No wonder people online say "hug" to comfort others these days. A hug really can bring a sense of peace.
Next to arrive was Zhan Jing. When Zhan Jing arrived, Chen Xu and Guan Yi were still embracing. Upon seeing Zhan Jing, they both hurriedly stepped aside in surprise. Zhan Jing's beautiful eyes swept over them meaningfully before she asked, "How is Wu Yuan?"
Next, Gao Xiaojie, Qin Xiaoan, and Lao Dong arrived. After learning the outcome, Gao Xiaojie patted his chest and said, "Luckily, I didn't dare tell Bixuan. If she knew about this, wouldn't she be terrified?"
She had barely finished speaking when she noticed the expressions of the people in front of her froze, all eyes fixed on what was behind her. Gao Xiaojie sensed something was wrong and turned around to see Tang Bixuan standing there in the back corridor, tears streaming down her beautiful face: "Wu Yuan, how is he?"
It turns out that when Chen Xu sent the text message to everyone, Gao Xiaojie and Tang Bixuan were busy in the cake shop. When they saw the shocking words in the message, Gao Xiaojie couldn't help but exclaim, "Wu Yuan is in trouble?!" This was overheard by Tang Bixuan, who was standing nearby. Although Gao Xiaojie gave a vague answer, Bixuan wasn't stupid... This girl, though not good at expressing herself and somewhat introverted and shy, wasn't foolish.
So, no sooner had Gao Xiaojie left than she followed him. Once inside the hospital, she inquired and immediately learned the whole story.
Seeing Tang Bixuan crying her heart out, the group immediately panicked. Guan Yi and Zhan Jing tried to pull her aside and whisper words of comfort, but to no avail. Chen Xu and the others were also feeling incredibly heavy-hearted at the moment, so they couldn't possibly crack any jokes to cheer her up.
For Chen Xu, Qin Xiao'an, Dong Qingjie, and Wu Yuan, although the four roommates had only known each other for less than a year, their bond was already very strong. After all, they had lived and eaten together for the past six months, shared mischievous moments, looked after each other, and gotten along very well, so their relationship was truly comparable to that of blood brothers.
So everyone was very nervous about Wu Yuan's injury. Chen Xu and the others were in no mood to comfort Tang Bixuan.
Thankfully, the operating room light finally turned green, the surgery was over, and the doctors came out. Chen Xu and his companions rushed over immediately: "Doctor, how is my friend? Is he alright?!" Their facial muscles were contorted with anxiety as they said this, terrified the doctor would say, "I'm sorry, we did our best..."
Fortunately, the lead doctor said, "The bullet didn't hit any vital organs; it was just excessive bleeding. The surgery was successful; the shrapnel has been removed, the wound has been stitched up, and the patient is now out of danger."
Hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Qin Xiao'an collapsed to the ground, shouting "Thank God!" Gao Xiaojie and Guan Yi couldn't help but shed tears. Tang Bixuan, who hadn't blinked since the doctor came out, finally felt relieved upon hearing this and fainted, causing another flurry of activity.
There was a doctor nearby who came over to examine her and said, "It's alright, she's fine. She's just overly stressed. She'll be fine after some rest."
"Thank you, thank you everyone." Chen Xu kept thanking them, almost wiping away tears. Guan Yi was quick-witted; perhaps she had prepared in advance, because she secretly took out several red envelopes from her bag and slipped them into the hands of the doctors and nurses.
Right next to them was Captain Xu from the Criminal Investigation Brigade, but Captain Xu pretended not to see it, letting Guan Yi smile as he stuffed red envelopes into the pockets of these people.
Chen Xu couldn't help but feel that Guan Yi's thinking was very thoughtful. He had been so upset earlier that he hadn't been able to think about anything. He knew that such things were quite common in hospitals, and Chen Xu felt that any amount of money was worthwhile to heal his boss's injured body and soul.
