Chapter 15: Professor Xu was nearly driven crazy

Translator: Abo Dammen

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Case One: The Phantom Sniper

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Xu Pei didn’t believe the killer had the ability to turn invisible; otherwise, there would be no need to jam the surveillance signal.

This situation could only mean one of two things: either the witnesses were lying, or there was a problem with the evidence.

For now, let’s assume all the witnesses were lying.

Everyone saw who the killer was, but out of a desire to protect them, they all claimed they saw nothing. 

But these people’s testimony wasn’t “I didn’t see who it was,” but the very specific “I looked down as soon as the shot rang out and didn’t see anyone.” If they were going to give false testimony, wouldn’t the former be simpler?

Moreover, He Yixun hadn’t even asked if anyone had looked down from their windows. These people volunteered that information themselves, which doesn’t quite fit the behavioral logic of giving false testimony. Therefore, the possibility that the witnesses were lying could be basically ruled out.

Xu Pei still leaned towards the idea that there was something off about the crime scene.

He moved closer to look at the corpse on the sofa. He saw clear burn marks around the bullet hole, indicating He Yixun’s judgment was correct—the killer had indeed fired at close range. 

“This is strange,” Xu Pei straightened up and took two steps back to widen his field of view. His gaze followed the large amount of blood spatter on the floor. “This is the primary crime scene. At the time, He Jun was probably drinking on the sofa and didn’t notice the killer approaching from behind.”

As he spoke, Xu Pei walked around behind the sofa and mimicked a gun with his thumb and index finger. “The killer stood here, fired a shot at He Jun’s head, and then quickly left the scene.”

“It might not necessarily be that He Jun didn’t notice,” He Yixun tapped the floorboards with the tip of his leather shoe. “These planks have hollow spaces underneath. It’s hard to completely mask footsteps. Unless He Jun was already unconscious, it’s unlikely he wouldn’t have noticed.”

“Or,” Xu Pei thought of another possibility, “the killer was drinking with He Jun and pretended to go to the restroom, so He Jun wasn’t vigilant.” 

He Yixun thought for a moment and gave a noncommittal hum. “That possibility can’t be ruled out.”

“However,” Xu Pei found it odd, “didn’t He Maohu and Ling Feng order everyone to stay in their rooms? Why was he on the deck?”

“He wouldn’t follow instructions,” said He Yixun. “Especially after He Maohu scolded him outside the wheelhouse just now.”

Xu Pei remembered. When they went upstairs to check the restaurant surveillance, He Jun harassed Cindy and was publicly berated by He Maohu, who said he’d end up dead because of a woman if he didn’t control himself. 

“So, the killer knew He Jun wasn’t in his room, or perhaps the killer was the one who invited He Jun to drink on the deck.”

Having reasoned this far, Xu Pei still couldn’t get around the most critical question. “But how did the killer actually leave the scene?”

There were several sun umbrellas by the pool. If they were all open, people upstairs might not even see He Jun’s body. But currently, all these umbrellas were closed. Looking down from above, there was nothing to block the view, which meant the killer had no place to hide.

He Yixun, who had been silent, suddenly spoke. “I understand.” 

Xu Pei immediately looked at He Yixun. It seemed Officer He had already seen through the killer’s trick. As expected of the star superintendent who had solved many major cases.

“You cannot ejaculate, are unable to have morning wood, are a different gender from me. Based on various clues,” He Yixun paused, “you do not have a penis.”

Xu Pei: …For fuck’s sake.

What the hell is this guy thinking about?! 

Considering that He Yixun, operating with a lack of knowledge, even mistakenly believed Xu Pei went into heat daily, Xu Pei felt obligated to explain things clearly for the reputation of all omegas.

But obviously, not right now.

“Can we focus on solving the case properly first?” Xu Pei asked. “I’ll give you a scientific explanation later after we disembark.”

He merely didn’t want to interfere with the main task, but it was interpreted as avoiding the question. He Yixun nodded, as if his thoughts had been confirmed. “So you don’t have one.” 

“I DO!” Professor Xu could bear it no longer.

“Then you must not have testicles,” said He Yixun.

On impulse, Xu Pei almost dragged He Yixun to the bathroom to pull down his pants and show him. Fortunately, reason prevailed over his impulse.

He took a deep breath and decided not to argue with a muggle from another world. “Congratulations on guessing correctly, Officer He. I don’t. Can we focus on the case now?”

