Chapter 5

It's ringing again!

It's ringing again!?

Zhao Yu was startled. Just as he was about to listen carefully, the sound suddenly disappeared, leaving no trace.

Reward!?

Zhao Yu remembered the word "reward." Reward, reward, where is it?

As soon as he thought about it, a virtual image popped up in his mind. It showed a small black sphere, a 3D image.

Zhao Yu subconsciously tapped it, and a voice in his head suddenly said, "Invisible listening device. A one-time consumable product. After use, it can achieve invisible listening functionality, undetectable by any instrument, with a duration of 48 hours."

What? What?

Zhao Yu was confused and quickly tapped it again. The voice in his head repeated the introduction of the invisible listening device.

"Officer Zhao, I still put two packets of sugar in your coffee!" Li Beini saw Zhao Yu so engrossed and thought he was savoring the coffee!

Zhao Yu came to his senses and felt the environment was too noisy. He wanted to find a quiet place to think. So, he ignored Liu Changhu's outburst and Li Beini, and left the office.

However, as soon as he stepped out, he ran into Captain Jin Zhenbang. Zhao Yu had no close relationship with the captain and tried to walk away with his head down.

Unexpectedly, Captain Jin stopped him and asked, "Zhao Yu, didn't you say you were going to take leave? How did you manage to catch the suspect?"

"Captain Jin, I really don't feel well today. Can we talk about it another day?" Zhao Yu said, trying to leave again. But Captain Jin patted his shoulder and said meaningfully, "Officer Zhao, no matter what, catching the criminal is a credit to our police uniform! Well done! Keep up the good work!"

Captain Jin's words left Zhao Yu stunned. In his memory, the stern captain rarely praised anyone.

What's going on today?

After saying that, Captain Jin walked into the office. As soon as he entered, Liu Changhu's malicious complaint could be heard inside.

Zhao Yu had no interest in arguing and went straight back to his apartment.

Speaking of an apartment, it was actually a small duty room behind the office building. It was cramped, and three people had to share one room without a private bathroom.

Zhao Yu's roommates were two colleagues from the security department. The younger one was better, but the older one snored so loudly that it was a real headache.

Fortunately, the snorer was on night duty today, or Zhao Yu would have had another sleepless night.

It was already four in the morning, almost dawn. Zhao Yu returned to the apartment, didn't bother to freshen up, and got into bed to catch up on sleep.

However, the bizarre events of the night made it impossible for him to sleep. Being injected with a lethal dose, suddenly transported to another place, the change in identity, the mysterious system, and the reward item—all of these overwhelmed him.

Especially the mysterious encounter system. Zhao Yu felt that his lucky capture of the electric baton rapist was not a coincidence but due to the encounter system.

Perhaps, after the encounter system was activated, it subtly changed something, leading Zhao Yu to encounter the criminal by chance?

After the incident, the system told him the completion rate was over 70%. This completion rate might refer to how well he completed the encounter task. If he hadn't chosen to follow the man in the trench coat in the bar and subsequently caught the criminal, would the completion rate have dropped significantly?

In other words, no matter how many coincidences the encounter system arranged, whether he could seize these opportunities and complete the encounter ultimately depended on himself!?

Thinking about this, Zhao Yu couldn't help but feel excited. With the encounter system, could he solve similar cases as miraculously in the future?

Wow!

If that's true, won't I become a case-solving expert? There will be a lot of bonuses...

Thinking about it, he gradually fell asleep.

...

Actually, being a detective is not easy. Despite the major case team working all night yesterday, most of them still had to report to work on time today and couldn't take leave or skip work.

Because new cases could happen at any time, they had to ensure that every case was handled promptly.

However, this rule clearly didn't apply to Zhao Yu. The next day, he slept until half past ten.

To be fair, he was eventually woken up by the thunderous snoring. Otherwise, he could have slept longer. It turned out that the older roommate had returned from night duty and was snoring loudly.

Zhao Yu really wanted to punch the snorer. He touched his messy hair, looked around, and saw that the dormitory was chaotic and stinky, not a suitable place to live.

Seeing this, Zhao Yu suddenly felt a surge of inspiration. Living in such a place was really suffocating. Why not rent a place today?

The old Zhao Yu often stayed in the police dormitory, so whenever the senior detectives had something, they would make Zhao Yu work overtime, which was very unfair. If he left here, he could reduce such arrangements.

Moreover, the new Zhao Yu was not yet used to his new identity. Working was one thing, but living in the police station felt very awkward.

After using the toilet and washing up, Zhao Yu didn't bother to tidy up. He just fixed his hair and walked toward the police station. He wasn't going to report to work but wanted to use the office computer to look for a place to rent.

As he walked up the stairs, he encountered a few police officers smoking. The smell of tobacco made Zhao Yu's nicotine craving kick in.

So, he stopped at the corner of the stairs and lit the cigarette he had confiscated from the taxi driver last night.

However, this time was no better. After just one puff, he started coughing violently.

In the midst of his violent coughing, the clear and crisp voice in his head suddenly sounded again:

"Encounter system activated, randomly selecting a hexagram for you..."

Damn!

This time, Zhao Yu was prepared. As soon as he heard the voice, he focused all his attention and tried to remember every word.

"Hexagram Dui Xun! Dui represents marsh, Xun represents wind. Smooth sailing, a peaceful and prosperous life, harmonious with heaven and earth, success in geomancy."

After saying this, the voice stopped abruptly. Despite Zhao Yu's efforts to remember, he only managed to recall the words "Dui Xun" and "smooth sailing."

Especially the last four words made Zhao Yu feel very comfortable. It seemed that this hexagram was a good one. Although he didn't fully understand, he instinctively thought of the I Ching hexagrams.

Could it be that the encounter system operates based on the principles of the I Ching? If so, he should study it well. If he encounters a bad hexagram, he should be mentally prepared.