Chapter 1 - Part 1

Chapter 1.1

“That… man… was about half a head taller than me. His chin was very small and he seemed to have a double chin and high cheekbones. He wore an all-black hat, like a regular baseball cap. Oh, ah, I… I can’t remember anymore.”

“Don’t be afraid. You can think about it slowly and let me know what else you remember.”

“…His eyes were fierce, and his face was a bit dark, I…I really don’t remember, I was so terrified and scared out of my mind…a lot of blood…”

“What other physical characteristics did he have?”

“His neck seemed to be a little short and thick, and he had a bit of a hunchback……”

“Did he have a beard?”

“Wuu…..beard…I think he had one…ah, or did he….ah I can’t remember…I really can’t remember.”

The witness was a fifteen-year-old girl with big watery eyes. She had just entered the town. She was still very young and not very mature. She did not have any formal employment contract either. She had just started working as a helper in the hair salon started by an acquaintance from her village. It was illegal child labor.

She had been frightened by the things she encountered not too long ago, and kept crying nonstop. She could only finish her words intermittently as the police comforted her.

The whole process of the murder took place in the early hours of yesterday morning. During those five minutes, the witness had hidden herself under the sink where she was washing her hair. She was really frightened by the blood and the dead body, so she could only remember that the murderer had a disgusting face.

At first, that face was printed in her mind. The image couldn’t be shaken from her head, and all the features were clearly there. But when she thought about it now, she could only recall some fragments.

“If I show you a sketch of his face, will you be able to recognize him?”

The girl nodded hesitantly. She wiped her tears and looked at the person who was drawing the picture, on the opposite side.

The man sat in the interrogation room with his legs crossed. He was drawing on the sketch paper with a pencil.

It was a young man in his twenties. At the moment, he had his head lowered and was staring attentively at the paper. From this angle, one could see that he had deep-set features, a tall nose and a clean face. Despite him sitting at that time, it was still possible to tell that he was tall and had long legs. The hand holding the brush was slender with well defined bones. It was moving quickly, as if he was making thoughtless strokes at first glance, but he actually had a strong control of the brush. The second knuckle of the little finger occasionally smudged over the pencil strokes with just the right amount of pressure, and not long after, a figure was outlined….

Just seven hours ago, at twelve in the morning, when a small hair salon in the west of the South City was about to close, a vicious murder case occurred. A short fat man suddenly rushed in and stabbed the salon owner to death.

The suspect had taken away the murder weapon, leaving no hair. Only a bloody footprint remained. The rain washed away all the other traces.

The shampoo girl in the hair salon was an eyewitness. But the little girl was too shocked and could only provide very limited information.

The autopsy report showed that it was several stab wounds to the abdomen and the liver which caused the victim’s immediate death from blood loss. Beyond that, there was not much information.

The suspect was not looking for money. The cash in the store had not been moved. The victim’s social relationships seemed to be simple, but it was very complicated when one looked at it closely. It took a lot of time to figure out.

The only valid evidence that could be relied upon was the little girl, who couldn’t even speak clearly, and a video captured by a camera in front of the hair salon.

But this video was too blurry, only the vague profile of a man with a hat could be seen. The killer in the video turned his head to the front, looking as if he was a black and white shadow flitting about.

Tian Ming, as the criminal police captain in charge of solving this case, could only handle the dead horse as a living horse to treat it, when he got these materials.

(T/N: 能死 马当成活马医 : “Handling the dead horse as a living horse to treat it”. Means, there’s no hope for it, but he still had to do his best to treat it.)

The first thing he did was go to Wang Rui, the man in charge of the police station’s imaging division. Wang Rui was specially recruited into the department and specialized in portrait simulation.

His independent office was as quiet as a studio, but the walls were covered with shoulder-length sketches or 3D models of men, women, old men, and even children. They were all either vicious killers, key figures in crimes, or people who had been missing for a long time.

Those graphics made the entire room feel closed off and stifling. Tian Ming felt like he would go crazy just from being watched by those countless pairs of eyes. He hurriedly moved his gaze and reported the basic situation to Wang Rui.

Wang Rui looked at the thing he was handed, feeling speechless: “Captain Tian, aren’t you forcing people to do whatever you want? With just this much information, even if you kill me I can’t simulate it ah.”

Tian Ming knew in his heart that this information was indeed greatly lacking, but he continued firmly, “Why can’t it be simulated? There’s surveillance footage and eyewitness descriptions. Isn’t that enough?”

