Case Files Chapter 17: Debut (15)

Translated by Vivian of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

“Remember, you have to raise your hand!” Le Fan warned sternly.

“Don’t worry! I definitely won’t fail this time!” Jin MaiLong said eagerly.

Originally, they had been planning on hiding the camera in a button on his shirt, but because Guan Jin had breezily pointed out that, “if someone throws themselves into his arms or he gets stripped of his clothes, then we won’t be able to see anything”, they had abandoned the idea.

*****

That night, it was eerily dark, moonless, and windy. Le Fan was sitting in the surveillance car, and he sighed.

“What is it? Weren’t you the one who forced him to be our spy?” Guan Jin could tell he was uneasy.

Le Fan’s gaze flashed. “Now that I think about it, if he really does get to the bottom of it, then it’s still a little dangerous. And, he’s just a rich playboy who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun, so it’s not worth putting his life on the line.”

Guan Jin rested his chin in his hand and carefully thought about it for a moment. “If a man’s motivation for doing something is because of love, then he’ll definitely explode with extraordinary potential, and even losers can become supermen.” This was something that Tony used to say often, but before Guan Jin had died in his previous life, he had never found the person that could turn him into a superman.

Guan Jin ignored Le Fan’s furious stare and looked closely at the screen.

The time hadn’t come yet, so Jin MaiLong wasn’t here. However, an unexpected person had appeared on the screen. Why was it him?! Guan Jin felt miserable; why was it that this person appeared and irritated him so often?

Lu YunYang walked to the gate to Zilan Clubhouse’s garden and pressed the doorbell. Soon, the door slowly opened. Before he stepped in, he suddenly looked back at where the police had secretly installed security cameras, and smiled strangely.

Lin Bai craned his neck. “Say, isn’t that that psychologist? Sure enough, psychology makes people perverted, seeing as he came here.”

Guan Jin was thinking about something else. If Lu YunYang really was connected to this organization, then he wouldn’t have had any reason to provoke Guan Jin, unless he was using him. He thought about it carefully, but there didn’t seem to have been any traps. Although Lu YunYang had asked him about the case before, upon getting rejected, he casually dropped the subject. Does his movement from just then mean that he knows that we’re monitoring things?

Guan Jin ran a hand through his hair in irritation. How come he had started to let his mind wander and get too absorbed in things?! His only goal from this case was to obtain Min Yan’s help and make a transaction with him. Everything else was irrelevant! Irrelevant!

“Little Bai, you still haven’t hacked into the network?” asked Gu Xiang.

Lin Bai shook his head painfully. “No.”

“What, can’t you hack into anything?”

“The problem is, they don’t have any network I can hack into!”

“A clubhouse that doesn’t have internet?” Gu Xiang was a little surprised. “It seems that they really are rather cautious.”

*****

Soon, Jin MaiLong pulled up in his red sports car and drove up to the front door, which opened automatically.

The car door opened, and two people, who weren’t wearing uniforms but were definitely servers, walked up and bowed to him. “Young Master Jin! Welcome!”

Jin MaiLong was calm, or was at least pretending to be calm, as he nodded arrogantly.

The two servers led him into the villa. The lights outside were dim, and it was also very unassuming inside. There were only dim, yellow chandeliers and a few wall lamps that lit up the empty lobby.

Jin MaiLong’s heart pounded, and he asked himself, Did they find out I’m a spy and are planning to kill me?! How come this didn’t look like a place to have fun in…

“Young Master Jin, please sit. Here is your favorite whiskey. Please rest for a moment, and we’ll start the show very soon,” said the shorter of the two before he turned around and left. The taller man poured a glass of whiskey for him.

Jin MaiLong rested his chin on his hand and looked around; in reality, he was rotating the camera in his watch around.

*****

“There’s a shoji screen in the front, so there’s probably something important behind it,” Guan Jin said keenly.

They focused their attention on the shoji screen.

“Stop keeping me guessing. I’ve seen and done everything, so if you’re going to start, then do it quick!” Jin MaiLong snapped impatiently.

The server put down the bottle of whiskey. “Please look towards the front, it’s starting now.”

The shoji screen was slowly moved away, and a blinding light shone. Jin MaiLong closed his eyes instinctively, and when he opened his eyes again, he was dumbfounded.

There was a small stage, and there were three burly men onstage. They were all wearing tank tops and jeans, and their muscles bulged. A lot of ropes were dangling from the ceiling, and there were naked boys suspended from them.

“Young Master, please enjoy it slowly.”

Jin MaiLong closed his mouth and said dismissively, “This is what you call a good show?”

