The Case Long Forgotten  

Dinner was a culinary delight with braised perch, sautéed zucchini slices, and a delicate water shield soup. The rice was an exotic blend: one-third Wuchang rice, one-third Thai jasmine rice, and one-third black millet. The combination was intoxicatingly fragrant and delicious.

Mingyoo was like a mad scientist when it came to mixing ingredients.

Wenjay was ravenous. He devoured a bowl of rice, tore through half the fish, and after gasping for air, dove into his second helping.

Mingyoo, however, was barely eating. He was absentmindedly poking at his rice while his eyes were glued to the sketch that Wenjay had made. It was as if the suspect's face was the most appetizing thing on the table; he hadn't touched a single dish.

Wenjay flipped the perch and picked out the plumpest, most succulent piece for Mingyoo. Mingyoo snapped out of his daze, looked at his bowl, and muttered, "Thanks."

"Focus on your food, man," Wenjay said in a brotherly tone. "Don't stare at the screen while eating; you'll ruin your eyes. Then you can kiss your dreams of being an astronaut goodbye."

Mingyoo facepalmed and finally turned off the holographic screen. "Alright, alright, I'll eat," he conceded.

Wenjay served him a bowl of water shield soup. "Did that mission in Vegas work out? Did you catch the mind-bender?"

Mingyoo pondered for a moment and said, "We caught him, but I wouldn't call it a win. He lost his marbles on the way back and is now in a loony bin under the Ministry of Public Security. The doctors are just hoping he'll be able to tell a banana from an apple someday."

Wenjay sighed. "Do people with superpowers always end up losing it? Like Zeeshow becoming a psycho killer, or the mind-bender turning into a vegetable?"

Mingyoo's expression froze for a second before he said, "Maybe."

Wenjay suddenly realized that Mingyoo might also have superpowers and regretted his words. Feeling guilty, he quickly served him some sautéed zucchini. "Eat your greens, man. You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you one of those picky eaters?"

Mingyoo gave him a deadpan look and said, "Or maybe it's because I broke my leg!"

Wenjay innocently responded, "Oh, yeah, that could be it."

In a playful retaliation, Mingyoo served him a mountain of zucchini. "You said you were starving, so eat up."

Wenjay looked at the heap of vegetables in his bowl and had a feeling Mingyoo was trying to shut him up.

After dinner, Wenjay was on dish duty while Mingyoo sat at the counter, engrossed in the sketch. Wenjay put the dishes in the dishwasher and leaned in to ask, "Why was this guy there too? I mean during the Vegas op. My memory is a bit hazy, but I swear I saw him there."

Mingyoo shook his head. "I don't know. I've never seen him before. But what you mentioned is worth looking into. I'll get in touch with customs and the FBI to check on him."

Wenjay was a bit smug; he had never encountered the FBI in person and felt like he was part of something big. "I'll rack my brain and see if I can remember anything else."

Mingyoo nodded and then suddenly fixed his gaze on Wenjay. "You know, you're something else. That mind-controller was insanely powerful. I've never heard of anyone recovering their memories after being hit by him. You're the first."

"Really?" Wenjay was ecstatic.

Mingyoo continued, "And yesterday at the crime scene, when Zeeshow pulled that time-freeze stunt, you were the first to snap out of it. When you wrestled the gun from him, I nearly fell off my chair."

Wenjay's excitement knew no bounds. "No way! Do I have superpowers too?"

Mingyoo inquired, "Have you ever been exposed to anything weird or anyone unusual?"

Wenjay thought for a while and shook his head. "Nope… but maybe I have, and the Men in Black zapped it from my memory… The US government is sneaky like that. They don't tell you anything. My brain could've been wiped by the MIB, FBI, or CIA for all I know."

Mingyoo silently mourned for his late grandfather, thinking that if he had known he would have a grandson like this, he might not have immigrated 50 years ago.

The dishwasher beeped. Wenjay took out the dishes, put them in the sterilizer, washed two peaches, peeled and cut them into pieces, and placed them on the counter.

Mingyoo picked up a piece of peach and slowly ate it, his fingers flying over his phone. Wenjay noticed that Mingyoo browsed through everything at lightning speed and couldn't help but feel envious. "How did you get your superpowers? Were you born with them?"

Mingyoo's hand paused, and his expression darkened. Wenjay sensed the change in the atmosphere and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, did I ask something I shouldn't have?"

Mingyoo was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "It's nothing. I just remembered a case."

