Chapter 18: Fainting, lack of common sense, and impotence

Translator: Abo Dammen

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Case One: The Phantom Sniper

The smell of blood on the deck still hadn’t dissipated. When the sea breeze blew, it was like unexpectedly eating a mouthful of wasabi, its sharp odor transformed into a weapon assaulting the nose.

Xu Pei didn’t dare turn the blocker off completely.

He rotated it bit by bit towards ‘off’. When his nose couldn’t take it anymore, he stopped, maintaining a subtle balance. 

He still didn’t smell anything unusual.

Xu Pei’s definition of ‘unusual’ was an element that didn’t belong in the scene.

Like the gunpowder smoke in the square, or the cyanide in the restaurant, both were sticking out in their respective scenes. On the deck, there were the smells of blood, alcohol, disinfectant from the pool, and the occasional gunpowder smoke drifting from the casino, all fitting the current scene.

There were no more clues here. 

A dull pain began throbbing in his forehead again. A wave of dizziness suddenly struck, and Xu Pei lost his sense of balance, his body falling uncontrollably to the side.

He Yixun quickly caught the falling Xu Pei. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Xu Pei rubbed the space between his eyebrows. “Let’s go check upstairs.”

The elevator had returned to normal. During the ascent, He Yixun looked at the digital display with his usual expression, clearly finding this space utterly ordinary and unremarkable. But Professor Xu had lost all face here not long ago and couldn’t be as composed as Officer He. He simply hung his head, pretending to be dizzy. 

“You can lean on me if you’re unwell,” said He Yixun.

“Huh?” The sudden offer made Xu Pei instinctively lift his head. As a result, the movement of the air made the steadily emanating juniper scent become erratic, as if suddenly gaining consciousness, wafting into Xu Pei’s nostrils in varying intensities. “Never mind, it’s making me dizzier.”

A short while later, the elevator finally reached the floor.

The cabin doors slowly opened to both sides. He Yixun raised his arm, intending to support Xu Pei’s back, but Professor Xu suddenly strode forward vigorously, swiftly moving far ahead. 

Schrödinger’s dizziness.

Near the elevator, both sides were empty rooms. Because people were constantly coming and going, easily disturbing rest, important guests were usually assigned rooms further in the middle. Reaching the area where people were concentrated, the scents in the air abruptly became complex.

Residual hair gel, opened drink bottles, cigarette butts in ashtrays, the white sugar from coffee creamer…

Every scent could perfectly blend with the guest rooms.

Wait. 

The state of one thing was off.

The sugar wasn’t solid. It was a liquid sweetness.

Sweet liquid in a guest room would only exist within coffee. But there was no coffee in the scene. This hint of sweetness appeared alone. Its location was also wrong. It was in the bathroom.

Was someone drinking sugar water in the bathroom? 

An ordinary thing becomes especially conspicuous when placed in an inappropriate context. However, Xu Pei’s blocker wasn’t fully off, so he might have missed other information.

He tried to lower the blocker setting a bit more. But controlling this balance was like adjusting the water heater in a cheap motel—exceed a certain point, and it was all scalding hot water. He had merely rotated it a millimeter towards ‘off’, yet the chaotic scents abruptly amplified a hundredfold, impacting his brain so hard it instantly crashed.

“He Yixun,” Xu Pei swayed as he raised his arm, reaching towards He Yixun. “Quick, quick, hold me…”

His arm was caught by a strong, large hand. Once he had something to rely on, Xu Pei could hold on no longer. His eyes rolled back, and he fainted. His body fell into a deep sleep, but a sliver of consciousness remained. 

Xu Pei could feel He Yixun holding him, calling his name, and shaking his body.

There was a trace of anxiety in his usually steady voice. Just as Xu Pei was sighing emotionally that Officer He could get worried too, he suddenly felt his body being straightened up, his chin hooked over He Yixun’s shoulder, and then—

He Yixun pulled down his collar with one hand and slapped his gland hard with the other. “Wake up, Xu Pei.”

