Free Web NovelChapter 556: Chapter 526: Nerve Toxin_1
Xu Dayuan extended his hand, shaking his head as he said,
"Mr. Xia, no need to persuade the old man. The incident with Zhou Ning’s parents had a huge impact on him back in the day. Right now, let’s just wait quietly for the results. Trying to console him might make him feel worse."
Mr. Xia struggled to squeeze out a smile and nodded his head.
"Thank you, you must be Director Xu. I’ve heard about you from Xiao Ning. Rest assured, I’m aware of the issue with Xiao Ning from before. We won’t press the issue right now; silent companionship is best. That’s all we can do."
With that, Mr. Xia didn’t linger any longer and went straight toward the operating room. Zhou Xiaoyu hurriedly stood up as they had all dined together before. Mr. Xia waved his hand and greeted the elder before standing at the door of the operating room.
Waiting was excruciating. As time ticked away, at exactly 4:42, the lights in the operating room went out.
The door opened, and Doctor He, wearing slippers and surgical scrubs, came out. Zhou Xiaoyu was the first to rush over.
Staring at Doctor He, she was afraid to ask. Doctor He patted Zhou Xiaoyu’s face, and seeing everyone gathering around, hurriedly took off his mask and said,
"Zhou Ning’s surgery went very smoothly. He’s being sutured right now and will be out soon, but he will be taken straight to the ICU. No need to wait here. Xiaoyu, you take grandpa and our mother home. All the leaders who are here for Zhou Ning, thank you for your concern. He’s temporarily out of life-threatening danger."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and Xia Momo approached.
"When will Zhou Ning wake up?"
Doctor He shook his head.
"It’s hard to say. Don’t worry, Momo. We’ve gotten through the toughest part. If we’re halfway to victory, I’ll personally oversee the follow-up treatment." freēwēbηovel.c૦m
Mr. Xia came over and put his arm around his daughter’s shoulder.
"Don’t worry. After we see Zhou Ning when he comes out, then we’ll leave. You need to rest well before you come back. It’s not helpful for you to be here, wear yourself out for no reason."
The second aunt hurried over and took Xia Momo’s hand, saying,
"Your father is right. We can’t all just linger here. We can’t enter the ICU anyway. If Xiao Ning knew how anxious and flustered you are, he would be very worried!"
As they were speaking, the doors to the operating room opened, and Zhou Ning was wheeled out, his face deathly pale, devoid of all color. Everyone stood up, but none rushed forward as the nurses pushed Zhou Ning. Doctor He signaled to Zhou Xiaoyu, and they took Zhou Ning to the ICU.
At this moment, Elder Cao also came out. Hu Guangjian quickly indicated for Mr. Xia to come over and greet him. After exchanging handshakes, Elder Cao said in realization,
"No wonder Mr. He just said this is the mayor’s son-in-law. I thought he was joking, but it seems it’s true. Rest assured, Zhou Ning was very lucky. The crossbow bolt was less than 2 millimeters from his heart, and it just grazed by the aorta as if it had intentionally avoided it.
Also, we took a close look at the arrow and noticed that one of its three edges was worn, as if it had struck something before entering Zhou Ning’s body.
Professional matters should be left to professionals. We’ll send the item to you later. We wore gloves throughout its extraction, so I don’t know if anything valuable might be left on it, but that’s all for now."
After expressing their thanks again, Elder Cao left. Then a nurse came out, holding a tray with the arrow wrapped in dressing. Xu Dayuan quickly took it.
Mr. Xia sighed as he watched the two men.
"All right, I won’t pressure you any further. We’ll take our leave first. I know you all care a great deal about Zhou Ning, and this case will be thoroughly investigated."
Having said that, the Xia family left. The Zhou Family elder took a look at the ICU entrance before waving to Zhou Xiaoyu.
"Let’s go home too. Xiao Ning has Shancun looking after him. We can’t be of help here, and it’s putting pressure on the leaders. We need to keep calm. I believe Xiao Ning will be fine."
Xu Dayuan heard the elder’s words from afar and pursed his lips, clenching his fists as he struggled to control his emotions. How could a man who had once tragically lost his son and daughter-in-law not worry when years later, his most promising grandson’s life was hanging by a thread? Yet, his first thought was to not be a bother to others, and that moved Xu Dayuan deeply.
"Elder, rest assured and go get some rest. One of our own, Doctor He, will take care of things here, and we will also arrange for someone to look after him. You can be at ease about that. As for the perpetrator, we will clarify the truth as soon as possible. Moreover, a permanent police booth will be established in front of your house, since both neighborhoods host various experts. Future safety will be more secured."
The elder smiled and waved his hand.
"Alright, don’t go to such lengths. As long as Xiao Ning is fine, there’s no rush on the case. We’ll take our leave."
After speaking, the elder, along with the second aunt and Zhou Xiaoyu, left. Xu Dayuan watched the backs of the departing elders, feeling a sting in his eyes. He took a deep breath, turned around, and looked back at Hu Guangjian.
"You heard what he said, didn’t you?"
"I did. I’ll start the investigation immediately using all my connections to clarify what happened back then. That ought to do it."
...
In the Technical Division’s Office 302.
There was a burst of frantic knocking. Mr. Zhao sprang from his chair, his coat falling off, not bothering with his clothes as he hastily wiped his mouth and rushed to the door.
