Skin - Chapter 63

Chapter 63 – A New Technical Consultant

　　Because there were so many girls rescued from the “Dark Cage”, it took two days to complete the victims’ statement.

　　Lu Yang’s article on the public account became the fuse that ignited the Dark Cage Incident. Once released, it quickly set off a huge whirlpool of public opinion in society. Major media outlets then swarmed in and exposed the Dark Cage Incident from all angles.

　　Not only did Wu Weihan’s YunYa live broadcast become the focus of heated discussion, but Wu Weihan’s father, Wu Jiayi, was also pushed to the forefront.

　　Because he stayed up late to write a self-criticism the night before, Meng Zhao overslept for a rare time that morning. When he woke up, Lu Shichen had already dressed up and was working on the computer.

　　Meng Zhao grabbed the collar at the back of his neck and pulled the T-shirt off his head.

　　Lu Shichen turned his head to look at him.

　　Meng Zhao was changing clothes with his back to him. The lines of his spine were very beautiful, and his muscles were thin and tightly attached to his bones, making him look slender and strong.

　　Then, the blue uniform covered the tight waistline, and Lu Shichen asked: “Are you going to wear a uniform today?”

　　”Yes,” Meng Zhao turned around slightly, buttoned his shirt and said, “We are setting up a special task force today.”

　　Because it was a little late when he woke up, Meng Zhao quickly put on his clothes. He tucked his shirt into his waistband and tied the belt to reveal his narrow waistline. Going further down, the dark uniform pants neatly covered his two straight long legs.

　　Meng Zhao took the uniform jacket and put it on his arm, then picked up the police hat, turned his head and said to Lu Shichen: “Let’s go, be careful in the hospital. I have already informed the police who are guarding the girls on the fourth floor, if anything happens just…”

　　Before he finished speaking, Lu Shichen closed his computer and interrupted him, saying, “I’ll go with you.”

　　Meng Zhao paused and said, “Will you come with me to the bureau?”

　　”Yeah.” Lu Shichen looked at him, “No?”

　　”Director Liu…” Meng Zhao thought for a moment, “Forget it, let’s go, as long as you don’t find the lounge boring.”

　　In any case, although Wu Weihan had been arrested, the person who killed Lu Yang was still at large. Thinking that that person once used Lu Shichen to threaten him, Meng Zhao always felt that it was not safe to let Lu Shichen stay in the hospital alone.

　　The two of them left the ward. From a distance, Meng Zhao saw Director Liu, Lu Shichen’s attending physician, and several young doctors making rounds on the ward on their floor. He immediately grabbed Lu Shichen’s wrist and pulled him towards the elevator on the other side.

　　Ever since he returned from the Municipal Bureau the night before and received an hour-long lecture, Meng Zhao has had a psychological trauma towards Director Liu.

　　”The hospital is not your city bureau. If all the patients were like you, coming and going as they please, wouldn’t that be a mess?!”

　　”If he goes out without permission and something happens, can you take the responsibility?”

　　”I don’t care whether you are Captain Meng or Director Meng, as long as you are hospitalized, you must abide by the hospital’s regulations!”

　　Meng Zhao has always had a bad temper. Ever since he became the deputy captain, he was the only one who scolded others, and no one dared to go against him. Now he was scolded twice in one day, and both were by his elders. He had to endure whatever they said.

　　So after an hour of scolding, Meng Zhao returned to the ward that night and scolded Lu Shichen while writing a self-criticism. He did not stop until he felt refreshed.

　　The car drove to the Municipal Bureau. On the way, Lu Shichen said, “I have to go through the discharge procedures today.”

　　”Today?” Meng Zhao was a little surprised. “Didn’t Director Liu say the night before yesterday that he would keep you on observation for another week?”

　　”I talked to Director Liu yesterday. My condition is relatively stable. I also have a professional family doctor, so it won’t be a problem to get discharged from the hospital.”

　　”It’s good to be discharged from the hospital. After all, home is safer than the hospital,” Meng Zhao said, “Then I’ll go with you to get the procedure done after we get back.”

　　Having said that, Meng Zhao still felt complicated.

