Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 180

Lin Chen followed his voice and looked at the middle-aged man beside him, but the cabin was so pitch black that he couldn’t see the other person’s appearance at all.

When he was driven into the cabin just now, he caught a glimpse of the “passengers” inside under the dim light of the fishing boat. They were all ordinary villagers who were around 30 to 45 years old and generally characterized by a strong physique. According to what the other side said, it seemed that they were going to the Dana Region for “gold panning”.

“We…”

As soon as Duan Yang spoke, Lin Chen held him down.

He squeezed the palm of the young doctor’s hand to prevent him from saying more to the villager beside him. “No, we came here accidentally.”

“Hey, you didn’t owe Boss Hei money and were sold to repay your debts, right?”

“The situation is a bit complicated, but it’s probably similar.” Lin Chen gave a vague reply. He thought for a bit, then asked, “How about you?”

“Man, you really shouldn’t mess with people you can’t mess with.” The villager sighed with emotion, then said, “We’re just here to work.”

“Going to work in the Dana Region?”

“Yes, you know there are gold and diamond mines over there, but they have a shortage of people digging them, so the pay is really high.”

Although Lin Chen couldn’t see the face of the villager beside him, the excitement in his voice couldn’t be concealed, as if he was expecting mountains of gold and silver waiting for him thousands of miles away.

“The pay is good, but it’s also dangerous, right?” Lin Chen leaned on the deck, a little tired. There was a roaring motor sound in the cabin, so it took a lot of effort for him to speak to these stowaways.

“What can I do? My wife has given birth to six cubs. How much can I earn if I go to work in the city? I can earn ten times as much if I go abroad.”

“You can earn 20,000 to 30,000 a month in Dana?” he tentatively asked.

“More than that! Fa Ge of our village went to Dana and came back with a lot of money. He said that if you do a good job, you can get 10,000 a month, all paid in US dollars. Don’t you know how much that is?”

“So high?” Lin Chen exclaimed, half-believing and half-jokingly. “But I heard that it’s very chaotic there, and you said those people above aren’t easy to mess with. What if…”

“It’s a matter of seeking wealth and taking risks. Besides, Fa Ge has been there and came back with a lot of money. His family used to be the poorest in the village, but now they have built a three-story building. Who wouldn’t be envious?”

“Indeed.” Lin Chen didn’t know how to answer.

He had heard of frequent examples of acquaintances entrapping their village in coastal fishing communities. Usually, someone who had been missing for a long time returned home from a foreign country, flaunting his wealth to the entire village. They would hold a big feast to show off their riches, and during the meal, they would constantly talk about their experience working abroad, tricking those who hoped to improve their lives into falling for their schemes. In the end, they would deceive their fellow villagers, and even those who were related to them, into going abroad to do the lowest and most difficult job.

This was the most primitive form of human trafficking. Once upon a time, countless black people were trafficked all over the world, and now such dirty and bloody transactions still occur in many places.

But what made Lin Chen feel incredulous was that now he himself had become one of the trafficked people. Such a sudden fate arrangement made him unable to react. However, no matter how much disbelief he was in, he was sitting in the bottom of a cabin on a fishing boat, talking to a group of trafficked people who didn’t know their fate.

Duan Yang also picked up on the clues. The young doctor kept pulling his arm, as if urging him to explain the situation to these villagers. However, for an ocean-crossing voyage, in an enclosed space, even cannibalism could happen. Those gangsters who kidnapped them and locked them up with these stowaways showed that they weren’t afraid of them telling the truth to these villagers.

However, just as he was thinking about these things, the lights in the cabin suddenly lit up.

Duan Yang was so frightened that he suddenly backed away. Lin Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. Only then did he see the dark faces in front of them. The villagers were very close to them, as if they wanted to listen to him. Everyone surrounded them. Under the dim light, there was neither good intention nor malice in those eyes, as if they were searching for something.

The oncoming breath and fishy smell of the bottom cabin of the fishing boat were suffocating. They were underwater, so the air pressure was extremely low, and the heat was unbearable. He had been soaked by the rain before, but now his body was sticky and greasy, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Of course, the person who was more uncomfortable than him was the doctor next to him.

Duan Yang had a serious obsession with cleanliness. When the lights came on, he immediately fidgeted after seeing the situation in the cabin.

“Young men in the city are so squeamish,” someone whispered.

“It’s fine, they are so pitiful,” someone else chimed in.

“Thanks.” Lin Chen showed a look of bitterness and stopped talking. He and Duan Yang were obviously out of place with the villagers. The people around them gradually lost interest and dispersed. They sat down against the bulkhead of the fishing boat in twos and threes and began whispering to each other or closing their eyes to rest.

The sound of the ship’s motor covered most of the whispers. Except for the two who were close to them, they couldn’t hear any other voices at all. Duan Yang leaned into Lin Chen’s ear and spoke. His first sentence was full of trembling. “Consultant Lin, do you know how high the mortality rate of ocean-crossing smuggling is?”

Lin Chen couldn’t help but glare at him.

However, Duan Yang still rambled on. “You see, the smell here smells like the place where the catch should be stored. Dead fish and shrimp carry all kinds of bacteria and microorganisms. And it’s sweltering here. It’s like a huge petri dish!”

“Doctor Duan.” Lin Chen felt dizzy from the waves as he spoke softly.

“Consultant Lin, I’m worried about you. You are in poor condition; you were just exposed to the rain, and your hand is still infected. You…”

“In the dark space, a doctor who’s desperately suggesting that their patient has a certain disease—what do you think the chances of the patient surviving and walking out of this ship are?” Lin Chen asked.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I…” Duan Yang hugged his knees depressingly. “I’m sorry. I’m the one who dragged you into this. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

“How did you come to this result?”

“What?”

“That you dragged me into this.”

“You’re right. This should be on Zhorui Pharmaceutical’s head. I feel that their goal was to search through my home. Is it because I offended them, they are now selling us to Dana to do hard labor?”

“It’s hard to say.” Lin Chen loosened the neckline of his shirt.

“Perhaps it’s because killing us directly wouldn’t be as good as kidnapping us and selling us off to avoid leaving any trouble behind. This way, no one can find our bodies.”

“Why are you so good at reasoning?”

“I just think they were too blatant. Are they a pharmaceutical company or the mafia? Consultant Lin, do you think we still have a chance to escape?”

“This is the ocean. Since we’re locked up with these stowaways, I think it’s unlikely we’ll be able to escape in a short time.”

“Are we going to be sold to Africa to do hard labor for the rest of our lives? Then why didn’t you tell these villagers the truth just now? Don’t we have a better chance if we unite them rather than just sit and wait to accept our fate?”

“Because right now they won’t believe anything we say.” Lin Chen said it bluntly. “Even if they have regrets or doubts, they won’t show it now. Anyone who dares point out a problem will only be attacked by the mob. This is human instinct.”

“Then what should we do now?”

“We can only wait.”

“For how long.” Duan Yang sat down and looked up at the ceiling as he covered his face. “This environment will only weaken our physical strength. It’ll be difficult for us to survive.”

Lin Chen looked at the young man. Although he was indeed uncomfortable now, he and Duan Yang needed to encourage each other. Otherwise, the situation would only get worse. “Anything difficult can be solved. Besides, this isn’t your fault. No matter what you’re involved in, you don’t have yourself to blame.”

“But…”

“Besides, isn’t it great to go to Dana?” He tried to find something to cheer up the youth.

“What’s great? That hellhole isn’t as safe as this boat full of stowaways.”

“But you might be able to see your teacher.”

“Consultant Lin… You… You don’t have to.” Under the faint light, Duan Yang’s face flushed again in an instant. “This is impossible.”

“Why?”

“We’ll definitely be sold to do hard labor with them. We can’t escape. How can we meet my teacher?”

“As long as you will it, there’s a way,” Lin Chen said seriously. “So, do you want to see your teacher?”

“Isn’t this just a lie? There are many things in the world I wish to see, but this isn’t some cultivation novel,” Duan Yang muttered.

“There’s a classic called <The Secret*>. Have you heard of it? It contains the most famous principles of success. That is, as long as you firmly believe something will happen, it will happen.” Lin Chen raised his injured hand and wanted to pat Duan Yang’s head, but the tingling pain in his palm made him subconsciously switch hands. “Your belief should be stronger. When you’re invincible, you’ll be able to achieve anything because no one can stop you.”

*Self-help book by Rhonda Byrne. It’s based on the belief in the pseudoscientific law of attraction, which claims that thoughts can change a person’s life directly. The book alleges energy as an assurance of its effectiveness. Scientific claims made by the book have been rejected by a range of critics, pointing out that it has no scientific foundation.

The young man blushed. “It means that as long as I want to see Teacher, I’ll definitely be able to see him?”

“That’s right.”

“Then you must firmly believe that your resistance is strong enough not to get infected. Even if you are infected, you can resist!”

Lin Chen sighed as a chill came over his body. He regretted going down this scam route. However, he could only nod and say, “I will.”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

As explained in the footnotes, the things mentioned in the book don’t have any scientific merit, but thinking about one’s outlook can change your mental state. Lin Chen was simply trying to cheer up Duan Yang by basically saying, “Keep a positive outlook and don’t fall into despair” (as that would only hamper their situation even more), but Duan Yang totally missed the point and actually bought into the bullshit.

One thing I will say, though, is that the saying “fake it until you make it” can be applicable and could give you a boost in confidence.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 179

Lin Chen looked at the stairs.

Slight footsteps were approaching as two figures slowly appeared on the stairs in the pitch-black darkness.

The other party didn’t seem to expect that they were here. Their bodies shook and suddenly rushed forward. In an instant, cold metal was pressed against their chests, and a stronger sense of threat stimulated every hair on their body like lightning.

Lin Chen slowly turned his gaze, glanced at the gun pressed to his heart, and slowly raised his hand.

Now that it was an era of peace, guns were banned in the country. Except for police officers and military personnel, the only ones who would use guns so openly were gangsters. In the dim light, both of the figures had their faces covered and wore ordinary everyday clothes and a cap. The only thing revealed were two pairs of cruel and bloodthirsty eyes.

The movements of the two were concise and effective, with a sense of oppression. It was obvious they were experienced.

The barking of the dogs downstairs had changed from a loud howl to a low, suppressed whine that seemed it could explode at any time.

Lin Chen’s heartbeat was fast, but his expression was still calm. He glanced at Duan Yang reassuringly, raised his head, and asked the visitors, “Are you here to kill us?”

The other party didn’t understand what he meant. They quickly looked at each other and pressed their guns closer.

Since the safety was still on, it indicated that the other party wasn’t ready to do anything in the house; the barrel of the gun was cold, which meant the other party hadn’t shot the gun for a period of time. Lin Chen looked straight ahead and calmly explained. “This is a question, not an imperative statement. I want to know if you want our lives or something else.”

“Is there a difference?” A cold and hoarse voice came through the mask.

“Well, if you want to kill us, then I’ll try my best to seize our maximum value and make you give up on this idea.”

The barrel of the gun against his chest moved along his neck to his cheek and finally stopped at his temple.

Lin Chen raised his head and looked directly into those gloomy eyes. “What value do you think you have?’

“The purpose of coming here is our greatest value.”

“If you know our purpose, why don’t I just kill you.”

“Because you don’t look like you do. When you walked up the stairs and saw us just now, you didn’t choose to shoot first. Your companion gave you a look that told you to exercise restraint. You must have a task to complete. Until that task is accomplished, we shouldn’t be in danger.”

After he finished speaking, the cold muzzle of the gun began to poke his temple repeatedly. “Do you know that smart people die faster?”

Lin Chen thought for a while and replied, “Although smart people may die faster, so do idiots.”

The other party laughed and asked, “Who the hell are you?”

Lin Chen quickly became vigilant.

It was obvious these intruders were follow-ups from last time. When the other party asked who he was, it meant they knew Duan Yang’s identity. Duan Yang was their target, and he was just an accessory they accidentally encountered during their operation. For vicious gangsters, once they learned that he wasn’t their target, they were likely to kill him.

Lin Chen once again felt his fate was truly bad. To get his wound sewn, he had to encounter this kind of crisis where a slight mistake could lead to a fatal outcome. Among all the dangers he had encountered in his life, such an irrational situation was quite rare.

Now was the time to take a gamble. He must show his worth. “I’m his shixiong.” He lowered his eyes toward Duan Yang as he said this.

Hearing what he said, the young man’s hands trembled, but he still resisted his fear and didn’t look up. At this moment, Duan Yang didn’t forget to tie the knot on the sutured wound and even carefully wiped his palm with iodophor as he tore off the adhesive tape and fixed the gauze covering the wound. He finally raised his head and looked at him. “Shixiong, it’s done. How do you feel?”

Lin Chen felt that Duan Yang’s mental quality had potential to be a field doctor.

“Good,” he said indifferently.

But then, Dr. Duan regained his nature. He raised his head cautiously and looked at the two gangsters and stammered, “You… You… Who are you?!” As he spoke, he still held his medical scissors tremblingly, doing a futile defense.

Lin Chen motioned for Duan Yang to put down his “weapon” and raised his hands. “We want to live, so do as you please. You can even blindfold us if necessary.”

Before he finished speaking, a thunderbolt struck outside the window. He looked up at the suddenly lit sky and stopped talking.

The two gangsters looked at each other as if they were judging his value. Then, one of them took out a rope and tied him up forcefully, while the other held his gun and aimed at them silently.

Although he wasn’t proficient in knotting, Lin Chen could tell the other party’s skill was obviously beyond that of an ordinary gangster. His wrist was being strangled painfully, and he couldn’t move. He looked at the person holding them at gunpoint. The other party was calm and stable, aiming the gun at them with an unwavering gaze. Apart from knowing he had killed before, Lin Chen couldn’t see any clues in that gaze. These two were more like well-trained mercenaries than common gangsters on the streets, but since when did mercenaries start taking on the business of kidnapping people in pet hospitals?

Duan Yang was also aware that something was amiss. The young man wanted to talk to him, but Lin Chen shook his head and motioned for him to be quiet.

They performed well from start to finish, so they didn’t suffer any physical pain. They were tied up tightly, blindfolded, and had their mouths covered with duct tape. The other party even put on noise-canceling headphones on their ears. In an instant, Lin Chen felt completely separated from the world. The air was humid and hot, extremely sticky, and then a cool breeze came, indicating that it was most likely raining heavily.

With his five senses sealed, Lin Chen’s sense of touch became more acute. He laid his legs flat and felt the floor vibrating. The other party was obviously searching for something in the room. It should be the medical materials related to Duan Yang. They were light in their movements, with no preoccupation as they performed their task concisely.

