Trafford's Trading Club

575: Calmness 575: Calmness “Who are those two women inside?”

Outside the surveillance room, a crew member walked over with a cup of coffee, asking the crew member who usually handles the monitoring, standing at the door.

“Probably also police, I guess?” The crew member shrugged, “Anyway, they’re with Officer Ma’s group.

Said they wanted to look at the surveillance footage again, so I let them.”

“Don’t you need to tell the captain?” The coffee-carrying crew member asked curiously.

“The police always come to collect evidence a bunch of times.

I’ll let the captain or the first mate know when I see them later.”

“Up to you.” The coffee-carrying crew member laughed, “I’m off shift, gonna change out of my uniform and stroll on the island.”

“Go ahead.

By the time you all get back I’ll probably still be working.” The crew member yawned, “I should get myself a cup of coffee too.”

Inside the surveillance room, Ren Ziling and Lizi were thoroughly focused on watching footage from a specific location, ignoring the rest—the crime scene, the corridor where deceased Qian Guoliang walked.

Ren Ziling had rewound and fast-forwarded several times already.

“Just as I thought…” Ren Ziling slid the timeline to around three o’clock last night.

“This is it…

Lizi, did you spot it?”

Lizi nodded, “Sister Ren, the footage skips here.

When you play it in slow motion like this, it’s even more obvious.”

Then Ren Ziling fast-forwarded again, to around six in the morning, and said, “It skips here too… Six o’clock, which is right at shift change.”

“Go check footage from other places during the three o’clock and six o’clock time slots,” Ren Ziling instructed, frowning.

Not long after, Lizi turned back and said, “Sister Ren, every single piece of footage in that time zone has skips…”

Ren Ziling sat down, hands behind her head, staring at the ceiling.

She mused, “Qian Guoliang died at about eight forty-five in the morning… There was a blackout at four…”

“Sister Ren, what causes skips like these?” Lizi asked, baffled.

Ren Ziling said, “If it’s just one shot, it could be a machine issue.

But if it’s all of them, then I’d guess… someone overwrote the footage for that period, maybe with old recordings or something.”

“Why are you so sure?” Lizi asked curiously, “Is it definitely an overwrite?”

Ren Ziling started sliding the timeline, landing around five in the morning, and pulled up the footage of the corridor where they were all staying.

Ren Ziling fast-forwarded while speaking, “See, I don’t show up at all here, which proves the footage is fake.”

“But… weren’t you asleep then?

Why would you be in the corridor?”

Ren Ziling blinked, “The soundproofing in the rooms is too good, you can’t hear a thing, so I got up to use the bathroom around then, and figured I’d step out and listen to what was happening.

My kid’s room was weirdly quiet, but old Ma’s side sounded like a demolition crew… Dammit, that old bastard still has it in him!

My pills… what a waste on that old guy!”

Persistent as always, huh…

No wonder Sister Ren was in such a mood with Officer Ma this morning.

“Got a problem?” Ren Ziling shot Lizi a look.

Lizi hurriedly shook her head and changed the topic quickly, “Sister Ren, if what you’re saying is right, this surveillance was really swapped… But by who?

And why?

And how come there’s old backup footage?”

“They replaced three to six… Six is exactly shift change, so the crew would ignore any weird stuff on camera during that,” Ren Ziling pondered, “That means whoever did it, knows the crew schedules really well and had access to old footage… Lizi, go ask that guy outside how often the recordings get auto-wiped, if they’re archived before that, where they’re archived, and who can access them, that sort of thing.”

“Okay…Got it.” Lizi said quickly, “Guess we won’t be strolling on the island today.”

Ren Ziling scoffed, “It’s not a tourist spot anyway, just a rock and some trees, nothing to see.

What’s the point?”

With Lizi out asking questions, Ren Ziling started muttering again, “Old Ma, you’re so dense… Didn’t even spot the skips.

But in the surveillance room, it was just that crew member and Mu Qinghai on duty… Was it one of them who swapped the footage?

No, wait, there was a blackout… The blackout was probably to distract them, if it lasted ten minutes that’d be enough time to swap the tapes… Who was it?

Hm?”

Ren Ziling suddenly sprawled over the console, frantically pressing buttons, watching one of the screens… She was just curious, because the camera was showing Captain Mu Enli.

He seemed to have just come out of his room, carrying a black briefcase… Nothing strange about that, except Captain Mu Enli’s actions gave Subeditor Ren a weird feeling.

