False evidence

Chapter 11 The Lost Seventy-Two Hours
I was startled by the monkey's intense reaction. Just as I was about to say something, I suddenly realized that something seemed off.

I grabbed him and said, "What did you just say? Who hasn't left the house for three days?"

The monkey looked at me with the eyes of someone looking at a patient and said, "Who else could it be? Ping told me everything about you. He was afraid of bothering you, so he asked me to look after you. Well, you haven't left the house for three days and three nights. I was really worried something might happen to you, so I came over..."

"I haven't left the house for three days?" I thought either I was crazy or he was crazy. Without waiting for his reply, I took out my phone.

I turned on the screen, glanced at it, and was immediately stunned.

The date displayed on my phone is actually three days different from the date I moved here!
I was completely bewildered: "How could this be..."

"Buzz...buzz..."

My phone vibrated, and I was about to answer it when it automatically shut down before I could even see who was calling.

If it really lasts for three days and three nights, then there's bound to be no electricity.

But how could that be? I clearly remember not sleeping all night.
No, it seems I dozed off for a while. Could it be that I fell asleep without realizing it? But that's impossible to sleep for three days and three nights straight!

The monkey chattered on and on, then dragged me outside to get breakfast.

My stomach rumbled in unison, and I said I'd go back inside to charge my phone. Monkey said no need, that he had a power bank.

The breakfast stall owner and his wife were dumbfounded by what they ate. Goodness, two bowls of soy milk, half a dozen fried dough sticks, two sugar pancakes, and a free leek pancake. Anyone who saw it would think they were starving ghosts reincarnated.

I followed the monkey back to his clinic, where he insisted on giving me a physical examination.

I couldn't refuse him, so I took the opportunity to connect my phone to the power source.

There was only one missed call recently, from an unfamiliar phone number. I received quite a few WeChat messages, including messages from Li Ping, Meng Chao, and a voice message from Gu Haitao.

These messages were sent at different times, but they all confirmed that at least seventy-two hours had indeed passed.

Suddenly, I remembered something else and asked the monkey, "Brother Monkey, have you heard? There are foxes around here."

"Foxes?" The monkey was taken aback. "I did hear about foxes when I was a kid, but look at how bad the environment is these days. There are plenty of 'fox spirits' on the street, but I've never seen a real fox. Hey? Why did you suddenly ask about this?"

I originally wanted to tell him about seeing the white fox at night, but after thinking about it, I decided not to.

The fact that I "disappeared" for seventy-two hours without anyone noticing is already unbelievable enough. If he were to say that I saw a white fox, he would most likely have to send me to the hospital to see a psychiatrist.

The morning passed quickly, and the monkey's examination of me showed that apart from a little gas in my stomach (from overeating), I was otherwise very healthy.

I found that monkeys are actually quite nice. Like Liping, they are warm-hearted. It's just that when they get close to people, they become even more talkative than Meng Chao, blurting out things they shouldn't say.

I thought to myself that since we were neighbors and he had taken such good care of me, I should treat him to a meal. It was almost lunchtime, so I said I'd treat him to a meal at a restaurant.

The two hit it off immediately. When Monkey finished what he was doing and was taking off his coat, I accidentally came face to face with him and suddenly felt a strange sense of disorientation.

The monkey came over and put his arm around my shoulder: "What are you standing there for? Come on, it's on you!"

I shook my head violently, stared blankly at his face for a moment, and said, "Let's wait a little longer."

"What are you waiting for?"

I said, "Let's charge the phone a little longer."

Before he could speak, I couldn't help but ask, "When you treat patients, do you always keep records?"

The monkey grinned: "Of course! You think I'm selling quack medicine? This is a legitimate clinic, buddy!"

"Don't bring up selling wild herbs!" I punched him. "My grandpa raised me by selling wild herbs."

They had barely exchanged a few more words when footsteps sounded outside.

Hearing the door open, I didn't even turn my head: "Captain Gao, we meet again."

I turned around, and sure enough, it was Gao He, accompanied by Lin Dan, whom I had met before.

Gao asked in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

I said, "The school won't let me stay in the dormitory, so I can only stay at a friend's house temporarily."

Gao He said, "That's perfect, I was just about to look for you. This morning I was driving and asked Lin Dan to call you, but it only rang twice before the call dropped, and then it was switched off. Wait a minute, I'll talk to you after I finish what I need to do."

I shrugged and stepped aside.

He and Lin Dan showed their identification to the monkey and then began questioning it.

In that brief moment of 'dazedness,' I not only knew that Gao and the others were coming, but I also knew their purpose in looking for the monkey.

Just as the monkey himself said, although his clinic was small, it had all the necessary permits and records for most of his patients. Therefore, asking him questions was much simpler.

Gao He gestured for Lin Dan to put away his notebook, stood up, shook his hand, and said to me, "Now that we've finished our business, let's go have a meal together."

"Can my friend come along?" "Of course, it's just a matter of adding a pair of chopsticks."

It was the same restaurant I'd visited last time. This time, Gao He didn't drink; he just ordered rice. He shoveled it down in a few mouthfuls with the vegetable broth, then, wiping his mouth, pulled an envelope from his bag and pushed it in front of me.

"This is……"

"Lin Dan and I thank you personally." Gao He lit a cigarette and gestured with his chin at me. "If it weren't for what you said beforehand last time, Lin Dan and I might really be going to meet the King of Hell. Let's not go through formalities; nothing is more practical than giving money directly. We're all working-class people, it's not much, don't refuse, just accept it."