The other party’s search ended quickly.

About ten minutes later, Lin Chen felt he was lifted up, and the cold barrel of a gun was pressed against his back. He and Duan Yang stumbled and were guided downstairs.

It was late at night. The moment he walked out of the door of the pet hospital, the oncoming heavy rain made him suddenly tremble. When he stepped into the rain, the cold water instantly penetrated his clothes. The coolness seemed to have drilled into his heart along his blood vessels. He couldn’t see anything. The headphones had blocked most of the thunder, and he could only feel the tremor of the surrounding air and then guess the moment the sky was suddenly lit up by lightning.

He hoped that some residents would get up at night and see this scene in the alley that was illuminated by the streetlamps or lightning.

After walking for a while, they were pushed into a van. At first, he didn’t lift his leg high enough, and his knee slammed into the van, making a loud noise.

The other party seemed to be aware of his intentions and grabbed his hair. He pressed the barrel of his gun against Lin Chen’s forehead and whispered, “Watch it.”

Lin Chen lowered his head and was obediently pushed into the van. The door closed, and the vehicle started, carrying them an unknown distance.

Lin Chen was still guessing their destination at first, but gradually the loss of senses made his brain numb. Psychologists have done similar experiments. After isolating the subjects from external stimuli, most of them would report pathological mental states, including emotional stress, mental dullness, hallucinations, and the like. The cruelest punishment in the world was sensory deprivation.

Lin Chen felt that he couldn’t calculate the time, and his thoughts began to drift. In a very short period of time, many scenes that he had suppressed suddenly erupted.

Blood and fire interweaved, and the faces of the dead and killers appeared in a loop.

He kept trying to expose the skin on his hand to more things. The tingling sensation of his wound sobered him, and finally he lay down in the car.

Most likely because he moved too much, Duan Yang squeezed to his side and snuggled up to him, as if relieved.

He didn’t know whether the young man understood Morse code, but he touched the back of the other’s cold hand and tapped it casually so as not to slow down his brain.

He slowly typed out the words “Zhorui Pharmaceutical”. It took a while for Duan Yang to react.

The young man whimpered and wrote back on his hand: [What did you say?]

Only then did Lin Chen realize that there was a real problem with his thinking. Why did he choose something like Morse code when he could just write?

He wrote the key words again and put a question mark at the end.

[I don’t know.]

Duan Yang’s words were written quickly. Presumably, the young man was also at a loss to his own kidnapping.

However, this meaningless communication was like a lifeline for Lin Chen. He wrote whatever came to mind to the young man, and eventually it had little to do with their kidnapping. He was soaked, but it was like finding a lifeboat in a sea covered with icebergs.

He didn’t know how long it took, but the van finally stopped.

The door of the car opened, and he smelled seawater in the air. Then there was the sound of waves slapping the shore, as if someone were using a bamboo broom to sweep broken glass on the floor.

The rain had stopped.

He and Duan Yang had been taken to the seaside. A broken fishing boat was parked at the pier, bouncing up and down with the dark waves.

The other party held their gun and forced them to board the boat.

Lin Chen suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart. They still had a glimmer of hope if they were in China, but if the other party smuggled them out of the country, then they truly were dead.

Soon, an open gap in the cabin of the fishing boat confirmed his conjecture.

Looking inward along the wet wooden board, the bottom of the cabin was crowded with more than a dozen people. Lin Chen glanced at the armed gangsters and then at the doctor, who was so shocked he couldn’t speak, and said nothing. He just obediently climbed down.

The people at the bottom of the fishing boat didn’t show any fear of being imprisoned. They were all in high spirits, as if they were talking about something. This reminded Lin Chen of the legendary stowaways.

But if these people were stowaways who wanted to leave the country, why would the kidnappers detain them with these people?

After they walked into the cabin, the sound of impact drills and nails followed. Someone had nailed a board and sealed them at the bottom of the small fishing boat.

They were now in a real desperate situation. Duan Yang helped him and found an empty spot in the cabin to sit down.

In the darkness, Lin Chen felt someone pushing him and asked, “Are you going to work in Dana too?”

---

The author has something to say:

Lin Chen: Sorry, I’m going to look for someone.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 178

It had been a long time since Wang Chao had seen his boss get so angry.

Are you kidding me?! That dumbass Huang Ze actually dared kiss his boss’ person in front of his boss’ house, by his boss’ front door. If this wasn’t being tired of living, then what was?

Wang Chao cautiously raised his head and glanced over. He felt that his boss’ gloomy face could summon hundreds of thousands of dark clouds from the Dana Rainforest, turning them into a violent storm.

He pulled at his collar, inexplicably feeling that the air pressure around him was decreasing and becoming stuffy, as if it were being blown out by a steamer. It seemed like it was going to rain again.

At this time, even that idiot Kang An felt the abnormality and pulled Wang Chao over and asked, “Damn, what’s going on with the Boss? The last time he had this expression, I seemed to have some bad memories.”

Of course it’s not good, damn it!

Wang Chao hugged his laptop tightly and glared at Kang An. “Are you still alive?”

“Seems like it.” Kang An scratched his head.

“No, the fact that you’re alive is an illusion.”

When he said this, his boss’ cold eyes had already swept over him.

Wang Chao hurriedly shut up, while Kang An unknowingly inquired, “Boss, were those two people a couple just now?”

God knew how much Wang Chao wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. The world was truly terrible. He really didn’t want to be in the same camp with this idiot.

At this time, the coldness in his boss’ eyes could already solidify. It seemed as if he was holding back an evil fire that had nowhere to vent and could easily be ignited by anything.

“Why are you still on the boat?” His boss lit a cigarette as he asked Kang An.

Kang An grabbed the side of the boat tightly. “Boss, after we find Xiao Wu, we’ll never bother you again!”

Wang Chao simply suspected that Kang An simply had hearing problems. What the hell was Kang An doing, showing off his affection right in front of the boss?

The next moment, his boss immediately got up and kicked Kang An without hesitation. Wang Chao forcibly grabbed his boss’ waist and shouted, “Boss, Boss, I have pulled out all the surveillance. Do you want to see what’s going on?”

Only by mentioning his A’Chen Gege would his boss calm down a little. Having said that, his boss took a deep breath and sat back in the cabin.

As the wooden boat cut through the waves, Wang Chao pulled him to the cabin and called up the surveillance at their front door. He turned his laptop away from Kang An and said, “Boss, I won’t let that idiot Kang An watch.”

His boss didn’t even look at him and just stared at the screen.

Wang Chao slowly began to adjust the screen. Huang Ze slowly appeared on the monitoring screen.

At the beginning, the sky was still bright as Huang Ze simply stood under the eaves of their home, waiting for a long time—from sunset to twilight, until there were no pedestrians left wandering the streets. He simply stood there, like a statue.

His A’Chen Gege had returned home after nightfall. The moment he saw Huang Ze, his A’Chen Gege expression showed a clear sense of annoyance.

Wang Chao cautiously peeped at his boss’ face. It seemed to have eased a little.

After that, his A’Chen Gege walked up the steps, but Huang Ze had insidiously blocked the door. The two of them were talking, and Huang Ze’s expression looked angry.

Although he couldn’t read lips, he still managed to easily recognize his boss’ name based on the mouth movements. Seeing his boss’ sullen face and looking at Huang Ze’s appearance, it seemed most likely that Huang Ze had reported some wrongdoing to Lin Chen. What a despicable person.

His boss bit the cigarette butt and looked at Huang Ze as if he were looking at a dead man.

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed. His A’Chen Gege had said something that made Huang Ze angrier. Huang Ze dared to raise his hand to slap his A’Chen Gege.

Seeing Huang Ze raise his hand to slap Lin Chen, Wang Chao felt the weak flame in his heart was about to start a prairie fire. Huang Ze was no longer stepping on his boss’ bottom line, but also hitting him with a combination of punches. When A’Chen Gege and Huang Ze were about to leave, he hurriedly pressed the pause button. He was really afraid that his boss would watch the video again and immediately call a helicopter to take him back so he could kill Huang Ze.

At this moment, his boss suddenly spoke.

“Rewind back a bit.”

What his boss said was inexplicably strange, and his face wasn’t as cold as it was just now. Wang Chao obediently obeyed his order and worked as quietly as a chicken.

They watched the scene before Huang Ze started his actions. Although he couldn’t read lips, his boss obviously knew!

Wang Chao tentatively asked, “Boss, what did A’Chen Gege say that made Huang Ze so mad?” However, his boss just held his cigarette and said nothing. He felt that A’Chen must have said something cruel—after all, he had never seen anyone surpass A’Chen in terms of ability to anger people to death.

However, he only received a one-word reply. “Continue.”

Wang Chao obediently played the same picture more than a dozen times as his boss watched it.

Although he didn’t know what A’Chen said to rile up Huang Ze, in the picture, his A’Chen Gege was calm and unabashed, that he even thought it was kind of cute.

“Boss?”

“Cut off this section and delete everything else. Delete the hard drive and throw it into the river.” Suddenly, Xing Conglian pointed to the two cut-off points.

“What—why throw it in the river?” Wang Chao was taken aback.

He didn’t know if it was something he said or what problem had arisen ahead, but suddenly, the boatman they hired screamed from the bow.

The man squatted down with his head in his arms and looked extremely frightened.

Wang Chao sat up straight and looked up, only to see pieces of abandoned wooden boats appear on the river in the distance. All boat types were wide between ends and wooden, indicating they were the typical boats used by the indigenous people of the rainforest. Pieces of jet-black wooden boats floated on the wide water like countless deadwood, creating a horrific scene. Judging from the terrain, they should have arrived at the dock of the Gaomeng Tribe, but for some reason, something had happened, causing all the boats to capsize and the entire dock to be abandoned.

He looked towards the location of the dock and finally knew why the boatman was holding his head in horror. On a small boat on the shore, there were two shabby-dressed armed men pointing two submachine guns at them. Looking at their gestures, it seemed they were preparing to let them dock, then rob them, and if they didn’t directly surrender, they would be killed.

Kang An had already keenly held down his gun and concealed it close to the side of the boat.

However, his boss stood up generously, kicked the gun in Kang An’s hand, and said coldly, “Who told you to shoot?”

“But what should I do if I don’t shoot, Boss?”

“Wang Chao.”

It seemed that Xing Conglian was too lazy to talk nonsense with Kang An and decided to use Wang Chao instead.

Wang Chao shuddered and whispered, “Kang An, you pig. It’s obvious that something happened here, and now that there are two survivors we can interrogate. How are we going to investigate if we kill them?”

Kang An scratched his head and thought this made sense, so he put his gun down.

The boatman shook his head while the bald bar owner hung up his phone. Wang Chao’s boss glanced at the other party and said, “Sail to the dock.”

The bald-headed bar owner just got off the phone with his girlfriend and was reluctant. “My dear Boss Xing, why do you want me to do these dangerous jobs?”

Wang Chao’s boss just stood up straight, like a javelin, and gave the bar owner a glance.

In short, Wang Chao knew what kind of look his boss gave, and the bald bar owner didn’t hesitate to climb to the bow and take over the job of the boatman.

The ship sailed towards the dock, bringing them closer to the two militants. As they got closer, they gradually detected a fishy smell in the air. It was about half an hour from the dock to the Gaomeng Tribe’s camp. The bazaar that was supposed to be lively was now desolate.

The stalls were overturned, and the ground was full of dead fish and shrimp. There were no aborigines stationed on the dock or in the thatched huts along the shore. Everything seemed abandoned and eerie.

Following his boss’ gaze, Wang Chao’s eyes finally landed on the two armed men.

The firearms used by the militants were about twenty years out of date. The barrels looked rusty, and their outfits didn’t look like they were from the Gaomeng Tribe. They were camouflaged uniforms, but their upper and lower bodies didn’t match, looking more like bandits.

The ship was getting closer.

His boss just stood in front of the two gun barrels unabashedly and asked in the common language of the Dana Region, “What happened here?”

The other side rambled a bunch of nonsense, something along the lines of handing over their valuables.

A look of impatience flashed across his boss’ face, causing Wang Chao to hurriedly grab the side of the ship.

At the moment the ship hit the dock, his boss jumped ashore, grabbed one of the muzzles, and raised it up while smoothly kicking the other person in the chest. The next second, his boss had restrained one of the bandits with his backhand and pulled the trigger. Gunshots sounded like beans popping on a piece of turf. The person who was kicked to the ground didn’t dare move rashly.

“Last chance,” his boss said coldly.

There was another burst of Dana language, which was along the lines of the two being mercenaries that were just passing through. When they came, the dock was already empty. They were just looking for valuables and weren’t deliberately there to rob them.

Sure enough, his boss didn’t want to listen to the nonsense of these two Dana men any longer. He directly punched the one he had restrained, knocking him unconscious, and then kicked the two rusty guns into the river. Then, without hesitation, he stepped on the body of the other bandit and headed towards the shore.

Wang Chao and Kang An looked at each other. Following their boss’ actions, they both stepped on the body of the bandit obediently and followed their boss into the depths of the rainforest.

……

In the courtyard of Unit 3 Yanjia Lane.

Lin Chen closed the wooden door and locked it carefully. Because he had been away from home for too long, everything in the yard seemed unfamiliar at first glance.

He lifted the bamboo tube by the door and walked to the edge of the fish pond.

All the koi in the water had swum to the edge. He took out a handful of fish food from the bamboo tube and sprinkled it into the water. The koi surfaced, and the sound of them competing for food made the house a little livelier.

Lin Chen changed into his indoor slippers and walked into the main hall. Although he tried not to pay attention to the furnishing of the room, it was obvious that Wang Chao and Xing Conglian hadn’t returned home.

On his desk were a few books he borrowed from the library with Wang Chao at that time. One of them was the tractor maintenance book that the young teenager liked the most, which he had thrown on the carpet so he could read it at any time. There was also a cup of iced lemon black tea beside the book that had been sitting there for who knew how long.

Lin Chen walked over to pick up the book and put it back in place, then threw the empty cup into the trash can.

The kitchen counter was covered with a thick layer of dust. He wanted to take a rag to wipe them, but when he opened the faucet, he realized that one hand was wrapped in gauze.

It was also under the light that he discovered the wound on his hand had reopened because he had punched Huang Ze too hard just now. A spot on the suture had cracked. The blood had stained half the gauze red, and it seemed that if he didn’t restitch the wound, it wouldn’t stop bleeding.

