Chapter 6: What is she going to the Lucky Number for?

Translator: Abo Dammen

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Case One: The Phantom Sniper

The open-plan apartment with its removed walls was airy and open, sure, but when there was another person in the house, there was basically no privacy to speak of.

He Yixun was accustomed to living alone and had never imagined that one day there would be an extra person staying in his home.

No, he should be precise with his wording: a suspect. If it were purely a guest, He Yixun would never allow anyone to invade his space. 

Fortunately, the room was large enough. Walking to the far end of the living room, away from the kitchen, the sounds from the kitchen were barely audible.

The phone was still ringing incessantly. He Yixun pressed the answer button and shifted his gaze to the expansive floor-to-ceiling window with its broad view. “Speak.”

“I bet right!” Chen Zhen’s excited voice came through the phone. “I knew the psychological evaluation was just an excuse! The boss just wanted you to lay low!”

Among all his subordinates, only Chen Zhen dared to be this familiar and lack respect towards He Yixun, even boldly admitting to betting on him. 

Considering his young age and his past where he had strayed into being a hacker, He Yixun never bothered to take it to heart with him.

“How much did you win?” He Yixun asked.

“Five hundred.” Chen Zhen chuckled twice, then got down to business. “The boss just chaired a discussion meeting. Everyone still leans towards it being done by Lin Mei’s sponsors because illegal firearms can only be obtained on the black market, and those entertainment industry bosses sponsoring Lin Mei all have connections to organized crime.”

Actually, He Yixun was already on leave and explicitly forbidden from handling this case, so in principle, this had nothing to do with him. 

But since Chen Zhen was proactively reporting to him, he might as well listen. “Mm, same as I thought.”

“There’s a rumor that He Maohu and Ling Feng are meeting on the Lucky Number tonight to discuss dividing up territory. Not sure if it’s related to this shooting incident.”

He Maohu was originally the top dog of Binshi’s entertainment industry. At the peak of his power, every bar and KTV in Binshi had to pay him “membership fees.”

Later, after He Yixun became a police officer, he took down He Maohu’s most profitable businesses within just a few years. He Maohu’s power was severely crippled, forcing him to switch paths and embark on a journey to legitimize himself. And He Yixun, consequently, shot up the ranks like a rocket, becoming the youngest superintendent in Binshi. 

Actually, at that time, He Yixun’s reputation among the citizens was still quite good.

It’s just that people enjoy both creating idols and tearing them down. A single tragic story was enough to make public opinion completely reverse.

As for Ling Feng, whom Chen Zhen mentioned, he originally worked at a financial company and had a respectable job. Later, because he assaulted his boss, he got a criminal record and simply went all the way into completely engaging in illegal activities. 

Relying on his shrewd vision and exceptional courage, he took advantage of He Maohu’s weakened state to develop and expand, gradually forming a situation where he could hold his own equally with He Maohu.

Now, these two men were the representative figures of Binshi’s entertainment industry. Although their businesses were irreconcilable as fire and water, they were both supporters of Lin Mei’s policies.

“Probably influenced by the election, these two are going to reconcile,” said He Yixun.

Both mayoral candidates were preparing to crack down on their industry, which was no different from announcing that an industry winter was coming. 

At a time like this, compared to infighting, peaceful coexistence was clearly wiser, so this outcome wasn’t hard to predict.

“I’m curious why they don’t just kill Li Menglan?” Chen Zhen didn’t dare bring this up in the meeting, afraid of being bombarded by Li’s supporters. “Compared to Lin Mei, Li Menglan’s attitude is more radical, right?”

“The public’s reaction would be even greater. Targeting Li Menglan isn’t a good idea.”

Just like how after He Yixun crippled He Maohu, Ling Feng emerged. Even if Li Menglan were gone, someone would take her place. And by then, the public’s anger would only be more intense. 

As for the motive for targeting Lin Mei—whether it was betrayal or to kill the chicken to scare the monkey—it was still impossible to say for sure.

