Chapter 74: I Advise You Not to Meddle

Seeing Zhang Sen’s eyes glazed over, Yu Dazhang had to continue:

“From what I know, the two missing officers were among the most capable in the entire precinct.”

“They will thoroughly examine every lead provided by the Zhou father and son.”

“In fact, they’ll scrutinize every single sentence repeatedly.”

“That’s a habit formed by seasoned detectives during investigations.”

“All I did was simulate how they’d reason through the leads, then combine it with their movement patterns to make an initial judgment.”

Before setting out, he had already organized all existing leads.

Next came bold hypotheses and careful verification.

First, get moving—follow the missing officers’ trail step by step.

Then gather as many new leads as possible.

Yu Dazhang’s boldness, of course, came from confidence.

His Master Lu Zhongxin would definitely start investigating from the industrial park, and he’d be even more thorough than I am.

Most importantly, Master wouldn’t hide anything from his own disciple.

If he found anything, he’d tell Yu Dazhang honestly.

The two new leads Lu Zhongxin discovered during our earlier call also confirmed his judgment.

One: the two officers asked around the park about what mountains were nearby.

That means they picked up on the key point in Zhou Zizhe’s statements and shifted their investigation toward the nearby hills.

Two: they collected information along the way and chose remote back roads.

They were reverse-engineering Zhou Zizhe’s escape route from years ago.

Just these two points prove Yu Dazhang’s judgment was correct and set the direction for his next move.

“I underestimated you,” Zhang Sen said now, his tone changed—excited, with barely perceptible joy and awe:

“I heard you cracked a major case, and I didn’t believe it.”

“I even told people in the squad it was surely your master giving you credit you didn’t earn.”

“No choice—I just had such a bad impression of you. Who else would ride a colleague down the street chasing a suspect?”

“But today I believe it. You really do have the ability to solve major cases.”

“From now on, I’ll follow your lead. Whatever you need me to do to find the missing officers, I’ll do it.”

Yu Dazhang frowned at the last sentence.

That wasn’t something a colleague should say.

To find the officers, I’ll follow you entirely… Yu Dazhang sensed hidden meaning in his words.

“Do those two officers have some special connection to you?”

It wasn’t that Yu Dazhang was imagining things—Zhang Sen’s behavior was just too odd.

If they were just ordinary colleagues, he wouldn’t be this unhinged; he’d already shown impatience more than once on the way.

“Y-You really can’t hide anything from you,” Zhang Sen stammered.

“One of them is my master. When I first joined the homicide unit, he trained me. I don’t want anything to happen to him.”

That explains it… Yu Dazhang understood his feelings.

Earlier, for Lu Zhongxin, he’d forced himself to solve the frame-up case too.

“Once a master, always a father”—that wasn’t just empty words.

Some master-disciple bonds surpassed even blood ties.

These days, not many still value such things, but some still hold them deeply.

Clearly, both Zhang Sen and Yu Dazhang were such people.

“I understand how you feel,” Yu Dazhang gently patted his arm.

“But the more you feel this way, the more you must stay calm. We can’t end up trapped too, while trying to save them.”

Zhang Sen understood his meaning.

What came next would be dangerous—just one slip could mean utter ruin.

Seeing him nod, Yu Dazhang turned his phone screen toward him, showing an enlarged digital map:

“Keep heading southeast. Head to Fenglinzhen.”

Perhaps Yu Dazhang’s words had an effect—Zhang Sen’s demeanor calmed considerably, and his driving became steadier than before. An hour later, they arrived at their destination.

At Yu Dazhang’s signal, Zhang Sen parked the car at the entrance of a restaurant on the town’s edge.

Then they got out, found a table, and ordered two dishes.

After a while, a female server who looked like the owner’s wife brought the cooked dishes to their table.

While she was placing the food down, Yu Dazhang asked:

“Miss, are there any good places to hike around here?”

She’d rarely been called “Miss” before—she froze for a second before reacting.

Then her face lit up with delight as she smiled back:

“You two are on a road trip? Then you’ve come to the wrong place. Though Fenglinzhen borders mountains, there are no tourist spots up there.”

“Let me put it this way—even hardcore backpackers don’t come here.”

Do backpackers even pick locations… Yu Dazhang instinctively thought.

In his mind, that group specifically sought out dangerous, thrilling places for exploration.

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Whether there were attractions or not didn’t matter to them at all.

Seeing the confusion in her eyes, the woman quickly added:

“The mountains here are generally low, and there aren’t any particularly steep areas.”

“Some backpackers came at first, but they all left disappointed.”

“They have their own circles—after sharing experiences, no one came back.”

“By the way…”

As she spoke, she glanced left and right, then lowered her voice:

“You came here, aren’t you looking to hook up with a village girl? I can help with that…”

“Enough, enough,” Zhang Sen cut in immediately.

“We’re not that kind of people. Just bring the food.”

“Wait!” Yu Dazhang reached out and pulled Zhang Sen back, signaling him to mind his own business.

Then he smiled at the woman, whose expression had turned sour:

“Miss, I’m interested. Could you recommend someone?”

She glanced at his build, waved her hand, and walked off.

Watching her go, Yu Dazhang whispered:

“We were getting somewhere, and you cut it off. Next time I’m talking to someone, keep your mouth shut.”

“It’s not my fault,” Zhang Sen protested.

“Even if I didn’t stop you, she wouldn’t have helped you—didn’t you see how she looked at you? Pure disgust!”

You’re calling me out, huh… Yu Dazhang gritted his teeth:

“Fine, I’ll pay more. I don’t believe she won’t change her mind.”

Soon after, the woman returned with the second dish.

But this time, she gave Yu Dazhang no chance to speak—she set the dish down and turned away immediately.

After they finished eating, Zhang Sen moved to pay, but Yu Dazhang held him back.

“I’ll handle it.”

At the crude front counter, Yu Dazhang deliberately slapped a hundred-yuan note onto the counter.

“Check, please.”

The woman quickly pulled out a palm-sized ledger and placed it before him:

“Two dishes, three bowls of rice—fifty-eight yuan.”

“Keep the change,” Yu Dazhang pushed the hundred-yuan note forward.

Her eyes lit up, her expression softened instantly, and her tone became respectful—like a female streamer seeing her top donor:

“Thank you, Boss.”

You should’ve said “Boss is generous, Boss stays healthy…” Yu Dazhang, newly crowned top donor, nodded modestly:

“If I went up the mountain to get some wild game, no one would mind, right?”

The woman immediately whispered:

“I advise you not to. There are people living up there. If you shoot one of their domestic animals thinking it’s wild game, they’ll demand compensation.”

Yu Dazhang nodded in satisfaction.

People living there? Good. He feared most of all that the mountains were empty.

(End of Chapter)