He threw down the rag, poured some water into a watering can, and walked to the balcony.

Sure enough, the daisies and geraniums had dried up. Except for the heartless growth of mint and weeds, everything else showed the pitiful appearance of being exposed under the scorching sun.

Lin Chen symbolically poured some water on the plant in hopes of saving it, then called Duan Yang.

The little doctor at the pet hospital answered his call in seconds. “Consultant Lin, have you just arrived home?’

Lin Chen held the phone between his shoulders and poured the rest of the remaining water onto the mint leaves, then replied, “Something happened on the way, so I got delayed.”

“What’s wrong?” Duan Yang became nervous.

“It’s nothing. I just wanted to ask you, do you scold badly when you sew up wounds?” He put down the watering can and spread out his palm as he asked this.

Naturally, it was a fantasy to want a doctor who wouldn’t scold their patients who were wayward and reckless.

It took Lin Chen five minutes to walk back to Duan Yang’s pet hospital.

The little doctor began to ramble the moment he saw Lin Chen’s wound had opened up again.

“Consultant Lin, I’ve never seen a person like you who doesn’t take their body seriously. You just went home. How did this happen? Do you know that you can easily cause repeated wound infections like this? Did you take any anti-inflammatory drugs?”

A poodle in a cage also barked in response to Duan Yang’s words.

Lin Chen turned around and looked at the poodle and was reminded of Huang Ze again. He could only say, “I’m allergic to broad-spectrum antibiotics, so I can’t take them.”

The little doctor suddenly turned his head. “You know your body, yet why aren’t you careful? Are you trying to court death?!”

The poodle barked again.

Lin Chen sighed. “I’m sorry to trouble you.”

“If I were your attending doctor, I would be incredibly pissed off!” The little doctor had already picked up the suturing equipment and looked up at the ceiling. “There are too many pets here. Let’s go upstairs and finish the IV. I’m locking the door, and you’re not allowed to escape!”

Lin Chen nodded solemnly, expressing that he would be obedient.

To be honest, although Duan Yang liked to ramble, he was a professional doctor with strict medical training. His suture work was meticulous, and the stitches were more refined than those of Xing Conglian’s.

Because of the anesthesia, the wound didn’t hurt much. Lin Chen casually looked out the window. The air was humid and rainy, which unexpectedly made him feel a tightness in his chest.

Finally, Duan Yang finished his stitching.

Just as Lin Chen was about to speak, there came a piercing howl from downstairs.

As if the door were suddenly opened, someone was walking into the store in the dark of night, stepping onto the wooden stairs with messy footsteps.

Lin Chen looked at Duan Yang and asked, “Didn’t you say that the door was locked?”

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 177

Lin Chen thought about the possibility of turning around and leaving. If it didn’t look cowardly, he would’ve turned around without hesitation.

However, Huang Ze’s cold and quiet gaze had already swept over, reminding him of the small river in front of his bedroom window in winter. There were even snowflakes floating in the sky, indicating just how cold it really was.

He put his hand in his pocket and walked towards Huang Ze.

Perhaps it was because Huang Ze had been standing still at the door for so long that the door light had dimmed, so when he walked to the door, his footsteps knocked on the brick pavement, causing the door light to come on, illuminating everything brightly, as if to welcome him home.

Lin Chen stood in front of the vermillion door, but Huang Ze remained silent and kept examining him from head to toe.

Although he wanted to go in and get away from Huang Ze, Inspector Huang was quite skilled at blocking the door lock, so he could only stand in front of Huang Ze and be watched like a stone statue.

Finally, when the door light dimmed again, Huang Ze said, “Why didn’t you answer my call?”

In order to avoid being pursued by Jiang Chao and his wife and the bombardment of calls after he escaped from the hospital, Lin Chen had turned off his phone. Naturally though, the reason why he didn’t answer Huang Ze’s call wasn’t because of this. “Oh, because I blocked you, so I didn’t get it.”

There was an obvious fluctuation in Huang Ze’s eyes. “Why?”

Lin Chen was surprised that Huang Ze would ask why.

“I think you’re too annoying.” He could only answer him truthfully.

Huang Ze was so shocked by this answer that it rendered him speechless. In the end, Inspector Huang eased his tone and pointed to the wooden door behind, giving himself a way out. “Won’t you invite me in?”

Lin Chen’s fingers twirled half a circle on the key ring in his pocket and said casually, “It’s not convenient to invite guests into other people’s homes.”

Huang Ze sneered. “Really, you also know that it’s someone else’s home, yet you have the nerve to stay here for so long?”

“Excuse me.”

“Lin Chen, I found that I haven’t chatted with you for a long time, and you have become even more shameless than before.”

“How shameless is it to stay as a guest?” Perhaps because he had rested for a while and gotten a recent infusion, he actually had the strength to talk to Huang Ze. “The housing prices are so high, so I try to save wherever I can.”

“Staying as a guest in a place like this?” Huang Ze turned around and pointed to the door plate of Unit 3 on Yanjia Lane. “Do you know how much this old house is worth? Even an ordinary police officer can’t afford to live in a place like this. Use your brain!”

“Too lazy to move.” Lin Chen felt that this conversation with Huang Ze kept going in a weirder direction, and it was embarrassing to quarrel with another man in front of his home. “You can say whatever you want but keep your voice down. The neighbors are asleep.”

“So what’s the result of your laziness?!” The sound of frogs croaking could be heard in the air. There were hardly any lights on in Yanjia Lane. In such a tranquil environment, Huang Ze was surprisingly angry. “Are you pretending that the owner of this house is still inside? In reality, did they not want to just leave? Are you going to stubbornly wait here for them until they come back?” Huang Ze paused, then said coldly, “Do you know what you look like?”

The most miserable place in his heart was poked, making it difficult for Lin Chen to calm down, but when he looked up and saw Huang Ze’s angry eyes, he felt there was no need to get upset. “Do you know where Xing Conglian went?” He frowned. “How do you know?”

Huang Ze became even angrier. “As captain of the criminal police force, Xing Conglian has been absent from work for no reason. Of course I have to check his whereabouts.”

Lin Chen rubbed the door key and said solemnly, “If you have something to say, just say it instead of beating around the bush. If not, please leave quickly and don’t be so off-putting.”

“At Yongchuan International Airport, a special plane came to pick him up. The flight number and the route are confidential.”

Lin Chen sighed. “So you don’t know either.”

“Heh.” Huang Ze suddenly seemed to have found something to attack his weakness. “What does ‘also’ mean? In fact, he didn’t tell you where he went either, right?”

“Yes.”

After he finished replying, Lin Chen didn’t know how he had offended Huang Ze again, but Huang Ze got so angry that his expression turned livid, and he raised his voice. “I knew it. Does it look like he cares about you? He’s just playing with you. When he gets tired of playing with you, he will throw you out like garbage. Even your job was given to you by him. You will have nothing at that time, so how will you gain a foothold in society?”

The meaning behind Huang Ze’s words seemed to regard him as some kind of plaything for Xing Conglian. Lin Chen thought about it carefully and felt that the days of being taken care of by Xing Conglian weren’t bad. Still, he had to reply. “What can I do? Maybe go back and continue being a dorm manager.”

“You can obviously live with dignity. Why choose this kind of path?”

“What path?”

“Didn’t you already admit it on national television? You and Xing Conglian! You—” When it came to this point, Huang Ze couldn’t continue.

Only then did Lin Chen realize that Huang Ze actually believed the questions that Li Jingtian asked to humiliate him. He found this quite incredulous. “Huang Ze, I didn’t admit to anything.”

Hearing this, Huang Ze was taken aback, and then his eyes widened. They appeared to have regained some joy. He looked down at Lin Chen and calmly asked, “You have never slept with Xing Conglian?”

“No.” Lin Chen paused. Seeing Huang Ze’s lips curl, he continued, “Although I really want to.”

Before he could finish his sentence, Huang Ze had raised his hand abruptly. He put his fingers together, about to slap Lin Chen. Lin Chen raised his hand to hold back Huang Ze and took a step back, feeling pain in his wrist from the impact. Even a clay figure had a bit of anger. He sneered, “Inspector Huang, slapping someone is too girly.” He pointed to the surveillance camera mounted on the porch and added, “Pay attention to the consequences.”

In front of him, Huang Ze’s chest rose and fell, seemingly without any intention to calm down. It seemed that his mania was getting worse, so Lin Chen didn’t bother to say anything. He didn’t even look at Huang Ze, but turned around and left.

The next moment, he felt his arm being grabbed by Huang Ze, who then pulled him back and abruptly pushed him against the door. The back of his head slammed into the door panel as he stared at Huang Ze in a daze and was speechless. His lower back also painfully hit the copper nails on the door. He didn’t expect Huang Ze to forcibly pull his hands above his head and press himself against him.

……

Just as Huang Ze was about to lose his mind, neither he nor Lin Chen noticed the surveillance camera that was mounted under the eaves of Unit 3 on Yanjia Lane slightly moved.

As if they were watching a live broadcast, on the Dana River thousands of kilometers away, someone witnessed the events at the same time.

Wang Chao thought this matter was really fucking scary. In fact, just a few minutes ago, he was still swaying on a boat, quite scared by the rushing river on both sides. The banks of the Dana River, which cut through the rainforest, were lined with tall tropical palm and olive trees. Vines were intertwined along their trunks, forming a huge network. Occasionally, chimpanzees would swing back and forth on the vines. The atmosphere was hot and humid, giving off a fishy smell.

There were creatures such as water snakes or river eels in the swaying river. Their scales would brush against the dark green water, which made his hair stand on end.

Probably because he was so frightened by this unique ecological scene that he lay down on the boat and suddenly said to his boss, “Boss, do you want to check up on A’Chen Gege?”

At that time, Xing Conglian gave him a look of relief, as if he were saying, “This child has finally become more mature.”

As the water calmed, Wang Chao turned over and sat up. He took out his laptop from the waterproof bag and quickly pulled up the surveillance of the door where Lin Chen’s ward was in Yongchuan Second Municipal Hospital. At this time, it was quite late in China so there wasn’t anyone in the corridor, and they were basically staring at a wall thousands of miles away.

However, after staring at the ward for a while, Xing Conglian suddenly said, “He’s not in the ward.”

Wang Chao almost shouted, “Boss, what kind of special ability do you have?!”

“Switch the surveillance.” His boss coldly ordered.

In line with the principle of serving people, Wang Chao obediently began to switch through surveillance like a madman.

However, what he didn’t expect that Xing Conglian did was see Vice Captain Jiang’s beautiful wife suddenly rushing out of the ward in a panic, pulling a little nurse as if she were looking for someone.

He hurriedly adjusted the playback sequence to normal. Some time before that, his A’Chen Gege had changed out of his hospital gown and was dressed neatly. He then walked out of the ward graciously while there was no one in the corridor.

Wang Chao couldn’t help but be amazed by his boss’ intuition!

“What’s wrong with A’Chen Gege? He doesn’t like being in the hospital that much?” Wang Chao criticized solemnly.

But his boss just frowned, then he took out a cigarette and stuffed it in his mouth. Because the rainforest was too damp, the cigarette needed to be lit twice before it caught. At this point, Wang Chao realized his boss had become more irritated.

In the spirit of serving his leader, Wang Chao made the decision that he regretted for two hours and five minutes. He switched the surveillance to the door of their home as he said to his boss, “It’s okay. I think A’Chen Gege will return home. We…”

Before he got the chance to finish, Wang Chao was so frightened that he felt his soul would pop out of his body. Not even scary movies could scare him this much.

In the dark night, his A’Chen Gege, whom he hadn’t seen for many days, was indeed standing in front of the vermillion door of their house, but his posture couldn’t exactly be considered “standing”—because his A’Chen Gege was being pressed against the door and his hands were being locked above him head.

Thanks to the high-definition surveillance camera, from the side, he could clearly see the person who was holding his A’Chen Gege… The biggest dumbass in the world—Huang Ze.

Lines of barrage such as “Midnight affair”, “Why is a lonely young man kissing a stranger when his husband isn’t at home?”, and so on appeared in Wang Chao’s head.

However, he quickly returned to reality. “Boss, this shouldn’t be…”

As he was speaking, he was about to turn off the laptop, but at this moment, the picture changed drastically.

His A’Chen Gege somehow broke free from Huang Ze’s shackles and punched him with the hand that was still wrapped in gauze.

In the dark night, Huang Ze staggered back two steps and almost fell down the steps. He covered his cheek with one hand and looked ahead in disbelief.

On the other hand, His A’Chen Gege was calm and was standing upright, not at all like a boss who had just beaten up his boss, looking awe-spiring and invincible.

Without saying a word, or even a “fuck off”, the person who was forcibly kissed just stood on the steps, watching the dumbass Huang Ze, who was just injured, turn around and roll off into the darkness of the night.

The passionate scene was finally over. It took a long time for Wang Chao to calm down. He swallowed desperately for a while before he dared to look around.

From the position next to him, his boss took a deep puff of his cigarette and pressed it out on the edge of the boat. The feeling of anger had reached an unprecedented level, as if it were burning through the rainforest.

Wang Chao began to worry about the fate of the earth.

At this moment, Kang An, who apparently didn’t know the meaning of “death”, suddenly asked, “Wang Chao, Wang Chao, quickly step back and see if that was a kiss just now.”

‘Fuck.’ Wang Chao sincerely swore he had never seen such a blind person as Kang An in his life.

Sure enough, the face of his boss, who had just calmed down, turned livid again. He said in a cold tone, “Kang An, get off.”

Kang An glanced at the river in horror, then raised his head and said, “Boss, there are giant pythons in the Dana River. I’ll die.”

“I want you to die,” Xing Conglian scolded.

“Boss, calm down!” Wang Chao said as he rushed over and hugged the angry man’s waist, preventing him from kicking Kang An into the river.

“Get my phone,” Xing Conglian said coldly.

Comrade Xiao Wang was taken aback and hurriedly said, “Damn, Boss, please don’t use that kind of tone like ‘bring me my dragon-slaying sword’. What do you want to do?”

“It’s fine. I just want to find someone to do something.”

---

The author has something to say:

Wang Chao: Boss, what are you looking for someone to do?

Xing Conglian: Can you guess?

---

Kinky Thoughts:

My theory behind Huang Ze is that the author originally planned to write him as Lin Chen’s ex who had a falling out to do the incident that killed his sister which hasn’t been revealed yet, but decided not to or change it due to fans displeasure… since it seems the danmei fandom prefers pure first love (unrealistic really).

