Free Web NovelChapter 560: Chapter 530 Awoken_1
Mr. Qu quickly turned the laptop around, displaying an announcement from Ocean University.
"We found that this laboratory used to be a branch of Ocean University’s biological laboratory, but since the graduate department moved out, the lab has been abandoned. This is an announcement from Ocean University in 2011, stating that any subsequent research and experiments conducted here would be unrelated to Ocean University. However, they didn’t make any official changes.
I checked our country’s regulations, and such a biological laboratory is subject to a reassessment every two years, so whether it’s temporarily rented or whatever, the previous status has not been updated, and we can’t find any information online."
Liu Yongxin dialed Xu Dayuan’s phone, and after five or six rings without an answer, just as Liu Yongxin was growing puzzled, the door alarm at the entrance went off.
Liu Yongxin hung up the call and waved at Mr. Zhao. Mr. Zhao ran cheerfully over, opened the door, and turned off the alarm on the door access system.
"Just as we were talking about him, the leader arrives!"
Xu Dayuan cleared his throat twice, without any small talk, and headed straight for Liu Yongxin. Wiping his hands behind him, he eagerly asked,
"So, what have we found?"
"...The situation is like this, we’ve concluded that the assailant is quite tall, between 180-185 cm, of average build, has an old injury below the left knee, and walks quickly with the left foot turning outwards, suggesting a left-handed person. DNA, cigarette butts, and other remains are in the process of analysis. No fingerprints were found on the cigarette butts, which means gloves were likely worn.
Regarding the lab, I think it’s necessary to make a trip there. On the way to Ocean University, we can inquire about the lab’s withdrawal with the relevant person in charge, then head straight to the crime scene to see if any traces are left behind, who’s currently in charge, and whether there are any records of illegal operation or use of PSP.
The amount of PSP extracted and the need for immediate freezing to preserve it are essential conditions. Per Peng Shinian and Cui Lili’s analysis, we initially thought the arrows were soaked in poison, but later we found that the poison on the arrowheads was in a dry state, with sponge-like voids, suggesting that the poison was mixed with an adhesive and applied to the arrowheads, then freeze-dried."
Xu Dayuan had an epiphany.
"I see, you mean the perpetrator may have applied the poison in the lab and then processed it by freeze-drying, but this freeze-drying is very slow, taking at least several hours, even more than a dozen."
Liu Yongxin nodded.
"Yes, we’ve also checked that, even high-grade lab freeze-dryers would need about ten hours to complete such a process, which implies the murderer might need to spend a considerable amount of time around the lab.
Moreover, the arrows need to be vacuum-sealed and only unpacked and assembled right before use. However, we haven’t found any information about the crossbow arrows, considering they’re banned for use in our country. The arrowheads do show signs of polishing, but the patterns are regular and the welding points are extremely tight, unlike those that are crudely handmade."
Xu Dayuan squinted his eyes.
"It seems that this person might be a professional hitman. I wonder if he’s related to Fang Jinquan or to Wang Guanli?"
...
In the ICU ward of the hospital.
The incessant beeping was noisy, and Zhou Ning wanted to yell at someone to turn that thing off, but when he tried to speak, nothing came out. After several attempts, he slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was filled with white, and numerous tubes and machines surrounded him. Something was blocking his mouth, preventing him from speaking, and his limbs seemed to be restrained. At that moment, Zhou Ning’s mind was a mix of confusion and fear.
He remembered collapsing right at his doorstep. Someone had shot him or done something – he was struck and fell to the ground. This all seemed to overlap with a previous dream; he could no longer distinguish if it was his dream or reality.
As he struggled, the beeping of the machines grew more frantic, and Zhou Ning’s consciousness became clearer. It seemed he wasn’t in a dangerous environment after all – it looked more like a hospital.
A hospital?
Could it be that the danger had passed?
Zhou Ning closed his eyes, trying to recall, but his mind was blank. Apart from the nightmares, or the nightmarish attacks, everything else was chaos.
Just then, hurried footsteps and the sound of a door opening reached him. A few people surrounded Zhou Ning, and upon seeing one of the anxious and familiar faces, the gates of Zhou Ning’s memory seemed to fling open.
With a thud, the chaos dispersed. Zhou Ning’s eyes flew open, and memories flooded in like a tide threatening to drown him. With his mouth open, he couldn’t breathe.
He Shancun panicked, slapping Zhou Ning’s face.
"Zhou Ning, don’t scare me. Everything is normal, isn’t it? What’s wrong, has the toxin spread? Quick, I need the latest lab results!"
Maybe it was the two slaps, or perhaps his brain was functioning normally again, but Zhou Ning took two deep breaths. Everyone stopped what they were doing, and the moisturizing gauze on his mouth was also moved aside. With effort, Zhou Ning said,
"Water!"
The word was barely out before Zhou Ning found it hard to believe this hoarse voice was his own.
He Shancun looked up to see a nurse holding a cotton swab, ready to moisten Zhou Ning’s lips. Zhou Ning stared with effort, turning his face away. He Shancun instantly understood, hurriedly grabbed a cup with a straw and carefully brought it to Zhou Ning’s lips.
Zhou Ning took a few sips of water, his facial expression quite grim; clearly, even this small movement caused him immense throat pain. While he was drinking, He Shancun had already reviewed the data, visibly relaxing a bit.
