SDT 9

Chapter 9  Not even one letter can be changed?

The blackmailer looked tired. He explained, “My stamina isn’t good. I’m not good at running. I usually win with brains.”

Lu Kongyun looked at him leaning against the wall and said nothing.

The blackmailer handed him the red handbag. “Take this back to the beach security office.”

The blackmailer had said earlier that he had planned many activities for today, but he changed his mind at the last minute and canceled everything except for the last one, watching a movie.

Yet he fell asleep during the movie.

Because the movie was loud, he frowned in his sleep, and it didn’t look peaceful.

The blackmailer wasn’t watching the movie, and Lu Kongyun had even less interest. He looked at the sleeping face of the blackmailer and thought he couldn’t let this person keep manipulating him like this. He had real work to do. He couldn’t waste more time. He needed to resolve this big problem quickly and get his life back on track.

At work, for the first time, his mind wandered during hours that should have been focused. He thought about this issue.

Lu Kongyun had someone look into their past connection. The investigator reported that Yu Xiaowen had attended the same middle school as him for half a year but had transferred away due to family reasons. Lu Kongyun tried to remember but couldn’t recall anything special happening during middle school.

According to his file, both his parents had died early, leaving him alone. Maybe that was why, when he started blackmailing the Lu family, he had no hesitation, no fear.

Lu Kongyun leaned back in his chair, interlacing his fingers.

This problem was troublesome.

….

Yu Xiaowen had been in a pretty good mood lately.

But a target who had met with a suspect in an international biochemical case had disappeared right in front of Xu Jie’s eyes. He failed to keep track. During the case analysis meeting, Yu Xiaowen got scolded along with his apprentice.

Back in the office, Xu Jie said gloomily, “Master, it’s my fault. I don’t have experience, but the target’s counter-surveillance was really strong. He kept circling, and then he just vanished. But I think he must’ve gone into the Institute of Life Sciences. But that place belongs to the military, right? Police can’t just go in. So I waited at the front gate. Then…”

Hearing that nonsense made Yu Xiaowen even angrier. He pressed his hand to his forehead, trying to calm down.

“Even if he went into the Institute of Life Sciences, what the hell were you doing waiting at the gate? You think that huge facility only has one entrance?”

“…I forgot.” Xu Jie sounded even more defeated. “No one told me there’s a back gate…”

“You couldn’t check on your phone? If you opened a rideshare app, you’d see every gate instantly.” Yu Xiaowen looked up at the ceiling hopelessly. “Jie, you’re the kind of guy who, if I gave you a pancake and put it around your neck, you’d eat only the front. You’d starve before realizing you could turn it.”

“What’re you gonna do in the future?” Yu Xiaowen rubbed his temples.

The team leader appeared at the door, looked at Xu Jie standing stiffly, then at Yu Xiaowen.

“Xiaowen, come with me to the Institute of Life Sciences.”

According to Xu Jie, the target disappeared near that area. But when they checked street cameras, there was no trace.

Yu Xiaowen said, “…Do I have to go?”

“Do you see anyone else free in this office?” The team leader glanced at Xu Jie.

Yu Xiaowen: “…”

“Be formal. Put on your uniform.” The team leader left after saying that.

Yu Xiaowen put on his uniform and holstered his gun. Before leaving, he thought for a moment, opened a drawer, and replaced his inhibitor patch with a dark red one.

He wouldn’t see him. No need. He knew that.

The two arrived at the Military Institute of Life Sciences and presented police documents. The guard glanced down, didn’t move his brows, and kept his eyes forward.

“You need a military pass.”

“I understand.” The team leader smiled. “We have one, of course, but the process is complicated and takes time. Our work can’t wait. Can we use this police document for now? Once the pass is approved, I’ll bring it to you.”

The soldier said, “It’s not my decision.”

The leader said, “Can you call someone who can decide?”

The soldier said, “Call yourself.”

The team leader pulled Yu Xiaowen aside. “Call the bureau chief.”

He called, but no one answered. Probably in a meeting.

“Damn it.” The team leader cursed. He wasn’t good at pretending to be polite for long.

….

Lu Kongyun received another command from the blackmailer that afternoon.

艹: I’m at the Institute of Life Sciences with my colleague. Let us in.

When he first read that the blackmailer was at his workplace, Lu Kongyun was shocked. He couldn’t understand such audacity. But then he thought again. It made sense. The blackmailer already knew Lu Kongyun had investigated him. So he wasn’t trying to hide it, he acted like it was natural.

Ridiculous at first glance. Logical at second.

Apparently, the blackmailer wanted something more than what Lu Kongyun had thought.

Lu Kongyun replied: The Institute of Life Sciences is a classified military department. You need a military pass to enter.

艹: Where am I supposed to get a military pass? I’m just a small police officer.

艹: I don’t have a pass. I only have you.

“…..”

Lu Kongyun decided to go along with it to see what the blackmailer actually wanted from him. He set his phone down and called the security office.

After about twenty minutes, 艹 replied: We’re in.

Lu Kongyun: Took so long I thought you got lost.

艹: I’m not here to see you. I’m working.

艹: I just argued with your security. Tell them to let my colleague check the main gate footage.

Lu Kongyun thought about it, didn’t agree or refuse. Instead, he asked: What case are you investigating?

艹: Can’t tell you. It’s classified.

Lu Kongyun replied: I’m just a researcher. It’s not up to me.

艹: Researchers don’t decide, but Lu family members do.

Lu family.

As expected. No surprise.

After two or three seconds of thought, Lu Kongyun stood up and left his office.

….

Yu Xiaowen stood under a redberry tree outside the security office gate after sending the command message. He put away his phone and waited for results.

