Chapter Twenty-Six: The Midnight Bus Case

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The bureau chief’s office was spotless and tidy, yet the atmosphere was oppressively heavy. Tang Jingjing and I sat on the sofa, stifled and glum, occasionally flipping through the dossier before us. Chief Wang sat behind his desk, smoking in silence.

Sunlight poured in through the window, warm and golden. I felt an irresistible urge to go outside and bask in its glow. A rose from the flowerbed stretched in through the window; following its crimson bloom, my gaze landed on the courtyard wall, upon which a soaring eagle was painted.

I once told Chief Wang I’d never seen a courtyard wall adorned with such a painting. He patted my shoulder and said, “A man’s ambitions should reach every corner of the world. One day, you’ll soar beyond this narrow sky.”

I hadn’t understood him then. Now I did. To put it bluntly, he just didn’t want me idle.

A Toyota police car pulled up behind the flowerbed. The door opened, and an elderly man, supported by a stout young man, entered the police station. The driver slipped away to a corner to sneak a smoke.

The old man was none other than Elder Lin, and the strong young man was Li Hong. Elder Lin’s health wasn’t great, and Li Hong had accompanied him to the hospital for a check-up.

As soon as Elder Lin came in, I immediately offered him my seat. Elder Lin, half-joking, said, “Chief Wang, are you finally letting me retire because I’m getting old?”

Despite his usual irascible temper with us, Chief Wang could only scratch his head awkwardly before Elder Lin. He forced a wry smile. “Elder Lin, this has nothing to do with me this time. It’s all because of Xiao Yang. He said life was too dull without some excitement. I thought you all felt the same, bored out of your minds. Just as well, the provincial department handed us a case. Do you want to take it?”

Elder Lin chuckled, “You’re still so polite. Now I’m the one feeling embarrassed.”

“Xiao Yang, aren’t you going to thank Elder Lin?” Chief Wang’s expression shifted, glaring at me. “Do you realize how much trouble you’ve caused him?”

Damn, now it’s my fault again? No wonder there’s a saying about old ginger being spicier. Chief Wang is the very embodiment of that.

I hurried to thank Elder Lin, but he waved me off. “Enough, kid. You’ll never outwit Chief Wang. Better use your time to get familiar with the case.”

Chief Wang said, “Alright, it’s settled then. Gold always shines; the major crimes unit should look the part. If you have any requests, the bureau will fully cooperate.”

I asked, “Chief Wang, why isn’t Li Xingchen involved?”

Chief Wang replied, “Would he be of any use? I’m worried he’ll just mess things up.”

“Actually, Chief Wang, Li Xingchen can be very helpful when he’s serious.”

“Very well,” Chief Wang said. “I’ll issue the transfer order right away.”

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We returned to the major crimes unit office, where Elder Lin was in charge of analyzing the case. It wasn’t long before Li Xingchen arrived, glaring at me as if he wanted to tear me apart.

As he walked past, he even tried to trip me. Well, if I didn’t put him in his place, he’d think I was a pushover. I simply kicked him in the knee, sending him sprawling face-first.

If Chief Wang hadn’t been watching, I’m sure Li Xingchen would have come at me.

Elder Lin adjusted his reading glasses and asked, “Is everyone here? If so, let’s begin. The case is this: a person died mysteriously on a midnight bus. The bus was Route 8, a night line operating from ten at night to one in the morning. The report was made by the driver, Master Bai.”

“Master Bai claims he had no idea when the deceased boarded, nor when he died. He only noticed a strange smell when he stopped for the night, and that’s how he found the body. Though the provincial bureau has compared the victim to all missing persons in the province, I just checked and the identity is still undetermined. Moreover—”

Elder Lin paused to cough, looking troubled. “Moreover, the provincial bureau says they’ll ‘cooperate’ with our investigation. I think we all know what that word really means.”

Everyone wore equally complicated expressions. The burden of the investigation had shifted entirely onto us. Now, instead of us cooperating with them, they were to cooperate with us. The provincial bureau truly was full of old hands.

This so-called ‘cooperation’ meant we could temporarily use some provincial bureau resources, like the computer room or forensics, but as for the core criminal investigation unit, we could forget about it.

The provincial bureau’s core was the criminal investigation division. If they got involved and failed to solve the case, they’d be the ones to take the blame. But if they ‘cooperated’ and we solved it, they’d still claim credit—making headlines like, “With the strong support of superiors and the joint efforts of the municipal bureau…” Nothing new there.

“This doesn’t seem like a routine case, does it?” I said, noting Chief Wang’s repeated hesitations. A death on a public bus isn’t unheard of—could be sudden illness, or a vagrant. Why hand it to the major crimes unit, and why wouldn’t the higher-ups want it?

Sure enough, as soon as I spoke, Chief Wang stood up to explain. “Given the bizarre nature of this case, the official report omits a lot. There’s also a supplementary document—only one copy. The instructions are clear: read it, then destroy it immediately or take full responsibility!”

With that, Chief Wang casually handed the file to Li Xingchen.

Li Xingchen took it reluctantly. As soon as he glanced at it, his hand began to shake. He hurriedly passed it to Tang Jingjing, then sprang to his feet. “Reporting!”

Chief Wang shot him a look. “Speak.”

“I’m a hacker. Away from a computer, I’m useless. I strongly request to be stationed at a computer around the clock. I promise to work diligently, day and night, until we catch the suspect.”

“Get out!” Chief Wang didn’t care about his status and cursed outright. “The bureau’s assigning you a portable laptop. From today, you’re not allowed to set foot in the computer room. If you need to work, go to forensics.”

“Reporting,” Li Xingchen was almost in tears. “Chief Wang, you’re bullying me.”

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“That’s right, I’m bullying you—just you! Sit down. Don’t you have any sense of what it means to be a people’s police officer?”

To be honest, my heart was pounding too. What on earth was in that supplementary file to terrify Li Xingchen so?

After reading it, Tang Jingjing was stunned, her face pale. I forced myself to be brave and snatched the file from her, reading it carefully.

By the time I finished, my hand felt like it had been shocked. The file slipped from my grasp and fell to the floor.

Li Hong took the file, puzzled, turning it over several times—probably not recognizing many words—then sighed and handed it to Elder Lin.

Though Elder Lin tried to act composed, we could all see his anxiety. At last, he looked at Chief Wang and said quietly, “Old Wang, that’s not very decent of you.”

Chief Wang scratched his head again, looking as if he were constipated.

“Finished reading? Then I’ll destroy it…” With that, Chief Wang took the file, fed it through the shredder, and then set the remains alight with his lighter.

“Anyone want to back out?” Chief Wang asked.

Li Xingchen tried to stand, but Tang Jingjing pulled him back down.

She whispered, “Are you an idiot? You’ve read a top-secret file and now you want to quit? Have you lost your mind?”

“Alright, everyone sign this confidentiality agreement. Once you’ve signed, the city bureau will fully support your investigation.”

Damn, the city bureau couldn’t wait to distance themselves, coming up with this ‘cooperation’ policy. No wonder rookies can never outplay the veterans!

After signing the confidentiality agreement, Chief Wang graciously offered each of us a cigarette, even including Tang Jingjing.

Tang, astonished, carefully pocketed the cigarette, saying she’d show it to her mother—that it was a smoke personally given by Chief Wang.

I had to ask what was so special about this cigarette.