Zhu Xingxing was standing at the door with a huge pile of breakfast, unable to open the door. Mr. Zhao quickly took the stuff from him and yelled into the room.
"Nobody sleep anymore, get up and eat first!"
At the shout, one by one, the sleepy people all got up. Seeing the boxed meals, no further words were needed; they each grabbed one and started eating.
Mr. Zhao was just about to eat when the door sounded, and Liu Yongxin and Peng Shinian walked in. Mr. Zhao turned around and glared at everyone.
"Who’s got such a big mouth, telling Mr. Liu stuff?"
Peng Shinian got a fright and looked around at everyone, sensing that this was not about starting a quarrel. Liu Yongxin patted Mr. Zhao’s shoulder and quickly said:
"Don’t yell at them. I had to ask Director Xu something this morning. He’s the one who let slip, it’s got nothing to do with them. Tell me, how’s Zhou Ning?"
Mr. Zhao sighed and glanced at Xia Momo’s desk.
"The surgery ended a little after four in the morning. He’s still not out of danger. Zhou Ning’s grandparents have been sent home. We’ve got people patrolling at home, and Mr. Qu has been checking the surveillance all night. We couldn’t find out when he hid in the bushes at the park, nor identify any means of transportation.
The thoracic surgery specialist, Elder Cao, said that there was wear on one of the three angles on the arrow that entered Zhou Xiaozhou’s chest. We went back to Zhou Ning’s place again and found a mark on the door. We think it might have been that which changed its trajectory, otherwise, this time, Zhou Xiaozhou really would have been in big trouble."
Zhu Xingxing poked Mr. Zhao, who sighed again.
"So, you’re saying we still don’t know who’s trying to kill Zhou Ning?"
Everyone fell silent, and Mr. Zhao glanced around and nodded.
"Mr. Liu, don’t be anxious. When we came back from Xinghua, Zhou Ning said he had a nightmare. He dreamt that he and Xia Momo were going home at night, saw someone at the window, and he told Xia Momo to call the police while he chased after them. Then the result was him getting shot, and the house was blown up, no one escaped.
Because of this dream, he had Mr. Qu install the most advanced alarm systems in both his homes. Perhaps it was because of that, the person who hurt Zhou Xiaozhou didn’t intrude maliciously, but just lay in wait around their house until he returned at night before they attacked.
The first arrow, because of Zhou Xiaozhou’s sudden movement, hit the security door and ricocheted. Zhou Xiaozhou reacted quickly, opening the door and rushing inside. We found a scratch on the door, and I guess the second arrow’s path was altered because of the door, and at the same time, Zhou Ning closed the door."
Liu Yongxin patted his chest, looking quite relieved.
"It’s just an external injury. After surgery, he should be awake by now, right?"
Mr. Zhao sighed, knowing Liu Yongxin was worried, and quickly said:
"We found that arrow at the scene and sent it to the lab for poison analysis. After all, Doctor He felt that Zhou Ning’s various symptoms weren’t just from external injuries but seemed to include toxic elements as well. After testing, it turned out to be a kind of neurotoxin. We immediately sent the lab report to Doctor He.
"They dealt with it promptly, but it probably still requires some time to be completely cleared, so Zhou Xiaozhou has not yet woken up. But Mr. Liu, don’t worry. Everyone who counts in Qindao was there yesterday – Mr. Xia and Mr. Hu were there the whole time, and the treatment was very timely."
Liu Yongxin let out a breath, but his face didn’t relax.
"Mr. Qu is studying the surveillance?"
"Hmm, the new fingerprint lock we installed has a camera feature. It caught part of the assailant’s image, but because the surrounding environment was too dark it’s hard to distinguish. Mr. Qu is working on enhancing that footage, and we’re also further investigating the surrounding vehicles. What’s frustrating is that no vehicles were observed coming down from the mountain after the incident."
Liu Yongxin walked over to the side of the neighborhood and patted his shoulder.
"Don’t feel pressured. The assailant is so professional, I think they had their escape route planned out well in advance. Check any location not covered by surveillance cameras, then link those spots together and see if it forms an escape route. Let’s try tracing it back."
Liu Yongxin’s words made Mr. Qu’s eyes light up. He turned and ran to the computer, starting to work. But it wouldn’t be quick since they had to calculate the ranges covered by the existing cameras, one by one.
Peng Shinian coughed and raised his hand. Liu Yongxin waved him off.
"Speak up if you’ve got an idea!"
Peng Shinian leaned in, pushing up his glasses.
"I can’t butt in while you guys are talking, but Mr. Zhao said the arrow had a neurotoxin. May I know what kind of neurotoxin it was?"
Mr. Zhao slapped his thigh, suddenly remembering this poet, whom Zhou Ning had insisted on bringing in – a double PhD with extraordinary capabilities. He quickly went to his computer, opened the lab report, and made room for him to view.
"Here’s the poison detection report. Take a look for yourself, I don’t really understand if this stuff is dangerous or not."
Peng Shinian moved closer to the report, scrutinized it carefully, and saw the test result labeled PSP[1]. His face suddenly changed color, and seeing his expression, Mr. Zhao tensed up.
"Don’t pull that face, what’s going on? Tell us!" freeweɓnovel.cѳm
PSP[1]: Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP)
