Chapter 9: Peeling Away the Layers

At the hospital entrance, Lu Zhongxin slammed on the brakes and pulled over to the roadside.

“The First Squad will definitely prioritize treating the injured suspect—it’s a gunshot wound, and without police present, the doctors won’t dare take him on.”

“Master, you—you—you…”

Yu Dazhang had never done a single thing to haunt his conscience in two lifetimes—suddenly doing one now left him mentally paralyzed with fear.

“I’m here. If you don’t know what to say later, just wait outside the ward—I’ll go in and talk to her.”

Seeing Lu Zhongxin open the car door to get out, Yu Dazhang grabbed his arm to stop him:

“No, don’t go yet—think again, let me think some more.”

“What’s left to think about? This is the only way,” Lu Zhongxin glared.

“We’re out of time!”

Why does this feel so unnatural… Yu Dazhang suddenly felt he didn’t recognize his own master anymore.

Where were his principles? His bottom line?

In Yu Dazhang’s memory, Lu Zhongxin had always been strict, rigid, and rule-bound.

Even his funeral photo from his past life showed a face devoid of smiles.

How had he become so lacking in principles this time around?

Could it be that meeting me in this life lowered his standards… Yu Dazhang couldn’t find any other explanation.

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

“It’s wrong, and even if I can never become a cop again, I accept it.”

Yu Dazhang simply couldn’t cross that psychological threshold—if they did this, he’d be haunted by nightmares every night.

“Decided?” Lu Zhongxin looked at his disciple, his face expressionless.

Yu Dazhang nodded firmly:

“Yeah, let’s do it this way.”

“Alright, now I’ll explain the consequences of this action,” Lu Zhongxin paused, his tone turning grave.

“Your response under those circumstances was correct. Mistaking the suspect was my fault—I didn’t brief you on the case details. If anyone is held accountable, I’ll take full responsibility.”

????

Yu Dazhang was stunned.

“Then all those things you said earlier…”

“I was testing you,” Lu Zhongxin allowed himself a rare smile.

“Ability matters, but a detective must have a moral compass. If that compass tilts, the stronger the ability, the greater the danger.”

That was true—Lu Zhongxin had never fully trusted this disciple.

When the new recruits joined, he investigated three of them, including Yu Dazhang.

Overall, none of the three had major issues or had done anything out of line.

But Yu Dazhang’s reputation was particularly poor.

He had even spoken to this new disciple alone about it.

“Why do you keep picking on Xiao Zhao? He never provoked you during your internship.”

“He’s sneaky. You’ll see—he’s the worst kind of guy.”

“I heard that during your internship in the Public Order Squad, you actively asked for the contact info of a prostitute. Is that true?”

“I wanted to test my own weakness.”

Who could possibly feel at ease hearing that?

Without testing this disciple, he couldn’t dare assign him real work!

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

He didn’t want to meet that woman either—her fierce temperament meant meeting her would be like facing death.

Escape, disarm, seize the gun, return fire…

That entire sequence—even seasoned detectives in the squad might not pull it off.

She not only did it, she succeeded!

How terrifying, how terrifying.

As soon as they returned to the squad, Yu Dazhang made a request:

“Master, I want to see the case file on that kidnapping.”

Case files weren’t freely accessible—they were confidential, especially for someone like Yu Dazhang, a rookie.

Leaking details of an ongoing case could cause unnecessary losses or casualties.

But for Lu Zhongxin, accessing a file wasn’t difficult—trust was built gradually over time.

“I’ll ask the First Squad.”

Lu Zhongxin didn’t think much of it—he assumed Yu Dazhang wanted to study the case.

The kid had just suffered for not reviewing the file; no wonder he was frustrated. He guessed right—Yu Dazhang felt suffocated. If he didn’t see this file, he wouldn’t sleep a wink.

Soon after, Lu Zhongxin returned, holding a file folder.

“Hurry and read—it’s not finished yet. The First Squad still needs it.”

“Understood.”

Although they’d caught the suspect, Yu Dazhang knew the case wasn’t closed yet.

Only after interrogating the four kidnappers and confirming no accomplices remained could they proceed to close the case.

Opening the file, Yu Dazhang began a careful review…

Qu Tuotuo, 22, only daughter and sole heir of Qu Wannian, chairman of Yisheng Group.

Studied abroad for three years, returned to China on May 3, 2014, and was picked up at the airport—never seen again.

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

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

Please… please… collect 6…9…books…!

That name—her father must’ve given it to her at a KTV.

Picking up the photo clipped to the file, Yu Dazhang frowned.

Why is she so beautiful?

In the photo, Qu Tuotuo smiled brightly, her eyes clear—obviously a girl raised doted upon, spoiled, cherished.

Especially her mouth—elegant, exquisite.

“Promise me you’ll only use it to eat,” Yu Dazhang murmured involuntarily.

He’d just seen her in person—dusty, disheveled. He couldn’t reconcile that woman with the radiant girl in the photo.

Had the kidnappers abused her during captivity?

No, Yu Dazhang immediately dismissed the thought.

That woman—if she’d been touched, those four kidnappers would already be dead.

Even if they’d just tried to take a little advantage, she’d have shot them between the legs.

The rest of the file recorded evidence and investigative steps gathered by the First Squad.

Among them was mention of phone tracking.

As Yu Dazhang had suspected, when the kidnappers contacted Qu Wannian for the third time, the First Squad pinpointed their location using technical means.

By the end, Yu Dazhang had a preliminary grasp of the kidnapping case.

The case was uncomplicated, the investigation straightforward and effective—no obvious gaps so far.

Yu Dazhang flipped back to the first page of the file.

Now came the analysis.

He listed every clue, traced them from beginning to end, searching for inconsistencies.

This was one of Yu Dazhang’s habits.

He read every case file at least three times, conducting a thorough dissection of the entire case.

Returned to China on May 3, 2014, picked up at the airport and never seen again…

Seeing this entry again, Yu Dazhang suddenly lifted his head, his gaze sharpening, deepening.

Today was the 5th—so Qu Tuotuo had been kidnapped for only two days.

In other words, she’d just returned to China.

To know her exact flight details so precisely, and to successfully abduct her…

Someone she knew!

Someone intimately close to her.

To obtain such critical information, this person must have had contact with Qu Tuotuo’s parents.

Moreover, the entire Qu family clearly trusted this person completely.

Was this person one of the four kidnappers?

“Master!” Yu Dazhang shot to his feet, speaking urgently:

“Quick—contact the First Squad. Ask Qu Tuotuo if she knew those four kidnappers. She’s definitely awake now.”

(End of Chapter)