Because how can Huang Ze’s actions be explained? Even if Huang Ze likes Lin Chen, his actions so far are too inexplicable unless he’s really Lin Chen’s ex.

That or basically he’s the cannon fodder to stir up Xing Conglian’s feelings, which is a trope I’ve grown tired of. Maybe this will be explained later…

Speaking of pure first love, I really dislike how so many danmei always has to be the MC and ML never had any past relationships despite their age (I mean Lin Chen and Xing Conglian are close to 30 if I recall) before falling for each other (oh and how the gong is a stallion in bed with 0 experience). Perhaps I’m too old now and find this aspect not as romantic as my teenage heart used to envision. But I digress.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 176

In front of the student’s computer desk, there was an intimate photo of Duan Yang and his teacher. While Lin Chen still had some puzzlement, most likely this “teacher” Duan Yang mentioned was probably Mr. Duan Wanshan*, who supported the medical construction facilities in Africa. With reverence, Lin Chen carefully observed the older man in the photo.

*Note: Duan Wanshan (段万山) and Duan Yang (端阳) are not related. They are different Chinese characters.

Mr. Duan Wanshan looked like a typical scholar. In the photo, he was wearing a beret and a checkered scarf. Perhaps because he was holding an umbrella in his hand, it gave Lin Chen the impression that he once studied in England, revealing an elegant academic aura and making him even more admirable.

Thinking of this, Lin Chen turned his attention to Teacher Duan’s student.

The young man’s face looked a little red under the desk lamp. He had already retreated to the chair and sat down.

Lin Chen thought for a bit, then asked, “Do you or do you not want me to ask about your relationship with your teacher?”

The kitten in Duan Yang’s hand gave a gentle meow; its eyes were as blue as the sky, as if it were answering his question.

“Alright, I won’t ask,” Lin Chen replied seriously.

“No… It’s not what you think.”

“What do you think I think?”

Duan Yang was so tongue-tied at the moment that he couldn’t speak. Lin Chen smiled. Unexpectedly, he was in a good mood. He sat on the beanbag casually.

Duan Yang looked even more depressed than before. “Teacher Duan was my undergraduate tutor. Originally, he only supervised graduate students, but he made an exception and brought me in. During summer vacation of my junior year, he suddenly resigned and joined Doctors Without Borders in Africa. When he left, he didn’t even send me a text message.”

“How weird.” Lin Chen’s hand hung to the ground as he sat on the beanbag. He knocked on the floor and looked at Duan Yang.

“What’s weird?”

“Since your teacher didn’t say goodbye and didn’t send a text message, why did he suddenly contact you about adverse drug reactions many years later. Does your teacher have no former colleagues or friends? How can he leave such an important matter to a student?” Lin Chen asked.

“I!” Duan Yang’s face turned red again, looking extremely cute under the light.

“Hm?”

“I secretly inquired about it. How could teacher leave this kind of thing to me? He wouldn’t say a word to me.”

Seeing that Duan Yang’s gloomy expression wasn’t fake, Lin Chen started to get confused over this twisted relationship. “Inquired?”

“My former shijie went to work as a teacher in the Dana Region. I asked her to tell me some news about my teacher from time to time. She secretly told me stuff on and off. It was probably at the end of last year or the beginning of this year that my shijie and the others accidentally found that a paper by Professor Tan Kang was very close to a drug that my teacher had studied. At that time, Professor Tan Kang had already published his paper, so it’s difficult to prove that he may have plagiarized my teacher. They thought it was just a coincidence, but later, they realized that it might really be teacher’s research results that were leaked. Because the experimental conditions of the Dana Region were too poor, they would regularly send things to laboratories in big cities for analysis…”

“And some of those labs belong to Zhourui Pharmaceutical?”

“I don’t know the details. It could just be a laboratory that Zhourui invested in, but there’s no way to prove that my teacher’s research findings were actually stolen from a lab.”

“Unless you find a key person and admit that he leaked something, but even then, the other party has already obtained the drug’s patent rights, and patent ownership is difficult to verify.”

“Indeed, it’s very hard.”

“What happened after?” Lin Chen asked.

Hearing this, Duan Yang suddenly laid down on the bed and let out a long sigh.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know what happened afterwards. My shijie didn’t stay in the Dana Region for long.”

“Why didn’t she stay there for long?”

“Because… Because my shijie kept sending me secret messages about teacher and when he found out, he drove her out and back to the country.”

Hearing this, Lin Chen suddenly dragged out his tone. “Student Duan Yang…”

“What?”

“There’s a word called idiot. Do you think this suits you?”

“Consultant Lin.” Duan Yang smiled bitterly. “Don’t make fun of me, okay? Don’t you have anyone you care about? You miss them all the time, but you never hear from them, so you have to beat around the bush to get news about them.”

Lin Chen thought, ‘I can’t even beat around the bush to get news now.’ He suddenly didn’t want to talk to Duan Yang about caring or worrying any longer. He continued with his unfinished question from earlier. “I still think there’s a problem here. According to what you said, you’re actually a nosy person. Since your teacher is aware that this new drug with serious side effects is about to enter the market, why didn’t he personally step forward? Even if communication problems exist in the Dana Region, he should have entrusted this to a third party.”

“This is also where I’m worried.” Duan Yang looked solemn. “I really don’t know what happened later, but I have been paying attention to academic journals at home and abroad. No one has published papers of an opposing nature. In academia, we still have to rely on experiments and data. I always feel that teacher’s experiment hasn’t been completed, so he hasn’t published his paper. I can only guess he didn’t expect Zhourui Pharmaceutical to complete Phase 4 of clinical trials so quickly, but I really don’t know what’s going on.”

Lin Chen nodded.

The problem now was that Zhourui Pharmaceutical intended to launch a new drug that may cause adverse reactions. The person involved was in the Dana Region making him difficult to reach. All that was left was a current veterinarian who was fired from a hospital trying to prevent this from happening, but that was like a mantis trying to stop a car.

“So why exactly did you invite me to your residence?” Lin Chen suddenly asked.

“I have something I want to give you. Can you get up for a bit?” Duan Yang said softly.

Lin Chen was taken aback for a moment before realizing that the young man had hidden something inside the beanbag he was sitting on.

“Why are you so careful?”

Lin Chen felt his legs were a little numb, so he didn’t immediately stand up.

“Just last month, I found that my computer seemed to have been moved. In the evening, there was a collective barking from the pets in the pet store. I went downstairs and found that the door was open, as if someone had snuck in. Since then, I have used a desktop computer to connect to the internet and kept all the data on a laptop that’s not connected to the internet.”

“So, what I’m sitting on…”

“Is my laptop,” Duan Yang replied.

Lin Chen hurriedly got up, but the moment he stood up, he suddenly felt dizzy. He held onto the wardrobe, but his knees softened, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Later, he was awakened by something licking him. The back of his hand was tingling, and when he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on Duan Yang’s bed. He looked down and realized that it was the kitten that Duan Yang was holding that was licking his hand.

Lin Chen tried to sit up, and found it wasn’t difficult. When he sat up, he saw a needle in his arm, and Duan Yang was hanging up an IV bag.

Seeing him wake up, the young man hurriedly said, “Why are you in such poor health?!”

“I was in a hospital when you called me out.”

Hearing what he said, the young man said embarrassingly, “Sorry, I didn’t know.” He paused, and his expression changed, like a doctor looking at an indefatigable patient. “Your neutrophils are seriously decreasing. Did the hospital check on this? Can you show me your medical records?”

“Did you give me a blood test?” Lin Chen was speechless.

“We’re in a pet hospital. It’s not like we can’t do simple tests.”

Lin Chen looked at the liquid that Duan Yang gave him. “Then this is?”

“Glucose. The ratio is fine. It can be used on humans.”

Lin Chen resisted the urge to pull out the needle. He was afraid that if he did this, the young man in front of him would beat him.

In awe of the doctor, Lin Chen replied obediently, “I had my whole body checked. There’s nothing serious and the primary illness is slowly decreasing.”

“Then you must pay attention. The decrease in neutrophils can easily lead to repeated infections. It’s been hot recently, so make sure you don’t catch a cold or something. Also, what’s with that injury on your hand?”

Lin Chen looked down at the gauze around his palm. “Let’s talk about what you want to give me first.”

Duan Yang was someone who was easily distracted.

Hearing what he said, the young man let out an “oh” and took out a small SD card from the bedside table. “This is all the relevant data about the new drug. Some are the contents that my shijie passed on to me, and some are the results of my own animal experiments. There is also some scattered data from Zhourui Pharmaceutical that a friend obtained.”

Lin Chen frowned. “Friend?”

“Yes, he’s in management at Zhourui. He revealed a lot of inside information to me, but I can’t tell you who he is. Otherwise, his life may be in danger.”

Lin Chen looked at the small SD card in Duan Yang’s palm and said solemnly, “But I can’t take this.”

“Why?”

“There may be evidence obtained through illegal means. If I read it, then the relevant chain of evidence may not be admissible to the court.”

“But!”

“No buts.” Lin Chen put his feet down from the bed, lifted the adhesive tape that was fixed to the back of his hand, pulled out the needle, and then pressed the bleeding point with his other hand. “Have you given this thing to anyone else?”

“My friend also has one.”

“Don’t let others know that you have this material. Also, I suggest you make fake data and put them on your computer, then hide this SD card.”

“Because other people already know that I have this material, so the previous infiltrator was looking for this?”

Lin Chen asked, “Do you have anything else of value?”

Duan Yang shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”

While speaking, Lin Chen had already put on his shoes and began to walk to the door.

Suddenly, the young man realized something and tried to stop him. “Consultant Lin, if you don’t want to look at it, fine, but that doesn’t mean you can go home now. You must show me your medical records tomorrow.”

“There are no records.” Lin Chen started walking downstairs.

“How can that be if you’ve just been hospitalized?”

“Obviously, because I escaped.”

Unexpectedly, Lin Chen was stopped by a huge tabby cat, allowing Duan Yang to grab his arm. “I’ll take you to the doctor tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you a doctor?” He turned around and asked the young man incredulously.

“Ah?”

“I’ll come see you tomorrow. I’m really tired now and want to go home and rest.”

“Then I’ll take you back. I’m worried about you when you’re like this.” While Duan Yang was talking, he started to look for his keys.

“No need,” Lin Chen said to Duan Yang. “We don’t know each other well. If you’re a bad person, wouldn’t I have revealed my address to you?”

Duan Yang’s mouth dropped open, unsure how to respond.

“Look, I just don’t like people coming into my residence. I live close by.” Lin Chen shook his phone and walked towards Yanjia Lane. “I’ll call you when I get home. Don’t worry…”

After he finished speaking, Lin Chen walked into the expansive night.

In fact, he didn’t lie to Duan Yang. When he left Duan Yang’s pet shop and turned left, he could hear the sound of water. After walking along the river for about eight minutes, he had reached home.

It was very late, so there was almost no one in the alley.

Perhaps it was because he just had an IV infusion or had lain down for a while, but he no longer felt dizzy. Rather, he was completely sober, so he could think seriously about the time he left home and whether he needed to change the sheets. At least before he saw the person waiting for him under the eaves, he felt he was still clear-headed.

In the night, the man standing under the eaves was neatly dressed. It was obvious he had been waiting for a long time.

Lin Chen suddenly regretted that he didn’t let Duan Yang take him home, because the person who was waiting for him on Yanjia Lane and was standing in front of Xing Conglian’s house was quite a troublesome man.

And this troublesome man happened to be named, Huang Ze.

---

The author has something to say:

Huang Ze: I heard that someone missed me?

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Kinky Thoughts:

Guess we need a shura field…

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 175

This was the second time Lin Chen heard the keyword “Dana Region”. If it weren’t for Mrs. Jiang’s relationship, his knowledge of this area would be limited to “don’t ever go even if your life depended on it”. But now, because of Doctors Without Borders, he found his psychological distance from the Dana Region seemingly getting closer.

It seemed that one day he would set foot there.

He looked at the young man in front of him again.

Before entering the shop just now, he had been sitting across the road, observing him.

After all, there were too many bad people nowadays, and he had to use some method to confirm that this young man wasn’t someone with evil intentions. Based on his resume, Lin Chen specifically chose a meeting place near the high school the other party attended, which the young man wasn’t even aware of. When he couldn’t find him, the young man didn’t become angry but was just anxious and seemed at a loss.

These reactions made Lin Chen feel that this young man, who didn’t have much heart, was simple and persistent.

This was his current judgment.

However, for a person who didn’t have much heart, he just confided in him in a snack shop about the shady plot of a pharmaceutical company’s intention to kill approval experts and steal other people’s research results. Lin Chen felt he needed time to digest this information.

He lowered his head, picked up the spoon, and sipped on his hot soup.

“Consultant Lin!”

Seeing that he wasn’t speaking and was just drinking soup, the young man urged again.

“The clam soup here is delicious. I used to come here with my friends. You should try it,” Lin Chen said.

“I—!” The young man wanted to say more, but in the end, he became obedient. He bowed his head and sipped on the soup.

In the next moment, the young man almost spat out the soup. Lin Chen looked up and saw that he had barely swallowed a mouthful, yet tears were about to flow out of his eyes. Lin Chen looked down at the soup bowl in front of him, feeling as if they weren’t eating the same amount of spiciness.

The young man continued to cough. Lin Chen took a napkin from the table and handed it over, but his kindness was rejected.

“This kind of inferior napkin has excessive bacteria and fluorescent agent content. You should never use it.” As the young man said this, he coughed and took out his own tissues from his backpack. He handed one to Lin Chen and then covered his mouth.

Lin Chen looked at the tissue in his hand helplessly. From many details, it could be seen that this young man had a meticulous and considerate character. Although he had a slight obsession with cleanliness, a doctor would always prefer things to be cleaner.

The number of people in the shop gradually increased. When there were too many people talking, no one would pay attention to what they said.

Lin Chen lowered his head and took a sip of the soup. When he raised his head again, the young man’s cough gradually stopped. “Mr. Duan Yang, what does this matter you mention have to do with me?”

Hearing him ask this, there was obvious disappointment in the young man’s expression.

Lin Chen knocked on the table and was unmoved. “Regarding the clues about Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s deliberate murder of Director Li, I’ll inform Vice Captain Jiang of the Yongchuan Second Division. He’s Director Li’s husband and will be the one who’s more concerned about her safety than you or me. I also killed the murderer. Zhourui Pharmaceutical will launch a PR offensive to deal with me. At most, it was just for the sake of their corporate image. If I don’t care, then there’s no point.” Lin Chen glanced at the young man sitting across from him. “As for the theft of your teacher’s research results or what’s wrong with the drug, first, I have no power, and second, medicine is not my specialty. I really don’t think I can help you.”