Sure enough, the doctor's attitude became much warmer after the red envelope was given. Although the surgery, which lasted for more than an hour, was tiring, the doctor patiently explained, "The patient's anesthesia has not worn off yet, and he is not fully awake. He needs to rest more. Captain Xu, I think it's better to ask questions tomorrow."
Captain Xu nodded: "Okay, no problem. But can I take a look at that piece of shrapnel now? We need to take it back for testing."
"No problem." The hospital staff were probably already aware of this legal procedure, so a nurse took out a small, transparent lab bag containing a deformed bullet stained with blood.
This damned bullet almost cost the boss his life!
"Let me see!" Before Captain Xu could even take it, Chen Xu snatched it and pressed a button on his watch, actually to let Xiao Min scan the information on the shrapnel. At this moment, Captain Xu smiled wryly and said, "Xiao Chen, what can you possibly see looking like this? Let me take it back for testing."... This was because Chen Xu was very familiar with him; if an ordinary person had such important evidence, what would happen?
Captain Xu took the bullet, frowned, and said to the group, "This matter is very unusual. I hope that if you have time, you can come to our place to make a statement. We need to ask if Wu Yuan has recently made any enemies with anyone."
“That’s unlikely,” Guan Yi said. “We are willing to cooperate with the police, but I think it’s unlikely to be based on a feud. We are just students. Even if there is some deep-seated hatred, at most we would only use a knife. It’s not easy for ordinary people to get a gun, and it’s even less likely that they would use a gun to commit a crime. The target would be too big.”
Captain Xu said, "We actually know that, but we just don't want to overlook any clues. The shooting is definitely not a small matter. Our personnel have already gone to the scene to conduct an investigation and look for any possible witnesses. During this time, I hope you will also be vigilant and careful. I will arrange for officers to guard Wu Yuan here, so you don't need to worry about that."
Chen Xu walked to the side and secretly glanced at his watch when no one was looking. He was shocked when he saw Xiao Min's analysis.
Just as I suspected!
Chen Xu walked over and said, "Uncle Xu, I have something to say." Looking at the bag containing the bullet in Captain Xu's hand, Chen Xu said, word by word, "The size of this bullet should be that of a 7.62mm caliber Type 54 pistol. And as far as I know, just the day before, Yi Shuihan, the chairman of Shanghai S Company, was shot, and the attacker also used a pistol of this model and caliber!"
Chen Xu's eyes practically blazed with fury: "I believe this is absolutely not a coincidence! The perpetrator of these two shootings must be the same person!"
Chapter 187 Guan Yi's Deduction
Once a connection is made between the two shootings, things become more complicated.
Why would the people who attacked Yi Shuihan attack Wu Yuan? If their attack on Yi Shuihan might be due to the actions of a secret agent, then their attack on Wu Yuan makes absolutely no sense... In all his life, Wu Yuan has met fewer than two foreigners, and they were mostly tourists. He has never had any dealings with any foreigners!
Why did that black man kill him?!
Captain Xu took the bullet back to the police station for testing, and it was indeed a bullet from a Type 54 pistol. He then requested access to the files on the assassination of Yi Shuihan in Shanghai and discovered that, sure enough, the assassin had also used a Type 54 pistol!
The Type 54 pistol is a Chinese design to counter the Soviet TT1930/1933 pistol. It was finalized in 1954 and remains in use today. Because of the black star on the gun, it is known by the underworld as the "Black Star Pistol."
The May Fourth style of guns was too lethal and could easily injure civilians... There was an incident where someone fired a gun inside a house. The bullet from the Black Star pistol hit the enemy in the head, bounced off the wall, pierced through the head of a second person, ricocheted off the wall again, and finally entered the body of the person who fired the shot... One bullet directly caused the deaths of three people.
This type of black star pistol is now the most common pistol model in China and surrounding areas, and tracing its origin is extremely difficult. This is because 80% of the guns sold by gangs in the surrounding areas and in China are of this model. Just go to any major city train station, and you'll see signs on the toilet walls advertising: "Selling date rape drugs, counterfeit money, black guns..." These black guns are almost always Type 54 pistols.