“This is merely the appetizer. The feast will come after, so please be patient.”

“This…” The people in the car were shocked; hearing about it was one thing, but seeing it was another.

“That bastard, why’s he not moving?! Quick, move your wrist!” Le Fan angrily stomped his feet.

Jin MaiLong wasn’t wearing any earpieces, yet he seemed to hear him, and he slowly began moving his watch.

The entire room seemed to be exactly the same as before, but when the camera in the watch moved back, Guan Jin suddenly pressed Gu Xiang’s hand. “Pause at that moment two seconds ago!”

Gu Xiang hastily replayed the recording. Guan Jin pointed at a bookcase in the corner. “Do you see that red dot?”

“That red dot? I thought it was just a problem with the display. But if it’s not, then it’s——” Gu Xiang suddenly realized something.

“There’s a camera installed in there, and the infrared rays it emits can’t be seen by the naked eye, but we can see it through a camera.”

“So they also record it on-site, doubling as a film company,” remarked Lin Bai.

“Not necessarily,” Guan Jin leaned forward. “At that position, not only can it see the stage, it also just happens to be able to see the upper body of the guests.”

“Recording the guests? You mean…” Before Gu Xiang could finish, the scene became even more unsightly, and the expressions of the boys contorted in pain.

It became instantly quiet in the car, and Lin Bai swallowed, whispering, “Say, this is a little too——” Before he could finish, Wen JingHan’s cold and curt voice sounded in their headsets.

“Attention everyone, two minutes later, follow the original plan and break into the villa. We must rescue everyone that was kidnapped, and guaranteeing the victims’ safety is our top priority. I repeat…”

“Boss, they haven’t gotten to the main part yet, so if we charge in now, they won’t show anything anymore!” Zheng Fei said anxiously.

“Obey orders! You guys don’t have to bear any of the consequences! Let’s go!” Wen JingHan’s calm voice contained an unquestionable finality and power.

Guan Jin and the others were the surveillance team, so they didn’t need to charge into battle. However, they still looked nervously at the screen. Lin Bai and Gu Xiang were worried about whether or not the operation would go well, but Guan Jin was pondering another problem.

Upon being recorded watching something like this, those so-called VIPs probably wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully. But what was the other side’s goal? Perhaps to frighten or blackmail them…? Moreover, who would dare to set a trap for people this powerful, this was practically like playing with their own life.

And what did that damned sham of a psychic ¹, who had gone in just then, have to do with all this?

Guan Jin opened the car door and jumped out.

“Guan Jin, what are you doing?!” exclaimed Gu Xiang.

“I need to use the restroom.”

“But——” His voice was mercilessly cut off by the slamming of the car door. Guan Jin looked around and slipped into the night by himself, running towards the villa.

The villa’s door was surrounded by police cars, though there didn’t seem to be any movement from inside. Guan Jin walked a circle around the villa and discovered that there was an old brick wall behind the Zilan Clubhouse. He picked up one of the fallen bricks and agilely scaled the wall. It seemed that working out these past few days had really done the trick, and at least he wouldn’t fall again.

“How come I always see you climbing over a wall? Do you just love to climb walls, or is fate being too strange?”

Guan Jin was startled, but he quickly calmed down and whirled around. “It’s you that’s too perverted, since you always hide in dark corners and spy on people.”

Lu YunYang waved the cigarette in his hand. “I merely came outside for a smoke and to get some fresh air. Compared to a police officer that just trespassed into other people’s property, this should be considered quite normal, no?”

Guan Jin narrowed his eyes. “You clearly went into the neighboring house’s yard, so how come you’re here?”

“How did you know? Little Jin, monitoring law-abiding citizens is a violation of human rights.”

“Whatever, I’m not interested in listening to that right now.” Guan Jin dusted off his clothes and left.

“Wait.” Lu YunYang pulled him back. “Are you interested in going on an adventure?”

Guan Jin looked at his inscrutable expression.

“Then let’s go!” Lu YunYang grinned and suddenly pulled Guan Jin behind a bush nearby.

A few seconds later, the flower vines on the courtyard wall of the neighboring villa started quivering. In the dark, there seemed to be someone climbing down from the dense vines, and they stumbled towards the large tree that Guan Jin and Lu YunYang were hiding behind.

The person leaned against the tree and panted heavily, and when he looked up, he saw Guan Jin’s gleaming eyes. The person was frightened and was about to scream, but Guan Jin was quicker, and he covered the person’s mouth and dragged them behind the tree.

The flower vines continued to rustle, and one, two, three black shadows climbed over…