The metal wheels spun rapidly on the smooth ground, and rushed through the corridor, after a while, the red light of the emergency room was turned on.
"Urgent blood transfusion is needed, contact the family, and prepare them to sign for the operation…"
There was a lot of noise in the distance. Jiang Ting was sitting in the corridor outside the emergency room, staring straight at the shiny ground under his feet. Suddenly, the nurse's eager voice sounded above his head: "Are you the patient's family member?"
It took Jiang Ting two seconds to react, and he raised his head.
The nurse looked anxious: "Are you the patient's family member?!"
"…No." Jiang Ting said in a trance, "I am… I am his friend."
The nurse was at a loss. At this moment, someone came running through the corridor, grabbed her back shoulder and made her turn around. Ma Xiang took out the wet police card and flashed it in front of the nurse:
"The injured person is the deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of our Public Security Bureau. This matter has been notified to the local police station. Please perform the operation immediately, hurry up!"
The nurse ran away quickly.
Ma Xiang had also just arrived with the ambulance, and he looked like a breathless chicken at the moment. He brushed his dripping hair and sat down on the opposite bench: "Xiao Zhang is being treated next door ."
"...is it serious?"
Ma Xiang shook his head: "I don't know. The group of people should have been using self-made illegal weapons. Xiao Zhang was shot in the arm. He didn't bleed much, but it's hard to say whether he injured his bones or not. When I was in the ambulance, I had already notified the provincial department. The Municipal Bureau and the local public security have decent people, they blocked the crime scene and are tracking down those people. Jianning City Bureau also urgently dispatched Director Huang, the technical investigator, to come here."
Jiang Ting nodded and suddenly remembered something: "What about Li Yuxin?"
Ma Xiang held his head with both hands and inserted his ten fingers into his hair. After a while, he finally raised his face and said hoarsely, "I swam and took her and Xiao Zhang a few hundred metres, but when I reached ashore, I found that she was shot in the chest."
"….."
"People in the ambulance couldn't save her."
There were noises in the distance, but the corridor outside the emergency room was suffocatingly quiet.
"Their goal was Li Yuxin," Jiang Ting said these words after an unknown amount of time.
With a bang, Ma Xiang punched the bench with his fist: "But who else can investigate the case at the same time, who knows that we brought Li Yuxin out of the detention centre, who ate the bear's heart and leopard's gall and dared to be ahead of the Criminal Investigation Unit?! Huh?!"
Ma Xiang couldn't help roaring, and several nurses at the emergency department at the end of the corridor turned back at the same time, but after taking two steps forward, they stopped again in embarrassment.
"Until those people were caught, no one was clear from suspicion…" Jiang Ting took a deep breath and said, "You, me, Yan Xie, Xiao Zhang, all the insiders of the city bureau who have been notified of the progress of the case, even the dead Li Yuxin herself… We all have points that can be suspected more or less. These doubts also surfaced in the 502 Feng Yuguang case, that night when Hu Weisheng died of drug addiction. But this time, it was more aggressive and obvious."
His voice was gentle but his words were heavy, and Ma Xiang's heart was full of anger but it was pressed down subconsciously: "You mean…"
Jiang Ting didn't answer him directly, and twitched the corners of his lips briefly:
"Of course, my suspicion is the biggest."
Indeed, everyone was an insider of the public security system. Only he was an unidentified outsider who had no origin other than a "friend of the Unit Deputy Yan ". No one in the city bureau had even seen him before Feng Yuguang's case.
If there really is an insider in the case, then the probability that this insider is Jiang Ting is the highest.
"But you are the one who was rescued by Brother Yan." Ma Xiang sighed and said, "When the police car sank to the bottom of the river, I pulled Brother Yan and Xiao Zhang with Li Yuxin; fighting for the last bit of the oxygen, rushing towards the surface with utmost strength before the last bit of oxygen ran out. Life and death were really only a few tenths of a second apart. It was Brother Yan who forcibly broke free, and rushed to save you from the back seat before the car was completely plunged into the river. In case, Brother Yan was also entangled in your seat belt, both of you would be finished by now."
