Free Web NovelChapter 37: Chapter 37: Action_1
Zhou Ning also realized what was happening, and the fat-faced Zhao Xinli, sitting in the passenger seat, leaned over with a smile.
"It’s okay, I can ask my aunt to look it up, find out which class the kid is in and what their name is, then have the teacher notify their class to gather at the school. Just say it’s a free health check for the kids. The word of a teacher is taken as an edict by the parents. You guys want to give the kid a physical anyway, and this is the perfect excuse."
Xu Dayuan looked at Zhao Xinli and laughed.
"You’ve gotten smart after a good meal, kid. What are you waiting for? Call now and check. I’ll arrange for doctors and nurses to go there right away. Don’t deny it’s a good plan."
...
Two hours later.
Zhou Ning, dressed in a white coat and wearing a mask, stood at the entrance of the comprehensive classroom of Qindao Port Elementary School.
Students were coming in one after another. The teacher at the door began to hand out badges, even allowing in those who were not part of the class, following Xu Dayuan’s signs.
After waiting a while, more than forty people had arrived. At this moment, a woman led a little girl up to the teacher to register.
The teacher was very enthusiastic, handing a badge to the little girl and touching her braided hair as she did.
"Wang Xinyi, your braids are so pretty! Why did mom bring you today?"
Xu Dayuan and Zhou Ning both looked over. This had been prearranged; when they saw Wang Xinyi, the teacher would just call her name as a warning to them.
Xu Dayuan’s hand behind his back pressed down, signaling them not to act rashly.
The woman nodded at the teacher, her face polite with a smile. After all, receiving praise and attention from a teacher was the greatest comfort for a parent.
"Her dad is working overtime today. The port has been especially busy recently, and since I’m off, I brought her over."
The teacher appeared natural, leaning in to the woman with a smile and saying:
"Sorry to trouble you, but the education bureau has granted us this opportunity for a physical. It’s our luck that our class was chosen. It’s a good thing to have the children checked."
The woman continually agreed.
"Yeah, we didn’t have this privilege when we were young, thank you, teacher!"
The teacher nodded with a smile and reached out to take the child’s hand.
"Wang Xinyi’s mom, wait over there with the other parents. After the physical, the children will be brought out one by one."
The woman didn’t say anything else and quickly went to the waiting area. With so many parents around, she naturally wouldn’t think too much.
Wang Xinyi was led into the comprehensive classroom. The teacher’s nervous hands trembled slightly. When she saw Zhou Ning, he quickly smiled at her to offer reassurance.
"Mr. Liu, you’ve worked hard. I will take Wang Xinyi for the check-up."
Mr. Liu nodded vigorously.
"The kids are just having a regular physical, right?"
"Just regular check-ups, Mr. Liu. Don’t worry, the girls are just having one extra physical examination than the boys."
Hearing this, Mr. Liu’s expression eased somewhat. She knew she shouldn’t ask too many questions, especially since the principal was very cooperative. However, she was genuinely concerned for the students, which Zhou Ning could feel. He thought for a moment and then added:
"You’re a good teacher, very responsible. Rest assured, no matter what happens, we will not trouble the children."
After speaking, Zhou Ning took Wang Xinyi behind the partitioned curtains. A little girl had just finished her check-up, and Zhou Ning picked up Wang Xinyi and handed her over to Mr. Feng.
"This child is Wang Xinyi; please check her."
Mr. Feng understood what Zhou Ning meant; this child was today’s primary target. He waved his hand at Zhou Ning.
"Alright, go wait outside."
Zhou Ning left but didn’t go far, standing just outside the curtains. Deep down, he hoped the check-up wouldn’t reveal anything. After all, the child was so small and tender in his arms. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
After waiting for about fifteen minutes, which felt incredibly long for Zhou Ning, Mr. Feng emerged from behind the curtains, holding Wang Xinyi, who snuggled in her arms, gently patting her back.
"Alright, Wang Xinyi, you’ve finished this part of the check-up. Now follow the teacher to have your vision tested. Let’s see how far you can see?"
As Mr. Feng passed by Zhou Ning’s side, she gave him a meaningful glance.
