Pristine Darkness Chapter 102

Zhu Tao and Bo Jinyan finally meet. It is – in typical fas.h.i.+on – an eventful first meeting, and Jian Yao gets to flex her combat skills once again. We also find out more about the criminal presence at the border. Just what are Jian Yao and Bo Jinyan getting themselves into, this time? Read on to find out more . . .

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Chapter 102

No one expected that there would be trouble before the big event could actually be carried out. A few days earlier, an ambush had been conducted in order to arrest a member of a small gang, but the news was leaked. Several criminal investigators were injured, and the gang leader, a vicious man nicknamed 'Smiling Snake', escaped, while Zhu Tao was also injured. Such an incident set Zhu Tao's natural inclination towards careful deliberation on high alert, and so he had consequently changed the meeting place to this ordinary cafe on a street corner. However, no one thought that the situation today would be like this . . .

Zhu Tao extinguished his cigarette and said, "Let's talk as we walk." He pulled out a banknote and placed it on the table.

Jian Yao nodded.

The three of them quickly exited the cafe. The buildings in this old city were low and built close to each other. Beside the cafe were several small restaurants. Right now, it was noon, and the situation was very bleak – none of the restaurants had any customers. Zhu Tao said in a low voice, "Where is he?" Jian Yao replied, "Come with me." She led them on for a while before stopping at a small restaurant. There was no one at all in the restaurant. Jian Yao led them straight in and up the stairs.

Behind them, on the long street, the rain had stopped. The road was wet and the silhouettes of people flashed past.

As they were going up the stairs, Zhu Tao kept his voice low and asked, "Those three, are they your people?"

Jian Yao replied, "Of course not."

Zhu Tao exchanged glances with his subordinate. He smiled and said, "Well, then, let's go after some easy prey*." Jian Yao saw that the two of them were calm and exuded a powerful aura, and her heart also surged with heroic spirit. She replied, 'Okay."

*T/N 瓮中捉鳖 (weng zhong zhuo bie) – lit. to catch a turtle in a jar; fig. to set oneself an easy target; a turkey shoot

The restaurant was a family-run business owned by a local and Jian Yao had paid in advance for the entire restaurant to be cleared. They walked very quickly to the simple private room right inside, whereupon Jian Yao knocked three times on the door before pus.h.i.+ng it open. The clouds had dissipated and the sun was s.h.i.+ning through the windows, from which could be seen layer upon layer of dilapidated roofs. Bo Jinyan was sitting by the table with a cup of tea by his hand. He heard the sound, but only raised his head a little and frowned slightly, saying, "Someone followed you?"

Jian Yao replied, "Yes, how did you know?"

Bo Jinyan put down his tea cup and got up, allowing Jian Yao to lead him towards the corner from which they would wait in ambush. At the same time, he responded, "I heard your footsteps, and something was not quite right."

These were the circ.u.mstances under which Zhu Tao met the renowned Professor Bo Jinyan for the first time. Although he was blind, he had an absolutely clear and distinct temperament, like someone who was extraordinary. It was clearly a critical time, yet he was not in the least bit fl.u.s.tered and spoke softly to his wife in what seemed to be an intimate moment. Then, he voluntarily moved to hide, in order to avoid causing them trouble.

Zhu Tao observed the two of them, but it was too late to talk in detail, so he simply said, softly, "Professor Bo, we'll first dispatch this trash, then we can have a good talk."

Bo Jinyan was being closely guarded by his wife, behind her back. His expression was calm as he smiled faintly and said, "Very well, Captain Zhu." He then added, "It is an honour to meet you."

Zhu Tao and Jian Yao also smiled.

They had yet to hear the sound of footsteps.

Zhu Tao faced the situation with calm confidence, and even had the leisure to ask Jian Yao, in a low voice, "How did you deduce that?"

Jian Yao replied, "They didn't look right, they were too quiet, and they didn't make eye contact; not at all like usual cafe a.s.sistants. In addition, I observed their hands – they did not have the hands a cafe a.s.sistant should have."

Zhu Tao nodded and said, "Moreover, the coffee they brewed was terrible. The coffee is so expensive, a year ago I actually fished out the money to try it once and it tasted very good. I can still remember the taste clearly."

Jian Yao smiled.

Finally, Zhu Tao asked softly, "Will a.s.sistance be arriving in a while? Is it just the two of you here?"

Jian Yao answered, "Kunming* will send over two special police force members to a.s.sist us in our work."

*T/N 昆明 (Kunming) – the capital of Yunnan in southwest China

Zhu Tao said, "Excellent."

