Mad Detective
[Author: Kuang Hai Wang Hu]
[TL: Spades]
[PR: Blitz]
[QC: Lumi]
Chapter 05 — Another Hexagram
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It's back!
It's back!?
Zhao Yu was stunned, straining to listen closely, but the voice came and went so swiftly that it left no trace.
Reward!?
He remembered the word "reward." Reward, reward! Where is it?
As soon as he thought this, a virtual image popped into his mind: a small, black sphere, rendered in vivid 3D.
Zhao Yu instinctively tapped it, and the voice in his head rang out: "Invisible Listening Device. Disposable item. Upon use, enables invisible eavesdropping, undetectable by any equipment, with a duration of 48 hours."
What? What?
Zhao Yu, half-confused, tapped again. The voice dutifully repeated the description of the invisible listening device.
"Officer Zhao, I put two packets of sugar in this coffee again!" Li Beini, seeing Zhao Yu so engrossed, thought he was savoring the drink.
Snapping back, Zhao Yu found the noisy office too chaotic to think. Wanting a quiet spot to process everything, he ignored Liu Changhu's fuming and Li Beini's chatter, stood up, and left the office.
But just as he stepped out, he ran into Captain Jin Zhenbang. Having little rapport with the captain, Zhao Yu tried to slip by with his head down.
To his surprise, Jin stopped him and asked, "Zhao Yu, didn't you say you were taking leave? How'd you end up catching the suspect?" Jin's tone was serious. "I don't get it—how did you know the suspect would be there tonight?"
"Captain Jin, I'm really not feeling great today. Can we talk about this another time?"
As Zhao Yu moved to leave, Jin suddenly patted his shoulder, saying meaningfully, "Xiao Zhao, no matter what, catching a criminal means you've done right by this uniform. Well done! Keep it up!"
Jin's words caught Zhao Yu off guard. In his memories, the stern captain rarely praised anyone.
What's going on today?
Jin stepped into the office, and immediately, Liu Changhu's spiteful complaints echoed from within…
Zhao Yu had no interest in arguing further. He headed straight to his apartment.
Calling it an apartment was generous. It was just a cramped duty room behind the office building, shared by three people, without even a private bathroom.
His roommates were from the security department. The younger one was tolerable, but the older one snored like a thunderstorm, making sleep a nightmare.
Luckily, the snorer was on night shift, or Zhao Yu would've faced another sleepless night.
It was 4 a.m., nearly dawn. Zhao Yu returned to the apartment, skipped washing up, kicked off his shoes, and collapsed onto the bed, ready to catch up on sleep.
But the night's bizarre events made rest impossible. Lethal injection, sudden transmigration, identity swap, a mysterious system, and now a reward item, it was all too much to process.
The Adventure System, in particular, gnawed at him. Zhao Yu felt that nabbing the Electric Baton Rapist wasn't just dumb luck but tied to the system.
Maybe, once the system activated, it subtly altered something, guiding him to cross paths with the criminal?
And afterward, the system noted a 75% completion rate. That likely measured how well he'd handled the adventure. If he hadn't followed the trench-coat guy from the bar and caught him, would the completion rate have plummeted?
In other words, no matter how many coincidences the system arranged, seizing them to complete the adventure depended on him!
This realization thrilled Zhao Yu. With this Adventure System, could he crack future cases just as miraculously?
Wow!
If that's true, I'll be a case-cracking legend! And the bonuses will be rolling in…
With these thoughts, he finally drifted into sleep.
…
Being a detective was no easy gig. Despite the Major Crimes Unit pulling an all-nighter, most had to report to work on time the next day, no slacking or taking leave.
New cases could pop up anytime, and they had to be ready to handle them immediately.
This rule, however, didn't apply to Zhao Yu. The next day, he slept until 10:30 a.m. before stirring.
Truth be told, he was jolted awake by that earth-shaking snoring. His older roommate had returned from night shift and was sawing logs like a champ!
Zhao Yu was tempted to pummel the guy. Running a hand through his messy hair, he scanned the room. The dorm was a chaotic, smelly mess, hardly a place fit for living.
A sudden impulse hit him. This place is suffocating. Why not rent a proper apartment today?
The old Zhao Yu had lived in the station dorm, making him an easy target for senior detectives who dumped overtime and errands on him. Moving out would cut down on that nonsense.
Plus, Zhao Yu still wasn't used to his new identity. Working at the station was one thing, but living there too felt downright awkward.
After a trip to the bathroom and a quick wash, Zhao Yu didn't bother tidying up. He just ran a hand through his hair and headed to the station building. He wasn't reporting for duty, he wanted to use the office computer to search for apartment rentals.
On his way up the stairs, he passed a few cops smoking. The scent triggered his craving.
Pausing at the stairwell corner, he pulled out the cigarettes he'd swiped from the taxi driver and lit one.
But, just like before, one puff sent him into a violent coughing fit.
And in the midst of his hacking, that clear, crisp voice rang in his head again:
"Adventure System activated. Now randomly selecting a hexagram for you…"
Holy crap!
This time, Zhao Yu was ready. The moment the voice started, he focused intently, committing every word to memory.
"Dui-Xun Hexagram! Dui Lake, Xun Wind. Smooth winds, calm waters, settled life, and prosperous endeavors."
The voice stopped abruptly. Despite his efforts, Zhao Yu only caught "Dui-Xun Hexagram" and "smooth winds, calm waters."
Those last four words warmed his heart. Sounds like a good draw, right? Though he didn't fully understand, he instinctively linked it to the I Ching's eight trigrams.
Could the Adventure System operate on the principles of the I Ching? If so, he'd need to study up. If he ever drew a bad hexagram, at least he'd be prepared.