Card Room (Rebirth)

After leaving the secret room and returning to the main city, Ye Qi asked excitedly, “Chief Shao, how much money do you have in the card?”

The team’s accounts were managed separately by Shao Qingge and Xiao Lou. When the team was formed, Shao Qingge was worried that it wasn’t safe to place all their money with one person so he divided it in half. It was just that at the time, everyone only had tens of millions of gold coins. Xiao Lou was responsible for the daily expenses such as eating, clothing, housing and transportation. The bulk of the money earned from selling the chrysoberyl bracelets was stored in Chief Shao’s account. After all, he had the ATM Machine card and could withdraw money at any time.

Everyone was very curious after hearing Ye Qi’s question.

Xiao Lou also looked at Shao Qingge and joked, “Chief Shao, come and show your little vault.”

Shao Qingge immediately called out the ATM. This was one of the few cards that could be used anytime and anywhere in the main city. Shao Qingge inserted his ID card into the ATM card slot and did the fingerprint verification. Soon, a card appeared on the ATM screen with a string of numbers.

Ye Qi stared wide-eyed at the number. “How many zeroes is this?!”

The series of zeroes caused his head to spin. He had never seen so much money.

Shao Qingge smiled. “At the moment, I have 180 million gold coins.”

The group stared in disbelief. Since when was there so much money?

Xiao Lou quickly reacted. “Did you invest the previous earnings?”

Shao Qingge nodded. “Yes, every time I go back to the main city, I will pay attention to the stock market when I’m bored. I buy some stocks with better growth or potential. Then the next time I come out of the secret room, I will check the situation and sell it if needed. I made some money in the meantime.”

Ye Qi gave a thumbs up. “You are worthy of being our gold master daddy!”

Every time they came out of the secret room, they would usually go back to their room to sleep after a big meal. Meanwhile, Shao Qingge was using his free time to trade stocks and make money. This man was truly very business-minded. No wonder he could start an investment company from scratch.

Xiao Lou calculated it carefully. “Chief Shao’s S-grade Rich and Willful costs 5 million gold coins to copy a card. In the beginning, we all thought this card was particularly bad. However, compared to Chief Shao’s hundreds of millions… it doesn’t seem to be a big deal?”

Ye Qi nodded. “Yes! Chief Shao is indeed rich and willful. In the future secret rooms, Chief Shao can casually copy cards and no one will say anything.”

Everyone agreed. It seemed that in the hands of Shao Qingge, Rich and Willful was the strongest S-grade card.

Shao Qingge smiled. “A deposit of 100 million gold coins sounds terrible but the conversion rate of gold coins to yuan is 100:1. In yuan, it is actually only one million.

Ye Qi was helpless. “What is ‘only’ one million? In reality, my monthly living expenses are only 2,000 yuan.”

Liu Qiao added, “In reality, one million can buy a large house in third-tier cities.

Old Mo lamented, “In the Card World, it can buy four or five luxury villas.”

Qu Wanyue carefully calculated it. “It is almost 10 years of my salary.”

Ye Qi finally concluded, “It is really sad to talk to the rich.”

Yu Hanjiang looked at Xiao Lou and thought about it. “Shall we go in order to 9 of Hearts?”

Xiao Lou nodded. “Sure. What does everyone else think?”

Their teammates had no objections.

Shao Qingge joked, “The Hearts secret room. It is up to Group Leader Yu and Professor Xiao to take us to lie down and win.”

Xiao Lou patiently reminded everyone, “Everyone has experienced the A-grade Hearts secret room in Beacon in Troubled Times last time. You must remember all the clues obtained and no details can be ignored.”

The key to the final puzzle in Beacon in Troubled Times was actually mentioned in the daily gossip between Qu Wanyue and the Ninth Princess regarding the secrets of the harem. If Qu Wanyue had ignored this then their investigation would’ve hit a dead end. It could be seen that everyone would receive a clue that would more or less help the case.

Ye Qi remembered the half a month spent as a girl and his expression distorted. “Will it be role playing again this time? Don’t make me go and play a girl in ancient times!”

Xiao Lou patted Xiao Ye on the shoulder to comfort him. “A of Hearts shouldn’t repeat the same thing. It shouldn’t be ancient this time.”

Yu Hanjiang’s eyes swept over everyone. “Remember what Xiao Lou said. After entering the secret room, remember everyone you meet and don’t ignore the details. We have to gather the clues together. This time, the secret room definitely won’t be any simpler than Beacon in Troubled Times.”

