Chapter 2 Investigation

  "This is where we showcase 'Tears of Hope'. Sterling pointed to the display rack in front, turned his head and said to Linda, "Linda, introduce them."

  "Yes!" Linda nodded and pointed at the frame on the display rack, introducing "This is where the gemstone will be placed."

  Zheng Hanfei carefully observed that the display rack was vertical, and judging from the glass cover suspended in mid-air, it should be an anti-theft display rack. The frame looked like a cross from above, with a large circular hole in the center of the "cross", which seemed to be where the gemstone was placed.

  "What are these things used for?" Zheng Hanfei pointed to the small round holes that lined the edges of the display rack, which from a distance looked like a giant beehive.

  "These are all for placing miniature spotlights."

  "Mini spotlight?"

  "Yes, when 'Tears of Hope' starts to exhibit, all the miniature spotlights will be turned on, and that scene will add a touch of mystery and charm to 'Tears of Hope'."

  Zheng Hanfei nodded and immediately asked: "Can I touch it?"

  "Of course."

  After getting permission, Zheng Hanfei gave Wang Bo a look, and Wang Bo immediately took out a pair of white gloves from his upper pocket and handed them to Zheng Hanfei.

  Zheng Hanfei put on white gloves and lightly stroked the small holes in a circular pattern. His brain quickly analyzed the information from these small holes: with a diameter of about two centimeters, they could accommodate one finger, but it was impossible to steal the treasure inside through these holes, apparently his own guess had gone astray.

  Zheng Hanfei smiled wryly and took off his white gloves, returning them to Wang Bo. He asked, "Wang Bo, don't you feel that something is not quite right here?"

  "Yes, young master." Wang Bo glanced around and said in a low voice, "There are really too few security guards here, it's as if they're asking to be stolen from."

  "Don't you worry!" Sterling's voice startled Wang Bo, "The letter said that ordinary people can't stop him, so I withdrew the security guards here."

  "Isn't that a bit too hasty?" Zheng Hanfei narrowed his eyes, as if trying to see through Slinte's true intentions. "Removing the security guards will increase the chances of the gemstones being stolen."

  "Don't worry about this!" Sterling burst out laughing and waved his hand at Linda.

  Linda nodded and ran to the control panel on the other side of the exhibition hall, typing some programs into the computer. Immediately afterwards, the glass cover of the display rack closed quickly, and the display rack itself began to float with dense red light spots.

  "Infrared alarm?!"

  "It's not just that." Sterling proudly pointed at the glass case on display, "This is bulletproof glass, ordinary impact can't penetrate it."

  "Such protective measures are not bad!" Zheng Hanfei nodded, then looked around, his brow furrowed slightly, and for some reason, he had been feeling that something was off about this exhibition since earlier, but he just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

  I took a rough look at the exhibition layout, the display rack was on a platform, with steps in front and a straight road below, covered with a red carpet. According to Linda's introduction, when the exhibition starts, Sterling and other family members will enter from the main gate, walk up this straight road, and then Sterling's children will place "Tears of Hope" on the display rack, while Sterling himself will cover the glass case with a large red cloth, waiting for 8 o'clock in the evening to unveil it.

  On both sides of the road, long tables of equal size were placed, and on the tables were delicious food and iced drinks that made Zheng Hanfei's stomach start to rumble.

  "Haven't you eaten?" Sterling asked.

  "A bit." Zheng Hanfei smiled awkwardly, he had lost face today, and to make matters worse, he had made such an impolite sound in this setting, how was he going to survive in society from now on.

  "Just wait a bit." Sterling pulled out an old pocket watch from his pocket and said with a smile, "It's not far from the start of the exhibition. By then you can indulge in these to your heart's content. Don't worry, these dishes are absolutely to your taste."

  "...I..." Before he could finish his sentence, several mournful cries came from outside the exhibition hall, and then Zheng Hanfei saw a few disheveled security guards rushing in.

  "Manager!" one of the security guards said anxiously, "There's a 17 or 18-year-old boy outside the door who says he's friends with Miss and Master."

  "Well, in that case, please come in. I'm already aware of the situation." Sterling gave the security guard a disdainful glance, as if to tell him not to make such a big deal out of it.