　　During this period, it had become a habit for him to meet Lu Shichen every day. Whether chatting or discussing a case after getting off work, it seemed to be much more interesting than staying at home alone.

　　Thinking that after completing the discharge procedures, he and Lu Shichen would go back to their separate homes, Meng Zhao actually felt a little…disappointed.

　　When they arrived at the Municipal Bureau, Meng Zhao first took Lu Shichen to the lounge, and then went to the meeting room.

　　In the conference room, all the criminal police were wearing uniforms. Although they were exhausted from working late into the night to solve cases recently, they all looked quite energetic in their neat uniforms.

　　The meeting officially began at 8:30.

　　Director Xu sat in the middle of the long table and looked around at the criminal police in the conference room: “Comrades, I believe everyone knows why we have summoned all the leadership teams of all departments of the Municipal Bureau here today.

　　”On May 6, 2020, the ‘Dark Cage’ case was first solved by Meng Zhao, deputy captain of the Criminal Investigation Unit. It was fully exposed by various media in a short period of time. The brutality of its methods and the bad nature of its nature are rare in history. This is a shame for Mingtan and even more so for the public security!

　　”The mastermind of the case, Wu Weihan, has been arrested. There are many people involved in this case, and the interests are complicated. There are still many doubts that have not been solved. Who killed Lu Yang? Who did Anlong serve? Why were people in the sanatorium injected with drugs for a long time? If these problems are not solved, how can we explain to the victims and the people?

　　”The law is long and wide, and there is no loophole. There is no room for darkness under the police badge. I hereby declare…

　　”From now on, we will establish the 506th case, the ‘Dark Cage Task Force’. I will be the team leader myself, and I will appoint Comrade Meng Zhao from the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Municipal Bureau as the deputy team leader. He will be responsible for the overall deployment and implementation of this case and will have the highest command authority. At the same time, we will transfer Comrades Zhang Chao and Song Yun from the Technical Investigation and Economic Investigation Departments to join us. Other departments must fully cooperate and accept the deployment and leadership of the task force to strive to solve the case in the shortest possible time.”

　　After Director Xu finished speaking, he stood up from his seat, raised his right hand and saluted everyone solemnly: “I’ll leave this case to you all.”

　　All the police officers on the scene immediately stood up, saluted him in unison, and shouted: “We will complete the mission!”

　　”Okay,” Director Xu said, “I will now read out the list of members of the Dark Cage Task Force and the overall work arrangements.”

　　After the list was read out, Director Xu put down the document in his hand and said, “At the same time, in order to ensure the smooth progress of this case, we will introduce a technical consultant to the task force.”

　　Hearing this, Meng Zhao was a little surprised and thought: ‘Technical consultant? Someone was sent from above? Why didn’t Director Xu mention this to me?’

　　Director Xu looked at a policeman at the door and said, “Xiao Du, bring the person in.”

　　Meng Zhao and everyone in the conference room looked towards the door.

　　The moment the door opened, a thin and familiar figure came into Meng Zhao’s eyes.

　　The surprise in Meng Zhao’s eyes instantly turned into shock.

　　Director Xu glanced at Meng Zhao and said, “Let me introduce you to this comrade, Lu Shichen. He once risked his life to protect the victims and our colleagues, and played a pivotal role in the investigation of the Dark Cage case. As the saying goes, a hero is not judged by his origin. Talents like Mr. Lu are exactly what we need right now. I hope that all comrades can cooperate with Mr. Lu and gather the greatest joint force to combat crimes.”

　　Meng Zhao didn’t hear what Director Xu said next.

　　His attention was all focused on the fact that “Lu Shichen actually became a consultant for the task force”. Only then did he notice that compared to Lu Shichen’s previous dressing style, the suit he was wearing today looked particularly formal.

　　‘It seemed that Lu Shichen knew about this a long time ago…’ Meng Zhao stared at Lu Shichen. This man was very patient. How could he not even inform him in advance?

　　So, Director Xu went to the lounge to find Lu Shichen that day just for this matter?

　　After the meeting, Director Xu arranged for others to take Lu Shichen to handle the formalities, while Meng Zhao went straight to Director Xu’s office.

　　Although compared to those psychological profiling experts, Meng Zhao had no objection to Lu Shichen being the non-staff consultant.

　　But he couldn’t understand why Director Xu suddenly had the urge to bring in a consultant to the task force.

　　Meng Zhao knocked on the door and entered the office. Director Xu was on the phone and motioned for him to wait.

　　While waiting, Meng Zhao noticed that the person talking to Director Xu seemed to be Lu Chengze.

　　”Your son, Attorney Lu, is of course very outstanding, and he is just as outstanding as you were back then.”

　　”You can rest assured about Xiao Lu’s safety. He is now the city bureau’s consultant, and the city bureau will do its utmost to ensure his safety.”

　　”Okay, then Lawyer Lu, since you’re busy, we’ll keep in touch anytime.”

　　After hanging up the phone, Director Xu looked at Meng Zhao and asked, “What’s the matter?”

　　”Nothing much,” Meng Zhao said, “I just want to know why you brought in a consultant to the task force. As far as I know, the Municipal Bureau does not have this tradition.”

　　”If I don’t bring in Xiao Lu as a consultant, can you guarantee that you won’t bring him, a non-staff member, in and out of the crime scene in the future?” Director Xu asked him back.

　　Meng Zhao was speechless.

　　”Rather than watching you ignore the organization’s regulations, it is better to follow the formal procedures and recruit him to work on this case. Why do you still have objections to this matter when you cooperated well with him?”

　　”It’s not that I have an objection, it’s just…” Meng Zhao paused and said, “Are you questioning my ability by making such an arrangement?”

　　Hearing this, Director Xu laughed: “Captain Meng, you dare to ignore the organizational discipline, and you are still worried about your ability being questioned?” He walked around the desk, walked to the coffee table, picked up the water cup and took a sip: “Okay, since you asked, then I will give you the answer.”

　　”First, I understand the entire process of your investigation into this case. Whether it was the discovery of the basement of the sanatorium or the sacrifice of his life to block the truck, Xiao Lu played an indispensable role. His IQ and ability far exceed those of ordinary criminal police. Without him, would you have been able to solve the case so quickly?

　　”Second, I don’t deny your ability, and other people in the police station are not qualified to question it, but your bad temper does need someone to restrain you. Whether it was when you beat up the rapist two years ago, or when you almost beat to death the manager of the Dark Cage a few days ago, some people said that once you get angry, no one in the entire criminal investigation unit can control you. If you continue like this, you will only be unable to protect yourself. Now, someone who can control you has appeared, and he is willing to come to the Municipal Bureau as a consultant. If I say I don’t want him, is it appropriate?

　　”Third, and most importantly, why do you bring him with you? I know exactly why. Xiao Lu’s personal safety was seriously threatened in the last accident, and the city police are currently short of police force, so it’s impossible to allocate police force specifically to ensure his safety. It would be better for him to keep in line with your actions and let you protect his safety.”

　　Meng Zhao let out a long sigh, not knowing what to say next. He didn’t want to refute, nor did he want to accept.

　　Director Xu continued, “I know what you are thinking. You should know very well that this restriction is both a protection and a responsibility for you. You must promise me that in the future, when handling cases, such as publishing the article in Lu Yang’s WeChat account, you must obtain Lu Shichen’s consent before doing so. You are not allowed to act on your own. In addition, you must protect Lu Shichen’s safety at all costs. Do you hear me?”

　　Meng Zhao was silent for a moment: “You mean you found a leader to supervise me?”

　　”It’s okay if you insist on understanding it this way. Anyway, once you have a disagreement, especially something that may violate the organization’s regulations, you must listen to him!”

　　Meng Zhao: “…”

　　When Meng Zhao came out of Director Xu’s office, Lu Shichen had just completed the consultant procedures.

　　From a distance, Meng Zhao looked at him.

　　Lu Shichen had broad shoulders and long legs, and the suit he wore was well-tailored. At first glance, he did not look like someone who came to the Municipal Bureau to do official business. Instead, he looked like an incompatible spokesperson that the Municipal Bureau had spent a lot of money to hire.

