CH 223

The press conference held at the entrance of the emergency building was hasty and brief. Of course, there was no live broadcast on the scene, but in the era of information technology, even people in the outskirts could quickly learn about relevant news through their phones and major platforms.

Under the same night sky.

The night wind swept over the large fields. Huihe Nursing Home wasn’t too remote; it was located on the outskirts of Hongjing. It was nearly 10 in the evening, and most of the elderly in the nursing home had fallen asleep, leaving only the guard room and the lights in a few rooms still on.

The stray dogs in the field were barking madly, but the nursing home remained quiet.

Most of the elderly in the rooms were already sound asleep, except for a few who suffered from severe insomnia.

There was a strange sense of tranquility in the air, but of course, there was also the peculiar musty smell of decay that was unique to nursing homes, although it wasn’t too strong.

A small cart rolled over the white tiled floor of the nursing home corridor, making a slight creaking sound.

A masked nurse had just come out of a room, closing the door gently and walking slowly. The pocket of her white coat bulged, and the screen of her phone faintly lit up through the thin fabric, as if she had received some message.

There was no electronic sound in the corridor, not even the vibration of a phone. However, the nurse seemed to have a strange sense of perception. She took out her phone and swiped her slender thumb lightly across the screen.

One picture after another appeared on her Weibo.

There was a barbecue stand covered in blood, people covered in blood, and a policeman covered in a white sheet…

Of course, the policeman was an undercover officer, and there was only one casualty in the entire riot, so the identity of the deceased was obvious.

The nurse slightly curled her lips, and her fingers continued to move at a steady pace. Her gaze was still focused and serious, and the screen finally stopped at a picture of the entrance to the municipal hospital emergency building.

The lights of the media reporters were like clouds under the steps, and a young man with rolled-up sleeves stood on the steps. He showed his porcelain-white neck and jade-like face, and his expression was calm, which made people want to smash it.

The nurse squinted and smiled, putting down her phone and taking the ward round board from the hook on the side of the cart. She looked at the names on it, showing a happy expression like that of a young girl.

She pushed the cart and headed toward the next room.

……

Lin Chen was sitting in the doctor’s office, waiting for Xing Conglian to return, which took about ten minutes.

His gaze fell on Xing Conglian’s hands, which didn’t have any obvious bloodstains, indicating that he hadn’t beaten Huang Ze too badly.

Perhaps his gaze was too obvious. Xing Conglian raised his eyebrows and said, “Don’t worry, I didn’t kill him.”

As soon as Xing Conglian finished speaking, Huang Ze walked into the office with a pale face.

“Why are you here?” Lin Chen asked flatly.

Huang Ze looked disdainful, with a cold and aloof manner, standing straight as if he were aloof.

Xing Conglian kicked a chair over and said impatiently, “Stop pretending.”

Huang Ze frowned as if the chair were covered in billions of germs, making it impossible for him to sit down.

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian inquiringly, not understanding why he had come in with Huang Ze, given that he had already dealt with him.

“I can’t drive him away,” Xing Conglian said impatiently.

Huang Ze still chose to stand, ignoring Xing Conglian.

Sitting with crossed arms, Lin Chen felt that this scene was quite strange. “What’s going on?” he asked.

“I want to join the task force,” Huang Ze said bluntly.

Lin Chen put his arms down and looked up at the Inspector, who had just walked in. “Why? You must be uncomfortable here, Huang Ze. This isn’t a fun game of cops and robbers.”

“Lin Chen, did you always think that I became a police officer because I thought it would be fun?”

There was a hint of sadness in Huang Ze’s gaze.

“To be honest, I’m not interested in why you became a police officer, but I’ve said years ago that you’re not suitable for this job.”

“A few years ago, you also told me that we weren’t suitable to be in a relationship.”

Xing Conglian interjected, interrupting their conversation, “Huang Ze, stop flirting with my boyfriend.”

Lin Chen looked at Xing Conglian and saw that he had walked over to him, leaned against the wall, lit a cigarette, and stopped talking.

“I persisted just to find out one thing.” Huang Ze stared at him and said, “I want to know how Weiwei died.”

Lin Chen realized that, probably because he was seeing Huang Ze more frequently lately, or perhaps because he had really gone through the gate of hell and back, he was no longer as uncomfortable as before. He could even answer this question calmly. “I killed her.”

Hearing this, Huang Ze was obviously provoked again. He opened his right hand and went for Lin Chen’s neck.

Xing Conglian acted quickly and kicked him in the knee.

Huang Ze fell heavily to the ground, his knee hitting the marble floor.

This was roughly what Wang Chao saw when he entered the room.

The teenager was dumbfounded. “What the hell are you doing, Inspector Huang? Even if you propose now, my A’Chen Gege won’t accept it!”

The atmosphere in the office didn’t lighten up because of the usual jokes from the teenager.

Huang Ze struggled to get up from the ground, laughing. “Lin Chen, you might have misunderstood. I used a declarative sentence, not a question. I have to join, and if not me, someone more severe than me will be sent by the higher-ups.”

“Enough with the threats. You’re acting crazy,” Xing Conglian said as he blew out a smoke ring. “Because we disappeared for a while before, the higher-ups need to find someone to investigate. That, and Zhourui Pharmaceutical has been exerting pressure. It’s a small problem, but it can be solved.”

In other words, if Lin Chen thought Huang Ze was a problem, they could just throw him out.

Lin Chen was speechless.

He looked at Huang Ze seriously and asked, “You really have to follow us?”

