Chapter 5: The Plan

Chapter 5

Half an hour later, the members of the Criminal Investigation Unit began arriving at work one after another. Captain Cheng Fei gathered everyone and introduced Fang Wenxuan.

“This is Fang Wenxuan, our new recruit. He’s a police academy graduate—though he spent half a year as a traffic officer, his training was in criminal investigation. Everyone, cooperate with him and help him adjust.” The captain paused, then looked to Lin Hui. “Hui, from now on, Wenxuan is in your team. Guide him well.”

“What?” Lin Hui was taken aback. Remembering the traffic ticket and Wenxuan’s earlier criticism of him, he immediately objected, “I don’t want to.”

Fang Wenxuan shot Lin Hui a glance, thinking, I’m not thrilled to work with someone like you either. He said, “Captain, we don’t get along.”

“Objection overruled, no appeals. My decision is final. Work together.” Cheng Fei dismissed them with a wave of his hand. “Get to work, everyone.”

The officers dispersed to their respective duties.

Lin Hui glared at Fang Wenxuan, striding toward him with a cold look. “Listen, rookie,” he said, “I don’t work with dead weight. If you want me to teach you, to let you in on the cases, show me what you’ve got.”

Fang Wenxuan frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

“Follow me,” Lin Hui said, leading the way out.

Fang Wenxuan trailed behind him into a large hall filled with fitness equipment, firearms, and targets for shooting practice.

“Let’s see how many points you can score, rookie.” Lin Hui shoved his hands in his pockets, nodding toward the shooting range.

Fang Wenxuan walked over, loaded the gun, and started firing at the target. This target had a hundred rings, so he had to reload midway. When he finished, he set the gun down.

Lin Hui shook his head as he strode over to check the results, with Fang Wenxuan following.

“Ninety points?” Lin Hui chuckled. “You took ages reloading. If a criminal were in front of you, he’d be long gone.”

“And you?” Fang Wenxuan handed him the gun.

“Hmph!” Lin Hui grinned confidently as he took it. “Let me show you what a real marksman looks like.” He unfastened his wristwatch. “You took twenty minutes. Watch how long I take!”

He positioned himself a full meter farther back than Fang Wenxuan had, then began firing rapidly, reloading in a blur. Fang Wenxuan watched closely, and couldn’t help but feel some respect—Lin Hui really was fast.

“How long did I take?” Lin Hui asked, lowering the gun and facing Fang Wenxuan.

“Ten minutes,” Fang Wenxuan replied.

“Impressed yet?” Lin Hui said, smug.

Fang Wenxuan smiled. He had discreetly checked with binoculars—it was a perfect score. He nodded. “Excellent shooting, Senior.”

Lin Hui’s grin widened even further. Suddenly, an idea struck him. “So, you want to shoot like this?”

Fang Wenxuan nodded.

“Come with me,” Lin Hui said, heading for the fitness equipment.

Fang Wenxuan followed.

“Get on,” Lin Hui said when they reached a treadmill.

Without hesitation, Fang Wenxuan stepped on. Lin Hui started the machine at a moderate pace, but once Fang Wenxuan was running, he cranked it to its top speed.

Fang Wenxuan was forced into a full sprint. Before long, sweat poured down his face, his dark hair slicked to his cheeks.

“Since you call me ‘Senior,’ I have to look out for you. If you can’t keep up physically on a mission, you could get caught by a criminal. Marksmanship is important, but stamina is key. You’re slow reloading because you’re not fit enough.” Lin Hui watched Fang Wenxuan run, breathless and drenched, his earlier annoyance finally easing into smug satisfaction.

Fang Wenxuan ignored him—he had no energy for retorts. The treadmill was so fast, if he lost focus for even a moment and fell, Lin Hui would never let him live it down. So he kept running.

“Keep going, I’m off to get breakfast,” Lin Hui said with a smirk, then strolled out.

Fang Wenxuan didn’t bother asking him to stop the treadmill. He had no choice but to keep running.

Lin Hui finished breakfast in twenty minutes, figuring the rookie was probably close to collapse and it was time to stop the treadmill. The police gym’s treadmills ran so fast that most people didn’t have time to stop them themselves.

His phone rang.

“Captain, what is it?” Lin Hui answered.

“Where are you two? Come to the conference room—meeting’s starting,” Cheng Fei said.

“On my way.” Lin Hui slapped money on the table and hurried to the meeting room.

“Hui, where’s Wenxuan?” Cheng Fei asked when only Lin Hui entered.

