Chapter 258: He is Xiao Yu

Early morning, at the door.

“I’m off,” Xiao Yu said, looking at his wife as she straightened his clothes, a trace of reluctance in his eyes.

Mu Qingwu tiptoed up and kissed her husband on the lips, gently reminding him, “Stay safe, and come home soon.”

“Mm!” Xiao Yu bent down and pressed his ear against his wife’s small belly, listening for a moment. He gave her belly a little kiss, as if kissing his child, before standing up satisfied. He kissed her once more, “I’m going now.”

Mu Qingwu softly stroked her belly, watching as her brother got into the police car and drove off. 

Smiling, she walked back inside. “Baby, let’s wait for Daddy to come back together!”

***

S City.

Provincial Department, Criminal Investigation Unit.

“Good morning, boss,” greeted Xiao Yu, with a polite nod.

Standing in front of him were Zeng Lei, the head of the Provincial Department, and Huo Bojian, captain of the unit. Both had rather complicated expressions as they looked at Xiao Yu.

At their level, it wasn’t hard to gather some news. The circles at the top were small, and everyone was either on the same level or higher. And yesterday, they had heard something remarkable.

National Security had teamed up with special forces and the armed police to wipe out a terrorist cell.

That in itself was shocking, but that wasn’t the real surprise.

The real surprise was that the person who led the operation was a police officer.

A cop? Qualified to take part in taking down terrorists? Leading both national security officers and special forces? Do you believe that?

And now, the guy who pulled that off was standing right in front of them, saluting.

Could they even accept that salute? No, they couldn’t.

Zeng Lei and Huo Bojian, looking serious, raised their hands and returned the salute.

“Huh?” Xiao Yu was confused.

One was his immediate boss, the other was the top dog. Them saluting him? This felt off. Were they planning something?

“National security…,” Zeng Lei chuckled, curling his lips, “all done there?”

“Huh?” Xiao Yu’s brain quickly processed it. He smiled and nodded. “Yep, finished up. I’m back to check on the stolen goods case.”

He had to see things through to the end. He’d already gotten involved, so he might as well finish the job.

“Good attitude.” Huo Bojian smiled. “Since you’re so motivated, the case is with the main team now. You should join in.”

The case had gotten big—two officers dead, and two counterfeit printing plates were stolen. So, it was now classified as a special case, separate from the terrorist investigation. National security wasn’t involved anymore. This case didn’t hit the level for their involvement—it wasn’t big enough for them to handle.

If it hadn’t been tied to terrorists at the start, Xiao Yu and Wang Dong wouldn’t have even been sent to the confiscated goods vault.

Just an hour ago, Wang Dong had given him a call.

“Turns out, someone really did hire terrorists to rob the bank, just to distract the police,” Wang Dong reported. “The payoff? Twenty million in cash. Just like you thought, when there’s money involved, even terrorists can be used as pawns.”

He continued, “During interrogation, we found out the hiring was done through a middleman. Neither party ever met face-to-face. The money was also delivered to the terrorists through this middleman. As for the middleman, he’s overseas. National Security has already contacted international law enforcement to have him arrested. If there’s any update, I’ll let you know. Oh, and the big boss says you’re getting a first-class merit for taking down the terrorists. They’ll be delivering it in a few days. Oh, and two crates of special supplies for you too.”

This was the information Wang Dong had brought to Xiao Yu. It was, honestly, pretty useless.

The only lead was the middleman, and he was still abroad. Whether they could catch him was up in the air.

But one thing was clear: the ones who robbed the bank were terrorists, while the ones who killed the officers and stole the counterfeit plates from the evidence vault were a different group. The two sides had worked together but didn’t know each other.

Twenty million in cash, just for two counterfeit plates. Was it worth it?

Absolutely.

Why?

Because the counterfeit bills produced by these plates were nearly 80% identical to real currency.

And what did 80% similarity mean?

It meant most standard bill-checking machines wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Only special anti-counterfeit features like laser engravings or watermarks could reveal the truth.

To the average person handling cash, they’d never know the bills were fake.

Terrifying, isn’t it?

Captain Hou Bojian, the head of the Provincial Criminal Investigation Division, personally escorted Xiao Yu to the special task force’s headquarters: the Major Crimes Division.

This division was set up specifically by the Provincial Department of Criminal Investigation to handle urgent and serious cases. It was somewhat like the Criminal Investigation Section in local police departments but on a much larger scale.

Only the best of the best could work here. Getting in without serious skill was nothing short of a dream. But the high entry bar came with high risks—officers in the Major Crimes Division had an alarmingly high casualty rate. After all, they were constantly dealing with the most dangerous criminals, the kind who were either utterly ruthless or violently deranged. It wasn’t surprising that the death toll was so high.

When Xiao Yu walked in, the room was thick with smoke, almost as if something was on fire. Eight detectives were sitting around, puffing away, each looking frustrated as they flipped through case files. The entire room was eerily silent.

“Trying to kill yourselves or what?” Hou Bojian scolded playfully, laughing. “Not worried you’ll smoke yourselves to death?”

“Hello, Captain!” 

The eight detectives quickly stood up, laughing as they greeted him.

It was clear that no one in the room was particularly afraid of Hou Bojian. They seemed very familiar with him.

“Alright, alright,” Hou Bojian chuckled. “The boss asked me to send you some extra help.”

He gestured toward Xiao Yu. 

“This is Xiao Yu, from the local criminal investigation unit. He’ll be joining your special task force for this case.”

The room fell silent. One by one, pairs of scrutinizing eyes turned toward Xiao Yu. It was clear some of the veteran detectives were frowning, while others just seemed confused.

But then…

“Xiao Yu?!”

A detective gasped, staring at Xiao Yu with wide eyes. “You’re that Xiao Yu?”

‘Am I really that famous?’ Xiao Yu chuckled to himself.

“Old Wu, calm down.” An older detective raised an eyebrow, clearly puzzled. “Who?”

“Xiao Yu, from Bencheng City!” The detective called Old Wu was practically bouncing with excitement. “Remember the prison escape case? He was the one in charge, and he’s the one who solved it. I even heard he helped National Security nab a few spies after that.”

“Huh?!” 

A chorus of gasps filled the room.

“And that’s not all,” Old Wu continued, now fully into his story. “Six First-Class Merits and an Honorary First-Class Title.”

Another round of collective sharp intakes of breath echoed.

Xiao Yu couldn’t help but laugh. He was starting to worry about their lungs and whether they were going to suck all the air out of the room.