On screen, the captain glanced hehind and ahead before normally locking his door and leaving.

“Why does he look like he’s afraid of being seen?

Is that necessary?

Huh…” Ren Ziling’s eyes widened as Captain Mu Enli left the frame, and a new figure appeared on screen.

A pink coat and sunglasses, quickly walking by.

Instinctively, Ren Ziling picked up the phone, calling Officer Ma, “Hey, Old Ma, where are you?”

“In the engine room, catching suspects!

That Flying Eagle guy probably won’t risk hiding where people gather, so he must be holed up somewhere.

What’s up?

I’m busy!”

“Old Ma, quick question.” Ren Ziling asked, “That woman you were chasing earlier—what do you estimate her height and weight to be?”

“Height?

Around 1.72 or .73 meters, I think?

About as tall as me.” Officer Ma mused, “She looked pretty slim.”

“Her shoes?

What did they look like?”

“Short boots, I remember they were black, with little star charms on them.” Officer Ma frowned, “Why all these questions?”

“Old Ma?

I think I just spotted her…” Ren Ziling said urgently, “Hurry!

You guys need to tail the captain!

That woman looks like she’s stalking Mu Enli!

Also, I made some big finds, I’ll tell you later.

Catch that woman first!”

“Got it… Lin Feng, come with me!” Officer Ma hurriedly hung up.

…

…

“Officer Ma?

What’s the matter?” Mu Enli answered Officer Ma’s call, subconsciously frowning.

“Captain, where are you now?”

“I plan to get off the ship for a walk,” Mu Enli replied calmly.

“Getting off?

When do you get to the shore?” Officer Ma asked, astonished.

The captain replied calmly, “Not the shore, just a small island along the course—about a kilometer wide, a tourist spot.”

“Captain, the suspect’s still onboard, you can’t just let people off!

What if the suspect escapes?” Officer Ma protested immediately.

The captain replied, “Officer Ma, there’s nothing on the island, not even a dinghy.

Where could the suspect possibly go?

It’s endless sea—think they’ll swim off?

Besides, we’ve got a register of who gets off, so if someone doesn’t get back on later, it’ll be easier to single out the culprit.”

“That actually makes sense… But hold up, even if people get off, I need my team to go with them.” Officer Ma said, “My backup arrives in thirty minutes.

Can you wait thirty minutes?”

“Alright, then,” Mu Enli nodded, not pushing back, “By the way, Officer Ma, what do you actually need?”

“Captain, listen and don’t show any surprise.

Stay calm and keep walking and listening, okay?” Officer Ma said quickly, “I suspect someone is following you—a key figure in the case… Captain Mu Enli, I need you to help me.

Lead the person following you into a tight spot, best if there’s no escape.

Okay?”

“I understand,” Mu Enli replied softly.

Without looking behind, he simply strode forward, turned a corner, and entered another corridor.

…

“Sister Ren!

Got the info!” Lizi hurried into the surveillance room, about to speak.

But at that moment, all the screens in the surveillance room went black… and even the lights flickered out.

The two rushed out, only to see every device in the surveillance room had shut down!

“What the hell just happened?”

“Probably a problem with the power compartment, let’s go check!”

…

Flying Eagle licked his lips, cutting the last electrical wire with the knife in his hand, then connected it with another wire.

Instantly, sparks burst from the junction, followed by thick smoke.

“Heh heh… now you can’t catch me, can you?

Fixing this will take at least half a day… Stupid Sir!

If you’ve got the guts, come catch me, then we’ll see who winds up salted fish!”

Saying this, Flying Eagle zipped up his windbreaker, pulled on a cap, and slipped out of the electrical room before the crew arrived.

Flying Eagle rubbed his hands together, a greedy look on his face, chuckling, “Next, it’s treasure hunt time…”

…

…

“Master, looks like we’re stuck on board for now—they said to wait thirty minutes.”

By the gangway, before getting off the ship, You Ye whispered in Luo Qiu’s ear—here, not only did this pair of master and servant linger, but also the other tourists planning a stroll.

Of course, not nearly as many as you’d think… Probably just about a hundred all told.

“Seems it’s happening a bit earlier than I thought…” Luo Qiu suddenly remarked, “You Ye, what do you think this proves?”

“Master?”

Luo Qiu chuckled softly, “It proves… as bystanders, it really is a good thing to exist in this spinning world.”

The wooden beads in his hand suddenly released a faint chill.

Boss Luo’s heart was as clear as glass, inside and out.