55: You bastard Lin Chuan

"Good, good, good! Well done, Lin Chuan!!"

The muscles on Meng Fei's face twitched with rage, and his slicked-back hair, usually combed to a glossy shine, now looked a bit disheveled.

He never expected that after he had said such absolute things—issuing both threats and warnings—this would be the result.

These two not only failed to take him seriously, but they actually finalized the time for their dinner date right in front of him!

What was this?

This was practically taking a dump on Meng Fei's neck and then asking him for toilet paper when they were done!

"Fine! Lin Chuan, was it?"

Meng Fei was flying into a rage, looking like he wanted to devour someone as he pointed at Lin Chuan.

"You've got guts, kid!"

"In Harbin, you're the first one who's dared to disrespect me, Meng Fei, like this!"

"Tomorrow's dinner? Let's see if you still have the appetite to eat it!"

"You just wait! We'll see about this!"

Meng Fei spat viciously, his gaze looking as if he wanted to swallow Lin Chuan alive.

Then, with a flick of his sleeve, he stormed off without looking back.

The bag of Laochang Spring Pancakes and Harbin Red Sausage he had bought for Officer Su Qingyi remained lying lonely on the table, slowly turning cold.

Lin Chuan watched the door, which was still swinging back and forth, and shrugged somewhat helplessly.

"Is this guy a firecracker? He explodes at the slightest touch."

Officer Su Qingyi sighed and pushed the bag of spring pancakes aside, her face full of apology.

"Don't mind him. He's just a spoiled rich kid whose family owns a bit of an export-import business. All he knows how to do is show off all day."

"He's annoying as hell."

"Hurry up, let's get that Zhao San to the detention room first!"

With the assistance of several on-duty officers, Zhao San, who had long since collapsed from fear, was dragged into the holding cell in the inner room.

As the iron door locked with a clang, this vicious tiger who had run rampant in Liushu Town for many years finally became a trapped beast in a cage.

Officer Su Qingyi didn't have the heart to worry about Meng Fei right now.

She immediately grabbed the black rotary phone on the desk—a communication tool unique to this era that made a 'ziz-ziz' clicking sound when dialing.

"Hello? Captain Zhang? It's Qingyi!"

"Yes! We have a major situation!"

"The road bully from Liushu Town, Zhao San, has turned himself in! And there's a lead on a major homicide!"

"Yes! The missing driver case from two years ago! We have the burial site! It's in the dry well on the back mountain!"

"Right, right, right! I'll wait for you!"

Less than twenty minutes after hanging up the phone...

A sharp siren pierced the silence of the late night.

A white police car sped over and stopped directly at the entrance of the sub-bureau.

Before the car had even come to a full stop, a middle-aged man with a stubbly face, draped in a police coat, rushed in like a whirlwind.

This was the leader of the city bureau's major crimes investigative unit, Old Zhang, Zhang Wankui.

Old Zhang's eyes were bloodshot from staying up late, but at this moment, they shone like two searchlights.

"Where is he? Where's the suspect? Is the lead solid?!"

Old Zhang shouted as soon as he entered, his loud voice making the hall hum.

"Uncle Zhang! Over here!"

Officer Su Qingyi quickly went to meet him and handed over the slip of paper Lin Chuan had written.

"The suspect is already locked up. This is a summary of his confession, as well as the specific burial location. He even marked which tree it's near!"

Old Zhang took the paper and examined it carefully several times under the light.

The more he looked, the tighter his brow furrowed, until finally, it smoothed out and he slapped his thigh hard.

"Good! Excellent!"

"I've searched far and wide for this only to find it so easily!"

"This case has been weighing on my heart for two years! That driver's family is still petitioning for answers; now we can finally give them some closure!"

Old Zhang's beard trembled with excitement as he turned to look at Officer Su Qingyi, his eyes full of praise and relief.

"Qingyi! You've really done a great service this time!"

"This is a massive case! If we really dig up a body, that's a guaranteed First-Class Merit!"

As he spoke, Old Zhang's tone softened slightly, carrying the concern of an elder.

"Later on, I'll definitely have a good talk with your father."

"Let him see for himself—who says a young lady can't be a criminal investigator? Who says our Qingyi can only sit in an office at the headquarters?"

"Once this case is solved, let's see what Deputy Bureau Chief Su has to say! He'll have to support your work!"

As it turned out, Officer Su Qingyi's father was indeed a deputy bureau chief of the Harbin Bureau.

He had typical old-fashioned ideas, always feeling that being a criminal investigator was too dangerous for a girl—dealing with murderers all day, being exhausted, and never being home. He had always wanted to transfer Officer Su Qingyi to a clerical position or to the household registration police.

Officer Su Qingyi had argued with her family quite a bit over this, and she was determined to prove herself.

Hearing Old Zhang's words, a shy but proud smile appeared on Officer Su Qingyi's face.

"Uncle Zhang, please stop praising me."

"The credit for this actually isn't mine."

She stepped aside, revealing Lin Chuan, who had been standing nearby.

"This is all thanks to my old classmate, Lin Chuan!"

"He's the one who brought Long Wu, subdued Zhao San, and escorted him here. He even got this confession out of him!"

"Oh?"

Only then did Old Zhang notice the calm young man in the trench coat standing to the side.

His veteran detective's eyes, which had seen countless people, sized Lin Chuan up with some surprise.

"Young man, you're quite something!"

"I've heard of that Zhao San; he's a tough customer with several desperate thugs under him."

"How did you do it? This confession... it's so detailed?"

