"You figured it out that fast?" Ch'en Hui-chieh stared at him in disbelief.
The LGD had been digging into the case nonstop since yesterday and still hadn't even caught a shadow of the suspects. And Su Yi asked a few questions and somehow already knew where they were hiding?
"Yeah," Su Yi said matter-of-factly. "Lungmen isn't that big. You just use elimination."
Lungmen's permanent population wasn't even four million—smaller than a mid-sized prefecture-level city back in his previous life.
In truly massive cities—places on the scale of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen—average permanent populations ran over twenty million. That was more than five times Lungmen's size, and even exceeded the total population of some countries on Terra.
But to Ch'en's ears, that translated to one thought only:
What a load of bragging.
Even the capitals of old core powers like Victoria or Leithania only had six or seven million people.
Lungmen wasn't even a capital—having four million residents was already huge. How was that "not big"?
"Fine," Ch'en said, folding her arms across her chest. "Then tell me. Where are they hiding?"
With her posture, the pressure made her already-imposing "presence" even more pronounced.
Su Yi began his performance.
"An hour's travel radius gives you a rough band like this. Places that can support twenty people living together without drawing attention shrink the list even further.
"And if they managed to shake the LGD quickly, that means they had a plan. The site must've been prepared in advance.
"As far as I know, in the southern districts of Lungmen, places that can fit all the requirements—south side, room for twenty-plus people, low profile, likely rented ahead of time—there are only about ten or so.
"After that, it's simple. Walk the locations, ask whether unfamiliar outsiders have appeared recently, or look for abnormal spikes in purchases—vegetables, rice, flour, cooking oil—anything that indicates sudden bulk consumption. Follow the thread and you'll find them."
Ch'en straightened, a spark of realization hitting her.
How had she forgotten?
If this was about knowing the city—its alleys, shortcuts, blind corners—who knew it better than delivery couriers who ran the streets in all weather, every day?
And Penguin Logistics wasn't just any courier outfit. They were top-tier.
"Which ten places?" Ch'en thrust a red marker into his hand, urgent. "Mark them. Now."
"I can," Su Yi said, taking the marker. "But checking ten-plus places one by one is a waste. Let me see if I can narrow it further for you."
He uncapped the marker, closed his eyes, tilted his head toward the map like he was "sensing" it, then casually tossed the marker.
The tip stabbed into the map, leaving a neat little red dot.
"If nothing unexpected happens," Su Yi said calmly, "they're hiding right there."
He bent to pick the marker up, ready to return it—only to meet Ch'en's expression:
Are you kidding me?
You were doing real reasoning two seconds ago, and now you're playing mysticism?
If you were going to do mysticism, at least use tarot cards, turtle shells, a bagua diagram—something with effort.
You throw a pen at a map and call it a hideout?
That was absurd.
"What is that look?" Su Yi bristled. "I'm helping you, and you're looking at me like that?!"
Above his head, in invisible letters no one else could see, floated:
IRRESISTIBLE, UNREFUSABLE LUCK
It was practically shouting.
Are you blind?
Ah. Right. She couldn't see it.
Bottom line: you can question my character, but you cannot question my cheat.
"Stop fooling around," Ch'en snapped. "Mark all the suspicious locations. I don't have time for this."
"I'm saving you manpower and resources," Su Yi argued.
"If they're really hiding there," Ch'en said coldly, "I'll take your surname."
Oh, now we're doing threats?
Fine. Let me confirm it one more time.
Su Yi covered his eyes again and tossed the marker a second time.
The tip landed precisely on the same spot—the second red dot nearly overlapped the first.
Locked in.
"That trick might fool other people," Ch'en said evenly. "It won't fool me."
With a bit of practice, she could do it too.
"If they aren't there, Inspector Ch'en doesn't need to take my surname," Su Yi said with absolute confidence. "You can just kiss me one more time."
He leaned forward slightly, smiling. "And if I'm wrong, do whatever you want with me."
After that, he stopped arguing. From memory, he marked every location he considered suspicious on the map, set the marker down, picked up the signed paperwork, and left the office.
Since arriving in this world, his "golden finger" had failed twice.
Once was when he tried buying lottery tickets.
The other was when he tried searching for the original body's family and friends.
The lottery didn't need explaining—no matter how lucky you were, you couldn't conjure money out of thin air. And even if you could, the shop sure wasn't going to hand it over.
As for family…
That one was stranger.
No matter how he changed the conditions—the person who loves me most, my closest friend, my destined nemesis, my therapist, my kindred spirit, the person I can never forget, the one who's been waiting to reunite with me—
every time he threw a dart at the map, the result came out different.
As if his past had shattered like Originium, scattered across the whole of Terra.
For a time, Su Yi suspected he might be an orphan, with no one left in the world—something that didn't seem uncommon on Terra.
But when he used a coin-toss style query—Do I still have family alive?—
the answer he got was: Yes.
So he could only conclude that, under certain circumstances, even his cheat could "misfire."
Inside the office, Ch'en's ears burned.
"What do you mean, 'kiss you one more time'?" she hissed, mortified and furious. "You addicted now?!"
That bold, shameless white-haired punk—how dare he tease her like that!
But…
"Do whatever you want with me," huh?
That was… a tempting condition.
And they had to investigate anyway.
Ch'en picked up the desk phone. "This is Ch'en Hui-chieh. Dispatch thirteen elite officers to investigate the following addresses… Priority target: Heyé Warehouse, District Thirteen."
…
Elsewhere.
With Ch'en's signature in hand, Su Yi passed through procedures without a hitch and quickly reached the Penguin Logistics four who were being held in detention.
"Croissant, hurry up already—stop dragging it out!"
"Five, six, seven—damn it—ten!"
"Hey, warden, can you pour me a cappuccino?"
"You look like a cappuccino!"
The guard stared at the four of them sitting in a circle inside the cell, playing cards, and felt his brain short-circuit.
Was this a detention center or a card lounge?
"Sorry for the trouble," Su Yi said politely. He fished out a pack of freshly bought quality cigarettes, offered one to the guard, and slipped the paperwork over.
"Next time, get here faster."
The guard took the cigarette and the documents, glanced at Ch'en's signature, then grabbed his keys and led Su Yi to the cell like he was escorting a plague god out of the building.
"Yo, Su Yi!" Exusiai called out cheerfully. "Give me a second—I've only got four cards left!"
She showed off her hand: four fives.
It was only a small bomb, but as long as anyone played a non-bomb pattern once, it was basically her win.
"The game isn't over yet. Victory is not yet decided!" Croissant declared.
"Texas, your turn!" Sora urged. "Come on—delete her! One-shot her!"
Exusiai took one look at Texas's hand size and laughed even harder.
"Seventeen cards and you think you can one-shot me?" she crowed. "If you can, I, Exusiai, will eat these two decks of cards on the spot!"
"Bomb." Texas dropped four twos.
"Pass!"
"Bomb."
"Still pass."
Exusiai remained calm. Exusiai remained composed. Exusiai was one step away from final victory!
"Airplane."
Texas delivered her acceptance speech.
-------
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