Reincarnated: The Mob Boss Turned Detective

The phone chimed twice.

Pulling over to the roadside, Li Xingchen checked the new message on his phone. It was a real estate advertisement:

"Craft your dream home with [Green New Court]. Luxury apartments from 70 to 120 square meters, and breathtaking villas from 150 to 220 square meters. For inquiries, call: 7****** Mobile: 138*********"

Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Li Xingchen stepped out of his car and walked a block to find a coin-operated public phone booth. He dialed a number.

The call was answered swiftly, "Brother, we have news! Zhou Zhaotao might be onto you. I overheard him telling Brother Rong that he wants an explanation from you today. I think you should consult with Captain Zhang and consider aborting the mission."

Li Xingchen responded coolly, "An explanation doesn't necessarily mean he's onto my cover."

The caller persisted, "There's a 90% chance! After the incident with Giant Bear's goods, Brother Qing suspected a mole. They might have conducted a covert investigation. Although we fabricated an alibi for the day Giant Bear shipped the goods, it won't withstand close examination. If they grow suspicious, they'll spot the inconsistencies immediately."

Li Xingchen's brow furrowed, "I understand. Don't text me about this kind of thing in the future, it's too risky."

The caller reassured him, "The phone and card are untraceable; they're brand new.. Besides, the real estate development is real, the advertisement is real, I just added an extra phone number at the end."

Li Xingchen shot back, "That phone number has twelve digits. It's a more glaring flaw than the alibi."

"Brother Li, what's your plan?"

"Choosing to be an undercover agent means always being ready for exposure. I know what I'm doing." With a note of confidence, Li hung up the phone and stepped out of the booth. It was 5:30 in the evening, the height of the after-work rush hour.

Fighting his way against the crowd, Li returned to his car.

The streetlights flickered on, their orange glow painting the gray streets, injecting a hint of life into the somber city.

He reclined in his seat, gazing at the sky through the car window. After being undercover for so long, his favorite pastime was to look at the sky. Although the world of an undercover agent differed from that of a police officer, at least the sky remained the same.

Chirp, chirp.

Another text message.

Li checked his phone-

Goods have arrived, 7 o'clock, Dock 3.

From Zhou Zhaotao.

A breeze wafted in from the water, slightly damp.

The sky had turned pitch black, and the city was ablaze with vibrant neon lights.

"Dead men sometimes spill secrets they shouldn't. The best secret keepers are the bodies that are never found. I have important matters to attend to tonight, don't disturb me."

Switching off his phone, Zhou Zhaotao tossed it casually into the car before leaning against the door, his gaze lost in the night sky.

Before long, two familiar headlights appeared in the distance, growing larger and clearer. The driver was hidden in the glare of the headlights, his face obscured.

The car gradually slowed down, and the lights abruptly dimmed.

The car door opened, and Li, clad in a trench coat, stepped out, his expression icy, "Brother Zhou."

Zhou straightened up and casually asked, "No one knows you're here, right?"

Li replied, "I know the rules."

"Of course. You've been with me for three years, you know me best." Zhou pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and tossed one to him.

Li caught it deftly, took out a lighter, and lit Zhou's cigarette first.

Zhou took a drag and fell silent.

The words from Ma Qi earlier had given Li Xingchen a vague sense of foreboding. Zhou was a man who knew how to take care of himself. Despite being a gang leader, he didn't indulge in prostitution, gambling, alcohol, or smoking, and he even insisted on exercising daily. He lived healthier than most people. If he was smoking, it meant he was grappling with a problem or feeling tense.

"When are you planning to find a woman?" Zhou finally broke the silence.

"I haven't thought about it." Li replied.

"What kind of woman are you planning to find?" Zhou asked.

Li hesitated, "Someone who can cook?"

Zhou gave him a meaningful look, "You don't marry a woman to make her your cook."

"Yes."

Zhou continued, "Women talk too much, it's hard to find a reliable and caring one. In our line of work, keeping secrets is the most important."

Li wasn't sure what Zhou was getting at, so he simply agreed, "Yes."

Zhou went on, "Do you know Zhang? His wife sold him out after sitting in the police station for just three hours."

Li replied, "He died before I joined you."

Zhou said, "Then you probably don't know how Zhang died. He jumped off the roof of the Phoenix Building himself, clean and neat. After his death, the brothers still considered him one of their own."

A chill ran down Li's spine, but he held his silence.

Zhou asked, "What about you? If your woman betrayed you, what would you do?"

Li replied, "I wouldn't give her the chance."

"A lot of things happen unexpectedly." Zhou took a deep drag on his cigarette, then blew out a smoke ring.

Li thought back to the phone call with Ma Qi earlier, and tentatively asked, "Brother, didn't you ask me to come here to pick up the goods?"

Zhou glanced at him, "Are you in a hurry?"

"Not at all." Li said, though his heart was pounding. It was clear that Zhou Zhaotao didn't call him out here to pick up goods. Smuggling was risky, and if it was about the goods, he wouldn't have been beating around the bush for so long.

