Chapter 7: Housing Adventures
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhao Yu was truly penniless, he did not even have money to buy data on his phone, and had to look up house rental information on a computer instead.
In the end, among the mass of advertisements, he randomly picked a few that were near the police station. Showing no regard for work hours, the man threw on his jacket and left the workplace.
As for Zhao Jingfeng’s investigation, he did not have high expectations. If just a few of his words could solve a cold case that had been plaguing the Investigation Unit for ten years, it would really be the joke of the century!
Executed by lethal injection but having escaped death and crossed over, and then obtaining the magical, so-called Miracle System had put Zhao Yu in a great mood. As he strolled down the street, the sun beamed upon him warmly as he walked with an extra spring in his step.
He started realizing that being a Key Case Investigator might not be so bad. Catching criminals and getting rewards, not to mention some special privileges. That kind of life did not sound bad at all!
Maybe it would be better to stick around for a bit, and not think about going back to his old business just yet.
Zhao Yu’s first rental possibility was in a shopping district near the police station. The house was being advertised by a shopfront called Da Feng Ge Fruit Company.
The owner was a pale, bulky man named Jiang Dafeng. He was highly personable and was often laughing. Seeing Zhao Yu arrive with the advertisement, he hurried forward and greeted him warmly.
As it turned out, his fruit shop was located within a standalone three-story building. The first floor was the shop, the second was his own home, and the third floor was an open space spanning about sixty square meters. Conveniently, the man wanted to rent it out.
Zhao Yu looked around and decided he really liked this place. One, because it was convenient for traveling. Two, because there were not any barbecue places or other food stands around to disturb his sleep at night. Lastly, the house was even furnished, allowing him to move in immediately.
The chubby Dafeng also suggestively told him that the neighboring shopfront was similar to his own, with a few college students living upstairs. "The students are like models, if you rent my room, you might even be able to take care of some of your…personal issues!"
Through the bars on the balcony, Zhao Yu indeed saw many feminine articles of clothing that were being hung dry on a drying rack.
‘Wow! Nice place!’
Zhao Yu’s eyes narrowed at the idea, his thoughts were decided. "The place I need is this place right here, right now!"
Zhao Yu asked for the price and was immediately shocked. The house was two-thousand yuan a month, and must be paid biannually. Right now, Zhao Yu would not be able to pay that much!
"Any discount?" Zhao Yu asked.
Dafeng Bro was also very straight forward and immediately nodded, "Then 1,980 yuan! If it’s too much, you can also pay seasonally instead!"
"Jesus Christ!" Zhao Yu immediately started cursing, "This sh*tty place is this expensive? Is this a robbery? I’ll tell you now, as a policeman, I can arrest you now! Do you believe me?"
But Dafeng Bro knew the rules, "There’s nothing wrong with me renting out my property. Why would I be afraid of you? This is downtown--the perfect area. Not to mention the daily eye candy. My price is already dirt cheap! If you don’t want it, fine, I’ve got a line waiting for it!"
"Jesus! Who the hell do you think you are? I don’t want it, then!" Zhao Yu cursed angrily as he left the fruit shop, mumbling to himself, "If this were my previous life, I’d have already gotten a bunch of people and wrecked the shop! You’d have to pay me to live there!"
Hmph!
Zhao Yu left the shop angrily. His good mood had been killed by the stupid fatty. He walked into a wonton store and ate three bowls of wontons before he felt like he had let off some steam.
If that one would not work, then he had to go to his backup. The other house was a boarding room for rent. To get there, Zhao Yu had to cross through the narrow alleys in the L.C. District.
This area looked just like Zhao Yu’s previous world. He had often brawled in these alleys, and knew the area like the back of his hand. He easily found a short cut.
It was exactly noon, the residents were all preparing or eating their lunch. The alley was basically empty.
As Zhao Yu crossed through, he suddenly saw a suspicious shadow running through one of the alleys. Zhao Yu was not sure why, but he reflexively hid before whoever it was saw him.
The kid was wearing a dark green hat. He was of average height and skinny, almost like a student. Yet he looked very nervous, as if he were doing something questionable.
‘Interesting!’ Zhao Yu used to deal with these delinquents often, and followed the kid out of curiosity. Despite the kid being on high alert, constantly checking left and right, Zhao Yu was experienced in stealth and avoided all detection.
Finally Zhao Yu followed him into a dark corner. There was a tattooed man with dyed blonde hair waiting.
The two exchanged no words when they met. The youngster immediately handed the other man some sort of black USB, while the blonde pulled out an envelope in exchange.
‘Huh!?’ Zhao Yu watched from the sideline. Even an idiot could tell that the two must be making some sort of illegal deal! If Zhao Yu rushed out now, he could definitely catch them red-handed, adding more credit to his criminal catching record.
But Zhao Yu was used to this sort of activity. He knew there were other, more beneficial ways to deal with this.
So he simply waited silently in the shadows until the blonde disappeared with the USB. Zhao Yu then strode forward and immediately pinned the youngster with the green cap against a wall.
"Freeze! Police!" Zhao Yu spoke with confidence. He thought, "Hmph, now that I am a police officer! No need to fear!"
The young boy nearly collapsed upon hearing the word "police," and suddenly broke down and started sobbing. When the cap came off, Zhao Yu realized that it was not a boy at all! But a short-haired girl! Judging by her childish appearance, at best, she was a middle schooler.
Zhao Yu was taken by surprise, but still darkened his expression and scolded, "Do you know why I caught you?"
The little girl was shaking nonstop, she raised her head and begged, "Mr. Policeman, I know I was wrong, I won’t do it again."
"Save it! Tell me the truth now, Or…Or I…" Zhao Yu paused for a bit, then started again, "I’ll call your parents!"
"No! No!" The girl looked much more anxious now, "Please don’t tell my parents. If my dad finds out about this, he’ll kill me!"
Zhao Yu saw the girl was not a threat and let her go, but snatched the envelope. Opening it, he saw that there was a huge wad of cash.
"Woah!" Zhao Yu had assumed the envelope probably contained money, but he did not anticipate it would be this much. He questioned the girl in a hurry, "Quick, this money, how’d you get it?"
Hearing this, the little girl started wailing. She grabbed Zhao Yu’s arm and begged pitifully, "Mr. Policeman! This was really my first time, please let me go. I know I’m wrong, I won’t do it again!"
"Oi, Oi…You’re getting your snot on me!" Zhao Yu pushed the girl off, "Don’t cry anymore. First tell me, what did you just hand to the other guy?"