Genius Detective

Chen Shi asked, "What do you mean, little genius detective?"

Tao Yueyue answered, “Aren’t the cyber police able to read the chat messages of civilians? Private conversations like “My husband hit me”, “I swindled a rich man again today”. The person concerned may not post on social networking sites, but it’s possible that they discussed it with other people. What if the murderer is someone who can read these chat messages?"

Chen Shi considered her words. "You’ve provided a very novel idea. Apart from cyber police, what other civilian professions would be able to read them?"

"The person who runs the social networking software of course, but this should be illegal and the information has no commercial value..." Lin Dongxue said.

"No, personal information has commercial value! This isn’t news anymore. Personal information is sold on the Internet. We receive advertisements and spam every day. What leaked our personal information? It’s all the kinds of software we use. If you write a Weibo post to celebrate your birthday, people with ulterior motives will record it down; if you post about the parcel you received, someone will write down your address. The so-called “someone” is a program written by them. They collect personal information every day by grabbing information from social networking sites, and then resell it to marketers. My friend’s daughter-in-law just got pregnant, and after a check-up at the hospital, she immediately received a lot of baby-related promotional advertisements. It’s terrifying just thinking about it. It’s now an era without privacy!"

"That is simply horrifying." Lin Dongxue said, "If Tao Yueyue guessed correctly, the murderer is someone who is in a related profession?"

"We can keep a lookout for this. The more clues the better."

Tao Yueyue made the V sign. "Was I helpful again?"

"If you can solve it for us, that would be even better." Chen Shi smiled.

Lin Dongxue became interested in this matter. She picked up her mobile phone to search for relevant news. After reading for a while, she said, "It’s hard to imagine that these things usually posted on Weibo will actually become a source of profits for certain people! Captain, are you listening?"

Chen Shi came out of his daze. "Ah? What did you say?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Old Peng hasn't come to work for the past two days!"

"Yes, he normally never asks for leave. Yet he’s been absent from work for several days. Miss Gu's death really hit him hard."

"Sister Gu!" At the mention of Gu You, Tao Yueyue felt sorrow again.

"I'll go see Old Peng in the evening!" Chen Shi said.

"I'll come with you." Lin Dongxue said.

"No, I want to talk to him alone. He should get over the trauma and find someone else. I was the same as him at one point. Pain is also addictive. I felt sorry for myself every day, and closed myself up in my inner world. I also felt guilty when I first met you, because I thought I shouldn’t be so happy, but then I figured it out. If Luoxi knew, she would probably hope I’d live a better life."

The name “Han Luoxi” was rarely mentioned between the two. Lin Dongxue had found out privately that Han Luoxi was a very admirable senior officer and a nearly-perfect woman.

She stroked Chen Shi's shoulder. "You’re right. Finding another person is the best way to get over the trauma. Miss Gu wouldn’t want Captain Peng to be in so much pain."

Chen Shi thought for a while. "I really don't know how to comfort him when I meet him."

"Then I'll go with you!"

"I’ll go too!" Tao Yueyue exclaimed.

"Why are you butting in?"

"I also miss Sister Gu very much. I think I can talk sense into Uncle Peng."

"Okay, let's go together!"

When they finally arrived at the convenience store, Tao Yueyue was a little nervous when she walked in. She carefully looked at the cashier standing behind the counter, only to find that he was not the one she was looking for.

Chen Shi asked, "Does Lu Dahai work here?"

"He went to the warehouse. You are..."

Chen Shi was about to take out his badge, but he changed his mind and lied, "We are his relatives. The whole family came here on a tour and we thought we’ll visit him on the way. We brought over some things from his home for him. When will he come back?"

"At night, probably."

"By the way, is he still living in Lushu Housing District? We went there just now and remembered it was Unit 3 No. 503, but found that no one was home, and we couldn’t get through on the phone." Chen Shi described in great detail.

"He doesn't live there anymore. He now lives in a nearby housing district."

"Do you know which unit it is?"

"Unit 4, 004 in the basement."

"The basement?" Chen Shi pretended to be surprised. "This child seems to be suffering outside."

Lin Dongxue added, "Considering Dahai’s background, he’s already lucky to have found a job."

Tao Yueyue tugged Chen Shi's clothes and said, "Dad, I want to drink Coke."

"No, don't you want your teeth anymore?"

"No way, I just want to drink Coke. I'm so thirsty that smoke is coming out of my throat."

Upon seeing the situation, the cashier gave Tao Yueyue a bottle of Coke. He already fully believed that these three were relatives of Lu Dahai, and there was no trace of doubt on his face.

When leaving, Chen Shi said, "We’ll go for a meal somewhere nearby first, and come back later."

"Okay, I'll tell him when he comes back."

Walking out of the convenience store, Chen Shi said, "We’ll act separately. Someone will stay here to keep watch and the others will go to Lu Dahai’s home."

Lin Dongxue said, "You’re the captain. You decide."

Chen Shi smiled. "Then you can sit in the lobby of the realtor next door. We will come and look for you later."

"Okay!"

Chen Shi took Tao Yueyue to Lu Dahai’s residence. When they got to the door, Chen Shi took out lock-picking tools and Tao Yueyue coughed. "It is illegal to break into a private residence... Let me do it!"

"What's the difference between you and me doing it?"

Tao Yueyue grabbed the tools, skilfully picked the lock, pushed the door, and covered her nose. "What smell is this?! It smells as though there is a gas leak inside."

"Isn’t that an exaggeration? It’s just stinky!"

When he saw the things in the house, the smile on Chen Shi's face immediately vanished. There was a large table in the messy house with a map spread out on it as well as some messily-scattered documents. When he picked them up and looked at them, they all turned out to be "Life Functions."

Chen Shi was astounded. "My hunch was correct. There is a connection between the injection murders and the pusher!"

"Dad, look here!"

The two turned around, and the walls were covered with photos. There were men, women, and people of all ages in the photos. In the lower right corner, there was a photo of Tao Yueyue during military training, which must have been taken secretly based on the angle.

Above Tao Yueyue's head was Liang Zuoming. In the photo, he was riding a bicycle with an aggressive look on his face.

Tao Yueyue took down her photo with a trembling hand, and found words written on the back of the photo. She read out: "Target 041. Name: Tao Yueyue; female; 14 years old; lives at home... Currently in the second grade of the police academy!"𝘧r𝗲𝑒𝔀𝘦𝙗𝓃oν𝑒l.𝐜𝗼m

Then she took down Liang Zuoming's photo, and Liang Zuoming's detailed information was also written on the back. However, Liang Zuoming's name had been crossed out with a pen.

Tao Yueyue was indescribably shocked, and even her breathing became labored. "These aren’t indiscriminate crimes of passion. He has a purpose. All these people, including me, have something in common!"

She pounced on the table, searched amongst those papers, and found the "Life Function" with her name written on it. "Sure enough, my “Life Function” is also here, but what does it mean?!"ƒ𝓇e𝙚𝔀𝐞𝚋𝓃𝐨𝘷e𝙡.𝒄𝗼m