Netherworld Investigator

NEW NOVEL: First and foremost, I'm delighted to announce that our long-time veteran translator littleshanks has finally launched his new novel, Rise!  Rise is a novel about the esports scene in Shanghai, the competitive gaming capital of China. It follows the story of Lin Feng, a boy who has just moved to the city for his last year of high school. He's a passionate gamer and dreams of being the best professional League of Legends player in the world. The twist? He almost achieved his dream, but failed at the...

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The next thing to do was to wait. The three of us headed out for a meal but Dali ended up skipping lunch entirely, all to make room for our seafood feast tomorrow. Before leaving the restaurant, we made sure to take away Bingxin’s lunch.

Xiaotao had some formalities to complete but Dali and I found ourselves at leisure. We decided to take a stroll outside since running to an internet cafe didn’t exactly encourage the exemplary image we were going for.

It was already early spring and the mellow afternoon sun caressed the skin and warmed the body.

Dali asked me about my plans after graduation–take the postgraduate admission exam, sit for the civil service exam or look for a job? I suddenly felt a wave of melancholy wash over me. In a few months, I would say goodbye to my campus life and head out into society. I hadn’t even considered what I would do in the future. According to the Song family rule, I could never take the civil service exam, yet I had no other skills apart from solving crimes. In other words, I was a highly intelligent loser.

"Song Yang, don't you want to work in an office?" asked Dali as he lightly slapped me on the shoulder.

"It's not a question of whether I want to or not,” I sighed. “I still have to worry about my livelihood. A good-for-nothing like me can only be an office worker."

"Would you like to start a business with me?" he asked, eyes glistening with eagerness.

"Start a business?” I said. “What sort of business? Selling mutton skewers?"

Dali tsked loudly in disapproval. "Just look at how short-sighted you are! You’ve got to take a long-term view. There are still many business opportunities to explore in Nanjiang City!"

As far as I could tell, Dali‘s flexibility and versatility gave him every chance at success if he decided to start a business. I grinned, "If you start a business, take me on and I’ll work for you. How about that?"

"Why the hell are you being so polite with me?” he said. “You’ve broadened my horizons but I’ve not really returned the favor. I feel guilty man. I wish I could be your financial support. When I’ve established my own career, I'll make you manager. You don't have to do anything, just solve your crimes and get paid. That’s the best way I can support you as a buddy!"

"CEO Wang,” I teased. “Can you tell me what business you’re planning to start?"

Looking up into the sky, Dali boldly declared, "The Wang Barbecue Co.! What do you think of that?"

“Will you only sell barbecues?” I asked. “What about edamame and beer?"

"Other projects can be slowly developed in the future,” explained Dali with great seriousness. “Right now, I’ve just established the company so my current focus is on Series A financing. Failure or success depends entirely on whether my father beats me to death."

This goofball was actually pulling a fast one on me. At the time, I truly believed that he wanted to start a barbecue stall. Who would’ve thought it was another one of his tricks? In truth, he already had a business plan for some time. When his business eventually took off with a bang, we were all thrown into shock.

Right then, I received a call from Xiaotao who shouted excitedly into my ear, "Song Yang, there’s been a big discovery. Guess what?"

"The old man is related to the dead woman?" I calmly voiced my conjecture.

Xiaotao exclaimed in surprise, "You guessed it all along, didn’t you? Well, Great Detective Song, please come to the conference room on the third floor. We’re waiting to hear your opinion!"

When we entered the conference room, everyone was already there. The officers reported all the clues they had gathered. The printing factory had been closed for many years and its old employees had all been laid off. The person in charge was uncontactable so they couldn’t confirm if Madam Hu had actually worked at the printing factory.

Meanwhile, the identity of the dead woman had been determined. Her name was Tang Xiaojuan and she hailed from Yundian Province. A few years ago, she came to Nanjiang City to work as a masseuse in a foot reflexology center. She didn’t have any friends or a boyfriend, keeping mostly to herself, but she did have a Godfather.

Tang Xiaojuan’s Godfather was a retired veteran soldier whom she met with on public holidays. Many of her colleagues suspected that she was being kept by a sugar daddy and privately laughed at her for being so blinded by money she was willing to sleep with such an old man.

"Who is her Godfather?" I asked the officer who had discovered this lead. 

"I wasn’t able to find out his identity!" He smiled wryly.