Wenjay felt that he shouldn't pry, but curiosity got the better of him. "What case?"

Mingyoo stared at his phone, but his gaze seemed to go through it, landing somewhere unseen. After a long pause, he said in a somber tone, "The biggest failure of my life. A case that nearly destroyed the division. It might still destroy me…"

His voice was calm, but it carried an unspeakable weight of sorrow and regret. Wenjay was taken aback by the despair and self-blame that Mingyoo unintentionally revealed. He didn't know what to say.

Mingyoo didn't seem to want to continue the conversation. He stood up and said, "If I could, I would wish that case never happened, and that I never had these terrible powers."

With that, he limped upstairs with his crutch.

Wenjay watched his tall, gaunt figure disappear and felt a wave of indescribable sadness. Though they had only known each other for a few days, Mingyoo had always seemed powerful, arrogant, and even a bit rogue-like to him.

But at that moment, Wenjay felt an almost despairing sadness emanating from him.

The rain grew heavier, and the sound of raindrops hitting the leaves created a white noise. Wenjay returned to his room, made himself a cup of tea, and sat in a wicker chair on the balcony, lost in thought.

The distant mountains were veiled by the rain, appearing especially serene. The river was swelling, and the rushing water against the banks created a rapid, roaring sound. Wenjay stared at the rain outside the fence, and after a long while, as if making a resolution, he opened his laptop.

He logged into the Criminal Investigation Bureau's official website and went to the "Organizational Structure" page. The Super Case Division's section was grayed out, meaning their functions and personnel were top-secret.

He opened a search engine and typed in "Mingyoo Jow." Other than a minor pop star with the same name, he couldn't find any information related to criminal cases.

Should he keep searching? Wenjay was unsure, but his determination quickly returned, and he opened the search engine again.

His curiosity was incurable.

If Mingyoo's leg injury was in the recovery phase, then he must have been injured about four months ago. If the "biggest failure of his life" that he mentioned was related to this, it likely happened during that time.

Wenjay started searching for major criminal cases that occurred domestically between March and May of this year, especially those possibly related to supernatural powers.

However, the Super Case Division's security clearance was much higher than regular criminal investigation agencies. After nearly an hour of searching, Wenjay found a post on a mystery enthusiasts forum that he had paid for access to. It was almost buried under piles of old posts.

Someone had leaked that a secretive special agency related to criminal investigation had experienced a severe internal corruption case. A highly decorated super detective, for unknown reasons, had committed several heinous murders over the past two years and used his position to cover them up. It wasn't until earlier this year that the case was exposed.

This case was said to be related to supernatural powers.

The post only had three comments, and the fourth was locked by the admin. The post was buried and not indexed by any search engine. If Wenjay hadn't been so persistent, he would never have found it.

Wenjay had a hunch that this post was related to the Super Case Division. He was desperate to know what was in the locked comment.

After some hesitation, he opened his WeChat and messaged a friend named "Resistor."

This girl, nicknamed "Resistor" (whose unit is Ω), was a fan of Wenjay, and he affectionately called her "Omega."

He sent her a smiley face, and Omega immediately replied, "Finally, you're online! Haven't seen you in ages. I thought you went to have a baby or something!"

Wenjay was taken aback and sent a cute emoji: "Actually, I had some work issues and am adjusting to a new environment."

Omega: "Ah, new map! You got this!"

Wenjay sent a "cute" emoji. Omega asked, "Did you play that harem game I recommended? Did you get the charm of harem Yuri?"

Wenjay broke into cold sweat and said, "I'm playing it. Just got promoted to Concubine. How about you?"

Omega: "OMG, I got promoted to Imperial Noble Consort yesterday, got the Emperor's favor, got pregnant, and then the Empress Dowager gave me a bowl of 'fetus-protecting' medicine. I drank it and had a miscarriage! Game over!"

Wenjay burst into laughter: "What kind of game is this?!"

Omega sent an exploding head emoji: "Uninstall it. It's too twisted… Anyway, what did you need?"

Wenjay: "You mentioned you're a hacker, right?"

Omega: "Amateur, but yeah. Who do you want to hack?"

Wenjay sent her the link to the forum post. "I want to see what's in the fourth comment, but it's locked by the admin. Can you help me retrieve the content?"

Omega sent an "OK" hand emoji. Before Wenjay could send her the login details, she had already sent the content of the locked comment.

"Mandy Wu."

That was all that was in the fourth comment – a woman's name.