Crazy Detective

"Wow, your cell phone is amazing!" gushed Xiao Hang after the call ended. "There's actually reception in this sh*thole of a place we're stuck in?"

Zhao Yu was about to make a witty remark, but the overwhelming fatigue left him no choice than to sit back down on the ground and lean against the wall. He didn't bother getting his phone back from Xiao Hang.

"Captain!" Xiao Hang said to Li Jing. "Don't worry, our people are already at the entrance of the cave. They've already consulted an expert and will get us out in no time!"

"Also, Yang Kai and Ah Yong had been injected with anesthetic. They're going to be ok!" Xiao Hang said. "I've already done as you said and got them to conduct a search. The masked person may not have gone far since it's raining heavily outside. We might still be able to find him!"

"Great!" Li Jing responded. "We should be able to set our minds at ease since we've made the necessary arrangements."

Li Jing waved at Zhao Yu, saying in concern, "Team Leader Zhao, you don't look too good. You better get some rest!"

"Sigh…" Zhao Yu had his eyes closed. "What I'm worried about is that, since the explosives didn't go off, the masked person's plans must have been disrupted. If he decides to back off, it'll be hard for us to continue our investigation into him…"

"Boss…." Cui Lizhu held onto Zhao Yu's arm, saying earnestly, "I was thinking...they've already found the secret base, haven't they? Then…

"Why did they still try to lure us over?"

"It was because of you!" Zhao Yu gestured toward Cui Lizhu. "Can't you tell? We've been keeping such a tight watch on you that they couldn't find an opportunity to strike. Thus, they had no choice but to try to ensnare us!"

"Precisely!" Cui Lizhu raised her arms in a shrug. "All because of a Russian nesting doll. Isn't that ridiculous?"

"Hmm… so what are you trying to say, girlie?" Zhao Yu asked with a frown.

"What I mean is, the treasure isn't even here!" Cui Lizhu said. "They must have discovered this place much earlier and combed through it thoroughly, yet they failed to find the treasure!"

"They may not have found the treasure, but they did manage to find an important clue concerning the treasure, and this clue is closely related to the Russian nesting doll!" Cui Lizhu said, enthused. "And finally, they realized that the Russian nested doll was stolen by my dad, Tao Xiang!"

"Since your dad is dead," continued Xiao Hang, "they're targeting you instead, hoping you would give away the whereabouts of the doll!"

"Smart!" Cui Lizhu gave a thumbs up. "So, it pretty much proves that the key to the Golden Treasure lies in the nesting doll!"

"Aiya! How ironic!" Cui Lizhu slapped her thigh. "If our deductions are correct, then my dad was so close to finding the treasure!"

"As for me, I played with what could very well have been the key to the treasure! How annoying!" Cui Lizhu seethed. "Had I figured it out, I could have become the richest person in the world! How comfortable my life would be!"

"Ha…" Li Jing coldly retorted. "You wish! Like you've said, the nesting doll has already been destroyed. What good would the photo be?"

"That's right, girlie. Is it possible that your dad had fooled you? Maybe the nesting doll hasn't been destroyed?" Xiao Hang asked Cui Lizhu while rubbing his head.

"That's impossible!" Cui Lizhu shook her head. "I was old enough to know that a Russian nesting doll wasn't worth collecting. I had no idea back then why my dad had stolen something like that."

"That's interesting!" Zhao Yu said, still sitting against the wall with eyes closed. "Where did Tao Xiang steal the nesting doll from? As the King of Thieves, why would he have stolen something worthless?"

"It was…" Cui Lizhu's eyes rolled as she tried to remember. "There were many antiques as well, which were not very valuable despite being antiques. It was so unlike my dad!"

"Oh…" Zhao Yu's eyes widened as both he and Cui Lizhu spoke in unison, an "Oh" followed by three words –"A consummate expert!"

Li Jing and Xiao Hang watched them in awe.

"It was stolen from some expert's place!" Zhao Yu's eyes got even bigger.

"The last one to be killed was Yuan Juncheng…" Cui Lizhu said with balled fists.

"Yuan Juncheng was an expert in both antiques and war relics!" Zhao Yu said through gritted teeth. "So, Tao Xiang could have stolen the nesting doll from him!"

"But the same can't be said for those criminals!" Cui Lizhu swung her fists as she spoke. "They didn't even know which expert had the nesting doll! Which is why they had to use the truth serum on each and every one of them, and then they killed them after to keep it secret."

"Well, they eventually got an answer from Yuan Juncheng, but this made it even more challenging for them because the nesting doll had been stolen!" said Zhao Yu. "They could only track down the person who stole it, which led them to Tao Xiang, and subsequently to you. Oh my, is the key to the Golden Treasure really hidden in the Russian nesting doll?"

"That must be it! Why else would they have made such a big fuss?" Cui Lizhu said as she grabbed Zhao Yu's arm. "Boss, it's time for you to show your prowess as a master sleuth! The treasure… the treasure is about to appear! I'll be happy with just a smidge of it!"

"Hang on…" Zhao Yu appeared to have recalled something, reaching for his phone in a hurry.

"Here!" Xiao Hang finally passed the phone to Zhao Yu. He had been too busy marveling at how the case was being unraveled.

Zhao Yu immediately extracted Yuan Juncheng's data from his cell phone and quickly said, "I remember that Yuan Juncheng never reported his loss. The artifacts must have been obtained through illegal means!"

"Boss!" Cui Lizhu reminded him. "I was still in Golden City back then. You just have to check year 20xx!"

"Got it…" Zhao Yu promptly examined Yun Juncheng's data and found what he needed from a set of photos. "Is that it?" Zhao Yu asked while showing them to Cui Lizhu.

"Yes! That's it!" Cui Lizhu was certain even though she had merely taken a quick glance at the photo. "The red one, that's the nesting doll!"

Huh?

Surprised, Li Jing & Xiao Hang came forward to look at the photo. It was a photo of Yun Juncheng in his study. Occupying an inconspicuous spot on a bookshelf next to him was a red object – the Russian nesting doll!

"Look…" Cui Lizhu pointed at the other objects on the bookshelf. "This, this, and this… they were all stolen by my Pops!"

"So…" Zhao Yu nodded. "It has been established that the Russian nesting doll was stolen from Yuan Juncheng! That brings us to another question. Where did Yuan Juncheng get the nesting doll from, then?"