"….."
Ma Xiang wanted to say something else, but the dean hurried out of the emergency department: "Comrade police officer, it's your public security bureau's phone call!"
Ma Xiang nodded to indicate that he knew, then he stood up and looked at Jiang Ting:
"So, are you Brother Yan's friend or an insider collaborating with the enemy, Consultant Lu?"
The eyes of the two of them met in the mid-air outside the emergency room, and after a long while, Jiang stopped and said slowly, "…I'm who your Brother Yan thinks I am."
Ma Xiang nodded, as if he got the answer he wanted, and walked quickly to the emergency department.
Behind him, Jiang Ting's bloodless face was particularly cold after being soaked in water, and he looked at the wall clock.
It was already past six o'clock in the afternoon, and there were only less than two hours left before the execution time announced by that person.
What he didn't remind Ma Xiang just now is that Li Yuxin has already explained everything she could explain, and there is really nothing left to tell. Taking her to the Tianzong Mountain scene is just hoping to provide a little help in the search. If it's really an insider tipping off, and "that person" wants to kill and silence her, what's the use of killing her?
Unless there are people who are afraid that she will say more.
Time passed, the second hand of the clock moved minute by minute, and it reflected in Jiang Ting's dark eyes——
Li Yuxin, who uses chicken blood as an image, kills He Liang after being coerced, so what will Bu Wei, who uses eagle blood as an image, do?
Or, what the mastermind behind the whole thing wants her to do?
...…
At seven o'clock, below Tianzong Mountain.
"Yes, I know. Old Wei of the Municipal Bureau is already on the road with the technical investigator. He will contact me after arriving at the scene in Jiangyang County. In addition, Deputy Yan and Xiao Zhang will notify me as soon as the operation is over." Inside the command vehicle, Director Lu hung up the satellite phone and turned to people around him who were in a hurry: "How is the situation at the scene?"
"Report to Director Lu, the search and rescue team has completely covered the red area of the operation map. So far, there is no news, and now it is spreading to the orange area!"
"Director Lu, the satellite map and aerial photography results are out. Four phoenix trees have been recorded on the entire mountain, and eight phoenix trees are suspected to be growing. The police dogs are acting separately!"
"Director Lu! The ambulance from the local hospital can't come, ask us if we have an alternative plan!"
"Director Lu…"
Phone ringing and shouts rang out one after another, and the interior of the command car was like a large market scene. Director Lu sighed, and was about to say something when suddenly an extremely calm and tough female voice sounded from behind everyone, instantly suppressing all the noises:
"Arrange manpower to go to provide support to the ambulance, and scatter twelve detective teams to lead the joint defence of public security and the local police station to any place where the phoenix tree is suspected to be growing. The technical detective synchronises the real-time monitoring of the nearby road sections to the command car. Did the rest of the people have something to say? Come one!"
Everyone turned back at the same time — it was Yu Zhu.
Unit Captain Yu got into the command car amid the crowd's gazes. Director Lu moved to the side, motioned her to sit beside him, and said leisurely in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Something happened to Yan Xie!"
Yu Zhu nodded and said softly, "I really shouldn't have mentioned the matter of retiring from illness in front of so many people that day, as expected…"
"As long as you know."
Director Lu paused for a while, then returned to normal volume, still calm as usual: "Since you're here, let's take part in the command work together, there's still more than an hour before the kidnapper's announced time — technician come here, I'm giving you the rest of the team. What is the situation with the on-site exploration team?"
...…
At the same time, primitive mountain forests.
The foot stepped on the rotting fallen leaves, with each step, the fine and sharp dead branches deeply sunk into the flash, and it took a lot of effort to pull them out. Shen Xiaoqi had almost lost consciousness and only walked forward mechanically, not knowing how long it took before he suddenly found a fiery red cloud vaguely reflected in the distance.
