"Yes, for the convenience of patients' treatment, there is ordinary water here." I pointed to a water dispenser. He Xin immediately came over, took a paper cup, and poured water. After she took a sip, she continued to operate on her laptop, monitoring the Sky Eye situation in Guangming City.
However, late at night, I was suddenly awakened by an urgent phone call. I picked up my phone and connected. Zhang Ting's voice came from the other end: "He Sheng, come to my house right away. My wife, my wife she..."
"What's wrong? Don't tell me..."
"Come over immediately, hurry! Ah! Don't come! I beg you!"
Hearing Zhang Ting's extremely anxious voice, I knew something had happened. I quickly woke up Zhang Keying and Liu Yuning, brought Lu Chusheng and Xiao Yuande, and had Xiahou guard the spot. We drove away from the detention center and headed straight for Zhang Ting's home.
We drove like the wind. Knowing that Zhang Ting's situation was urgent, we got out of the car as soon as we arrived. Everyone rushed towards Zhang Ting's house, crossing the large courtyard and reaching the main hall of the house. Since the door was wide open, we entered without any obstruction. We didn't have time to worry about why the doors were open; we had already rushed into the hall.
When we saw Zhang Ting being forcefully choked by a woman, we immediately rushed over and grabbed the woman. This woman was none other than Zhang Ting's wife, whom we had met before.
Fortunately, we had enough people and were strong enough. Otherwise, with the ichthyosis affecting her, we probably wouldn't have been able to restrain her.
After we controlled her, she screamed desperately, "Kill him, kill him! I want to kill someone!"
"Calm down!" Xiao Yuande said, and he immediately gave her an injection. It was a mixture of methadone and saline solution, which could temporarily calm her down.
Zhang Ting, who had been saved, clutched his neck, looking like he had narrowly escaped death. He said with difficulty, "I didn't expect Jiaya to be infected with ichthyosis too. I don't know where she's been lately."
"She might have gone to the beach. We'll ask her when she calms down. Hey, Zhang Ting, I suggest you take your wife to the detention center or a hospital to be watched. This isn't a solution!"
"I'll go to the detention center with you. Everyone, stay vigilant. The real challenge is coming. Wife, let's go!"
Huang Jiaya seemed much better now and accompanied us. Upon arriving at the detention center, with the help of many doctors, she temporarily fell asleep.
Zhang Ting rested in his office, while we continued to keep watch at the detention center, taking turns to rest. The next day, I felt restless. Without telling Zhang Keying and the others, I drove to the Health Bureau alone.
When I arrived, I went straight upstairs. Zhang Keying and Xie Chuchu were not surprised by my sudden visit. Ling Xiaotao even came to greet me as if she knew my intentions: "Don't worry, we'll find the molecular formula soon. We're currently breaking down the virus. We need to determine its core structure to develop the correct treatment."
"You still haven't isolated it? How much longer will this take? I'm really worried that by the time you succeed, Guangming City will be in ruins." I said awkwardly, feeling anxious and impatient.
Even I, with my usual good temper, couldn't help but want to curse under the current circumstances. They had been working on this for so long. Even Buddha would get angry at this point. Sensing my anger, Ling Xiaotao comforted me, "Don't be like this. Emotions don't help our work at all. On the contrary, they can easily make people lose their reason. After so many years of change, you still haven't..."
"Alright, alright, please stop lecturing me here. It's much more practical if you can quickly develop the antidote. Don't you think so?"
"Understood, senior. We are researching deeper viral structures. Expert Yang, please explain to Officer He."
"Oh, okay. This virus must have been reinforced with several layers of protection by the organization, making it impossible for us to see clearly under the microscope for a while. Fortunately, we have more advanced technology. Using a high-power biological microscope, after scanning, we have reached the peptide bonds within the virus. I believe in time, we will be able to extract usable strains!"
I had heard this kind of explanation countless times, but they were experts, and I didn't want to make things too difficult. At this moment, I could only offer more encouragement and urge them to speed up. Then, I looked at a few slides that looked like magnified cell images. I didn't understand the specific content, nor was it my area of research, so I left it to them.
