First-Class Lawyer

“We’ll have this lady go first.” With his electronic pen, Kane directly pointed at and set the sequence for everyone present, gesturing first at Laura then at Elena. “Next will be this lady—”

“Mr Glenn will be third.” Kane knew the family names of Joe’s childhood friends inside out; let alone Kane, most people meeting them for the first time would be able to recognise their family names. 

One by one, he called out the few who hadn’t gone to the washroom or the kitchen, then turned to Joe’s side. “You’re sixth, Mr Ke seventh, Mr Gu eighth…”

During the interval that he individually numbered them, Gu Yan’s smart device silently buzzed again.

That enthusiastic friend had sent a new message over, even considering some other scenarios for Gu Yan:

-By the way, it doesn’t matter if the perpetrator you’re simulating isn’t using a smart device or photon computer when at the detection gate. This can be preset by adding a number and a # in front of the letter, which means that the detection gate will show that result following a cycle of whatever number you inputted. It’s very simple. 

“Mr Gu’s intern? Should be ninth. Mr Manson will be tenth…”

Kane placed the people who went to the kitchen and the washroom towards the end of the queue.

Gu Yan mulled over it for a moment. Then, he opened the program file, and typed a ‘9#’ at the end, and hit a space—when it came to Yan Suizhi’s turn, the test would show the opposite of the actual result.

“Odd numbers over here, even numbers over there. Ladies and gentlemen, would you please get in line.” Kane clapped his hands together, firmly holding the attention of the crowd on him. “There are two gates, the process should be fast. It shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. Right, I need you to take off your smart devices and other such items for now.”

The hall was in a bit of a mess as the several young masters grumbled.

Gu Yan, who had already finished presetting the program, was not in any hurry. He calmly slid the ring-shaped smart device off his little finger and set it aside on the glass table.

However, when he soundlessly slid a glance towards the kitchen as he stood back upright, he saw that Yan Suizhi was holding the refrigerator door, calmly adding three ice cubes to the glass before adding a little water to it.

Other people couldn’t see anything wrong with this action, but Gu Yan felt that it was very problematic. Although many young people like to add a few blocks of ice into their water, especially in a summer like Yaba’s… 

This would never include Yan Suizhi.

This guy had always drunk warm water, since when did he start adding ice?

Gu Yan’s attention was inadvertently pulled onto that glass of ice water.

A certain someone… wasn’t intending to directly short circuit the detection gates by splashing a glass of water over them, right? 

Laura and Elena had already walked through the two detection gates in their respective turns. With each person that passed, the gates activated and the light quietly flashed green.

Everything was functioning as it should.

When the two of them went through the gates, Yan Suizhi came out of the kitchen with the glass of ice water. Everyone else was busy, only Gu Yan’s gaze remained fixed on him—more specifically, on the glass of ice water and the long, slender fingers holding the glass.

And as Yan Suizhi walked over, Gu Yan watched a disgruntled young master, who was slovenly getting in line whilst rubbing his neck, lightly bump into him; Yan Suizhi reached out to hold the frame of the detection gate. 

That glass of water, however, wasn’t conveniently dumped onto the link port of the detection gate.

It was both unexpected, and expected.

Then, that glass of ice water…

While his thoughts churned, Yan Suizhi took a few sips of the ice water in his hand and nodded at Kane, smiling. He responded, “What? I have to take off my smart device? Sure, no problem.” 

Immediately afterwards, Gu Yan saw him set down the glass on the coffee table and slip the ring-shaped smart device off his finger.

—

Yan Suizhi was straightening back up when he felt someone grab his wrist.

He froze. His gaze following upwards from the hand catching his wrist, he saw Gu Yan scan him from head to toe, then frown and lift his chin towards the other detection door. “You’re on that side, they’re staggering the queue on both gates. Drink the water later, don’t jump the queue.” 

After saying this, he let go.

Yan Suizhi’s wrist was suddenly released, and where Gu Yan couldn’t see, his lowered fingers made subtle rolling motions. He said with a smile, “I know. Ninth in line, right? Why, are you afraid that I’ll cut the queue and humiliate you?”

