Chapter 24: Money Is Truly Hard to Earn

As everyone was staring at Qi Fei, Zhao Shan introduced her, "This is our technical consultant, Consultant Qi."

It was only then that everyone realized she was one of their own. "I remember now, isn't this person an A-level wanted criminal? What was his name again?"

Another person sitting at a computer chimed in, "Tian Yongliang, 34 years old. He has committed crimes across multiple cities, including six massacres in the past two years, with eighteen lives on his conscience."

That made sense; the murderous aura he exuded couldn't have come from just one or two lives.

[Fei Fei is just too uncanny.]
[She goes out once and catches an A-level fugitive. There are so many people in the system who have been hunting this guy for two years without success, and Qi Fei catches him just while walking home?]

Qi Fei glanced at Zhao Shan. Even without Zhao Shan saying it, she felt things were getting weirder and weirder; every time she stepped out, trouble seemed to find her.

To be honest, although she heard the man muttering about wanting to strike again, Qi Fei hadn't really wanted to get involved. But when they brushed past each other, the murderous aura he radiated made even her scalp tingle. In that instant, she felt like she had been transported back to the apocalypse. She was certain this man had far more than just a couple of lives on his hands.

Even after she had ridden past him, Qi Fei turned back. In a peaceful era, she couldn't just pretend she hadn't seen someone with so many lives on his conscience.

"I heard the bounty for an A-level fugitive is quite high. How much is it?" If one were to say Qi Fei was bursting with a sense of justice, it would be more accurate to say she knew there was a reward for catching fugitives.

"You're an official consultant; apprehending criminals is part of the job. There's no money."

That was allowed?

Qi Fei wouldn't give up. "What if I were just a civilian?"

Someone on the side added, "Fifty thousand. It's not a small amount."

Fifty thousand yuan, just like that, gone. Qi Fei felt a pang of heartache. The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and the more she felt she had been tricked by those three old men. She turned to leave.

"Where are you going?"

Thinking about the fifty thousand that had vanished, her tone naturally wasn't very pleasant. "If there's no bonus, why stay?"

This remark amused the group, though everyone assumed Qi Fei was just joking.

"Consultant Qi, did you come by this morning, too?" Although Qi Fei was wearing a helmet, her figure looked familiar.

Seeing the crowd surrounding Qi Fei endlessly, Zhao Shan intervened, "Stop chatting."

"You can't leave yet. Come to my office to give a statement." Seeing Qi Fei's resistant look, he emphasized, "This procedure is mandatory."

Fine, then.

Once inside the office, Zhao Shan's attitude shifted instantly; the stern captain from moments ago was gone. "Fei Fei, are you a criminal magnet? Why don't you come work here every day? With your level of luck, imagine how many suspects you'd catch!"

She had gone out once and run into them catching drug dealers. She had gone to the mall once and run into the "Crown Prince." And today, on her way home, she had run into an A-level fugitive.

Hearing this, Qi Fei didn't know what to say. "Is this luck? I'd call it bad luck, thank you very much."

"There's no money, and it's dangerous. I'm not doing something that risks my life like this again." She even suspected she was cursed, which made her afraid to go out easily in the future.

Zhao Shan suppressed a laugh and didn't respond; he also felt it was a bit uncanny.

"Alright, I'll put in an application with the higher-ups. This reward is rightfully yours." After all, they had forced the consultant role on Qi Fei, and she hadn't been thrilled about it in the first place. People get paid for providing tips; it wouldn't be right for Qi Fei to catch someone single-handedly and get nothing.

Qi Fei, who had been sulking just a moment ago, felt her mood lift instantly at Zhao Shan's words.

That was more like it. She quickly asked, "When will I get it?"

"You'll get every cent. I'm applying for it right now."

"Can you really sense the murderous aura on someone?"

Qi Fei looked at Zhao Shan. This seemed impossible to explain. "Guess."

Zhao Shan: "..."

Zhao Shan genuinely thought Qi Fei was joking and guessed that she must have used some form of mind-reading.

