Любовь, пожалуйста, не расцветай

Глава 23

"He actually confessed in Shanghai." This time it was Rembrandt's turn to gape. "But aren't confessing priests supposed to keep the contents of their confessions absolutely confidential?"

"You don't need to worry about that. Just tell me why he mentioned immortality."

“I don’t know,” Rembrandt said crisply. “Either he’s talking nonsense, or that bastard priest who broke the principle of secrecy by telling you the contents of your confession is talking nonsense.”

I looked closely into his eyes, but he didn't look at me back. Instead, he picked up a notebook from the table and handed it to me.

I opened it, and on the first page was an account, along with some names and numbers.

"What's this?"

"Anyway, I'm going to die, and Fan Zhe is going to die, so I might as well save Interpol some trouble. The money in the account came from selling viruses. I've written down all the transactions I can remember, and I've also written down some of the reasons why I did it."

I flipped through the pages and sure enough, there were two pages containing Rembrandt's confession.

"You were just writing this?"

"Yes, even if I don't write it down, it will still be found out."

I put the notebook away and said, "There's one more question. Let's say immortality is nonsense." As I said this, I glanced at Rembrandt, who smiled slightly.

"But what about the needle holes on Fan Zhe's disposable medical gloves?"

"Pinhole? What pinhole?"

"Didn't you know? There was a pack of rubber gloves in Fan Zhe's office, and every single one of them had several holes pricked in them with needles. I think the gloves Fan Zhe brought to Shanghai were also these kinds of gloves with holes, which is why he got infected when dissecting the internal organs."

"How could this be? Is this really true?" Rembrandt's face changed, and he stared at me as he asked.

"It's true, He Xi found out, but she didn't tell you."

"How could this be... how could this happen..." Rembrandt muttered to himself. He seemed to know nothing about the matter.

"Dr. Rembrandt..."

The closed door was suddenly pulled open, and a nurse stood in the doorway. Looking at Rembrandt, who had removed his protective suit, she exclaimed in surprise, "You, how did you…?"

"Get out!" Rembrandt shouted at her. "Please leave now, and come back to me in ten minutes if you need anything."

The young nurse was so frightened that she took a step back and hurried away.

Rembrandt went over and closed the door, then turned to me and said, “It seems our conversation has to end here. As for the pinhole camera you mentioned, I know nothing about it. Perhaps it was someone’s prank that just happened to kill Van Zhe.”

He walked back to his desk, opened a drawer, took out a syringe, rolled up his sleeve, and injected it into his arm.

"What's this?"

"A nerve agent that can kill me quickly. Do you think I want to drag this out until the euphoric phase ends and I explode? This agent will at least keep my body intact."

A thought suddenly struck me, and I blurted out, "You did it on purpose, didn't you? You deliberately let yourself get Fan's syndrome!"

Rembrandt threw the empty syringe on the ground and said, "Yes, as a medical professional, to end up collapsing at your post sounds better, at least. Hopefully, Interpol will give Heller International and my father some face because of my surrender."

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

"I hope you can try harder. If that day really comes, remember to treat her well, for my sake and Fan Zhe's sake as well." Rembrandt gave a kind smile, but his eyes were already starting to glaze over.

The door was suddenly pulled open, and Director Ouyang strode in, followed by the nurse from before.

“Dr. Rembrandt, Dr. Rembrandt!” he exclaimed.

Rembrandt's face turned ashen, his hands, which had been supporting him on the table, loosened limply, and he collapsed.

10. He Xi's Secret

Rembrandt's body was covered with a white sheet and carried to the basement.

The criminal police officers, wearing protective suits, conducted a brief investigation of the scene, picked up the syringe with a few drops of residual liquid on the ground, and decided to postpone the autopsy and leave the body in the isolation area for the time being.

Rembrandt committed suicide during a period of heightened arousal, meaning he was still potentially contagious. As for how long the virus can remain active after death, no one can say for sure without relevant experiments, so isolating the body temporarily is the best option.

The police took Rembrandt's notebook, but I still had to go back to the police station with them to give a statement. Rembrandt's identity was particularly sensitive at this time, and I was the last person to speak with him, so I did know some things that weren't recorded in the notebook.

The medical staff on the temporary rescue team all looked sorrowful, and some of the female nurses couldn't help but cry. It seemed that in their short three weeks together, this handsome foreigner had left a very good impression on them. Moreover, working in an environment like Xinjingyuan, the camaraderie among colleagues was exceptionally genuine, like that of comrades-in-arms.

They were unaware of the inside story; to them, Rembrandt was the second medical worker to fall in the war, and a foreign aid expert at that.

Director Ouyang has already given an urgent report on this matter to his superiors. The head of Heller International was visiting this morning, and this incident happened this afternoon; it's truly shocking. I think the special task force handling the Xinjingyuan incident will contact Heller International immediately. However, Van Heller is still on a KLM plane and won't be back in Geneva until tonight. This old man will be facing a major setback. I can't help but recall his haggard figure when I saw him off at the airport at noon.

The police car was parked outside the Xinjingyuan residential area. Just as I was about to get into the car with the criminal police, a taxi stopped beside me.

When I saw He Xi get out of the car, my heart sank.

"Please wait a moment, okay? I need to say a few words to my friend," I said to the detective.

"Okay, but please hurry."

He Xi looked surprised when she saw the police car and me.

"What happened?" she asked before I could finish, seeing me rushing over.

