Genius Detective

After eating, the thin man took Chen Shi up an elevator. When they got to the surface, it was already quite dark, and there were fireworks scaling the skies out in the distance. 

The thin man snorted. "It’s not the New Year or a special holiday. Why are they setting off fireworks?"

"Maybe someone is holding a celebration!" Chen Shi looked at the direction of the fireworks. Yes, it’s indeed the direction of Quansheng Building.

"The rich are just arrogant!" The thin man said with disdain.

When they got outside, Chen Shi saw a young couple on the opposite side of the road. There was also a pancake stall close by which had an uncle next to it, smiling as he greeted customers. These were all police officers from the bureau that Lin Dongxue had transferred over from other teams for this mission. 

He felt at ease upon seeing his own comrades. So long as he shouted right now, everyone would flock in and arrest the gang. 

But it wasn’t the right time. If they couldn’t catch the higher-ups and the mastermind behind it all, even if they break apart their den now, it would soon re-form. If that were the case, it would be even more difficult to do anything about them at that time. 

The two got in the car and spent an hour driving over to Shihouzi Road. Chen Shi said, “I’ll go by myself.”

"I’ll wait for you to eat supper!" The thin man took out a flute[1] and prepared to relax and enjoy himself while he waited. 

Chen Shi often came to this road for supper, so he was a bit worried about bumping into acquaintances. He popped his coat collar up and walked around the street holding the photo in his hand and comparing it to all the people he passed by. 

A man came out of a small bar and couldn’t walk in a straight line. It seemed like he had one too many. 

That's right! It's him!

Chen Shi was in a dilemma. He didn't want to hurt others, so he hesitated for a few seconds on the spot before he walked over to the man. He rounded his arm and suddenly hit the man in the face, forcing the man to spin twice upon impact.  

The man immediately sobered up and instinctively was a little nervous. After looking at Chen Shi properly, he asked, “Do you sell insurance?”

"Brother Yang asked me to come."

"Please beat me up realistically or the insurance company won’t accept the claim."

It turned out that he was the beneficiary of his policy!

Chen Shi suddenly had his psychological burdens relieved and instructed, “Big Brother, lie down and hold your head with your hands. Hold your breath.” 

The man smiled and pointed at Chen Shi. "A professional!"

The man did as instructed and Chen Shi said, "Let me know if you can’t stand it anymore."

The man nodded and wore an expression as if he’d already accepted his fate.

Chen Shi began to kick and punch the man. The man clenched his teeth and groaned at every impact he felt while still holding his breath. Occasionally, a witness would see them and run away in fear. Chen Shi judged from his "foot" feeling that he had already broken a few ribs. As such, Chen Shi stopped beating the man further.

"Com... Comfortable!" The man said with slurred speech. 

"Let’s cooperate again if there’s an opportunity in the future! Bye-bye."

Worried that a local police officer would come, Chen Shi ran away. When he returned to the car, the thin man happened to be smoking. He was spread out on the seat and was drooling at the corner of his mouth. Shocked, he asked, "So fast?"

"It’s just beating someone. You sit on the passenger seat. I’ll drive.”

The two exchanged seats and the thin man passed the flute over. "Want a puff?"

"Driving!" Chen Shi saw a few suspicious men from the rear-view mirror and asked the thin man, "Were those people monitoring me?"

The thin man was a bit out of it but he still responded. "Yes."

"Were you monitoring me too?"

"Yes. It's not that Brother Yang doesn't trust you, it’s just how the process goes."

When they got back to the den, Brother Yang wasn’t there anymore since it was night-time. Chen Shi could only go back to his room and watch some TV. They didn’t have a TV-box installed, so he could only watch a few cable channels that were available to him.  

This boring sort of life lasted for two days. On this day, Yang called Chen Shi to the office and held a document in his hand. He smiled and said, "You’re indeed a professional. You hit him so ruthlessly but you didn’t hurt any of his important organs. The customer successfully got 100,000 yuan in claims."

"Only 100,000?"

"After all the commission, there’s only 50,000. People who gamble aren’t good at much. Let’s not talk about this further. This is your next mission. Have a look.”

