Case Files 013

Time progressed without care for humanity. Soon the fiery summer passed and the lady of autumn arrived. The leaves turned yellow and fell, signifying her fine caress. A month passed and it was peaceful in Dong Xing City. There were no big cases and the city finally got to enjoy some moments of peace. Based on the internal statistics of the department, summer was the height of murders, perhaps it was the heat that made people respond more violently to grievances. The other seasons were more peaceful and sedate.

That day, Gu Chen and I were playing games and eating edamame inside the breakroom. When Xiao Liu pushed open the door and saw us, he gasped, "The fuck, you guys still have appetite for edamame? Have you forgotten how Zhou Guo's mother died?"

"She died from soybeans burning her stomach, didn't she?" Gu Chen popped another edamame and asked, "What does that have to do with edamames?"

Xiao Liu tutted. "Clearly you're a city child. Don't you know that edamame is made from drying immature soybeans?"

"What?" Gu Chen looked like his world had been upended, "But I always love edamame but I can't stand soybeans! I have no idea they're related." I naturally wouldn't let this chance to chide Gu Chen go. "That suggests you prefer the young and naïve, I knew it. I personally love the more mature and experienced… But then again, did you come here just to tell us that? You're on the official force, but we're just the preparatory members, don't you need to work?"

Xiao Liu grabbed the bowl of edamame and popped some into his mouth. "I'm here because of work. Here, this is your new mission and I hear there is a huge reward coming with it this time!"

"What is it?" Seeing the glow in Xiao Liu's eyes, my interest was piqued. Xiao Liu tossed the empty shells into the trash. "Come on, Captain Zhao will explain it to you."

…

Standing outside the window, looking in through the glass, this was the first time I saw so many people of power at the city station. The whole power of the city was collected in this one space. Looks like this was going to be a big case. Captain Zhao said something and these people slowly left one after another. In the end, only Guan Zhenglin, Mary and Captain Zhao were left inside the conference room. We opened the door and walked in. Captain Zhao stood facing away from us, studying the pictures and information on the white board. His hands were placed behind him, his right index finger tapping rhythmically against the back of his left hand. I walked over and saw the picture of an old man placed in the middle of the white board. Beside him was a picture of a beautiful young girl about 18.

Captain Zhao didn't turn when he heard us, instead he tapped on the picture of the old man and asked, "Do you know this man?" The old man in the picture had on a deep blue suit, even though I couldn't see the logo, it must have been expensive. A Canali tie was tied neatly around the collar. The man's square jaw had a well-trimmed beard and an air of intelligence radiated off him. This was not a normal character. Xiao Liu offered, "Isn't he the director of Rong Ding Corporation?"

Captain Zhao nodded. "That's right. This is Liu Yinyan, 67 years old, the Director of Rong Ding Corporation. He came from an average background but he used only several decades to build up the biggest venture capital company at Dong Xing City with a few of his partners. He is now worth about several billions and he has a daughter who is about 18."

Xiao Liu said with an impressed sigh. "Wait, doesn't that mean he had his daughter when he was 50? His daughter looks pretty, the man who marries her will be very lucky."

Mary added, "She's pretty because she has good genes. Her mother is a Russian celebrity. When she gave him the daughter, she was barely 30. The daughter has a mixed blood heritage." I looked closer and realized Liu Yinyan's daughter had a tall figure, curvaceous proportions and deep facial features. She could be a model. Xiao Liu used this opportunity to add, "Our Sister Mary is also of Chinese-French descent. When she was this girl's age, Sister Mary must have been prettier than she was."

Mary chuckled, "You sure have a sweet mouth, what is it that you want? I'm warning you, my father may be rich, but I'm poor so don't think about getting loan money from me! You'll have more hopes buying those lottery tickets, you might win one day and become a winner in life." Captain Zhao coughed and Mary changed the subject, "In any case, back to business. About 1 hour ago, Liu Yinyan's daughter, Liu Fei'er mysteriously disappeared from her room. All attempts at communication to her have failed. We suspect that she might have been kidnapped but so far we have not received any ransom calls so our mission is to find Liu Fei'er."

