Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
A few people fell into silence for a moment. Ah Huang waved his hand, "Let's go! Get in the car first."
We had no choice but to get into the car. I felt a bit awkward since it was my idea for Ah Huang to investigate Professor Qin, and now we were in this situation. Ah Huang's expression was not good either.
What should we do? The atmosphere in the car was also tense.
Tian hesitated for a moment and asked, "Captain, where are we going?"
Ah Huang had no response, and Old Zhao muttered beside him, "That Qin guy really acts like he's something special."
I shot him a glance. "Do you guys even have any skills? I mean, does Hypnosis really have those uses and dangers you mentioned?"
Old Zhao ignored me. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck me, as if I had grasped something elusive but wasn't quite sure what it was.
"Lao Zhao, what did you just say?" I grabbed Lao Zhao's hand and asked.
"What? I didn't say anything," Old Zhao replied, looking confused.
"What was that mumble you just made?"
"Oh, I said that Qin guy really acts like he's something special."
That's it! Dog! I realized the problem lay here. At Liu Qi's shop entrance, there was a dog named Taotie, a Tibetan Mastiff (what a strange name). That dog was gone the next time we went back. I had heard about it before; I had never seen that dog. So it definitely wasn't one Liu Qi raised himself. Whose dog could it be? Could the owner of that dog be related to Liu Qi?
"Ah Huang, isn't there a city regulation that requires large dogs to be registered?"
"Yeah," Ah Huang said, a bit puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Go check where that dog went. Think about it, since Liu Qi has an alibi, the focus should be on investigating the people who had contact with Liu Qi. We can't overlook any suspicious points."
"Got it," Ah Huang replied simply. "Tian, head back to the team."
With that, our group turned back to the team. After arranging for Tian to investigate, Ah Huang led us to the cafeteria for a meal.
The cafeteria of the criminal police team was quite simple, but the food was home-cooked dishes that were rather tasty.
While we were eating, Old Zhao kept staring at me, which made me feel confused. I asked him what was up, and he whispered, "Why are you so invested in this? Do you like that girl Liu Qi?"
"Isn't that a stretch, Lao Zhao?" I said, feeling a bit amused.
"Oh, I get it. You must be looking for something to occupy yourself with. Hehe, is your love life not going well? Remember when I read your fortune?" he teased.
"You're just talking nonsense," I said as I took a bite of my food.
"You still haven't forgotten someone in your heart, have you? That girl from that night—what was her name? Oh right, Xu Zengjing? She's quite pretty, but you don't seem very interested. Looks like you're not ready to move on to the next relationship yet."
"Old Zhao, you're really boring." I noticed Ah Huang was eavesdropping and felt a bit annoyed.
"You’re very competitive and have a tendency towards perfectionism. Are you still hung up on your past romantic failure? Was it your first love?" Zhao Kun said with a smile.
People are strange in this way; there are some things you've clearly buried deep in your heart, yet when someone brings them up, you can't help but dig them all back out.
Undeniably, I am a nostalgic person. Uncontrollably, memories flash before my eyes like scenes from a movie. I don't know why, but suddenly I feel a wave of melancholy wash over me, and my mind begins to drift. I replied softly, "Yes."
"Are you sure your first love is what you want?" Old Zhao's voice was filled with temptation.
"Maybe. I'm not sure," I found myself responding.
"What about Xu Zengjing? And Liu Qi?" Old Zhao's voice sounded both clear and distant.
"I don't know." The alluring figure of Liu Qi appeared before me, her delicate face gliding through my thoughts. I murmured as I began to relax, the spoon in my hand clattering to the ground.
"Clang!" The sharp sound startled me!
"Old Zhao, what did you just do to me?" I snapped back to reality, both shocked and angry.
"Calm down! Don't you not believe in hypnosis? I just wanted to test it out and see what your emotional world looks like," Zhao Kun said with a mischievous grin.
"I don't need that!" I replied coldly.
At that moment, Ah Huang exclaimed in surprise, "Impressive, Old Zhao! Can you hypnotize anyone?"
"That's not possible; it depends on the target's condition and willpower," Lao Zhao said, glancing at me. "Or perhaps I need to find a specific point of entry."
My face flushed; it seemed my emotional world had become his point of entry.
"Eat up. Once you're done, head back to the office and wait for news from Tian before considering the next step," Ah Huang said.
"We're not the police, why should we do work for your public security bureau for free?" Old Zhao retorted confidently.
Ah Huang had nothing to say and looked at me. He passed the ball back to me, and I certainly had no reason to spend money helping Ah Huang, but I could still persuade the old man: "Helping him is out of friendship; helping him is fulfilling a civic duty." After seeing Old Zhao's disdainful expression, I changed my approach. "Besides, if you help him, he might give a heads-up to the city management later, which would benefit you too," I coaxed.
