Chapter 36

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As night fell, the First People's Hospital of Jincheng City was still brightly lit. Ambulances with flashing lights came and went, and the piercing sirens wailed intermittently. The busy crowd moved in and out, non-stop.

Zheng Qiuyi, dressed in casual clothes, walked into the surgical ward corridor, looking tired. Under the bright lights, many people were sitting on the waiting chairs in the hospital hall and the surgical ward corridor. Many were her colleagues from the unit, who had just rushed from the scene at Wanhe Mall, with bloodstains still on their police uniforms. There were also some unfamiliar elderly, women, and children, with tear-streaked faces and worried expressions, who were likely the families of the injured colleagues. Two female police officers were talking to the families in low voices, seemingly comforting them. A few male police officers were smoking with their heads down, creating a heavy and somber atmosphere in the smoke-filled air.

Seeing Zheng Qiuyi walk in, several police officers sitting on the chairs stood up to greet her: "Commander Zheng, you're here too."

Zheng Qiuyi nodded, looking tired and haggard: "Thank you all for your hard work. How is Brother Li doing now?"

"The doctors are still trying to save him. He's in surgery... We're all waiting for news."

Zheng Qiuyi fell silent, then asked: "Is Brother Li's family here?"

"Over here, these two are Deputy Li's parents, and this is Deputy Li's spouse. A few more are his relatives, all here—Uncle, Aunt, and Sister-in-law, this is Deputy Commander Zheng from the brigade, a leader from the unit, who has come to visit Deputy Li."

Seeing Li Nanmin's parents stand up shakily to greet her, Zheng Qiuyi quickly walked over and held their hands: "Uncle, Aunt, please sit down, sit down... Sister-in-law, you're pregnant, don't get too upset, take it easy... Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Although surprised that a leader from the unit was a young and beautiful woman, Li Nanmin's parents and wife still showed Zheng Qiuyi the respect they should. Holding Zheng Qiuyi's hand, Li Nanmin's mother burst into tears: "Leader, tell me, will Nanmin be okay? Our family, with the old and the young, and his wife is pregnant, if anything happens to him, how will we live... Oh, we shouldn't have let him become a police officer..."

Zheng Qiuyi quickly comforted her: "Aunt, don't worry. I just talked to the hospital, and they will do their best to save him, using the best and most expensive medicine, and sending the best doctors. If the doctors in Jincheng are not good enough, we will invite experts from Shudu Medical University. If that doesn't work, we will go to the capital and invite experts from the military hospital.

The organization has given orders to spare no expense to save our injured colleagues. No matter how much it costs, we must save him. I just talked to the hospital experts, and they said that we brought him in on time, and his physical condition is not bad. There is a good chance of saving him... Don't think too much, Nanmin will be fine. Don't worry, trust the organization, trust science!"

After much persuasion, promising and assuring, Zheng Qiuyi finally managed to calm down the crying family members, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

She sat in the chair for a while, silently watching the red light at the end of the corridor, feeling a wave of fatigue and helplessness, and a faint sense of fear.

At that moment, if it weren't for the young man who rushed out to block the criminal, she would probably be lying in the operating room, her life hanging by a thread.

At the time, Zheng Qiuyi didn't feel afraid when she narrowly escaped death, but thinking about it later, she became increasingly frightened and felt a lingering sense of fear.

The ringing of a mobile phone broke the silence of the waiting. Everyone looked over, and Zheng Qiuyi noticed that her phone in her handbag was ringing. She apologized and took out her phone, seeing that it was a call from her subordinate Xu Jun.

She pressed the answer button: "Junzi, what's up?"

"Commander Zheng, Deputy Zhang from Xinjiang Branch has woken up. He knows we are in charge of the investigation and wants to see you. It seems he has something to say to you."

"Deputy Zhang Yue has woken up... Oh, okay. I'm on the fifth floor of the surgical building at the First Municipal Hospital. Where are you?"

"Hehe, coincidentally, Deputy Zhang is also in the surgical building of the First Municipal Hospital, in Room 311."

"Alright, I'll go down now. Please ask him to wait."

Zheng Qiuyi hung up the phone, stood up, and quietly instructed her colleagues who were on duty: "Deputy Zhang from the branch is also hospitalized here. He wants to see me, so I'll go down first. When Brother Li's surgery is over, call me immediately, no matter how late it is."

