Case Files Chapter 4: Debut (2)

Translated by Vivian of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

 

Guan Jin looked at the mountain-like pile of past missing case files, frozen. After a while, he said faintly, “Are you guys going to work on this case until the end of the year?”

“Huh?” Lin Bai was confused. “How’s that possible? Our team consists of unique elite individuals, and since its establishment, we’ve never put aside a case and have always solved them within three months.”

“Then do you think I can read all of these in three months?”

“…Right, you got amnesia.”

“Even if I didn’t get amnesia, I still wouldn’t be able to read all of these!”

“Before you lost your memory, you could recite all of our case files. You’re like a living file, even better than a computer,” said Lin Bai as he patted his computer.

Guan Jin continued to be frozen.

“Ha, although you got amnesia, you can’t have forgotten your ability of photographic memory… right?”

“Photographic memory? You’re saying that Guan, no, I used to have photographic memory?”

“Of course, we’re the most elite team in the police force, so of course we all have special abilities.” Lin Bai touched his chin worriedly. “Is it even possible to forget something you were born with…”

“How would I know?!” If he had lost even this innate talent, then Guan Jin really was useless.

He opened a folder, and Guan Jin, who rarely read books, started to read.

Half an hour later, he counted and saw that he had read three-quarters——three-quarters of one folder.

Guan Jin massaged his temples and snapped the folder shut. This was too miserable; he’d rather go outside and run a few dozen kilometers, though with this weak body, he reckoned he wouldn’t be able to make it through even just one kilometer.

He had just read a case about women and children trafficking, and it wasn’t very related to their current case. Moreover… Guan Jin thought about it, and suddenly realized that the text and pictures he had seen just then were like a slideshow, and he could replay them in his mind at will… It turned out that this was what it was like to have photographic memory; it wasn’t as simple as having a good memory. Instead, the right hemisphere of his brain was like a camera, storing text and pictures in his brain.

Guan Jin put down the folder and recalled the events from the past few days. He could remember everything from everyday, including what people said and every object and scene he had seen! This was practically like that mythical, complete memory ability. It turned out that sure enough, he wasn’t an ordinary person, but a superhuman instead?!

What the hell! This wasn’t that good; before he could use his superpower to save the world, his brain would definitely get overloaded!

Guan Jin took a deep breath and began to worriedly recall the things that had happened even earlier. Phew, fortunately, although his memory of things from over a week ago were relatively clear, a lot of the details were fuzzy. It turned out that he would still forget things. Otherwise, if his brain exploded from having too many memories, that would be such an unpleasant way to die.

*****¹

“Bartender, you haven’t been causing any trouble in this bar recently, right?”

“What do you mean, officer? I’m a good person, and I’ll definitely support and cooperate with the police’s work.” The man behind the counter smiled diligently and handed him a glass of lemonade.

“Let me ask you, have you seen these two people before?”

Zheng Fei placed two photographs onto the counter. The bartender looked at them carefully and pointed at one of them, saying, “This one worked here as a waiter for a while, but a few months ago, he resigned. The kid was quite smart, though not too stable. The other one looks familiar, he’s probably come here before.”

“Do you know where that person went after?”

“Who knows? Everyone’s jumbled here, so no one really remembers anyone,” replied the bartender, shaking his head.

“Then…” Zheng Fei leaned over the counter and asked quietly, “quite a few people have gone missing recently, have you heard any rumors about that?”

The bartender looked up in surprise and frowned as he thought for a moment. Then, he looked around before saying, “Officer, people on the road often disappear.”

“I’m not referring to gang feuds,” Zheng Fei said bluntly.

“Um…” The bartender lowered his voice. “Nothing big has happened recently, but I heard that quite a few significant people have been seen at Shuimo Street. It seems that there’s some good stuff here that’s attracting them…”

“Here?” Zheng Fei waved to indicate the bar they were in.

The bartender shook his head. “No, there’s a lot of these here and there. However, I don’t know what the thing is.”

Zheng Fei nodded. “I understand. I’ll get going, thanks for your help.”