The afternoon air was heavy, hot, and damp. The leaves were wilted from the heat, but the redberry flowers bloomed brightly. They were common in Manjing, blooming year-round. When the rain fell, the petals scattered all over the ground. Soon after, the trees bloomed again.

The police uniform felt stiff and tight. He wanted to loosen the collar but couldn’t because the team leader insisted they look “formal and proper.” So he stood under the shade, plucked a flower, bit the stem, and sucked the nectar to cool off.

He shaded his eyes and looked at the sky until he heard footsteps approaching.

He turned and saw Lu Kongyun walking toward him, staring at him.

He froze, spat out the flower, but said nothing.

Lu Kongyun paused for a few seconds, said nothing either, and walked into the security room.

Yu Xiaowen followed him in.

The team leader was still trying to persuade the expressionless guard.

“Military and police are one family. When we visited the Military Department before, they were always cooperative…”

The guard’s iron face softened when he saw who entered. He saluted. “Director Lu.”

“Lu…” the team leader repeated, then stopped mid-word as he realized.

Lu Kongyun looked at the guard. “What’s wrong?”

The guard replied, “These two are from the city bureau’s major crimes unit. They want to check yesterday’s surveillance.”

“Team Leader,” Lu Kongyun said, looking at the team leader.

The team leader hurried to explain. “No, no, not all of it, just the main gate footage.”

Then he turned toward Lu Kongyun, trying to flatter him. “I’ve heard so much about you, Director Lu. So young and capable. I’m Chen Zihan, captain of the major crimes unit.”

He yanked Yu Xiaowen forward. “This is Captain Yu Xiaowen of our third squad. We really hope your institute can cooperate with our investigation. We’ll bring the formal documents as soon as possible.”

Lu Kongyun didn’t look at Yu Xiaowen. He only asked, “What case are you investigating?”

Chen Zihan hesitated. “It’s not convenient to disclose yet… but once we have leads, we may need the institute’s help. We’ll inform you then…”

The soldier immediately mocked, “Can’t disclose the case, but still want our surveillance. Some ‘military-police unity’ that is.”

Yu Xiaowen chuckled and looked at Lu Kongyun.

Chen Zihan panicked and jabbed Yu Xiaowen in the waist. Yu Xiaowen winced and grabbed his hand.

Lu Kongyun looked at them briefly, then said to the guard, “Show them the footage.”

…..

After checking the footage, they found nothing.

That didn’t surprise either Chen Zihan or Yu Xiaowen. A target disappearing that cleanly couldn’t be simple. Even if it involved the institute, it wouldn’t be easy to find.

Chen Zihan, holding in his temper, started the car and swore under his breath.

Then he said, “The Lu family genes really are something. That Lu Kongyun is too good-looking.”

“Good-looking?” Yu Xiaowen said.

Chen Zihan turned on the AC while looking at his phone. Yu Xiaowen tilted his air vent up, he couldn’t afford to catch cold. He saw his fingertips stained red, froze, then looked into the rearview mirror. His lips had a faint red tint, already smudged.

He wiped it with his fingers.

Chen Zihan put down his phone, sounding cheerful again. “Not good-looking? He’s already the director of a major lab at that age. That intelligence, how is that not good?”

“Lu family members are born directors,” Yu Xiaowen said.

“And he didn’t seem as cold as they say. He was surprisingly easy to talk to. It’s like he came just to help us. Weird, right?” Chen Zihan said, confused.

Yu Xiaowen turned to him. “What do the rumors say?”

Chen Zihan said mysteriously, “Once, at an important conference, a single Omega brought a child. The kid kept crying. Then Lu Kongyun looked over once. Just once. And the kid didn’t make another sound the entire time.”

Yu Xiaowen: “……”

He frowned slightly. “But it was a child. Can a child really control himself that much? I think the parent, scared of offending the Lu family, might’ve just…”

He made a gesture.

Chen Zihan: “……………………”

Yu Xiaowen: “Take the child out.”

….

Lu Kongyun returned to his office.

Maybe his original assumption wasn’t right.

He’d planned to keep investigating their shared school history, but now he thought he could set that aside.

“Researchers don’t decide, but Lu family members do.”

So that was it.

That meant even bigger trouble.

He frowned and thought. Then someone knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

A young adjutant from his brother Lu Qifeng’s unit walked in, saluted, and placed a file on the desk.

“The commander asked me to return this and thank you.”

Lu Kongyun glanced at the file. “Okay.”

The adjutant saluted again and left.

Truth Serum Type Ts-4 (Military) Interrogation Record / Experimental Data File. A few days ago, Lu Qifeng’s division had caught several infiltrators from Country M and had borrowed this file from the military Institute of Life Sciences. Now that the case was over, they were returning it.

Lu Kongyun flipped through casually. The contents were familiar, but not the kind of work he needed to perform himself. In practice, he wasn’t as experienced as his brother, who dealt with interrogation all the time.

Interrogation process /

Lie detection data /

Standard interrogation methods /

ABO type differences in truth serum response /

Enhanced interrogation methods and effect comparisons /

His finger paused. One section caught his eye.

Unconventional interrogation methods / (Confidential) Appendix Human Rights Act

Temporary Marking:

Applicable to high-ranking Alpha interrogators and resistant subjects with strong mental strength unaffected by standard serum.

Temporary marking can, under the submissive reaction of the marked, increase the truth serum’s effectiveness. The greater the rank difference between interrogator and subject, the stronger the effect.

He stared blankly at the page. Then his phone vibrated. He opened the message.

艹: Thanks for today.

艹: Come to my place tonight, I’ll thank you properly.

Lu Kongyun looked at the message and didn’t reply.

Two minutes later, another message came.

艹: Order.