“I don’t know how you define it,” He Yixun’s tone showed no change upon learning his deduction was “correct,” as if he were merely discussing a serious academic issue, “but in our world, your condition is what we call impotence.

“We even have a specific term for your gender. 

“It’s called a eunuch.”

Xu Pei: …..

Xu Pei: ?

Xu Pei: . 

If, Xu Pei meant if, he had the chance to take He Yixun to his world, he would definitely kidnap him to the laboratory and perform all sorts of inhuman experiments on him.

Forcing a smile, Xu Pei asked considerately, “Is there anything else you would like to know, Mr. He?”

“Not for now. I just wanted to understand your physical constitution,” Hearing the deliberate form of address, He Yixun showed no reaction and said flatly, “So the gland is your prostate gland, and stimulation there alone can produce pleasure. I’ve figured it out now.”

As he said this, He Yixun gave off a sense of “case closed.” 

As if, between the murder case and the heat case, he had successfully solved the latter, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

Xu Pei could sense that He Yixun wasn’t saying these things to embarrass him, but was genuinely interested in this matter.

He really had a studious spirit. It was a pity he wasn’t in research.

Even though none of his conjectures were correct. 

Maybe it was better to let Officer He think he had solved the case.

“Then can we discuss how the killer left?” Xu Pei asked.

He Yixun strode off towards the cabin. “Let’s go check the armory.”

Back at the revolving door of the casino, the elevator display still showed “-“. Presumably, the crew was still restoring it after He Yixun had pried open the car upstairs. 

The two turned towards the nearby staircase but heard footsteps coming from above. Someone was coming down from the upper floors.

It was Lin Mei and Ma Jing.

“I heard He Jun is dead?”

The moment Lin Mei saw He Yixun, she immediately sought confirmation. Her exquisite makeup was no longer flawless, making her solemn expression even more pronounced. The gun that was originally in her holster was now in her hand, with a round chambered, showing how wary she was. 

“On the deck,” He Yixun tilted his head slightly, gesturing with his chin. “Shot.”

“How could…” Lin Mei stepped down the last step, stood on tiptoe to glance towards the deck, then looked back at He Yixun and asked, “Have you found the killer?”

He Yixun suddenly felt the height was wrong. His gaze lowered and he saw Lin Mei’s bare feet, and the pair of high heels in Ma Jing’s hand.

“Why aren’t you wearing shoes?” He Yixun asked. 

“The heels are too high, inconvenient for going downstairs,” Lin Mei answered.

Xu Pei could almost imagine the scene. Lin Mei originally intended to take the elevator down, found it wasn’t working, and switched to the stairs. After just a few steps, she found the high heels too troublesome, kicked them off, and Ma Jing, following behind, picked them up for her.

He Yixun didn’t ask further. “Not yet. You should go check on He Maohu.”

After parting ways with Lin Mei and Ma Jing, Xu Pei and He Yixun went down to the lower deck. This level was the equipment deck, not open to tourists. The corridor was empty, so it was hard to imagine Ling Feng encountering crew members here who could vouch for him. 

The armory was some distance from the elevator, requiring left and right turns to reach the end of a corridor. The armory door lock was an electronic keypad lock, the kind that automatically locks when the door closes.

Xu Pei remembered He Maohu saying the armory was currently unlocked. He tried turning the handle, but it wouldn’t open. He Yixun thought for a moment, then entered eight zeros on the keypad. The lock opened.

“He reset the password,” said He Yixun.

The previous password was set jointly by He Maohu and Ling Feng. It was precisely because Ling Feng held half the password that He Maohu was in a passive position during the gun retrieval issue. And since the Lucky Number was He Maohu’s turf, being constrained on his own turf would make anyone extremely annoyed. So, after opening the armory, it was only natural for He Maohu to reset the password. 

As for not setting a new password, it was probably because there were too many people around at the time, and he didn’t want Ling Feng’s people to see it. Resetting to default was the most convenient operation. Even a simple factory default password might not be guessable by someone unfamiliar with the ship.

Of course, after realizing it might be guessed, He Maohu then considered the armory to be ‘unlocked.’

Following He Yixun into the armory, Xu Pei imagined he would see a “walk-in closet.” The area for hanging coats would be stacked with submachine guns, the drawers for underwear would hold various pistols, and the watch display cases would contain grenades.