With this, he walked towards the detection gates. His hands were empty and he looked the paradigm of the law-abiding citizen.

Of course, it only looked like this on the surface. 

In actuality, Yan Suizhi had something in his hands—a few black soybeans that he had taken from a glass bowl somewhere in the fridge.

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When he held the detection gates earlier, he had pushed two beans into a crevice. Now, whilst passing by the other detection gate, he made use of the cover provided by George Manson to casually push the remaining two beans into a crevice on the inside of the other gate.

This way, once the gates were activated, they would scan the person as well as the black soybeans… 

As Yan Suizhi stood at the end of the line, Glenn, the third in line, just happened to walk under the detection gates to stand in place. The scanning light quickly scanned from the bottom of his foot to the crown of his head.

Glenn had both hands stuck in his pockets, slight cockiness and impatience leaking into his expression. He probably felt that he was cooperating with something utterly unnecessary.

Just as the scanning light reached above his head, before he could take a step forward, the red light at the top of the detection gate promptly flared without warning. An electronic voice mechanically reported the result. “Warning, traces of genetic modification detected! Warning, traces of genetic modification detected!”

Glenn froze up at once like a goose caught in a chokehold. 

As he stood frozen, the fourth person in line just finished his scan at the other detection gate. The red light flared immediately afterwards, and the same alarm rang in duet.

Another member was added to the dumbstruck goose population.

“When the fuck did I ever modify my genes? My family genes are so expensive, I’d rather be shot in the head than do something so stupid!” Glenn, seeing that he had a comrade, instantly revitalised, cursing as soon as he opened his mouth.

It was one thing to curse, but the problem lay in that his words made sense. Kane jolted slightly upon hearing this, massaging his temples in silence. 

“Have the fricking detection gates been properly fixed?”

“Why be in such a hurry to drag it over and waste our time if it isn’t fixed?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

At first glance, the door did seem to be faulty still. However, Kane was a very stubborn man. Even if it was malfunctioning, everyone still had to pass through it once to prove that it was honest-to-god faulty. 

So, the police chief coughed, cleared his throat, and ordered, “Keep going, don’t stop.”

And, without exception, the fifth, sixth, and seventh all came out red.

“…”

Lawyer Gu felt drunk watching this. 

He didn’t even need to check to know which guy pulled this crippling trick. A certain someone came out with a damaging blow right off the bat, straightaway dragging the whole crew down to perish with him.

When he himself walked to the gate, the scanning light sweeping over him once from his feet to his crown, only to receive the familiar and unapologetic warning sound yet again—his face couldn’t have been more paralysed.

And as Lawyer Gu stood in place at the gate, Yan Suizhi also stood in place at the other gate, illuminated by the scanning light.

These two gates shared the same system. For record-keeping purposes, both people were staggered, and he was exactly the ninth person in line, not one less, not one more. 

At first, the esteemed Professor Yan expected that the people behind, including himself, would trigger the red light. In this way, he would mix into the crowd, not standing out at all. It was a perfect plan.

However…

After the light scanned him, the indicator light above him flashed, and it actually gave a merry ding. Green.

Yan Suizhi, “…” 

Gu Yan, “…”

Knowing the full story, the distinguished Lawyer Gu was so pissed that he almost burst into laughter; he didn’t know if he was more ticked off at himself or a certain someone. This could practically be glorified in textbooks as a classic case of a one-sided accomplice.

The illumination of the green light washed Professor Yan’s face equally green.

The only silver lining was that Laura and Elena had also lit up green earlier, just happening to close the loop with him. On cursory examination, it would seem as if the detection gates had caught an intermittent bout of flu, getting well again when it came to him. 

But no matter how it was explained, the two doors had already been defined as ‘faulty’ in everyone’s minds. Even if Yan Suizhi undid the tempering and Kane got everyone to retest again, the results still wouldn’t hold much sway.

The honest police chief Kane looked depressed. He waved his hands at his subordinates. “Forget it, forget it. How is this thing fixed? Get them to send it for repairs again, we’ll consider it again after it’s been properly fixed.”

And the one who looked the most depressed was Joe. After all, he was the one who had brought these gates to the island, and also he who had accidentally made them malfunction in the first place.