Chen Shi took the contract that was handed over to him. It was a life insurance policy that covered accidents. The policy insured the husband and the beneficiary was the wife. Of course, the husband’s signature was present, though most likely forged. The amount insured was five million. This was the case that the thin man had disclosed in advance. 

In addition, there were photos of the insured - Sneak shots from various angles.

Chen Shi asked, "I need this man to die?"

"Death by an accident."

"That's very simple then. We can just make him hold a towel and push him downstairs.”

"The extra proposition I’m giving you is to make him die in a car accident. It is a necessary course for every salesperson here. xx (thin man)[2] is a veteran. You can ask him about it."

"There’s no need. I’m quite familiar with cars. I just need to remove the brake pads.”

"You can’t just remove it or it will be discovered."

"Replace the original with old brake pads?"

"Smart! You can use this trick, but you need to control the process well. You need to make sure he’s dead… You show promise and I’m very optimistic about you and your abilities. You should go ahead and prepare. There’s a Fuyuan car dealership on Guang'an Road that I opened up. Just say my name and you’ll be able to get all the tools you need there.”

"Is the thin man not coming with me?"

"That bastard smoked crystal meth last night. He’s still quite dead at the moment. I told him not to touch that stuff, but he won’t listen… You can play with women but you shouldn’t play with drugs. Don’t let him bring you on his path. I don’t want the whole team to be drug addicts. That would cause troubles in the future. I’ll get rid of xx[3] soon!” There was a ruthless glint within Yang’s eyes.

"I won't touch it."

"Good! You’re a reliable talent!" Yang patted Chen Shi’s shoulders with affection.

Chen Shi took the elevator up to the surface level by himself and stood on the side of the road that had people bustling about in a daze. Going undercover was truly very stressful, so he hoped to solve the case as soon as possible. 

Then, he crossed the road and went to the pancake stall run by the policeman to get a pancake. Chen Shi whispered, "They sent me to fake a car accident, which is the last performance that would gain their trust."

"Dongxue and the others are with the insured and are waiting for you at his house.” The uncle handed him the pancakes.

"There are people who tail me. Make sure they don’t get themselves discovered by them.”

"Rest assured, I’ll let them know… Pay up, five yuan!”

Chen Shi took a bite. "Is this craft worth five?" Then, he took out a hundred yuan. "You don't need to give me change."

Chen Shi strolled on the street for a while and found that he unconsciously wanted to go to Tao Yueyue's school. He immediately changed his route. He noticed that the people tailing him from behind were still there.  

After eating a simple meal at noon, he went to the car dealership on Guang'an Road and said, "Brother Yang sent me."

The car repairman came over and wiped off the oil from his hand with a towel and pulled out a bunch of keys. "This is the key to the target’s car and this is the key to his garage."

"Thank you!"

"See what tools you need by yourself. They’re over at the discarded parts over there. If you don’t know what you need, then let me know.”

Chen Shi picked up some necessary tools and the car mechanic checked them. "I will help you grind this brake pad."

After grinding, the brake pads didn’t even seem like they had been ground down. Chen Shi asked, "Will it definitely work?"

"Don’t worry. It’ll break after a few times. We’re professionals.”

"Thank you!"

"Do you know how to install it?"

"Yes, I’ve worked with cars for so many years now."

In the evening, Chen Shi went to the target’s neighborhood, stood in a bookstore and flipped through a magazine until the target appeared. Then, he put down the magazine and walked inside the community. 

The target lived in a villa and the garage was attached to the house. The target drove the car into the garage. After waiting for five minutes, Chen Shi went over to open the garage with the key. When he opened it, he saw someone inside.

He quickly bent over and turned around to lock the door. Unless the people outside had x-ray vision, it would otherwise be impossible to see what was happening on the inside.

The lights were on and the main force of the task force were all there. Lin Dongxue rushed over with excitement and hugged him.

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1. Ice (Crystal Methamphetamine) can be smoked using a glass pipe, often called a ‘flute’.

2. This is the format that the author has chosen to use.

3. Addressing the thin man. However the author wrote xx in place of the thin man’s name.

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