Chapter 5 (13) Big Trouble (2)

  The search and rescue work for Lao Wei is still underway, the search team found the trail left by Xiao Bin, but they don't know where Lao Wei is. Xiao Bin didn't provide more information, until dusk, the progress of the rescuers was not great, Qin Minghui was a bit anxious, directly dialing the hospital's phone: "The police officer who was sent this afternoon, what's his current situation?"

  "He is seriously over-exerted physically, but his physical condition is very good. After replenishing his bodily fluids, he now needs to rest," the doctor replied.

  "When will he wake up?"

  "Maybe tomorrow."

  The rescue team has been in the mountains for several days, but judging from the current situation, they will have to spend another night outdoors. The two search and rescue teams that ran further away also sent back messages, one of which reported that a People's Armed Police officer accidentally fell off a cliff and sprained his leg, and is currently being helped by other personnel to retreat. Qin Minghui already knew it was impossible for Lao Wei to survive, the priority at this moment is to ensure the safety of the search and rescue personnel. He instructed the front-line search and rescue personnel: do not rush in, first prioritize personal safety.

  The outcome of the anti-drug police's death and injury has already been decided, and the captain of the anti-drug brigade is now on pins and needles. This is a major responsibility accident. Although Qin Minghui has not blamed him for a single sentence so far, he is still restless.

  As night fell, the busy communication in the command center subsided, and the search and rescue teams in the mountains had already set up camp on the spot for safety reasons, waiting for dawn. Qin Minghui hadn't closed his eyes for many days, his eyes were filled with bloodshot, standing in the corridor thinking hard, it was absolutely not an ordinary drug dealer who could make his two brave generals so desperate! However, until now, none of the units that set up checkpoints and searched had any news about these people. They seemed to have disappeared like water vapor in the air, leaving no trace. Where did these few people go?

  Qin Minghui had finished smoking again, and he was searching all his pockets. Little Li knew at a glance that his nicotine addiction had recurred, so he handed him a pack of cigarettes: "Director, this is the last pack, take care of your body."

  "It's the last pack again..." Qin Minghui said with his mouth, while his hands skillfully tore open the cigarette packaging. He knew that Little Li always said so, but as long as he needed it, there was always another "last pack" in Little Li's bag.

  The vast majority of police officers have a huge smoking habit, especially when handling cases, they need nicotine to lubricate that overworked brain.

  "Xiao Li, come over and talk." Qin Minghui took two puffs of his cigarette, and his drowsy head seemed to clear up a bit.

  "Huh? Oh." Little Li, who was about to get busy, stopped in his tracks when Qin Minghui called out to him.

  "How are you?"

  "I...I didn't really look..." Little Li was mainly in charge of logistics, to be specific, he was a secretary, helping Qin Minghui with some written and internal affairs. As for handling cases, he wasn't really capable.

  "Say it boldly."

  "Uh......I think......I think......" Xiaoli struggled to organize his words, although he had been following Qin Minghui and had access to a lot of information, but he still lacked the experience to integrate these chaotic pieces of information.

  "I think... Old Wei and Xiao Bin might have gone to find a secret passage or something..." After humming for half a day, Little Li finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Otherwise, how can we explain why they ran into the deep mountains and old forests?"

  "Hmm, makes sense, go on." Qin Minghui encouraged.

  "Xiao Bin has woken up and can ask for a lot of useful information, such as who attacked them. Xiao Bin is an important witness." Xiao Li was encouraged and became bolder: "Director, the person we are looking for now doesn't know where they are, and the media has reported on Xiao Bin, I'm worried about something."

  "What's wrong? Do you think Lao Wei is still alive?" Qin Minghui asked.

  "That's unlikely, I think the possibility of Lao Wei being alive is very small." Xiao Li shook his head, perhaps because he was an outsider, but some things were more realistic to him: "What I'm worried about is Xiaobin."