Gu Chen shrugged. "All that commotion for this? She's just missing for an hour, perhaps her phone got switched off. You know, girls at her age are like that." Guan Zhenglin coughed and said, "I'm at her age, you don't see me acting this irresponsible."

I pulled on my hair as I took in the information on the white board. "Captain Zhao, do you think there's something bigger at work here? Is it really a kidnapping?"

Captain Zhao scratched his chin and slowly nodded. "I believe so, Liu Fei'er is Liu Yinyan's only daughter and because he got her so late in life, she is his princess. If she didn't stop him, he would have 8 body guards following her every day. Today, Elder Liu personally came to report her disappearance so I have reason to believe this is a kidnapping."

"How can he be sure?" I asked.

Captain Zhao laughed. "You people are still too young to have heard about the legend of Liu Yinyan. When he was young, he was definitely a ruthless character. He wouldn't be the Director of his company if he wasn't. The thing that he predicted has an 80 to 90 percent chance of happening or else how would he become the number 1 venture capitalist?"

"What do you mean?" We all asked. Then Captain Zhao told us the stories about Liu Yinyan from when he was young. Liu Yinyan was not a Dong Xing City local, like most young people, he came from a small village which couldn't be seen on the map to seek a better life in this big city. And like most youngsters, when he first arrived at Dong Xing City in his teens, he didn't know anything. For a normal person, they would find labor-intensive work at Dong Xing City, learn some craft and then settle down around 30. The husband and wife would work to support the family until they had a child. At Dong Xing City, perhaps they might never afford a house in their lives. But Liu Yinyan was an ambitious person since he was young, he was unwilling to let his life sail by like that. At Dong Xing City, he had been a waiter, a construction worker and hotel valet. At his last job, he often had contact with the richest people. One day, he opened the door for a man about his age. When the young man saw him, his face turned up with condescension.

From that day onwards, Liu Yinyan decided that he had to claw up to the top of the societal hierarchy and gain people's respect. Liu Yinyan understood that for that to happen, he needed education because no one had ever clawed to the top with brute force. This era needed talent, people who could create wealth with their brain. Liu Yinyan started his education from zero. He studied and researched economics and business. He invested all his money into himself. One of the biggest advantages of a big city was the number of universities available. Liu Yinyan took advantage of that and went to register for several courses. He worked harder than everyone else and only slept 3 hours each night.

Those who were cruel to themselves were either geniuses or madmen.

When he was 30, he finally got a double degree in economics and business. When he was 35, he joined a venture capital company which was the biggest in Dong Xing City at the time. He worked from the ground up. His colleagues mocked him because he was about 10 years older than his other colleagues. When he was 36, a few managers at the company decided to leave and start a company of their own. Liu Yinyan was desperate to join them but the managers looked at him with derision. Liu Yinyan was old and had no capital. This industry needed young blood, not old antiques like Liu Yinyan who played things too safe.

Therefore, Liu Yinyan had no choice but to join another group. This group didn't contain any company higher-ups, instead it had a few passionate young people who just joined the industry. Anyone with a bit of experience would know that these groups were meant to be cannon fodder for the industry. Regardless, Liu Yinyan joined the team. But no matter the kind of team it was, they needed capital to start. Liu Yinyan had no money, he only had been working for a year. But if he didn't provide any capital, he couldn't become a partner.

That was a hot summer. When the team saw Liu Yinyan came with bandages around his left waist, they asked if he had gotten into any accident. Liu Yinyan smiled. "I have only been working for a year so I don't have much savings. I sold my left kidney a few days ago to get the capital to become a partner of this new company." Everyone was shocked.

Several decades earlier, when people heard that, they laughed at this old man, but several decades later, that had become a legend within the industry. Those managers who rejected Liu Yinyan back then now were in great regret; those young people who accepted Liu Yinyan to join as a company partner now stayed at home and counted money for a living.

It was as if when Liu Yinyan sold his kidney, he already saw the result today. High risk and high reward, he dared to use his own body as a betting chip, that was the mark of a great venture capitalist.