Damn, that hurts… 

Xu Pei really felt like cursing.

Mistreating an omega like this would be a criminal offense where he came from, okay?!

Discovering it was useless, He Yixun finally stopped tormenting Xu Pei’s gland. He picked him up horizontally and walked towards the elevator.

Leaning against the firm chest, his body could fully relax. A powerful drowsiness swept over him, constantly eroding his remaining consciousness. Xu Pei simply nestled in He Yixun’s arms and fell asleep. After all, this time of night was meant for sleeping. However, after a comfortable but short sleep, Xu Pei was awakened by a bone-chilling cold. 

Opening his eyes, bright lights were above him. A middle-aged man in a white coat stood by the bed, saying to He Yixun, who was sitting on a chair frowning with his eyes closed, “He’s awake.”

He Yixun immediately stood up and came to Xu Pei’s side. “Are you okay?”

Sitting up with his teeth chattering, Xu Pei looked back and saw an ice pack on the pillow.

“You glands…” Perhaps because an outsider was present and he didn’t want to explain too much, He Yixun changed his words, “The back of your neck was very hot. I could only use physical cooling.” 

You freaking genius.

Xu Pei thought through gritted teeth.

Hitting it wasn’t enough, he had to freeze his glands too? Didn’t he know how delicate an omega’s body was?!

…Alright, he really didn’t know. 

He’d forgive him one last time. He’d properly educate him later.

“How long was I out?” Xu Pei asked.

He Yixun looked up at the wall clock. “Ten minutes.”

And he wouldn’t even let him sleep longer! 

Xu Pei was so angry he felt dizzy and temporarily lost the desire to speak, rubbing his temples instead.

The doctor nearby asked dutifully, “Is there anywhere else you feel unwell?”

“No.” Xu Pei let out a breath. “Maybe it’s just seasickness.”

Seasickness caused by that senseless, impotent alpha. 

“That’s nothing.” Seeing that Xu Pei was more or less fine, the doctor slid his chair back to the desk. “Usually, the people who come to me are bleeding at the very least.”

Xu Pei suddenly remembered what Ling Feng had said: disappearances, sexual assaults, organ trafficking… all were common occurrence on the Lucky Number. No wonder the ship’s doctor didn’t take seasickness seriously.

“Your job is quite challenging,” Xu Pei responded. It reminded him of the back-alley doctors in movies who specialized in treating gang members.

“I’m quitting soon,” the doctor said relaxedly, leaning back in his chair, hands behind his head. “Too much pressure. It’ll be easier to go back and open a clinic.” 

Xu Pei found it hard to imagine what pressure a ship’s doctor would face. A terrible thought popped into his mind. “Is it because too many people die?”

“That’s nothing,” said the doctor. “It’s that this ship often has incidents. You never know what will happen. Not long ago, Prosecutor Li’s son was my responsibility to resuscitate. Heaven knows how much pressure I was under when I declared his death.”

So that was it.

It was the sheer number of unexpected incidents, requiring strong mental fortitude. It meant being on edge every time the ship sailed. 

“It’s not that I mean anything by it, but I’ve always felt the Lucky Number is cursed. Every time it sets sail, some gambling addict jumps overboard, like there’s a quota to fill,” the doctor said, perhaps because his resignation was imminent, he started rambling, making complaints about his soon-to-be former employer. “Ah, but then again, something like that happened on its very first voyage, which shows there were omens from the start.”

He Yixun, who had been quietly listening, suddenly spoke, “What thing?”

The doctor realized he had slipped up, his eyes becoming evasive. “Uh, it’s nothing really.”

“‘Nothing really’ is what?” He Yixun asked coldly. “Or should I take you to the police station to talk?” 

“No,” the doctor sat up straight properly, wearing a troubled expression. “Mr. He forbade discussing this matter.”