Lin Dan put down his chopsticks and nodded to me. "Thank you so much for what happened last time."

"You're welcome. By the way, who is Big Wood?" I asked.

Seeing Lin Dan turn her face to one side, Gao He grinned. "It was her boyfriend, oh no, her ex-boyfriend. The time we had dinner, he called Lin Dan to break up with her. After that day, the more I thought about it, the more unbelievable it seemed. Normally, with Lin Dan's driving skills, she would never have ended up in the morgue. But coincidentally, that day, when she heard that the guy had fallen for someone else, she was so frustrated that she almost shot him. In that state, she could have easily crashed into a telephone pole, let alone a speeding car."

After listening for a while, the monkey couldn't help but ask gossipily, "What happened between that beautiful woman and that blockhead in the end? Did they not make up?"

Gao He clicked his tongue: "They say that once someone falls in love with another, they won't go back to the same old thing, and once someone is unfaithful, they'll never be trusted again. He might be willing to get back together with our Xiao Dan, but he's not!"

The monkey wanted to talk more, and I knew he was going to start babbling again, so I quickly stopped him. Thank goodness I did, otherwise, judging from Lin Dan's look, if he had uttered even half a sensitive word, Lin Dan's chopsticks would have been flying at his face.

Gao He suddenly said, "The case has become complicated."

My heart skipped a beat, but I didn't say anything.

Knowing that the call this morning was from Lin Dan, my mind started racing. It was certain that the murderer hadn't been caught, but if they hadn't caught him, why would he contact me? No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't believe that the two of them were contacting each other for more than just a thank you gift.

Gao He pointed at the monkey and said to me, "You heard the questions I asked him earlier. You should be able to guess where we're starting now."

I nodded: "I stabbed the murderer with the spokes, and the injury was quite serious, so now you are checking various hospitals and private clinics to see if any doctors have treated any suspicious patients after that."

Gao He said, "That's right. What else came to mind?"

I shook my head.

Gao He scratched his head vigorously. "You must have thought of it, but you just don't want to take responsibility and won't say anything. You're forcing us to break the rules."

He tapped Lin Dan's arm and pointed at me, saying, "Xiao Dan, you tell him! You handle the rule violations, and if anything goes wrong, I'll take the blame for you."

The monkey chuckled: "You guys have this kind of trick up your sleeve?"

Lin Dan glared at him, then turned to me and said, "We tested and compared the blood sample from your spoke, and there were no results. In other words, the murderer has no prior criminal record."

I made a pause gesture: "Hey! You two, this...this case has nothing to do with me, you really don't need to tell me this."

Gao He said in a deep voice, "I think it's necessary. Let her finish speaking first."

Lin Dan glanced at him and emphasized, "No matter what method we use, we must apprehend the murderer as quickly as possible. The murderer has lost control and is becoming increasingly ruthless and brutal. Every minute we delay in catching him could mean the emergence of new victims."

I couldn't help but interrupt her again: "Wait, you mean..."

Lin Dan nodded: "It's a serial murder case. In fact, before the case in Elephant Nose Lane, there were already four victims. Both were mother-daughter pairs, with the same modus operandi. The difference is that, because of your intervention, the two victims in Elephant Nose Lane did not die."

"and many more!"

This time, it was Monkey who interrupted, "So, you've already concluded that Sanqi is innocent. Then why don't you provide the school with a certificate proving his innocence?"

Gao He stubbed out his cigarette, frowned, and shook his head. "That's how the rules are. Without sufficient evidence, based solely on personal subjective opinions, no one can provide proof. Trust us, once we catch the real culprit, I'll personally escort Sanqi back to school. Besides issuing an official letter of thanks, I'll also present him with a banner!"

My heart skipped a beat again: "What banner? I don't need it. I'm just a student, and I'm still learning..." Suddenly, it was as if a lightning bolt struck my mind, and my words stopped abruptly.

Lin Dan finally couldn't help but frown. "Classmate, can you let me finish what I have to say?"

I suddenly waved my hand, and Gao He and Lin Dan were both taken aback, as if they hadn't expected me to have such a resolute and stubborn attitude.

I quickly said, "Don't misunderstand. I can't really help, but... I suddenly thought of a possibility."

Gao He raised an eyebrow, and both he and Lin Dan unconsciously revealed a hint of admiration in their eyes.

I leaned forward and said to them, word by word, "I'm a veterinary student!"

Lin Dan glared at him, "In the end, you still refuse to help us!"

I quickly shook my head. "Let me finish. Although my academic performance is average, I am still a medical student and have taken biology and anatomy classes. That night I could feel... In fact, you must have already determined through the tests that the murderer was seriously injured. He was seriously injured and needed treatment. So he had to go to the hospital."

Lin Dan tried to interrupt me again, but Gao He stopped her and nodded to me: "So we have investigated 43 hospitals and private clinics of all sizes in the city and surrounding towns. You, continue."

“I told you, I studied veterinary medicine! What I meant was, veterinarians are doctors too, the murderer isn't stupid, he definitely wouldn't dare go to a regular hospital…”

Gao He clapped his hands: "Understood!" He then picked up his phone and quickly dialed a number: "All personnel, starting now, conduct a thorough investigation of all township veterinary stations and all pet hospitals in the city!"

(End of this chapter)