“No problem. Our small business will have to rely on your protection.”

*****

“These are the only things I know, I’ll be exposed if I ask too much.” A thin man wearing a baseball cap was sitting on a chair beside the street, and he was smoking a cigarette while he murmured. The wire of an earpiece peaked out slightly from his shirt collar.

“Knock it off, if you don’t know anything, then why are you even doing this?!” Chen QiaoYu was holding a phone as she sat under the overhang of a coffee shop at a street corner in the distance.

“The origin of these people is unknown, and it seems like there’s powerful people covering for them. They don’t usually come in contact with gangs. And, I don’t even have any evidence that those children are missing because of them.”

“I don’t care, if you can’t give me a reason as to why they’re doing this, then you can just wait for an enemy to come knocking on your door tomorrow. It seems that quite a few of the people whose information you’re selling are trying to find the culprit.”

“Ha, well, if you want to put it that way. You know that business isn’t ethical. Forget it, I’ll do my best.” The man with the baseball cap looked around before whispering, “Shuimo Street, Zilan ² Clubhouse. That’s all I know.”

“Next time, change your closing words.” Chen QiaoYu looked around casually, hung up, and threw what seemed like a pack of used napkins into a flower bed before she turned around and left.

The baseball cap man slowly strolled over and sat next to the flower bed. He felt among the flowers, retrieved the bag, and looked at it. There were several bright red banknotes ³ tucked inside it. He grinned, stuffed the bag into his pocket, and hummed while continuing to smoke his cigarette as he walked away.

*****

“We’ve asked the families of a few of the missing boys. They all said that these boys indeed didn’t like to study, and they frequently skipped class and mingled with sketchy people. When they initially went missing, their families thought that they were just playing somewhere, so they didn’t report them as missing right away. Even though we haven’t found them yet, they think that they just ran away or went to make some mischief with a gang,” said Gu Xiang.

“Usually, in the eyes of most police officers, kids like these who go missing are all either because they ran away or got involved in a gang. This subjective impression was what led to these cases being neglected for over a year before they attracted enough attention,” Chen QiaoYu said helplessly.

“Some people focused specifically on this group of people and took advantage of everyone’s unfounded assumptions to reduce the probability of getting caught.” Wen JingHan crossed his arms and rubbed his chin lightly. “Our opponent is very careful and cunning.”

Guan Jin listened impassively to the discussion, and he felt quite out of place and absentminded. It really was quite hard to get used to this type of life.

“Guan Jin, after listening to everyone, why don’t you sum it up for us?”

Guan Jin, who had suddenly been called on by Wen JingHan, was startled. “Why me?”

“Because your memory’s good.” Wen JingHan smiled.

Guan Jin inwardly rolled his eyes and said impassively, “The people who have gone missing are all boys ranging from age fourteen to twenty, and they’re all quite misbehaved. Their appearances aren’t bad, and they usually appear in entertainment places and gang sites. The time at which they’ve gone missing ranges from a year ago to very recently. On the other hand, some people have seen some boys appear at the bar on Shuimo Street, and there seems to be some new, top-grade thing near Shuimo Street in some secret clubhouse or something, which attracted a lot of powerful people from this city and around it. However, a lot of people are con, con…” Guan Jin, who had gone overseas for many years, struggled to think of the word.

DingDing raised her hand and offered, “Concealing.”

Guan Jin didn’t even look at her and pretended that it hadn’t been him who had forgotten the word just then. He continued, “A lot of people are concealing it. It’s evident that what these people are doing is illegal, and no one dares to intervene with the power or that mysterious place’s power that’s hindering them.”

“…Give us your inference,” called Zheng Fei.

“Wasn’t I just supposed to sum it up?” Guan Jin suppressed his irritation.

 Wen JingHan was leaning gracefully against the table, and he smiled approvingly at Guan Jin. “Not bad. Guan Jin’s summary is actually very accurate and to the point.” He stood up and walked to the whiteboard. “Now, what we need is the connection between the two.” He used a whiteboard marker to draw a line between two squares.

“Does there have to be a connection between the two?” Chen QiaoYu frowned.

