Searching for someone in northern Myanmar, and you call that earning tuition fees?

In the security office's storage room, a bizarre smell of tea eggs mixed with safflower oil assaulted my senses.

Mada huddled in the corner, grimacing as he sprayed safflower oil on his sprained wrist.

"Tell me more about it." Su Ming swallowed the last bite of his pancake, clapped his hands, and said, "If I don't have to go to the site and it doesn't interfere with my vocabulary memorization, I can take this job."

Jiangnan Yan was taken aback.

This guy... mistook a city-wide sensational murder case for a Meituan delivery order?

"Student Su, this is an extremely serious criminal case. Cooperating with the police investigation is a citizen's duty..." Jiang Nanyan subconsciously tried to steer the conversation back on track.

"stop."

Su Ming raised his hand to interrupt her: "I've done my duty. When the library was hacked yesterday, I immediately told Brother Li that it was a pre-recorded video, and that's the most valuable clue."

He gestured with his chin toward the corner of the wall: "This officer was about to hit me. I acted in self-defense, and I'm already being lenient by not asking you for compensation for emotional distress."

Ma Da's lips twitched violently as he lowered his head and frantically sprayed safflower oil as if it were free.

Su Ming continued, "Now it's you who need me, so I'm using my professional skills to help you catch people. This is called technical consulting, it's a business transaction. My part-time job doesn't include solving cases for free—that would cost extra."

Li Changfeng, who was listening nearby, felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly tucked his baton into his belt and stepped in to smooth things over.

"Captain Jiang, Captain Jiang, don't mind him! That's just how this kid is. He might be a bit of a jerk, but he makes sense... After all, he's not one of us in the system, and we can't just take advantage of his top-notch labor, right?"

As Li Changfeng spoke, he frantically winked at Jiang Nanyan, gesturing exaggeratedly with his mouth: "Agree to him! Quickly! Otherwise, this ancestor might really back out!"

Jiang Nanyan took a deep breath, finding the whole thing absurd, but still asked, "How much do you want?"

Su Ming held up five fingers.

"Fifty thousand?" Jiang Nanyan frowned. She could probably find a way to pay that price if she gritted her teeth.

"No." Su Ming shook his head. "Five hundred thousand."

"Pfft—cough cough cough!" Li Changfeng had just picked up his teacup and taken a sip of water when he spat it out, choking and turning his face red. He stared wide-eyed at Su Ming, then turned to look at Jiang Nanyan, who was equally dumbfounded. He then quickly pulled out his phone and frantically tapped the screen, seemingly calculating how many new batons the security department could get for 500,000 yuan.

Jiang Nanyan's face darkened: "Five hundred thousand? Su, you're extorting me! Our city bureau's annual budget for informant fees is..." She gritted her teeth and tentatively tried to bargain: "Five thousand, that's already the highest informant fee we can apply for."

Su Ming remained expressionless, stood up, stuffed the "Level 6 Vocabulary" back into his bag, and zipped it up.

"Sorry to bother you."

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the door.

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go, my dear!"

Li Changfeng panicked. He rushed forward, spreading his arms to block the doorway, his entire body comically forming the Chinese character "大" (da, meaning "big"). "Human lives are at stake! The hopes of the entire city are still cooking in my rice cooker! If you leave, who will buy these tea eggs... ugh, what about this case?!"

Su Ming shook his index finger: "Five hundred thousand."

Ma Da finally couldn't hold back and jumped up, "This is robbery! How much does it cost to hire a provincial-level expert consultant? And you, a freshman, are asking for 500,000? Do you know how much safflower oil that could buy?"

Su Ming looked at him calmly: "Can a provincial-level expert calculate where that shadow is now?"

The motor has stopped working.

If they could figure it out, they wouldn't have come to this storage room begging and pleading.

"And," Su Ming added, "this money isn't for me."

Li Changfeng's eyes lit up: "Could it be donated to our security department for equipment upgrades? Su Ming, I knew you had my eye on me!"