Therefore, given the widespread circulation of the Type 54 pistol, it would be rather far-fetched to link the assassination attempt on Yi Shuihan in Shanghai with the shooting of Wu Yuan this time.
But Chen Xu was very certain!
Because he thought of a possible motive... for the crime!
If this is indeed a murderer, then there's no way he would have assassinated Yi Shuihan first and then attacked Wu Yuan without a reason. In other words, he must have had a motive for attacking these two people. And Wu Yuan and Yi Shuihan didn't even know each other; in fact, Yi Shuihan might not even know who Wu Yuan was, and Wu Yuan's knowledge of him was limited to newspaper reports.
However, they both have one thing in common... they are both friends of Chen Xu. Or rather, they are both friends of SMMH!
SMMH once helped them!
Chen Xu's intervention with SMMH, while not directly helping Wu Yuan, did involve Wu Yuan's involvement in the game "Jin Yong's Heroes: Rebirth".
That's a very high possibility!
Adding to this, Wu Yuan's last words before he fell unconscious were: "Third brother. Tell everyone to be careful..."
This "everyone" likely refers to the members of the computer interest group—the group that may have had dealings with SMMH!
In that case, everything can be explained logically and clearly.
Why did this person attack Yi Shuihan, and why did he attack Wu Yuan...? It's because he might want to take revenge on SMMH, or he might be using this method to force SMMH to show up!
"Boss, it's all my fault!" Chen Xu slammed his fist against the wall, scraping his knuckles but remaining oblivious. If Wu Yuan were to suffer any harm because of him this time, Chen Xu truly felt he would be utterly culpable, even if he died a hundred times over!
This is extremely serious. As soon as Chen Xu explained his thoughts, Gao Xiaojie's expression turned grim: "That means all of us, everyone involved in this game, could be attacked?"
Gao Xiaojie's grim expression wasn't without reason, nor was it because she panicked upon learning she might be the next target. It was because she was the one who brought out the game, ultimately attracting the help of SMMH, who were nominally friends of her brother, Gao Pan. If anything happened to these people, she felt the greatest responsibility.
Guan Yi frowned and said, "That's just a guess; it might not be true."
Chen Xu shook his head: "This is the only reason I can think of. I hope I'm wrong, but my intuition tells me that this is very likely, extremely likely!"
Zhan Jing took a breath and said, "Even if there's only a one percent chance, we can't take the risk. The other party has a gun and is a cold-blooded killer. We definitely need to be prepared."
But the question is: how do we protect ourselves?
Zhan Jing and Guan Yi exchanged a glance: "Now we'll immediately call all the members of the computer interest group and have them all go to the police station. Chen Xu, you call Principal Zhang. We'll immediately seal off the school, requiring student IDs for entry and exit, and warn students to be careful, because I'm worried that person might target other students!"
Chen Xu and Guan Yi nodded together and quickly took out their phones to make calls.
"Principal Zhang? This is Chen Xu. Yes, Chen Xu from the Computer Science Department. Principal, I have something very important to tell you immediately. One of my roommates was shot and is in the hospital. You heard me right, shot, shot in the abdomen by a handgun. He's been resuscitated but hasn't woken up yet. It's nothing serious! Um, let me finish!" Hearing Principal Zhang's urgent questions on the other end of the phone, Chen Xu had to abruptly interrupt him: "Principal Zhang, although there's no confirmed evidence yet, based on the size of the bullet, we suspect that the attack on Wu Yuan and the attack on Yi Shuihan, the chairman of Shanghai S Company, which happened the day before yesterday, were carried out by the same person! Because both Yi Shuihan and I are under the protection of SMMH! Yes! That's our guess, although there's no evidence, the possibility is very high. In other words, that perverted killer is very likely to continue attacking us. It's the group of people we played games with last time!"