The young man lowered his head slightly. Lin Chen didn’t know if it was because the soup was too spicy or something else, but the tips of his nose and eyes were a little red. “Yes, as you said, you can’t help.”

He said this to himself, then picked up his backpack and stood up.

Lin Chen didn’t stop him.

But when he walked to the door, he suddenly turned back and bowed to him, then said, “Consultant Lin, before you refuse me, please go somewhere with me.”

Looking at the bright eyes of the young man, Lin Chen finally felt some relief.

……

The municipal hospital was probably the place that Lin Chen really didn’t want to visit again, especially since he just killed a hostage-taker at a hospital. When he saw the whitewashed walls and smelled the scent of disinfectant, he became a little uncomfortable.

Duan Yang took him to the neurology ward on the tenth floor.

Without saying a word, the young man pulled him to sit down on the bench facing the ward. He was forced to look at an old man who was stumbling in the corridor of the opposite ward but insisted on holding onto the handrail as he struggled to move forward.

The old man walked slowly. His uncoordinated limbs showed that he had just experienced a stroke that almost took his life. The left half of the brain was infarcted or hemorrhaged, so his right side was completely useless.

At this moment, Duan Yang said softly, “Consultant Lin, I used to be a resident doctor here. There are a total of 150 beds in the neurology ward of Hongjing Municipal Hospital, which receives over 130,000 outpatients every year. Nearly 5,000 people are hospitalized here, and more than 50% of their hospitalization is due to cerebrovascular diseases. This proportion is more than 1.7 million in the country. When an elderly person lives here, it means that their life is gradually coming to an end. Please look at that grandpa across from you and imagine if, at this time, a new drug appeared on the market that claimed to gradually stimulate the repairs of neurons in his brain so that he could move normally as before he had a stroke. Do you think this drug is of epochal significance?”

Lin Chen was a little shocked. “This is impossible.”

“Why?” Duan Yang asked rhetorically.

“So far, scientific research has concluded that brain neurons will not continue to grow and cannot repair themselves, unlike skin, after minor damage. Moreover, cutting-edge technology in nerve repair research is now focused on neural stem cell transplantation. I doubt any drugs can achieve this effect.”

Duan Yang was a little surprised. “Consultant Lin, you have knowledge in this field?”

“Psychology is an interdisciplinary subject. Although I do not specialize in cognitive neuroscience, I have read a few books for my exams.”

Duan Yang said softly, “I also find it incredible that this new drug breaks through the traditional neurotropic drugs such as ganglioside¹ and cytidine disodium triphosphate² and directly claims that it can stimulate neuron repair. If such a drug appears, many elderly people will risk losing everything for this new drug.”

¹Drug used in many countries and is thought of as a promising alternative treatment for preventing several neurological diseases, including cerebral ischemic injury. However, clinical efficacy in patients with ischemic strokes is still uncertain.
²Drug believed to be able to rectify membrane damage and provide benefit in CNS disorders and injury (including strokes). Clinical trials so far have shown inconclusive evidence of whether it’s effective for stroke patients.

“Wait, didn’t you say that your teacher discovered this drug?” Lin Chen couldn’t help asking. Although he hadn’t been to the Dana Region, he could slightly guess the research conditions there. It would be an incredible thing in and of itself if someone managed to discover this epochal new drug there.

“Actually… This is the problem. The drug discovered by my teacher doesn’t have the effects claimed by Zhourui Pharmaceutical. It’s more similar to ganglioside, but it’s more effective than similar drugs.”

“Then why do you think that Zhourui Pharmaceutical stole your teacher’s research results? Maybe they are two different types of things?”

“I’ve seen the chemical formula of Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s drug. It’s almost the same as the one my teacher discovered.”

“That is to say, there’s still a difference?”

Duan Yang nodded. “The problem isn’t the difference. It’s not that they may have copied my teacher’s research result, but that my teacher said this kind of drug has serious side effects. In fact, he was in the process of studying common diseases in the Dana Region when he discovered this drug by accident.”

Lin Chen felt a terrifying feeling approaching. “You mean, if Zhourui Pharmaceutical forcibly promotes this drug on the market, it may lead to large-scale adverse drug reactions?”

“Yes, it’s possible.” Duan Yang leaned on the bench a little dejectedly. He scratched his hair in irritation. “Even large-scale adverse drug reactions are only a possibility. There could be subtle changes in the molecular formula of such a drug that can cause adverse reactions. What’s more, I have no way to prove that the new drug developed by Zhourui Pharmaceutical did steal my teacher’s research results. Their related papers were published earlier than those of my teacher. Professor Tan Kang, who presided over the development of this new drug, has a much higher academic status in the industry than my teacher. If it weren’t for the anonymous letter I sent to Director Li, which was followed by a murder attempt on her, I wouldn’t have found there might really be a dark inside story to all this.”

Lin Chen listened carefully to the young man’s narration. He listened to his confusion and struggle and looked at the old man who was struggling to walk while holding onto the railing and asked, “Tell me first, what are the so-called side effects?”

“Long-term use can cause cognitive impairment and emotional problems.”

“Zhourui’s new drug has entered the approval process, indicating that they have passed Phase III of clinical trials. Not to mention early animal trials, didn’t they find this side effect?”

“Which is why I suspect the results of their clinical trials were falsified,” Duan Yang said solemnly.

Lin Chen fell into deep thought.

Now the problem had changed from pure scientific research plagiarism to the falsification of experimental results. If the former was still a moral issue, the latter involved the safety of patients. If Duan Yang’s suspicions were true, it would be a major public safety issue. But the problem was that the young man sitting next to him was questioning the research results of an academic giant and a famous pharmaceutical company. This in itself was a fantasy. If researchers in related fields could hear what was being said, they would probably get up and point at the young man’s nose and ask, “What qualification do you have to question this?”

At this moment, a similar voice sounded behind them.

“Yo, our great scientist is back!”

Lin Chen turned his head and saw a young resident doctor with greasy hair and a pink face walking towards them.

When Duan Yang heard this, he was like a little leopard that was fiercely aroused. He immediately clenched his fists and stared at the man with wide eyes.

However, to Lin Chen’s surprise, after the man taunted Duan Yang, he walked up to him arrogantly and said, “That guy was fired from our department. I suggest you don’t believe what he’s spouting. He has a pretty bad reputation around here.” As the man spoke, he tapped his own head and sneered, “He’s always thinking he knows some big scientific secrets and doesn’t do his job. Always thinking about trying to save the world. Ha ha.”

Lin Chen held down the angry young man who seemed to want to punch the guy and looked at the resident doctor standing in front of him and asked, “What do you mean by brain problems?”

“Of course, it’s a mental illness.”

“No,” Lin Chen said.

“What do you mean no?”k

“I mean that he’s not mentally ill.” Lin Chen stood up and said to the resident doctor in front of him, “As a doctor of neurology, you need to improve your medical literacy a bit.”

“What do you mean?”

Lin Chen turned around, gently pulled Duan Yang up from the bench, and asked him, “Do you understand what I mean?”

Duan Yang nodded.

Lin Chen pointed to Duan Yang and said to the resident doctor with oily hair, “He understands, but you don’t. Who do you think has a problem with their brain between you and him?”

Things like trash-talking must be said and then immediately walked away from, as one must never give the other person any chance to strike back.

After Lin Chen finished speaking, he immediately pulled Duan Yang out of the municipal hospital. It was finally dark. The long street was full of traffic and was brightly lit, but the young man next to him didn’t say a word.

Lin Chen had already read Duan Yang’s resume in advance. It was clear that the young man next to him was expelled due to medical malpractice when he was promoted from resident physician to attending physician last year. Now it seemed there may be another inside story to this.

“Let’s talk. What’s going on?”

“Consultant Lin, thank you just now.”

“That is not an answer to the question,” Lin Chen said coldly.

The young man scratched his head and looked embarrassed. “Zhourui Pharmaceutical has a very good relationship with our hospital. I was careless before and have been posting articles questioning Professor Tan Kang’s experimental results. It seems they found out it was me, so they maliciously retaliated.”

Seeing the young man’s indifferent face, Lin Chen couldn’t speak for a while. In the end, he could only say, “Why were you being stupid and getting so easily discovered?”

“I didn’t know the water here was so deep at first.”

“So why are you pretending to be a reporter to lie to me?”

“Ah?” The young man didn’t expect him to mention this matter again, which made him feel ashamed. “I was fired from the hospital, and now I’m working at a pet hospital. I thought…”

“You thought that your background didn’t have enough strength to speak, and it would be easier for me to believe you if you pretended to be a reporter.”

Duan Yang nodded.

The young man’s eyes were dark and clean.

Lin Chen said to him solemnly, “Status doesn’t mean much. Even if you become a beggar on the street, as long as you have a clear conscience about what you say, you can say it openly. Don’t be afraid.”

The young man suddenly stopped. He rubbed his eyes, turned around, and strode forward.

Lin Chen didn’t know how Duan Yang had been suppressed for more than a year, but when he saw the pet shop where the young man was working, he realized something.

It was a dilapidated two-story building very close to Yanjia Lane.

As soon as he entered the store, he was greeted by cats and dogs that barked in various volumes. There were more than a dozen cages in the small shop, which only made it seem more crowded as a result.

Duan Yang first let out the cats to relax, then hugged a long-haired puppy and led him up to the second floor.

“Actually, I sometimes think being a veterinarian is much easier than working in a hospital. You can charge 300 yuan for neutering, and I can even mark it up by 150. When it comes to spaying female cats and dogs, I can even earn more…”

Lin Chen listened to what the young man was saying casually while observing the structure of the room on the second floor.

“Are you doing drug testing here?” He was surprised.

Duan Yang opened his bedroom door and said, “No, no. I was doing it before but didn’t make any progress, so I just kept it as a pet for fun.”

The young man’s bedroom was the smallest of the three rooms. With a bed and desk taking up most of the space, there was only room for a beanbag. Lin Chen put on indoor slippers and walked into the room. At first glance, he was attracted by the whiteboard on the wall. It was covered almost entirely with dense pharmacological formulas, which made his scalp feel numb.

He subconsciously looked at the desk. Just as his gaze swept past, Duan Yang subconsciously wanted to cover something up. Lin Chen turned his head sideways; he had already noted all the things on the desk clearly. If he read it correctly, what the young man wanted to cover up seemed to be a picture frame on the table.

There were two men in the photo frame. One of them was a little older, and the other was Duan Yang when he was younger. He had his arms around the slightly older man and was smiling brightly.

“Is that your brother or father?” Lin Chen asked casually.

Probably even Duan Yang realized how guilty his actions were just now. After hearing this question, the young man became even more embarrassed.

“It’s my teacher.” The young man blushed as he answered.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 174

“Who’s Director Li?” Zhang Xiaolong’s curious voice sounded.

“The wife of Vice Captain Jiang of Yongchuan Second Division. She’s a neurosurgeon.” And the woman who locked me up for two days…

Lin Chen glanced back at the police officer, put the letter on the table, copied down the order number of the courier envelope, and said, “Call a colleague from the forensic department and see if they can extract fingerprints.” After speaking, he handed the envelope to Zhang Xiaolong. “Check the recipient of the courier number and ask them to identify the sender. Also, look up to see who’s the owner of this number.”

Zhang Xiaolong was a little confused. “Is something wrong, Consultant Lin? What is this hostage-taking incident?”

Lin Chen couldn’t explain all the ins and outs of what went down given the time, so he could only answer, “I hope nothing will happen.”

The tasks he assigned were simple enough. Even without the help of others, Comrade Zhang Xiaolong completed most of them before getting off work.

“Consultant Lin, this person is really weird. You have to be careful.”

The police officer handed over the results. Lin Chen took the information in hand, read it carefully, and frowned involuntarily.

He nodded to the police officer and thanked her, then folded the paper and stuffed it in his pocket as he headed out.

Zhang Xiaolong called to him, “Consultant Lin, are you going out to work by yourself? Do you want someone to accompany you?”

Lin Chen looked around. Normally, Xing Conglian would probably have gone to the parking lot and driven the Jeep around, but now, there were only police officers packing up and getting ready to get off work. He said, “No, I’m relatively free, so I don’t mind going alone.”

Although he said this, without a full-time driver and the chatter of others, it was indeed a bit boring.

He was walking along the hot street to the overwhelming sounds of cicadas and the noise from the traffic. After walking for a while, he sat down on a bench and then called the number.

About half an hour later, a young man wearing a cap got off the bus stop across the road and hurriedly ran into a snack bar.

Lin Chen saw that the other party was looking for someone calmly at first and then became anxious. He stopped a clerk, as if asking some questions. After finding nothing, he rushed out of the store and started making a call.

Lin Chen felt his phone, which he had placed on the bench, start to vibrate. He looked at the young man across the road, picked up the phone, and pressed answer.

“Where are you?” A young man’s voice came from the other end.

Lin Chen didn’t speak and instead stood up.

The moment he stood up, the young man looked over. Seeing the sign of the other party rushing towards the side of the road, Lin Chen calmly said, “I’ll come over. Go into the store and find a seat by a window.”

After he finished speaking, he hung up. The young man was at a loss for a moment, but he obediently followed his instructions. He turned around and walked back into the shop.

The place he chose was close to Hongjing No. 3 High School. It was just after school, so there were many students in the shop coming to fill their stomachs after class. When he entered the store, the young man was wiping the table with some disinfectant wipes he had carried with him. The moment he saw him, the young man subconsciously wanted to stand up, but Lin Chen pressed on his shoulder and sat down opposite of him.

At the beginning, they didn’t speak. Lin Chen just carefully looked at the appearance of the person in front of him.

Although he had already seen the photo of the other party from the information Zhang Xiaolong handed over, the feeling of meeting each other in person was different after all. The young man’s cap was placed on the table. He had a crew cut and was wearing black-rimmed glasses. How could he describe the gaze under the glasses? It was completely different from every reporter he had seen. There was no shrewd look in his eyes trying to explore everything. On the contrary, he was more like a high school student who had just walked out of Hongjing No. 3 High School. He had clear eyes with a strange determination.

“Please introduce yourself,” Lin Chen said to the young man. He put his hand on the table and felt slightly wet from the back of his hands. When he looked down, he found that the young man had actually wiped down his side of the table as well.

“Hello, Consultant Lin. I’m a reporter from the Hongjing Evening News. I know that you handled that hostage-taking situation in Yongchuan Second People’s Hospital two days ago. I want to report a clue to you.”