“What if there has to be?” Wen JingHan looked around the room.

“Do you even need to think about this? These boys must’ve been abducted and then moved to that clubhouse, where they were sold.” Guan Jin felt a little disdainful as he thought, This is so obvious. You police officers haven’t seen much of the real world, huh? Do you really have to think so hard about this?

“Sold for what?” asked Lin Bai.

“Sex trafficking.”

“Pft——” Zheng Fei spat out the tea he was drinking.

Guan Jin glanced at him. “You all are police officers, what haven’t you seen? Don’t be so surprised.”

Chen QiaoYu shook her head. “We’re not surprised, we’re shocked. Guan Jin, you’ve become so bold after you got amnesia.”

“Guan Jin, it’s okay if you lose your memory, but how come you don’t even know where to draw the line aymore?!” Lin Bai jumped out of his chair and looked heartbroken.

The corner of Guan Jin’s mouth tugged upwards as he thought, I never drew the line before! Was Guan Jin some fogey? How people made so much ado about anything he said?

However, Wen JingHan wasn’t surprised. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with this. Guan Jin simply forgot his original scruples and is being true to his heart.”

“Hahaha, Little Jinjin, it turns out that your heart is this vulgar…” Lin Bai smirked.

“Okay, let’s get back on topic.” Wen JingHan wrote a few words on top of the line and circled them. “What Guan Jin said is right, abduction and illegal pornography is the most likely connection between the two. However, we don’t have any evidence, so we can’t just use speculations to handle the case. As long as we find conclusive evidence that shows that the boys’ disappearances are connected to it, we’ll be able to start investigating in the right direction. I’ll report our conclusion to the bureau so they can decide whether or not to file the case. Tomorrow’s Saturday, so everyone can go home on time today. Nourish your energy, and when we come back, we’ll have a formidable task to face. Dismissed.”

Everyone said their goodbyes, gathered their things, and left.

Guan Jin slowly returned to his desk and cleaned up the files while he glanced at Wen JingHan’s slender figure. He consoled himself, At least I can enjoy such a handsome man. I’ll bear it for now, and when I get the chance to figure out the truth about my death, then I’ll say goodbye to this place! Of course, if conditions permit, then I’d also like to take that treasure with me.

Guan Jin walked to the mirror at the corner of the first floor and glanced at his small, 170 centimeters-tall (5’5”) self. If conditions permitted?! That must be when hell froze over!

*****

Wen JingHan threw the towel he had used to dry his hair aside and sat cross-legged on the bed. He scrolled through the information about the case that had become top secret a long time ago. The mattress next to him sank a little, and a pair of big hands pulled Wen JingHan, who appeared small next to the man, into an embrace.

“What are you looking at?” The man’s tone was discontent at being ignored.

“A case from the past,” Wen JingHan replied lightly.

“The past?” The man looked over Wen JingHan’s shoulder, and when he saw the information, his dark green eyes darkened. He threw the ipad aside, and it landed with a crash. The man pinched Wen JingHan’s chin and narrowed his eyes. “How come you’re thinking about this case again? Is there anything you can’t forget about?”

Wen JingHan looked at him and smiled seductively. “How could I forget it? If it wasn’t for this case, then how could I have fallen into your hands?”

The man’s expression relaxed, and he softly caressed Wen JingHan’s exquisite chin, which had turned red from his pinch. “Then what are you looking at it for?”

“There’s been a missing persons case recently, and a lot of boys have gone missing.”

“Is it him——”

“No, his techniques are completely different. His goal is also too different, so it definitely can’t be him.”

“Hmph, he probably wouldn’t dare to come out and make trouble.” The man’s mood had improved, and he used one hand to pull down Wen JingHan’s pajamas as his other hand reached behind his waist.

“I had a busy day today, so I’m really tired.”

 

“Tired? Remember, at home, satisfying your man comes before anything else.” The man tore off Wen JingHan’s pajamas completely, and his hands wandered across his smooth skin. “Be obedient, and I can assure you that I’ll let you rest in bed for the whole day tomorrow…”