It was about 30 minutes before the ambulance arrived. The old woman was on the verge of death. She might be an important witness for us. I asked the doctors to save her at all costs, and they promised to do so with conviction.
After the old woman was sent away, we returned to the psychiatric hospital. By then, the provincial police had already arrived at the scene.
With so many people, this psychiatric hospital didn't seem so scary anymore. To be precise, with two hundred police officers, along with dozens of special police and armed police providing assistance, if there were any evil spirits, they would surely be scared into hiding.
I gave a wry smile and began to survey the scene with everyone else. We had searched the entire psychiatric hospital without finding He Xin and the others. However, when we reached a section of yellowish wall on the first floor, I knew there was a secret passage.
Gao Mingqiang, that fellow, had already been sent to the hospital with the old woman.
I called Li Fan over, and we directly pried open the wall. Everyone rushed in, as excited as if they had discovered a new continent.
Li Fan led a dozen special police officers to clear the way. The rest of us could only follow him like his subordinates.
Upon entering the interior, we discovered stairs leading downwards. Everyone immediately realized that there was a basement within the psychiatric hospital!
The police officers descended the stairs, advancing step by step into the depths. After an unknown amount of time, we finally found a dark and damp secret room. The walls here were lined with numerous iron hooks, and several skeletons hung from the ceiling. Pools were arranged around the area. The forensic investigators arrived and began taking pictures everywhere. This time, we took hundreds of photos during the investigation alone.
However, we didn't find He Xin or the others here. How could this be? Had the killer already transferred them?
We collected a lot of hair and fingerprints at the scene, and there were also some bloodstains on the floor. When I sprinkled some yellow wine, I found that the amount of blood was not large, at least confirming that they should still be alive.
After the investigation, we had to come back up. After all, constantly staying in the dark, damp, and pitch-black basement made us all feel extremely uncomfortable. Upon returning, Li Fan patted my shoulder and said, "Don't worry! At least we found Gao Mingqiang now. The others should be found one after another!"
"That's right, but they're probably not in the psychiatric hospital anymore. Let's try investigating a few more times!"
"Roger that!" Everyone got busy again, but we couldn't find anyone else.
We had no choice but to withdraw temporarily. After I left, I drove directly back to Guangming City with He Qing, to the Central Hospital.
When Gao Mingqiang woke up, he seemed much more lucid than before. Since he had been in the psychiatric hospital for a while, he should have some understanding of the situation. I immediately went to his ward and asked him, "Mingqiang, what happened to you in the hospital?"
"Team leader, I didn't know what was happening at the time. My head felt incredibly heavy, and I lost consciousness. Everything I saw completely changed. I found myself back in the days when the psychiatric hospital wasn't abandoned.
I saw many beautiful nurses, and they were giving me treatment very enthusiastically. I also saw the old director, but she was very kind at the time and devoted to every patient. I heard she also came to this hospital. How is she doing now?"
"She's alright. Her life was saved, but it will take some time for her to wake up!" I replied.
"Alas, the old director is truly pitiable. I saw how diligently she cared for all the patients back then, not even having time to sleep. It's quite heartbreaking. It's rare to find such a responsible director nowadays."
He Qing said, "Did you see what happened at the psychiatric hospital back then?"
"I saw a little bit. I was in a ward, and I found myself wearing a patient's gown. For a moment, I was a little confused, thinking I wasn't here before. But then a nurse came in, sat beside me, and hugged me, and I forgot everything! Uh, I really wasn't thinking lewdly."
"It's fine. What else did you see?" I continued to ask.
Gao Mingqiang scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed. "That nurse took me outside to meet other mental patients. Among them were He Xin, Xia Hou, Xie Chuchu..."
"Do you know where they are now?"
"I don't know. Because I was always being watched by nurses, I didn't see when they were taken away!"
I felt I couldn't get any more information from Gao Mingqiang. He had definitely been in a daze recently, but it was good that he was okay. Seeing his condition, he seemed to have recovered. I told him to rest more and then stood up to leave the ward with He Qing.
We went to the old woman's ward. Looking at her sleeping form, a nurse beside her told me, "We don't know who this old woman is, yet we're treating her like this!?"
"It's okay. We are police officers. We'll figure it out later."
"Oh? Is that so? This patient will likely wake up in about 5 days."
"Thank you. Please call me if she wakes up!"
I exchanged contact information with the nurse. Upon learning that I was He Sheng, the nurse immediately sent me a message: "No wonder you looked a little familiar just now. You really are Detective He!"
I didn't reply. At this moment, I had already arrived at Liu Yuning's ward. Since I was at the Central Hospital, I naturally had to come and see her.
I don't know how many times I've visited like this, but every time I enter Liu Yuning's ward, I feel a sense of heaviness.
Even my walking pace slowed down. The moment I approached her, my heart would calm down a little. Although she was still sleeping, with her eyes closed, just seeing her gave me a sense of hope for life.
I tightly held her hand. He Qing stood straight behind me. I remained silent, and He Qing sat down and said in a calm voice, "Sister Yuning, you need to wake up quickly. The Sin Punishment Team seems to be missing its pillar without you..."
That's right, Captain Liu, Deputy Team Leader Liu, you will always be the pillar of the Sin Punishment Team.
I remained silent, only speaking unspoken words in my heart. In this situation, even a thousand words couldn't express all my emotions.
I felt I was gripping Yuning's hand tighter. Perhaps it was an illusion, but I inadvertently noticed a barely perceptible tear rolling down the corner of Liu Yuning's eye.
I am usually good at observing micro-expressions, but at this moment, I had no inclination to do so. I could only close my eyes helplessly, feeling the quiet atmosphere. He Qing seemed unable to bear watching the touching scene, sighed, and turned to leave.