Chapter 100

The police inspector did not handcuff Liu Hantong; it was just a routine questioning and investigation. However, this feeling was not good at all. Liu Hantong was very angry and started to act out, not only refusing to cooperate with the investigation but also questioning the inspectors, asking why they didn't go after the bad guys who allowed the vicious dogs to attack people.

"Be more respectful. Do you want me to make you take off your clothes?" the inspector in charge of the investigation sternly reprimanded him.

Liu Hantong immediately took off his police shirt and threw it over: "Take it off, then. I don't want to be a cop like this!" His neck veins bulged, and his eyes turned red with anger.

To his surprise, the inspector's attitude immediately softened, saying, "Liu Hantong, don't be emotional. We are just following the procedures. When the public complains about police officers, we have to respond and conduct investigations. It doesn't mean we are going to handle you. We have already preliminarily understood the situation, and now we just need your statement."

Liu Hantong calmed down a bit and began to recount the events of that day. When he mentioned that he had fired the gun without authorization, the two inspectors exchanged a puzzled look and asked, "You didn't receive the order to fire from the team leader?"

"No, Ji Yang didn't give the order. I fired first, and then the other colleagues followed," Liu Hantong said firmly.

"Alright, next question. Why did you fire so many shots, using up all the bullets?" the inspector continued, making notes.

Liu Hantong thought for a moment and said, "Those two Tibetan Mastiffs were extremely fierce and large. I suspected they had rabies. If I had only fired one shot, it might not have subdued them and could have enraged them. There were many people around, and if they had rushed into the crowd, the consequences would have been unimaginable. So I fired five shots, and then I used my pistol to fire fifteen more, but it still didn't completely incapacitate the second mastiff. It was only after my colleagues fired a few more shots that the problem was solved."

The inspector nodded, wrote a few lines, closed the notebook, turned off the camera, and said to Liu Hantong, "Alright, you can go now."

"Is that it?" Liu Hantong was puzzled.

The inspector smiled, "Do you want to stay for dinner? Come on, if you don't leave, Gang Dui will come to get you."

Liu Hantong got up, picked up his clothes, and left. As he reached the door, the inspector added, "I shouldn't say this, but you didn't disgrace the police. I would have done the same."

"Thanks." A ray of light finally penetrated the gloom in Liu Hantong's heart. There are still good people in the world.

He walked out of the inspector's office, and his phone rang. It was Lin Lianan.

"Xiao Lin, what's up?"

"I've been looking for you for a long time. Why was your phone off? I won't beat around the bush. You're in big trouble. You killed those two Tibetan Mastiffs, which are worth millions. The owners are causing a commotion at the station every day. You just left, and everyone else is in trouble. The colleagues who fired with you have been suspended, and Ji Yang has been put on leave. I heard the dog owners are going to sue you."

"Sue me? Does he think the court is his own house?" Liu Hantong laughed in anger.

Lin Lianan said, "Bro, you're wrong. This Li Suifeng has a lot of influence. Otherwise, why would the station let them block the door and not say a word? Now, the internet is full of posts against us. You should check them out when you have time."

"Alright, I got it." Liu Hantong hung up the phone and sighed deeply. The sky was bright and sunny, but he felt a dark cloud hanging over him.

...

Song Xinxin came out of the morgue, sighed deeply, lit a cigarette, and took a few quiet puffs to suppress her anger.

She was a master's graduate in forensic medicine from Jiangdong Medical University. After graduation, she joined the Jinjiang Public Security Bureau and was promoted to deputy director of the Criminal Investigation Team's Forensic Identification Center after four years, advancing to the rank of Third-Class Inspector. She had been wearing this uniform for five years and had seen all kinds of corpses—murdered, dismembered, and decomposed. She was now basically immune to them and no longer experienced psychological fluctuations.

But the body she had just examined today moved her deeply.

The deceased was Wang Fengxia, 60 years old, a temporary worker at the municipal sanitation department, earning 800 yuan a month. She was from out of town and had been severely injured by two Tibetan Mastiffs while working two days ago. She was sent to the hospital but died from her injuries. The wounds were shocking, and a living person had been torn to death by animals, with no one intervening during the entire process. The police were helpless when they arrived at the scene and could do nothing until the riot police arrived and shot the dogs, saving the victim.

During the autopsy, Song Xinxin saw the deceased's rough hands, with black mud under the nails, and a face with deep wrinkles. This was the face of a simple, humble peasant woman, very much like her own grandmother.

Song Xinxin was an orphan raised by her grandmother, which shaped her lonely and stubborn personality. She always showed a strong side. When she first joined the police, her colleagues in the criminal investigation team mocked her as a delicate lady who couldn't do the job. Song Xinxin, wearing a skirt, went down into a sewage pond and dragged out a bag containing a decomposed body. She opened it herself, and the decomposed body, already in a state of giantism, burst from the pressure, spewing out decayed matter from its mouth. Everyone else vomited, but Song Xinxin remained unmoved, shocking everyone and earning their respect for this young, beautiful, and neurotic female forensic doctor.

