Yi Shi’s words exploded like a thunderclap in the big office.
“So horrifying? That’s too cruel a method, isn’t it?”
“But it’s possible. If they still have unused explosives, it would be perfect for this.”
“I still lean towards the previous analysis that the target might be a leader. Without leadership, it would be even harder to catch them.”
“Let’s not complicate things. How many cases have we handled, and how many times have we been misled?”
The team from Nanyi’s Criminal Investigation Unit remained calm, seemingly used to Yi Shi’s startling remarks. Even Ding Ju’s surprise was only a fleeting glimmer in his eyes, dissipating in a few seconds. Yi Shi was always like this. During team meetings, he usually stayed silent, but once he spoke, it would definitely be a radically different perspective, a familiar pattern.
Yuan Kang was momentarily astonished, then asked, “May I ask why you came to this conclusion?”
“Content.” Yi Shi walked in and wrote a few keywords, “wall means building; fall means drop; King’s horses, King’s men means police; couldn’t put together again means dismemberment.”
Song Ping’s eyes widened gradually, “Yeah, that makes sense. Thinking about it this way, the nursery rhyme’s lyrics are clear. To have someone fall and get dismembered, Pang Daozi and his gang would most likely use explosives… Wow, that’s incredible! How did you think of that!”
Zhang Rui evidently didn’t agree with Yi Shi’s hypothesis, “Isn’t this overinterpreting? Those thugs’ previous murder methods were crude, like hacking meat with a cleaver. Even if they dumped the bodies in crowded areas, they just used body bags and threw them on the streets. Is there any need for such a complex scheme this time?”
“Could it be that Zhao Chenghu was caught, and Pang Daozi, in desperation, came up with this insane method?”
Li Changsheng said, “That’s indeed possible. When we caught Zhao Chenghu, we wanted to quickly find out the hostage’s whereabouts to prevent Pang Daozi from going berserk.” He nudged Shao Shiqing’s arm with his elbow, “Right?”
Shao Shiqing nodded. Yu Xue placed his index finger on his chin and thought, “The motive?”
Ding Ju was completely puzzled. Yi Shi had explained it clearly—this was the method of killing. The motive was obviously to kill the hostage, wasn’t it?
Seeing the confused look on the young wolfdog, Li Changsheng felt a bit disappointed, “Captain Yu wants to hear Yi Shi’s analysis of the behavior of sending the USB drive. Look at you, you’ve been in the team for half a year and still can’t decipher the ‘codfish code.'”
Cod… codfish code? Ding Ju was even more baffled. He wasn’t sure if he could decipher it, but it sure sounded delicious.
“It’s not a warning,” Yi Shi took out his phone and found the surveillance footage he had taken, “She’s not related to Pang Daozi; she’s here to tip off the police to rescue the hostage quickly.”
Everyone gathered around, several pairs of eyes staring at the short 20-second surveillance footage, trying to spot something extraordinary. The city’s surveillance system was clear and high-quality. Even though the woman wore a mask, her delicate eyebrows and eyes were captured in the moment her long hair was blown by the wind. Along with her tall and slender figure, her legs wrapped in black stockings, it was clear she was an elegant beauty.
She first stood outside the fence, holding onto the railing, seemingly waiting for the right moment. When the guard turned back to the gatehouse, she quickly took a small box from her pocket, stuffed it through the fence, and then walked away as if nothing had happened.
After the video ended, at least half of the people were still bewildered, not understanding what Yi Shi was trying to show them. Yuan Kang was silent, while Yu Xue frowned slightly and took the phone to replay the video.
Around the 10-second mark, Yuan Kang’s eyes lit up, and he said in unison with Yu Xue, “It’s real!”
Yi Shi had already walked to where he had been before, and Song Ping handed him a tissue box, indicating he should wipe the water dripping from his hair. He didn’t respond, but stared at the computer. Song Ping said, “Use it if you need to, don’t worry about Zhang Rui; his chart can be submitted anytime.”
Yi Shi sat down, touching the mouse. After a while, he said softly, “Thank you.”
Song Ping was stunned, seemingly not expecting to be thanked by him. The young man always maintained a distant demeanor, and his sudden warmth gave people a sense of him descending from his pedestal.
Yu Xue and Yuan Kang walked over together. Yu Xue rested his hand on the side of the desk, his gaze falling on the open video, noticing the duration at a glance, “The video is 3 minutes and 5 seconds long. Could it be suggesting the time of the crime?”
Yi Shi shook his head, “Not sure.”
Yuan Kang took the note from the small box, “If there’s no problem with the video, the only thing left that can convey information is this note. It might be written with lemon juice or garlic juice, which only appears with heat or special reagents. We can send it to forensics and have them try various methods.”
Liu Chenyi held a small notebook, his lips curved but his expression clearly strained. A colleague beside him whispered, “Lao Liu, what’s going on? Did you see anything in that surveillance?”
Liu Chenyi hadn’t noticed anything, muttering through gritted teeth, “Playing tricks.”
The colleague quickly agreed, “I think so too. It’s one thing for their people to join the fun, but why is Captain Yuan getting involved too?”
“Who knows,” Liu Chenyi sneered.
They whispered softly, their volume low enough for only the two of them to hear. Unexpectedly, Yi Shi suddenly turned around, his gaze lightly sweeping across Liu Chenyi’s face.
Liu Chenyi immediately felt awkward, wanting to look away but also feeling defiant towards Yi Shi’s hypothesis, regaining his confidence, he pointed at the phone, “Officer Yi, we couldn’t see the hidden mystery in the surveillance, could you explain it?”
