Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
12:00pm
Ding dong! The doorbell rang. A delivery man was dropping off a sumptuous lunch for Zhao Yu and Cui Lizhu. They had ordered lunch from the hall where the food was both delicious and nutritious. Although the meat had cost a thousand yuan, the two ate comfortably as they felt it was a good value for their money.
“It sure must be nice to be rich!” Cui Lizhu said, burping and sighing in bliss. “I hope we can find the treasure!”
“This is not just about the treasure!” Zhao Yu had not eaten as well as Cui Lizhu had. After taking a few bites, he had found a few pieces of mahjong paper and placed them on the table as a makeshift whiteboard. He began to record everything. This was a habit he had cultivated over the years. He felt that only by writing things out personally would he be able to think of more leads.
There were 16 names on Tao Xiang’s list. Next to each name was a small note that served as a brief introduction. The first 11 names had been crossed out while the last five had not. Zhang Jingfeng had confirmed that those five people died of a heart attack. Zhao Yu felt that these deaths were not a coincidence. Knowing about Zhao Yu’s habit, Cui Lizhu sat quietly beside him in support. Zhao Yu had barely written anything when Zhang Jingfeng called yet again.
“Lil Zhao, why are there so many names? What big case are you investigating? All these people are unrelated!” Zhang Jingfeng said.
“Old Zhang, tell me quickly! Did anything happen to those 11 people?” Zhao Yu asked, desperate to know.
“Uhm… about that…” Zhang Jingfeng hesitated. “Out of the 11 people you asked me to investigate, not a single one is alive! Including the original five, all 16 of them are dead!”
“What?!” Zhao Yu and Cui Lizhu were both flabbergasted.
“All of them are… dead?” Cui Lizhu shivered. “Who would do such a thing?”
“Don’t say that!” Zhang Jingfeng said. “Although those 11 are dead, their situation was slightly different from that of the previous five. Hmm, how should I say this? Based on the records, they all died separately over an extended period of time. The first person to die passed away fifteen years ago, while the latest death happened in the latter half of last year. These were all well-educated men who had not committed any crimes and had no past records.”
“Also,” Zhang Jingfeng continued, “their ages are not uniform, although most of them were well into their later years. One of them was even 90! Based on the data, all of them died naturally. Nothing to do with a heart attack! But because some of these deaths happened a long time ago, it will take some time to check each person one by one.”
“Ah…” Zhao Yu said, pouting. “Old Zhang, help me find the detailed information of all 16 of them. Let me ask the higherups, if it’s possible I’ll get you to come over!”
“Oh yes! Just wait!” Zhang Jingfeng hung up excitedly and sent whatever he had to Zhao Yu.
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“Boss! You have to think carefully!” Cui Lizhu warned. “Do you really want to report this incident? Aren’t we being a little impulsive? Why don’t we have another look? What if they all died naturally?”
Without answering Cui Lizhu, Zhao Yu picked up his phone and began to write on the paper as he thoroughly looked through the details he had been sent of the people. This whole process lasted about an hour until finally Zhao Yu held his pen still and shook his head. “Mahjong paper is unlike a whiteboard, if I make a mistake, I can’t erase it!” he said.
“Boss, boss! What is it?” Cui Lizhu asked. “Did you find anything? Who is the murderer?”
“What the h*ll, I’m a detective, not a god! If I could find out who the murderer was just by writing some then I wouldn’t be here!” Zhao Yu replied. Cui Lizhu was left speechless.
“Look,” Zhao Yu said, pointing at the data. “Putting their deaths aside, look at this. Who are they? See, this guy’s a history professor, this guy’s an economist, this guy’s a professional technician, this guy’s a high-tech engineer, and this guy’s an explorer. What does that tell you?”
“Uhm, they’re all knowledgeable and are good in academics?” Cui Lizhu deduced. “And their professions are somehow linked to gold?”
“That’s right! There’s hope for you yet!” Zhao Yu said, nodding. “I suspect that Tao Xiang wrote these names down because they had participated in the treasure hunt. Tao Xiang wanted to find more clues through them!”
“So, after checking each one and realizing they weren’t linked to the treasure he crossed them out!” Cui Lizhu said excitedly. “Did he not have time to check the last five?”
“Hmm, it seems like it’s not that there wasn’t enough time, but more likely that after checking he was unsure. Don’t forget that the box was buried quite deep and the floor had been patched up! He probably wasn’t planning on getting the box any time soon,” Zhao Yu said.
“Ah! As expected of a genius detective! Hearing you say this makes me feel much clearer about the situation. My dad didn’t cross those five people off because those five people knew something about the treasure!” Cui Lizhu stated.
“Now look at this,” Zhao Yu pointed to the people at the top. “These 11 people may be dead, but when they died, they were all old. In their 70s, 80s, and even 90s! Even if some of them were slightly younger, they all died of terminal illnesses and not of a heart attack. Next, look at these five people. Although they are not that young, they were not exactly old either. In today’s day and age, people in their 60s are not considered old!”
“Oh, I think I get what you’re saying,” Cui Lizhu said, beginning to understand. “The people who were murdered were only the last five and not all 16?”
“Bingo!” Zhao Yu said. “The next important question is, if these five people were indeed murdered, then why did the murderer choose to kill them?”
“Oh my god!” Cui Lizhu exclaimed. “Because they knew the secret of the treasure? Then the murderer killed them to find out… or to silence them?”
“Whatever the case…” Zhao Yu said, pointing at the big question mark on the paper. “As long as we can capture the murderer, we might be able to get some leads on the treasure!”