The other party spoke proficiently, as if he had recited these lines many times.

“Please tell.”

“You’re in danger right now.” The young man leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice.

Lin Chen didn’t have much reaction to this. “I would like to hear the details.”

Just as the young man was about to speak, a waiter in the shop happened to come over.

“Two servings of clam soup.” He raised his head and asked the young man, “Is it okay if it’s slightly spicy?”

The young man was taken aback and nodded blankly. The waiter then turned and left. Probably because the young man felt that his attitude was too rude just now, it only made the young man more anxious. “Now Zhourui Pharmaceutical has joined forces with major media to hype you as a murderer of the mentally ill. Why don’t you know anything!”

Lin Chen sighed. He couldn’t explain to the other party how he had been living a life of imprisonment for the past two days, so much so that he really didn’t know anything about the progress of the hostage-taking case.

“It seems that you know a lot more about the case than me. Can you talk about it?”

The young man swallowed and plucked up his courage. “The name of the deceased who was killed by you is Li Ming. He’s a deputy director of Zhourui Pharmaceutical who’s in charge of submitting new drugs for review.”

“New drugs?”

“Yes. The reason why they wanted to kill Director Li is because Director Li is one of the medical experts in charge of drug marketing approval at the Drug Evaluation Center of the State Food and Drug Administration. All experts have passed the approval except for Director Li, who sent a rejection letter.”

It wasn’t until this moment that Lin Chen was startled. This case was simply unbelievable. “You mean, it’s because Director Li tied up the approval of this new drug that Zhourui Pharmaceutical is about to promote to the market, so they are trying to kill her?”

The young man nodded solemnly. “Correct.”

“Regardless of whether Zhourui Pharmaceutical’s motives for murder are established or not, there is an even bigger question: Why didn’t Zhourui Pharmaceutical choose a more secretive way of killing Director Li but instead chose a supervisor pretending to be mentally ill to kill her? Are they not afraid they will be listed as suspects?”

“Because no matter how Director Li dies, as long as the police investigate, Zhourui Pharmaceutical will be a prime suspect. Instead of being suspected secretly, it’s better to just jump out. Moreover, the deceased Li Ming did have a history of mental illness. If you hadn’t shot him dead, he’s very likely to be identified as having a sudden mental disorder… And the reason for his sudden mental disorder is, of course, because Director Li rejected the new drug approval that he was in charge of, thus putting him under immense pressure at work, which would lead him to kill Director Li because of this. Zhourui Pharmaceutical has arranged a series of evidence. After the death of Director Li, these things will gradually show up in front of the media and the police. Although it’s not foolproof, you should be very clear that sudden mental disorder is hard to explain. If there’s a psychiatrist that can be bought by them during the judicial appraisal process, the success rate of this matter would be greater than 95%. And…” The young man paused before continuing, “This would also be an example to all other parties who dare hinder the launch of this new drug, as they will think twice about their safety.”

The inside story described by the young man was too shocking. Lin Chen suddenly regretted choosing to talk to him about these bloody shady things inside a snack bar. He thought carefully about the possibility that the young man had told him. In fact, remembering the final, decisive gaze of the deceased, if he hadn’t shot first, Mrs. Jiang would’ve died. Even so, he still thought there was something wrong with this. “This is too bold, and the cost is not proportional to the benefit. I’m not convinced.”

“But it is! Consultant Lin, you have no idea how much money is invested in the research and development of new drugs. That is billions of dollars and tens of billions of profits. There is no successful pharmaceutical company that doesn’t step on human life. Do you know how many people have died due to adverse drug reactions? Do you think these pharmaceutical companies are socially responsible? They never are!”

The young man’s tone was heavy and impassioned. Lin Chen knew well that he was trying to persuade him, and he carried the passion that was unique to the young who hadn’t been smoothed by the world.

Lin Chen had tested this young man for a while. He was punctual, well-educated, and didn’t seem to be scheming. From the bottom of his heart, he was willing to believe the young man who had just appeared out of nowhere and given him a very strange clue. But the most critical question that needed to be asked was, “How do you know?”

“I found it,” the young man replied without hesitation.

Lin Chen was a little disappointed to hear the young man’s answer.

At this moment, the waiter came by to serve the clam soup. Lin Chen took out 50 yuan from his pocket and handed it to him, then stood up from the table and prepared to leave.

“Where are you going?!”

The young man raised his voice and grabbed him.

“You know, the premise of cooperation is trust. I’m sorry, but you don’t trust me, so I’m leaving.”

“Isn’t it enough trust that I came to see you?”

Lin Chen looked at the gradually empty school across the street and asked, “Was this store open when you went to school here?”

The young man’s pupils suddenly shrank. “You investigated me?”

“Because I live quite cautiously, Mr. Duan Yang.”

Lin Chen didn’t know what the young man in front of him was thinking. He came to him pretending to be a reporter from the Hongjing Evening News. Wouldn’t this identity be revealed by the police once they checked? Although he wanted to leave, the shame and pain in the young man’s eyes at this moment forced him to sit down in front of him again.

“You’re not a reporter for the Hongjing Evening News, so don’t say that there aren’t any lies in this matter. To be honest, how did you even know about this matter?”

The young man pursed his lips and finally made up his mind. “The reason why Director Li sent the rejection letter is precisely because I sent her an anonymous letter. In fact, I sent an anonymous letter to all the experts in charge of the approval process. Only Director Li believed me, so I can’t bear to see what might happen to her.”

“I don’t believe you.” Lin Chen had reviewed this young man’s file. He resolutely said, “You’re just a veterinarian in a pet shop. Why do you know such inside information?”

“Because that kind of drug wasn’t developed by Zhourui. The real discoverer was my teacher. They just stole my teacher’s unfinished research result. My teacher is Duan Wanshan, and he has been engaged in the medical treatment of the Dana Region. You can search any official website of any major foreign media and find reports on him. I’m not lying!”

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 173

The MSC medical service station was located in a herdsman’s village on a tributary of the Rival River.

There were domed thatched huts and potholes on the auburn mud road everywhere. Sometimes, under the baobab trees on the side of the road, they could see children drinking milk under women’s wary eyes. However, Xing Conglian found that when he looked around, there weren’t any strong men anywhere.

Perhaps the men went out herding, or there were some activities in the village that didn’t allow men to participate. Of course, it was also possible that the men in this village were forcibly mobilized to the front lines. Any of these scenarios were possible, but Xing Conglian didn’t care for the time being. Wang Chao had already woken up in the back seat and was retching out the car door. This was a normal reaction after getting a slight concussion. It seemed that he should be fine, but the situation of the female bodyguard wasn’t optimistic.

Kang An probed the bodyguard’s breath with his hand and said, “Boss, have we arrived yet? She’s going to die.”

Xing Conglian stretched out his hand and slapped the bar owner, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. He was getting drowsy due to blood loss. “Where is this place?”

The bald-headed bar owner looked around with blurred eyes but couldn’t answer.

Xing Conglian had no choice but to avoid the potholes on the road as he searched for a building that resembled a hospital or health service station, relying solely on intuition. Finally, three connected small buildings appeared in front of him.

The small buildings were an open, sun-drying field covered with army-green pergolas. After getting closer, Xing Conglian discovered that there were mats under the pergola, and dozens of local residents who were receiving treatment were lying on them. Passing through the mats was the emergency room. Many people were sitting on wooden benches, waiting quietly. There were doctors in white coats working hastily inside and outside the “hospital”.

Xing Conglian jumped out of the car and slammed the door. What surprised him even more was that, except for the obvious black people, the doctors here were all black-haired and yellow-skinned Asians. He tentatively shouted “Doctor” in Chinese.

All the Asians turned their heads together, and one of them hung up their stethoscope and ran towards him.

“What happened?” the man began to ask questions from a long distance away.

Hearing a reply in his native language made Xing Conglian excited. He quickly answered, “We were involved in a car accident. The lady is in the worst condition. She slammed into the windshield, and her chest was hit hard by the steering wheel. I suspect she has a few broken ribs and severe internal bleeding. The bald man sitting in the front seat was swiped by a bison, and his arm is broken. The young man in the back seat has a slight concussion. The remaining person is fine.”

After Xing Conglian reported the situation as fast as a cannonball, he found the doctor had frozen in place.

“What’s wrong?” Xing Conglian asked.

“Nothing. It’s just touching to hear Chinese all of a sudden.” The young doctor stretched out his arms to hug him, then quickly let go. He called another doctor over to bring a stretcher, carried Kanachal out of the backseat, and immediately sent her to the small gray cement building for surgical treatment.

Kang An helped Wang Chao out of the car.

The doctor pointed to the mat on the ground and said to the dizzy young man, “Lie down and I’ll check on you.”

Mr. Xiao Wang kept his eyes wide open during his illness and resisted the desire to vomit. He said resolutely, “I’m going to die! I! No!”

Xing Conglian looked at the mats on the ground and thought that these Chinese doctors must’ve brought them. However, the mat was so completely blackened that he couldn’t bear to let Wang Chao lie on it.

He went back to the trunk and took out a floor mat and spread it on the ground. Only then was Wang Chao reluctantly willing to lay down.

The doctor poked Wang Chao on the forehead and said, “I let you lie here for your own good. Usually, those who enter the back buildings are the seriously ill patients, like those who have AIDS or Ebola…”

Wang Chao was so frightened that he wanted to throw up even more.

The doctor broke Wang Chao’s delusions and said solemnly, “Normally, we would do an MRI, but we don’t have such a machine here. All we could do is have you lie here all night. If you don’t die, you can be discharged tomorrow.”

After he finished speaking, he straightened up and was about to leave.

Xing Conglian finally couldn’t help but shout at the other party, “Doesn’t he need an infusion?” He pointed to a patient receiving an infusion in the distance as he asked.

The doctor responded, “Disposable needles and anti-inflammatory drugs are very precious, and they should be reserved for those who need them the most.” He poked the young man on the ground with his thumb. “He’s fine. Observe him overnight, and he’ll be good tomorrow.”

“Thank you,” Xing Conglian said seriously.

The other party looked at him, scanned him from head to toe, and then, as if he suddenly thought of something, asked, “Where are you going?”

“To the rainforest,” Xing Conglian said.

The doctor wanted to say something else but was suddenly called to attention and immediately turned his head and ran back into the small building.

The small “hospital” was busier than he thought. It wasn’t until the evening that Xing Conglian saw the young doctor who had helped them again.

Wang Chao had fallen asleep on the floor mat and refused to use the blanket that a nurse had brought over.

Kanachal’s operation was successful. A rib had pierced her lungs, but her life was no longer in danger. The bald bar owner was with her. It seemed their relationship was deeper than that of an ordinary boss and underling, but Xing Conglian didn’t care about that.

The starry sky on the grassland was beautiful late at night. Kang An was taking a nap by the Jeep. He stayed with Wang Chao, resting his head on his hands as he lay on the ground.

“Missing your girlfriend?” Xing Conglian suddenly heard Chinese from behind. He turned his head and saw the Chinese doctor walking leisurely from the small building.

Xing Conglian didn’t answer his question.

The young doctor laughed and squatted down in front of him familiarly. “I used to want to bring my girlfriend to Africa. I thought it would be romantic to lie on the grassland and watch the starry sky, but after I came here, I thought it would be better to forget such thoughts.”

Xing Conglian looked back at the small cement building that couldn’t be considered a hospital and nodded. “Is it because the conditions are too bad?”

“It’s more than bad; it’s worse. Does this look like a place for people to stay…” He looked around as he muttered.

Xing Conglian lit a cigarette and thought it was comical. “Then why are you still here?”

“It’s my call of duty!”

“Speak sensibly.”

The doctor glared at him with a look of youthful vigor on his face. “When I graduated from university, I saw an ABC report that a Chinese doctor had stayed in the Dana Region for ten years. Together with MSC Doctors Without Borders, he completed the establishment of a basic medical system in the most difficult part of the world. I was deeply inspired and decided to follow the example of my predecessor and support the construction of Africa.”

Xing Conglian took a puff from his cigarette. “Very idealistic.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” The doctor began to babble again. “Actually, there are so many Chinese doctors here, and all of them were bewitched by Dr. Duan. Probably it’s because he’s so handsome that it’s almost magical. My brain was telling me to run away as I regretted it as soon as I came, but I couldn’t leave.” As he spoke, he knelt beside Wang Chao and continued to check on him.

“Why can’t you leave?” Xing Conglian found this funny.

“I have been here for two years and studied general medicine. At that time, my parents had already found me a structured job at a health service station in my hometown, but after I came here, I told myself, fuck the health service station. There is no place in the world that needs me more than here.”

Xing Conglian blew out a ring of smoke and narrowed his eyes slightly. “It really does sound like a call of duty.”

The young doctor put down his stethoscope and listened to Wang Chao’s heart and lungs. He then pointed to the small cement building and said, “No, no, I’m bewitched by a treacherous man. I once doubted my sexuality. Why else am I still here because I saw a photo of Teacher Duan? He is indeed a remarkable person. See that concrete building behind me? The aseptic operating room just saved your friend’s life. She wouldn’t have survived tonight due to her injuries if it wasn’t for that, and this is all thanks to Teacher Duan!”

Xing Conglian glanced at him and finally noticed the abnormality in the conversation. “You’ve talked quite a bit, and every few sentences you touted Teacher Duan. What are you aiming at?”

The little doctor said nervously, “We lost contact with Teacher Duan a week ago. We’re afraid something has happened to him. When we last contacted him, he was in the Gaomeng tribe. I heard that bald man say you are going there. Could you please try and see if you can find him? If something has happened to him, please help him!”

“Why are you asking me?” Xing Conglian asked.

“After all, we’re in a foreign country and can only count on compatriots of our own nation.” The little doctor patted him on the shoulder, then sat on the ground dejectedly. “Actually, we also want to send some people to find him, but the situation in the rainforest is a bit complicated right now. Many people are unwilling to go, and those who have agreed haven’t responded. We don’t know what to do. I’m begging you!”

Looking at the little doctor with his hands clasped in front of him, Xing Conglian didn’t know getting into a car accident had led him to shoulder the strange mission of saving the founder of the basic medical system in the Dana Region.

……

Just when Xing Conglian had taken on another mission and was about to head into the rainforest, Lin Chen also encountered something strange, so much so that he had to escape from Mrs. Jiang’s control and slip back to Hongjing without even paying the hospitalization bill.