Gu Yan sat back on the sofa. As he slipped the smart device back onto his finger, he made a mental note that he owed his friend one. 

After the commotion, Chief Kane temporarily gave up on the idea of using the detection gates. He took out his photon computer to register everyone’s information, followed by routine questioning.

The questioning had to be conducted individually to prevent collusion. It was impossible to pull people into a small dark room of the police station for interrogation before the nature of the crime was determined. Therefore, Kane simply arranged for his subordinates to conduct the questioning in pairs in the respective rooms of the guests in the villa compound.

As Yan Suizhi and the group of his former students arrived first, they were allocated in pairs to a single villa each. Afterwards with these sudden arrivals, there weren’t any completely vacant villas available for the time being. As such, they were arranged to stay in the central villa where Joe was.

The central villa was sufficiently big and had many rooms. The rooms also weren’t differentiated by size, so each room was picked by their personal preferences. 

For example, George Manson preferred to stay on the ground floor.

The design of the central villa slightly resembled a round fortress. The hall on the ground floor formed the inner ring, containing a kitchen, dining room, washrooms, and even a gym and a circular dance floor. Outside the hall was a rounded hallway that connected several spacious bedroom suites. George Manson stayed in one of those suites.

Aside from when he requested to go to the washroom, he hadn’t spoken a word the entire afternoon. The man was in a very poor mental state.

When he heard that the questioning would be conducted individually, he got up, looking wan, heading for his suite ahead of everyone else. 

The two officers in charge of his questioning exchanged a look and hurriedly followed behind him.

“Manson seems to be having quite severe post-trauma…” The one called Glenn muttered.

Due to Ke Jin, Joe couldn’t be bothered in the slightest to care about these childhood friends of his and didn’t respond. Instead, it was Laura seated beside him who replied, “I heard him say something when I came ashore. Purportedly, the sea snakes leapt straight for him at first, but after Mr Zhao blocked them, they switched targets.”

Several people looked surprised. 

Elena sighed deeply. “If that’s really the case, then it isn’t weird that he is having post-trauma. And he’s probably feeling worse than that; Mr Zhao is still unconscious, after all.”

But the first to call this into question were as before still those young masters who had grown up together.

“Is that so…” Glenn arched an eyebrow. “Did it really happen that way?”

A few others murmured their agreement. 

As far as these young masters were concerned, they were all clear that the reason they were playing nice with each other wasn’t because of the depth of their bonds. Under such a premise, would anyone really be willing to risk their life to block a sea snake for someone else?

This eluded their sensibilities.

A few others only thought it unlikely, but Glenn’s words already took on a mildly taunting tone.

Joe turned his head over, making faces at Gu Yan and dramatically rolling his eyes behind Glenn’s back. 

Kane clapped his hands together. He sternly warned, “Ladies and gentlemen, please stop gossiping and move back to your respective rooms. My officers will briefly inquire about some details surrounding the time of the incident. I hope that everyone can cooperate and say what you know—not baseless conjectures, but the truth.”

One by one, the crowd in the hall rose to their feet. Several of the young masters, along with officers, walked towards the spiral staircase, whereas Glenn led two to the elevator.

The elevator had to be accessed from the outer hallway, which would pass by George Manson’s room.

Before Yan Suizhi and the others made a move on, they could hear Glenn’s voice carry over from the hallway. “Manson, did an earthquake pass through your room? Why’s it so messy?” 

Joe made another exaggerated eye roll, grumbling to Gu Yan and Yan Suizhi, “My God, I really have to rethink calling Manson next time. Every time I call him, he would always insist on bringing this retard Glenn with him. That idiot struts around as if his body is made of gold, like even a strand of his hair is more precious than anyone else. What’s his problem! Manson also started talking stupid under his influence back then, but maybe he cleansed his brain in the past two years or something and he grew much better. But as long as his family and Glenn’s don’t fall out of sorts, he’ll have to keep bringing this retard with him. And then, the one who ends up suffocating is me, I really need to give it a second thought…”

A long chain of complaints spewed from his mouth like a torrent. Following this, he waved at Gu Yan and Yan Suizhi, bringing Ke Jin back to their rooms.

