Striving for Science C90

Captain He had just received a call from the hospital. They said there had been a car accident in the old city, causing traffic congestion and preventing ambulances from getting through. They would be dispatching nearby licensed doctors to provide basic first aid to the victims.

Hanging up the phone, Captain He was so anxious he wanted to beat the man he had apprehended. What kind of sick and twisted beast could do something so cruel? Those two kids were so young!

No wonder he had smelled something strange outside the door. This man had not only sprayed air freshener in the room, but he had also used strong-smelling sausages to cover up the odor.

He was just worrying about the two girls' lives when he saw a group of doctors and nurses in white coats rushing in. He was a little confused. Didn't they say they couldn't make it?

Seeing the doctors and nurses' efficient and skilled movements, Captain He felt reassured. He stepped back to give them space, pulled out his gloves, and began taking samples at the scene.

He suspected that the sausages were made not only of pork, but also possibly...

Turning his head to look at the two victims, who had their ropes cut and were being placed on stretchers, about to be carried out, Captain He remembered to ask, "Wait, which hospital are you from?"

"Hello, police officer. This is our hospital's information." The woman, who had been forgotten by Dao Nian and Shen Chang'an, pulled out a business card from her coat. "Our ambulance happened to be nearby, and we rushed over as soon as we received the boss's notification."

As he looked at the name of the hospital, Captain He's heart skipped a beat. This hospital was very famous, with several renowned doctors on staff. It also had a high cure rate for some difficult diseases. The only drawback was that it was incredibly expensive.

There was no problem handing over the two victims to them, but he was worried that their families wouldn't be able to afford such high medical expenses.

"Please don't worry. Our boss is very sympathetic to the plight of the two victims, so all the expenses for this case will be free." The woman smiled gently, and there seemed to be a kind of compassionate aura about her. "We will do our utmost to ensure the safety of the two victims."

"I wonder who the owner of your esteemed hospital is…"

"Our boss is right here." The woman introduced Dao Nian. "We are simply following the boss's instructions."

Captain He suddenly realized. So it was this unlucky guy whose car got smashed. What a coincidence! A flowerpot fell from the sky, leading to a kidnapping and murder case, and the big boss whose car was smashed ended up having his own hospital rescue the victims. This kind of plot wouldn't even be believable in a TV drama.

"Captain He, we found a large number of air freshener pellets and desiccant beads in the closet." The other two police officers, after apprehending the man, began searching the scene for the missing muscle tissue of the two victims, but unfortunately, they found nothing.

"I've already had my colleagues call the school to check if there have been any missing students in the past two days."

After hastily thanking Dao Nian, Captain He began searching the scene. He didn't let anything go, from the hair under the bed to anything that looked like skin flakes.

Shen Chang'an was worried that they would destroy the scene, so he pulled Dao Nian back outside. In just a short while, the local street office, the Civil Service Department, and the police station's support forces had all arrived.

This heinous crime had to be investigated thoroughly in the shortest possible time, otherwise it would only cause public panic. The incident a few days ago in Wuming City, where rumors of zombies spread and caused chaos, had become a negative example for nearby cities and counties.

"Sir." After a brief commotion, the corridor fell silent. A cordon was set up downstairs, and the staff were busy searching the scene to see if there were any other victims. The spot where the three of them were standing became a quiet oasis on the edge of the bustling activity.

The woman solemnly bowed to Dao Nian. This bow wasn't like a modern courtesy, but she performed it without any awkwardness.

Dao Nian was rather indifferent to her attitude, only nodding slightly.

The woman seemed a little disappointed. She turned to Shen Chang'an. The powerful merit on him made her feel a sense of admiration. "Mr. Shen."

"Hello."

"Mr. Shen, you don't need to use honorifics with me. My surname is Bai, and my given name is Can. I've been friends with Old Zhao for many years." Bai Can's emotions towards Shen Chang'an were very complex. She had countless ideas about him, but when she saw him in person, it was as if she had been hit on the head with a stick.

The phrase kept repeating in her mind: What am I? How dare I have a name in front of him?

She hadn't encountered a human soul this radiant, this warm, in a very, very long time.