As I was leaving, Zhang Keying pulled me back and said, "Brother He Sheng, I haven't been at the provincial department recently. Have you been doing well? But I heard that the situation at the detention center is a bit tense."
"The number of patients is increasing day by day. How can it not be tense? If it continues to increase like this, I'm worried the detention center won't be able to accommodate everyone. I don't know where we'll have to place them then. Can you think of a solution, Keying?"
"Me? How could I possibly think of one? This is your job. However, I think you should go see Kelly again. I have a feeling she knows about the antidote. We just need to force her to reveal everything."
I had considered this problem long ago. I had visited her before with no success, and I was beginning to give up. But now that Keying brought it up again, it seemed it was time for me to see Kelly.
I refused to believe that the situation would always be the same as last time. When I arrived at the courthouse, it happened to be the time for her to appear in court again. The lawyer helping her with the case was still the same Lawyer Lei. After his plan failed last time, we gradually verified the fact that Kelly was the mastermind of the experiment during this period. Following the forged list, we found another residence of hers.
This was a few days before I went to the courthouse. One day, Liu Yuning, Xiahou, and I were meticulously searching in what appeared to be a simple apartment in this residential area. However, not long after we entered, we heard strange noises from the inner bedroom. We vigilantly drew our weapons. The recent environment had made us suspect that we would encounter tattooed men everywhere. The three of us aimed our guns forward. As we approached the door, I gestured to the other two to remain calm. Then, I forcefully turned the doorknob, kicked the door open, and, holding my gun, sternly shouted, "Police!"
Immediately, muffled cries came from the room. I looked closely and saw a little girl, about five years old. She was as thin as a rake, but from her facial features, I could tell that this girl was likely Kelly's daughter.
We hadn't investigated this aspect before. When we discovered that the strange sound was coming from her, we finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The moment we put away our weapons, Liu Yuning had already rushed over and picked up the child.
"Don't be afraid, child. We are the police. We are here to protect you!"
"Police? What's going on? My mom, she hasn't been back for a long time..."
"Your mother is Kelly?" I asked, stepping closer.
"Yes, do you know where she is?" The little girl cried again, wiping her eyes pitifully with her finger.
I glanced at Liu Yuning, feeling it might be better not to tell her for now. But the little girl seemed to have noticed something: "Did my mom do something bad and you arrested her!?"
"How do you know that?" Liu Yuning asked.
The little girl nodded vigorously. "Aren't you police officers? If she hadn't committed a crime, why would you find this place?"
It seemed this little girl was quite alert. I said, "The situation is like this: she's encountered a problem and needs to be questioned. However, little one, can you tell me your name?"
"My name is Lilyke Pierce."
"Lilyke? That's an interesting name. How long have you been alone here?" I asked.
"For a few days. I was just curious about what happened to my mom!"
This child probably hadn't eaten anything for days, and eventually ran out of water. During this time, she was alone here, wanting to find her mother but not knowing where she was, wanting to leave but not daring to run away alone.
I asked Liu Yuning to take the little girl to eat something. During the process, Liu Yuning had to comfort her many times before the child's crying gradually subsided and her sobs weakened. Given her heart-wrenching cries and her frail, trembling body, the suffering she had endured these past few days was unimaginable.
Xiahou and I searched the house thoroughly, turning the entire place upside down, but found no clues. If I couldn't obtain concrete evidence, I wouldn't dare to confront Kelly, otherwise, she would never admit it, and the judge might not be able to convict her of the experiment. Even kidnapping would be enough for her, but different charges lead to different sentences.
Allowing such a person to downplay their crimes would clearly not lead to a good outcome. When she was released after some years, she would likely repeat her mistakes.
When we were tired from searching, we sat in the hall to rest. Xiahou even gave a bitter smile and said, "I don't even know what Captain Liu is feeding her. This kind of searching won't work!"
"Perhaps there are clues elsewhere. If not, I'll go back to the laboratory!"
"We've searched there countless times. If there were clues, we would have found them long ago. Deputy Director, please stop thinking about that place. Perhaps if we find more of Kelly's residences, it would be better."
"I wish I could, but He Xin rechecked several times, and it seems this is the only place she has."
"Is there really no way?"