The other lead we had was Bingxin's major discovery–the old man and the dead woman’s DNA was 99% similar, indicating they were immediate family members. That is to say, Tang Xiaojuan's "Godfather" was actually her biological father.

Additionally, the phlegm we found at the scene was consistent with the DNA in the saliva enzymes discovered on the human skin kite, which confirmed that the person who spat at the scene was the murderer.

"How did you guess that the old man was related to the dead woman?" asked Xiaotao.

"It all comes back to the same point, that is, people aren’t so easily frightened to death. Even if the old man had heart disease and suddenly saw a kite made of human skin, he might feel some discomfort at most and take his medicine immediately. Therefore, I wondered if this human skin kite was made from a person he knew. That would explain why the moment he caught sight of it, he received such a strong blow he was frightened to death! From this, it’s obvious that the old man's death was no accident. So I think we can turn our focus to Madam Hu."

The old man’s surname was Yang while the dead woman went by Tang. Thus, we could surmise that she was an illegitimate daughter.

The room seemed less tense at once. Clearly, they were all relieved that the end of the tunnel was near. Truthfully, I wasn’t that surprised. Often, the more complex the case, the easier it was to solve. The real challenges were the simple and neat cases.

At this moment, Wang Yuanchao stormed in and plopped into his seat without a word. Xiaotao rapped her knuckles against the table and growled, "Wang Yuanchao, shouldn’t you at least explain why you’re late? Where’s your sense of discipline?!"

Wang Yuanchao paid her no attention and casually lit a cigarette. "I managed to look into the matter you asked. The old man lived in a community near the park and frequented the park every day for his morning exercise. Here’s the other thing–he only married Madam Hu five years ago."

As soon as the words fell out of his mouth, the room exploded into loud discussion and the suspicion around Madam Hu increased.

Bingxin glanced at the lab report, raised her hand and interrupted, "By the way, I forgot to mention one thing. I managed to obtain a clue from the phlegm sample. Whoever spat has asthma."

"Asthma may be an old ailment caused by chronic exposure to chemicals,” I said. “You should check Madam Hu's medical records. If she has asthma, we can basically confirm she’s the murderer."

Glancing at her watch, Xiaotao said, "It's almost six now. Let’s try to tackle both tasks at the same time. Wang Yuanchao, contact the hospital immediately to get her medical records. The others will follow me to pay Madam Hu a visit." And with a wave of her hand, she coolly instructed, "Let’s get a move on it!"

"I’m going too!" squealed Bingxin excitedly. 

But Xiaotao was quick to douse her enthusiasm with a bucket of cold water. "Don’t forget the three rules!"

“What can an old lady do to us?" argued Bingxin.

"It’s still a no,” said Xiaotao, refusing to budge. “It's a matter of principle!" She thereupon turned around and threatened to punish anyone who dared indulge Bingxin with a bonus deduction.

Before leaving, I asked Bingxin for the DNA test report. 

At the gates of the community, Xiaotao radioed the other officers to warn them against driving in for fear that Madam Hu would commit suicide by jumping off the building if she saw the police coming for her.

The others remained hidden and stayed on watch while the four of us, including Wang Yuanchao, got out of the car and made our way to her door on foot. After several knocks, Madam Hu answered the door, only to pause in surprise at the sight of us. But she quickly regained her composure and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

“May we go in and talk?" I asked.

"Sure, please come in!" nodded Madam Hu repeatedly.

The place was neatly organized. On the table was a photo of the couple taken in their youth. This was something I hadn’t expected. It seemed the couple knew each other early on. After Madam Hu brought us tea, I asked, "Did you and Mr. Yang have any children?"

"When I was young, I relocated to Yundian Province in the ‘Down To The Countryside’ movement. One year, during a terrible flood, my body was soaked in the floodwaters for an entire night, causing weakness and infertility. I tried for many years but never succeeded." She sighed, "Now I’m all that’s left in this house."

"When were the two of you married?" I asked.

"Haven’t I already mentioned this?” she said. “In the seventies."

Suddenly, Madam Hu burst into a violent coughing fit, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. I noticed that she had coughed up a mouthful of bloody phlegm.

I decided there was no reason to beat around the bush any longer. When she had finally stopped coughing, I stared into her eyes with my Cave Vision and went straight to the point. "Why did you kill that girl?"

A loud crash echoed in the room. In a panicked fluster, Madam Hu quickly cleaned up the broken pieces from the teacup she had knocked over. She forced a smile and feigned ignorance, "Officer, I don't know what you're talking about!"

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