“Sirs, the questioning has to be conducted individually,” the officer reminded them.

Joe said, “Let me group up with him, along with a doctor. Relax, we can’t string together any excuses. If he really does speak and string together a sentence for me, I’ll set off fireworks all over the alliance.” 

Uncertain, the two officers turned back to look at Kane.

Kane demonstrated his unyielding nature, showing no leniency. “Separate. You can assign a doctor to accompany Mr Ke.”

Joe, “…I’m licensed to practise psychiatry.”

Kane, “…A practising doctor.” 

Joe looked away and cursed, then wiped his face and said to Kane, “Do you know why you’ve never been able to get a promotion, my friend?”

Kane nodded, “Yes.”

Joe, “…”

In reality, Joe and Kane were on friendly terms with each other, but when it came to official business, they couldn’t see eye to eye at all. 

The two of them had a silent standoff for a long time before Joe finally gave in to this stubborn ass. “How about I watch from the door when you question him? I won’t say anything, I’ll only look. I’m afraid that he might accidentally get triggered and feel uncomfortable again.”

Kane mentally went through all the relevant laws and regulations on the bookshelves of Yaba Island’s police department and found nothing to refute him with, so he finally relented. “Okay.”

Yan Suizhi watched the entirety of this from the sidelines, thinking that this young master was quite mystical. Everyone said that birds of a feather flock together; he had hung out with Manson and these others since young, yet had actually turned out the way he was today.

“Let’s go.” Gu Yan shifted his gaze away from Joe, saying. 

Yan Suizhi and he each led two officers towards the villa that they stayed in. As he walked past the doors in the hallway, Yan Suizhi caught a glimpse of George Manson’s room out of his peripheral vision. From this angle, he could only see a small part of it, but it was enough for him to understand Glenn’s surprise.

His room was really in great disarray. Various alcohol bottles and glasses littered the floor, and clothes were strewn all over. There were also many trinkets that he couldn’t quite make out in the yard, many of which metal, brightly reflecting light from outside the window.

In this room, there wasn’t any need to worry about being burgled even without an alarm, because burglars wouldn’t even have a place to put their feet. If they weren’t careful, they’d make a misstep; not only would the clink startle someone, they might end up tripping as well.

Bam— 

Right as this thought flashed past, one of the officers in George Manson’s room tripped, crashing into the side of the bed.

The other officer solemnly reminded him, “Watch your step.”

George Manson, however, showed no signs of intending to tidy up. He simply sat down by the window and fished out a glass cup, polishing off the last bit of red wine in it.

With such an unusual display of behaviour, he would surely be a prime focus in their investigation. 

Yan Suizhi shook his head, striding across the hallway.

The villa they lived in was a little ways off, but it had a spectacular view. Yan Suizhi liked to live in elevated places that allowed him to view faraway scenery, so after Gu Yan took the room facing the lamp pine forest, he took the room opposite Gu Yan’s.

From his balcony, he could see the long stretch of the beach and the vast sea.

Gu Yan led the two officers into his room, glancing towards him as he shut the door. It was, as before, the same cold and seemingly cursory gaze. Yet, it also seemed to carry a slight weight. 

Yan Suizhi closed the door and pondered it over.

His instinctive reaction was that the out-of-place green light had caused Gu Yan to take notice. After all, lawyers more or less had their occupational diseases; once they noticed certain things, it would diffuse and colour their perception of other things, the same way mud would be dredged up when pulling out a carrot.

And it all depended on which line of logic that this observation had diffused to.

However, speaking of that green light… Yan Suizhi’s brows furrowed imperceptibly. 

He had clearly tampered with the gate, and it was proven effective. So, why had all those who hadn’t done genetic modification surgery come out red, but he, who had done the surgery, triggered a green light?

At the end of it, there were only two possibilities.

One, his interference had really tossed the gate haywire.

Two, the detection gate received another, separate interference. 

Which was to say, aside from him, someone else had tampered with the detection gate…

“Ruan Ye?” The officer’s voice suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts.

Yan Suizhi’s gaze flickered, and he smiled. “Sorry, I got a little distracted earlier.”

“It’s alright. Can we start the questioning?” 

“Sure.”