Of course, to get to the bottom of the key reason for his escape, although it wasn’t unrelated to the fact that Zhang Xiaolong had called him and told him that someone had sent an anonymous letter to the police station, the fundamental reason was because Mrs. Jiang had asked the sharp question of “Are you lovelorn for Xing Conglian?” the night before. Lin Chen felt that if he stayed any longer, it wouldn’t be conducive to his physical and mental health.

He returned to Hongjing by taking the high-speed railway from Yongchuan. When he arrived at the Hongjing police station, it was still during working hours.

Zhang Xiaolong screamed when she saw him. She rushed over and stared at him for a long time. “Consultant Lin, you’re really back. I’m not just hallucinating, right?”

Lin Chen smiled and shook his head. “I don’t think so.” After he said this, he deliberately paused to give Comrade Zhong Xiaolong time to collect herself. He then heard her say, “Xing Conglian and Wang Chao haven’t come to work for several days, and they haven’t asked for leave. Do you know where they went?”

He felt Zhang Xiaolong’s ability to open a can of worms was equally matched to Jiang Chao’s, but he had no choice but to lie for his two colleagues, who he had no idea where they were. “They are temporarily doing something. I’ll ask for leave on their behalf… for a month. I was in the hospital for a few days and forgot about it.”

Hearing this, Zhang Xiaolong took a deep breath. “Are you okay, Consultant Lin? Why were you hospitalized, and how did you hurt your hand again?!”

Lin Chen found a chair and sat down. He rubbed his ears as he said, “I’m standing in front of you, aren’t I? This means I should be fine, right?”

Seeing the police officer wanting to continue nagging, he hurriedly interrupted, “What’s going on with this anonymous letter?”

“Oh! That!” After Zhang Xiaolong finished, she ran away in a hurry and came back after a while. “This morning, the guard received an anonymous letter addressed to you. In the white sand case, didn’t someone keep sending you letters? We were all scared to death and didn’t dare open it, so I could only call you.”

When he received the anonymous letter, Lin Chen’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated. He knew that he was expecting the sender to be Xing Conglian, who had been missing for many days, but soon, when he saw the handwriting on the courier slip, his heart rate dropped from its highest peak to its lowest in an instant. The handwriting obviously didn’t look like it belonged to Wang Chao or Xing Conglian.

He flipped through the front and back of this anonymous express mail. It was a standard express envelope from the Shunshui Express Company. Although there was no obvious identification of the sender, it might be from someone in Hongjing who was asked to send it by Wang Chao or Xing Conglian. With a glimmer of hope, he took out a knife from the pen holder on his desk.

Just when he wanted to cut the letter open, Zhang Xiaolong held him down. “Consultant Lin, what if there’s anthrax in it?!”

Lin Chen was taken aback. He didn’t know where Comrade Zhang Xiaolong got such whimsical ideas, but things like anthrax were too far away from their daily lives. He shook his letter and said with a smile, “Then you keep your distance.”

After he finished speaking, he carefully cut open the seal of the envelope with the knife.

Of course, there was no powdered anthrax; only a thin sheet of A4 paper was inside.

He pulled out the letter and unfolded it. Zhang Xiaolong gasped beside him.

Lin Chen was very surprised by the content in the letter. It was printed in standard Arial No. 5 font: [I am a reporter from the Hongjing Evening News. I know the truth about Director Li’s being taken hostage. If you want to know too, please call me.]

[TEL: 18934567890]

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Well, in fact, Zhang Xiaolong’s thoughts aren’t so whimsical. There was a series of anthrax attacks in 2001: the 2001 anthrax attacks.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 172

Lin Chen’s face was pale. His eyes were shut tightly. One hand was hung down on the stretcher, and the other was placed by his side.

Xing Conglian’s heart tightened when he saw the blood spattered on his shirt. It could be blood from the hostage-taker, but it also could be from him being injured.

The stretcher flashed past the camera for a short time. Wang Chao quickly took a screenshot and zoomed in on the image. They coincidentally carefully observed the shapes of the bloodstains on Lin Chen’s shirt and finally confirmed that it was stained later and Lin Chen wasn’t attacked in the office.

Xing Conglian calmed himself a little, but words such as overworked and illness flashed in his mind again, and the heart that had just relaxed tightened again.

“Check the case and see what’s going on.”

Perhaps it was because Xing Conglian’s tone was too cold that the guide sitting in the front passenger seat noticed the abnormality. The bald bar owner turned around and asked, “My distinguished guests, why are you so flustered?”

The words of the clan relative who left the bar were full of a strong pseudo-aristocratic accent, which might have some connection to the fact that the Angodo Republic was once a French colony. At this time, Xing Conglian felt that Kang An, the bald head in front, or even the woman who was driving frantically were all extremely irritating. He simply didn’t know why he had to run to this shithole and left Lin Chen alone in Yongchuan. Not only did he leave the case follow-up, but the emotional matters were also unclear. Now, Lin Chen was being carried out on a stretcher.

He glanced at the nosy bald head faintly. The bar owner turned around bitterly, not daring to say a word.

Lin Chen’s case quickly appeared on the screen.

Words such as “neurasthenia*” and “insufficient blood supply to the brain” were shown.

*Medical condition characterized by lassitude, fatigue, headache, and irritability, associated chiefly with emotional disturbance.

The diagnosis was clearly stated: The patient fainted due to being overworked.

Xing Conglian looked at the doctor’s prescription. In addition to “mannitol¹” and “betahistine²“, the doctor also prescribed a large dose of tranquilizing drugs, which showed just how bad Lin Chen’s mental state was.

¹Medication that helps enhance the flow of water from tissues, including the brain and cerebrospinal fluid, into the interstitial fluid and plasma. || In this case, it’s to alleviate Lin Chen’s brain swelling.
²Anti-vertigo medication commonly used to alleviate vertigo symptoms.

The only thing that satisfied him was the doctor issuing a one-week hospitalization order. He thought that with Jiang Chao’s ability, Lin Chen wouldn’t be discharged from the hospital within this week.

The ward number was marked on the hospitalization form, so Wang Chao adjusted the surveillance video of the corresponding floor without him giving further instructions.

Unfortunately, when the scene appeared, no matter how Wang Chao adjusted the monitoring angle, they could only see the door plate on Lin Chen’s ward and a small area of the beige tile inside the ward. The white wall blocked their sight, with the visitor rules hanging on them as if they were mocking him.

At first, they could still see medical staff entering and leaving the ward; soon, they couldn’t see any staff members, which indicated that Lin Chen’s condition should have stabilized.

But this was just “should”.

Lin Chen “should” be on an IV drip. Lin Chen “should” have his wound on his hand sewn up. Lin Chen “should” be sleeping. Lin Chen “should” have a calm expression…

All these “should” were just speculations. There was no substitute for the fact that Lin Chen was lying on the other side of the wall and he couldn’t see him.

In fact, he knew Lin Chen was probably lying on the other side receiving treatment, and he was also comforted by the fact that Mrs. Jiang was working at Second People’s Hospital. The ward arranged for Lin Chen by the medical staff shouldn’t be bad. However, he suddenly discovered that a wall was more like a rift in a valley that was separating him and Lin Chen by 180,000 miles. In short, it was annoying as hell.

Emotions were blocked in his chest, making it difficult to relieve.

“Smoke.” He stretched out his hand to Kang An. The other party carefully put the cigarette pack in his hand with a lighter.

Xing Conglian pulled out a cigarette and was about to ignite it when he crumpled it up irritably and threw it out of the car.

Wang Chao turned his head and asked him eagerly, “Will it be boring for A’Chen Gege to be lying alone?”

“Turn it off,” Xing Conglian said as he gave one final glance at the surveillance screen.

Just as they were peeping at Lin Chen, the surrounding sand was no longer grayish-brown. The Jeep gradually drove into a green pasture. They were about to reach the last stop in the Dana Region—Rival, a border city of the Angodo Republic.

Compared to the Dana Region, the Angodo Republic was relatively peaceful. Although the former president of the Angodo Republic was a powerful man with 18 wives, his son, the current president, was still a good president who was ambitious and dedicated to the welfare of his people. He wasn’t only committed to reselling oil but also promoted universal health care and free education and paid more attention to consolidating the border defense, which had effectively prevented invasion of the country by crazy warlords who suddenly wanted to expand their territory in the Dana Region.

Looking at the rich pastures that gradually appeared around him and the old French wooden houses dotted among the cattle and sheep, Xing Conglian didn’t even know how a killer who drank human blood could give birth to such a good son.

Suddenly, the Jeep accelerated for some unknown reason, and the woman’s crazy laughter came from the front seat.

The female bodyguard who was driving the car became extremely excited when she entered the pasture. Xing Conglian had found a person whose driving skills were comparable to Wang Chao’s.

The speed was so fast that Wang Chao became nervous and stuffed his laptop back into his backpack.

“Drive slowly and pay attention to safety,” Xing Conglian instructed in Gaomengnese.

Perhaps it was because the noise was so loud that the driver didn’t hear him.

At this moment, Xing Conglian keenly noticed a herd of horses running towards them from the side and rear. The sound of nearly a hundred horses’ hooves was as powerful as thunder in a rainstorm.

The sound of the horses stimulated the driver’s wildness even more. “Wow~~” the female bodyguard shouted and continued to slam on the gas.

“Distinguished guests, don’t worry. Rival’s cattle and horses never hurt people.” The bald head laughed and looked back to comfort them.

“What’s on the right side!” Xing Conglian pointed to the front of his right and shouted. A bison had appeared and was rushing towards them.

“Brake quickly!” The bar owner’s face changed drastically. The female bodyguard finally noticed the abnormality, but there were galloping horses from behind and a bison in the front. She slammed on the steering wheel in desperation, barely managing to avoid the horses, but the front passenger seat was swiped by the bison.

The Jeep bumped violently. Xing Conglian slammed into the car window. From the corner of his eye, he saw Kang An flying out while Wang Chao bumped into the front seat.

After a while, the sound of horseshoes gradually dissipated, and the surrounding area finally returned to quiet.

Xing Conglian rubbed his neck and opened his eyes. He looked to his sides and found Wang Chao’s eyes were closed, and he had lost consciousness.

Xing Conglian hurriedly checked his vitals and found he had a slight concussion, but he was generally fine.

Kang An had rough skin and thick flesh. He rolled a few laps on the grass, then got up by himself and walked towards the Jeep.

On the front passenger seat, the bald bar owner’s hand that was close to the car door hung limply. His arm was profusely bleeding, and he was groaning at the moment. It was obvious that he had been hit by the wild bison just now.

The most seriously injured person was the female bodyguard who was driving. Kanachal had slammed her head against the windshield. Xing Conglian laid Wang Chao flat on the seat and got out of the car to check on the female bodyguard. Her pulse was weak, and her face was covered with blood.

“Where’s the nearest hospital?” Xing Conglian asked the bar owner.

“There is no hospital, but I seem to remember… MSC Doctors Without Borders has set up a medical station that’s not far from here.”

Xing Conglian made a simple fix on the female bodyguard and Wang Chao, then sat in the driver’s seat. The car swung around and set off in the direction directed by the bar owner.

……

Lin Chen didn’t know how he fainted. To be precise, before opening his eyes, he had no impression of fainting at all.

He only remembered that he seemed to have said he wanted to go home, and then his eyes turned dark. It turned out that this kind of thing as mindfulness only had a reverse effect on him.

The cold sensation of the IV entering his vein came from the back of his hand. He opened his eyes slightly and looked around. Sure enough, he was now lying in a hospital bed and had changed into a hospital gown. Although the smell of disinfectant was pungent, it was far better than the smell of blood.

Honestly, it was embarrassing to say that he fainted because he killed a suspect.

Lin Chen moved his other hand. When he raised it, he realized that he was wrapped in thick gauze, making it difficult to move.

He really didn’t want to lie down anymore. He stretched out his hand with difficulty and touched the help bell at the head of the bed.

Soon, a little nurse rushed in.

“What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable anywhere?” the nurse checked nervously.

“When can I be discharged from the hospital?” Lin Chen asked.

The nurse was stunned. She opened her mouth and wanted to chide him, but she suddenly remembered something and gave him a look, then she ran away.

Not long after, a beautiful lady in a white coat stepped into the ward.

Mrs. Jiang sat down at the head of the bed.

“Sorry to trouble you,” Lin Chen said as he tried to get up, “but I really want to go home.”

Hearing what he said, Mrs. Jiang rolled her eyes and acted like a chief doctor reprimanding a patient. “If Lao Jiang hadn’t said you don’t have a girlfriend, I would think you were lovelorn or something.”

Lin Chen was halfway through sitting up when he suddenly stopped. He remembered a sentence from a certain book he read—the best doctor could see a patient’s state of mind at a glance. These words weren’t absolute, but they seemed quite apt to Mrs. Jiang.

“My current emotional state is a little more subtle than lovelorn,” Lin Chen said.

“I don’t care,” Mrs. Jiang said cruelly. She stood up and forcibly pressed him back into bed.

Lin Chen laid down helplessly. “I seemed to have saved your life just now. Can you please be a little gentle?”

“I’m saving lives every day, and I have never had any favors returned.”

Lin Chen sighed and decided to admit defeat.

“Lie down for a week. Don’t make me repeat it again,” Mrs. Jiang warned.

“My current psychological problems are more serious. Lying in a ward is not conducive to recovery.”

“You mean to say that it’s boring to lie alone, right?”

Lin Chen nodded.

“I’ll chat with you,” Mrs. Jiang said bluntly. “Let’s talk about your emotional problems.”

“Don’t you have your own job to do?” Lin Chen finally knew what it meant to not die if you don’t seek death* as he asked this with a wry smile.

*(不作死就不会死) Internet slang referring to looking for trouble (AKA fuck around and find out/play stupid games, win stupid prizes).

“I don’t have a shift today. My operation was completed this morning.” Mrs. Jiang crossed her legs, leaned on the bedside table, and looked at him with gossipy eyes, as if she were looking forward to the “emotional problems” he spoke of.

Lin Chen avoided her gaze and looked out the window, trying to search for a way to change the subject.

“I heard that you served in MSC Doctors Without Borders in the early years?” he asked suddenly.

“Don’t change the subject.”

“It’s really related to the case.”

“Yes, when I was a sophomore in college.”

“Can you talk a little bit more in detail, such as where you went?”

“West Africa.”

Lin Chen looked at the doctor bathed in the sun in front of him with some admiration.

“Isn’t it amazing? I was participating in medical assistance in the Angodo Republic, which is very close to the Dana Region, so sometimes our medical team will go deep into the Dana Rainforest. However, while the Angodo Republic is a complete country, the Dana Region…”

“The legendary unregulated zone?”