　　As they got closer, Meng Zhao said, “You’re really good. You didn’t tell me anything at all.”

　　”Director Xu asked me to keep it confidential.” Lu Shichen said.

　　”Let me make this clear first. Although you are a consultant, you are also a member of the task force. You must obey the team leader’s orders and follow his instructions. Do you understand?”

　　Lu Shichen tilted his head towards Director Xu’s office: “When Director Xu talked to me, it seemed that this was not what he said. How about we go and confirm it?”

　　”What are you confirming?” Meng Zhao quickly grabbed Lu Shichen’s wrist and pulled him forward. “He’s busy, don’t disturb him. Okay, I’ll let you go. We can discuss it later if there’s anything.”

　　Meng Zhao dragged Lu Shichen downstairs, walked out of the city bureau hall, and came to Meng Zhao’s car. Lu Shichen then asked, “Where are we going?”

　　Meng Zhao said: “Today is Lu Yang’s funeral, I want to go and take a look.”

　　”The funeral should have ended by now.”

　　”I know.” Meng Zhao said, and fell silent.

　　”Let’s go,” Lu Shichen opened the car door, “I’ll go with you.”

　　•=|=•

　　There was silence in the Huai’an District Cemetery.

　After walking around one tombstone after another, Meng Zhao and Lu Shichen arrived at Lu Yang’s tombstone.

　　Because the funeral had just ended, Lu Yang’s tombstone was filled with flowers.

　　Meng Zhao put down the bouquet of flowers in his hand and looked at the photo of Lu Yang above the tombstone.

　　He recalled the scene when he first met Lu Yang. At that time, Lu Yang was still a living being. Although he made mistakes, he was still kind by nature. In just half a month, he was buried here. Thinking of this, Meng Zhao felt a dull pain in his heart.

　　After a while, he said, “Do you know why I came here now?”

　　Lu Shichen on the side shook his head.

　　”I don’t dare to face Lu Yang’s parents.” Meng Zhao said, and there was another silence.

　　After a long while, he continued, “Zhao Tong died, Zhou Yan died, Zhao Yunhua died, and Lu Yang… died too. Some people say that after working as a criminal police officer for a long time, other people’s lives become indifferent. Maybe, I can face the dead more and more calmly, but I can’t face the living more and more.

　　”Because I have a heroic mother, I once firmly believed that being a police officer is a profession that helps others to be happy, but now, this belief is slowly collapsing. Although I appear to be firm on the surface, I often doubt what the justice I pursue means to the victims.

　　”I know very well that the damage caused by sin can never be repaired. Many times, I can’t do anything at all. The dead are gone, and the living are sad. Maybe what you said last time was right. The so-called delayed justice only makes the living continue to believe in the so-called justice of heaven. Apart from that, it has no meaning.”

　　After Meng Zhao finished speaking, he was silent for a long time. Lu Shichen then said, “The dead are dead. We can do nothing about it. For the victims, delayed justice may really be meaningless. However, believing in this clear justice may be the only reason that supports Lu Yang’s parents, Xu Yulin’s parents, Shao Qi’s parents, and all the victims’ families to live. Giving up the search for the truth and punishing the criminals is to deprive the living of their only remaining hope.”

　　Hearing this, Meng Zhao turned his head and looked at Lu Shichen, his eyes filled with surprise.

　　Meng Zhao could hardly believe that this man who was indifferent to life and death and regarded life as worthless could actually say such words.

　　Before Meng Zhao could speak, Lu Shichen seemed to see through his thoughts and continued, “I find it unbelievable too. I used to think that I had no connection with this world, that other people’s life and death had nothing to do with me, and that my own life and death did not matter to others. But now I find that some people care about my life and death, and feel sad for my death, and I will also have emotional fluctuations because of someone’s safety… It’s like, something that has been lost for a long time has finally been found.” Lu Shichen paused here.

　　‘The person he was talking about is… me?’ Meng Zhao glanced at Lu Shichen beside him, and an unusual, somewhat swollen emotion surged in his chest.