The deceased's stomach contained food residue—plain noodles with no pickles. This reminded Song Xinxin of her grandmother, who had no job and made a living by selling small items on the street. During her college entrance exam year, her grandmother ate plain noodles every day but bought meat for her to supplement her nutrition. Whenever she asked why her grandmother only ate noodles, she would laugh and say she didn't like meat.

The autopsy was complete, and the cause of death was determined. It was not the direct result of the mastiffs' bites but a sudden heart attack caused by excessive shock. Song Xinxin signed the cause of death report and went outside to smoke. She didn't usually smoke but had learned to do so to suppress the smell of the corpses. She only smoked half a cigarette each time.

After smoking half a cigarette, she extinguished it in the ashtray in her hand and suddenly saw a six- or seven-year-old girl timidly looking at her, wearing dirty clothes and with messy braids.

"Little sister, why are you here?" Song Xinxin squatted down and asked.

This was not the police station but the forensic identification center of the medical university's affiliated hospital, which was often used by the police, prosecution, and judiciary due to its complete facilities.

The little girl sniffed and said, "Grandma is inside," pointing to the morgue door.

Song Xinxin remembered that when Wang Fengxia was severely injured and sent to the hospital, she had a granddaughter with her. The police had questioned them, and they learned that the grandmother and granddaughter lived together, with the granddaughter helping her grandmother sweep the streets. Now, they were separated by life and death, but the little girl didn't know and thought her grandmother was still alive and being treated, so she was waiting at the cold morgue door.

"What's your name?" Song Xinxin's nose tingled.

"My name is Mao Ya. Auntie, when will Grandma be better?"

"Mao Ya, Grandma is injured and needs to stay in the hospital for a long time."

"You're lying. Grandma said she would take me to eat sticky corn tomorrow. It costs one yuan each, and I don't need Grandma to pay. I have my own money, and I've saved a lot."

Mao Ya said this and pulled out a handful of loose change from her pocket, all in small bills and coins. Suddenly, she noticed something was wrong and tilted her head to look at Song Xinxin, "Auntie, why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying, my eyes are just irritated," Song Xinxin said, hugging Mao Ya, tears streaming down her face.

"Grandma said, if your eyes are irritated, blow on them, and they'll be better," Mao Ya said seriously.

Song Xinxin tried hard not to cry out loud, but her tears flowed like a flood, and she was in the most secluded corner of the hospital. The occasional passing staff members looked curiously at the female police officer in a white coat hugging a dirty little girl and crying.

A few people approached, including the police officer in charge of the case and staff from the social welfare institute.

"Officer Song, what's going on?" the police officer was puzzled.

Song Xinxin immediately wiped away her tears, stood up, but still held Mao Ya's hand tightly, saying coldly, "Nothing."

"Mao Ya, go with this auntie," the police officer pointed to the welfare institute staff.

Mao Ya shook her head, "No, I want Grandma."

The welfare institute staff came to take Mao Ya's hand, but she was scared and hid behind Song Xinxin.

"What are you doing?" Song Xinxin demanded.

"This child is a foster child of Wang Fengxia, with no household registration or relatives. Now that her grandmother is dead, she can only be sent to the social welfare institute," the police officer explained.

Mao Ya burst into tears, "Liar, Grandma isn't dead! Grandma is in the hospital!"

Song Xinxin glared at the police officer and picked up Mao Ya, saying, "She's not going anywhere. She's staying with me."

The police officer was embarrassed, but the welfare institute staff said, "Adopting an orphan requires following the procedures. You can't just take her home. You need to meet the conditions and complete the adoption process."

Song Xinxin said, "I will, but the child cannot go with you. She has a home, a family, and a mother. From now on, I am her mother!"

Everyone looked at each other, feeling awkward, and decided to compromise, "Alright, she can stay with you temporarily. You can complete the procedures when you have time."

After they left, Mao Ya asked Song Xinxin, "Auntie, are you really my mom?"

Song Xinxin nodded solemnly, "Yes, I am your real mom. When you were little, your mom was on a business trip, and now she's back. Grandma is in the hospital, and now your mom is here to take care of you."

Mao Ya was half-believing, half-doubting, but she knew that police officers were good people and wouldn't lie.

"Can I call you mom from now on?" Mao Ya thought for a long time before asking.

"Yes, I am your mom," Song Xinxin said, tears streaming down her face. She was also an orphan, and her biggest wish since childhood was to call someone "mom."

"Mom, mom, mom," Mao Ya called out repeatedly, seemingly very excited, while Song Xinxin was in tears, unable to control herself.

Mao Ya's clothes and shoes were all second-hand, and she hadn't bathed for a long time, emitting a sour smell. Her face was dirty, but her eyes were bright. Song Xinxin didn't mind her dirtiness and took her in a taxi to the Dihao Shopping Mall on Central Street, heading straight for the children's clothing counter.

The salesgirl, seeing such a dirty little beggar, immediately showed a look of disgust. Song Xinxin ignored their disdainful looks, took out her Dihao Diamond VIP card and her Industrial and Commercial Bank of China civil servant credit card, and slapped them on the counter, pointing to the most expensive girls' clothing, "I'll take all of these."