Lure the Snake from Its Hole

"With the ironclad evidence right in front of her, she seized the loophole that the toxins had suddenly appeared in her body and that no one had concrete proof, trying to wipe the slate clean and escape the law's net. That was nothing but a pipe dream. Sooner or later, I'll make her show her true colors!"

Miao Ruolan said, "And then? In a case like hers, how many years would she get?"

"Sentence her? That's another new problem. Even if we confirm that she poisoned someone, it would actually be difficult to pin a crime on her. The three closest charges would be poisoning, endangering public safety, and intentional injury, but once you examine them closely, none of them holds up..."

The legal definition of poisoning was putting poison into publicly used water sources, food, drinking pools, and the like. But she had smeared the toxin on her own 'private place.' There was definitely water there, but heaven and earth bore witness—it certainly was not a public drinking pool.

Endangering public safety was even more of a stretch. No matter how you spun it, that place of hers had nothing to do with "the public."

Intentional injury was a little more elusive. Intentional injury required a clear target of harm. She had poisoned her own private place and slept with Wang Changfa. If Wang Changfa had been her target, intentional injury might have applied. But the strange thing about this poison was that it could not harm Wang Changfa. Instead, it used Wang Changfa's thing to harm other women.

To sum it up, the times had advanced, criminal methods had taken on ever more bizarre forms, and old legal provisions could no longer adapt to new criminal circumstances. Perhaps it was necessary to keep pace with the times...

The two women sat there analyzing and lamenting for a while...

Lin Xiaosu sat beside them, watching with a smile. He liked seeing Miao Ruolan improve. For now, he could support their little shop on his own, but he could not stay trapped here forever. Sooner or later, Miao Ruolan would have to set out on her own path too.

From the looks of things, she was improving quickly.

"Hey, Great Detective Lin, say something already. I think we've walked into a dead end," Zhou Mei said.

Lin Xiaosu smiled. "You know it's a dead end, yet you keep butting your heads against it. Are you stupid? When you hit a dead end in real life, the smartest thing to do is change direction!"

"Change direction? How?"

Lin Xiaosu said, "I've been thinking about two questions. First, since P39 specifically targets women, why wasn't that woman herself harmed?"

A peculiar expression appeared in Zhou Mei's eyes. "I never told you the results of that woman's examination, did I? How did you know she hadn't been harmed? Through a glass Window, you could observe every nook and cranny? Your eyesight really is godlike!"

Ahem...

Lin Xiaosu's throat felt a little itchy...

Listen to that—every nook and cranny, observed thoroughly...

Zhou Mei gave a soft smile and answered the question. "There was an inhibitory component in the woman's blood. Was it an antibody naturally carried in her genes, or had she taken an antidote beforehand? Naturally, we lean toward the latter, but she still refuses to admit it."

Lin Xiaosu said, "The human body is most wondrous. There are indeed cases of natural antibodies, but I don't believe something with such low odds would suddenly fall on her head. So we can only lean toward her having taken an antidote in advance. That leads to a new question... You also said this toxin had only just been entered into the police database. Theoretically, it would be difficult to find an antidote on the market. So where did her antidote come from?"

Zhou Mei was startled...

Lin Xiaosu said, "And there's a second question. Does P39 really do no harm to men?"

"According to our current analysis, P39 only interacts with chromosomes unique to women. You... what have you thought of?"

Lin Xiaosu said, "According to the records, Wang Changfa was forty-nine. A forty-nine-year-old man, if he kept himself clean and hadn't worn himself hollow through debauchery, would probably have a normal sex life about once a week. But Wang Changfa wasn't that type. He had a whole heap of mistresses; theoretically, he should have been drained dry long ago. Yet this guy was remarkably virile. Around ten the night before last, he had a round with that woman. After returning home, he even caught Zhuang Mengdie and had another round. Yesterday, as soon as he got off work, he hurried to the villa in a fever and got to it again. He even started before he'd finished washing in the bathroom. Why?"

The moment Miao Ruolan heard this topic, her face reddened and her heart raced so hard she nearly went upstairs.

But she held herself back, because she knew that Lin Xiaosu was not being suggestive. At its core, this was a serious analysis of the case.

Zhou Mei said, "You mean this poison actually affects men too? The effect is that it keeps men continuously excited?"

Lin Xiaosu nodded. "Let's return to your original premise. P39 is a drug! Even if it's a new type of drug, its nature is still that of a drug! Don't you think this abnormal excitement itself is a typical drug reaction?"

Zhou Mei's heart leaped. "Maybe the direction we set at the beginning was wrong after all! That woman's real target may have been Wang Changfa! She was cultivating Wang Changfa's dependence on this new drug."

Drugs required a cultivation period.

What sort of people were suitable for cultivation?

Rich people!

Wang Changfa was worth hundreds of millions. Once he became addicted to this poison, he would not be able to leave the source behind. As long as the other side controlled the supply, why would they worry that his hundreds of millions in wealth would not become theirs?

With ordinary drugs, someone like Wang Changfa would have channels to replenish his supply. But with a new drug, nowhere else had it; only they had the goods. Even if they demanded a sky-high price, Wang Changfa could only submit.

She seemed to have touched upon the true core of this case.