"Would you betray me?" Zhou suddenly asked.

Li stiffened. He had been introduced to the gang by a veteran gangster who owed Zhou a favor. He had been diligent and performed well for the past three years, so no one had ever suspected him. This was the first time he had been questioned in his three years as an undercover agent. He knew that with Zhou's brooding personality, he wouldn't ask such a question unless he was absolutely certain.

Even so, he firmly answered, "No."

Zhou took a melancholic drag on his cigarette, wiped his mouth with his left hand, crushed the cigarette under his right foot, and then looked away, saying lightly, "The goods are in the trunk, go check."

A knot formed in Li's stomach. He knew Zhou well enough to understand that extinguishing his cigarette signaled a decision had been made.

"What's so special about the goods that I need to check again?" His eyes quickly scanned Zhou Zhaotao from head to toe.

Zhou had a good figure and favored fitted suits that accentuated his physique, making him look vibrant and handsome. Despite being in his forties, he looked like he was in his early thirties. Because his suits were so fitted, he rarely carried large items on his person. Usually, his subordinates would carry things for him, and when he was alone, he would carry at most a credit card and a few hundred-dollar bills. But today, his left suit jacket was slightly raised by his pocket.

Li remembered his favorite Walther PPK gun.

Zhou seemed oblivious to his scrutiny and said, "It's an interesting new product. Your life should be moving to a new stage."

...

Was he planning to kill him himself?

With his heart pounding, Li Xingchen turned and slowly approached Zhou's car. Although his feet were moving, his head was slightly tilted, trying to keep an eye on Zhou's every move with his peripheral vision.

Zhou shifted his feet, seemingly trying to avoid his gaze.

Li's eyes flicked to the left rearview mirror of the car. Thanks to the lights from a distant building, he could vaguely see... Zhou reaching into his left pocket.

"Don't move!" Li suddenly drew his gun and pointed it at Zhou. His heart was pounding. After being an undercover agent for so long, this was the first time he had felt such a real threat to his life. The sweat in his palm almost soaked the entire handle of the gun, and he kept telling himself to stay calm!

Zhou Zhaotao froze.

Li knew that there was no turning back now. He cocked the gun and shouted, "I am Detective Li Xingchen, and I suspect you of smuggling drugs. Raise your hands and turn around."

Zhou slowly let go and pulled his hand out of his pocket. His expression was extremely calm, as if the gun pointed at him was nothing, "You're an undercover agent?"

Li sternly said, "Raise your hands!"

Zhou slowly raised his hands, "Did you betray Giant Bear?"

Li replied, "Fighting crime is every policeman's duty!"

Zhou coldly looked at him, "What are you going to charge me with? Going out for a walk at night? Or littering cigarette butts?"

Li said, "Smuggling drugs."

"Where's the evidence?"

Li said, "The text message you sent me."

"Do all cops act as naive as you?" Zhou sneered, "Charging someone with smuggling based on a text message? Wouldn't it be better to use a fabricated charge, there's historical precedent for that."

Gun in one hand, Li reached with the other to open the trunk.

"You have no right to touch my car!" Zhou glared at him.

The trunk lid suddenly sprang open.

"Xingchen." Zhou's gentle voice suddenly emanated from the trunk.

Li Xingchen was taken aback.

Zhou seized the opportunity to rush forward, grabbing Li's gun hand and twisting it.

Li immediately grabbed his hand with his other hand, and the two began to wrestle.

"This is probably the most absurd thing I've done in my life. I'm used to fighting for what I want, but this is the first time I'm fighting for someone I like..."

Zhou suddenly lunged towards the car trunk.

Li pulled him back with force, his wrist twisting back, the muzzle of the gun pointing directly at Zhou's heart. Without any hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

Bang.

A close-range gunshot.

Zhou's body trembled, and he fell backward, pulling Li down with him.

"I've watched you grow from a naive college student into a mature man over the three years you've been with me. I've accompanied you as you've grown, and you've accompanied me through many happy days. I don't know when it started, but I found that I wanted to keep you firmly within my sight. Over the years, you're the first person who's made me want to settle down. I don't trust anyone else to sleep by my side, but if it's you, I think... I should be able to, no, I mean, I'd be willing to spend a lifetime with you. This is the first time I've confessed my feelings to anyone in my life, so think about it. The roses in the car, if you like them, keep them, if not... I'll take them back. That's it."

The recording device in the trunk abruptly stopped. It was a clever device that would automatically start playing as soon as the trunk was fully opened. Having fulfilled its purpose, it lay quietly amidst a car full of red roses, as if waiting with the roses for their owner to retrieve them.

The surroundings fell into a deathly silence.

It took Li a while to come back to his senses. He let go of the gun and frantically reached into Zhou's left pocket, only to pull out a palm-sized velvet box. He opened the box with trembling hands, and it fell to the ground.

Two platinum rings rolled out of the box, stopping next to Zhou Zhaotao's lifeless body, one after the other.