Mad Detective
[Author: Kuang Hai Wang Hu]
[TL: Spades]
[PR: Blitz]
[QC: Lumi]
Chapter 10 — A Bet Born from Cursing
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To Liu Changhu's provocation, Zhao Yu just flicked his eyes up and spat out four words, "None, of, your, business!"
He tried to walk away, but Liu Changhu blocked him again.
"Hold it!" Liu pulled out a form and waved it in Zhao Yu's face. "Zhao Yu, I'm a straight shooter. You didn't sign in all day, didn't request leave from any superior, and showed up half an hour late to the case briefing. Per regulations, I'm marking you down for one absence!"
"Pfft…"
Zhao Yu thought it was some big deal. An absence? Who cares? He gave Liu a dismissive glance, too lazy to bother.
But to Li Beini and others nearby, this was shocking. In the police station, being marked absent was rare because the consequences were severe!
Since Major Crimes detectives often worked field assignments and overtime, their attendance wasn't tracked by simple clock-ins. Instead, team leaders recorded attendance and balanced it with overtime, granting flexible leave in a humane system.
Zhao Yu was in Team A, and their leader, Mao Wei, was hospitalized with severe injuries, so Liu Changhu, the deputy captain, was temporarily handling Team A's attendance.
Normally, attendance was lenient, with absences or leave requests treated as human nature unless an emergency arose. Nobody nitpicked.
But today, Liu was clearly gunning for Zhao Yu, slapping him with an absence.
In most workplaces, an absence might be minor, but in the police force, it was a matter of discipline. The penalties were harsh: one absence cost a month's performance bonus and disqualified you from the year's outstanding detective award; two absences triggered a station-wide notice; three, and you were kicked out of Major Crimes.
The stakes were high, and Liu's move was blatant retaliation.
But he wasn't done. Liu pulled out another sheet, grinning, "Oh, and yesterday, during your little tantrum, you smashed a team computer monitor. Here's the invoice, 1,800 yuan! I checked with the higher-ups, and they all agree, you're paying for it. Settle up with the finance department later… hey…"
Seeing Zhao Yu's hand drift toward the coffee cup, Liu jumped back, "Watch your manners! Try acting crazy again, and I'll report you for assault. The office is full of cameras, don't do anything stupid…"
"Captain Liu!" Li Beini couldn't take it anymore, her face tight as she snapped, "We all saw what happened last night. Officer Zhao didn't break the computer!"
"Who else then?" Liu thrust his neck out like a fighting rooster. "If he hadn't gone nuts, would the computer have gotten smashed?"
"Exactly!" a young detective chimed in. "If Zhao Yu hadn't shoved me, I wouldn't have hit the computer! He's gotta pay!"
"Right!" Several others stepped up beside Liu, backing him up. The office crackled with tension.
"Heh heh heh…" Faced with this, Zhao Yu just laughed. He gently set down the coffee cup and stepped up to Liu, eerily calm, "Deputy Captain Liu, we've got a saying back home, leave a little room in all things, makes it easier to meet again. You really wanna burn this bridge today?"
"Hmph! You're the one with no respect!" Liu raised an eyebrow, doubling down. "I just don't like you, what about it?"
"Fine!" Zhao Yu grinned, "I, Zhao Yu, fear nothing and nobody. Since you're begging for a fight, let's see who's tougher, you or your grandpa here!"
"You…" Liu was stunned by the insult, taking a moment to roar, "You little thug, who're you trying to scare? I'm a Major Crimes captain, think I'm afraid? I'll bury you!"
"Bring it!" Zhao Yu smirked, whistling playfully, "No zuo, no die! I've got nothing to lose, so come at me! Let's see if I pay that 1,800 for the monitor. Oh, and if you dare mark me absent, better keep an eye on your kid's little butt, your family grave, make sure it doesn't get dug up. Check your wife's closet too, see if there's a green hat waiting, you…"
Zhao Yu's tirade left Liu dumbfounded and the other detectives gobsmacked. They'd never seen a purebred street thug's rant like this, leaving them frozen, speechless.
When he finished, Zhao Yu was cool as ever, while Liu was so livid his face turned green, practically on the verge of a heart attack.
"Zhao Yu, you, you little punk…" Liu panted, never expecting Zhao Yu to be not just hot-tempered but a master at cursing.
Zhao Yu smirked, ready to taunt Liu further, when the office door slammed open. Captain Jin Zhenbang stormed in, face dark, and bellowed, "What is this? What is this? You're all on the same team, with a case on our hands, the public waiting for us to catch the culprit, and you're bickering like this? Is this the image of the people's police?"
Jin's fury silenced the room. No one dared utter a word.
"Zhao Yu!" Jin roared at him, "I've heard about your antics. You're too impulsive, young man. You need perspective, got it? Stop picking fights and cursing, it's embarrassing! Now…"
Pointing at Liu, Jin continued, "Xiao Liu, cancel Zhao Yu's absence. Our team hasn't had an absence in over a decade. If the chief hears, where's my face gonna go?"
"But, Captain…" Liu protested.
"Enough!" Jin's thunderous glare shut Liu up. Turning to Zhao Yu, he said, "As for the computer, you can't dodge that. You damaged public property for personal reasons, you've gotta pay!"
Liu's face lit up with a nasty grin.
Zhao Yu clenched his fist, about to snap something like, "Pay your grandma's leg!" but Jin raised a hand first, "However, I'm a fair man. Your work on the Electric Baton Case blew me away! So, let's make a bet. If you can crack this Hand-Chopping Case, I'll cover the computer's cost!"
What?
Zhao Yu blinked, stunned that the old man would propose a bet.
"Captain, no, no!" Liu's eyes gleamed, jumping in, "Don't trouble yourself with this bet. I'll take it! If Zhao Yu solves the Hand-Chopping Case within the deadline, I'll pay for the computer!"
Huh?
Damn it!
Zhao Yu never backed down from a challenge. He slammed the table, "Deal, Liu! It's on! Within one week, I'll catch the Hand-Chopping Case culprit, no question!"