Trafford's Trading Club

572: Treasure (1) 572: Treasure (1) The maid’s hand withdrew from the corridor wall, then looked at Luo Qiu and softly said, “Master, Flying Eagle has already escaped.

Officer Ma and the others seem to have been played.”

“Seems?” Luo Qiu chuckled, “More than that, right?

Flying Eagle is probably a flamboyant, unruly sort, so it must’ve been a whole commotion.”

You Ye then slowly nodded, “This Flying Eagle isn’t exactly bad…

Master.”

The maid’s eyes narrowed slightly, but Luo Qiu just gently shook his head.

Carrying the food box, Boss Luo kept walking forward—heading back toward Mrs.

Ma’s resting room.

The master and servant walked as if nothing had happened.

At the corner, they saw a rather ordinary-looking woman, about thirty, wearing plain glasses and bangs, step out.

They brushed past each other.

“Wait a minute.” The woman suddenly spoke from behind.

Luo Qiu and You Ye turned around to see the woman picking up a card from the ground—a keycard for opening a room door.

The woman smiled, held out the card she’d picked up, and politely said, “You dropped something.”

“That’s not mine.” Luo Qiu shook his head.

You Ye, just to prove it, pulled out her own room card as well.

“I see… sorry, my mistake.” The woman nodded, then suddenly said, “No idea who dropped it here…

But I’m a bit pressed for time.

Would you mind helping out, and handing this card in to the lost & found?”

Luo Qiu glanced at the woman, then gently nodded.

The woman smiled again, “Thanks for the trouble.

Bro, you’re really kind—I thought you’d refuse.”

“No trouble at all.”

The woman looked once more at You Ye beside Boss Luo, then smirked, “Bro, no wonder you managed to find such a pretty girlfriend.”

Boss Luo didn’t explain.

After taking the keycard from the woman’s hand, she hurried off, really seeming to be in a rush.

Only after she disappeared from sight did You Ye smile and say, “This lady—she just dodged Officer Ma’s pursuit, but now she’s trying to approach Master.

I wonder what she’s up to.”

The keycard was actually dropped on purpose by the woman, but that didn’t get past You Ye’s eyes—naturally, it didn’t get past Boss Luo, either.

Luo Qiu simply smiled lightly, withdrew his gaze, looked at You Ye, extended his hand like a nobleman inviting a lady to dance, and softly said, “Come, let’s go return this lost item.”

You Ye froze for a moment, then quickly regained her graceful composure.

Even though she wasn’t wearing a maid’s dress, she lifted her hand as if picking up her hem, letting her fingers rest lightly on Luo Qiu’s fingertips.

…

…

Officer Ma and his two companions ended up not catching Flying Eagle and returned to the restaurant looking thoroughly battered.

Seeing Officer Ma’s group half-soaked, stained with all sorts of colors, and even bits of chicken feather on their heads, Miss Ren couldn’t help clutching her stomach and pounding the table with laughter—finally feeling like she’d gotten her revenge, all her frustrations swept away.

She was in such good spirits she even fetched towels for them.

“Dammit!

That Flying Eagle is practically a wild monkey!

Moves like that shouldn’t be human!” Officer Ma griped angrily as he wiped himself off.

Lin Feng nodded in emphatic agreement, also fuming, “If I see him next time, I swear I’ll kill him!”

“Alright, unless he jumps overboard, he won’t get away.” Ren Ziling crossed her legs and said, “While you were all chasing him, I was thinking… Just who is this woman using a bugging device?”

Officer Ma looked up, “What do you mean, ‘who’?”

Ren Ziling glanced at the third officer, “Didn’t Ah Lai say it was military-grade?

How does a normal person get their hands on that?”

Officer Ah Lai nodded, “Exactly.

Not to mention ordinary people, even our system doesn’t guarantee we have gear like that… Well, not counting certain special units.”

“So?” Officer Ma asked Ren Ziling.

Miss Ren shrugged, “Can’t figure it out—too few clues.

But anyone able to bring that kind of device and eavesdrop on us is probably tied to this murder case…

Old Ma, you said Qian Guoliang’s identity is forged, yet he still died on the ship—and then there’s this mystery woman with military-grade gear… Can’t figure out what those two are after.

You think anyone believes it’s just a beach vacation hookup?”

Ms.

Ren always talked straight, so down-to-earth… Lizi looked amused.

“Maybe they’re here for that…” Officer Ma’s face hardened slightly as he seemed to think of something.

“Ma SIR, did you find something?” Lin Feng asked curiously.

Officer Ma paused a moment, then looked at everyone, “That Flying Eagle—from what you guys asked, you were wondering why I locked him up?

Well, besides finding him in Qian Guoliang’s room, there was something else—”

Officer Ma repeated Flying Eagle’s revelation about the treasure, “…Hmph, this guy even offered to work with me, split the treasure behind the scenes.

