Chapter 35: The Strange First Blood

“No way.”
“Impossible…”
“How did I not notice just now?”
“Was I too absorbed?”
“What the hell…”
Chen Yu looked down, feeling the lingering sensation at his fingertips. Only one thought echoed in his mind.
“Damn it, did I just take Liu Hong’s first time?”
This realization crashed through his mind like a bolt of lightning!
Liu Hong, in her early forties.
Wife of Luo Xiangdong, whom she’d been married to for nearly a decade.
And yet… she still had her first time?
How could that be!
Chen Yu’s pupils contracted to their limit in an instant.
Wait!
The clues whirled in his mind, connecting with dizzying speed.
Liu Hong’s bedroom was on the first floor, and here, he could never trigger any memory traces related to Luo Xiangdong.
But Luo Xiangdong’s bedroom was on the second floor!
The couple, who seemed so loving in the eyes of others, actually slept in separate rooms?
Why?
How could someone like Luo Xiangdong resist a woman as stunning as Liu Hong?
Unless…
Chen Yu immediately dismissed the possibility that Liu Hong was pretending.
The affection and longing in her eyes when she saw him disguised as Luo Xiangdong could never be faked.
Her determination and unwillingness to let her deceased husband’s injustice go unpunished were heartfelt and sincere!
So, the problem could only lie in one place.
Luo. Xiang. Dong!
In Chen Yu’s mind, the images he had seen during past traces suddenly flashed before him.
Luo Xiangdong’s thin frame, his unusually pale cheeks, his refined, scholarly demeanor…
A wild idea surged up in his mind, almost driving him mad!
He hesitated no longer, leaping to his feet, barely pausing to straighten his clothes, and rushed out of Liu Hong’s house!
The night was deep, and the street lay empty.
He hailed a passing taxi.
“Driver! City Detective Squad! Hurry!”
…
It was two thirty in the morning, but the city detective squad building was still ablaze with light.

Chen Yu paid the fare and sprinted toward the reception office.
The on-duty staff, seeing his anxious face, hurried out to meet him.
“Comrade, don’t panic. Are you here to report a case?”
“No.” Chen Yu, panting heavily, got straight to the point. “Is Captain Yan here? I need to see Captain Yan Zheng!”
The staff member paused, taking a closer look at him, recognition dawning.
“You… you’re that ‘Zombie Brother,’ aren’t you?”
“That’s me! I have urgent business with Captain Yan!” Chen Yu emphasized, his voice pressing.
This was no time to be engaging with fans.
The staff, realizing he was serious, looked troubled. “Captain Yan has already gone home. He’s not on duty tonight.”
“Can you give me his number?”
“That’s against the rules.” The staff shook his head, but seeing Chen Yu’s genuine urgency, he offered, “How about this—you wait here. Captain Yan’s apprentice, Captain Su Qingzhu, is on duty tonight. I’ll have her come out to see you.”
Chen Yu nodded at once.
Su Qingzhu? That’ll do, as long as someone can get things done!
He couldn’t help but think to himself, Old Yan’s really got some secrets—hiding an apprentice who’s a woman.
Soon, a striking figure emerged from the office building.
She wore a crisp police uniform that highlighted her tall, upright stature and long, slender legs. Her beautiful face was set in a look of professional scrutiny.
So late at night, what could this notorious “Zombie Brother” from the live broadcast possibly want with her mentor?
Chen Yu saw Su Qingzhu from afar, and his eyes lit up.
Well, well!
Inwardly, he was already cursing with glee.
The sly old fox—hiding a beauty in plain sight!
First an undercover “white moonlight,” now a stunningly gorgeous policewoman apprentice?
Old Yan wasn’t just a sly old fox—he was a scoundrel of the highest order!
Chen Yu composed himself, letting his trademark roguish smile spread across his face as he stepped forward.
“Hello, officer. I’m Chen Yu, the special consultant your Captain Yan invited.”
He extended his hand, but stopped short of actually touching her, switching to a polite “after you” gesture instead, his smile playful.
Su Qingzhu frowned slightly at his manner, her eyes cold and openly wary.
So this was the kind of frivolous guy Master spent an entire afternoon discussing cases with in the car?
What a waste of valuable investigation time!
“What is it?” Her voice was crisp and icy, a wall of distance in her tone. “It’s late. Are you here on urgent business for my mentor?”
Chen Yu grinned apologetically. “You’ll do just fine. I need to see a file—the complete case dossier for Luo Xiangdong.”
“You want to see the files?”
Su Qingzhu’s eyes sharpened instantly, like she was sizing up a dangerous suspect.
Case files were top secret—no ordinary civilian could access them.
Even if he’d been a contestant on the show, the broadcast was over—he had no remaining privileges!

Chen Yu caught her attitude and curled his lip.
“Why don’t you call Captain Yan and check? Just tell him it’s me, Chen Yu, and that I need to see the file.”
Su Qingzhu didn’t move. She just looked at him coolly.
“Officer, I’m really in a hurry,” Chen Yu said, dropping his smile and growing serious. “I’m sure when Captain Yan hears about this, he’ll be even more anxious than I am! Or give me his number—I’ll call him myself!”
He felt a pang of regret—after an entire afternoon’s conversation, he’d forgotten to get a contact number.
Of course, it wouldn’t be hard to get it—he could ask Lin Bing or Li Qing.
But that would make too much noise.
“Letting you see the files outright is against the rules!” Su Qingzhu bit her lip, her tone unyielding.
But seeing the genuine gravity in Chen Yu’s eyes, she finally pulled out her phone and dialed a familiar number.
As the phone rang, she couldn’t help but issue a warning.
“You’d better really have something huge. Because if you’re disturbing my mentor’s rest for nothing…”
She didn’t finish her sentence. The call connected.
“Hello, Master, it’s me, Qingzhu.” Su Qingzhu’s voice instantly became respectful.
“Chen Yu is here with me. He says it’s extremely important.”
On the other end, Yan Zheng’s voice was thick with fatigue, but at the mention of Chen Yu’s name, he came sharply awake.
“Let me talk to him!”
Chen Yu took the phone, speaking concisely: “Captain Yan, I need to see all of Luo Xiangdong’s files. Now. Immediately.”
“Have you found something?”
“I’ll know once I see them.”
“Let me talk to my apprentice!”
Yan Zheng, surprisingly, didn’t press for details. This unconditional trust warmed something in Chen Yu’s heart.
Su Qingzhu took the phone, said a few words, and hung up.
She looked at Chen Yu again, shock in her eyes, but her face remained cold as she spat out a few words.
“Follow me.”
As they walked down the silent corridor, Su Qingzhu couldn’t help but add, “My mentor’s retiring in two years. His health isn’t great. Try not to disturb him in the dead of night again.”
“Roger, ma’am!” Chen Yu, playful again, snapped to attention and gave a mock salute.
“Idiot!” Su Qingzhu muttered, picking up her pace.
In the archive room, the lights were dim, the air heavy with the scent of old paper.
The woman on night duty was dozing off, but perked up immediately when she saw Su Qingzhu.
“Hey, could you pull Luo Xiangdong’s full case file for me?”
“Sure thing!”
Soon, a thick manila folder was set down on the table.
The attendant yawned. “Everything on Luo Xiangdong—from birth to death—is all in there.”