  "But we didn't know," the security guard said with a panicked expression, "and he didn't have an invitation letter in his hand, so we thought he was some kind of swindler trying to sneak in, and we were going to beat him up and throw him out..."

  "But what?"

  "But he used a wooden stick and beat us eight security guards until we were powerless."

  "What?! Zheng Hanfei exclaimed, someone about his age was actually able to hold a wooden stick and take on eight young and strong security guards at the same time, and still emerge victorious - what was his real age?!"

  No way! I have to go and take a look! Zheng Hanfei immediately set off, he wanted to see what was so special about that young man.

  ……

  "I said, I just want to go in, not fight!" As Zheng Hanfei rushed to the scene, he saw a young man standing at the entrance, wearing a black sportswear suit, with silver-gray hair draped over his shoulder, holding a worn-out wooden stick, and his light blue eyes constantly scanning the security guards around him, preventing them from making a sudden sneak attack.

  "This is..." For some reason, Zheng Hanfei saw the posture of this person and he always felt that the security guards' chances of winning would not be high, or even had no chance of winning.

  "Up!" The security guard shouted, but the young man just snorted and swung his stick, instantly hitting a security guard in the abdomen. Then he dodged an attack from another security guard and hit that guard's face with the stick, causing him to scream loudly, scaring off the surrounding guards who didn't dare approach again.

  This is Japanese Kendo! Zheng Hanfei's eyes narrowed, with the boy's posture just now, his kendo should be around 4th dan, but according to Zheng Hanfei's grasp, a 4th dan in kendo can only be obtained after obtaining a 3rd dan qualification for more than 3 years, that is, at least 20 years old can be obtained, but the boy in front of him was at most only 18 years old, he couldn't have obtained it.

  "Are you coming again?" The young man put the stick behind him and said coldly, "If people don't offend me, I won't offend them. If people offend me, I'll give them three chances. You've already offended me three times, so I only gave you a few sticks. If you still want to offend me, then... you know the consequences."

  Does he still have a moral concept? Zheng Hanfei was amused by the boy's words. He had already beaten him, and saying this again would be of no use. At most, it could only serve as a warning to them, and it fundamentally failed to reflect his moral concept.

  "Stop smiling, great detective!" The young man's words froze Zheng Hanfei's smile, not because he had discovered that he was secretly laughing at him, but because he had discovered his true identity.

  "Are you surprised?" The young man smiled and said, "It's often said that a detective's identity shouldn't be easily discovered, and your identity is indeed not easy to associate with a detective. However, your eyes betrayed you, plus you possess the three essential things of a detective, so it wasn't hard to figure out that you're a detective."

  "Three things?"

  "The pen on your chest, the watch on your hand, and the white gloves in the pocket of your assistant's jacket. But the decisive evidence that proves your identity is the last one, after all, no one would wear white gloves in a place like this unless you have that kind of hobby." The last sentence caused the people around to burst into laughter, slightly easing the tense atmosphere.

  What a sharp observation. Zheng Hanfei narrowed his eyes, he was more and more curious about the identity of this young man, but he dared to confirm that the young man and he were both detectives.

  "Excuse me, who are you..." Just then, Sterling also arrived at the scene and asked, looking at the young man by the door.

  "Ouyang Xiu." Ouyang Xiu stretched out his hand in a friendly manner, with a smile on his face as he looked at Sterling, as if the coldness before was all an act. "Friends of Katie and Dilo, they must have told you, right?"

  "Oh! I remember!" Sterling enthusiastically shook his hand, "You're the child of Old Lao Gui, haha, didn't expect you to grow up so big, this time coming over..."

  "I'd like to take a look at that threatening letter, and also see what kind of detective you've hired. From the looks of it now, he's not much to speak of, is he?" Ou Yang Xi smiled disdainfully.

  "You'll know when the time comes!" Zheng Hanfei retorted, somewhat disgruntled. Although his opponent's reasoning ability was on par with his, and might even surpass him, he wasn't worried - he was confident that he would definitely outdo his opponent.

  "Let's go in first, don't let outsiders hear 'that thing'." Sterling hastily pushed the two into the exhibition hall, unsure whether it was due to concern that someone would overhear the threatening letter or to ease the tension between them.