His vision was already hazy, and the double images overlapped for a long time before he forced out a few words: "Look… Look, the Phoenix Tree!"
Bu Wei, who tried her best to support him, raised her head.
In an instant, the two lost their balance and fell to the ground with a thud, rolling down the hillside like two corpses. The pain came followed by the dizziness until they slammed into the rock with a bang.
"Bu Wei… Bu Wei!"
Shen Xiaoqi didn't care about the pain, he tried his best to crawl forward along the ground, shaking Bu Wei's body that couldn't stop twitching.
"Wake up, Bu Wei, wake up!" Shen Xiaoqi shouted, although his voice was hoarse because of the extreme lack of water: "I hurt you, I hurt you! …"
"It doesn't matter," Bu Wei gritted her teeth to support her body, and barely half got up: "It doesn't matter…"
The two half-grown children were sitting on the ground, leaning against each other. On the top of the hillside in the distance, the fiery red phoenix tree was like a raging flame, reflecting in their desperate eyes.
Shen Xiaoqi murmured, "It's all my fault. If it wasn't for my injury, we wouldn't get lost at all. If it wasn't for me…"
Bu Wei tried her best to curl up her body, as if her physical strength was not enough to support her sanity, she closed her eyes and shook her head: "It doesn't matter, we will definitely get out alive… I will protect you."
"But I should be the one who should protect you!" Shen Xiaoqi burst into tears and kept repeating: "If we go out alive, I will definitely repay you, and I will definitely protect you in this life! Bu Wei, Bu Wei!"
––I will definitely repay you.
I will definitely protect you in this life.
Bu Wei finally laughed, as if she had been waiting for this sentence for a long time, the smile on her weak face was extremely satisfying and happy.
"Really?" Her muffled voice sounded hypnotic, she said, "…Then you must remember it."
Shen Xiaoqi's heart-wrenching cries echoed halfway up the mountain as if time had flown backwards, recalling an old and yellowed oath. The sun gradually moved westward, the afterglow turned from gold to red, and blood-filled half of the sky; after an unknown period of time, the cries of the pain were no longer audible, and the boy fell unconscious among the dead woods.
What no one saw was that not far away at the top of the hillside, the God of Death had quietly emerged from the woods.
...…
Bang!
The door of the emergency room was slammed open. In the empty corridor, Jiang Ting stood up almost instantly, only to see the nurse rushing out in a white lab coat with blood on it: "Quick, quick, where is the person? Has the prescribed amiodarone arrived yet?"
Another nurse in the emergency department rushed out, holding a blood bag and a medicine box. There was no time to check the handover in person, and he directly stuffed the things into the arms of the surgical nurse, who turned his head and ran back.
"Excuse me——"
If it were someone familiar with Captain Jiang, they would suspect that Jiang Ting, whose face was grey and crumbling at the moment, was not real at all. It should be a fake that looked very similar. But at this time, no one could see the details clearly. The surgical nurse had already rushed back to the emergency room. Jiang Ting gasped sharply and stared at the red light.
—— Amiodarone, an emergency medicine, used for arrhythmia during operations.
Why did the heart arrhythmia occur? Where did the operation go? What happened to Yan Xie?!
Jiang Ting seemed to be still at the bottom of the icy river. Water poured into the car from all directions, filling his lungs, submerging his respiratory tract, forcing out the last trace of oxygen in his blood. He didn't notice that he took a few steps back, his back hit the wall, his knees were weak and he couldn't stand.
"…Consultant Lu…"
A voice was calling him, but he couldn't hear it in the haze.
"Consultant Lu!"
Jiang Ting shuddered and turned his head sharply, only to find that it was Ma Xiang.
