Chapter 9

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Baishi Zhou was indeed called an idiot for the first time, and it was by his own intern subordinate. Helpless, he said, “Professor Zhang, please don’t tease me.” At the same time, he ordered the others in the Special Crime Division to escort the suspect into the police car.

“Sorry, I connected too late,” Zhang Dian apologized. “I hope neither you nor that intern detective were seriously injured.”

“No, the injuries aren’t severe,” Baishi Zhou replied.

Just as he finished speaking, Bao Xiao and An Jiashu were helping Detective Shen down the stairs and into the ambulance, one on each side. Bao Xiao was shouting, “Oh my god, it’s so serious! Hurry! Put her on the ambulance!”

Baishi Zhou frowned. He recalled Detective Shen’s wound was just a bullet graze, nothing too serious. Could there be shrapnel inside?

Walking toward the ambulance, he heard Zhang Dian’s voice through the wristband: “The intern detective is very clever and perceptive. She understands the suspect’s weak points well, knows how to use them to seize the initiative, and is very decisive.”

It seemed Professor Zhang had heard how Detective Shen provoked the culprit.

“She is indeed clever and decisive,” Baishi Zhou acknowledged. Detective Shen had accurately grasped the suspect’s personality flaws and quickly made the most advantageous judgment—to anger the suspect, divert his attention onto herself, and save the hostage.

But…

Looking toward the ambulance, he felt a headache coming on. “Decisiveness that ignores personal safety is recklessness. She seems to completely disregard discipline.” Clever lies, bold theft of a gun.

“No clever person would follow the rules,” Zhang Dian said with a smile. “Rules and discipline are just word games to them.”

Baishi Zhou paused. He seldom heard Zhang Dian praise anyone; in the past, he only said Sikan was “fairly clever.”

“Looks like Professor Zhang has a good impression of the intern detective,” Baishi Zhou tried asking, “Would you be interested in mentoring her? Like you did with Sikan—take her on for a couple of cases.”

In his view, Detective Shen was truly smart, sharp, and skilled at spotting subtle clues. Finding a breakthrough within twenty-four hours and catching the suspect exceeded his expectations.

She was a promising talent, albeit sometimes reckless and disorderly—probably due to inexperience. If Zhang Dian could take her under his wing for a few cases, she would surely become an outstanding detective.

Unfortunately, Zhang Dian declined, saying he was busy with other matters.

Baishi Zhou wanted to ask: busy making the sofa?

Then Zhang Dian asked, “Director Bai, do you remember five years ago when you arrested a group of gamblers at the Oasis?”

Baishi Zhou recalled that case well—it had caused quite a stir. At that time, he was not yet director but led the Special Crime Division and SWAT in apprehending criminals trafficking supernatural organ bodies inside Oasis’s large casino. The arrest occurred while they were gambling in that den of vice.

“Do you remember a girl named Shen Yi?” Zhang Dian continued. “She was about nineteen then, with a supernatural ability related to goats. You personally arrested her.”

“Shen Yi?” Baishi Zhou thought hard but had no clear memory. “I don’t recall. We arrested so many people, with gamblers mixed in. They were handed over to local police.” He asked, “Why does Professor Zhang suddenly ask this?”

“Nothing,” Zhang Dian replied.

Then, amid the noisy background of vehicles and voices, Baishi Zhou heard Zhang Dian say, “That girl, Shen Yi, died and was erased from records shortly after being released from detention. Strange, isn’t it?”

Baishi Zhou didn’t quite understand before Zhang Dian hung up.

They had arrested countless dangerous criminals over the years, so why bring up a seemingly insignificant gambler from five years ago?

Baishi Zhou simply couldn’t recall such a nondescript gambler girl.

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The ambulance roared away.

“Director,” An Jiashu approached with a guilty look, hesitating. “I take responsibility for the gun issue… Detective Shen took my assigned gun due to the emergency, and she was severely injured—there’s a chance she might need amputation…”

“Amputation?” Baishi Zhou frowned. How serious could it be?

An Jiashu visibly grew more nervous. “Maybe… Director, given the high-risk self-defense, could you please not punish her for using my gun?”

Taking and using—the way An Jiashu tried hard to justify the theft of a weapon was almost comical.

Baishi Zhou looked at him and suddenly realized that the “severe enough for amputation” was likely a fabrication by Detective Shen to avoid punishment.

Even An Jiashu and Bao Xiao had joined her in lying and covering up.

He was so mad he could only laugh bitterly.

An Jiashu noticed the laughter and glanced at him, unsure what it meant.

When Baishi Zhou returned the gun to An Jiashu, he had no intention of pursuing the matter further. He was willing to be lenient with Detective Shen due to the emergency—her actions could be overlooked—but she hadn’t recognized the gravity of the situation. Instead, she had turned An Jiashu and Bao Xiao into accomplices rationalizing her rule-breaking.

She needed to realize her mistake.

“If Detective Shen is seriously injured enough for amputation, we won’t pursue responsibility for now,” Baishi Zhou said.

