Chapter 117: Go Big or Go Home—Targeting Rose to Strike Straight at the Heart!

At this moment, in Su Ming’s line of sight—

The first person to catch his eye was a petite girl with short, blunt-cut bangs and thick black-rimmed glasses. Her looks were unremarkable, and she appeared to be in her early twenties at most. On the table in front of her lay a massive book—Criminal Behavioral Psychology: Theory and Practice.

The second person gave off a distinctly kind and amiable first impression. His eyes were so small they were almost invisible, and his features were completely devoid of any aggression. Yet, at a glance, one would instinctively peg him as a nice guy—someone honest and easygoing. He was a young male officer.

The third person wore a camouflage uniform of a military officer. His posture was upright, his gaze sharp and resolute, and his skin was deeply tanned. Though not particularly tall—roughly around 1.7 meters—his fitted uniform and the muscle tone in his arms clearly indicated serious training. He exuded the aura of a hardened soldier.

As for the fourth person—

He clearly seemed out of place. Dressed in a black suit with a crisp white shirt underneath, he lounged comfortably in a conference room chair. His face was obscured by an English gentleman’s hat, as if dozing, yet the black pipe in his mouth betrayed his alertness.

Seemingly aware that others had entered the conference room, the man in the gentleman’s attire removed his hat, revealing a young face that was no older than his early twenties.

…

As everyone entered, Liu Yang stepped up to make introductions. He first introduced Su Ming, Lin Tian, and the others who had just arrived, then moved on to the four others already present.

“This is Lan Jing—Dr. Lan. She specializes in criminal psychology. She studied abroad and, despite looking young, she already holds a PhD in psychology. She’s been with the Capital Public Security Bureau for several years now and has helped solve many cases.”

“This one here is Zheng Hui, Officer Zheng, from the Sichuan Public Security System. He’s incredibly good at gathering clues through in-person visits. The guy can really talk—he’s even infiltrated square-dancing auntie circles to dig up important leads before.”

“And this is our unit’s leader, Guo Ping, Squad Leader Guo. He was temporarily transferred from the elite reconnaissance unit of the Southern Military Region. His job is to handle investigation and counter-surveillance, to ensure our undercover agents aren’t exposed prematurely. Of course, Squad Leader Guo is outstanding across the board.”

“As for this gentleman…”

When it came time to introduce the final member, even the well-spoken Liu Yang seemed at a loss for how to proceed.

Lin Tian stepped in at just the right moment, picking up the thread smoothly.

“Director Liu, if I’m not mistaken, this must be Bai Yu—Detective Bai from Lin’an City, yes?”

“Last year, when I was on a business trip to Lin’an, the criminal investigation captain of Xiaoshan District mentioned Detective Bai to me.”

“There was a homicide case with no leads or breakthroughs. In the end, it was only after Detective Bai visited the CID and shared his theories that the case was finally solved.”

“If I’m remembering correctly, the case was…”

“The West Lake Drowning and Corpse Dumping Case?”

“The murderer turned out to be a failed recruit from a drug trafficking ring. By the time he was found, he’d already jumped into the lake and committed suicide.”

At this point, Bai Yu removed the pipe from his mouth and set it on the table. He sounded both helpless and slightly annoyed.

“That case was two years ago.”

“I had just turned eighteen then. I was legally an adult, dropped out of school on my own, and founded my private detective agency.”

“In order to build a name for myself and attract business, I dug into that drowning case. With limited information, I managed to infer a critical lead.”

“I immediately called the Xiaoshan CID, but they didn’t take me seriously.”

“In the end, I had to go there in person and present my deductions—ones they couldn’t refute. Only then did they follow my reasoning and track down the killer.”

“If I’d gotten there earlier, who knows what valuable intel we could’ve gotten from that guy before he killed himself. Maybe things wouldn’t have turned out as messy as they did.”

“Oh, and I’m now an official external member of the Xiaoshan Criminal Investigation Division. I’ve gone through strict political screening and registration, so no need to worry about my background.”

A private detective?

Recruited into the police force for his exceptional investigative skills?

That alone said plenty about Bai Yu’s abilities—and it also showed that the CID valued real talent above all else.

Lin Tian nodded slightly. As the head of the special task force, he had known in advance that these four would be joining. He’d simply helped ease Bai Yu into the situation.

Still, he couldn’t help his curiosity. Looking at Bai Yu, he asked with some confusion,

“Detective Bai, judging by what you just said, you’re only around twenty now?”

“And without attending police academy or receiving formal training, how did you acquire so much knowledge about crime and investigations?”

Bai Yu shrugged nonchalantly and replied without the slightest arrogance,

“Team Leader Lin, just call me Xiao Bai.”

“If I told you I learned how to investigate crimes just by watching Conan, Sherlock Holmes, Se7en, and Journey Under the Midnight Sun, would you believe me?”

“Then I started going over publicly available case files, thinking about them from real-world perspectives. You don’t need formal education to solve crimes—just logic and observation.”

“Sherlock Holmes is my idol. My outfit is an homage to him—and it makes me look more mature, helps clients trust me.”

“This time, I’m here to do my best, help out with the case, and learn everything I can.”

At that moment, Bai Yu suddenly turned to Su Ming, eyes flickering with curiosity and confusion.

“Because right now, I’m really wondering something.”

“Deputy Team Leader Su—how did you manage to track down the killer from the dismemberment case at Magic Capital University twenty years ago, just from those tiny clues?”

“A sculptor who killed for inspiration—and it happened two decades ago. The difficulty of solving something like that is unimaginable.”

As those words fell, the other three members of the task force who had arrived earlier all turned their attention toward Su Ming, curious.

They didn’t understand how Su Ming had managed to find Zhou Shirui.

Even more puzzling…

How could someone as young as Su Ming be exceptionally promoted to deputy team leader of the task force?

Facing their curious stares, Su Ming simply smiled, unfazed, squinting his eyes as he answered easily,

“It’s actually quite simple.”

“You just need to switch perspectives. The best detective is also the best criminal.”

“And now—”

“Other than Director Liu, all of us here are members of the task force.”

“There’s one more thing I need to tell you.”

“Our first target won’t be the ‘Poison’ in Gusu City.”

“It’ll be Rose, hidden in Liangxi City.”

“I plan to take down this entire drug trafficking ring in one fell swoop—by targeting Rose, one of their key members, and striking at the heart as fast as possible!”

With that declaration, everyone except Lin Tian and Xu Changsheng—who were already in the loop—froze for a moment, visibly surprised and confused…