“For three-dimensional simulation, you must give me the data of the front side, and the eyewitnesses have to give detailed descriptions.” Wang Rui shrugged and said helplessly: “There is too little information. It’s difficult for even a clever woman to cook without rice. I’m not skilled enough. Also, I don’t want to get involved with you. Later, if you can’t catch the culprit, you will come back to blame me.”

Just when the investigation had reached an impasse, Chief Gu, who had been watching the progress, quietly came to Tian Ming and said lightly, “Song Wen just handed in the final report of his last case so he’s free now. Why don’t you go and ask him for help?”

Wang Rui also agreed and didn’t think there was any problem with the suggestion. “That’s right. I’m sure Captain Song can help you out. He is much better than me.”

Help him out?! Tian Ming only felt a foul breath stuck in his chest. He glared at Wang Rui, “Little brother, then what do we need you for, at the City Bureau? We can simply merge your salary with Song Wen’s.”

( T/N: felt a foul breath stuck: It’s being in a situation where you can’t digest something or vomit it out. Uncomfortable! )

Wang Rui said, feeling aggrieved: “Captain Tian, I sit here daily for eight whole hours. Captain Song is a busy man, wonder will he take your request up? Also, If you dislike me, don’t come to me next time.”

Indeed. Each one was a master that you couldn’t afford to offend. Tian Ming reluctantly walked out the door carrying his notebook.

Mentioning the name Song Wen made him furious.

There were total of three squads under the Criminal Police Division of South City Bureau, with first captain Song Wen, second captain Tian Ming, and third captain Cheng Mo.

On the surface, all three teams said that they were colleagues and teammates, but there was a fierce competition happening internally. The reason for it was that the Division Chief position was now vacant. Whoever did well would get to sit in that position.

Among the three, the third team leader was sleek like a Buddha statue. Additionally, owing to his age, he was not very competitive. The main competition was between the second team Captain Tian Ming and the first team Captain Song Wen.

Song Wen, this person had an inclination, that is, he was eager to win. He liked to be at the top in everything. He was even named after the saying yī míng jīng rén [amaze the world with a single brilliant feat] .

He had also lived up to high expectations and excelled at everything from a young age. Furthermore, he had been a top student all the way through the police academy.

When Song Wen was first promoted to a captain, Tian Ming couldn’t help but compare himself to Song Wen. Tian Ming was thirty-two years old, and he had worked for ten years. He was at the prime of his life, rich in experience, solving big cases one after another. He had received two awards, and for three consecutive years, he had the highest rate of solving crimes in the city bureau.

Song Wen was only twenty-five years old, and a fledgling who had worked for only two and a half years. At the beginning when he joined, he took on all the heavy responsibilities of the team that others didn’t dare to. He broke many records and was eventually promoted to a Captain for his exceptional work.

Everyone could tell who was better, right?

Tian Ming originally thought that his abilities were more than enough to crush a young newbie. Unexpectedly, the result of last year’s evaluation was him being crushed to the ground by Song Wen. Not only was Song Wen’s case-solving rate 6.5 times higher than him, he was also far behind Song Wen in the year-end personal assessment.

What was even more annoying was that Song Wen was worser than him when he was preparing for the test. No one knew how he practiced but in the official assessment, whether it was shooting or fighting physical ability, he scored higher than him. Moreover, this Song Wen was also highly skilled at drawing a suspect’s portrait. He once drew the portrait of a suspect that even the police station’s dedicated technician Wang Rui couldn’t draw.

In this regard, Tian Ming could only express the emotion of Ji Sheng Yu, He Sheng Liang.

(T/N: Three Kingdoms era reference.

‘Ji Sheng Yu, He Sheng Liang’ basically is used to describe a person’s despair and frustrations. During the three kingdoms, in the Wu State, there was a general named Zhou Yu who was extremely talented. In the historical based novel by Lu Guangzhong., Zhou Yu was constantly outwitted by Zhuge Liang, and he was described by Lu Guangzhong to quote the lines ‘chang tian ah chang tian, ji sheng yu, he sheng liang?’ (Heaven oh heaven, since there’s me why is there Zhuge Liang?)

Alternatively, It means ‘ Why did I have to be born when such a great person already exists? ’ Reference: https://sgforums.com/forums/1902/topics/120736/2/ )

Translating team shenanigans

Mochi : Song Wen was only twenty-five years old bla bla bla

Cye : Seme is younger ?! WaaooW ( • ̀ω•́ )✧

Mochi : Song Wen liked to be at the top in everything.

Cye : hohoho ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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Hells :