Xu Pei couldn’t help his curiosity. “What exactly is it?”

“Well,” the doctor also knew He Yixun wasn’t someone to be fooled, so he spoke hesitantly, “The incident with Prosecutor Li’s son wasn’t the first time something like that happened. Previously, Young Master He also harassed a female service worker. That service worker jumped overboard and died, right on the Lucky Number’s first voyage.”

He Yixun frowned. “How come I didn’t know about this?” 

“Mayor Lin blocked the news! She had just become mayor then, and she issued the Lucky Number’s license. Do you think she would let this kind of news get out?” the doctor said. “And her background… Officer He, you know better than anyone. She’s not just the mayor; she has that person backing her. Blocking this kind of thing was a piece of cake for her.”

Xu Pei could tell this was not simple. He asked He Yixun, “How long ago was this?”

“Four years ago,” He Yixun replied, then asked the doctor, “What was the female service worker’s name?”

“Who remembers that?” the doctor said in a tone that implied ‘that’s asking too much of me’. “It was so long ago.” 

Xu Pei believed that even for recent events, like the incident with Prosecutor Li’s son falling overboard, asking this doctor to name the service worker who was killed, he similarly wouldn’t be able to. Because for most people, the victim’s name is just the least important noun in the news.

If the killer’s motive stemmed from this incident…

Xu Pei looked at He Yixun and asked, “When did Zhou Ye start working for He Maohu?”

“During the period I was focusing on cracking down on He Maohu’s businesses. He hired Zhou Ye to help whitewash his identity,” He Yixun recalled. “About five years ago.” 

Xu Pei’s expression darkened. “Then the killer can only be that person.”

He Yixun was still frowning deeply. “But how did they poison the champagne glass?”

Xu Pei’s peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of the ice pack on the pillow. A flash of insight went through his mind. He suddenly understood. “So there was a delayed activation device back then too.”

Disregarding his physical discomfort, Xu Pei climbed out of the sickbed and went with He Yixun to the casino on the first floor. 

He Maohu had just finished questioning people. Seeing the two arrive, he said with a look of having tried everything without success, “I found the person who fired the first shot, but it doesn’t seem related to Xiao Jun’s matter.”

“You’ve got me in deep trouble, Professor Xu,” Zhou Ye said, looking utterly wronged. “I did say ‘Boss Ling isn’t in his room,’ but that wasn’t provocation, it was stating an objective fact! You made both bosses suspect me. I almost got shot.”

Xu Pei had no time to deal with Zhou Ye. He scanned the crowd for that person’s figure.

He Yixun quickly scanned the surroundings. “Where’s Ma Jing?” 

When they parted on the deck earlier, Ma Jing had clearly come to the casino.

“He went upstairs,” Zhou Ye pointed towards the upper floors. “Seems he went to find Mayor Lin.”

Xu Pei inwardly cursed. Exchanging a glance with He Yixun, the two turned and headed for the elevator together. But just then, another gunshot reverberated through the cruise ship. This time, the gunshot came from upstairs!

“Hurry!” He Yixun sprinted towards the elevator, with Xu Pei close behind. The others, though confused, quickly followed. 

Every second of the elevator’s ascent felt incredibly long. He Maohu seemed to have a bad premonition, his face grave and silent. Ling Feng was uncharacteristically preoccupied, likely thinking about what to do next if something happened to the mayor.

An air of unease permeated the cramped, crowded space.

Finally, a “ding” sound broke the silence enveloping everyone.

They rushed out of the elevator. He Yixun was the first to reach Lin Mei’s room door. Without a word, he drew his gun, shot the lock, and then kicked the door open. 

The room was empty.

But on the sea-view balcony, they saw Lin Mei grabbing Ma Jing by the collar, pinning him against the railing, with a gun pressed against his forehead.

He Yixun wasn’t particularly surprised by this scene.

He raised his gun, his tone stern, “Put the gun down, Lin Mei.”