  "Is he worried that Lao Wei can't accept the reality of his own death?" Qin Minghui asked. From his experience as a police officer, if a partner dies due to one's own mistake, the survivor will face strict scrutiny and may even have to bid farewell to their police uniform. However, it is more difficult to overcome the psychological barrier within oneself. Qin Minghui had seen such cases many times before. Just last year, a promising detective resigned after causing an injury accident due to a momentary lapse in attention, despite being cleared of primary responsibility by the investigation. He couldn't bear the guilt in his heart.

  "I think Xiaobin's mental quality will get through this, what I'm worried about is his personal safety. Xiaobin and the other party must have had a fierce battle, he must be able to remember the other party's appearance. I'm thinking, the other party should not have left the area yet, now hiding in some place, if they want to harm Xiaobin, this is a good opportunity."

  Although Xiao Li's words were not well organized, Qin Minghui still understood him. He thought for a moment, threw away the half-smoked cigarette, and rushed into the command center to adjust the deployment.

  So many days have passed, the other party's drug transaction must have been completed. If they haven't left the border, they must be thinking of ways to evade inspection. If they want to take advantage of the situation, Xiao Bin is an easy target for attack! But Xiao Bin hasn't woken up, Qin Minghui doesn't have any information about the other party. He adjusts his deployment, focusing on inspecting vehicles and personnel flowing out. After thinking for a moment, he also requests that two civil police officers from the Ningming County Hospital nearby police station be sent to protect Xiao Bin.

  Foreign police stations usually have a witness protection group responsible for the safety of important witnesses, but domestically there is no similar security mechanism in place. Typically, civilian police are temporarily assigned to this task, and many have not received relevant training or even have a consciousness of protecting witnesses.

  Qin Minghui repeatedly emphasized that if Xiao Bin woke up, no matter what time it was, he must be notified immediately. By the time he had arranged everything, the clock hand had already pointed to 11 o'clock at midnight.

  "It's another long night, Old Wei. I'm afraid you'll have to stay up for one more night." Qin Minghui sighed and took a deep breath. The days of hard work had taken a toll on his body, and he needed rest. Little Li handed him a sleeping pill, which Qin Minghui swallowed before lying down on the simple military bed in the command center, still fully dressed.

  Qin Minghui had just fallen asleep when the phone rang. Xiao Li saw that he was sleeping and answered it. It was a call from the police station: "Director, Xiaobin has woken up."

  "Director Qin has just fallen asleep, how's Xiao Bin's situation?" Little Li said softly, his eyes glanced at Qin Minghui who was snoring slightly on the camp bed, he thought it was better not to wake him up for now.

  "The doctor just checked and said it's nothing serious, just need some rest. What should we do now?" the police officer asked.

  "Let him have a good rest first, and we'll send someone to take his statement tomorrow." Little Li thought for a moment, and decided to follow the standard procedure anyway.

  "I understand."

  Xiao Bin's good physical condition helped him pull through, but he still looked a bit dazed. After recovering slightly, he anxiously asked the police about Lao Wei's situation. However, the police at the station had not participated in the search and rescue efforts and did not have much information to provide. Xiao Bin muttered to himself, "I said I would go back for him..." He tried to get out of bed, but was stopped by two police officers who had to threaten to handcuff him before they could calm him down.

  After the commotion just now, the two police officers didn't dare to close their eyes all night. They sat on either side of the bed, staring at Xiaobin without blinking. Xiaobin became annoyed: "What are you looking at? I'm not a criminal!"

  "Big brother, please spare us, the director has repeatedly instructed you that nothing can happen to you. If anything happens to you, I'll have to take off my police uniform!" a very young policeman said with a bitter face.

  Xiao Bin didn't want to make things difficult for himself, so he could only lie down silently, but no matter what, he couldn't fall asleep. Lao Wei's appearance kept flashing before his eyes, and in his heart, he was thinking of ways to get rid of the two police officers. As long as he could slip out of the hospital, he would be able to find a way to run to the command center.

