A Case Difficult to Speak Of

Upon arriving at the detective agency, Lin Xiaosu caught a whiff of a pleasant scent as soon as he entered.

The fragrance was elegant, definitely high-end.

The beautiful middle-aged woman sitting opposite Miao Ruolan was clearly well-endowed, at least in terms of her facial features. In her youth, she would have undoubtedly outshone everyone.

More importantly, her demeanor was dignified and refined, unlike the nouveau riche style of Sister Song.

"Are you Detective Lin?" the beautiful woman asked.

"Yes! And what is your surname, Madam?"

"Zhuang! Zhuang Mengdie!"

"What an elegant name!" Lin Xiaosu said. "Please, tell me about the situation..."

Zhuang Mengdie began to explain...

Her situation was similar to that of most wealthy women.

What they had in common was a life of pampered luxury, with husbands who managed their businesses.

The difference, however, was that she was unlike the others. While others were busy chasing down mistresses and devising ways to deal with them, she had seen through it all. Money was no object in her household, and if her husband wanted to give it to others, so be it. If she enjoyed venting her frustrations on others, that was fine too; she preferred a life of leisure.

Why bother?

Life is fleeting, like a single season for plants. Wasting precious time on such matters was foolish, wasn't it?

However, even when the trees desired stillness, the wind would not cease.

She didn't want to deal with mistresses, but a mistress wanted to deal with her!

There were indications that one of the mistresses intended to kill her.

This was because the mistress believed that she, the legal wife, was blocking her path. If she were eliminated, the mistress would have a chance to become the legitimate wife.

Therefore, her sole purpose in coming to the detective agency was to identify this malicious mistress, deal with her, and make an example of her. She wanted everyone in Fengcheng to understand a fundamental boundary: they could touch her money, but they could not touch her person!

After hearing the case, Miao Ruolan was stunned...

Was she really that enlightened?

Lin Xiaosu smiled. "Sister Zhuang, if you want to find all the mistresses, that would be difficult. If you only want to find one of them, you probably wouldn't need to hire a detective, would you?"

Zhuang Mengdie shook her head gently. "This matter is not as simple as you think. If I wanted to find a mistress, I could find plenty easily. But how would I know which one among this large group harbors such malicious intent?"

Lin Xiaosu's eyes flickered. "Sister Zhuang, perhaps you could tell me how you determined that a mistress intends to harm you? Have any specific actions been taken?"

"This is difficult to talk about, but for the sake of my safety, I must say it..."

Last night, after her husband returned, they had been intimate.

She hadn't paid it much mind at the time, but this morning she felt something was wrong downstairs. It was itchy and tingly. After a check-up by the family doctor, she was shocked to discover it was an extremely contagious gene toxin. The transmission method was simple and direct: contact. Once infected, it would cause severe and stubborn lesions in the genital area, which could be fatal in serious cases.

"Gene toxin?" Lin Xiaosu's heart leaped.

In this day and age, anything related to genes was a sensitive term: Gene People, Gene Modification, Gene Toxin. Others might not know about gene toxins, but he did.

Zhuang Mengdie said, "Yes, this gene toxin was developed in Nanmo Prefecture. Its most peculiar characteristic is that it only transmits from female to female, not from male to female!"

"It combines with a woman's XX chromosome, causing genetic mutations..."

"Detective Lin, do you know about this toxin?" Zhuang Mengdie's eyes lit up.

"I do! If this toxin was indeed administered by one of the mistresses, then the ingenuity of the plan is truly unprecedented," Lin Xiaosu said. "Her target is likely not just you."

Zhuang Mengdie was startled. "That's right! Her target is all the mistresses except herself, plus me, the legal wife!"

She knew her husband well; he was someone who never used protection.

In his dictionary, with all the money they had, what was a few more sons?

When he encountered a mistress and felt the urge, he would act anytime, anywhere – in the office, on a chair, in the car, or outdoors.

So, as long as he contracted this gene toxin, his mistresses and his wife, anyone who came into his sight, would likely be doomed.

This way, his mistresses and his wife would all be caught in one net.

The only one left would be the one who administered the poison!

She could then exclusively possess this billionaire.

While others fought their mistresses openly in the streets, she fought hers using her husband as a weapon, having him personally reduce the number of women in that group.

You tell me, wasn't that brilliant?

Although Miao Ruolan's heart pounded and her face flushed throughout the conversation, she understood clearly. "Madam Zhuang, this case seems quite complicated."

"Indeed! I can offer a high price!" Zhuang Mengdie said. "I heard that your cases start at thirty thousand. I'll offer a hundred thousand. Find this bitch, and I'll make her pay!"

A hundred thousand!

Miao Ruolan's heart raced...

Lin Xiaosu slowly raised his gaze. "Take it! Give me some time!"

The contract was signed, and a deposit of thirty thousand was paid upfront. As Sister Zhuang left the shop, a small red car silently pulled up and merged into the flow of traffic in Fengcheng.

This red car was a limited edition, with a market price well over a million.

"Do you know who her husband is?" Lin Xiaosu slowly raised his gaze.

"Wang Changfa! That name sounds familiar..." Miao Ruolan said.

"It sounds familiar because he occasionally appears on TV and in newspapers!" Lin Xiaosu replied, "He's the boss of Hongxing Pharmaceutical."

"Hongxing Pharmaceutical?" Miao Ruolan picked up her phone and searched.

Indeed, a piece of news appeared in the local reports...

On March 17th, Hongxing Pharmaceutical Company held talks with the city's largest pharmaceutical company, Dell Company, and an initial consensus was reached. Both sides are committed to promoting pharmaceutical collaboration to better serve the entire populace.

Lin Xiaosu glanced over it. "What do you see?"

Miao Ruolan said, "It's written right there, very simple. The two largest local pharmaceutical companies are planning to merge."

Lin Xiaosu chuckled softly. "You've read a pile of detective novels and stuffed your head with professional knowledge, but you need to learn about other things."

"Like what?"

"Like how to understand the news."

Miao Ruolan's eyes widened. "I don't understand this news? That can't be right? It's just a few sentences, a ten-year-old could understand it..."

"You understand the literal meaning, but you don't understand the news!" Lin Xiaosu said. "This is a press release. Press releases are for the public, but as detectives, we need to learn to see the essence through the surface! For example, you see two of the largest pharmaceutical companies joining forces, but what I see is that the two major pharmaceutical companies have deep-seated conflicts."

"Conflicts? Where do you see that?" Miao Ruolan was genuinely confused.

Lin Xiaosu explained, "When two major pharmaceutical companies meet, wouldn't there be discussion topics? Even the smallest item on the agenda that reaches consensus would be mentioned in the press release, but is there? There's no substantive content at all, just empty phrases and clichés. What does that signify? It signifies that despite the grand meeting of the two major pharmaceutical companies, not a single point of consensus was reached. Furthermore, don't overlook that this news is on a government platform..."

Miao Ruolan remained bewildered. "What about the government platform?"

"It means this meeting is being pushed by government departments! For companies to continue developing locally, they generally wouldn't defy government departments. Yet, they stubbornly refused to comply, which is enough to show that their conflicts and disagreements are irreconcilable."

"I'm impressed!" Miao Ruolan said. "After hearing you, I really think it makes a lot of sense."

"Of course, it makes sense!" Lin Xiaosu stood up