Chapter 13: Pursuit Across a Thousand Miles (1)

“What can I do? They must have left illegally; the last footage shows them at the East Port cargo terminal. That was all in the early hours of the operation. How am I supposed to find them now?” Wang Zhengang replied with a trace of dissatisfaction.

“Master… should I give it a try?” Xiao Ke’ai whispered, poking Wu Zui’s arm with her index finger.

“Are you confident?” Wu Zui looked at Xiao Ke’ai and asked.

She shook her fluffy little head, somewhat dejected. “No… but I can give it a shot!”

“All right. Do you still need their mugshots?” Wu Zui asked, his eyes holding a glimmer of hope.

“Yes… and preferably their approximate landing sites. Otherwise, it’ll be a lot of work!” Xiao Ke’ai nodded, addressing Wu Zui.

“Chief Wang, do you have their photos? And the main routes used at that smuggling point?” Wu Zui glanced at his phone; Wang Zhengang hadn’t yet hung up, so he asked.

“I have the photos, and there are several routes. I’ll send them to your phone shortly. Try your luck first!” Wang Zhengang’s voice came through the phone.

“Okay!”

Wu Zui responded, exchanged some details with Wang Zhengang, and then hung up.

“Master, my laptop is broken! I need to go get the backup one!” Xiao Ke’ai said, slightly embarrassed. Her laptop was left in the dessert shop, now ruined along with the riot shield.

Wu Zui cast a glance at a small, black box left behind by Ming Rou Rou, and quietly pocketed it while Xiao Ke’ai was distracted. Then he said to her, “I’ll go with you.”

“Master, the doctor said you need to stay in the hospital for at least two weeks!” Xiao Ke’ai shook her head in disagreement. In her mind, you should obey the doctor when in the hospital.

“Don’t worry, I’m tough!”

Wu Zui opened the little box, revealing a familiar white tablet inside. He swallowed it, then addressed Xiao Ke’ai.

“Master, what did you just take? You shouldn’t eat things randomly!” Xiao Ke’ai hadn’t seen what Wu Zui held, but he swallowed it so quickly.

“Mint candy! Want one?” Wu Zui said offhandedly.

“Yes!” Xiao Ke’ai replied with surprising firmness.

“Oh, there’s none left!” Wu Zui shook the little black box, then answered in a deliberately irritating tone.

“Hmph!” Xiao Ke’ai snorted angrily, feeling Wu Zui was teasing her.

“Be good. Time to be discharged! The case isn’t over yet!” Wu Zui sat up quickly, patting Xiao Ke’ai on the shoulder.

“Hmm…” Xiao Ke’ai was surprised by Wu Zui’s sudden agility; he seemed much more nimble than before, when even lifting a hand caused him to grimace. But clever as she was, she didn’t ask further.

[Adrenaline really is useful. Maybe I should stock up more?]

Wu Zui thought to himself as he stepped off the hospital bed.

His body was unlike others’. Normally, after taking or injecting adrenaline, most people experience strong side effects once the drug wears off. But after Wu Zui ingested adrenaline, his damaged cells recovered quickly, with no side effects at all.

[Little health-restoring pills, nice!]

Ming Rou Rou was aware of Wu Zui’s secret, which was the source of her interest in him. Otherwise, someone who preferred dissecting corpses wouldn’t pay any attention to Wu Zui, that wooden block!

Soon, Wu Zui and Xiao Ke’ai returned to their respective hospital rooms, changed into their own clothes, and left the patient gowns behind. They slipped out of the hospital like a pair of crafty thieves.

“Master, doesn’t hospitalization count as a work injury? Shouldn’t the Bureau reimburse us?” Xiao Ke’ai, now in the driver’s seat of her car, looked at Wu Zui with confusion.

“Of course, but they wouldn’t let me discharge myself. They’d just keep asking questions, which would be a hassle. So we have to sneak out. Anyway, the Bureau’s paying!” Wu Zui replied with practiced ease, suggesting he’d done this more than once.

Xiao Ke’ai drove them to her home. She fetched her backup laptop and asked Wu Zui, “Master, any news yet?”

“Not yet. Let’s wait.” Wu Zui glanced at his phone; Wang Zhengang hadn’t sent the photos and routes yet.

“Where did you learn your computer skills?” Wu Zui asked idly, since there was nothing else to do.

“Self-taught! Just browsed some books and picked it up!” Xiao Ke’ai tilted her head, then uttered something so unexpected it could make anyone choke.

[Is it really so easy to become a computer expert these days?]

While Wu Zui was still puzzled, his phone chimed; Wang Zhengang’s message had arrived, containing photos of five individuals and three smuggling routes.