Yi Shi’s eyes were deep and dark, yet his gaze was distant, making those with objections feel uneasy. Yu Xue patted his shoulder, seemingly reminding him to keep his emotions in check and cooperate well with his colleagues in the investigation.
“Hand.”
Yi Shi didn’t bother to say much, one word sufficed. He took the note, planning to deliver it to forensics personally. Song Ping went out with him, leading the way.
“Hand? What hand?” Zhang Rui was still confused. Liu Chenyi finally reacted and quickly replayed the surveillance.
At the 10-second mark in the video, the woman looked in the direction of the guard, her hand on the railing, and made three taps, then three strokes, and finally three more taps with her index finger.
Zhang Rui finally understood, “It’s—it’s ‘SOS’?!”
This series of dots and dashes would immediately make one think of Morse code. Her actions were so subtle and quick, taking only two seconds, that it was almost impossible to notice without careful attention.
The colleagues in the large office suddenly realized, whispering and discussing. It seemed they were beginning to accept Yi Shi’s earlier conjecture. Yuan Kang sighed, “We’ve been brainstorming for so long, and he solved it in one go. The younger generation will surpass us.”
Yu Xue smiled, “Yi Shi is young and quick-witted. He is indeed a talent we cannot do without in our team.”
Ding Ju remembered the last time when they secretly discussed Yi Shi while he was not around. He had many questions about Yi Shi, someone who didn’t play by the rules and was so unique. In a strictly disciplined police force, someone like that shouldn’t be able to stay. Not to mention his problem-solving methods, which prioritized efficiency without worrying about reprimands, using certain ‘special techniques’ that, while not illegal, often skirted the edge of taboo. Such a dangerous team member—why did Yu Xue tolerate him and even place him in the frontline team?
He never thought about nepotism. Yi Shi had no friends and wasn’t close to anyone. Social interactions were dispensable to him, and the little brotherhood with Yu Xue was certainly not the reason.
The most senior member, Shao Shiqing, heard this and also smiled, saying, “Yi Shi is an indispensable part of the team.”
Why exactly was he indispensable? Even today, Ding Ju still didn’t understand.
Yuan Kang and Yu Xue selected a few people from the team to investigate the nearby surveillance footage, trying to find that model-like beauty. Those assigned to the task got busy. Liu Chenyi grabbed an eraser and wiped the previous thoughts off the blackboard with force, his arm movements carrying a hint of frustration.
Li Changsheng drank a cup of tea, preparing to go out on a mission to another street. He glanced over and smirked, “If you want to vent, at least do it behind his back. He’s known as the ‘eavesdropper’ of our bureau.”
His comment wasn’t too loud or too soft, but Liu Chenyi heard it. His movements froze, and he casually tossed the eraser into the groove.
A buzzing vibration came from the table, and someone called out, “Whose phone is that?”
Li Changsheng turned back, raising his hand, “Hey, give it to me. It’s our team’s cool little guy’s.”
Yi Shi was in the tech department, waiting for the results of the note paper experiment. He sat outside, separated from the lab by a glass wall. Wen Xining, the female officer in charge of forensics, wearing a mask, turned to look at Yi Shi and softly asked Song Ping, “Pingping, is he from Nanyi?”
“Yes, he’s here for the bombing case.” Song Ping leaned closer, covering her mouth with her hand, “He’s really hard to get along with.”
“Well, handsome guys have privileges,” Wen Xining smiled and shook the test tube with alkaline reagent, “I’m a bit curious, why didn’t he become a trainee? Even our bureau’s number one handsome officer isn’t as striking as him.”
“Everyone has their own aspirations,” Song Ping spread her hands, “But it’s good he’s serving the country. He’s incredibly smart; he just showed us up in the office. We’re all products of the same nine-year compulsory education, how is he so outstanding?”
“Huh? What about Lao Liu? He always loves to show off. I heard he’s counting on this case to surpass Captain Yuan.”
“Tsk, I didn’t get to see it, but I can guess. He might need to drink more chrysanthemum tea.”
Yi Shi sat quietly behind the glass. The door to the tech department was knocked. He went to open it, and a hand reached in, “Here, your phone. There have been several calls.”
He took the phone, seeing three missed calls from the same person—Sheng Yu’an.
Just then, the phone buzzed again, and it was still Sheng Yu’an. Yi Shi went to the hallway to answer the call, and a cheerful, sunny voice came through, “Brother, guess where I am?”
“School,” Yi Shi was too lazy to guess.
“Nope, guess again.”
Yi Shi stopped in his tracks, opened a window in the hallway, and looked down. Sure enough, amidst the passing pedestrians, he spotted a tall figure with a backpack lingering at the Haijing City Bureau entrance.
Trouble had arrived. Yi Shi felt a headache coming on, “Shouldn’t you be in class?”
“I…”
“Does Uncle Sheng know you’re in Haijing?”
“He…”
“I’m here to work, not for a vacation. How old are you? Can’t you tell what’s important?”
“…”
Yi Shi fired off three questions in quick succession, not giving Sheng Yu’an a chance to speak. He looked up to see Li Changsheng’s surprised expression. This was the first time he had seen Yi Shi so aggressive with someone other than a suspect.
“Listen to me, go home. Haijing is dangerous.”
Yi Shi hung up the phone and closed the window.
________
Author’s Note:
In the current chapters, both sides of the world are connected, though it’s not written explicitly. If you look closely, you can find the connections.
The difference with this story compared to “Replacing the Evil Way” is that this one is written from the middle, so it might be a bit confusing at first. But trust me, you’ll come back to the beginning for answers later!
Thanks for the chap!