  The two civil police were diligent in their duties, and even when Xiaobin went to the toilet, they followed closely. Taking advantage of going to the toilet, Xiaobin explored the hospital's layout and had a general idea in his mind. As long as he could shake off these two annoying tails, he was confident that he could slip away.

  When the clock slowly passed midnight, the security guard in the hospital's monitoring room found that the camera at the south side door had lost its image. He didn't think much of it, as county-level hospitals don't attach great importance to security measures, and such incidents of broken monitors not being repaired in time have happened more than once or twice before, so no one pays attention to them.

  Lin Chaohui and Bobby destroyed the camera, easily opened the lock on the side door, and sneaked into the hospital. At this time, most people in the hospital had entered their dreams, and only a few doctors and nurses were on duty.

  In the afternoon, Lin Chaohui came to the hospital to get familiar with the layout. They skillfully avoided the surveillance cameras and entered the first-floor bathroom of the inpatient department, taking out two sets of white coats and masks from their bag.

  Lin Chaohui finished tidying up and put on a pair of black-framed glasses, really looking like a doctor. He said to Bobby: "Be quick about it, finish the job and leave."

  "Understood." Bobby was screwing a silencer onto his pistol, he checked it, loaded but not cocked, and tucked it into the pocket of his white coat.

  Lin Chao Hui and Bobby walked out of the bathroom wearing white coats, heading to the third floor of the inpatient department with familiarity.

  The security work of the county hospital is indeed very poor. The inpatient department building has no surveillance cameras on the stairs, no security guards are on duty, and there is no iron gate to block the way. Lin Chao Hui and Bobby strolled up to the third floor. However, Lin Chao Hui did not know which ward Xiao Bin was in, but this did not deter him. He walked straight to the nurse's station and asked: "Which ward are the police who came in this afternoon?"

  "Huh? Who are you?" The nurse on duty at the nurse station looked up in surprise, glancing at the clock, which already showed 12:01. Visiting hours were long over, but looking at their doctor-like attire and masks, it was clear they weren't there to check on patients - doctors wouldn't normally wear masks either.

  Lin Chaohui seemed to notice the nurse's confusion and said calmly, "The blood sample sent for testing this afternoon seems to have some problems. It's possible that he contracted malaria in the forest, we want to confirm it."

  The reason sounds a bit far-fetched, but the nurse couldn't find any flaws in it either. She said to him: "Just walk down the corridor to the third room from the end, 306 bed is where he is. You can see that there are two policemen in that room."

  "Police?!" Lin Chaohui was stunned for a moment, but immediately returned to normal and said: "Thank you."

  The nurse always felt that something was not quite right, but couldn't put her finger on it. Lin Chao Hui and Bobby walked down the corridor, and the nurse chased after them out of the nurses' station, looking suspiciously at one of them with their hand constantly in the pocket of their white coat. At this time, the electric bell in the nurses' station rang, indicating that the patient in bed 319 needed to have their dressing changed. When she came out of the nurses' station with the medicine, she looked down the corridor again, but couldn't see the two figures anymore - perhaps they had already entered a ward? The nurse self-mockingly thought that she was being overly sensitive, and quickly walked to bed 319 on the other side of the corridor, skillfully changing the patient's IV drip.

  "This is a big trouble." Lin Chaohui muttered in the toilet at the end of the corridor, he didn't expect the police to send someone to protect Xiao Bin. When he passed by earlier, he saw two policemen sitting beside the bed, Xiao Bin leaning on the bed, looking not bad, but he was sure that Xiao Bin must have just woken up not long ago. If it dragged on until dawn, the police would definitely send someone to take a statement at the first time, but the policeman beside Xiao Bin made him cautious, he didn't want to make too much noise.