"No." Su Ming pointed to his forehead. "It's a risk fee. That shadowy figure is a hacker. If I investigate him, he'll definitely investigate me in return. I'm risking my life to play this game with you guys. What if he hacks my game account? What if he hacks my online banking? These are all costs."

Jiangnan Yan gritted her teeth.

Five hundred thousand yuan isn't something the criminal investigation team can't come up with, but the process is too difficult. What reason should they write? Payment to "college student Su" for technical consulting fees? The finance department would be furious with them.

Jiangnan Yan countered: "Three hundred thousand, after tax. I can apply for special project funding, which is the limit of what I can negotiate. I'll stake my career on it."

Su Ming pondered for a moment, then looked at Li Changfeng beside him: "Deal. Also, about the CET-6 exam..."

Li Changfeng immediately stood at attention, thumping his chest loudly: "I'll take responsibility for that! As long as you solve the case, I'll get the principal to give you special treatment and move the exam room to your dormitory! I'll personally supervise the exam... uh..."

His voice grew softer and softer, and his expression became awkward, because he suddenly realized that when it came to the national unified examination, it wouldn't matter if he brought the principal here or not.

Li Changfeng's face fell, his imposing manner weakening slightly: "Um... Su Ming, the National English Proficiency Test Center... it's not under my jurisdiction. But don't worry! I'll get you the best tutoring team in all of Jiangnan City! One-on-one! Intensive pre-exam preparation! We're not asking for exemption, we're just guaranteeing a pass! I'll even sharpen your pencils myself! Is that alright?"

Su Ming nodded in satisfaction.

He walked to the table covered with maps, pushed Li Changfeng's rice cooker aside, and made room for it.

Su Ming stretched out his hand: "Alright, enough nonsense, give me all the materials. Original videos, on-site investigation data, photos, whether it's that pile of pixelated surveillance footage or the forensic doctor's stack of incomprehensible reports, I want it all."

Jiangnan Yan looked at Mada: "Hard drive."

Mada reluctantly pulled a military-grade encrypted portable hard drive from his bag, hesitating as he handed it over: "This is all classified information..."

"Give it to me!" Li Changfeng snatched the hard drive and shoved it into Su Ming's hand. "What kind of time is this for leaking classified information? This kid can't even... cough cough, he can't even memorize the CET-6 vocabulary, how could he leak secrets?"

Su Ming took the hard drive and pulled an old laptop covered in anime stickers from his backpack.

Turn on the computer and insert the hard drive.

A line of green code popped up on the screen, and the fan started whirring.

"That's it?" Mada peered in with a skeptical look. "Don't we need to go to the scene and experience the killer's psychopathic aura?"

"I'm not a charlatan."

Su Ming didn't even look up, tapping a few times on the keyboard. "You've already trampled the scene to pieces. Going back would just be like smelling your stinky feet. Data doesn't lie; it just waits to be restored."

He turned to look at Li Changfeng: "Brother Li, go and boil a few more tea eggs. Mental work makes you hungry quickly."

Without saying a word, Li Changfeng picked up the thermos and started adding water: "Alright! Captain Jiang, Officer Ma, would you like some spicy strips? One yuan and fifty cents each, pay by scanning the code."

Jiangnan Yan rubbed her temples as she watched this scene.

She felt like she'd been tricked.

In this dilapidated security office storage room, there is a college student asking for money, an advisor selling spicy snacks, and a deputy captain with an injured hand.

Is this the last hope to save Jiangnan City?

This configuration is so good, people would laugh their heads off if they heard about it.

But Su Ming's eyes changed.

The moment his hand touched the keyboard, his previous laziness vanished completely.

His gaze became sharp and focused.

"Folder 20251215-B, panoramic scan of the escape room, open."

"Folder 20251215-C, autopsy illumination images, open."

Su Ming stared at the screen, his eyes rapidly scanning the data stream, and said, "I'll find that 'shadow' for you."