Ma Xiang was stunned by Jiang Ting's face, and then he reacted: "Ah, you are…"
Jiang Ting raised his hand, blocked his support, and slowly walked to the bench and sat down.
"Xiao Zhang's operation next door is over. The doctor said it was a success, but he needs to recover well to avoid sequelae. The bullet got stuck in the muscle of his left arm, and it has been taken out and saved for testimony. I will go back to the scene of the accident later to meet Director Huang and the others."
Jiang Ting couldn't speak anything, and just nodded.
"Consultant Lu?" Ma Xiang finally couldn't stop worrying: "Are you all right here alone?"
"….." Jiang Ting covered his mouth and coughed twice, then said hoarsely, "I'm fine."
He really didn't look like he was okay.
After all, his lungs were choked with water, and when he arrived at the hospital, everything was in chaos, so he hurriedly asked a nurse to deal with it. Ma Xiang wanted to persuade him to do a detailed examination and then rest for a while, but when he saw Jiang Ting's bloodshot eyes, he forcibly held back his words, turned around and went to the nurse station to ask for hot drinks and dry clothes. After a while, he returned to the corridor outside the emergency room and put the things by Jiang Ting's side, then he stuffed the mobile phones wrapped in a towel into Jiang Ting's arms.
"Consultant Lu?"
"….."
"This is your phone."
Jiang Ting's spirit was not very good, and he didn't react for a while.
"It's Brother Yan's and yours. I just found an intern nurse in the emergency department and took a hairdryer and blew it for a while. See if you can still turn it on, or contact your family or your girlfriend as soon as possible."
Yan Xie uses two mobile phones on a daily basis. The domestic phone was issued by the Municipal Bureau and his own iPhone. All three phones lost power after they fell into the water, and don't know if they can still be turned on now.
Jiang Ting took them over.
Ma Xiang was so impressed by his extremely high IQ and insight. But it was obvious that the situation was not good at the moment, so he didn't dare to say anything. He hesitated for a while before carefully saying: "Consultant Lu, life and death are ruled by fate and riches and honour exist in heaven. I took a look at the bullet that came out of Xiao Zhang's arm. It should be a self-made bullet with a small range. I think Brother Yan won't be in too much danger this time, so don't worry too much."
Jiang Ting whispered, "Hmm. I know."
Ma Xiang didn't know how to persuade again: "Then… I'll go back to the river embankment first, let's keep in touch."
Jiang Ting nodded silently.
After Ma Xiang turned around and left, Jiang Ting was the only one left outside the emergency room. The flashing red light reflected on half of his face, forming a strange and weird interlacing of green and red.
The clock on the wall is still running. It's half-past seven.
He wanted to concentrate on thinking about something, but his brain seemed to be soaked in the river water, and he couldn't remember anything. For a while, he couldn't even count how much time was left until 8:09, and the pain on the side of his head was sharp like a saw.
Jiang Ting sat quietly for a while and turned on his cell phone.
The sturdiness of the brick old machine is far from that of an ultra-thin smartphone. The screen flickers dozens of times on the boot screen as if struggling and screaming for a long time on the line of life and death. Buzz! It came back to life with a sound, followed by a jingle. The spam text messages were lively and rushed to the screen.
Jiang Ting stared straight at the screen, and there was another sound in the unread prompt bar, and the sender Yan Xie's name flashed.
…Ah, yes.
Yan Xie was texting him before the accident.
Jiang Ting's index finger still carried the icy coldness and slight fishy nature of the soil in the river, he gently opened the text message. The first thing that jumped into sight was that it had been sent:
[You put a bug on me when you left the ward?]
Yan Xie: [Yes. What is there to be afraid about, why don't you believe that I will help you?]
In the empty snow-white corridor, Jiang Ting lowered his head, covered his mouth with one hand, and closed his eyes tremblingly.
—Believe, he thought, I really do.
So please, do not fail to live up to my expectations. I believe in you, so please open your eyes and come back alive.