However, the reality was vastly different from Xu Pei’s imagination. The room did have cabinets, drawers, and pegboards for wall mounting, but all the firearms and ammunition were scattered on the floor. The chaos resembled a clearance sale.

“…Was it originally like this?” Xu Pei asked.

“No,” He Yixun said.

Xu Pei reached the only conclusion. “The killer has been here.” 

The two returned to the casino on the first floor.

Lin Mei had put away her gun, put on her high heels, and was patting He Maohu’s shoulder, talking to him, seemingly offering comfort. He Maohu’s state was no longer as worn as before. The fierceness had returned to his eyes, as if he were discussing with Lin Mei how to personally deal with the killer.

The moment he saw He Yixun appear at the door, he immediately walked over. “Any clues?”

He Yixun didn’t say much. “Come with me.” 

Perhaps thinking He Yixun had made a significant discovery, Lin Mei also followed in her high heels. Seeing the He family gathering, Ling Feng, as if afraid they were plotting against him, also followed to the lower deck with Cindy.

“Wow, who did this?” Leaning against the doorframe upon seeing the state of the armory, Ling Feng said to He Maohu, “It wasn’t like this when we came to get our guns earlier, was it?”

He Maohu’s face was cold. He still hadn’t dismissed his suspicion of Ling Feng. “You were on the lower deck earlier. Are you sure it wasn’t you?”

“I was in the kitchen at the other end,” Ling Feng pointed towards the stern with his thumb. “Didn’t a chef just say he saw me?” 

He Maohu ignored Ling Feng and asked He Yixun, “What does the killer mean by messing up the armory like this?”

“Have someone restore it to its original state first,” He Yixun ordered.

Zhou Ye acted as the runner, calling two underlings downstairs to tidy up the chaotic armory. After hearing that He Yixun had finished inspecting the scene, He Maohu wanted to have someone collect He Jun’s body, but He Yixun stopped him. Since the case wasn’t solved yet, it was best not to disturb the scene.

While waiting for the guns to be sorted, some people chatted, others smoked. Xu Pei, finding the air stale, found a spot to stand under a ventilation duct. The place was around a corner, out of He Yixun’s line of sight. 

So, after instructing He Maohu not to disturb the scene, He Yixun turned around and found Xu Pei was gone. He hurriedly searched along the corridor. Fortunately, he saw the suspect again after turning the corner.

No, according to He Yixun’s principles, it was no longer appropriate to call him a suspect at this point.

“Finished?” Xu Pei was leaning against the wall resting his feet. Seeing He Yixun approach, he straightened up.

But He Yixun didn’t bring any news. He just walked to his side and said, “Not yet.” 

The two continued waiting. The wind from the ventilation duct blew downwards, feeling slightly cool. Logically, with the wind blowing like this, Xu Pei shouldn’t be able to smell He Yixun’s scent. But for some reason, that clean juniper fragrance kept finding its way into his nasal passages on its own.

It seemed mixed with a slight scent of sweat, not unpleasant, like the male hormones evaporating from hot skin after exercise.

They had been running around all evening so sweating was normal.

He inexplicably thought of the scene in the elevator. Feeling his face growing warm, Xu Pei simply gave up the prime spot under the vent and stood opposite. 

The move was somewhat abrupt. He Yixun looked at him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Xu Pei responded.

He Yixun stared at Xu Pei for a while, then tentatively took a step forward. Sure enough, it made Xu Pei tense up. “Stay away from me.”

“Your blushing is too obvious,” He Yixun stepped back. “Why?” 

As if he wanted to?!

Xu Pei thought indignantly.

Thinking that he was already a “eunuch,” and it didn’t matter anymore, Xu Pei said, “I’m still very sensitive right now. If you don’t want me to go into heat again, stay away from me.”

He Yixun tilted his head, examining Xu Pei, and didn’t speak. A moment later, he moved his lips. “I just thought of something.” 

Xu Pei: “What?”

“You said your favorite thing is collecting various bodily fluids,” He Yixun again had that “case closed” air about him. “Is it because most people in your world can’t ejaculate?”

Xu Pei: “…”

How dare this impotent man… 

“Otherwise, I can’t understand what’s so interesting about collecting that stuff.”

It did make some sense…

Ever since He Yixun saw his gland, Professor Xu was nearly driven crazy by this self-righteously curious student. Just then, a voice came from the direction of the armory, “Boss, we’ve finished counting. One gun and a silencer are missing.”