Immortality of the dead

Chapter 15

"Then perhaps he wasn't seeking revenge against Shanghai."

“This makes it even harder to judge.” Liang Yingwu sighed. “This is not our area of expertise. It seems that cooperation with the police is necessary. Please keep a close eye on things here as well. If you find anything unusual, please let me know immediately.”

In the end, I didn't reveal the attack. Without any clues, you can't catch the attacker, and telling them wouldn't have been useful. I didn't think it was a useful clue; revealing it would only make things more bizarre.

Perhaps it really is a warning.

Of course, I didn't tell Liang Yingwu about He Xi's matter either, as I thought she wouldn't be involved.

He Xi didn't come. Was she with Van Heller? I listened to a few jazz songs in vain; the decadent music did nothing to help my current state. I pushed open the door and went to another bar next door. This "BABYFACE" was one of the most popular places on this street. I was pushed and shoved by people all around me, their bodies reflected in the flickering lights, their eyes glazed over, their breaths hot.

But I still feel lonely.

A profound sense of loneliness gripped me, a feeling amplified by the sight of everyone around me reveling in pleasure. I walked into the street, gazing at the city. Perhaps this is what apocalyptic sentiment feels like, I thought.

After 9/11, the United States declared it war. Using the Fanci virus as a weapon to attack Shanghai would have far more devastating consequences than the two collapsed skyscrapers. How many people would die? Thousands? No, definitely more. The first person infected in Xinjingyuan was an elderly man who rarely moved around in the initial days and never left the community, resulting in the infection of three buildings. Just think about it: just by spreading the virus on the subway, how many tens of thousands of passengers would Shanghai's subway system carry in a day? How many people would the infected person come into contact with during the 48-hour peak period—their family, colleagues, even strangers… what would that number be? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? How many of my friends would survive? Could I even survive myself?

What determines the lives of these people? A one in ten chance?

Nostradamus's prophecies of humanity's destruction in 1997, followed by the end of the world in 2000, seemed utterly unbelievable at the time, but a strange feeling still lingered deep inside. Now, the destruction of this city has a one in ten chance! Even I, who pride myself on my courage, can't help but tremble.

Liang Yingwu told me this one-tenth, perhaps hoping I could do something, even if it only increased the probability to 9.99%. But I had absolutely no idea what I could do. I couldn't help with tracking down the virus knight; my daily routine was home—Xinjingyuan—bar—home. How could I possibly discover anything like that?

On my way home, I received an unexpected phone call. It was from Du Qin, the nurse from Ruijin Hospital whom I had interviewed before.

She asked if I had finished writing the internal report and hoped I could send it to her so she could keep it. As someone who had personally experienced such a thrilling event (at least for her), it's normal to have such thoughts. Unfortunately, I obviously don't have this internal report, nor do I intend to write one for her. There are many crucial details that she is clearly not suited to know.

I could only cover it up with another lie, saying that the internal documents were classified and could not be shown to her.

She seemed a little disappointed, and I could only apologize in my heart.

She ended by mentioning He Xi, in a way that surprised me greatly.

"Is your friend alright? She's the lady who came with you last time."

"Huh?" I was completely confused.

"I saw her at the hospital this evening. She didn't look well and seemed worried about something. I'm sorry, you didn't know I was being too talkative," she apologized over the phone.

"No, thank you for telling me."

What was she doing at Ruijin Hospital again? I wondered after hanging up the phone.

Did she make a new discovery about Cheng Gen and Cheng Weiping? What have I overlooked? What could be making her look so pale?

I went to Ruijin Hospital early this morning. I need to find out what He Xi is doing. But if I just go and ask her directly, given her uncooperative attitude, I won't get any results.

To my surprise, Dr. Lin said that He Xi hadn't contacted him. What's going on? Weren't Dr. Lin and Du Qin the only people He Xi spoke to at this hospital? Could she be investigating something without considering these two people?

"Where was He Xi going when you saw her yesterday?" I asked Du Qin after I found her.

"In the outpatient hall, she should have finished her appointment and was walking out."

"What? You've finished your doctor's visit?"

"I think so, I saw her holding her medical record card."

I immediately realized I had been misled. It was her first time in Shanghai, and if she needed medical treatment, she would indeed choose Ruijin Hospital, a hospital she had visited before and which had a very high reputation.

What illness does she have? That should be her privacy, right? It's not really appropriate to investigate... This thought only flashed through my mind for a moment before disappearing.

Given my relationship with Du Qin and Dr. Lin, it was impossible for them to help me access other people's medical records. I found Lao He, who readily agreed, made me some tea, and told me to wait patiently in his office.

Nowadays, every patient has a simple computer record in the hospital. As long as someone helps, it is not difficult to look it up. At most, you can ask the doctor in the relevant department.

However, Lao He didn't return for almost an hour.

“Your friend had a ton of tests done yesterday morning, all of them expedited and needed results that day. I had to go to so many departments to figure it out,” Lao He said.

"Oh dear, you've gone through so much trouble. So what is she..." My heart sank. What could possibly require so many tests?

"Actually, she's not sick. She's probably just too sensitive about her body and didn't have any experience before. She's pregnant."

