Chapter 84: My Name Is Li Shangwu

My name is Li Shangwu.

I lied.

On May 22, 2010, my colleague and I were assigned to stake out a fraudster.

The fraudster’s name was Zhang Huanan.

He was extremely cunning, with several prior convictions.

What made it even trickier was that Zhang Huanan had an exceptionally high level of counter-surveillance awareness and had repeatedly evaded police capture. This time, in this fraud case, Zhang Huanan was quickly identified as one of the key suspects, leading my colleague and me to keep watch day and night.

“Captain Li, want one?”

Xiao Liu pulled out my favorite Cordyceps cigarette from his pocket. He wasn’t wealthy, but he always carried around packs of expensive cigarettes—over fifty yuan a pack—that he never smoked himself, frequently offering them to me instead.

“Xiao Liu, how much do you make a month?”

I didn’t take the cigarette. Instead, I pulled out my own pack of Red General—eight yuan a pack, cheap and strong.

“Twenty-seven hundred,” Xiao Liu said. “Captain Li, don’t you already know?”

“You earn twenty-seven hundred a month, and you smoke Cordyceps?” I stuck a General between my lips, and Xiao Liu quickly handed me a lighter.

“Captain Li, what are you saying?” Xiao Liu forced a laugh. “How could I afford to smoke Cordyceps? These are just for you…”

I shook my head helplessly and said, “We’re detectives. The only thing that matters is who can crack cases. Cut out the workplace politics.”

“Yes, yes, of course… You’re absolutely right, Captain Li.” Xiao Liu tucked the Cordyceps back into his pocket and pulled out a six-yuan pack of Changbaishan instead. “I’m just here to learn from you, after all.”

To be honest, Xiao Liu was smart and had great instincts. Rumor had it he had always been at the top of his class in the police academy. But somehow, his parents had raised him to be a master of bureaucratic slickness at such a young age, making him a headache for us veterans the moment he joined the force.

“Captain Li, do you think we’ll actually catch Zhang Huanan?”

“Hmm…” I thought for a moment. “Why worry about that? Orders are orders. We just have to follow them.”

We parked the car across the street from Zhang Huanan’s place, keeping a close eye on the only entrance and exit.

Stakeouts like these were usually done in pairs so one person could rest while the other kept watch. But we had no idea how long we’d be stuck here, and the uncertainty only made the craving for cigarettes worse.

“I should’ve brought an extra pair of underwear…” Xiao Liu muttered.

“What? You planning to change your underwear here?”

“Ha!” Xiao Liu laughed without a care. “Just kidding, Captain Li. Want another one?”

We chain-smoked in the confined space. Since we couldn’t roll down the windows, the car quickly filled with a thick haze.

Every so often, Xiao Liu would turn on the AC to air it out. Otherwise, in conditions like this, the risk of lung cancer would’ve been close to a hundred percent.

A full day passed, and neither of us had slept.

I was used to pulling all-nighters, so I could still handle it, but Xiao Liu was already nodding off.

“Get some rest,” I said. “I’ll keep watch.”

“Captain Li… are you sure? You haven’t slept yet, how can I…” His words were tough, but his eyelids were drooping.

“It’s fine. Sleep. I’ll wake you up later.”

“Alright… just half an hour…”

In less than twenty seconds, Xiao Liu was snoring. The kid was exhausted.

Once I was sure he was sound asleep, I slowly pulled out my phone and checked my unread messages.

Out of four texts, three were from Xuanxuan.

*Dad, are you coming home for dinner tonight?*

*Dad, Grandma said you’re on a mission. Stay safe!*

*Dad, there’s a parent-teacher meeting next Friday afternoon. Can you make it?*

I frowned slightly but still sent a reply:

*I’ll be home in a couple of days. Eat well.*

After sending it, I opened the fourth unread message.

The unknown number had sent just three words:

*Still staking out?*

I glanced at the sleeping Xiao Liu beside me, then shifted slightly and quickly typed back:

*Stop wasting my time. Stay hidden.*

With that done, I pocketed my phone and reclined my seat to take a quick nap myself.

The department’s new car was pretty fancy—the seats were electric, reclining smoothly instead of jerking back like the old ones that could throw out your back.

As for catching Zhang Huanan…

Come on. With me here, he wasn’t showing his face.

I don’t know how long I’d been out when a violent shake jolted me awake.

I opened my eyes in a panic to see Xiao Liu staring at me, horrified.

“Captain Li!! How could you fall asleep too?!”

“Huh?” Still groggy, it took me a moment to process what was happening. “Oh… you’re awake?”

“This is bad! Captain Li, we both fell asleep! What if Zhang Huanan showed up?”

“Relax. He’s not getting away.” I rubbed my eyes and adjusted my seat.

“Not getting away?”

“I mean… I just dozed off. It’s not like he’d pick that exact moment…”

“Ugh…” Xiao Liu still looked uneasy. He slapped his cheeks hard. “I knew I shouldn’t have slept. Now I’ve messed up my first mission.”

“Don’t sweat it, kid.” I patted his shoulder. “I’ll take the heat.”

Strangely, from that moment on, Xiao Liu seemed to get a second wind. He stayed awake for two whole days straight.

I napped several times in between, but every time I woke up, he was still staring intently at the building across the street.

“You trying to drop dead from exhaustion?” I asked, concerned. “I’m awake now. Get some sleep.”

“No.” Xiao Liu’s dark circles were severe, his face haggard. “Captain Li, I’m not resting this time. Not until Zhang Huanan shows up.”

Just then, my phone buzzed again.

Even a Nokia 6300 was running low on battery by now.

I checked it—another text from Zhang Huanan.

I subtly turned away to read it, but Xiao Liu suddenly spoke up behind me.

“Orders from the team?”

“Nah.” I smiled, tucking the phone slightly out of view.

“Then who was it?” He stared blankly at my phone.

Most people wouldn’t ask something so blunt. But Xiao Liu was so sleep-deprived he was practically delirious.

Seeing his state, an idea struck me.

I reached into my pocket, transferred the cigarettes from the pack to my pocket, then pulled out the empty pack and waved it in front of him.

“Xiao Liu, go buy some cigarettes.”

“Cigarettes? There’s no store around here.” He blinked in confusion.

“But I’m all out.” I tucked the empty pack and my phone away. “If there’s nothing nearby, go a little farther. Staying up this long without cigarettes is brutal. And we’re almost out of water and snacks in the car—grab some of those too if you can.”

He stood there dazed for a moment, then nodded.

“Got it, Captain Li. I’ll be right back.”