"Your throat hurts, right? It’s no surprise after having been intubated for breathing. You’ve gone through an open-chest surgery to remove the arrowhead that was inserted close to your heart and aorta. On top of that, the paralyzing shellfish poison, PSP, was on the arrowhead. It’s a medical miracle that you were able to be resuscitated. Can you move your fingers and toes?"
Feeling a chill at his feet, Zhou Ning guessed that the blankets had been peeled away. It wasn’t just his legs; he could feel his body was devoid of any knitted fabric save for the tubes. To minimize exposure, Zhou Ning could only cooperate and moved slightly.
Shancun inspected Zhou Ning’s chest where the surgery was conducted and only then did Zhou Ning start to feel pain with every breath he took.
Shancun, his face flushed with excitement, waved to everyone.
"That’s enough, remove everything else," he said, "He’s out of danger now. See if Xia Momo is outside?"
A host of doctors and nurses, holding blood samples and various items, dispersed. Shancun pulled up a chair and sat beside Zhou Ning, staring at his face and sighed.
"Do you know what day it is today?"
Zhou Ning shook his head. The question confused him as, in his perception, he had just fallen and was now lying in a hospital. Why ask such a question?
Shancun, uncommonly good-tempered, sighed, held up his phone, and showed Zhou Ning the date.
"See? It’s now May 7, 2013, 16:33. You’ve been unconscious for over thirty-six hours. If you didn’t wake up, Xia Momo would have devoured me."
Zhou Ning was surprised; he had not expected to have been unconscious for so long. He certainly did not anticipate that an attack would involve crossbow bolts and potent toxins like PSP, which he recognized as on par with pufferfish poison, and the kind without an antidote.
It seemed his coma was related to this. However, seeing how worried Shancun was, having just slapped himself in exasperation, Zhou Ning, feeling playful, decided to tease him. He feigned confusion and asked weakly,
"You... who are you?"
Shancun startled, swiftly ripped off his mask, revealing a beard-stubbled face, thinner than before, looking as if he hadn’t slept in days. He stood up, bewildered, glancing back and forth from the machines to Zhou Ning, incomprehension on his face.
"You don’t remember me? Do you know who you are?"
Zhou Ning remained silent, simply staring at him. Shancun panicked, tremblingly pulled out his phone, and dialed a number.
"Mr. Fei, it’s Shancun. The Zhou Ning we saved has woken up, but... but it seems he doesn’t recognize me, he’s lost his memory!"
Although the call was not on speaker, Zhou Ning could hear the voice on the other end clearly.
"That’s unexpected, but PSP poisoning cases are rare, and even fewer recover from such a high dosage. It can indeed attack the nervous system. Don’t rush; wait until the patient stabilizes before further treatment, and keep monitoring. Call me with any problems."
Shancun reluctantly agreed a few times before hanging up. Zhou Ning suddenly felt his joke might have gone too far. He moved his fingers, now feeling slightly stronger than right after waking up.
Shancun quickly grabbed his hand, squeezing out a smile, and soothed him gently,
"Don’t worry. It might be residual toxin. We’ll draw some blood to run another test soon, and if needed, we can dialyze. Xia Momo is your fiancée, remember that, right?"
Shancun winked vigorously at Zhou Ning, as if suggesting that even if he didn’t remember, he should pretend to.
Just as Zhou Ning was about to speak, Xia Momo had come over. Seeing Zhou Ning’s eyes open, she burst into tears. She looked him over and could only grasp the hand with the monitoring clip on it.
"Zhou Ning, you’re awake. Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
Zhou Ning shook his head, pulling his hand free from Shancun to reach for Xia Momo. However, such a movement tugged at his wound, making him groan.
"I’m not uncomfortable. Have I slept for a long time?"
Xia Momo leaned in, letting Zhou Ning’s hand touch her face, and nodded firmly.
"You’ve slept for such a long time. I’ve been very worried, but now that you’re awake, it’s okay. What would you like to eat? Can Mr. He eat something?" ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Zhou Ning shook his head. He wasn’t hungry at all, not sure if his long sleep was to blame, but he felt no hunger pains in his stomach. His mouth felt uncomfortable, and his throat even worse, hoarse and as if it was shredded inside.
"Not hungry, I want to brush my teeth."
Facing Zhou Ning’s whimsical demands upon waking up and that glance when he didn’t seem to recognize him, Shancun was speechless and didn’t want to scare Xia Momo. The family had been scared enough these past few days. He raised his hand to signal a pause in their conversation.
"Big heart you have, thinking of brushing teeth. Can you sit up now? Okay, now that you’ve seen Zhou Ning awake, you can rest easy. Prepare some liquid diet for him, nothing too greasy—soup and porridge are good. I still need to conduct a series of checks on him."
Xia Momo didn’t fuss. She caressed Zhou Ning’s face, smiling with dimples showing.
"Rest for a bit, I’ll go prepare something to eat. How about seafood porridge? I’ll stew the seafood into a mush; that counts as a liquid diet, right?"
Seeing Shancun nod, Xia Momo quickly left.
Shancun hurried to examine Zhou Ning again. His phone rang, and upon checking the message, he looked even more puzzled.
"This is very strange. There’s barely any toxin left. Why hasn’t your memory returned?"
