Chapter 8: You

Yu Dazhang did not answer the kidnapper’s words—he dared not answer.

It was a misunderstanding… he only dared to think it in his mind.

The officers behind him were about to secure the scene when Yu Dazhang’s shout of “Everyone, stay still!” startled them.

They thought the kidnappers had resisted, but upon closer look, all four kidnappers remained perfectly still in place.

What the hell is going on?

Seeing Yu Dazhang’s tense expression, Team One’s commander Wei Qian also raised his gun.

“What’s this…” he hurried to Yu Dazhang’s side:

“What’s the situation?”

“To prevent them from escaping,” Yu Dazhang whispered back.

Wei Qian: ????

Before we arrived, you were saying “everything is under control,” yet now you’re more nervous than anyone else.

Who are you putting on a show for? Got a case of dramatic flair?

But your acting is terrible.

“Well done.”

Wei Qian assumed Yu Dazhang was seeking praise and casually complimented him.

He had attended this new recruit’s reporting day, since Team One needed fresh blood—and they had priority selection rights.

When he saw Yu Dazhang, Wei Qian immediately passed him over.

This build? A detective?

Are you kidding?

Got in through back doors, didn’t you?

But today he had to admit—he’d been blind, committing the mistake every man on earth makes: judging by appearance.

Never mind how this kid found the kidnappers—just this courage and boldness was beyond any new recruit’s reach.

When he heard the gunshots in the factory, he watched two new recruits he’d personally chosen turn pale as death.

Later, they couldn’t keep up with the team and nearly fell—clearly their legs had gone weak.

Wei Qian didn’t blame them; this was exactly how a new recruit should react… fear, terror, helplessness.

Who wouldn’t be afraid of guns?

Yet this fat man he’d dismissed the most didn’t flinch—he moved in and subdued the kidnappers.

He even disarmed them. Judging by the wounded kidnapper on the ground, this fat man had shot him.

How the hell did he disarm them barehanded?

Amazing.

Yu Dazhang had no time to guess Wei Qian’s thoughts.

He watched the woman on the stretcher being carried away, sweat already beading on his forehead.

As soon as this woman woke up, everything would be exposed.

Attacking a hostage… saving the kidnappers…

The officers taking statements would be utterly baffled.

He truly wished she’d never wake up—he even thought about silencing her… Yu Dazhang was already spiraling into wild thoughts.

And you four kidnappers—you’re such useless trash.

Let a woman turn the tables on you? What kind of quality is this for kidnapping? Go home and raise your kids.

You’ve ruined my career as a cop.

No one can save me now—this is too grave an offense.

As Yu Dazhang walked downstairs, his legs felt like they were floating.

The new recruits who had envied him now stared, puzzled by his listless, dazed expression.

This fat guy just earned credit—why does he look like he’s the one who got arrested?

On the way back, Lu Zhongxin drove alone and only let Yu Dazhang get in.

“Tell me what happened.”

Lu Zhongxin drove slowly on purpose, letting the other vehicles go ahead.

“Master, if you’d just told me the case details, I wouldn’t have made this mistake,” Yu Dazhang said, sounding aggrieved but helpless.

The damage was done—he knew complaining was pointless, yet he couldn’t help venting.

“Even if you’d just told me the hostage was a woman, that would’ve helped.”

“First, recount the exact sequence of events,” Lu Zhongxin ignored his complaints, his face cold and pressing:

“There’s still room to maneuver, but I need to know the full story.”

An outsider sees clearly—he knew this principle. Right now, his mind was in chaos, and he had no good ideas.

Lu Zhongxin was the one person in the Criminal Investigation Unit he trusted most.

“After you left, I got bored and ran a simulation from the kidnappers’ perspective…”

Yu Dazhang gave a simplified account, making minor alterations.

He didn’t want anyone to know about his heightened senses—not even Lu Zhongxin.

Please... collect... 6...9...books....!

For example, he changed “seeing a wisp of smoke from the unfinished building’s window” to “seeing a shadow move.”

The part about predicting the upstairs move was changed to “directly knocking down the hostage.”

He omitted the part about digging into the kidnapper’s wound entirely—he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

“Where did you learn this?” Lu Zhongxin glanced at Yu Dazhang, eyes sharp with scrutiny:

“Don’t tell me you learned it in police academy—academies don’t teach thinking patterns.”

I learned it from you in my past life… Yu Dazhang silently replied in his mind.

Analyzing cases, simulating scenarios, making hypotheses—these were the most basic skills of a detective, all learned bit by bit from Lu Zhongxin during work.

But back then, his mind was dull—he took years to fully master them.

There was no shortcut; these skills were honed only through practice.

But ultimately, you needed sufficient intelligence.

Yu Dazhang knew clearly—he hadn’t possessed such strong logical thinking in his past life.

“If I told you I learned it from movies, would you believe me?” Yu Dazhang kept his expression calm.

Don’t ask. If you ask, just say he watched too many movies.

“Don’t bullshit me!”

Seeing Lu Zhongxin didn’t believe him, Yu Dazhang suddenly recalled a movie line.

He thought for a moment, then repeated it:

“After watching over a thousand films, you realize there’s nothing truly bizarre in the world.”

He was confident Lu Zhongxin had never heard it—this film, *The Wailing*, had only been released in 2019.

Even if Lu Zhongxin had remembered it and watched it in 2019, he’d still be stunned and say: “That’s my student’s line!”

“Fine, if you don’t want to say, don’t.”

Lu Zhongxin wouldn’t be fooled by such an excuse.

If watching movies could solve cases, what use were detectives like them?

After thinking, Lu Zhongxin decided he still needed to warn his student.

“Dazhang, don’t be so reckless next time—life only comes once.”

Yu Dazhang froze, then smiled bitterly:

“Master, I thought you’d praise me for being brave.”

Lu Zhongxin stared ahead, his stern face softening slightly, his tone less harsh than before:

"Fighting to the death despite certain defeat isn't courage—it's foolish recklessness. Even if you win, it's only due to luck favoring you."

He’s saying my barehanded disarm was too reckless… Yu Dazhang didn’t want to dwell on this.

As a cop, there’s no such thing as avoiding danger.

Knowing Lu Zhongxin cared for him, Yu Dazhang didn’t argue—he changed the subject:

“What do we do now? This can’t be hidden—the hostage and the kidnappers both know the truth.”

“The kidnappers don’t matter—they’re already on our side of the law,” Lu Zhongxin replied casually:

“The woman is the key. If she doesn’t accuse you, this whole thing can be smoothed over.”

“You mean… we go talk to her?” Yu Dazhang thought that was implausible.

“Exactly. Only this method works,” Lu Zhongxin suddenly slammed the accelerator:

“Hold on—we’re getting to her before Team One does.”

(End of Chapter)