Chapter 481
I tore hell for leather to the station where the members of the special team had already gathered.
In their midst was a middle-aged man wearing glasses and a suit. Upon noticing me, his lips curled amiably as he reached out his hand, "I have heard a lot about you. I am Louis Liu, an agent with the FBI."
From his body language, I could tell he was Chinese American.
"Hello, I’m Song Yang, a small consultant with the bureau."
"You don’t have to be modest, Mr. Song,” he chuckled. “I have heard all about the bloody haunted house and the case involving the celebrity."
Almost unable to believe my ears, I wondered, how did my story spread abroad?
Bingxin giggled, "It’s all thanks to my dad and Uncle Cheng. There was a Sino-American police exchange. They took several of your cases as examples."
"Great work! I have to say, they’re both textbook criminal investigations!" Louis Liu flipped a thumbs up.
Validation from an FBI agent had me grinning from ear to ear.
I used to think FBI agents were all attractive and eye-catching like special agents, but Louis looked just like any ordinary white-collar worker. Taking his seat, Louis connected his laptop to the projector and began, "The suspect you’re after is actually an international wanted criminal. This man has killed a Japanese woman in California.”
Lao Yao rested his head on his hands, a lopsided grin rising to his lips. "He killed one person and he’s an international wanted criminal? Why the special treatment?"
"There’s a saying in China that you shouldn’t air your dirty laundry in public so I hope you can keep this confidential. He’s involved in an illegal organization which is related to the famous Darwin," explained Louis.
While our brains stuttered to accept the news he dropped on us, Louis fiddled with his laptop and an insignia was projected onto the white screen–a coat of arms with wild animals on the inside, a knife and a fork, as well as a line in English below.
Among us, Lao Yao was most fluent in English because he often wrote software. "Cambridge Gourmet Club?” he translated. “What’s that?"
That was my reaction exactly. I assumed it was a transnational criminal organization, yet its name was so ordinary.
"This organization can be traced back to 1828..."
As we all knew, Darwin was a great biologist but he had a hidden identity–a gourmet.
When Darwin entered Cambridge in 1828, he joined a secret club, the gourmet club. The members were all aristocratic children. The club promoted the idea that everything in the world could be eaten, thus collecting rare animals from all over to taste them before they became extinct.
In fact, they consumed all sorts of extinct animals. Once, they obtained an owl that reeked so bad no one dared to taste it, except for Darwin who ate with relish. He had an extraordinary understanding of eating and believed that taste was a part of all things. Therefore, eating any creature was pertinent to truly understand it.
As a matter of fact, he personally tasted most of the animals which he wrote in his book. Darwin could be said to be an unprecedented gourmet, and because of his reputation, he was made a permanent honorary member of the club.
This club had always existed. After World War II, the world began to step up on animal protection, rendering their practices a crime. Thus, the club moved underground and was divided into two branches, one in England and the other brought by America by immigrants.
Yang Xingdong secretly joined the club when studying in America. Having heard about China’s rich cooking history of over 5,000 years, everyone welcomed the Chinese man. Additionally, many wild animals could be obtained in China.
Yang Xingdong occasionally brought pangolins, civets and other animals via certain channels to share with club members. The club had opened up a whole new world for him, but he was unsatisfied with eating only rare animals.
According to various clues pieced together by the FBI, Yang Xingdong was an indulgent student in his youth. He once hired a Japanese prostitute. It was unknown what transpired during the affair, but the two had an argument which ended with Yang Xingdong killing her in anger.
A week later, Yang Xingdong prepared a delicious meal for everyone at the club! The members had tasted all sorts of meat, but not this one. At the end of their meal, Yang Xingdong finally revealed they had consumed human flesh.
To everyone’s horror, Yang Xingdong loudly declared human flesh as the most delicious delicacy in the world and scoffed at the meat they usually ate. What he said was, “Now that you’ve tasted human flesh, you won’t be able to go back to that rubbish you call food! Join me in pursuing the ultimate delicacy!”
Even if they had eaten all sorts of rare animals, no one could accept such avant-garde ideas. Several members even threw up on the spot. Under pressure from his guilty conscience, a member eventually turned himself into the police. As a result, the club was disbanded.
At the first signs of trouble, Yang Xingdong immediately fled back to China. This incident shocked the animal protection organizations and the FBI who immediately intervened in the investigation. These gourmets were sentenced for their crimes. The FBI contacted the Chinese police, hoping to arrest Yang Xingdong. Unfortunately, his whereabouts remained unknown until Louis came across the wanted notice issued by us. In order to cooperate with our investigation, he flew out to China first thing.
Louis shook his head, "I never expected things to turn out like this. Yang Xingdong has really degenerated into a man-eating demon."
"No wonder he worships Darwin. It’s because of his background."
Lao Yao bluntly interjected, "You won’t help us by sharing stories. Show us some advanced equipment from the FBI!"
If Louis were a handsome man, Lao Yao would certainly reign in that attitude.
Louis smiled, "In fact, we’re just ordinary agents, not as fascinating as what you see in Hollywood movies. But we have investigated Yang Xingdong for many years so I may have some information that can help you."
The data projected on the white screen was all written in English. Louis explained that Yang Xingdong actually switched identities several times. He came from a middle-class family but got rich quick and all of a sudden. We could begin by investigating the source of his funds and use the information the FBI had.
"Alright, let’s get to it then,” instructed Xiaotao. “Bingxin, here’s a task for you. Agent Liu has come all the way so you should take him out for a good meal. I’ll reimburse you later."
"Why me?” protested Bingxin. “Is it because I’m the only idle one in the team?"
"As far as our current investigation is concerned, you are indeed!" admitted Xiaotao.
As an American, Louis was very direct. Upon hearing Xiaotao’s words, his eyes shone with excitement, "I have long heard about the famous Sichuan hotpot in China. I would like to try it if I can."
Bingxin’s expression did a 180 as she jumped up eagerly. "I love that! Chongqing Hotpot City serves a really delicious Sichuan hotpot! It’s just across the station."
Drooling with envy, Lao Yao raised his hand and asked, "Ma’am, can I be given this glorious and arduous task?"
"You’re too late!" Xiaotao smirked.
As a self-proclaimed foodie, Louis ecstatically debated which hotpot soup base was the best. As soon as Bingxin and Louis left the room, I voiced my doubts, "Is he really an FBI agent? All of a sudden, we have the FBI! Why do I feel like we’re in a movie?"
"He has the official documents and certificates. Don’t worry, I even called to confirm his identity," assured Xiaotao.
"Our first case and we’re working with an international agent! But why didn’t they send a handsome guy... " lamented Lao Yao.
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