  Bobby didn't have Lin Chao Hui's anxiety, he was just a mercenary, listening to orders and doing his job. Lin Chao Hui was now hiding in the toilet only a few steps away from 306, waiting for an opportunity, so he might as well come and go as he pleased. The pungent smell of disinfectant in the hospital was no more piercing than the smell of gunpowder on the battlefield to him.

  At 12:30, Xiao Bin made a fuss about wanting to eat a midnight snack. A police officer couldn't persuade him otherwise and hastily ran downstairs to buy one for him. Another officer stared at Xiao Bin with wide eyes, still puffed up with anger.

  "I want to drink water..." Xiaobin took step by step to implement his own plan.

  "Ah." The little policeman handed him a cup of water with an ill temper.

  Xiao Bin finished drinking the water in his cup and asked: "How long have you been a police officer?"

  The little policeman pointed at the pitiful one stripe on his shoulder: "Half a year..."

  "Hey, you're even more hot-tempered than me!" Xiaobin saw his listless appearance and felt annoyed.

  "Brother, don't tease me, I had to beg my grandfather and grandmother to get into the police force." The young policeman looked gloomy. Previously, being on duty was always uneventful, but when he received this task today, his heart felt uneasy for no reason. Now he just hoped that dawn would come soon and other policemen would take over the hot potato of Little Bin.

  Xiao Bin glanced at the time and estimated that the policeman who bought supper would not be back for a while. This little policeman was still easy to deal with in his eyes.

  "I'm still thirsty, pour me a glass of water." Xiaobin ordered.

  Little Policeman grumbled, holding the cup and lifting the kettle, but there was no water in the kettle. "What are you looking at? Go fetch some water." Little Bin glared with wide eyes at the innocent little policeman.

  "I've entrusted everything to you, I won't leave your side for a single step."

  "I've become like this, where can I still go?" Xiaobin pretended to be very angry.

  The little policeman thought for a moment, it seemed to be the case, he couldn't just jump from the third floor and run away, carrying a kettle out of the ward, still not at ease, turned his head and said: "I'll be back in a while, you mustn't run away."

  The little policeman's figure had just disappeared, and Xiao Bin suddenly jumped up from the bed, climbed to the door of the ward, took a look, and saw that the little policeman was carrying a thermos towards the direction of the boiling water room at the other end of the corridor. He turned around and ran back to the bedside, picked up two pillows from the adjacent bed, made the quilt look like someone was lying under it, then ran to the window and opened it.

  Outside the window was the air conditioner's location, next to it was a water pipe. Xiaobin easily climbed onto the water pipe through the air conditioner and slid down to the second floor, effortlessly entering a patient room. Then, with a swagger, he went downstairs under the astonished gaze of the nurses at the nurse station on the second floor.

  "Hey! Little guy, still want to fight with me?" Xiao Bin slipped out of the inpatient department, secretly pleased with himself. At this time, the little policeman was probably still fetching water in the water room.

  The little policeman passed by the nurse's station and the nurse politely greeted him: "Fetching water?"

  "Hmm." The little policeman looked somewhat sulky. Being ordered around was always a bit frustrating.

  "Just now two doctors said they would take blood samples, did you see them?" The nurse suddenly remembered those two doctors and it had been so long without seeing them leave.

  "Doctor? I haven't seen one." The little policeman stopped in his tracks and looked at the nurse with a puzzled expression.

  "Didn't see him?" The nurse also found it strange: "They said he might have contracted malaria in the woods..."

  The young policeman was inexperienced and after listening to the nurse's words, he didn't react for half a day. He muttered to himself: "Malaria... I knew this would be a big trouble..."

  "You'd better go take a look." The nurse felt a faint sense of unease and reminded her.

  The little policeman thought for a moment and didn't bother to fetch water anymore, carrying the kettle back again. He raised his eyes and caught a glimpse of a white figure flashing into the ward. He was stunned for a moment, and instinctively shouted: "Hey! What are you doing?"