Chapter 42: The twist.

It was not enough that simply step into the vat with dye, Liwu slipped and fell into all of it. Dye splashed in different directions as she yelped.

Some of the smugglers, who had rushed to find hiding places burst into laughter–laughter that cost them as other officers stormed the dye house and caught them. It was almost as if Liwu’s bad luck had provided the perfect distraction.

As Liwu struggled to stand, her bad luck baton flew loose, hitting a bolt of cloth from a top pile that fell to the floor, revealing hidden jewels and a flash drive.

Liwu finally managed to get out of the vat with help of two officers, but she stumbled like a baby giraffe and fell on the floor. The floorboards gave way, revealing more hidden contraband.

With every step Liwu took, disaster followed, as did a revelation. The smugglers could only watch in horror as the police officer that seemed to have no clue what she was doing discovered all their hiding spots.

“Is she acting stupid deliberately or is she some kind of ghost?” One wailed.

The officers just marched the smugglers out, one by one. Evidence was collected and it was off to the precinct once again.

Liwu had to duck into a bathroom to clean up and by the time she came out, there was another break in the case.

“It was Batian.” Linlin told her, flinging paperwork onto her desk which was right next to Liwu’s in their new shared office.

Liwu frowned. “The victim of the theft?” she said slowly, “He was behind the theft! Is he part of the gang?”

Linlin shook her head. “Nope, he did not want to pay the sword seller. Twelve million is a lot of money and he figured, since it was not an online cash transaction, he would skip out on payment altogether. So, he hired the smugglers because it seemed cheaper. They take two million and he keeps ten. He just didn’t realize that they would be ruthless enough to kill his cat and double-cross him. See, the theft was supposed to happen after the diamonds were handed to the sword seller, not before.”

Liwu sighed. “I knew there was something off about that guy, he was crying way too much. It looked like guilt to me. The only victim of this crime is the poor cat.” She looked at her purple dye stained boots. “We are looking at fraud, conspiracy and stupidity.”

Linlin chuckled.

Chief Abby knocked on the door to the office. He frowned at the unkempt state of the room as neither woman had unpacked just yet. Still, with a smile he said, “Great work detectives. Day one and we have uncovered a snake head gang hide out and confiscated what looks like sixty eight million worth of contraband. We are still taking a count. I am thrilled, as are the higher ups. Which one of you is going to join me for the press conference later on?”

Liwu pointed to Linlin.

Linlin pointed to Liwu.

“I guess that means neither of you is interested.” Chief Abby sighed. “I will find someone else that looks good in front of the camera and is not a risk for explosions and bird poop.” He walked off, whistling cheerfully.

In silence, both women settled down to fill in paperwork on the raid and arrests. In her mind, Liwu heard an update from her system.

[Mission Progress: Smuggling ring exposed–Partial.

Bad Luck points: 154

Chaos Points: 135.]

She sighed. There was more work to do, she just needed her bad luck to show her the way.

**

Weijun had just finished his press conference on the safety of tourists and hotels in the city. He had been the perfect politician, with a measured smile, as he waved at the cameras and reassured everyone that every corner of One city was as safe as could be. He finished off with inviting more tourists and aspiring business men and women to settle in the city.

The cameras were gone, but his unease was not. He felt like he had been forced to swallow sand that would not go down, no matter how much water he drunk.

Inside his office, collapsed in his chair, he drunk another mouthful of water from a bottle.

“What are the odds of the Bureau moving into the city and immediately, a Snake head gang operation house is discovered?” Hale asked, from where he was leaning against the window.

Zhao Lang scratched the tip of his nose, pushing his glasses up and down. “It is possible that they arranged the smuggling operation themselves.”

Weijun was skeptical. He had been there when Liwu questioned Batian and he had reviewed the footage of her chasing the second smuggler through the kitchen. It did not look like something they had planned out.

“It was too convenient.” Reed pitched in lazily. He remained where he was, laying on a couch, with no plans to get up any time soon. “I did see that sister of hers, the crier. She was near the docks, supervising men that were moving packages.”

Mo Xia rolled her eyes. “That was their luggage.” She chuckled. “From the ship!! I am as suspicious as everyone here about the intentions of the old monster of the sea moving here with his great great granddaughter named Alix! But, we have to stick to facts, not fiction. The dye house was here long before the Bureau arrived. The harbor has many sketchy businesses, it is not surprising that the Snake head gang had taken up residence there.”

Weijun nodded. Of his men, only Mo Xia was making sense. “I think we should be more involved in the activities of the Bureau from now on.” He paused and cleared his throat for a second. “Chief Abby tells me that they are going to launch a full scale investigation into the Snake head gang and their activities in the city.”

Zhao Lang gaped. “That is code for searching the houses of system hosts! You cannot allow this, they are going to invade our privacy. It is everything we fought against.”

Weijun nodded. “I know.” He softened his voice, but retained a hint of hardness. “But, the Bureau wants us to prove that we are not working with the Snake head gang. The best way to do that is by being open. All we need to do is stay ahead of them. They capture the criminals and we hold the first press conference claiming credit. We will use them to clear the image of One city as a crime thriving den and turn it into the new and improved Shanghai.”

Everyone in the office smiled. Since the Bureau was already in the city, instead of fighting them, using them was a much better option.

“Your wife will not like knowing that you are using her.” Mo Xia shook her head.

Weijun shrugged. “What she doesn’t know won’t bother her.” He looked at Mo Xia. “Now, find out where she is and put me in touch with Chief Abby. From now on, I am my wife’s new partner on the job.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep