Skin - Chapter 67

Chapter 67 – The Old Woman’s Identity

　　Because he had cleared out everything with Lu Shichen, Meng Zhao finally slept well that night.

　　Walking into the office, Meng Zhao said to Cheng Yun, “Xiao Cheng, remember to print out yesterday’s confession and ask Xu Yingying to sign it.”

　　”I didn’t forget.” Cheng Yun, wearing a pair of large-framed glasses, was typing away at her computer. “I’m sorting it out now. It will be ready soon.”

　　Meng Zhao called a few more members of the task force. While waiting for them to come over, he picked up his phone and sent a message to Lu Shichen: [Report.]

　　After a moment, Lu Shichen replied: [I remember.]

　　Meng Zhao put down his phone and said, “In the case of sanatorium imprisonment, the identities of all the victims have been investigated, but there is still one question that has not been solved, which is the identity of the old woman. We have previously investigated the cases of missing elderly people within the police system, but have not found any results. Now it seems that we should expand the scope.”

　　”Xiao Zhou, a few days ago I asked you to lead people to investigate the elderly who have been missing for more than ten years and have been declared dead by the court. Is there any result?”

　　”We are still investigating,” Zhou Qiyang said. “Nothing has been found yet.”

　　”Brother Bin,” Meng Zhao looked at Ren Bin, “You are responsible for leading people to contact local TV stations and the official Weibo of local public security departments. Use the influence of the media and the Internet to quickly determine the identity of this old woman.”

　　”Okay.” Ren Bin replied.

　　Meng Zhao assigned a few more tasks. As he was talking, his cell phone on the table rang.

　　He took it and glanced at it, and Director Cheng from the hospital called again.

　　”Today we mainly have these few tasks, everyone gets busy.” Meng Zhao finished speaking and picked up the phone, “Director Cheng, what’s going on?”

　　”Captain Meng, Shao Qi also woke up this morning. However, she was injected with drugs longer than Xu Yingying. After waking up, her condition was not very good. She was not conscious and could not speak. Her intellectual ability is also showing signs of deterioration. Do you want to come and take a look?”

　　”I’ll be there right away.” Meng Zhao said immediately.

　　After hanging up the phone, he looked at Cheng Yun and asked, “How is the confession going?”

　　”It’s sorted. I’m checking it.” Cheng Yun quickly browsed the last few lines of the document and clicked print. “Right away.”

　　The printer made a humming sound, and Cheng Yun ran over to get the documents. While binding the documents skillfully, she asked Meng Zhao, “Brother Zhao, will you come with me?”

　　Meng Zhao said “hmm”.

　　When the car drove out of the Municipal Bureau, Lu Shichen was crossing the road and walking towards the Municipal Bureau.

　　Meng Zhao stopped the car, rolled down the window, and called him, “Lu Shichen.”

　　Lu Shichen walked closer and looked at him: “Where are you going so early?”

　　”Shao Qi is awake. I’m going to the hospital to take a look. Do you want to come with me?”

　　Lu Shichen glanced at the passenger seat and saw Cheng Yun sitting there, looking at him. He was about to open the back door when Cheng Yun said, “Consultant Lu, you sit here, I’ll sit in the back.”

　　As Cheng Yun spoke, she pushed the door and got out of the car, took a step forward, opened the back door and sat in.

　　Lu Shichen paused, then walked around the car and sat in the passenger seat.

　　”You’re here so late, were you walking the dog?” Meng Zhao drove the car on the road.

　　”Is it late?” Lu Shichen raised his wrist to check his watch, and then said, “It’s really hard to be a consultant for the Municipal Bureau.”

　　”Why is it difficult?”

　　“They don’t give money, but they control us very strictly.”

　　”Why did you accept the offer then?” Meng Zhao laughed. “It’s not too late now to ask Director Xu to let you resign.”

　　Cheng Yun, who was sitting in the back seat, leaned over and said, “Yes, Consultant Lu, since you aren’t getting paid, why did you ask to take this job? Could it be that you did it to… uphold justice and realize your ideals?”

　　Lu Shichen laughed very softly, seeming to find this statement very interesting.

　　”…Is it for our Captain Meng?” Cheng Yun continued to ask.

　　Before Lu Shichen could speak, Meng Zhao coughed lightly and said, “You didn’t do a good job in the interrogation. You’re talking a lot right now instead. Next time, you should interrogate the prisoner yourself. Otherwise, don’t expect me to let you stay in the field after the internship is over.”

　　”Brother Zhao, you are righteous and kind, with a good temper and long legs,” Cheng Yun immediately flattered him, “It’s normal for Consultant Lu to come to the Municipal Bureau for you.” Seeing Meng Zhao glance at her in the rearview mirror, Cheng Yun immediately changed her words: “I was wrong, I was wrong, I won’t say another word along the way…”

　　Meng Zhao ignored her and turned on the car radio. The news channel was still reporting on the Dark Cage incident, which had been a hot topic in Mingtan City in recent days.

　　”Regarding the Dark Cage case, Wu Weihan’s father, Wu Jiayi, also came out this morning to make a solemn apology. He said that as a father, he would do his best to compensate the Dark Cage victims in both material and spiritual aspects. At the same time, he would set up a Women’s Victims Foundation with 10 million yuan to provide free material and legal assistance to all women who were harmed…”

　　”As the chairman of the Wu Group, Mr. Wu Jiayi has always been enthusiastic about public welfare. He donates to various charitable foundations every year, including the Workers’ Injury Foundation, the Workers’ Children’s Education Foundation, and the Left-behind Children Foundation…”

　　After listening to the news, Meng Zhao said to Lu Shichen, “Guess who I saw in Director Xu’s office yesterday?”

　　”Wu Jiayi?”

　　”Um.”

　　”He came to plead for his son?”

　　”It’s not a plea, it’s an admission of fault,” Meng Zhao smiled. “You can’t believe it, right? His son refuses to admit his fault, but his attitude as a father is quite positive.”

　　”That’s understandable,” Lu Shichen said, “After Dark Cage, the market value of the Wu Group plummeted, and Wu Jiayi will definitely take action.”

　　”Sure enough, capitalists only care about profit.” Meng Zhao repeated Director Xu’s words from yesterday. The happy scene of yesterday and Director Xu’s unpredictable eyes emerged in his mind again.

　　When they arrived at the hospital, the three of them walked to the ward and pushed the door open.

　　Xu Yingying was still unable to get out of bed. She was half lying on the hospital bed, watching TV.

　　The TV was also broadcasting news related to the Dark Cage incident, and footage of Wu Weihan attending public events in the past was played as video material. After reviewing the Dark Cage incident, the host played a video of Wu Jiayi’s public apology.

　　Cheng Yun walked over and handed the confession record to Xu Yingying, asking her to confirm and sign it.

　　Shao Qi, who had just regained consciousness, was also transferred to this ward. At this moment, she was lying on the bed, staring at a certain spot in the air, her eyes looking extremely dull.

　　Next to the bed, Director Cheng said to Shao Qi’s mother: “Don’t worry, waking up is just the first step. Treatment is still ongoing, and we are also discussing the follow-up plan. You can talk to Qiqi more and help her regain consciousness faster…”

　　As Shao Qi’s mother listened, she kept wiping away her tears with her hands.

　　At this moment, Shao Qi on the hospital bed suddenly made a sound.

　　She looked at everyone in the room. Shao Qi was lying there with his eyes wide open and lips parted. His chest was rising and falling with his rapid breathing and an unexplained sound was coming from his throat.

　　Seeing this, Director Cheng immediately stepped forward to comfort her.

　　Meng Zhao also stepped forward to help: “Director Cheng, what’s the situation? Is her life in danger?”

　　Director Cheng said with a serious expression: “I don’t know. Logically speaking, this shouldn’t happen.”

　　Meng Zhao took a look at the content on TV and shouted, “Turn off the TV immediately!”

　　Xu Yingying picked up the remote control and turned off the power immediately.

　　After a while, Shao Qi regained her composure after being comforted by Director Cheng.

　　Meng Zhao looked at Director Cheng: “Director Cheng, how do you explain her reaction? Could it be the effect of the drug? Will this drug cause mental instability as a side effect?”

　　”No such side effects have been found for the time being. This is the first time that Qiqi has experienced this phenomenon. The reaction just now was probably caused by external stimuli. Fortunately, the TV was turned off in time. Thinking about it carefully, it is very likely that seeing Wu Weihan on the TV reminded Qiqi of her past experiences,” Director Cheng breathed a sigh of relief. “Captain Meng is worthy of his reputation. He noticed the root cause at a glance.”

　　Meng Zhao did not respond. He was still confused: Wasn’t the news about Dark Cage being broadcast on TV just now? Why was there such a violent reaction suddenly?

　　Director Cheng thought for a moment and said, “The powerful thing about this drug is that it will erode the nervous system little by little in a way that is difficult for people to detect, causing people to slowly lose consciousness and judgment. It can be seen that this is something that was developed by a very professional team.”

　　”Could this medicine be purchased?” Meng Zhao continued to ask.

　　”I don’t know about that,” Director Cheng shook his head. “I’ve never seen it.”

　　Meng Zhao nodded thoughtfully. At this moment, his cell phone rang. It was Zhou Qiyang’s call.

　　Meng Zhao answered the phone.

　　Zhou Qiyang said on the phone: “Brother Zhao, the identity of that old woman has been found!”

　　”I’ll be there right away,” said Meng Zhao.

　　After hanging up the phone, Meng Zhao said something to Director Cheng, then pulled Lu Shichen and called Cheng Yun: “Let’s go back to the Municipal Bureau!”

　　”Are there any new clues?” Lu Shichen asked.

　　”The old woman’s identity has been found.” Recalling the scene where Lu Shichen once stared at the old woman in the basement, Meng Zhao noticed the expression on Lu Shichen’s face.

　　But Lu Shichen did not show any emotion, just said “hmm”.

　　•=|=•

　　Meng Zhao pushed the door and walked into the office, strode behind Zhou Qiyang, and Lu Shichen followed him.

　　”Zhu Wenxiu.” Meng Zhao looked at the screen in front of Zhou Qiyang and whispered the name, “Is this the person?”

　　”Yes, she disappeared nineteen years ago,” Zhou Qiyang moved the mouse to the key information, “Four years after her disappearance, hee family applied to the court to declare her dead. She disappeared so long ago that our people started investigating ten years ago. Who would have thought that the investigation would go back to nearly twenty years ago…”

　　”Before she disappeared, this old woman was the president of a real estate company…” Zhou Qiyang scrolled down the page and pointed the mouse pointer at “Wen Ding Real Estate Company” on the page.

　　”This name… sounds familiar.” Meng Zhao turned his head to look at Lu Shichen.

　　At the same time, Lu Shichen’s eyes fell on the screen and he was stunned for a moment.

　　Meng Zhao immediately caught the subtle change in Lu Shichen’s expression.

　　Suddenly, Meng Zhao remembered why this name looked familiar. When Lu Chengze was young, he spent eight years trying to win the case of migrant workers seeking wages, and the case was against this real estate company!

　　In his second year of high school, before going to the law firm to find Lu Chengze, Meng Zhao had learned about Lu Chengze’s resume in detail.

　　Meng Zhao looked at Lu Shichen and said, “It seems that this old woman is an old acquaintance of your father.”

　　The moment of shock just now passed away in an instant, and Lu Shichen’s expression returned to normal: “Hmm?”

　　”You don’t know?” Meng Zhao said, “The migrant workers’ wage dispute case that your father won that year, which made a sensation across the country, was fought against this old woman’s company.”

　　”That happened before I lost my memory.” Lu Shichen said lightly.

　　”Yes.” Meng Zhao said, “No matter what, we have to contact this old lady’s family first. Xiao Zhou, look up her family’s contact information.”

　　”We’ve checked,” Zhou Qiyang said. “The old lady’s husband died before she disappeared. Not long after she disappeared, her son and his family immigrated. Now we only have the files before they immigrated…”

　　”Do we have to go through that cumbersome reporting process again…” Meng Zhao frowned.

　　”I can try to help find it.” Lu Shichen said.

　　”Alright,” Meng Zhao nodded, “Then I’ll leave it to Consultant Lu.”

　　•=|=•

　　Lu Shichen once again proved his efficiency. The next morning, he handed the contact information of Zhu Wenxiu’s family to Meng Zhao.

　　”It should be her son.” Lu Shichen said.

　　”Looking at the information, her son is probably in his forties.” Meng Zhao wrote down the contact information. “That’s pretty efficient. How many millions did you spend this time?”

　　Lu Shichen looked at him: “You are asking so clearly, could it be that you are planning to return it to me?”

　　”Can I pledge my love to you?” Meng Zhao laughed, then picked up the landline phone on the desk, pressed the speakerphone button, and dialed the number provided by Lu Shichen.

　　A waiting tone came from the receiver. At first, the other party hung up the phone. Meng Zhao dialed again and this time the call was connected.

　　”Are you Zhu Wenxiu’s family?” Meng Zhao asked. Lu Shichen was standing aside and watching him.

　　”Who are you?” The voice on the other end was indeed a man in his forties, with a hint of vigilance. “What do you want to see Zhu Wenxiu for?”

　　”I am from the Chinese police,” Meng Zhao said to the receiver. “We found Zhu Wenxiu in the basement of a sanatorium. She is still alive. You applied to the court to declare Zhu Wenxiu dead. No matter what the reason, now that she has been found and there are many suspicious points about her, we hope you can come and claim her and cooperate with the Chinese police’s investigation.”

　　”Zhu Wenxiu? Where did you hear this name?” The man didn’t seem to believe what Meng Zhao said. “How can I be sure that what you said is true?”

　　”You can leave me an email address and I’ll send you a photograph of Zhu Wenxiu,” Meng Zhao said. “If you still don’t believe it after seeing the photo, we can also confirm it through video.”

　　The man hesitated for a moment and told Meng Zhao the email address. Meng Zhao found a pen and paper nearby, quickly wrote it down, tore it off and handed it to Cheng Yun, then said to the other end of the phone: “Send the photos immediately. Don’t hang up yet.”

　　Cheng Yun was very quick. Within a minute, she made an “OK” gesture to Meng Zhao.

　　Meng Zhao said to the phone: “It has been sent, please check it.”

　　There were footsteps coming from the phone. The man was probably walking towards the computer in the room. After a few minutes of silence, the man’s voice sounded again, and his tone was very excited: “Is my mother really still alive? How did she become like this? How is she now?”

　　Compared to the other party’s somewhat excited tone, Meng Zhao’s voice seemed very calm: “Your mother has been injected with a certain drug for a long time. She is currently unconscious. It is hard to say whether she can recover in the future. As far as we know, your mother’s disappearance was caused by human factors. It is very likely that she was framed. If you have time, please return to China immediately and go to the Mingtan City Public Security Bureau to claim Zhu Wenxiu. If you have any difficulties, the Chinese government will help you solve them.”

　　The other party was silent for a few seconds before speaking, his voice lower than before: “Okay, I’ll find a way to return.”