Old Zhao's long-time friend?

Shen Chang'an suddenly remembered something: "A while back, Old Zhao brought back a bag of spirit mushrooms, supposedly very good for your health..."

"Those were the ones I picked. If you like them, I'll pick more next time." Bai Can thought that she, secretly in love with the Heavenly Dao Lord, should be cold and ruthless towards Shen Chang'an, then use her beauty to crush his confidence. But her lips wouldn't cooperate, and she couldn't help but smile at Shen Chang'an's face.

"N-no need." Shen Chang'an remembered the hallucination he had that night and felt embarrassed.

"Don't be polite. I have a lot of things that are good for your health. I'll have someone send them to Old Zhao tomorrow." Bai Can said, "Old Zhao might not be good at other things, but his cooking skills are unmatched."

Shen Chang'an: "..."

Headache.

"He can't eat those." Dao Nian, who had remained silent, said calmly, "You should leave."

"Sir..." The smile on Bai Can's face froze. She wanted to look at Dao Nian for a little longer, but she dared not. She hadn't seen the sir for nearly a hundred years, and she only dared to contact Old Zhao under the guise of sending things. She wasn't even qualified to approach the Divine Mansion where the sir resided.

A while back, both the divine and yao realms were abuzz with rumors that the sir had a human he favored. He had even moved the Divine Mansion to Wuming City for the human. At the time, she didn't take it seriously. She thought it was fine that the Divine Mansion was in Wuming City, at least... the distance between her and the sir seemed to have narrowed a little.

She still couldn't forget the first time she saw the sir.

In the midst of the blinding white snow, she was rooted beneath the snow, looking up at the sky. Suddenly, the Heavenly Gate opened, and a handsome man in white robes, with jade crown and black hair, stepped onto the snow.

His eyes were colder than the snow, his skin whiter than the snow. All things in the world bowed before him.

At that moment, her entire ginseng body trembled. How could there be such a handsome man in the world?

But her burning gaze didn't stop the man. He didn't even look at her, simply drifting away. Perhaps in his eyes, nothing existed, and nothing was worthy of a second glance.

In the following two or three thousand years, every time Bai Can saw him, he was just as indifferent. The Medical Immortal told her that the Heavenly Dao had no emotions. All life and death, joy and sorrow in the world were like clouds gathering and dispersing in his eyes, meaningless.

Bai Can thought that time would continue to pass slowly until her lifespan reached its end. But today, she suddenly realized that the sir's eyes had come alive. His gaze finally held emotion, no longer as cold as the snow.

This kind of aloof, beloved god, finally becoming more charming because of his emotions. Unfortunately, the object that made him charming wasn't her. The fact that this object was also to her liking was a torment that could make a ginseng lose several of its roots.

Emotions, truly a cause of exhaustion for yao.

"Please, sir, and Mr. Shen, rest well. I'll take my leave." Seeing that Dao Nian wasn't willing to give her even a single glance, Bai Can finally gave up. She nodded to Shen Chang'an and Dao Nian, "I-I'll go now."

"Goodbye, be careful on the road." Shen Chang'an gave her a bright smile.

Bai Can wanted to return a smile, but seeing the Heavenly Dao Lord looking at her with a blank expression, she retracted her half-formed smile and left discreetly.

As she walked downstairs, she saw the crowd outside the cordon, pushing and shoving, some even asking her what had happened. She inexplicably felt like she was one of these onlookers, thinking she could point fingers at this spectacle, but in the eyes of those involved, she was just a non-existent passerby.

Realizing this, Bai Can felt a little disheartened. She put her hands in her coat pockets, ignoring the men who were trying to get close to her, and quickly left.

Only then could she appear more goddess-like.

"Captain He, no traces of other victims were found at the scene."

"Captain He, we found some photos of his deceased wife at the suspect's home. We've checked his ex-wife's information. She died two years and eleven months ago, the cause of death was suicide by jumping from a building. We also found a video of the suspect crying after the incident."

Captain He clicked on the video. The man in the video was wearing a white shirt and was crying so hard he could barely stand. Anyone could hear the despair and sorrow in his cries.

