Chapter 112: Two bees and ink=clue.

In no time, the operations room was fully functional and her team was assembled, like chess pieces on a board.

“Su Jin, start with surveillance,” she ordered. “Begin with traffic cameras around the latest crime scene. If we go back ten years, it will take long to crack the case. This lunatic is in our city so focus mostly on the here and now, but don’t ignore the past completely.”

“Got it boss.” Su Jin nodded.

“I am your boss.” Chief Abby clarified.

Liwu did not dignify that with a response. She turned to He Xiao Yi. “Beautiful son of a bitch, you are on the profile. I strongly believe the arsonist is a system host. What kind of personality does this person have? Has he or she set a fire before? When arrested, will they set themselves on fire or go willingly? Anything at all…keep in mind that you screwed me over so please me before I punch you.”

He snorted.

She moved to Xuanji. “Crime scene photos, get all of our resident clue finders and see what other detectives missed.”

Xuanji shook his head. “There are thousands of photos. We are going to need some help. Summon the bees from your bad luck files.”

Liwu sighed.

The team stared at her.

“You promised the president one day.” Linlin reminded her.

Liwu closed her eyes and spread her arms, like a heroine in a movie at a moment of self sacrifice. “System. activate a minor misfortune and turn it into good luck. Bees, if you can.”

[Minor misfortune initiated: -20 points.]

Everyone watched silently, waiting to see what would happen. No less than ten seconds later they had a buzzing. Two bees flew in through a window. Everyone cheered, waiting for Liwu to be stung.

Only He Xiao Yi looked on with raised brows, curious about what was happening.

To everyone’s shock, the bees did not rotate around Liwu. They made a bee line for Chief Abby. The chief screamed and threw his hand up to slap them away. “TAI LIWU.” He bellowed.

His hand collided with her back, accidentally shoving her forward. Liwu fell on a desk where she had rested the files on the case. A cup pressed into her abdomen, the contents, hot coffee, splashed across the notes.

Xuanji and Linlin pulled Liwu up. Her shirt and the area around her crotch were wet. They were also stained with ink!

Eagerly, Xuanji pushed her away and reached for the soggiest paper. He saw a faint watermark–coordinates near a bamboo industrial area in the Lotus Quarter district.

“See?” Linlin said, holding up the dripping paper. “Bad luck pays off.”

Liwu muttered. “These pants are hand wash. How will I get the coffee stain out?”

Everyone was suddenly clamoring for the lead. People were trying to grab the paper, forgetting how fragile it was. Chief Abby turned and raised his voice, “Stop this madness and start investigating as you have been assigned. Detectives Liwu and Linlin will follow this up with a swat team. We don’t know what they will find, a clue does not mean case closed. Focus people, the clock is running.”

*****

By 8:00 PM, they were still parked near a warehouse. It was the place indicated in the coordinates. Liwu and Linlin had already been inside. They did not find fire or anything related to fire. They found bamboo shoots!

“We should go back inside.” Liwu suggested. Her bad luck had led there for a reason. She refused to leave until she figured out what it was.

“We should wait.” Linlin insisted. “Nobody has come near the warehouse and nothing inside suggests fire. We don’t even know why the coordinates were on that paper. The fire investigator that wrote them down died three months ago. We are grasping at straws.”

Liwu groaned. Her skin tingled with impatience. Not just because of the countdown but because there would be another fire tonight if the arsonist kept to his schedule.

“Do you remember what Chief Abby said to us when we were graduating from police university and being assigned to the SOB?” Her partner chuckled.

She remembered it. How could Liwu forget the most iconic introduction to a job she had always dreamed of. She could repeat it, word for word in her dreams. “Good afternoon officers, I would like to welcome you to the only job in the world where your life hangs in the balance everyday.

You are not heroes, you are potential victims waiting to be shot, stabbed and beaten. You are patients waiting to be treated for broken bones, burned skin and injuries that you might never recover from.

Welcome to the profession that has one of the lowest rates for successful marriages. I myself happen to be on wife number three.” She stopped and laughed.

Linlin added with a smile, “Is it worth it? The answer for me is yes, but for the rest of you it is something that you are going to have to find out on your own. You will save many people, but not all of them will remember you. You will arrest a lot of people, and each of them will never forget you.”

“So….” Liwu cleared her throat, “After getting stupidly drunk tonight, posting pictures of your badges on weibo or wherever and screaming about how this was your dream and you can’t believe you made it. Go home, kiss your partners hello and good bye, hug your children, cook them some tea eggs, take your parents to that opera show.

The reason I say this to you is because the SOB will demand much from you. Your time, your mind, your body. Whatever you have, we will squeeze it out of you in order to safeguard humanity.”

Liwu and Linlin looked at each other, smiles in their eyes. Together, they repeated the words the chief had said back then. “You are the barriers between bad system hosts, broken system hosts and ordinary humans.”

The radio on the dashboard crackled. “You two, focus on surveillance.” Chief Abby grumbled.

Liwu laughed loudly, “Hey chief, we have not even got to the part where Xuanji raised his hand and asked what those without partners to kiss should do.”

“Do you two want to be fired?” Chief Abby asked.

Another voice came over the radio. “We have movement, a delivery van is approaching the warehouse. Scanners have picked up shapes that look like bamboo poles. Could be nothing, but we should check it out after the delivery man leaves,”

The women instantly switched to serious mode. Anyone and anything that approached the warehouse was to be handled cautiously and seriously.

“Stay sharp.” Chief Abby reminded them.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep