Chapter 654 — Shouldering the Guilt

His family all knew he worked away from home, but none of them knew what exactly he did! The tattooed man spent very little here and hardly needed money at all, so over the years his bonuses had gone back to the family as well.

The tattooed man reckoned he had gotten his money's worth out of this life. His brother, his sister, and his parents could live in comfort, and he wanted nothing more. He had done time in prison; he had no great prospects to speak of. If the An family had not taken a liking to him, there was no telling whether he would even now be drifting the streets.

So all the tattooed man hoped was that An Jianwen, the An family's young master, could get away safely; after that he need only look after his own family. As for the crimes of the kidney-harvesting ring, he had long since resolved to bear them alone.

It could be said that apart from Dr. Wang, not another soul knew there was a boss behind the tattooed man.

Of course, Li Cihua, Young Master Bing, and the others knew as well — but they all moved in the same underworld circles, and no one would break the rules by turning informant at the police station.

While the police had not yet come up, the tattooed man slipped quickly to the operating room, where he found Dr. Wang, his face blank and wooden.

Perhaps Dr. Wang had been thinking the same thing — that he had long known this day would come.

"Brother Tattoo, it's come, has it?" Dr. Wang's expression was utterly dull, but his tone was perfectly calm.

"Yes. It's come." The tattooed man nodded.

"If they lock us up, what will the charge be?" Dr. Wang asked.

"Death, or at best life." The tattooed man smiled.

"You've come because you want me dead, haven't you?" Dr. Wang raised his head and glanced at the tattooed man.

The tattooed man nodded honestly: "I'm afraid you won't be able to hold out, and you'll give up Young Master Wen."

"Heh. Hold out? I could. But I don't want to anymore. I don't want my son to know his father is a criminal, an unscrupulous doctor who cuts open people and sells their kidneys for profit!" Dr. Wang said quietly. "My son dreams of being a doctor too. He was once proud of his father, and I don't want him disappointed... After I'm dead, tell the police I was forced into it. Will you do that? It is my last request..."

"Of course!" The tattooed man nodded. "You defied the coercion of evil forces and took poison to end your own life. Your son will still be proud of you."

Dr. Wang smiled faintly, rose, and from the cabinet took out a dose of reagent — the same he had used to kill others, though he had always kept one vial aside, prepared for himself. Neatly he drew the reagent up into a syringe, then without a moment's hesitation injected it into his body. Over the years, the money he had saved for his son was already enough to send him abroad to study... He hoped his son would walk the straight path and become a good doctor...

That was Dr. Wang's last thought. Then he slumped limply into the chair.

"Heh. Now it's my turn to go down and take the blame..." The tattooed man turned and went downstairs. Outside headquarters, the police were already calling out through a loudspeaker. The tattooed man walked out of headquarters with both hands raised and glanced at the wall of police before him — and there, in the very front row, stood Qiu Lingshan...

Only, why did the coat she wore look somehow familiar? But before the tattooed man could think it through, the police rushed over, cuffed him, and shoved him into the squad car...

There were not many people at headquarters — twenty-odd at most, counting the nurses and a few hired thugs. Against them, dozens of police cars did seem rather an excessive show of force.

Still, this was, after all, a major case that had been flagged all the way up at the provincial level; a little extra attention was only natural.

"Take them all back to the station and run separate surprise interrogations!" Qiu Lingshan waved a hand and ordered her subordinates. This Qiu Lingshan was a wholly different person from the Qiu Lingshan who had acted coy and petulant in front of Wei Zhao; she had recovered all her old brisk efficiency.

"Report! No victims were found at the scene. The dungeon door has been forcibly broken open, and there is no one inside!" The subordinate in charge of the final sweep came out and reported to Qiu Lingshan. "And the only body is one of the members of the criminal ring — the surgeon."

"Fine. All of Squad Four stays behind on guard duty; everyone else, withdraw!" Qiu Lingshan knew perfectly well there were no victims here. If anyone had been a victim, it was her alone, down in that dungeon. She had come out, and there was no one left inside.

Sitting in the police car, listening to her subordinates' praise and admiration, Qiu Lingshan felt as if she had wandered into a dream! The case was solved, just like that? That fast? Yesterday she had been agonizing over it, and today she had won a great, sweeping victory!

Wei Zhao... just what kind of man are you? Of a sudden, Qiu Lingshan found she understood Wei Zhao less and less. Yesterday she had only just gone to him for help, and today the case was broken. It might smack a little of blind luck, but Wei Zhao's ability was beyond all doubt!

Imperceptibly, her attitude toward Wei Zhao had begun to shift. Before, she had simply thought him lucky, but now it appeared that was not the whole of it. And her earlier notions had been truly naive and laughable — she had even thought of measuring herself against him? Remembering how Wei Zhao had kicked the dungeon's iron door clean off its hinges, Qiu Lingshan admitted she was no match for him. True, she had lately advanced to the late Yellow Rank, and that iron door ought to pose no problem for her now either — but it would certainly not have come down so easily, with one kick or two.

In the past, acting coy and playing the brain-dead girl in front of Wei Zhao had made Qiu Lingshan uncomfortable; now, though, she seemed to have grown a little used to it. At least she was no longer angry — and there was even a faint, indefinable pleasure in it.

Was there really something wrong with her head? Why did she seem to have a touch of masochism about her?

"Captain Song, I'm afraid you're due for a promotion after this?" Liu Wangli was relatively close to Qiu Lingshan; when she had first arrived at the station, she had been captain of Squad One, and Liu Wangli's direct superior.

"I've only just been made captain — how could I be promoted again?" Though she said this, Qiu Lingshan felt a faint stirring of expectation. Even without a promotion, surely her rank would go up a notch?

"Fair enough. But this is a major case, and you put yourself in danger, Captain Song. At the very least, that's a second-class merit, isn't it?" Liu Wangli said with a smile.

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