The group nodded carefully at his serious gaze.

Yu Hanjiang told them, “Get ready. I will draw the card.”

He drew the 9 of Hearts card directly from the card wall. The scenery in front of everyone changed and they came to a strange but familiar world.

It was strange because everyone was in a different environment. It was familiar because the background of this secret room was a modern city. There were countless high-rise buildings and the streets were full of traffic. It should be working hours on a weekday and the people on the streets were in a hurry.

Xiao Lou wore a white coat and stood in front of French windows. After two seconds, he reacted to his assigned identity in this secret room.

Behind him was a dissection room with an empty dissection table. There was also a laboratory next door with many analytical instruments that he was familiar with. It included various toxic substance identification and genetic identification instruments. To the left was an electric glass door with the words ‘Forensic Appraisal Centre’ written on it.

Xiao Lou took a deep breath and quickly turned back to his office. This time, he was directly assigned the identity of a forensics doctor in the secret room. It was a real performance and there were many instruments that could be used this time. It was unlike before when he could only observe on-site and make an analysis.

Fingerprints, genes, blood, hair… there were all types of professional identification that would be of great help to solve the case.

The previous cases didn’t require these professional identification equipments and they could successfully solve the case by relying on on-site traces and clues. This time, Xiao Lou’s status as a forensics doctor was directly restored. Obviously, the difficulty of the case had increased and there may be many misleading clues.

***

At the same time, Yu Hanjiang appeared at the police station wearing a police officer’s uniform.

Although the police uniform he wore was somewhat different from the one in reality and he didn’t know any of the colleagues around him, Yu Hanjiang was performing in his true colours and he quickly calmed down. He returned to his office and called a young policeman over.

It was just like Beacon in Troubled Times. Once he met someone he knew, Yu Hanjiang’s memories of that person would appear in his mind.

Xiao Wu had just come to the criminal police department. He had an outgoing personality and worked steadily. After being called to the office, Xiao Wu scratched his head. “Group Leader Yu, what can I do for you?”

Yu Hanjiang spoke lightly. “Simply repeat the recent case. I want to see how much you have learned.”

It turned out to be examining the results of his learning. Xiao Wu stood upright and quickly described the recent criminal case.

According to Xiao Wu, there hadn’t been a criminal case in Binzhou City for a long time. The most recent case was a vicious murder 10 days ago. It was said that a psychopathic adult male with antisocial personality disorder rushed into a bar in the middle of the night and killed three people with a knife. The police arrested him on the spot.

Yu Hanjiang listened to Xiao Wu and found the records of the case from the cupboard.

Yu Hanjiang took a closer look and found that this was indeed a vicious homicide. The murderer was arrested and pleaded guilty. The murder weapon was found and the evidence chain provided by the witnesses at the scene was very complete. It seemed the case 10 days ago had little to do with the plot of the secret room. It was unlike Beacon in Troubled Times where Old Mo found clues in the files.

Yu Hanjiang put down the case log and nodded at Xiao Wu. “Good memory. The details are correct. Go back to work. I will call you again if there is anything.”

Just then, a female police officer knocked on the door. She entered and spoke nervously, “Group Leader Yu, I just received a report. The residents of the Yuehu Villa area said that someone in the villa next door seems to be dead. Their cat entered the villa this morning and was covered in blood when it came out!”

Yu Hanjiang frowned and immediately stood up. He calmly ordered, “Notify the forensics doctor of the criminal police team and send the police immediately.”

Xiao Wu hurriedly turned to call someone. Moments later, Xiao Wu came over with a man in a white coat.

Yu Hanjiang raised his eyes and met a pair of warm eyes. In a daze, he seemed to have returned to Jiangzhou City. Xiao Lou had been just like this. He wore a white coat over his slender body and gave off an elegant temperament.

The eyes of the two people met in the air.

Xiao Lou was stunned. Then he soon smiled and said, “Hello, Group Leader Yu.”

Yu Hanjiang saw this smile and his heart softened. He pretended to be calm on the surface as he greeted the other person. “Professor Xiao, let’s go. There is a case.”

Both of them were acting their true colours. It seemed that this time, they really were working together as a criminal police officer and a forensics doctor to solve the case.

***

At the same time, Starlight Economics Company.

Ye Qi sat in the hairdressers as he looked at himself in the mirror with a dazed expression.

Behind him stood a capable woman with a serious face in a suit skirt. The woman said, “I invited Teacher Tony to do some test styles for your hair and makeup. You are the special guest of this concert and you must amaze the audience, you know?”