She had touched it only because Lin Xiaosu had reminded her, because he had peeled back the cocoon and drawn out the threads layer by layer...

"Don't jump to conclusions yet. I have a feeling this case isn't as simple as we imagined!" Lin Xiaosu said. "Let the bullets fly for a while. For now..."

His voice stopped.

His gaze turned toward the street outside.

The sun had already set, and the city lights were just coming on.

Under the streetlamps, a red limited-edition car came speeding over.

Zhuang Mengdie's car.

Zhuang Mengdie got out, entered the detective agency, and smiled elegantly. "Detective Lin, our case has been concluded. I came specially to settle the remaining payment!"

"Fine. Ruolan, settle up with Sister Zhuang. Zhou Mei and I are going out for a walk..." Lin Xiaosu left the shop. A trace of complicated emotion flickered in Zhou Mei's eyes, but she still followed him.

Ahead was the pedestrian street. One side of it was the street, the other Yishui Bund. The streetlamps glowed dimly. There was no moon in the sky, only a few stars scattered across the rippling surface of the Yishui River. But dark clouds were rolling together overhead, as though rain was coming.

"When you walked out of the shop, did you notice a pair of resentful eyes stabbing you in the back?" Zhou Mei's voice came from behind him.

"Resentful eyes? What do you have to be resentful about?" Lin Xiaosu turned sideways.

"Quit playing dumb! Let me tell you, Miao Ruolan is an Ancient Martial Arts inheritor. Her punches hurt like hell..." Zhou Mei hurried two steps forward. "Hey, how much did you make from this commission?"

"Made... a little hard-earned money!"

"Hard-earned my ass! You climbed a willow tree to watch a woman bathe. One look might earn you ten thousand or more. How are people who pay to watch stripteases supposed to feel?"

Ten thousand or more?

Why not multiply that by ten?

Naturally, Lin Xiaosu did not provoke her, so he would rather be beaten to death than reveal the actual amount of the commission.

"Actually, you weren't the only one who gained from this. I gained something too!" Zhou Mei said.

"Hm? What did you gain?"

"A new drug, the first case in the country. My superiors gave me two choices: take a ten-thousand-yuan reward, or make the police star on my shoulder shine brighter... On one side was the thrill of real gold and silver; on the other was the fulfillment of a dream. Hey, if it were you, which would you choose?"

"Only children make multiple-choice questions! Adults... take them all!" Lin Xiaosu declared grandly.

Zhou Mei shot him a sidelong glare, then laughed, bending forward and backward with laughter.

Lin Xiaosu watched her with a smile. "Actually, you can take them all too!"

"What do you mean?"

"For example, this time you choose the ten thousand yuan, use it to treat us to a meal, and splurge until the money is dead. Then next time, you can ride an even greater achievement and pluck the shining police star from your shoulder!"

Zhou Mei automatically ignored the obvious self-serving half of what he had said...

"Next time, an even greater achievement... such as?"

"Such as sweeping away in one net the drug syndicate that has entrenched itself in Phoenix City for years and stretches across three provinces!"

Zhou Mei stopped dead.

Her foot landed in a small pit in the sidewalk.

Behind Lin Xiaosu stood a kapok tree. His entire body was hidden in the tree's shadow, with only his eyes gleaming with the light of wisdom.

"What's your plan?" Zhou Mei let out a soft breath.

"Lure the snake from its hole!"

"When? How?"

"Tonight! This is how we'll do it!" Lin Xiaosu said.

Light flickered in Zhou Mei's eyes. "Using yourself as bait?"

"That's the real reason I didn't bring Ruolan out tonight!"

If Miao Ruolan were by his side, those people would not dare make a move. Throughout the investigation, he and Miao Ruolan had been inseparable, never giving them an opportunity.

But tonight, he was creating that opportunity!

An unreadable expression appeared in Zhou Mei's eyes. "You think that in those people's eyes, a proper police officer like me is no match for an Ancient Martial Arts inheritor?"

If Miao Ruolan followed him, the other side would not move.

If she followed him, the other side would move.

Who exactly were you looking down on?

Lin Xiaosu smiled. "Of course you won't do either! At the intersection ahead, we'll split up. Go back and make your preparations."

"You're sure they've been hiding in the shadows all this time and will make a move at any moment?"

"I am!"

"One last question..." Zhou Mei said. "If the enemy suddenly attacks, can you... can you react in time? You really won't mess this up?"

Lin Xiaosu scratched his head and asked a question from the depths of his soul. "...If I mess this up, would I count as a martyr? Would the state give me compensation?"

"No! Not a single cent!" Zhou Mei said with a stern face. She did not like hearing such jokes.

"Not even compensation? Then I can only make sure I don't mess up."

At the intersection ahead, Zhou Mei crossed the street, returned to the detective agency, got into her car, and drove away.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiaosu strolled along Yishui Bund in boredom.

Overhead, clouds rolled and unfurled, gradually covering the starlight.

The waves of the Yishui River seemed to grow more urgent.

Pedestrians on the street hurried along, occasionally looking up at the sky.

Several parents pushing children in strollers quickened their pace.

Without realizing it, Lin Xiaosu walked into an alley. It was a shortcut. He seemed to have sensed that heavy rain was coming and wanted to take the shortcut back to the detective agency.