Wu Zui frowned at the three routes: one headed south across the sea to an island nation, another went to Qinghai City, from where one could travel overland to Maple Leaf Country, and the last led to a domestic island.

Two of the routes might involve cross-border investigations—what a headache…

While Wu Zui was troubled, Xiao Ke’ai had already studied the routes and started typing away. Using a multitude of botnet computers, she successfully hacked into the personal surveillance systems of two other countries.

She pulled nearly two days’ worth of footage from every camera near the endpoints of the three smuggling routes, whether used for security, traffic, or private purposes. The computer then began automatically cross-referencing the five individuals’ photos.

As Xiao Ke’ai hummed a familiar tune, the bunny ears on her laptop swayed to the rhythm. Wu Zui felt a rare calm settle in his heart. He never expected that the one who escaped was Brother Tian, the killer of Liao Yan’s family.

[They fled the very day! Such vigilance!]

Wu Zui brewed two cups of coffee, handing one to the hard-working Xiao Ke’ai and keeping the other for himself. Not being skilled with computers, all he could do was watch surveillance footage flash across her screen.

Time slipped away like sand through clenched fingers. Wu Zui had already drunk five or six cups of coffee, but he didn't urge Xiao Ke’ai to hurry; he knew comparing so many videos was no easy task.

Just as Wu Zui was on his seventh cup, Xiao Ke’ai stretched, then said happily, “Master, I caught their tail! Right here!”

Wu Zui followed her finger to the screen; it was the only smuggling route that hadn’t crossed the border. Was it a matter of insufficient funds? How fortunate!

“Good! Let’s get ready to leave. Rest here for now; I’ll apply for cross-district investigation authorization. Once I’m back, we head to Mingzhu Island.” Wu Zui addressed the weary Xiao Ke’ai.

“Master, I’ll go with you! I’m a patrol detective, so I can work across districts. If I transfer you first, it’ll be faster than you applying for cross-district authorization yourself!”

Xiao Ke’ai pulled out a lollipop from somewhere and popped it in her mouth—orange flavor, by the look of it. Its sweetness made her eyes curl into crescent moons.

“…All right! Brother Tian must be caught. That’s my promise!” Wu Zui declared firmly. He was a man of his word; since he’d promised Tiger to avenge him, he wouldn’t let the culprit escape.

“Okay! Master, I’ll pack some clothes. Wait a moment!” Xiao Ke’ai dashed into her room, returned within ten minutes with a suitcase in tow.

“That was fast!” Wu Zui remarked, surprised; he’d expected Xiao Ke’ai to spend ages picking and choosing.

“Was it? Let’s go, Master!” Xiao Ke’ai tilted her head in puzzlement, then stopped thinking about it, dragging Wu Zui toward the adjacent Detective Bureau.

At the entrance, several people greeted them.

“Wu, going all out again? Should rest more… Hello, Sister Xiao!”

“Sister Xiao’s back? Why not take a longer break?”

“Sister Xiao, welcome back!”

…

“When did you become so popular?” Wu Zui looked at Xiao Ke’ai’s bewildered face, curious.

“I don’t know, Master!” Xiao Ke’ai was equally clueless as to why the detectives were suddenly so enthusiastic—or even respectful.

They headed straight for Wang Zhengang’s office. Although just the deputy director, Wang Zhengang had the authority to sign off on cross-district investigations. Being decisive and efficient, he wouldn’t cause delays.

Sure enough, once Xiao Ke’ai and Wu Zui found Wang Zhengang, he quickly approved Wu Zui’s cross-district investigation request and contacted the Mingzhu Island Detective Bureau for assistance. With this, Brother Tian would find it nearly impossible to escape.

“Wu Zui, take care! It’s not like here. Even with cooperation granted, their local cases take priority. Do you understand what I mean?” Wang Zhengang reminded Wu Zui.

“Got it! So naggy. Do I look like someone who needs backup?” Wu Zui took the authorization from Wang Zhengang.

“You’d better stay at the Bureau. You’re still injured; it could be dangerous if something happens.” Wu Zui turned to Xiao Ke’ai, who still wore bandages, looking a bit awkward.

“Master, you’re abandoning me after crossing the river! Can’t you take me along?” At first, Xiao Ke’ai was unhappy, but she remembered her promise to Wu Zui and pleaded with big, watery eyes.

“This…” Wu Zui saw the golden-white aura still atop Xiao Ke’ai’s head and thought that nothing life-threatening should occur this time. But her hand was still bandaged, and he hesitated.

“Go together. You can cover for each other, and a man and a woman make it easier to conceal your identities,” Wang Zhengang said, a mischievous smile flashing in his eyes before his expression turned stern.