"Are you sure it's suicide, and not…"

"The forensic examiner has conducted an examination. There were no injuries on the deceased caused by external objects. The suspect was in class at the time of the incident and has a strong alibi."

"Are those two helpful passersby still there?" Captain He closed the video and sighed, "I want to talk to the gentleman who found the victim."

"They're still outside. My colleagues have kept them there."

"Okay." Captain He walked out of the crime scene, seeing Shen Chang'an and Dao Nian sitting at the corner of the stairs. They were sitting on stools, someone must have brought them, and they were even holding cups of hot tea.

"Sorry, gentlemen, this case might take a little longer." Captain He walked up to Shen Chang'an, just as the door to the fourth-floor apartment opened, and a woman in her fifties and sixties, carrying a bag of biscuits, walked up.

Alright, he knew who had given them the hot tea they were holding.

Seeing Captain He approach, the old lady handed the peanuts to Shen Chang'an and whispered, "Young man, have some food to fill your stomach. If you need anything, just call me." Then, she looked at Captain He with suspicion.

"Big sister, these two gentlemen are kind people. I just wanted to ask them about the situation. You don't need to worry." Captain He was amused by the old lady's expression and explained his intentions. "It's cold outside. You should go back to your room and rest."

Only then did the old lady leave with peace of mind.

Shen Chang'an, who was naturally loved by the elderly, looked at the female ghost who came out behind Captain He, and finally remembered why he found her familiar.

A few months ago, it suddenly rained heavily. When he was going home, he saw this female ghost with her long hair covering her face, rushing down the stairs, almost bumping into him.

Uncle Zhang said that the female ghost was a bound spirit, and because the golden light of merit on his body was too strong, it made the female ghost who lived on the same floor with him very uncomfortable. Finally, she fled in a panic when a once-in-a-century rain fell from the sky.

A bound spirit who had finally escaped from Wuming City, had somehow made it to the provincial capital, and was following that man. What was the reason?

"Sir, I'm one of the police officers in charge of this case. My surname is He, you can call me Old He." Captain He pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Shen Chang'an.

"Thank you, I don't smoke." Shen Chang'an declined, adding, "My friend doesn't smoke either."

Hearing that neither of them smoked, Captain He took the cigarette from his mouth and tucked it behind his ear. "Thank you both for your help with this case. The suspect is very cunning, even knowing how to mask the smell of human blood. Luckily, you were able to discover it in time."

He turned his gaze to Shen Chang'an: "Please forgive my intrusion, but I'm very curious to know how you knew there were two victims hidden in the closet."

Shen Chang'an looked at the female ghost behind Captain He, hesitant to speak.

Of course, it was the female ghost following you who told me...

The female ghost seemed to sense Shen Chang'an's gaze. She shrank back timidly, using her actions to show Shen Chang'an that she absolutely had no intention of harming the people's police.

"Captain He." A young policeman rushed to Captain He, glancing at Shen Chang'an with a subtle look, pulled Captain He aside, and whispered, "Captain He, we found out some strange things."

"What?" Captain He noticed his colleague deliberately avoiding the two enthusiastic citizens, his heart tightened. Could these two also be involved? Thinking about the two victims being sent to the hospital under their jurisdiction, Captain He couldn't help but frown.

"We found out that the young man who discovered the two victims is surnamed Shen, and he's a staff member of the Wuming City Civil Service Department. Guess where his home address is?"

"Cut the crap, just say it," Captain He said, putting the cigarette back in his mouth.

“We found out that his home address is in the same building where the suspect moved out of Wuming City, and they are on the same floor.” The colleague’s tone became more subtle as he continued, “We learned that after the suspect’s wife jumped to her death, there were rumors of ghosts in that building, but after this Mr. Shen moved in, the rumors gradually disappeared.”

"Maybe it's just a coincidence..." Captain He didn't believe in superstitions.

"No, I also discovered that we, the department, don't have the authority to view some of Mr. Shen's files and records. But even so, we found a lot of things."

"What?"

"This Mr. Shen might be the bane of bad guys. In just one year, he's helped the police solve several cases."