Upper-Intermediate - Detective Li 2: The Mysterious Text Message (D1689)

等李探长和小尤他们回到公安局时,已经是晚上十点。
děng Lǐ tànzhǎng hé Xiǎo Yóu tāmen huí dào gōng'ānjú shí, yǐjīng shì wǎnshang shí diǎn.
Once Detective Li and Xiao You had arrived back at the station it was already 10pm.
刚进办公室的门,大家就发现在白板的醒目位置贴了一张纸和一张照片。照片上的男人看起来四五十岁,穿着很时髦。
gāng jìn bàngōngshì de mén, dàjiā jiù fāxiàn zài báibǎn de xǐngmù wèizhi tiē le yī zhāng zhǐ hé yī zhāng zhàopiàn. zhàopiàn shàng de nánrén kàn qǐlái sì wǔ shí suì, chuānzhuó hěn shímáo.
As soon as they walked in the office they noticed that a piece of paper and a picture had been pasted on the whiteboard where everyone would see it. In the picture was a man wearing fashionable clothing who looked to be about 40 or 50 years old.
“这个人叫宋五木,是个毒贩,听说有很多情人。”同事王强指着照片说:“我们的线人报告说,宋五木最近出了很多货,包括摇头丸和K粉。而且据说,他的上家是他的老情人刘姐。”
" zhè ge rén jiào Sòng Wǔmù, shì ge dúfàn, tīngshuō yǒu hěn duō qíngrén.” tóngshì Wáng Qiáng zhǐ zhe zhàopiàn shuō:" wǒmen de xiànrén bàogào shuō, Sòng Wǔmù zuìjìn chū le hěn duō huò, bāokuò yáotóuwán hé K fěn. érqiě jùshuō, tā de shàngjiā shì tā de lǎo qíngrén Liújiě.”
“That’s Song Wumu. He’s a drug dealer. I’ve heard that he has a lot of different girlfriends too.” Their colleague Wang Qiang was pointing at the picture and continued, “Our informant has reported that Song has moved a lot of product lately – including ecstasy and ketamine. Also, they say his supplier is actually his girlfriend of a long time, Ms. Liu.”
“刘姐?”小尤好像想起了什么,“是不是通缉令上的刘梅?”
" Liújiě?” Xiǎo Yóu hǎoxiàng xiǎng qǐ le shénme," shì bu shì tōngjīlìng shàng de Liú Méi?”
“Ms. Liu?” Xiao You seemed to have just realized, “Is that the same Liu Mei wanted for arrest?”
“对,就是她!不过刘梅的行踪和毒品交易的证据我们至今没掌握。这张纸上好像是宋五木最近的手机短信记录,但看下来大都是些肉麻情话。”
" duì, jiùshì tā! bùguò Liú Méi de xíngzōng hé dúpǐn jiāoyì de zhèngjù wǒmen zhìjīn méi zhǎngwò. zhè zhāng zhǐ shàng hǎoxiàng shì Sòng Wǔmù zuìjìn de shǒujī duǎnxìn jìlù, dàn kàn xiàlai dà dōu shì xiē ròumá qínghuà.”
“Yes, her! The problem is we don’t have any hard evidence on her whereabouts or her drug deals. On this piece of paper is what appears to be a record of Song Wumu’s most recent text messages. Looking at it, though, it looks like it’s all just a bunch of sappy stuff.”
不一会儿,大家几乎同时发现了一条奇怪的短信记录:“五木:朝阳区”。
bùyīhuǐr, dàjiā jīhū tóngshí fāxiàn le yī tiáo qíguài de duǎnxìn jìlù:" wǔmù: Cháoyáng qū”.
After a short while, everyone noticed the same strange text message almost all at the same time. “Wumu: Chaoyang District.”
王强说:“朝阳区不是在郊外吗?跑那么远去约会啊。”
Wáng Qiáng shuō:" Cháoyáng qū bùshì zài jiāowài ma? pǎo nàme yuǎn qù yuēhuì a.”
Wang Qiang said, “Isn’t Chaoyang District on the outskirts of the city? Why would they go so far for a date?”
“暗号!”小尤和李探长同时说出了这个词。
" ànhào!” Xiáo Yóu hé Lǐ tànzhǎng tóngshí shuōchū le zhè ge cí.
“It’s a code!” Xiao You and Detective Li blurted out simultaneously.
小尤心想:“五木?朝阳区?五木?难道是森林,森林公园?那具体时间和具体地点呢?”
Xiǎo Yóu xīnxiǎng:" wǔmù? Cháoyáng qū? wǔmù? nándào shì sēnlín, Sēnlín gōngyuán? nà jùtǐ shíjiān hé jùtǐ dìdiǎn ne?”
Xiao You thought, “Wumu? Chaoyang District? Five woods? Could it be a forest? Forest Park? What’s the exact time and exact location, though?”
突然,李探长说:“糟了!今天是几号?”
tūrán, Lǐ tànzhǎng shuō:" zāo le! jīntiān shì jǐ hào?”
Suddenly, Detective Li said, “Oh no! What’s the date today?”
“十月九号。”
" shí yuè jiǔ hào.”
“October 9.”
李探长又低头看了下表,发现是十一点半。
Lǐ Tànzhǎng yòu dītóu kàn le xià biǎo, fāxiàn shì shí yī diǎn bàn.
Detective Li looked down and glanced at his watch, realizing it was 11:30.
“我们得赶快出发,他们就在今晚接头。具体日期、时间和地点,都在这个暗号里,每个字都有意义。
" wǒmen děi gǎnkuài chūfā, tāmen jiù zài jīnwǎn jiētóu. jùtǐ rìqī、 shíjiān hé dìdiǎn, dōu zài zhè ge ànhào lǐ, měi ge zì dōu yǒu yìyì.
“We have to hurry. They’re meeting tonight. The exact date, time and location are all within the code. Every character means something.”

Key Vocabulary

醒目 xǐngmù eye-catching
穿着 chuānzhuó dress, apparel
时髦 shímáo fashionable
毒贩 dúfàn drug dealer
线人 xiànrén informant
摇头丸 yáotóuwán ecstacy
K粉 K fěn ketamine
上家 shàngjiā supplier
通缉令 tōngjīlìng order for arrest
行踪 xíngzōng whereabouts
交易 jiāoyì deals, transactions
掌握 zhǎngwò to have in hand
肉麻 ròumá sappy, nauseating
朝阳区 Cháoyáng qū Chaoyang District
暗号 ànhào secret code
森林 sēnlín forest
接头 jiētóu to meet, to make contact

Supplementary Vocabulary

贩卖 fànmài to sell, to peddle
线索 xiànsuǒ clue
装扮 zhuāngbàn to dress up
罪犯 zuìfàn criminal
供货商 gōnghuòshāng supplier
信号 xìnhào signal
达芬奇密码 Dáfēnqí mìmǎ The Da Vinci Code
碰头 pèngtóu to meet

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