Before An Jiashu could feel relieved, Baishi Zhou added, “But you’re suspended for losing your assigned weapon.”

An Jiashu’s face turned pale. “Director…”

“You can take the time to care for Detective Shen, who may be facing amputation. Bao Xiao will return to the bureau,” Baishi Zhou said, removing the gun and getting into the car to leave.

※※

“Why punish me? I caught the criminal!” Shen Chuyi sat in the hospital room, her freshly bandaged shoulder throbbing painfully. “Does he have emotional deficiency disorder? He acts like a robot! No empathy, no flexibility!”

An Jiashu hurriedly held down her flailing arm, whispering, “Don’t get too excited, watch your shoulder.” Before leaving, Bao Xiao repeatedly stressed taking good care of her. Her grazed shoulder showed bone beneath, but she insisted, “It’s fine. I’m only suspended temporarily. The director took my gun but not my police badge, and didn’t report it. It means he’s probably giving me a slap on the wrist—two days suspension and that’s it.”

“Even one day of punishment is punishment! I solved the case and still get punished?” Shen Chuyi was defiant. Punishment meant she was at fault, so her first-class merit award was at risk! No way! That award had to be hers!

“It’s not you they’re punishing. You solved the case and earned merit. It’s me—they’re punishing me for losing the gun, which is a serious offense,” An Jiashu said patiently. “But I know it’s not your fault. The situation was urgent. If you hadn’t taken my gun and shot the suspect immediately, both you and the director might have been in danger.”

He lowered his voice and whispered, “I actually know the director doesn’t really want to punish us. But if he doesn’t punish me, wouldn’t that encourage breaking discipline? Imagine if anyone could just take a police gun and claim ‘emergency’—it would be chaos.”

Sitting beside the hospital bed, An Jiashu gently held Shen Chuyi’s shoulder, blinking his large eyes like coaxing a child. “Some rules and discipline exist to protect us officers. The director doesn’t want any of his officers hurt, including you.”

He said a lot, but Shen Chuyi’s attention was drawn by the scent emanating from him.

It was a fragrant lemon tree aroma, drifting with his gentle voice, strangely calming.

Leaning close to his neck, she sniffed. “Are you releasing your pheromones on me?” Was that his pheromone scent?

An Jiashu hurriedly recoiled, covering his neck where she had sniffed, his face flushing red as he stammered, “Don’t misunderstand! My pheromones relax people, not arouse them… I just want you not to be too angry…”

“Really?” Shen Chuyi glanced at his wristband’s virtual screen and saw his rabbit ears turning bright red along with his neck. Nervously, she waved her hand.

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An Jiashu seemed afraid she wouldn’t believe him, so he explained his supernatural ability. Besides super memory and data analysis, he had a somewhat useless “Pheromone Calming” power that released pheromones to make people feel relaxed and comfortable.

It was a nice bonus ability, but only when he himself was relaxed.

In reality, he lacked strong psychological resilience; facing criminals, he found it hard to relax and couldn’t release pheromones.

Indeed, as he grew nervous, the lemon scent faded significantly.

Looking closely, Shen Chuyi noticed his long eyelashes. An Jiashu was tall, slim, with a perky rear, and quite handsome. “Seems to work a bit.”

She teased, “Then come closer so I can smell more.”

An Jiashu’s face flushed deeper. “Does it really work?”

She nodded. His otherwise useless pheromones had a rare effect. He nervously lowered his head, bringing his neck a little closer to her.

On the virtual screen, his two rabbit ears drooped with his head, like soft, fluffy antennas.

Adorable.

Shen Chuyi’s nose almost touched his flushed neck as she laughed and grabbed his wrist. “Don’t be nervous, An Jiashu.”

He got even more nervous—no one had ever sniffed him like that before…

Lost in thought, Shen Chuyi didn’t realize that her other second-hand wristband hidden in her sock’s leg had received a message from “Extortionist Zhang Dian.”

He proactively sent her a message—[Is it you who got caught, Ms. Goat?]

Unfortunately, that second-hand wristband was in sleep mode.

※※

The rain finally stopped by nightfall, but the Special Crime Division was shrouded in gloom.

Since the suspect was taken for medical treatment with no life-threatening injuries and escorted back for interrogation, twelve hours had passed. He refused to confess, not uttering a single word, only insisting he barely missed killing his sister and that the four customers were not his doing.

Baishi Zhou and the team spent the whole day trying to break him, but to no avail.

In the afternoon, Sikan, who had taken leave, rushed back to assist with the interrogation. They continued until 8:30 p.m., when the suspect finally spoke.

But he said, “You’re the profiler detective brought in by Professor Zhang, right? The internet says you might become the next Zhang Dian, but now I see you’re nothing special.”

Sikan pressed his lips tight. Normally, he wouldn’t let a suspect’s words affect his mood, but he had just been injected with a pheromone suppressant and was feeling physically and emotionally disoriented.

The severely injured young male suspect lowered his eyes, shy but venomous: “You’re not even as good as the intern detective who just joined the Special Crime Division. She beat you in less than twenty-four hours.”