"By the way, Fei Fei, your combat skills are impressive." [Never mind having a gun; even without one, for a young woman to face a strong, able-bodied man—even trained policewomen wouldn't have subdued him so easily.] [Qi Fei, on the other hand, not only dislocated the guy's arm but also dragged him in with one hand. Even many grown men wouldn't have that kind of arm strength.]

Qi Fei was happy now and willing to indulge Zhao Shan. "I'm not bragging, but against the trained officers in your bureau, I could take on five of them with ease."

This was actually a humble statement. Everything she knew were lethal techniques meant to ensure the opponent had no chance to resist, whereas these people were from a peaceful world and had only learned basic grappling. Of course they weren't her match.

[And she says she's not bragging.]

Qi Fei was talking big now. No matter how skilled she was, taking on two or three was already incredible, let alone five. Hearing this, Qi Fei couldn't be bothered to explain. Believe it or not, it was up to them.

Zhao Shan walked Qi Fei out. As soon as she sat in her car, she heard him say, "Don't go wandering around and bring us another one! We're busy enough; if you have to bring one, bring it tomorrow."

Qi Fei: "..."

She忍了又忍 (repressed the urge) to retort against his gloating tone.

Joking aside, Zhao Shan didn't forget to warn her, "Next time you encounter a dangerous criminal like that, don't act rashly." The suspect had a gun; if something happened to Qi Fei, he wouldn't be able to answer to his superiors.

"Got it."

Earning a bonus was such a hassle; she wouldn't do it again. She rubbed her stomach. "I helped you out, and you didn't even offer me a meal. I'm leaving."

Zhao Shan had also noticed that Qi Fei was a total foodie; her eyes had lit up when she saw the food on the table last time.

A few days later, Qi Fei received a call from Zhao Shan, which cleared up the confusion in her mind.

It had to be said that the mole, the "Crown Prince," had gone to great lengths. He had searched in advance for a child with a clean background, excellent grades, and an ambition to join the police academy. The person he replaced had almost the same height and build, and he had spent a year studying the victim's mannerisms and even fabricated an accident to explain away his plastic surgery.

When the summer vacation ended, the person who reported to school was the current Guo Qiang. The original child had died the moment he was replaced.

Moreover, the body was buried in the grandparents' graveyard.

His parents' deaths hadn't been an accident either. Although he hadn't done it himself, after finding the footage of his parents' incident, it was discovered that the driver who hit them was a subordinate of "Scarface Jiang."

The pieces of the puzzle finally fit. Scarface Jiang had received orders from above to kill the parents of a police officer. At the time, he had assumed the officer had offended someone in power and had carried it out without a second thought.

With the grandparents gone and the parents dead, all his subsequent life experiences were traceable. Because everything from college onwards was him, this "nail" had been planted there for six full years without a single person noticing.

No one could have imagined that a drug dealer would go to such lengths to plant a mole. If it hadn't been for Qi Fei, they wouldn't have known when they would have discovered the issue, nor how many undercover officers would have been killed.

As soon as Qi Fei returned, carrying her live-streaming equipment, she saw Zhou Ying waiting at home.

Why so free today? Was the paperwork done?

"Why did it take so long? I called you, but you didn't answer." She had been riding her motorcycle and hadn't heard the phone.

"What's wrong?"

"Did you forget about the six o'clock live stream!"

Qi Fei: "..."

She had completely forgotten. Seeing Zhou Ying's puffed-up, angry face, Qi Fei quickly pulled out the termination contract and handed it over.

"You can rest easy now." Zhou Ying, of course, knew what Qi Fei had been up to; that was why she had been waiting here early.

She excitedly took the contract, checked it over and over, and then hugged Qi Fei. Fei Fei was finally free.

"Go get your makeup and hair done first. We'll grab a quick bite on the way." It was already nearly two o'clock; between eating, getting her hair and makeup done, and driving to the location, time was tight.

Qi Fei checked the time. "Isn't it still early?" Why be in such a rush?

"Makeup takes at least two or three hours, and the drive is another hour or two. You tell me if time is tight or not."

Two or three hours for makeup?

This fell into the category of Qi Fei's knowledge blind spot; she could only nod obediently.