Chapter Nine: Unraveling the Threads

At the hospital entrance, Lu Zhongxin slammed on the brakes and stopped by the roadside.

“The first squad will definitely prioritize treating the injured suspects. After all, it’s a gunshot wound. Without police escort, doctors won’t dare to take on the case.”

“Master, you, you, you…” Yu Dazhang, who had never done anything against his conscience in two lifetimes, suddenly found himself doing so once and was so frightened that his mind went blank.

“Don’t worry, Master is here. If you don’t know what to say later, just wait by the ward door. I’ll go in and talk to her.”

Seeing Lu Zhongxin open the car door to get out, Yu Dazhang hurriedly grabbed him.

“Don’t go yet, think it over, let me think again.”

“What else is there to think about? This is the only way.” Lu Zhongxin glared.

“There’s no time!”

Why does this feel so awkward... Yu Dazhang suddenly felt like he hardly recognized this master anymore.

Where are the principles? Where is the bottom line?

In Yu Dazhang’s memory, Lu Zhongxin had always been a rigorous, traditional, and rule-abiding man.

Even his posthumous photo in his previous life was stern and serious.

How did he become so unprincipled this time around?

Could it be that meeting this version of me lowered his standards... Yu Dazhang couldn’t come up with any other explanation.

“Master, maybe we should just forget it,” Yu Dazhang tightly grabbed Lu Zhongxin’s arm.

“If it’s wrong, it’s wrong. Even if I can never become a cop after this, I accept it.”

Yu Dazhang simply couldn’t get past this mental hurdle. If he really went through with it, he knew he’d have nightmares every night.

“Have you thought it through?” Lu Zhongxin looked at his apprentice without a trace of emotion.

Yu Dazhang nodded hard.

“Yes, let’s do it.”

“Alright. Now let me tell you the consequences.” Lu Zhongxin paused, his tone turning serious.

“Given the situation at the time, your response was correct. The mistaken identity was because I hadn’t briefed you on the case beforehand. If there’s any accountability, I will bear full responsibility.”

???

Yu Dazhang was stunned.

“What about what you said before...?”

“That was just to test you.” Lu Zhongxin finally showed a faint smile.

“Skill is one thing, but being a detective requires a sense of balance in the heart. Once that balance is off, the stronger your ability, the greater the harm.”

Indeed, Lu Zhongxin was not entirely confident in this apprentice.

When the rookies joined, he had investigated three of them, including Yu Dazhang.

Overall, there were no major issues or misconduct.

But Yu Dazhang’s reputation was the worst.

Because of this, he had a private talk with the new apprentice.

“Why do you always pick on Xiao Zhao? He didn’t provoke you during the internship, right?”

“He’s sly. You’ll see. That guy is the worst.”

“I heard during your internship with the Public Security Squad, you voluntarily asked for the contact info of a fallen woman. Is that true?”

“I wanted to challenge my own weakness.”

Who could feel at ease after hearing that?

You can’t just use him without testing him first!

Yu Dazhang ultimately didn’t get out of the car and returned to the squad with Lu Zhongxin.

He didn’t want to see that woman either. With her fierce temper, he figured meeting her might be a matter of life or death.

Escape, disarm, shoot back...

That whole sequence—ordinary people wouldn’t manage it, even the veteran detectives in the squad might not pull it off.

But she did. And she succeeded!

How terrifying is that? Terrifying beyond words.

Upon arriving at the squad, Yu Dazhang immediately made a request:

“Master, I want to see the case files for that kidnapping.”

Case files aren’t something you can just look at. There are confidentiality rules, especially for rookies like Yu Dazhang.

Leaks in an ongoing case can cause unnecessary losses and casualties.

But for Lu Zhongxin, letting him see the files was no trouble; trust is built over time.

“I’ll ask the first squad.”

Lu Zhongxin didn’t think much of it, assuming Yu Dazhang wanted to study the case.

The kid had just suffered because he couldn’t see the files; he must be unwilling to give up.

And he was right. Yu Dazhang felt stifled; if he didn’t see those files, he wouldn’t sleep well at night.

In no time, Lu Zhongxin returned, holding a folder.

“Read it quickly. The case isn’t over yet; the first squad still needs it.”

“Understood.”

Although they had caught the suspects, Yu Dazhang knew it wasn’t time to close the case.

They had to interrogate the four kidnappers first and confirm they had no accomplices before wrapping it up.

Opening the case file, Yu Dazhang carefully examined it...

Qu Tuotuo, 22 years old, only daughter of Qu Wannian, chairman of Yisheng Group, and sole heir of the Qu family.

She went abroad to study three years ago and returned to China on May 3, 2014. She was picked up at the airport but never returned home.

On May 4, the Qu family received a ransom call and then reported it to the police...

Qu Tuotuo? Yu Dazhang’s gaze lingered on those three characters.

Her dad must have named her that in a karaoke bar.

Picking up the photo clipped to the case file, Yu Dazhang furrowed his brow.

Why is she so beautiful?

In the photo, Qu Tuotuo’s smile bloomed like a flower, her eyes clear—obviously a girl who had been cherished and pampered since childhood.

Especially her mouth, delicate and pretty.

“Promise me you’ll only use that mouth to eat,” Yu Dazhang muttered to himself.

Having just seen her in person, looking haggard and grimy, Yu Dazhang couldn’t connect that woman with the radiant girl in the photo.

Was she abused during the kidnapping?

No, Yu Dazhang immediately dismissed the thought.

That lady? If she’d been harmed, those four kidnappers would have been shot by her already.

Even if they tried to take advantage, she’d have fired between their legs.

The latter part of the case file recorded relevant evidence and investigation processes collected by the first squad.

It mentioned phone tracking.

Just as Yu Dazhang had suspected, when the kidnappers contacted Qu Wannian for the third time, the first squad used technical means to lock down their location.

After reading through, Yu Dazhang had a preliminary understanding of the kidnapping.

The case was straightforward; the investigation methods were simple and effective, with no apparent oversights.

He flipped back to the first page of the file.

Now came the review.

He listed all the clues one by one, tracing the case from start to finish to see if anything was suspicious.

This was Yu Dazhang’s habit.

He read through the files at least three times to thoroughly analyze the whole case.

Returned on May 3, picked up at the airport but never returned...

Seeing this record again, Yu Dazhang suddenly looked up sharply, his eyes keen and deep.

Today is the 5th. That means Qu Tuotuo had been kidnapped for only two days.

In other words, she had just returned to the country.

To know so precisely her flight and to take her away smoothly...

It had to be someone familiar!

And someone intimately close.

To know such crucial information, this person must have contact with Qu Tuotuo’s parents.

Moreover, the entire Qu family obviously had no suspicions about this person.

Was this person one of the four kidnappers?

“Master!” Yu Dazhang suddenly stood up and said urgently:

“Quick, contact the first squad and have them ask if Qu Tuotuo recognized those four kidnappers before. She must be awake by now.”