When I woke up again, I found myself in a hospital room. Zhang Keying was sitting next to me. Seeing that I was awake, she sighed, "Really, everyone else left and you were still out there searching! Don't you know when to rest?"
"Ah, I'm sorry. I was too persistent at the time. It's all my fault for making you worry!"
"It's okay. Fortunately, I was by your side at the time, otherwise, no one would have known you fainted!"
"Thank you!"
"What kind of relationship do we have? You don't need to say 'thank you' to me. It's too awkward!"
"Alright!"
As she spoke, Zhang Keying peeled an apple for me. Although I didn't really like eating them, since she peeled it, I reluctantly finished it.
I checked the time and found it was already 4 PM the next day. It seemed I had slept for nearly ten hours after fainting.
Zhang Keying seemed to have other matters to attend to and stood up to leave. But I held her hand from behind and asked, "Have those criminals been caught?"
"No news at all. Xie Chuchu verified Wu Jingshuo's body. I'll do another review when I get back!"
As she spoke, Zhang Keying handed me a report. This guy was smart enough to know what I would ask for as soon as I woke up.
After Zhang Keying left, I noticed there was also takeout next to me. But I didn't eat it immediately. Instead, I opened the report and started reading.
Deceased: Wu Jingshuo. Time of death: around 3:20 AM yesterday. Cause of death: rupture of the aorta, leading to excessive blood loss. There were other combat injuries on his body, with Grade II damage to the shoulder bone and back of the skull. Additionally, the deceased contained a large amount of Cordyceps sinensis. We found many residues of it in his mouth, as well as handprints, indicating that Wu Jingshuo was forced to swallow a large amount of Cordyceps sinensis. Senior, actually, Cordyceps sinensis is a key point. I found that a portion of the villagers are cultivating it.
This report was written a bit like a letter to me, but Xie Chuchu always liked it that way. I closed it and burned it, wondering if this Cordyceps sinensis was normal.
I sent a message to Xie Chuchu, but she seemed to have anticipated my thoughts and replied, "You're awake now, right? This Cordyceps sinensis is no different from normal. There's nothing special about it!"
"Then it's strange. While this stuff isn't cheap, it's not enough to warrant kidnapping and murder, is it? It's not a unique item! Is it that valuable?"
I muttered to myself, and suddenly my stomach growled. I knew it was time for me to eat.
Opening the takeout packaging, I found it was my favorite roast duck and sweet and sour pork ribs. I immediately devoured them.
After a few bottles of glucose infusion at the hospital, I recovered the next day. When I returned to the provincial department, Zhang Keying asked me to go to the forensic science laboratory immediately.
The moment I arrived, I saw Xie Chuchu was already there. Looking at their expressions, they had probably discovered something else.
Zhang Keying spoke first, "There's nothing special on the body, but we found some genetically modified components in the Cordyceps sinensis. There were also residues of opium."
"Opium? So you mean they were outwardly cultivating Cordyceps sinensis, but it was just opium that looked like Cordyceps sinensis?"
"That's right, that's pretty much what it means!"
"But, isn't this Cordyceps sinensis also not cheap!"
"I thought about that before, but if they used a cheap crop, wouldn't it be easily detected as problematic? After all, villagers wouldn't plant crops that don't make money nowadays."
I agreed with Zhang Keying's view. It seemed this guy was my behind-the-scenes strategist. I snapped my fingers and said, "Then we need to thoroughly investigate Taiping Village. The people here are probably all problematic. Oh, right! Has that editor Zhang not come back yet?"
"They seem to still be in the village. He Xin sent me a message earlier saying they were filming!"
Xie Chuchu said, and I replied, "Alright, it's probably almost over. If they don't cause trouble, we won't bother them."
As I walked out of the forensic science department, I suddenly received a call. I answered it immediately, but soon heard He Xin's anxious voice, "Daddy, something's wrong! The crew members are all gone!"
"What did you say? How could this happen?"
"That's right. Over a dozen crew members, along with the writer Prince and his editor, have also disappeared."
"How could this be?" I muttered, telling He Xin to be careful and that I would be right over. She said she was fine and was at the police station.
That's better. After all, He Xin was also part of the crew.
I asked the Punishment Team members to follow me, and we soon arrived at the Taiping Village police station.
Seeing He Xin, I finally breathed a sigh of relief and hugged her tightly. She also hugged me and said, "Daddy, I'm sorry for making you worry. This morning, I went from my dorm to the crew's hotel, but when I got there, no one was in the room. I searched everywhere, even asked the hotel owner, but he said he didn't know anything. That hotel is terrible, it doesn't even have a surveillance camera."
"No wonder. Fortunately, you're alright. I guess where you're staying is not with them!"
"Of course not. I'm at another hotel near the village!"
"This case is becoming more and more puzzling. I originally thought it was just an internal conflict among the villagers, but now even the crew members have become victims. Everyone, pay attention, we must find everyone!"
Actually, I had previously thought that the guy was targeting the police. It seemed that wasn't the case at all.
My deductions can sometimes be wrong. After all, I'm not omnipotent.
Now I have to go and inspect the crew's dormitory. I asked everyone to come with me to the designated location. He Xin also went along. Since the crew was gone, she naturally didn't have to film.
The hotel where the crew stayed looked much better than He Xin's. Since people were missing, the person in charge had already been summoned back.
When inspecting this hotel, I discovered that there were no surveillance cameras here. No wonder the perpetrator appeared here. He must be very familiar with the situation in this village.
But it wasn't the villagers who committed the crime, because I had investigated, and no one had left the village recently.
When asked about the missing crew members, the person in charge said with some embarrassment, "I'm the only one here. Because there were no guests, I went to bed very early last night. In the middle of the night, I think I heard someone arguing upstairs, followed by the sound of something being dragged. I didn't realize then that the crew members were in danger. I thought they were busy with something late at night. Weren't they filming? Rehearsing is also normal!"