"Pregnant?" I was stunned. I had made countless guesses, but I never imagined that she was pregnant.

"Yes, it's only been two or three weeks. Most people wouldn't feel anything after such a short time, which is why I said she's sensitive."

Even if I had heard that He Xi had Fan syndrome and was about to die, it wouldn't have shocked me this much.

Fan Zhe has been in a coma for over three months, and he's always treated He Xi like a younger sister; they most likely haven't even had a physical relationship yet. Given He Xi's personality, how could she possibly be with anyone else? Could it be forced?

After exchanging a few words with Lao He, I said goodbye and left. As I walked out of the hospital, the thought that "He Xi was raped" hissed in my mind like a venomous snake, and I couldn't suppress it.

Two or three weeks, which, chronologically speaking, is around the time she arrived in Shanghai. It's impossible that it happened afterward; she's always...

I suddenly stopped in my tracks, as if someone was shouting something behind me, but I was completely shocked by my own thoughts. Everything around me seemed like another world, completely unrelated to me.

He Xi's first night in Shanghai was spent with me! In the same room, on the same bed, we both got drunk!

My child? Could it be that it was actually my child?!

A sudden, inexplicable impulse made me rush, even jog, towards the hospital exit. I had to find her and get to the bottom of things!

I ran faster and faster, and I could hear the wind whistling past my ears. People around me were looking at me with strange eyes.

What are they wondering? Is someone running wildly down the street? This isn't even my fastest speed. At this moment, I need to let loose, to unleash all my energy!

Joy, distress, or confusion? I was completely unprepared. While I was indeed utterly captivated by He Xi, what the hell was this? What the hell was all this nonsense!

A pedestrian blocked my way, and I quickly went around him, but more and more people blocked my path. I had no choice but to slow down and finally stop.

"What are you doing?" I snapped, shaking off an arm that was trying to grab my collar.

That's when I heard the loud shouts from behind.

"stop!"

As soon as I turned around, I was tackled to the ground by several people who had caught up from behind.

I fought back fiercely, but was immediately struck several times hard. These men were all quite skilled.

"Behave yourself," one of them yelled.

Why were they talking like that? Then I realized they were all wearing police uniforms.

I gave up resisting, my face turned to the side as I was forced to the ground and quickly handcuffed. Then, a man came running up, panting. My face was pressed against the cold ground, and a pair of rough cotton shoes stood beside him. I couldn't see his face clearly, only that he pointed at me and said, "This is him!"

The police car arrived quickly, and I was pushed into it. I had ridden in police cars many times before, but this was the first time I had been handcuffed.

"Why are you arresting me?" I asked the police officer in the car.

"Stop pretending to be stupid!" one of them scoffed.

“I really don’t know. You have to give a reason for arresting people. I’m a reporter for the Morning Star. I haven’t done anything illegal.”

"Oh ho, a reporter, huh? You know perfectly well what you're doing. If you didn't break the law, why were you running around so enthusiastically?"

"What was that just now..." I was speechless. It was indeed difficult to explain my situation to the police officers.

"Speechless now? Come on, tell me the truth when we get to the station!" After saying that, the policeman ignored me.

"Name."

"That's a lot."

"gender."

"man."

I sat on a wooden chair, facing two policemen, one on my left and one on my right.

"Profession."

"A reporter from the Morning Star."

Do you know why you were arrested?

"I don't know. I haven't done anything illegal."

Why did you resist arrest and try to escape when they tried to apprehend you?

“I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings at the time. I needed to get home quickly because of a personal matter. When I realized that the police were arresting me, I stopped resisting. I did not resist arrest.”

"What private matter?"

...

"Unwilling to talk?" The policeman on my left gave me a stare.

"Do you know Cheng Gen?" the policeman on my right asked me.

"Cheng Gen?" I didn't expect that the police arresting me was related to Cheng Gen.

"I interviewed a man named Cheng Gen at Ruijin Hospital more than three months ago."

"That's him. Tell me about the interview."

I told the truth.

"So, you saw his son at the time too?"

"Yes."

Have you met Cheng Gen or Cheng Weiping before?

"I've never even heard of it."

"And what happened after that interview?"

"No, I only saw Cheng Weiping."

The two policemen exchanged glances, and the one who asked me smiled at me and said, "Tell me about the next time you saw Cheng Weiping."

"It happened just recently at Tilanqiao Prison. As for what we talked about, there was surveillance footage at the time. I can't tell you the specific reason. I'm currently on a special interview assignment with special approval from the municipal government. The interview with Cheng Weiping that day was related to this, and I can't disclose it to unrelated parties without permission."

The police officer who asked me frowned and asked, "Really?"

“You can check with the city’s publicity department; they will tell you the secrecy level of the interview I’m conducting right now,” I told them calmly.

“I will.” He nodded, tapped his pen on the table, and asked me again, “Are you sure you haven’t seen Cheng Gen since your interview, and that you haven’t seen Cheng Weiping since the time you just mentioned?”

"I'm sure."

"What were you doing from midnight on August 19th to 8 a.m. on August 20th?"

My mouth dropped open; I finally understood why they had brought me here.

"You don't think I stole the organs, do you?" I exclaimed.