At this point, a faint noise came from the stairs outside the door. They had arrived upstairs.

Everyone fell silent and waited, poised to take action.

Right then, Zhu Tao's expression sharpened so that he looked like a wolf. He grabbed a porcelain bowl off the table and smashed it against the window frame, peng! The crisp sound of fracturing china rang in the air, together with the clatter of the impact against the window. Jian Yao quietly counted "3, 2, 1!" Sure enough, the door was thrown open forcefully and their opponents impatiently rushed in!

Three minutes later.

Bo Jinyan and Zhu Tao were already seated and drinking tea. The three hoodlums had been cornered and beaten senseless by Zhu Tao's subordinate and Jian Yao. The young criminal investigator had dispatched two of them, and Jian Yao had barely been in time to dispatch the last one. She could not help feeling rueful that these border police officers were even more merciless than the mainland officers when taking action.

"Professor, how do you plan to find their hiding place and ascertain their core members?" Zhu Tao asked.

Bo Jinyan coolly replied, "Deduction."

Zhu Tao took a sip of tea. "Forgive me for speaking bluntly. My superior has asked me to give you the information and do my best to work with you in your investigation. However, border crime is very different from that in the mainland. It's very dangerous, and the complexity and interrelatedness is staggering. How can I believe that you can pull this off?"

Bo Jinyan was silent for a moment. If this had been in the past, Zhu Tao's question would have elicited a hearty laugh from him. But, now, Jian Yao knew that he was not the same. He was clearer than before about what he wanted, and he had learned how to fold his claws and be less confrontational.

Bo Jinyan replied, "Any suspect will leave traces that can be found and followed. In terms of your conventional criminal investigation, this would be geographical tracking. In the field of criminal psychology, this geographical tracking is another layer as we study the criminal's psychology. The characteristic distribution of the locations where they appear, the route they take when carrying out their repeated crimes and the centre from which they proceed, their preferred routes and methods, the psychological traits that are reflected in such choices . . . all these, to me, are factors in a complex equation. The more information you can provide me, the faster I can come up with an answer. That includes the a.s.signed roles within our team and the ident.i.ty of each member. It should be as if I can see it all with my own eyes."

The so-called veteran looked at the door. Zhu Tao had immediately understood Bo Jinyan's words, and he had even felt a frisson of excitement. He nodded and said, "Okay, I got it. I will cooperate with you to the best of my ability so that we can play this move well and catch them in our net!"

Bo Jinyan smiled faintly.

"Captain Zhu, what's the story with these three men?" Jian Yao asked.

Zhu Tao frowned and said, "My apologies. It may have to do with the gang I dismantled a few days ago. The gang leader, Smiling Snake, is at large. Although it was only a small-time gang, he is a ruthless character, very shrewd, and has never shown his true face. Almost no one has actually seen him, and n.o.body knows if he is male or female, old or young. It is said that he has business connections with Buddha's Hand, but he is not a part of the gang. This guy has some connections; police information has been leaked to him before. After I got back, I immediately ran a thorough investigation to see if Smiling Snake had planted a mole in my team so I could dig whoever it is out and punish him severely. Right now, his organisation is in shambles because of me, so he's probably been driven to desperate action*. Today's incident is most likely his attempt to get rid of me."

*T/N 狗急跳墙 (gou ji tiao qiang) – lit. a cornered (tense, nervous) dog will jump over a wall; fig. be driven to desperate action

Neither Jian Yao nor Bo Jinyan spoke. The complexity and ferocity of the border criminal gangs was something which they had not realised before.

Zhu Tao was just about to pull out a folder from his jacket when, all of a sudden, there was knocking at the door. He retracted his hand.

"That should be the comrades from the special police force," Jian Yao said. She walked to the door and looked through the peephole to see two rugged and capable young men in black leather jackets standing outside. They looked very solemn and steady.

Jian Yao nodded at Zhu Tao and opened the door a crack. After all, she never expected to meet gangsters on her first day in this small town and to be so close to slipping up. Thus, it was only natural that she was cautious.

She looked at the two men and asked, "You are . . .?"

They replied, "West Kunming SWAT division. Here to aid you in your operation."  After speaking, they produced their ident.i.ty cards. Jian Yao compared the cards with the actual persons and verified them. At ease, she opened the door.

The two special forces police officers were stunned when they took in the situation in the room. They reacted swiftly, seemingly displaying their SWAT-level vigilance as they glared at the three captive gangsters.

Translator: shl

Editor/ Proofreader: Anks