Free Web NovelChapter 662: Chapter 630: In the Dark Depths_1
Mr. Zhao saluted He Shancun.
"Don’t worry, I’ll definitely carry out your command... no, I mean the doctor’s orders."
Mr. He snorted and walked toward the door.
"I’ll have someone keep an eye on him. I’m going to get some sleep. Dammit, it’s been three days since I’ve even blinked."
As he said this, he left. Mr. Zhao went to prepare some food, while Xia Momo held Zhou Ning’s hand, still massaging him. At this moment, Zhou Ning’s mind was incredibly clear. Thinking it over, he asked with a hint of confusion:
"What did Mr. He just say, I’ve been unconscious for four days?"
Xia Momo nodded her head, looking like she was about to cry, so Zhou Ning quickly comforted her:
"Don’t cry, it feels like I just took a nap. Tell me what exactly happened?"
With that, Xia Momo shifted her attention, losing her tearful composure, and after thinking for a bit, she said:
"We don’t know what happened. That day after we had dinner and left the restaurant, you started hustling us to get a taxi back. I thought you were going to do something with Mr. Zhao, so I didn’t ask much. We had just arrived at the hotel when we got a call from Mr. Zhao saying that you both went to the hospital.
When we asked upon arrival, we found out that you two had gone to a building that was being demolished. It’s not clear if you saw something or were somehow triggered, but you just fainted on the spot. Mr. Zhao rushed you to the hospital in a panic. The doctors here were at a loss, so Director Xu got in touch with Mr. He, who came over with a few specialists.
Even Doctor Shi Tianxiao was brought in. Mr. Zhao has been insisting that you didn’t faint because of a sudden illness but due to a psychological stimulus. It seemed to be related to seeing that building. What exactly caused your fainting?"
Zhou Ning shook his head and gave Xia Momo a gentle smile.
It’s not like he could say that the system had abandoned him, and perhaps his unconsciousness was due to severing ties with the system and the resulting memory retrieval. If he weren’t so determined, he might never have woken up again.
"How would I know? Maybe it’s just fatigue. After all, we’ve been exerting ourselves these past days, what with the free travel, continuous mountain climbing, high-intensity dissections, and accompanying the full archaeological survey.
After all that exhaustion, I might have been fine in Qindao, but here the altitude is higher and the oxygen consumption is different, so it’s not surprising that my body couldn’t take it. Don’t worry about me, but I don’t want to drink plain water. Get me something with flavor, will you?"
Xia Momo nodded in agreement. She, too, felt that Zhou Ning was probably just exhausted. He always worked like a madman, and with the different oxygen consumption here, it was normal for his body to give out, especially since he woke up without feeling anything particularly wrong.
"The convenience store downstairs only has sugary drinks that aren’t nutritious. Wait till Mr. Zhao gets back; I’ll run to the supermarket and get various fruits and a juicer. I’ll make you fresh juice. That should be okay, right?"
Zhou Ning nodded his head.
"My clothes..."
"Don’t worry, from the inside out, your clothes have been changed daily, teeth brushed, face washed, and body wiped. I did it all myself without letting anyone else touch you. Is that alright now?"
Zhou Ning gave a mischievous smile.
"Did you wipe everywhere?"
Xia Momo raised her fist, though she still didn’t have the heart to let it fall.
"You just keep joking, hanging out with Mr. Zhao too long has made your mouth just as cheeky." fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
"What are you saying about me?"
Mr. Zhao, holding several food containers, was already standing behind Xia Momo, looking confused.
Xia Momo stood up, snorted, and handed the water cup to Mr. Zhao.
"You stay here with him. I’m going to the supermarket and might as well take a shower and change my clothes on the way. Zhou Ning wants freshly squeezed juice, so I’m going to buy some stuff."
Mr. Zhao clicked his tongue.
"Such fuss. Ms. Xia, let’s not go!"
Xia Momo laughed, and just as she opened the door, she saw Xu Dayuan coming in. She greeted him and hurried off, knowing well that the whole trip would indeed take several hours.
Seeing Zhou Ning, who had managed to sit up in bed, Xu Dayuan heaved a long sigh of relief.
"Good that you’re awake; we’ve been scared to death these past few days. Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere else?"
Zhou Ning shook his head, then patted his stomach.
"Besides being hungry, there’s nothing wrong."
Xu Dayuan looked around and noticed Zhao Xinli leaning by the door, seemingly observing something with great vigilance.
"I say, kid, what are you looking at so intently?"
Mr. Zhao shut the door, and with a click, he even locked it.
He then hurried over to Xu Dayuan. Seeing Mr. Zhao’s series of actions, Xu Dayuan was surprised but promptly pulled over a chair for him. He knew Mr. Zhao might be unreliable at times, but in crucial moments his sharpness was definitely enough, and he said nothing to Zhou Ning.
"What’s up?"
"Just now, Zhou Xiaozhou sent Xia Momo away. I figure there must be some things he doesn’t want to tell Xia Momo. Come on, eat some first, and while you’re at it, tell us. There must be a reason for your collapse, right?"
Xu Dayuan turned abruptly, looking at Zhou Ning.
Zhou Ning nodded slightly, he indeed had sent Xia Momo away, but just like Mr. Zhao had said, he was now so hungry that he was shaking all over and even if he wanted to, he couldn’t speak.