“Believe me, if it’s not me, there will definitely be a more severe inspector to replace me,” Huang Ze said.

“Are you a masochist?” Lin Chen could only ask.

……

The voices in the corridor outside the office gradually faded away as the reporters left without getting any good news. Now, only the sound of medical staff coming and going could be heard.

Wang Chao sat down in the office, looking uncomfortable, with Huang Ze beside him. He tried his best to move closer to Xing Conglian.

Xing Conglian gave the boy a slap on the head. “If you’re unhappy, I’m even more unhappy.”

Helplessly, Wang Chao had to move to the other side.

Lin Chen put his hand on the teenager’s shoulder and said, “Let’s just pretend he doesn’t exist.”

Huang Ze snorted but didn’t say much.

Wang Chao cleared his throat and reported, “I checked, and our communication channel was indeed hacked.”

“Does Shen Lian really have that ability?” Xing Conglian asked.

Huang Ze interrupted, “Who is Shen Lian?”

“You’re not an undercover agent, are you?” Wang Chao suddenly covered his laptop as if he were guarding against Huang Ze.

“I don’t need to be,” Huang Ze said coldly.

Wang Chao hesitated. “Okay, let’s just say that’s a nickname.” He turned to answer Xing Conglian’s question. “Boss, as long as it’s a walkie-talkie system that uses radio transmission, it can be hacked, but the police have made it more difficult. It’s very likely that she learned about our communication frequency in advance. I don’t know how it was leaked, but to be honest, the confidentiality isn’t that good. Director Wu might need to apply for an equipment upgrade.”

“Get to the point.”

“Shen Lian is a genius, extremely capable. She can even forge DNA samples, and her computer skills aren’t bad. Do you remember the camera outside Tan Kang’s office? It didn’t record anyone coming or going. I suspect she had something to do with it.” Wang Chao grinned proudly. “But of course, if I were to do something illegal, she couldn’t compare to me.”

Huang Ze coughed, pretending not to have heard the second half of Wang Chao’s sentence.

“Can you also forge DNA samples?” Lin Chen suddenly asked.

Wang Chao froze and stammered, “I…I just…just said that casually.”

“Stop pretending,” said Xing Conglian coldly.

“I just asked, no other meaning.” Lin Chen pursed his lips, picked up the paper cup on the desk, took a sip of water, and said to Wang Chao, “I just suddenly realized that Shen Lian’s mentality and abilities can’t be analyzed based on normal people’s standards.”

“A psychopath?” Xing Conglian asked.

“In biology, the term you used refers to morphological changes during individual development, while in psychology, it refers to a deviation of a person’s psychology from the normal value of the majority of people,” Lin Chen said.

Huang Ze interrupted him. “In your eyes, all criminals are psychopaths.”

Lin Chen thought for a moment and replied, “Actually, it’s not that simple, but explaining it to you doesn’t make much sense.” Lin Chen said to Wang Chao, “I want a detailed biography of Shen Lian, preferably in paper form, from the archives management center.”

“Do you suspect that Shen Lian has altered online information?” Wang Chao asked in surprise. “That’s quite impressive.”

“I just want to be safe,” Lin Chen said, “because I have something I don’t understand.”

“Shen Lian’s motive?” Xing Conglian asked.

Lin Chen nodded. “Putting aside why she caused such chaos before escaping today, we have thought about this question many times. Why did Shen Lian kill Tan Kang and frame it on Professor Duan?”

“Did she hate Lao Duan and want to ruin his reputation?” Xing Conglian added. “Zhourui’s new drug, Nordren, has some problems. If there are problems after it’s on the market and Tan Kang copied from Lao Duan, Lao Duan might end up taking the blame.” Xing Conglian furrowed his brow as he spoke. “This doesn’t make sense. It’s too convoluted and pointless. Of course, framing Lao Duan didn’t make sense either. Lao Duan isn’t the type of person who cares about this kind of thing.”

“We may have been too focused on Shen Lian’s motive. For someone like Shen Lian, what is meaningful in her eyes may not be meaningful to us…” Lin Chen trailed off, unable to continue.

This was the most difficult moment.

After the chaos and media questioning, they sat down to discuss the case and found that everything was an incomprehensible mess. Shen Lian was on the run and had incredible skills in electronics and biomedicine. She might even have an extremely dangerous poison, but they had no idea what Shen Lian was really up to.

It seemed like they had the upper hand, but in reality, they could only defend passively and wait for Shen Lian to launch an attack from the shadows.

Xing Conglian broke the silence. He stood up, and said, “Okay, I’m going to the pet store to find the thing in the beanbag and look for someone to check the information. You rest in the hospital and be obedient.”

Lin Chen shook his head helplessly at the words.

“You were hospitalized?” Huang Ze asked.

Xing Conglian looked at Huang Ze in disgust and pointed his thumb towards the door. “You come with me, and don’t make any trouble.”

……

Later that night.

The Huihe Nursing Home was still quiet, and even the barking of the yellow dog on the embankment was hidden.

The chest of the old man on the bed rose and fell. His figure could only be vaguely seen in the hazy night, but the whole room was filled with the old man’s deafening snoring.

The door was gently pushed open.

Small black wheels rolled over the ground and stopped at the head of the old man’s bed.

The nurse walked around the side of the car and walked to the window. She looked at the huge figure on the bed, squatted down, and stared affectionately at the sleeping face of the old man.

Like a kitten attached to its owner, she gently took the old man’s hand out of the quilt, held it in both hands, lowered her head, and rubbed her face against it.