CS: K9 GF | Chapter 10 – Case Reward

The two of them soon arrived at Director Zhou Weimin’s office.

After exchanging routine reports, Zhang Haiyang gave a detailed account of their investigation in Woliu Village that day, along with Luo Fei’s deduction—that Su Xiao likely had a man outside.

After hearing this, Zhou Weimin’s gaze toward Luo Fei became noticeably warmer and more appreciative. Without a doubt, among the four new recruits this year, Luo Fei was currently the most outstanding performer—something Zhou had not expected at all. Luo Fei had entered the force through the civil service exam rather than graduating from a police academy, essentially a “non-traditional” recruit. Yet his performance had far exceeded expectations.

“Luo Fei has done well. Keep it up,” Zhou Weimin said.

Perhaps realizing he had already praised Luo Fei several times recently, he deliberately restrained himself this time, offering only a brief, understated compliment.

Luo Fei nodded, indicating he would continue working hard, then waited for further instructions to leave.

The next moment, Zhou Weimin continued, “You two came at the right time. I also have good news for you.”

At that, Luo Fei and Zhang Haiyang exchanged a glance, both guessing it was likely related to the reward for the Gu Youguo case.

And indeed—

“Regarding the murder case involving Gu Youguo that you previously solved, the commendations from above have come down. Haiyang will receive a Third-Class Merit award. However, since Luo Fei is still an intern officer and lacks seniority, his reward will be an Individual Commendation.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Fei did not feel disappointed at missing out on the Third-Class Merit. Instead, he felt satisfied with the commendation. In truth, he believed the case had largely been solved due to luck rather than skill. Gu Youguo had never attempted to flee at all—he had simply stayed at home waiting for the police to arrive.

However, Zhang Haiyang immediately felt a sense of injustice on Luo Fei’s behalf.

“Director Zhou, you know very well this case was solved largely because of Luo Fei. I didn’t contribute that much myself. I receive a Third-Class Merit, while he only gets an Individual Commendation—how does that make sense? Officer Liu Haiquan and the others are going to laugh at me,” Zhang Haiyang said with a dark expression.

It felt as though he had taken credit that belonged to his apprentice.

“Master, don’t say that,” Luo Fei quickly replied. “You saw it yourself—I didn’t really do much either. Our contributions were about equal. Besides, your Third-Class Merit is probably more about your years of dedicated service. The case itself was just an added reason.”

Hearing this, Zhou Weimin looked at Luo Fei with even greater approval. This kid sees things clearly.

Then he turned to Zhang Haiyang with some dissatisfaction. “You’ve been a police officer for how many years, and you’re not even as clear-headed as your apprentice? Your merit was already under consideration long before this case. Gu Youguo’s case was just a supporting factor.”

Hearing both of them say this, Zhang Haiyang finally felt better. As long as his apprentice hadn’t been wronged, that was enough.

After reassuring Zhang Haiyang, Zhou Weimin turned back to Luo Fei.

“Don’t be discouraged. You didn’t get a Third-Class Merit this time, but there will be a next time. I believe you have the ability.”

Criminal Investigation Team

Compared to the police station, the Criminal Investigation Team was extremely busy. Even though it was almost off-duty time, no one showed any intention of leaving.

Inside Captain Zhao Donglai’s office, Yang Mei had just finished her report.

“Luo Fei’s deduction is very reasonable. The victim’s expensive phone and jewelry are indeed suspicious. All of us overlooked that this morning—we subconsciously assumed it was normal for a young woman to own such items,” Zhao Donglai said after listening to her report.

He immediately continued issuing instructions.

“This information is important. The mysterious person who had a close relationship with the victim may very well be the key suspect. Our priority now is to identify this person as quickly as possible. Later, check her consumption records and bank transfers. If they were close enough to buy her phone and jewelry, there must be financial links between them.”

“Understood, Uncle,” Yang Mei nodded.

Zhao Donglai immediately frowned. “How many times have I told you? At work, call me Captain Zhao.”

“Alright, Captain Zhao,” Yang Mei said with a smile, clearly not taking his complaint seriously. In front of her uncle, she became much more relaxed.

Zhao Donglai could only sigh helplessly. After all, she was his only niece.

Then he asked, “By the way, you went to Woliu Village with Luo Fei today. What do you think of him?”

Yang Mei froze, then looked at him in disbelief. “Seriously, Uncle? I only met him today, and I’m just 24 years old. Are you trying to set me up again? Do I really look like I can’t find a boyfriend?”

“You’re misunderstanding,” Zhao Donglai quickly corrected. “I’m asking what you think of him as a police officer. If he were transferred to the Criminal Investigation Team, would he be suitable?”

Only then did Yang Mei realize the misunderstanding. Her face immediately turned slightly red, though thankfully she wasn’t too embarrassed in front of her uncle.

After thinking for a moment, she replied seriously:

“He’s decent overall. But as a police officer, his professional skills as a criminal investigator are probably not strong yet. His observation and logical reasoning abilities are quite good, and I’ve heard his sense of smell is unusually sharp—but that still needs verification. Still… I don’t think he’s outstanding enough for you to personally request him from the police station.”

From her perspective, transferring someone from a police station to the Criminal Investigation Team was no small matter. It would involve approval processes and coordination with multiple departments, not to mention whether the station would even release him. In her view, it wasn’t worth the trouble.

Zhao Donglai did not directly answer her assessment.

Instead, he said calmly, “Honestly, this kid is good. He’s quick-minded, and most importantly, his intuition and sense for solving cases are quite strong. In both the Gu Youguo case and this one, he managed to identify key breakthroughs. That’s not easy. You know as well as I do—cases often have countless scattered clues, and being able to pick out the critical one is a real skill.”

“And you probably don’t know this—he’s not a police academy graduate. He passed the civil service exam this year and joined the Songxin Town Police Station. If there’s a chance, I’d like to transfer him to our Criminal Investigation Team. Of course, not now. He still needs to be observed for at least a year or two.”

Yang Mei raised her eyebrows in surprise.

“A civil service exam recruit? He became a police officer that way? Why didn’t he go to a police academy if he wanted to be a cop?”