In the conference room, police officers arrived in succession. At present, many people were lacking sleep, but this didn’t affect their mood. Colleagues still smiled, said hello, and handed out cigarettes.

Lin Dongxue sat in the corner and reported the results of the DNA test through WeChat to Chen Shi. Chen Shi still did not reply. She complained, “Where the hell did he go?!”

Suddenly the noisy meeting room was quiet, Lin Dongxue immediately sat up straight. It turned out that Lin Qiupu had already come in. He looked around at the circle of people underneath him. “Is everyone here? Let’s begin the meeting!”

Lin Qiupu summed up the clues they currently had a hold of. After the forensics teams’ technical appraisal of the fingerprints, DNA, saliva, and shoe prints found on the scene were found to be free of outsiders. Lin Qiupu deduced, “It seems that the murderer is very sly and did not leave even a little clue. This also confirms that they are very guilty and in the circle of interpersonal relationships of the deceased.”

Xu Xiaodong raised his hand. “The murderer must have covered their fingerprints with 502 glue! We can go and test this.”

Lin Dongxue thought, He’s still holding on to this matter!

An experienced veteran police officer immediately retorted. “It doesn’t make sense to investigate if there’s a fingerprint with 502 glue on it. 502 glue can't be used as evidence in court, and it wastes time.”

“Oh, that makes sense.” Xu Xiaodong hit a wall again and sat back down.

Lin Qiupu asked people to open the projector. He worked very efficiently. Yesterday, the interpersonal relationship between the deceased and the husband and wife were checked and organized with analysis. The three people who had criminal motives were listed. The first one was identified as a loan shark, and his gang name as Big Tiger. He used to be a gang member.

“Big Tiger’s rap sheet is really thick, this person's whereabouts are unknown, and I think there’s a high probability that he did this...” Lin Qiupu suddenly stopped talking because a hand was raised.

Lin Dongxue, who never spoke at meetings, raised her hand stubbornly.

Lin Qiupu could not turn a blind eye and pretend he didn’t see her, so he asked, “Lin Dongxue, what do you have to say?”

“I don't understand. A loan shark’s purpose is to collect money. Generally speaking, if they can't get the money, they would kidnap and sell the people who borrowed money. Why would they resort to killing?”

“There must be hidden meaning in it, only after finding Big Tiger himself can we understand.”

“Then I still have a little doubt. If the loan shark kills, why should they let go of the children?”

“I already said that we will understand once we find Big Tiger.”

“I have one more thing...”

“Okay, just stop talking!” Lin Qiupu interrupted violently.

Lin Dongxue sat down dissatisfied, thinking that Lin Qiupu was 90% focusing on the wrong direction again. Lin Qiupu assigned jobs again and the tasks that fell on Lin Dongxue and Xu Xiaodong’s head were still peripheral work that had nothing to do with the actual investigation of the case.

Lin Dongxue and Xu Xiaodong went to question and investigate the whole morning. By the end, they were so tired that they had a backache and had to rest in the office. Xu Xiaodong took out a box of cookies from the drawer and said as if he was offering treasures, “Dongxue, try this. My relatives brought these cookies back from abroad.”

Lin Dongxue glanced at him with no mood for them. “No need, thanks. If I eat sweets, I will gain weight.”

“You are not fat, what are you afraid of? Come on!”

Under Xu Xiaodong’s pestering, Lin Dongxue took a cookie from the box. Xu Xiaodong smiled like a little eunuch[1] and asked, “How is the taste?”

“Unpalatable!”

“You’re not being honest!” Xu Xiaodong took a piece and put it in his mouth.

Lin Dongxue picked up her mobile phone and checked WeChat and SMS. Chen Shi still hadn’t replied. She complained in her heart. Where the hell did this guy go? Why was he MIA at such an important time? Was it because he had nothing left to offer?

Turning her head, Lin Dongxue discovered that Xu Xiaodong was stealing glances at the screen of her mobile phone. She scolded, “What are you looking at?! Get away from me!”

“Hey, why are you so concerned about him?”

“You have a problem? I care about the case, not him!”

“He isn’t related to the case at all. Isn't Captain Lin’s side going well? This guy only broke that last case with dumb luck. You really think that there’s rare recipes that can save those with severe sickness in the world and that there are civil masters in our society? Those things are impossible!”

Once she heard this, Lin Dongxue’s ears almost formed calluses to block out his words. She ignored him and opened a game to play by herself.

Seeing no one in the office, Xu Xiaodong took out two tickets for Zhang XueYou’s[2] concert tickets from his pocket and coughed. Lin Dongxue continued to stare at the screen of her phone intently. He coughed again, “Dongxue?”

“What?”

“I have...”

Suddenly, Lin Qiupu’s voice came from the corridor, “Everyone gather. Everyone here needs to come out and gather! Those without a gun, hurry to the gun library and grab one!”

Lin Dongxue immediately put down her mobile phone and rushed out. Xu Xiaodong hit the table with annoyance, put the tickets away and went out as well.

Dozens of police officers gathered quickly, Lin Qiupu took a deep breath. “In a major situation, the traffic police called over and stopped a car full of cash. The four people in the car are likely to have connections with Big Tiger. The car has been stopped, and the gangsters in the car are in a deadlock with the police station and the traffic police with guns in hand!”

Everyone took a breath. Most police officers had only seen shoot-outs on TV. They were both uneasy and excited as to what was to come.

The people left accordingly. When Lin Dongxue came to help, Lin Qiupu stopped her. “You are not allowed to go!”

“Why?! Why are you giving me special treatment? Because I am a woman? Or because I am your sister?” Lin Dongxue smacked his hand away angrily and ran out.

Lin Qiupu shouted at her from behind, “You have a bad shooting performance. What use are you?”

When they heard this, many police officers laughed. Lin Dongxue was so mad that her tears were about to fall. She didn't want to lose any more face in front of others so she fought her tears back and got into a special police car.

The task was related to criminal cases, so the criminal police and SWAT were dispatched together. In the car, the Special Forces officers in the car were talking and laughing, while the police officers on the other side were full of tension and deep thoughts. Everyone wore bullet-proof vests, but the sturdy special policeman wearing bullet-proof vests seemed more powerful, while the other policemen were as wilted as swimmers wearing life jackets.

Xu Xiaodong asked, “Can this bulletproof vest really block the bullets?”

“Of course!” A special policeman patted the bullet-proof vest. “But the impact of the bullet will break several ribs.”

“What... What does that feel like?”

“Taking a fist. It's like a fist smashing into your body.”

Another special police officer added, “Of course, if the bullet hits the leg or the head, it can't be stopped. Also, if an artery in the leg is hit, you will still die.”

Xu Xiaodong swallowed hard. “I want to go to the toilet!”

The police officers on the other side laughed together. Lin Dongxue buried her face in her hands. It was shameful being with this guy.

The car suddenly stopped, and Xu Xiaodong who was daydreaming suddenly sat up straight, “We’re here?”

The door opened and the special police officers stepped out methodically, patting Xu Xiaodong's shoulder, “Let’s go. We aren’t going into a battlefield, what are you afraid of?”

Xu Xiaodong was sulking, “I want to go to the toilet first!”

1. Smiled expectantly like that of a servant waiting for their master’s praise.

2. Also known as Jacky Cheung. https://zixuanzhao1220hsl.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/jackycheung-jpg.jpg