Seeing Mr. Zhao lay out the porridge and side dishes and starting to eat eagerly, one bowl of pumpkin and millet porridge, sweet and soft, and another bowl of lean meat and preserved egg congee, the thick kind, not the watery kind, plus extremely tender fried eggs, Zhou Ning did not skimp on his meal.
Xu Dayuan took a look and couldn’t help swallowing a gulp of saliva, after all, Zhou Ning was eating so deliciously.
"I say, I’ve come all this way, and I’m just going to sit here watching you eat, right? Isn’t that a bit too much for someone who’s trying to control their sugar and lose weight? I’m telling you, it’s only because you’ve just come out of a coma, otherwise, I would definitely throw you out right now."
After Zhou Ning had finished eating, Mr. Zhao cleaned up and handed him mouthwash and an empty paper cup.
"Make do, hurry up and rinse your mouth, talk about the earlier issue. If you make a fuss about brushing your teeth, Director Xu will throw you out right now."
Zhou Ning nodded, he knew he shouldn’t overdo it, and after rinsing his mouth, he felt much more comfortable. ƒrēewebnovel.com
"I don’t know why I fainted."
Xu Dayuan stood up, folded his arms, and tried his best to restrain his anger.
Mr. Zhao stopped Xu Dayuan with one hand and pressed down to calm him.
"What’s the rush, keep your cool, leader. Let him talk, whatever’s the matter, just wait until he’s recovered and then we can settle it with one good scolding. Zhou Xiaozhou, don’t gasp for breath, go on, you sent Xia Momo away just to talk to me about something, didn’t you?"
Zhou Ning rubbed his nose and hurriedly said:
"When I passed by that demolition residential building, I felt like it was familiar. I called Mr. Zhao to take a closer look. As soon as we went in and I saw the light at the guard’s place, I could confirm that this place was my former home.
All my memories, like floodgates being opened, came rushing in. I don’t know what happened, but I relived that night’s events over and over in my head. I could see the two men behind Wang Guanli. Then I ran towards the light with difficulty, unable to shout or move, and the next thing I knew, I opened my eyes in the hospital."
Xu Dayuan quickly sat down.
"You mean, you recognized the other two men who took part in the massacre of your family with Wang Guanli?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"One looked very familiar, with squinty eyes, a face full of pockmarks, and yellow hair, but I can’t remember where I’ve seen this person before. Of course, they might have been in disguise."
Mr. Zhao’s eyes widened, only now realizing what Zhou Ning meant and pointed out the window, not speaking for a long while before saying:
"That residential area, is that the home you talked about before? This is in Ganzhou City. I thought your parents had a problem in some city in Ludong. Are you certain it’s this neighborhood?"
Zhou Ning was silent, and Xu Dayuan sighed before speaking:
"Alright, since you’re so certain, I won’t hide it from you guys anymore. Didn’t Mr. Hu promise you before that, after that case in Xinghua City, he would seriously investigate your parents’ files? He used all the connections he could use, but the information found was very scarce.
From the archives of previous years, your parents might have been from the National Security Department. On January 1, 1995, in Ganzhou City, Longyou Province, a vicious incident occurred. A family of three was murdered in the family compound of the Ganzhou City People’s Hospital.
The male was the deputy head of the Ganzhou City Criminal Police Brigade, Mr. Zhou, the female was an internal medicine doctor at the Ganzhou City People’s Hospital, Mrs. Bai, and the boy was a third-grade student at the Ganzhou City Third Elementary School, Mr. Zhou. As for the details of the incident and more thorough information, all of that is left blank.
Although the data is incomplete, through various verifications, the deputy head of the Criminal Police Brigade was confirmed to be your father, Zhou Xiangrong. However, for a cross-provincial case, to investigate the details within without alerting the locals is almost impossible."
Mr. Zhao blinked his small eyes, showing a horrified expression.
If what Xu Dayuan said was true, then was all the investment in Ganzhou City because of Zhou Ning?
"My goodness, does that mean the support plan was decided upon because of Zhou Ning?"
Xu Dayuan shook his head very firmly, not just to comfort Zhou Ning.
"The support plan has been there for a long time and was indeed meant to help Longyou Province, but which specific city to support hadn’t been confirmed within the city. We got the news and contacted Mr. Xia Shouchang, the mayor, who happened to be in charge of this matter, and then the plan ensued. Of course, it was led by Qin University.
"Don’t feel pressured. The fact that things have come to this point here is not because of you. The massive investment by Qin University and Qindao City was only slightly adjusted by us. The city initially leaned more towards Jiuquan City, but they don’t lack support in the area of technology, so choosing Ganzhou was unanimously passed."
Zhou Ning then nodded, feeling somewhat less anxious in his heart, but because of his parents’ affair, Mr. Hu had been alerted, and even Xia Momo’s father had been involved, stoking such a big fuss.
Moreover, coincidentally, the final destination of their trip turned out to be this pit, as if everything was predestined.
Mr. Zhao was already too anxious; he leaned in close to Zhou Ning, urging:
"Don’t beat around the bush, hurry up and say, do you still remember the two people who came with Wang Guanli?"
Zhou Ning nodded.
"I remember."
"Then why didn’t you let Xia Momo draw them when she was here?"
Zhou Ning shut his mouth, not knowing why at that moment, he just didn’t want to talk to Xia Momo about it.
"I don’t know. I just suddenly felt like Director Xu’s trip to Ganzhou might have to do with my parents’ case. I wanted to confirm with Director Xu first. By the way, about the files that Director Xu took earlier, are there any leads?"