With a "thud," the phone fell to the ground. It's likely that Principal Zhang was so shocked by the news that he couldn't even hold his phone.
Chen Xu quickly said "hello" a few times, and only then did Principal Zhang pick up the phone and say, "No way?! Don't scare me!"
For a university president, nothing is more terrifying than something happening to students on campus, and this is no small matter—it's a shooting!
If the situation Chen Xu described really happens, with multiple students being shot and killed, then he should resign as principal and step down!
"Principal Zhang, don't panic. Issue the order immediately to lock down the school, inform students to be careful, and to travel in groups whenever possible. Also, do not allow any unauthorized personnel to enter the school!"
"Okay, okay, I'll take care of it right away."
"Also, according to the surveillance footage of Yi Shuihan's stabbing, the attacker was a Black man. Have the counselors inform the students that if they see a Black person, they must immediately stay far away. Remember that! I've also called those of us who might be attacked to come to the hospital. We'll go to the police station to ask for police protection, so I'll probably need to take some time off recently. Could you please help me ask for leave?"
What other problems could there be? Principal Zhang wished he could just suspend all these students from school; he really didn't want anything to happen to them while they were at school!
After hanging up the phone, Chen Xu returned to find Gao Xiaojie holding Tang Bixuan, who had just regained consciousness, with tears streaming down her face, unable to say anything.
"It's none of your business, Xiaojie." Tang Bixuan was kind-hearted; she would cry along with others when they cried, so the two girls ended up hugging each other, both crying. Gao Xiaojie kept saying, "It's my fault, it's all my fault."
Gao Xiaojie was blaming herself because her game almost cost Wu Yuan his life. But saying such things at this moment was pointless... The one who felt the most guilty was Chen Xu!
But Chen Xu had just figured it out. He couldn't blame himself; he absolutely couldn't let self-blame cause him to lose his fighting spirit at this moment!
It's like some people who become discouraged after encountering setbacks, while others become stronger with each setback!
Chen Xu had thought it through clearly. He couldn't give up the SMMH identity, which would inevitably bring danger—to himself and to his friends. Since this danger was unavoidable, he needed to keep the name SMMH away from Wu Yuan and Gao Xiaojie for now. And later, when he was qualified to appear in reality, he would never let anyone who crossed him get away with it!
Even now, the most urgent task is to eliminate that assassin. And this time, SMMH absolutely cannot show itself; otherwise, wouldn't that be telling everyone? That SMMH values these people highly? That they are SMMH's Achilles' heel?!
Chen Xu still doesn't know what the killer's purpose is. Was it to force him to appear? Or is it for some other reason?
Even Chen Xu's guess was met with skepticism from Director Wang and his colleagues. However, to prevent a recurrence of tragedy, especially an irreversible one, Director Wang agreed to allow the members of the computer interest group to stay temporarily at the Public Security Bureau.
"I think we'll only know the truth after Wu Yuan wakes up and tells us," Captain Xu, a seasoned veteran, analyzed. "Hexie City isn't a well-known tourist destination, nor is it on the coast. So there aren't many foreigners there, and even fewer Black people. If the killer were truly Black, he would be a very conspicuous target, making his actions inconvenient. So even if he were to strike, he would likely do so at night when no one is around. Although Wu Yuan was shot in the evening, it's almost summer, and it's not dark yet. Why would he choose to strike at that time?"
Guan Yi also said, "There's another problem. When we were making the Jin Yong Heroes series last time, the media coverage was mostly about Gao Xiaojie and Chen Xu, right? Let alone a black man, I think even many students from He Xie University might not recognize Wu Yuan as the person who made the game, right? I think this attack is very strange. If the other party really wanted to do something, their target shouldn't be Wu Yuan."
Chen Xu frowned: "Do you also doubt my speculation?"
Chen Xu had always believed that his relationship with Guan Yi hadn't progressed to the stage of being lovers, but at least they were good friends, or rather, confidants. But now, his confidant had expressed a different opinion, especially when Chen Xu was already troubled. This made Chen Xu feel a pang of discomfort.