Mrs. Jiang smiled. “I participated in medical assistance because I felt that the international community can ignore many people dying of illness every year, but we as doctors can’t.”

Lin Chen nodded.

Mrs. Jiang was a little dissatisfied. “What do you mean by nodding? What I said just now is obviously great, so there should be applause.”

Lin Chen raised his scarred hands, expressing his helplessness.

“Actually, for us doctors, going there was truly an experience.” Mrs. Jiang leaned back in her chair and started reminiscing.

“If you go there for the first time, what you see at the beginning is a vast expanse of sandy soil, followed by a huge mountain range across West Africa. Even the cattle and sheep raised by humans are wild. After crossing the border of the Angodo Republic and entering the Dana Region, there are thin women and children everywhere. Dilapidated vehicles and shabby homes littered the roadside. There’s a lot of reclaimed land under the mountains. Because of the terrain, various anti-government armed forces, drug cartels, and terrorists set up stations from the bottom to the top of the mountains, but these people have a good attitude towards doctors. When you climb over the mountains to the peak, you can see the Dana Rainforest sweeping the world. If you go there, you will find that the rainforest is completely different from what it looks like on the surface. There are not only a large number of hidden militants but also various primitive tribes and legendary man-eating pythons, as well as a large number of poisonous plants. Among them, there is an herbal medicine that is a hundred times more magical than meth. The synthetic stuff isn’t even comparable. There are also some diseases that are extinct in our country but very common there. In short, it’s a very sentimental place.”

The more Mrs. Jiang spoke, the more excited her eyes became. “I really want to go back and have a look.”

Lin Chen suddenly asked, “You liked it so much, why did you come back in the end?”

“Oh, that’s because the handsome guy on our medical team told me that the skills I’ve learned could help more people in big cities that have a complete basic medical facility. There are no such good medical facilities in the Dana Region. I certainly can’t open a patient’s skull under a kerosene lamp. He said it was too wasteful for me to spend all my day in the rainforest treating headaches and brain fever, and it was better if I left quickly.”

“So you went back?”

“Yes.” Mrs. Jiang tucked her hair behind her ear. “What a pity.”

“It must be a very handsome doctor.”

“How do you know?’

“Because you have a girlish look in your eyes right now.” Lin Chen smiled slightly.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 长洱 / Chang’er

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 171

Hearing this, Jiang Chao became very nervous. “Isn’t that a mentally ill person? He said he had a bug in his head, but he was just putting on a show?”

“Yes. When I first heard he went to the neurosurgery department to ask the doctors to remove the bug from his brain, I also thought it was typical delusional schizophrenia, but in fact, I ignored one of the most critical details.”

“What?”

“Why would he agree to exchange hostages?” Lin Chen asked rhetorically.

Mrs. Jiang seemed to agree with what he said and nodded accordingly.

Lin Chen looked at the other party. “Mrs. Jiang, how did you persuade him to exchange hostages?”

Mrs. Jiang replied, “I said I was the director here and I would be more valuable as a hostage.”

“Is there something wrong with that, honey?”

“This is a conclusion based on statistics. The vast majority of the crimes committed by the mentally ill have no prior plans and little preparation. They usually happen suddenly and are crazy in nature, such as randomly killing people on the street. Of course, there are also a number of mentally ill people who can commit premeditated and planned crimes effectively, but the number is extremely low and generally only happens to paranoid or delusional mental patients. However, often the target of the delusional mental patient is their ‘enemies’.” Lin Chen propped his head to one side, held the paper cup between his fingers, and turned it gently for half a circle. “He showed ‘craziness’ when he raised his knife and slashed wildly, but whether he hid the watermelon knife and entered the hospital to commit murder, or allowed the exchange of hostages, or even asked to take the bug out, they all showed meticulous ‘premeditation’. There’s a certain contradiction between ‘madness’ and ‘premeditation’. He even revealed that the police were the ones he believes implanted the bug, so the target of his revenge should be us, right? Why is he looking for a doctor? What’s more, he went to a doctor specializing in neurosurgery and didn’t ask for treatment. He simply held the doctor at knifepoint, which meant his preparation wasn’t thorough.” Lin Chen showed a cold smile on his lips. “To summarize, I think the assailant who took Director Li hostage was pretending to be mentally ill to commit a crime in order to escape legal sanctions.”

After Jiang Chao listened to him, he didn’t speak for a long time. In the end, Mrs. Jiang patted the back of her husband’s hand. Vice Captain Jiang shivered. “Fortunately, you were there, Consultant Lin!” After he finished speaking, he hurriedly looked to his side. “Honey, have you offended anyone recently?”

Mrs. Jiang was calm. “We’re doctors, so there’s always someone that will be offended.

Jiang Chao opened his mouth as if he didn’t understand, so Mrs. Jiang pinched her husband’s earlobes and said softly, “We see many patients begging us to save them, but we’re not miracle workers. We’ll always offend some patients and their families.”

“But do you know the deceased, honey? Is it a family member of a patient you once treated?”

Mrs. Jiang shook her head. “Even if it is, I can’t remember.”

“Then you have to be careful. Do you want to take a few days off?”

“Are you going to protect me at home if I ask for leave?”

“I will, honey. Trust me!”

Lin Chen listened to their meaningless but happy conversation. The sunlight from the window fell on the couple, who had almost experienced life and death. He finally took a sip of the warm water in the cup he was holding.

“Jiang Chao.” He spoke suddenly.

Jiang Chao was taken aback. “Consultant Lin, yes?”

“Protect Mrs. Jiang well.”

“I know Consultant Lin. You also think that those who want to target my wife won’t give up, right?”

“It’s better to investigate the identity of the deceased first. This will allow us to clarify his motives.” Suddenly, Lin Chen felt a stabbing pain in his head, as if someone had picked up a hammer and smashed it into his temple. After a while, he reluctantly said to Jiang Chao, “Sorry, my condition isn’t very good. I’m afraid I can’t follow this case.”

Jiang Chao said nervously, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’ll send someone to stitch up the wound.”

“No need.”

Lin Chen stood up, supported himself on the wall, and walked out of the office.

Mrs. Jiang grabbed him and said, “You’re injured badly. I’ll sew up your wound immediately. Where are you going?”

Lin Chen turned his head and replied calmly, “I want to go home.”

……

Xing Conglian was sitting in an open-top Jeep when he suddenly looked forward. They were driving on the vast loess at the moment, heading southwest to the rainforest.

There were sporadic huge advertisements standing on the loess. At the top of the huge advertisements was the gray-blue sky. In the distance, there were light gray clouds on the top of the Xazi Mountains, as if a torrential rain was brewing, ready to sweep over the world.

The humid and hot monsoon at the edge of the rainforest hit his face, but the wind couldn’t blow away the irritability in his heart. He felt something bad was happening, but he couldn’t explain why. As if by telepathy, Wang Chao also looked over at him. They looked at each other and instantly understood each other’s concerns.

Wang Chao spoke in a serious tone. “Boss, don’t you feel it too?”

Xing Conglian pressed his hand on his phone, almost impulsively making a call, but he also knew very well that this wasn’t the best choice.

“Wang Chao…” he said lightly. “There’s surveillance at home, so bring up the real-time monitoring.”

Wang Chao was holding his laptop with a sad face and didn’t respond to this request for a while. Soon, the teenager understood what he meant and abruptly slapped his thigh. “Boss, although it’s a bit perverted, that’s a really good idea!”

While speaking, Wang Chao quickly brought up the surveillance video at their residence, Unit 6 on Yanjia Lane. If Lin Chen was present, he would be surprised at the kind of surveillance that had no blind spots.

The rags in the kitchen, the fruit tray in the living room, the fish swimming in the courtyard, and the bedding in the room; everything in the house was intact, but no matter how time kept changing, the scene in the surveillance was completely fixed.

Xing Conglian glanced at Wang Chao. Wang Chao was desperately changing feeds at different angles as his frown became tighter.

At this moment, Kang An also leaned over and asked, “Boss, what are you looking at?”

Xing Conglian got annoyed hearing Kang An. “Get away,” he said to his former subordinate.

However, Kang An seemed to have filtered his words and moved even closer, even blocking his sight. “Hey Captain, is this your house? The flowers on the balcony are almost dying in the sun. How long has no one lived there?”

Wang Chao froze the picture on the coffee table in the living room and then zoomed in. The water glass on the coffee table was still the one that Lin Chen drank before they set off to Yongchuan that night. The table was dusty, and the flowers and plants were withered. It was obvious that Lin Chen had never returned home.

“Damn that Jiang Chao! Did that bastard leave my A’Chen Gege in Yongchuan to investigate the case?!” Wang Chao turned to Xing Conglian and asked.

Although he knew that this was of course the only possibility and that, with Lin Chen’s personality, it was difficult for him to give up clues and continue to track them down, when he thought of Lin Chen’s mental state when he left, Xing Conglian became angry.

Are you kidding me? What Lin Chen needed most was rest and complete psychological treatment. If he continued tracking down Song Shengsheng’s case, Lin Chen would collapse, even if he had an iron will.

“Verify your guess,” he said to Wang Chao.

“Yongchuan Second Bureau, right?” Wang Chao immediately began invading the surveillance system of Yongchuan Second Bureau. They were abroad, so there was no psychological burden, so Wang Chao was even quicker than before. When he pressed enter, the image lit up.

Wang Chao quickly dragged and dropped the timeline, and as expected, Lin Chen’s figure appeared in the big office of Yongchuan Second Bureau. The light outside the window turned from dark to bright and then dark again. Xing Conglian counted the time. Lin Chen hadn’t slept for over 48 hours.

Xing Conglian stared at Lin Chen, seeing him sitting quietly in front of a computer checking information. He would raise his glass of tea from time to time and then put it down. Xing Conglian wished he could put some sleeping pills in the glass so Lin Chen could quickly go to sleep.

“Boss, who are you looking at?” Kang An’s voice sounded again.

Xing Conglian had the urge to kick this guy out of the Jeep. “Get your head away from my sights,” he said aggravatingly.

Kang An hurriedly moved his head away. The moment the annoying head was cleared, Xing Conglian saw Lin Chen get up.

Lin Chen seemed to be checking something. He stood up with a determined expression, holding a water cup, and walked to another office.

Wang Chao immediately switched the monitoring angle. He watched as Lin Chen walked into the Network Surveillance Department and talked to the police inside. The police officer suddenly became energetic and started tapping on the keyboard. After a while, Lin Chen seemed to have thought of something as he shook his head suddenly, causing the porcelain cup to smash into the ground. The video only had images and no sound. Although they didn’t know what happened, he could guess from Lin Chen’s painful expression that their new discovery must be related to Song Shengsheng’s case.

Lin Chen squatted down, trying to pick up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground, but suddenly he gripped one of them tightly in his palm. He watched as the blood dripped from Lin Chen’s hand, watched as Jiang Chao nervously brought the medical kit, and watched as Lin Chen unconsciously poured disinfectant on his hand.

Lin Chen’s face showed a calmer expression after the pain became numb. Xing Conglian calmed down and said to Wang Chao, “Can you find the file records of that computer? What exactly did they find?”

“Give me a minute!” Wang Chao snapped his fingers and quickly opened one of the documents. The results were horrifying. He finally knew the reason for Lin Chen’s gaffe. The murder motives of Xiang Ye and Meijing turned out to be related to MSC Doctors Without Borders and AIH Insurance.

Xing Conglian raised his head. They were sitting in a Jeep at this moment, and they happened to pass by a huge roadside billboard for AIH Insurance.

When he looked back, Lin Chen was no longer in the video.

“Boss, do you want to keep watching?” Wang Chao tentatively asked.

“Continue,” Xing Conglian said.

“But what are we looking at?”

Xing Conglian recalled the last scene. “Did Jiang Chao take him out?”

“Yes.”

“Switch the monitoring to Yongchuan Second People’s Hospital.”

“Eh?”

“Jiang Chao’s wife is a doctor there. He most likely took Lin Chen there to suture his wound.”

Although Wang Chao was doubtful, he still pulled up surveillance of the hospital. The number of people in the emergency hall was large, which made it difficult to distinguish Lin Chen’s figure in the vast sea of people.

“Boss, do you know what department Lieutenant Jiang’s wife belongs to? Will he directly take A’Chen Gege there for treatment?” Wang Chao asked.

“Neurosurgery,” Xing Conglian replied.

Wang Chao nodded, and the screen switched to a shocking scene.

The corridors of the neurosurgery ward were a mess, and there were security guards surrounding the door of an office. The doctors and patients looked panicked, and Lin Chen…

Lin Chen stood in the corner of the corridor. He took a gun handed over by Jiang Chao and loaded it without hesitation. He walked out of the picture and walked into the office, surrounded by security guards.

“Fuck me, why did that idiot Jiang Chao give A’Chen Gege a gun? Can’t he do this himself!” Wang Chao was so enraged that he couldn’t help but raise his voice. “I’ll try to adjust the camera on the opposite floor to see if I can see this office clearly…”

“Negotiation,” Xing Conglian replied.

Before his voice fell, the screen switched. Sure enough, someone in the office was holding a female doctor hostage with a blade in his hand, and Lin Chen was holding a gun as he slowly walked step by step towards the hostage.

Because of the distance, Xing Conglian couldn’t see Lin Chen’s face clearly, but he only felt that his heart was about to stop beating. In the blink of an eye, Lin Chen decisively drew his gun and shot. Blood splattered everywhere. Wang Chao couldn’t help but yell and cover his eyes.

Xing Conglian couldn’t look away. He kept his eyes open and watched as Lin Chen lowered his hand, as if nothing had happened. He turned around and walked out of the office.

The picture cut back to the corridor again. Lin Chen’s expression was numb, like an old man who was dying. There were many people around him. Whether it was the police who came to deal with the incident or the doctors, nurses, and patients in the hospital, it created a noisy scene. At the moment, Xing Conglian clearly felt that Lin Chen couldn’t perceive what was happening around him. His consciousness had been completely separated from his body, as if he were dead.

He just watched Lin Chen pass through the horrified crowd and be taken into an office.

Because of the reflection of the glass in the other office, they couldn’t see what was going on inside.

Time passed minute by minute. Wang Chao wanted to fast forward, but Xing Conglian stopped him.

There was silence all around, as if he were experiencing a long silent movie. The picture was then fast-forwarded. A group of medical staff rushed from the end of the corridor to the office. When the office door opened, Lin Chen was being carried out on a stretcher.

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