Zheng Qiuyi went over to the family and said a few comforting words before leaving. She took the elevator down to the third floor and saw many police officers coming and going in the corridor, mostly from the branch to visit their injured colleagues. She walked straight to Room 311, knocked on the door, and when she heard someone say "come in," she pushed the door open. Inside, in addition to Zhang Yue lying in bed, there were several men and women, some in casual clothes and some in police uniforms, who seemed to be Zhang Yue's family and subordinates.

Although they were both in the police system and both at the level of chief, Zheng Qiuyi had not had much interaction with Zhang Yue before. They only nodded to each other at meetings, so she couldn't imagine why Zhang Yue would urgently want to see her as soon as he woke up.

Facing the surprised looks of the others, she forced a smile: "Director Zhang, hello, I'm Xiao Zheng from the municipal criminal investigation department, here to visit you!"

Seeing Zheng Qiuyi come in, Zhang Yue's eyes lit up. He struggled to sit up, saying: "Hello, hello, Commander Zheng, with so much going on today, you're so busy, and yet you came to see me, I'm really sorry..."

Zheng Qiuyi quickly went to hold him down: "Director Zhang, don't move, don't move. You're injured, just lie down, just lie down."

Zhang Yue struggled, showing a pained expression. Under the persuasion of Zheng Qiuyi and the others, he finally lay back down, smiling bitterly: "Well, Commander Zheng, I'm being impolite. I'm just an old man, and I'm making a fool of myself."

"Director Zhang, what are you talking about? You bravely fought the criminal and got injured, that's an honorable thing. If I'm being impolite, it's because I came in a hurry and didn't bring any flowers or anything. I came empty-handed, so I'm the one being impolite."

"Hey, we're all in this line of work, with so much to do, who has time for such formalities. Your criminal investigation team has had a tough day too. I'm very grateful that you took the time to come see me."

"Director Zhang, don't say that. You're our senior, and if you have something to say, I should come immediately. How are you, Director Zhang? Are your injuries not serious? Why are there so many bandages on your back? Are your injuries severe?"

Zhang Yue shook his head: "The doctors just checked, and the injuries on my back are minor, just cuts from glass, not serious... But I have two broken ribs, a damaged spleen, and some internal bleeding, which is the real problem. Fortunately, the broken rib didn't pierce my liver, or it would have been fatal, and there would have been no saving me."

"Director Zhang, you have the protection of the heavens, turning danger into safety! I heard that several of your colleagues from the branch were injured?"

At this, Zhang Yue's face darkened: "Yes, two died, and four were injured—the biggest casualties since the establishment of the Xinjiang Branch, and I was leading the team."

Saying this, Zhang Yue glanced around and gave a meaningful look. His family and subordinates understood that the director had something important to say to the young female police officer, so they all found excuses to leave.

When the room was left with only the two of them, Zheng Qiuyi softly comforted him: "Director Zhang, you don't need to blame yourself too much. The criminals were really vicious. My team also lost two and had two seriously injured... In a way, we are in the same boat. You're better off, as you're injured, and the higher-ups can't do much to you. But I'm young, and with such heavy casualties, someone has to take responsibility. I might get a severe reprimand, and I'm mentally prepared for it, waiting for the bureau to decide."

Zhang Yue sighed. He knew that Zheng Qiuyi was speaking from the heart. They weren't close, but she was being sincere. He smiled bitterly: "Commander Zheng, this is just our bad luck. If you had to choose, would you rather take a reprimand or be bedridden for half a year like me?"

Zheng Qiuyi smiled bitterly: "Director Zhang, you're giving me a tough choice!"

"Commander Zheng, you're in such a hurry to see me, is there something you need to tell me? Just say it."

Zhang Yue was straightforward: "Commander Zheng, I heard that your criminal investigation team is in charge of this case, and specifically, you are handling it, right?"

"That's right, but it's not much of an investigation. The criminal was shot dead on the spot by your team, and the evidence is clear. We just need to identify the criminal, figure out why he went crazy, and write a closing report for the prosecutor."

Zhang Yue lowered his eyes, either in thought or pain, and his expression was strange. Zheng Qiuyi couldn't tell if it was mocking or depressed.

"Commander Zheng, what we're talking about tonight is in private, not an official conversation."

"Ah!" Hearing this, Zheng Qiuyi immediately realized that Zhang Yue had something important to say. She nodded seriously: "Alright, Director Zhang, you can trust me. Whatever you say tonight, I'll keep it to myself."

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