Lin Hui shot to his feet—he’d forgotten to stop the treadmill for Fang Wenxuan.

He bolted out, hurried to the treadmill, and switched it off. By then, Fang Wenxuan was soaked through, his clothes and hair drenched with sweat.

Fang Wenxuan stepped off, utterly exhausted, leaning against the machine to catch his breath.

“Hey, there’s a meeting. Go shower—quickly,” Lin Hui said, a little embarrassed.

Fang Wenxuan nodded and headed to the communal showers.

“Where’s Wenxuan?” Cheng Fei asked when Lin Hui returned alone.

“He’ll be right here,” Lin Hui replied.

Cheng Fei gave Lin Hui a long look, then started the meeting.

Three minutes later, Fang Wenxuan arrived—his fastest possible time—but his hair was still dripping.

“Wenxuan, where have you been?” Cheng Fei asked.

“I…went to take a shower,” Fang Wenxuan replied.

Lin Hui looked at him in surprise—Fang Wenxuan wasn’t going to say anything?

“This is work hours, Wenxuan. The case isn’t solved yet. As a detective, you must maintain a rigorous attitude,” Cheng Fei chided sternly.

“Yes, sir,” Fang Wenxuan replied.

“Sit, let’s begin,” Cheng Fei said.

Fang Wenxuan took his seat beside Lin Hui.

“Yesterday, Xiaopeng and Hui spent all night reviewing surveillance footage from a month ago, but still found nothing on the mysterious boyfriend or the unknown figure. Even the driver who picked them up that day hadn’t seen the man. Clearly, this guy has strong counter-surveillance skills. We’re up against a real opponent this time. Conventional methods won’t get us anywhere—we need to take the initiative and draw him out,” Cheng Fei addressed the group.

“How do we draw him out?” Lin Hui asked.

“They’re an organ trafficking ring, aren’t they? We’ll send someone undercover as a seller—someone desperate to sell a kidney. With luck, we can find their base,” Cheng Fei explained.

“Good idea. Who’ll go undercover?” Lin Hui asked.

“First, we’ll post on those forums and sites where people look to sell kidneys, and wait for a bite. I looked into plenty of those sites last night. Xiaopeng, cast the net online. As for the undercover…” Cheng Fei looked around.

“Captain, I’ll do it. I haven’t been involved in this case or visited the scene. I just joined the unit—no one will suspect me,” Fang Wenxuan volunteered.

“No, I’ll go. You’ve got no experience—you’ll ruin the plan,” Lin Hui objected.

“Wenxuan’s the best fit. Hui, you’re well-known—if they spot you, the whole plan’s blown,” Cheng Fei said. “It’s settled. Once Xiaopeng gets a response, Wenxuan will coordinate. Meeting adjourned.”

“Captain…” Lin Hui protested, unwilling.

Cheng Fei ignored him and turned to Fang Wenxuan. “Wenxuan, come to my office.”

Fang Wenxuan followed Cheng Fei. Lin Hui hesitated, then trailed after them.

Fang Wenxuan entered, closing the door behind him.

“Why did you want to see me, Captain?” he asked, standing by Cheng Fei’s desk.

“Sit, Wenxuan. When we’re alone, you can call me Uncle Cheng,” Cheng Fei said.

“Captain, unless we’re off-duty, I’d rather call you ‘Captain,’” Fang Wenxuan replied.

“Why did you become a traffic cop after graduation?” Cheng Fei asked.

“I wanted to, so I did,” Fang Wenxuan replied.

“Is Hui giving you a hard time?” Cheng Fei asked.

Fang Wenxuan shook his head. “No.”

“Wenxuan, Hui may seem rough and reckless, but when it comes to solving cases, he’s extremely meticulous. He’s been on the force several years and has a lot of experience—you should learn from him,” Cheng Fei said earnestly.

Fang Wenxuan listened, but silently disagreed. He could admit Lin Hui was a crack shot, but as for the rest—he’d seen little evidence.

The office phone rang.

After answering, Cheng Fei stood up. “Wenxuan, the victim’s family is here to identify the body. As a detective, this is something you’ll have to face sooner or later.”

Fang Wenxuan was puzzled until he escorted four family members to the forensic department. When they saw their daughter’s mutilated remains, their grief was unbearable.

He wanted to comfort them, but he couldn’t. He was reminded of when, at sixteen, Cheng Fei had brought him and his mother to identify his father’s remains. His father had died in a car explosion while fighting criminals, leaving only body parts to recover.

Now, he finally understood what Cheng Fei meant by, “This is something you’ll have to face.”