrassing and deeply uncomfortable.
Yet, his subordinates couldn’t find the words—or the courage—to talk back.
It was true that Unit B hadn’t handled a high-profile case successfully in a long time. In recent years, Gu Yingzhou had been in the limelight; as soon as he became Captain, he led his team to break several major cases in a row. Because of their high efficiency and bold, decisive pursuit of suspects, any major case the station received was funneled to Unit 1 first.
The newspapers almost depicted Gu Yingzhou and his team as demigods, completely forgetting that years ago, Units B and C had also racked up achievement after achievement.
Ten days ago, Zeng Yixiang had finally managed to snag the case of the four-million-dollar Nandong Bank robbery while Unit 1 was stretched thin. He had planned to strike while the iron was hot and take down the three suspects in one go. Instead, ten days had passed, and the three of them seemed to have grown wings and vanished without a trace.
From above, multiple leaders were hounding him for progress, demanding the robbers be caught within a week; from below, the Hong Kong Daily was praising Gu Yingzhou to the skies while implying the other units were incompetent. Zeng Yixiang’s mood was worse than if his salary had been docked. He felt like throwing his meat bun at his subordinates’ thick skulls.
“What are you still standing there for? Go investigate!”
“Yes, Sir…”
The Unit B officers, nursing their resentment in silence, scattered to their respective desks.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
It was at that moment that there were three polite knocks on the office door.
The members of Unit B simultaneously lit a mental candle for the newcomer. Showing up now—how was that any different from walking straight into the mouth of a cannon?
But Lu Ting’an had no idea what the situation was. Based on the nameplates hanging by the office door, he immediately identified Zeng Yixiang sitting at the largest desk.
“Officer Zeng, I’m here to report a case.”
Zeng Yixiang looked up coldly. Seeing the pretty boy who had been making a bit of a name for himself at the station over the past two days, his gaze grew even more cryptic. “What kind of case?”
“A homicide.”
With a sharp screech, his chair scraped against the marble floor as Zeng Yixiang lunged up from his desk.
Gu Yingzhou had been in meetings until late last night, so he’d simply crashed in the station’s allocated dormitory. After only a few hours of sleep, he was woken up by the officers next door. Too lazy to try and drift back off, he got dressed and prepared to head home.
Before leaving, he had to stop by the office to grab his car keys.
The Unit 1 officers were away, and most of Unit C were out on field assignments. The entire station was unusually quiet; there weren’t even many citizens clamoring to report crimes.
Gu Yingzhou walked upstairs with a lazy stride. Just as he was about to turn the corner, he spotted a sneaky figure at the top of the stairs.
It was Lu Ting’an’s little sidekick. The sidekick’s scholarly face was flushed red; one second he looked ready to rush upstairs, the next he was shrinking back in hesitation.
Gu Yingzhou’s brow furrowed as he walked over. “Why are you loitering here instead of working?”
Ah Hai was usually terrified of Gu Yingzhou—the way a mouse fears a cat—but right now, he hurried forward as if grabbing a literal lifeline. “Officer Gu! They’re… they’re fighting upstairs!”
“Who?”
“Master Lu and Master Zeng! You—”
Before he could finish, a blurred shadow flashed past him. Gu Yingzhou took the stairs three steps at a time; before Ah Hai could even react, the man was already on the third floor.
At that exact moment, Lu Ting’an was being blasted out of the office by Zeng Yixiang.
“Don’t think just because you’re the little Young Master of the Lu family that the whole station has to bow and scrape for you! If the folks in Unit 1 want to play house with you, that’s their business. But if you think you can act like the big boss here, you’ve got another thing coming! Get out!”
Zeng Yixiang was built like a tank, dressed in a leather jacket, jeans, and combat boots; he cut a very intimidating figure. Combined with his reckless shouting, Lu Ting’an looked like a poor little schoolboy standing before him, taking a scolding.
Gu Yingzhou’s already cold face darkened instantly. He raised his voice: “Lu Ting’an, get over here.”
Hearing the familiar voice, Lu Ting’an turned back in surprise. “Officer Gu? Aren’t you on holiday?”
Gu Yingzhou didn’t answer him. He glared at Zeng Yixiang with hostile eyes. “Officer Zeng, I don’t believe it’s your place to reprimand a member of my unit.”
Zeng Yixiang’s eyes were spitting fire. He was just about to speak when Lu Ting’an nimbly spun around and walked straight to Gu Yingzhou’s side.
“Are you busy? Can you spare some time? I want to talk to you about a case.”
Gu Yingzhou’s protective momentum was cut short. He glanced at Zeng Yixiang, who also had a fire burning with nowhere to vent. “He…”
Lu Ting’an interrupted him. “Not important. He doesn’t know how to do anything except bark. I guess humans and dogs really can’t communicate after all.”
Zeng Yixiang: ???
Gu Yingzhou: “…”
Fearing that Zeng Yixiang might actually have a total breakdown and try to beat Lu Ting’an to a pulp, Gu Yingzhou didn’t bother exerting any more pressure. He grabbed Lu Ting’an by the collar and half-dragged, half-lifted him down the stairs.
The way he moved actually had the distinct vibe of a parent dragging a bratty kid away from someone else’s yard…
Only when they returned to Unit 1’s territory did Gu Yingzhou’s nerves relax.
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Alright, speak. What was so important you had to go stir up trouble upstairs?”
Lu Ting’an lifted the bag in his hand. “I suspect someone has been murdered.”
Gu Yingzhou’s half-lidded eyes snapped wide open, and his tone grew solemn. “Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where?”
“…I don’t know.”
“Then how do you know?”
“……Intuition?”
Gu Yingzhou fell into an eerie silence for two seconds before suddenly speaking: “I know something, too.”
Lu Ting’an looked up, surprised. “What do you know?”
Gu Yingzhou let out a huff. “I know you’re asking for a beating.”
No wonder Zeng Yixiang had been gnashing his teeth and looking for a fight; Gu Yingzhou felt a bit like throwing a punch himself.
Lu Ting’an: “…” x_x