Mad Detective
[Author: Kuang Hai Wang Hu]
[TL: Spades]
[PR: Blitz]
[QC: Lumi]
Chapter 18 — The Plague God Arrives
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Within the Major Crimes Unit, beneath the surface of harmony, fierce competition simmered.
Bureau rules stated that, except for major cases requiring both teams, regular cases were assigned to either Team A or Team B.
With two teams, rivalry was inevitable. The team with the higher solve rate earned not just bragging rights but also a hefty year-end performance bonus, significantly outstripping the other.
Thus, to outdo each other, detectives pushed hard on every case, and the team leaders, openly and covertly, went all out.
In previous years, the teams were neck-and-neck, evenly matched.
But since Qu Ping took over Team B, things changed drastically. With her vast experience and stellar leadership, she cracked tough cases repeatedly, leaving Team A in the dust within a year.
Last year, Team B's detectives each pocketed an extra 5,000 yuan in bonuses, leaving them ecstatic!
This year, Team B surged ahead early, cementing a commanding lead over Team A.
Under this pressure, Team A's leader, Mao Wei, felt the heat. Despite his efforts, he couldn't match Qu Ping. In a chase, he fell from a building, landing in the hospital.
With Mao Wei out, Deputy Captain Liu Changhu took temporary charge of Team A. But since Liu wasn't paid by Team A, he had little interest in boosting their solve rate, often handing high-value cases to Qu Ping.
This left Team A demoralized, their spirits crushed like defeated roosters, unable to lift their heads.
Qu Ping's stellar performance earned her favor with the higher-ups, who entrusted her with major joint cases, even putting Team A under her command.
Qu Ping was riding high, full of ambition. But then, out of nowhere, Zhao Yu stole the spotlight in the Electric Baton Case.
Somehow, this guy's freakish luck nabbed the culprit before her team could cast their net! Worse, Zhao Yu was from Team A!
Though both teams shared credit on joint cases, Zhao Yu's coup stung Qu Ping's pride, leaving her so frustrated she could barely eat.
Then, within a day, the Hand-Chopping Case resurfaced. Qu Ping seized the chance, rallying her team like a tireless machine, diving into action.
She was no stranger to this case. It was why she'd been transferred from a county bureau to Major Crimes.
Yet, as her first case, her failure to solve it had always gnawed at her.
With the culprit striking again, she was thrilled, vowing to catch them, not just for justice but to prove herself!
For days, she and her team worked tirelessly, gathering heaps of new evidence and making progress. But the mysterious culprit remained shrouded in fog, impossible to pin down.
Staring at the whiteboard crammed with data, Qu Ping had a gut feeling, the key to cracking the Hand-Chopping Case was right there. If she could pierce that veil and find the critical clue, the culprit would surface.
But just as she and her team racked their brains for that breakthrough, Zhao Yu, the plague god, showed up again.
After she'd fobbed him off with a box of irrelevant files, he drifted back like a ghost.
Zhao Yu, hands behind his back, belly out, sauntered around Team B's office like a boss inspecting, ignoring their hostile glares.
"Zhao Yu!?" Qu Ping snapped, "What now? Here to mess things up? Didn't I give you all the files you asked for?"
Years of rivalry had bred tension between Teams A and B. Though just a wall apart, they rarely mingled. Seeing Zhao Yu's sneaky demeanor, Team B went on high alert, eyeing him like a thief, fearing he'd swipe intel or sabotage something!
"Nothing, heh, nothing!" Zhao Yu grinned cheekily at Qu Ping, "Keep working, just letting whoever know, that BMW traffic cam footage they offered, I don't need it! Got too many files already, swamped, heh… that's all, carry on… I'm off, no need to see me out!"
With that, he strolled out leisurely.
For some reason, as his figure vanished, Team B's detectives felt a wave of relief, even Qu Ping exhaling deeply.
Back at his desk, Zhao Yu giggled like the Monkey King spotting peaches, unable to stop. Team A thought his madness had worsened.
They had no idea, his jaunt to Team B's office wasn't for fun, he'd planted a listening device!
This was the Major Crimes Unit, equipped with bug detectors aplenty. But Zhao Yu's device, a top-tier invisible bug from the system, was undetectable!
Standing in Team B's office, he'd mentally deployed the invisible listening device, easily attaching it to their whiteboard.
The entire process and equipment were invisible to everyone but him!
Once set, a mental switch appeared in his mind. Flipping it on, he could hear Team B's conversations crystal clear.
Heh heh heh…
Zhao Yu smirked inwardly, Team Leader Qu, bet you didn't see this coming! Call it one foot of virtue, ten feet of mischief, you can't guard against me!
He hadn't planned to use his first system gadget on his own people. But they forced his hand, who told them to look down on me?
Heh heh heh…
Listening to Team B's chatter, Zhao Yu buzzed with excitement. He schemed, once Qu Ping's team identified a suspect or locked onto the culprit, he'd strike first, nab them before her, and pull off a massive, hijack!!