Do you see me as that kind of person?”

“Wait, is there really treasure on the Baiyu Cruise?” Ren Ziling blurted out, surprised.

“Just now you said it was all a stunt to attract tourists and crew!”

“Shh…” Officer Ma made a hushing gesture—the restaurant wasn’t booked for just them; there were a couple random tables dining as well.

Ren Ziling pursed her lips.

Officer Ma said, “At first, I just listened.

But looking at Flying Eagle’s skills, Qian Guoliang’s forged identity, and this mysterious woman—I’m starting to think maybe it’s real.”

“Out at sea, drifting amid legend, treasure hunters flooding in…” Lizi clasped her hands, eyes shining with excitement!

“Go dream somewhere else.” Ren Ziling shoved Lizi’s face aside.

“Still, seeing how Flying Eagle played you all and picked locks, he does have a bit of treasure hunter flair.”

Lin Feng then suggested, “Ma SIR, should we ask the captain about this treasure?

Isn’t he supposed to have been captain on the Baiyu Cruise for decades?”

“I think so,” Ren Ziling mused.

“Old Ma, I always felt there’s something off about the captain…”

“How so?”

Ren Ziling blinked, “Don’t you think he’s too calm?

A murder on his ship and he barely seems bothered.

No worries, cool as ever—like some old gentleman.”

“Now that you say it, true…” Officer Ma recalled his earlier encounters with Mu Enli, “When we first found Qian Guoliang’s body, his calm really caught me off guard.”

“Shh, captain’s coming.” Ren Ziling gestured toward the restaurant entrance.

“Old Ma, seize the chance and ask about the treasure, see what he’ll say.”

At that moment, Captain Mu Enli, accompanied by Vice-Captain Mu Qinghai, walked into the restaurant.

“Officer Ma, I’ve brought the vice-captain.

You can ask him what happened last night.”

Officer Ma cleared his throat: “Vice-Captain, did the control room experience a power outage around 4 a.m.

last night?”

Mu Qinghai’s face was hard to read.

He nodded, “Yes, there was a blackout—lasted about fifteen minutes.”

Officer Ma frowned, “Then why didn’t you mention it before?”

Mu Qinghai shook his head, “Officer, since the body was found this morning, I’ve just followed orders and kept busy—you never asked me about it… How should I have brought it up?”

“But an outage that big in the control room—you must’ve told the captain, right?” Officer Ma snorted, “But the captain never mentioned it to me either!”

Mu Qinghai replied, “That’s my own failure.

I thought not to disturb the captain because…”

Mu Qinghai paused, glanced at Mu Enli, then spoke gently, “The captain’s health isn’t great.

He needs his meds just to sleep, so I didn’t want to interrupt his rest.”

Mu Enli’s eyes flickered slightly, but his expression didn’t change.

Mu Qinghai shook his head again, “Also, the outage lasted only a dozen minutes; just the regular devices were affected.

The control room has backup power—navigation on the Baiyu Cruise was never at risk.”

“What about the security cameras?

Were they affected?” Officer Ma asked, voice tense; that was his true concern.

Mu Qinghai shook his head, “No impact—the surveillance system isn’t on external power.”

Officer Ma still frowned, “Did any of you leave during the outage?”

Mu Qinghai nodded, “Yes, we went to the engine room to see what caused the blackout.”

“How long were you gone?”

“Less than ten minutes.”

“After you came back, did anyone leave again?”

Mu Qinghai shook his head, “No.

Once I finished my shift, I returned to my room to rest—then we moved on with the shooting schedule, and eventually we found the victim.”

Officer Ma nodded, “Alright, I understand.

Vice-Captain, thank you for your cooperation; sorry for interrupting your time.”

“It’s fine—happy to help.” Mu Qinghai replied formally.

Officer Ma turned, “Captain, you can let the vice-captain get back to work.

We caused a bit of trouble earlier, so we’ll need to handle that—sorry again.”

“We’ll handle it, don’t worry.” Mu Enli said calmly.

“Qinghai, you may go.”

After Mu Qinghai left, Officer Ma suddenly looked at the old captain, “Captain, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“Go ahead, Officer Ma.”

Ma SIR narrowed his eyes, “Captain, can you tell me about the treasure on the Baiyu Cruise… You’ve been here from the start.

You should know best, right?”

The old captain froze, didn’t reply immediately.

He took off his hat, pulled out a chair, and only after a moment said quietly, “Hmm… It was just a rumor back then.

Why are you asking about the treasure, Officer?”

“May be related to the case,” Officer Ma said, observing the captain closely, “So it’s best if you tell me everything, just as it happened.”

The old captain sighed, nodded, and finally spoke softly, “Alright, about the treasure—I remember back then…”