I kicked the ball back to Ah Huang.
"Hey, that's a good point," Old Zhao said as he looked at Ah Huang.
Ah Huang shot me a glare and replied helplessly, "As long as the clues you provide can solve the case, I'll naturally help you out."
"Hey! It's settled!" Old Zhao exclaimed cheerfully.
Just as a few of us returned to the office after lunch, Tian rushed in. He hurriedly said, "I checked the registration forms from the streets and local police stations; there's no record of such a dog existing. This means that this dog is privately owned."
I immediately realized, "Liu Qi could call out the dog's name; it's not like Liu Qi has been raising it all along. What does that mean?"
"It means this dog has another owner!" Ah Huang responded. "Find it!"
I shrugged. "You'll have to figure that out on your own." Finding a dog wasn't my strong suit; street investigations were the police's specialty. Old Zhao also seemed to be just an observer.
It was probably only at this point that Ah Huang realized we weren't part of the internal team, so he picked up the phone to start assigning tasks.
Old Zhao and I sat in silence for a while, feeling bored. Since we weren't really able to help, we decided to leave the police station.
With nothing else to do, I planned to head to an internet café to play some games and look up information on Hypnosis, which I found rather intriguing.
Old Zhao was heading back to his stall; he hadn't made any gains and needed to rush back to minimize his losses.
As we parted ways, Old Zhao unexpectedly said, "Get to bed early tonight."
I was puzzled for a while. What was going on with Old Zhao?
After going to the internet café and playing some games, I found myself playing a popular game from back in the day—Breaking Sword. After leveling up with a few teammates and chatting for a bit, I logged out and searched for information related to Hypnosis online.
The information I found stated that Hypnosis (hypnis) originated from the name of the Sleep God Hypnos in Greek mythology. It is a technique that uses psychological suggestion to communicate with the subject's subconscious. Because the subconscious mind's ability to doubt and resist external information weakens, practitioners use positive Hypnosis suggestions (also known as information, such as confidence, courage, dignity) to replace the subject's original negative information (also known as experiences, such as anxiety, fear, depression), allowing the subject to enter a different state than before.
As I read this, I began to wonder what would happen if the practitioner used negative Hypnosis suggestions to replace the subject's correct thought processes and behaviors instead.
I recalled that Ekin Cheng and Leon Lai had starred in a movie about Hypnosis called Dual Heroes, which featured a similar plot where a skilled individual used Hypnosis on police officers to help him rob a bank. It seemed like it had been released around this time last year; I had watched it alone in the cinema.
The more I thought about it, the more I felt that these missing person cases, including Liu Qi's disappearance, must involve someone behind the scenes. But who could it be? Someone who could evade police investigations without revealing their identity. Professor Qin seemed like the most likely candidate and also the most suspicious one. However, Old Zhao was quite certain that Professor Qin didn't possess such abilities.
Who could it be?
With deep confusion, I left the internet café and hurried back to Base.
At that moment, I discovered a certain pleasure in being a police officer, especially as a detective. There would always be some perplexing cases that arose, leaving you baffled. The desire to solve these mysteries often surpassed your interest in the case itself (for instance, I knew nothing about the missing person and wasn't particularly interested). Yet, through relentless investigation, finding the answers must bring a great sense of accomplishment.
Upon returning to Unit, I first exchanged a few words with Old Tang. Everything in Unit was as usual. Old Tang and Old Bi had come looking for me in the afternoon; when they found I wasn't there, they left. Before leaving, he passed on a message: "Personal Third-Class Merit is gone, but collective merit remains. That matter is settled."
I didn't feel much resentment; after all, I had made a mistake, and punishment was only fair. However, there was a lingering sense of regret and loneliness, along with a feeling of helplessness towards the military. Yes, helplessness—it was strange how we often comfort ourselves with the notion that effort leads to reward, but I realized that within this group, my fate and life were often beyond my control.
Noticing my unhappiness, Old Tang invited me to his room that evening for a chat—two bottles of Erguotou and a plate of peanuts marked the beginning of our long conversation.
I can no longer recall the specifics of what we discussed; I only remember Old Tang telling me that the military and civilian life are not the same, that serving and working are different things, and that effort does not always correlate with reward... This surprised me as someone who had been in the military for less than two years; I understood it vaguely at the time. It wasn't until many years later that I grasped the meaning of Old Tang's words, though unfortunately, my understanding came too late.
Thus, Old Tang talked with me for most of the night. It was nearly 1 AM by the time I stumbled back to my room and fell into a deep sleep.
(To be continued; more exciting content tomorrow!)
Comment 0 Comment Count