"Let me finish." Guan Yi was intelligent and thoughtful, but she differed from Chen Xu in one major way... she was currently viewing things from an outsider's perspective, while Chen Xu himself was SMMH, so his subjective bias was very strong. He could instantly connect the relationship between Yi Shuihan and Wu Yuan to reach this conclusion. However, the others didn't even know Yi Shuihan! So it wasn't surprising that they couldn't think of this aspect.
“I don’t doubt your meaning, but I feel your subjective assumptions are too strong,” Guan Yi said. “Captain Xu just said that it is indeed inconvenient and easy for a black man to move around in our city. Also, what I mean is that if he were to attack, it’s unlikely that he would attack Wu Yuan first. Don’t be hasty. What I mean is, if your speculation is correct, then it means that something must have happened to Wu Yuan before!”
"What could happen?"
Guan Yi's eyes gleamed with confidence: "I'm making this deduction based on your ideas. And Captain Xu isn't wrong either. So I'll assume you're both right. Then I can deduce that before Wu Yuan was attacked, he might have done something, like encountering players who knew him on the street asking for autographs, and that the black man happened to be nearby and overheard it... I don't think we should doubt the black man's Chinese ability. Since he dared to buy a gun and kill someone in China, either he's definitely not alone, or he's absolutely fluent in Chinese, otherwise it would be extremely difficult for him! So I've deduced this, and I've already asked Director Wang to send people to search the area near where Wu Yuan was attacked to see if anyone has seen Wu Yuan or the black man. I believe we'll have results soon."
Looking at Guan Yi's calm and composed smile, the people around her all felt that this woman was really too smart!
Soon, just as Chen Xu finished smoking another cigarette, Captain Xu's phone rang: "Okay, I understand. We'll be right there!"
Captain Xu hung up the phone: "This student was absolutely right. Our comrades have found a small restaurant on Huaihai Road. The proprietress said she saw Wu Yuan this evening, and there was a black man eating there too!"
Chapter 188: Finding the Murderer!
Upon hearing the news, Captain Xu immediately wanted to go to the scene, and Chen Xu immediately said, "I'll go too!"
Captain Xu initially wanted to refuse, but seeing Chen Xu's resolute expression and realizing that Chen Xu had actually guessed correctly, he nodded. Guan Yi followed him into the car.
“I told Zhan Jing that she’s coming to take care of Gao Xiaojie and Bixuan. Let’s go.”
Chen Xu looked at this intelligent woman, said nothing, and simply nodded... To have one true friend in a lifetime is enough!
Police cars roared up to Huaihai Road... Of course, this Huaihai Road isn't Shanghai's very developed commercial street, but rather a fairly bustling street in Hexie City. The area where this street is located also has a name called Chenghuangmiao, which was formerly the site of Hexie City's old town. It is said that there used to be a Chenghuangmiao here, but it was demolished during the Cultural Revolution.
Huaihai Road is filled with a dazzling array of goods. The street is lined with small commodities such as clothes, snacks, flowers, and accessories, as well as mobile phone and audio-visual stores and shops selling pirated computer CDs.
Judging from Wu Yuan's luggage, he had come to a computer store to buy some blank CDs. Chen Xu knew his boss liked to download porn, but his computer hard drive couldn't hold that many, so he had to watch and delete as he went. Some of the better films were too good to delete, so his boss burned them onto CDs for his collection. Little did he know, this would nearly lead to his utter destruction.
After getting out of the police car, Chen Xu and the others followed the police officers to the entrance of a small restaurant called "Grandma's Sichuan Restaurant". Chen Xu remembered that Wu Yuan liked to eat here and had even brought his roommates here to eat. The food was indeed delicious and authentic, and the portions were generous.
The shop has been sealed off due to the arrival of the police, and the owner and staff have remained inside.