“So complicated. I’m really not cut out for politics,” Chen Zhen muttered, then added, “But my friends on the street told me that Lin Mei will also be on the Lucky Number tonight.”

“You are a police officer now. Mind your wording,” He Yixun scolded him mildly, then asked, “What is she going to the Lucky Number for?”

“How should I know?” Chen Zhen’s tone implied “why would you ask me such a question?” “Can’t you just ask her yourself?” 

After hanging up, He Yixun stood by the window, considering Chen Zhen’s suggestion.

Actually, the person who most needed to give a statement was Lin Mei.

But Shao Hui had returned to the station with just the sentence “she thinks it’s Li Menglan,” which equated to getting no information from Lin Mei at all.

The sound of bare feet on the floor came from behind. He Yixun withdrew his gaze from the skyscrapers outside the window and looked back to see Xu Pei walking towards him. “I put the bowls and chopsticks in the dishwasher.” 

He Yixun glanced towards the kitchen but didn’t see the mess he had anticipated. However, the chairs were still not positioned correctly. They were all slightly askew, not forming a perfect ninety-degree angle with the table.

“I said not to touch my kitchen.”

“I want to go to the library this afternoon,” Xu Pei ignored him completely and stated his own request. “I want to learn about the culture here.”

Putting away the dishes wasn’t to please He Yixun, of course. It was precisely because He Yixun had specifically told him not to do something that Xu Pei felt compelled to do it. 

It was a form of minor rebellion.

However, He Yixun didn’t understand this kind of harmless rebellion that hurt the enemy one hundred while also hurting oneself one hundred. His first reaction was that Xu Pei was using chores to exchange for permission to go out.

It hadn’t even been half a day, and the suspect already wanted to leave. This precisely proved He Yixun’s hypothesis was correct.

But compared to the library, he had a more suitable place to take Xu Pei. 

“You don’t need to go to the library to learn about culture,” He Yixun said. “Change your clothes. Come out with me.”

Thus, thirty minutes later, Xu Pei found himself standing at the entrance of a majestic and imposing hospital.

Looking up at the countless floors, Professor Xu was somewhat puzzled. “Are you going to teach me how to seek medical treatment in this world?”

Not gonna lie, it was pretty practical. 

Since he had to lock the car, He Yixun was walking behind Xu Pei. Without stopping, he strode past Xu Pei and entered the hospital lobby. “Follow me.”

The hospitals here also had Outpatient, Inpatient, and Emergency departments. The process of seeing a doctor wasn’t much different from Xu Pei’s world, but the department design was quite distinct.

For example, the most important department in Xu Pei’s world, the Gland Department, didn’t exist here. Instead, there was a conceptually similar Endocrinology Department. Also, the Dentistry Department here was called the Stomatology Department where Xu Pei came from, and its largest sub-department was the Canine Infection Department, whose patients were all alphas.

Initially, Xu Pei’s attention was focused on these differences, but he soon noticed that the people around them seemed to be paying particular attention to He Yixun. 

He remembered the police department’s publicity board had listed He Yixun as a star superintendent. It seemed that wasn’t an exaggeration at all. However, strangely, those people’s eyes were very unfriendly. It didn’t look like they were looking at a star, but rather at a jinx.

“Why are they looking at you with that kind of expression?” Xu Pei leaned closer to He Yixun and asked in a lowered voice.

Even though he wasn’t the one being stared at, he felt inexplicably uneasy. 

He Yixun, on the other hand, was very composed, his tone flat as he said, “You’d know if you looked it up online.”

“I didn’t bring my phone. I left it in the office during the explosion.” Thinking about matters on the other side, Xu Pei felt inexplicably sad. “It’s probably burned to a pile of charcoal by now.”

He Yixun still looked straight ahead, showing no intention of explaining. “Then you can go ask them.”

Forget it. Xu Pei’s curiosity wasn’t strong enough to randomly grab a passerby and ask, “What’s with that look?”

Author’s Feed:
It’s hard to find a good stopping point in the chapter, so I’ll stop here for now.