Chapter 90 Test

South District.

Approximately ten kilometers from the city proper.

This was a small, detached courtyard house covering about four hundred square meters. Large trees were planted on both sides of the gate, and next to the courtyard wall was a vegetable patch growing garlic, green onions, and other produce...

—Thud.

The sound of a car door closing rang out.

"This is where my grandfather currently lives."

"He's getting older and likes a bit of peace and quiet."

Liu Fengxia explained why her grandfather lived so far away.

The courtyard gate wasn't closed, and the two of them stepped inside.

The first thing they saw upon entering was a rockery in the center of the yard, surrounded by a pond below where some fish were being kept.

Beneath their feet was a small path paved with cobblestones leading straight to the living room.

As a child, she loved walking back and forth on it; she had heard back then that it had a massaging effect on the feet.

Whether that was true or not, he didn't know, but he had to admit this place was indeed more suitable for retirement than the city.

"Grandpa!"

Liu Fengxia had found a bag of fish food from somewhere; she fed the fish while calling toward the house.

A few moments later, an elderly man wearing a Zhongshan suit, with white eyebrows and a white beard, walked out of the house.

His steps were steady and powerful, and there was no sense of cloudiness in his eyes; instead, one could see he was full of spirit.

Chen Mo had looked into this man's age before; it was said he was already at the advanced age of seventy.

He hadn't expected him to still be so energetic.

In his memory, people of this age were basically in wheelchairs.

"You are Chen Mo?"

Liu Qingwu stroked the beard on his chin, his gaze sizing Chen Mo up.

Having worked in criminal investigation, he had seen all sorts of people.

The feeling this kid gave him was one of youth and confidence!

He had a streak of restrained arrogance about him.

"Yes."

Chen Mo nodded, then lifted the two boxes of gifts in his hands.

When visiting an elder, one naturally couldn't come empty-handed.

The value of the gifts wasn't important, but it was the rule and a matter of politeness.

"I also have a letter here that the Instructor asked me to hand over to you."

Being a senior in criminal investigation, Chen Mo also used honorifics.

"Feng Xia, take the things inside."

"You, come over there with me."

The 'over there' Liu Qingwu spoke of was actually a small gazebo. In the center was a chessboard made of stacked stones, with a stool placed on either side.

"I don't know if you're aware of my situation."

"Every year—actually, every month—there are at least some people who pull strings or offer large sums of money wanting to be my student."

"But I've refused them all. Do you want to know why?"

He gestured for Chen Mo to sit, then asked in a conversational tone.

"Not really."

Chen Mo shook his head; it had nothing to do with him.

Besides, he could roughly guess the reason.

It was nothing more than being old and seeing connections and money as fleeting clouds.

"Heh."

Liu Qingwu swallowed the words he was about to say and then let out a laugh.

He was indeed different from those who only knew how to flatter him.

"What I just said was only to tell you that if you don't have talent for criminal investigation, I won't help you even if Jianguo was the one who sent you."

His words were very blunt. Since his retirement, he said this on average once a month to those who came to visit him.

He didn't mean to target Chen Mo specifically.

If someone had no talent, it would be useless even if he taught them.

Whereas those with talent only needed a little guidance to shine brightly.

"If I were you, I would do the same."

Chen Mo nodded in agreement; he actually understood Elder Liu very well.

With things like criminal investigation, once you've mastered the textbooks, the only things that can improve your strength are practical experience and intuition.

It couldn't be taught.

"Hmm, you're quite sensible."

As Liu Qingwu spoke, he opened the envelope and looked down to check it.

There were about several dozen words in the letter; he finished reading the contents after a few glances.

Then he looked at Chen Mo with some hesitation.

The point of his hesitation was that in the letter, his student Yang Jianguo actually said that Chen Mo had a high probability of placing in the 'Pilot City' competition.

This competition could be said to be a contest of criminal police from across the country, filled with emerging talents.

Their strength was definitely not to be underestimated.

As the Instructor of the Municipal Bureau, he couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

But he said it anyway. Either he wanted to use this to get him to teach Chen Mo, or Chen Mo really had the strength.

"The letter says you can take a place in this national competition. What do you think about that?"

He suddenly threw the question to Chen Mo, waiting for an answer.

The subject's answer could also, to a certain extent, help judge the truth of the letter's contents.

"Perhaps."

Chen Mo gave an ambiguous answer.

He really didn't know what was best to say.

Saying yes would make him look very arrogant.

Saying no was not what he truly thought in his heart.

In short, this was a difficult question to answer.

"Perhaps?"

Having lived most of his life, Liu Qingwu immediately got the answer he wanted.

Since he didn't deny it, he naturally agreed that he could place.

"Show me your ability, then."

As he spoke, he pointed at the footprints in the yard.

"The yard hasn't been swept for three days. You should know Trace Investigation."

"Analyze the route I walked in the yard today through the footprints."

As soon as Liu Qingwu finished speaking, Liu Fengxia, who was walking over from the house, frowned.

Wasn't Grandpa making things difficult for him?

Trace Investigation was mostly the work of a Trace Technician; it wasn't as if all police officers had to master multiple skills.

Moreover, reconstructing the path taken by a suspect through messy footprints...

...was extremely difficult. It was hard to achieve without long periods of specialized training.

She had only gradually mastered it after studying under her grandfather for several months.

"How about it? It’s not shameful to leave now. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last."

Hearing this, Chen Mo shook his head.

He was now certain that when Captain Long said he was hard to get along with, it was because Liu Qingwu was too much like a teacher.

Anyone being his student would be under immense pressure.

But!

That didn't include him.

He just happened to know a bit about Trace Investigation.

With that thought, he walked over to the door.

This was the starting point—the first step Elder Liu took out of the house after waking up this morning.

He turned around, asked for a Scale, and began measuring the footprints.

The footprints were very messy; one could even see three footprints stacked together, with the front of the shoes pointing toward three different directions in the yard.

It felt less like he had spontaneously decided not to sweep and more like he was specifically waiting for him.

The way the footprints were stacked was too coincidental.

Emptying his mind, he maximized the use of his Trace Investigation ability.

In an instant, the learning memories regarding this skill flashed through his mind like a rapid slideshow.

Then, he looked over the footprints in the yard one by one.

After just a moment, he already had the answer in his mind.

"Found it."