Old Zhang pointed at the slip of paper, which even included details like 'the driver's license is buried under the crooked-neck tree.' This didn't look like something that could be obtained through a normal interrogation.

Lin Chuan had already prepared his story.

He pulled a cigarette pack from his pocket and handed one to Old Zhang—it was a special-supply Chunghwa.

"Officer Zhang, it was actually quite a coincidence."

"This Zhao San brought his men to my orchard to cause trouble and even tried to lay hands on my people."

"As a result, my bodyguard gave them a thrashing."

"I then took him out to the wasteland to give him a bit of a scare."

Lin Chuan lit one for himself, exhaling a puff of blue smoke, his eyes carrying a hint of mystery.

"I just bluffed him with a few words."

"I told him that two lonely ghosts on the back mountain had come to me in a dream, saying they died a wrongful death."

"I didn't expect that since this kid has done so many bad things, he'd have a guilty conscience."

"With my bluff, plus the fact that we were in the middle of nowhere and the wind was howling..."

"He practically peed his pants on the spot, thinking I was possessed by a ghost."

"The guy spilled everything like beans from a bag; I couldn't even stop him."

Lin Chuan's explanation was half-truth and half-lie, but it sounded logical.

In this era, especially in remote rural towns, superstitious beliefs were still quite strong.

Old Zhang had seen plenty of cases where a guilty conscience led to a confession.

"Hahahaha!"

After hearing this, Old Zhang laughed heartily and slapped Lin Chuan hard on the shoulder.

"Good lad! You've got guts! And brains!"

"That's what you call psychological warfare!"

"It doesn't matter if it's a black cat or a white cat, as long as it catches mice, it's a good cat! Any method that gets him to talk is a good method!"

"Thanks to you, the people of Harbin have one less menace, and we have one less cold case!"

"This is a model of police-civilian cooperation!"

Old Zhang was also a man of decisive action.

Since the lead was solid, he couldn't afford to waste a single minute.

If the body were dug up by wild dogs or if something else changed, the chain of evidence would be broken.

"Everyone, listen up! Assemble immediately!"

"Notify the forensics lab! The medical examiner! Everyone, bring your gear!"

"Target: the dry well on the back mountain of Liushu Town! Move out!"

With a wave of Old Zhang's hand, the entire sub-bureau instantly became a hive of activity.

Police lights flashed as personnel gathered.

Officer Su Qingyi was also full of excitement, grabbing her police cap to put it on.

"Uncle Zhang! I'm coming too!"

"I want to go to the scene too! I'm the first responder for this case, I have to see it through!"

Looking at Officer Su Qingyi's bloodshot eyes and her face which, though excited, couldn't hide its exhaustion...

Old Zhang stopped, turned around, and earnestly took her police cap off.

"Qingyi, don't go joining in the chaos."

"Look at your face; it's pale as a sheet. You've worked two night shifts in a row, haven't you?"

"If you keep pushing yourself like this and collapse from exhaustion, how am I supposed to explain it to your father? Bureau Chief Su would have my hide!"

"But..." Officer Su Qingyi tried to argue.

"No buts! That's an order!"

Old Zhang put on a stern face, exerting his authority as a leader.

"Why would you want to go do the dirty, tiring work of digging up a body?"

"In the middle of the wilderness, the mosquitoes would eat you alive."

"Your mission now is to go home and sleep! Even a nap in the bureau dormitory will do!"

Officer Su Qingyi said, "Uncle Zhang, I'm not tired. I slept for a long time at noon."

Old Zhang looked back at Zhao San, who had already been taken to the police car.

"Oh, don't worry, girl. I'll make sure the primary credit is recorded under your name in the report! No one can take that away!"

"And this Brother Lin is your classmate; that connection is also your merit!"

"Alright! You can rest for today!"

With that, Old Zhang didn't wait for Officer Su Qingyi to speak. He led his team as they rushed out the door and got into the police cars.

The sirens blared again as the convoy, like a long dragon, disappeared into the vast night, heading straight for Liushu Town.

Quiet returned to the hall.

Only Lin Chuan, Long Wu, and a frustrated but helpless Officer Su Qingyi remained.

"Sigh..."

Officer Su Qingyi sighed and sat down on a chair, looking a bit depressed.

"It's always like this. They never let me go at the critical moment."

Lin Chuan smiled.

"Alright, Officer Su, Captain Zhang is just looking out for you."

"The scene of a body that's been highly decomposed for two years... that smell... just thinking about it makes me lose my appetite."

"If you really went, you probably wouldn't be able to eat for the next few days."

"We have a dinner date tomorrow. If you end up throwing up on the table, I'll have to pay for the tablecloth."

Officer Su Qingyi was amused by Lin Chuan and gave him a sidelong glance.

"Go on with you! Am I really that delicate? It's not like I haven't been in the forensics room before!"

However, as she said this, the tension left her, and she relaxed quite a bit.

She rubbed her temples and looked at Lin Chuan with a soft gaze.

"Regardless, thank you so much for tonight, Lin Chuan."

"If it weren't for you, I'd probably still be listening to Meng Fei's mindless chatter."

"Pfft!" Lin Chuan covered his mouth and chuckled.

"What's wrong? What are you laughing at?"

"Nothing, I just feel like for such a beautiful girl from the Northeast, why do you sound so... unrefined when you talk?"

"Oh, come on! Disdain me, will you? You're something else!" Officer Su Qingyi laughed and gave Lin Chuan a playful shove in the stomach.