Seeing the stunned Ye Qi, his agent Yun Lan frowned and asked, “How about this hairstyle?”

Ye Qi’s mind returned. He looked at the red hair in shamate style in the mirror and couldn’t help saying, “I don’t like this style. Sister Yun, can we do it… so it isn’t so hot-blooded?”

Yun Lan raised her eyebrow. “Isn’t this pretty? Your skin is white and your hair dyed red makes your skin whiter.”

Ye Qi seriously looked at himself in the mirror and inwardly complained. What type of aesthetic was this? Forget the dyed red colour. His hair was put up with hairspray and almost looked like the cockscomb of a rooster. Once the time came for him to hold the microphone, there wouldn’t be a sense of violation if he imitated a rooster.

The last time Ye Qi was dressed in women’s clothing in the secret room was his black history. He didn’t want to appear in front of his teammates with this shamate style.

He smiled at his agent. “Sister Yun, can I trouble Teacher Tony to change the style? Many male celebrities will perm and dye their hair so I should be more natural and return to the basics. Maybe I can attract another wave of fans?’

The agent’s heart softened when she saw the teenager’s bright eyes and pleasing smile and she waved her hand. “Okay, let’s take a look.”

There were Tonys everywhere in the entertainment industry. This name was almost ruined by stylists. Ye Qi smiled at Teacher Tony and explained in detail the type of hairstyle he liked. The other person nodded and said he would change it for Ye Qi.

Ye Qi was slightly relieved. He sat in the chair and let the stylist play with his hair.

His identity in this secret room should be a singer. The agent mentioned the ‘concert’ but Ye Qi didn’t know the details. It might’ve always been his dream to hold a concert but this was the Hearts secret room after all. Maybe someone would die at this concert! Professor Xiao had asked everyone to pay attention to the details. Ye Qi didn’t want to drop the ball so he quickly sorted out the memories in his mind.

After meeting his agent Yun Lan, information about the concert was automatically installed in his mind. He was a signed singer of Starlight Entertainment. He had debuted for a year and was currently a small, invisible star in the music industry. He had only released one single.

Three days later, the concert in Binzhou’s largest stadium would be held by the female idol group ‘Five-505’ of Starlight Entertainment. The women’s group had a total of five people and the dormitory number was 505, so the name of the group was simple and rough. It was simply Five-505.

Every girl had good looks and good singing skills. They all made their debut through a talent show, were signed by the company and finally debuted as an idol group.

Five-505 was currently becoming popular and every member had millions of fans on Weibo. Yun Lan was the agent of this female group. In order to increase Ye Qi’s exposure, he was included in the concert as a specially invited guest.

It was very common in the entertainment industry for the same company’s seniors to bring newcomers to a concert. Ye Qi had no doubts about this arrangement. He was currently focusing on the situation of the five members of the female group.

In fact, there wasn’t much information about these five people in his mind. They might be in the same company but he was relatively unknown, so he didn’t see them often, nor was he familiar with them.

Ye Qi spoke seriously, “By the way, Sister Yun. I am going to be a guest at the concert. Can you give me a copy of the information detailing my senior sisters? I don’t want to make any mistakes if there is an interactive session.”

Yun Lan was pleased. “I’ve sorted it out a while ago. Go back and take a serious look at it.”

She handed a stack of printed materials to Ye Qi.

Ye Qi thought that this should be an important clue so he collected it carefully. He planned to read it seriously after finishing his hair.

He had a hunch that something would happen at the concert. It was very likely that this girl group wasn’t as harmonious as it seemed. Maybe there were grievances among the five people? Perhaps someone would be killed at the concert.

At present, he couldn’t get in touch with his other teammates at all. He could only carefully grasp the clues on his side. Ye Qi was immersed in his thoughts and didn’t notice what was being done to his hair.

This lasted until Teacher Tony laughed and said, “Okay.”

Ye Qi who looked at himself in the mirror, “……”

What exactly was this stylist thinking? Why did he like the cockscomb head so much? Previously, it was a red cockscomb. Now it was dyed back but his hair was still in this shamate style. Was he going to the concert to perform Angry Crown?

Ye Qi helplessly decided to give up on the struggle. He would go back and wash his hair.

There were three days to go before the concert. Ye Qi wondered nervously about Professor Xiao and the others. There should be a murder in three days. Surely he would meet Professor Xiao and Group Leader Yu then?

What about Chief Shao? Based on his capacity as chief of a company, would he be the main sponsor of the concert?

Proofreader: Fictional Reality