Zhou Ning lifted the curtain and went inside, where he was greeted by two female gynecologists. Upon his entrance, they took off their masks and said,
"The hymen is intact, but there’s a four-centimeter-long scar on the external genitalia, which we believe was caused by a fingernail scratch. Besides, we asked her some questions. Initially, she was very scared, but later she did respond. Mr. Feng’s photo was also identified; it was that person who harmed her. As for the process, we have it all recorded. I’ll send it to you."
Zhou Ning nodded, glanced at the scar photos taken by the doctors, and felt blood rushing to his head. If he felt this way, Wang Ye must be even more furious.
With his headphones on, Zhou Ning listened to the recording once through, his expression growing darker and darker. The two doctors shared his grim look – it was maddening that such things could happen right under their noses.
Stopping the recording, Zhou Ning put away his headphones, ready to turn and leave when the two doctors grabbed his arm.
"This person will be caught, right? If you need us to provide a formal proof, we will prepare it as soon as we get back. It’s infuriating to see such things. To think he could do this to a child at his age..."
Zhou Ning let out a sigh.
"He’s dead. I can’t disclose more about the case, but we truly might need you to provide relevant proof, which might... be useful afterwards."
The two female doctors seemed to understand something, especially the implication that it could later be helpful to the little girl’s family; they nodded earnestly.
Zhou Ning did not delay any further and quickly called Xu Dayuan’s mobile phone before walking towards the exit.
"Xu Da, make the arrest. The examination results are consistent with our analysis, it’s just that the final step was not completed."
Xu Dayuan understood and let out a breath of relief, then hung up and dialed He Chunyang’s number.
"Execute the operation, try to save some face for Wang Ye, and avoid arresting in a crowded place."
Zhou Ning didn’t rush to get involved in the action; he didn’t need to be part of it anymore. On the transparent screen in front of him, a line of text appeared.
Does the bound person wish to submit the task?
Taking a deep breath, Zhou Ning clicked to submit the task. Although Wang Ye had not been caught yet, the case was already clear—the murderer was Wang Ye, and his motive was that the victim, Chen Zhenya, had touched his daughter.
With the click, several lines of text appeared on the transparent screen.
1. Cause of death of the deceased: asphyxiation, facial mutilation post-mortem, remaining task duration 2:12 hours;
2. Identity of the deceased: Chen Zhenya, 61 years old, retired from the finance bureau, remaining task duration 21:02 hours;
3. Identity of the murderer: Wang Ye, male, 33 years old, Qindao Port dispatcher; Murder motive: Wang Ye murdered for revenge because his daughter, Wang Xinyi, was molested, remaining task duration 8 days.
Congratulations to Zhou Ning, the bound person, for completing the advanced task. Now proceeding with the reward draw.
The screen changed, all text disappeared, displaying a line of red text.
The reward drawn by the system for you is:
Bloodstain Analysis Technique Level 3 Access, does the bound person wish to unlock this reward now?
There were two options, yes or no; Zhou Ning clicked no, and immediately the text on the large screen vanished, as if nothing had existed at all.
Zhou Ning walked outside to the security guard, lit a cigarette, seemingly in hope that amidst the winter day, the tiny heat from the cigarette could dispel the gloom in his heart. Indeed, as his master had said, a forensic doctor must have a strong heart.
This case weighed heavily on Zhou Ning’s mind. Although the reward for the advanced task was substantial and something he had really wanted, at that moment, he had no heart to examine it closely.
He didn’t know how long he had been standing there when the smoking cigarette in his hand had burned down. Feeling the heat, he flicked his hand and tossed the cigarette butt into a trash can.
Footsteps approached from behind as all the children, led by their parents, left the building. The kids had innocent smiles on their faces, continuously waving and saying thank you, while the parents also smiled, leading their children away.
A heavy hand landed solidly on Zhou Ning’s shoulder. Without turning, he knew who it was.
"There you are, Doctor Zhou, I’ve been looking for you for ages. Why didn’t you answer your phone?"
Zhou Ning shook his head and remained silent as Zhao Xinli came closer to scrutinize him.
"Come on, no need to mourn the spring and grieve for the autumn. Look at the smiles of those children. We can’t protect everyone from harm, but let’s take the words from the banner outside our team’s office to heart:
Firmly and severely crack down on all kinds of illegal and criminal activities, legally protect the normal production and life order of the people!
If we can accomplish this, we’re offering the greatest protection not just to these children but also to their families. Solving a case within forty-eight hours, shouldn’t we be proud?"