"...Sigh!" I sighed, finding it difficult to speak. It seemed she had just composed herself, only to suffer an even more severe blow.

He Xi's face paled slightly. She tentatively asked, "Did you discover deliberate poisoning?"

I shook my head.

"Then... could there be something wrong with Rembrandt?"

I was stunned. How did she know?

Then it dawned on me that He Xi, like me, had doubts about Rembrandt. Now that she saw the police car, she thought that Rembrandt did indeed have a problem and had been discovered by the Chinese police.

"Rembrandt's protective suit has been damaged."

Upon hearing this, the last trace of color drained from He Xi's face, and disbelief filled her eyes.

But I still have to keep talking.

"He contracted Fan's disease, and to make his death easier, he injected himself with a nerve agent, and it's already..."

He Xi's lips trembled, and she tried to open her eyes wide.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked, forcing herself to remain calm.

"He has passed away," I said sadly.

"Sir!" a detective reminded me to hurry.

“Rembrandt and I talked a lot. I’ll tell you the details when I get back from the police station.” I glanced at her clenched fists and asked worriedly, “Are you alright?”

He Xi shook her head and asked me, "Where is he?"

"Temporarily in the basement."

He Xi nodded and hurried into the residential area. I quickly rushed forward and grabbed her arm. She struggled but couldn't break free, glaring at me angrily and saying, "What are you doing?"

"Protective suit, you're not wearing a protective suit!" I said with a wry smile as I released her arm. She had clearly ignored the makeshift reception and changing room next to the entrance of the community and had headed straight for the temporary medical center. Even the two soldiers on guard duty didn't expect He Xi, who came every day, to suddenly run in without a protective suit. They didn't react in time, and if I hadn't stopped her, she would have run right in.

"I'm sorry, I..." She only got halfway through her sentence before turning her face away.

I gestured to the soldier, who picked up the walkie-talkie and ordered them to send out protective suits.

He Xi stood in front of me with her head turned away. I felt extremely sorry for her and finally couldn't help but reach out and grasp her fist.

My palm is larger, so I wrapped it inside her tightly clenched fist.

Her hands were like thin porcelain on a cold winter night—cold, hard, and fragile.

She neither turned her head nor broke free.

"I'll come back here later, wait for me."

I let go of her hand and turned to walk towards the police car.

My hand was still loosely clenched, my fingertips lightly brushing against my palm. The feeling from those three to five seconds had slowly slipped away and settled into my heart.

"I need to use the restroom," I told the detective as the statement was about to be taken. As I walked out, I noticed him shaking his head slightly, probably thinking that I, as a witness, had quite a lot to say.

The detective's surname was Yang, and he came over immediately after receiving the case. I thought about it for a while on the way and felt that talking to him might not be the right thing to do.

This matter may be related to Virus Knight. I remember Liang Yingwu said that he would transfer the Virus Knight intimidation case to the police. Maybe a special task force has already been set up.

I made a phone call to Liang Yingwu from the restroom.

"The Special Affairs Bureau? How could it be them? Is there something strange or extraordinary about this matter that requires their involvement?" I was startled by Liang Yingwu's answer. Didn't he originally say he suspected a terrorist attack? That's terrifying, but it doesn't fall under the category of supernatural events.

"No, that's not it. But the Special Affairs Division is our most direct contact with the Municipal Bureau. They know about our existence, so we transferred our suspicions and some preliminary investigation materials through them."

"So, someone else is in charge?"

"I heard that the Special Affairs Division intercepted the case, but they're still handling it. You know they're a newly established department, and they really want to crack a big case to establish themselves in the system. So even though this incident isn't anything special, they still want to take responsibility, and the Special Affairs Division and the Municipal Bureau have agreed."

"Okay, I understand."

"Excuse me, officer."

Detective Yang looked at me with a puzzled expression, not understanding why I suddenly apologized.

“I was worried that what Rembrandt said to me before he committed suicide might be related to another case, so I made a phone call while I was in the bathroom just now.”

"Hmm?" Detective Yang frowned.

Before he could say anything unpleasant, I immediately continued, "That case is being handled by the Special Affairs Division. Could you contact Deputy Director Guo Dong of the Special Affairs Division?"

Detective Yang's furrowed brows immediately smoothed out.

"The Special Affairs Department?" he asked in surprise. Seeing that I nodded firmly, he immediately said, "Then wait here, I'll contact the Special Affairs Department."

I imagine that ordinary police officers must have many speculations about this newly established special task force. Even within the police department, it is destined to be a department shrouded in mystery.

About half an hour later, Detective Yang led someone in, but it wasn't Guo Dong.

This man was of medium height and looked a few years younger than me. He had a small, round face and small, round eyes. He walked in with a bouncy gait, his whole body full of energy. He was quite fleshy; I wondered how he passed the police physical fitness test.

When he saw me, his eyes lit up, and he jogged over to me, acting as if he had seen a celebrity. He didn't even know where to put his hands.

"Sir, this case has now been transferred to the Special Affairs Department. This is Officer Zhen Daren from the Special Affairs Department."

Detective Yang's introduction made me want to laugh; it really is a very strong name.

"Officer Zhen, I'm officially handing this case over to you now," he said to Daren.

"Okay, okay." Zhen Daren turned around and nodded quickly. His mind was all on me, so this nod didn't seem sincere at all.

Detective Yang didn't think much of it, walked out, and casually closed the door behind him.

"Na Duo? You must be Na Duo?" Zhen Daren looked at me for a while and asked hesitantly.