Reborn in 97, I solved a cold case at the Municipal Bureau

Chapter 388 Treatment
At four o'clock that morning, Lu Xiaoshuang was put on a ventilator and lifted into an ambulance under Wu Yongcheng's arrangement.

Zhou Yi stayed by her side the whole time, never leaving her side.

Sitting in the ambulance, Zhou Yi looked out the window as Wu Yongcheng, with a cigarette in his mouth, watched the ambulance drive away.

As the ambulance drove onto the highway, the city's silhouette slowly emerged in the fading light of dawn at the edge of the sky.

It looks so much like the one he saw on the day he was reborn.

The accompanying doctor checked the equipment and then said to Zhou Yi, "The patient's vital signs are currently stable. Officer Zhou, why don't you take a nap? It'll still be several hours before we reach the provincial capital."

"It's okay, I'm not sleepy." Zhou Yi smiled at Lu Xiaoshuang in front of him.

The taillights of the ambulance gradually disappeared into the distance on the highway.

……

As the first rays of dawn slowly rise on the horizon, a new day begins.

Although there were many more police officers on the streets starting yesterday, the situation did not seem as serious as during the last lockdown, so many people were no longer surprised.

People went to work or went to school as usual. After all, compared to their previous lives, the people of Hongcheng had seen a lot in this life.

In the grand girls' dormitory, Mo Youyou, who hadn't slept well all night, got up with dark circles under her eyes.

She first looked at the lower bunk, then at the upper bunk diagonally opposite. The blankets on both beds were still the same as before, without any signs of being moved.

Some people noticed something was wrong and asked, "Why haven't Lu Xiaoshuang and Xu Liu come back? Are they planning to skip class?"

Mo Youyou shook her head, feigning composure. Zhou Yi had told her yesterday to act as if nothing had happened.

But inside, she was panicking and tossed and turned in bed all night.

As Zhou Jianguo walked into the No. 2 Steel dormitory building, everyone who saw him greeted him warmly, calling him "Master Zhou" repeatedly.

Previously, Huang Xiaomao delivered goods to the south, and the journey was smooth. After the tractor factory tried the samples, they were quite satisfied with the quality of Ergang's products.

Thanks to Zhou Jianye's efforts, the previous procurement commitments were readily fulfilled.

Later, Zhou Jianguo did as his son said and had Zhou Jianye directly negotiate the contract with the factory. Although there were some twists and turns in the process, even Zhou Jianguo, an honest man, could see that the old factory director clearly had other intentions.

Fortunately, my brother was a natural businessman and managed to resolve all the problems one by one.

Of course, Kong Laosan, who had been loitering around the factory leaders' office building for three days with a rope around his waist, deserves much credit for this.

Once I get the compensation money, I'll have to treat Kong Laosan to a good drink.

Although this matter solved the immediate problems for a small number of people, it was indeed as his son had said: the Second Steel Company was doomed. The list of layoffs for the next batch of employees, though belated, was eventually announced.

Moreover, it's not just No. 2 Steel; No. 1 Steel is also in a state of panic, with rumors of layoffs spreading like wildfire.

After all, No. 1 Steel is not much better than No. 2 Steel.

Whether it's No. 2 Steel or No. 1 Steel, some people are trying to replicate Zhou Jianguo's behavior.

The factory leaders were quite open-minded, after all, there were precedents, and the warehouse was indeed full of steel coils.

The problem is that no one else has a brother like Zhou Jianye.

According to Zhou Jianguo and Zhang Qiuxia, the whole thing was thanks to their brother Zhou Jianye. Although the idea came from Zhou Yi, their son didn't want to get involved because of his profession.

This caused those who had previously looked down on Zhou Jianye's "unproductive" youngest son to change their tune, praising him for his potential and saying he had been quick-witted since childhood.

Even the originally stubborn old man's attitude towards his youngest son has changed. He is noticeably more proud when he mentions his youngest son, second only to others when he mentions his grandson Zhou Yi.

Zhou Jianguo knocked on his own door, but there was no response.

So he used the key to open the door, but the house was still the same, as if no one had been back.

"Hey, why did this business trip take so long? He didn't even call home." Zhou Jianguo complained, but his hands were busy cleaning.

In the Lu family's large courtyard, a ray of sunlight shone through the window into that small, simple attic.

Within the beam of light, dust particles danced and refracted a faint glow.

Outside the window, a tenacious little grass swayed in the breeze.

The shadow of the grass, cast by the sunlight, falls on the desk in the attic.

……

May 3rd, 4 PM.

Xie Guoqiang convened the second case analysis meeting for the "430 Major Dismemberment Case".

As usual, all the key investigators participated, except for Zhou Yi, who was still in the provincial capital.

"Sister Qiao, how are Zhou Yi and Xiao Shuang doing?" Chen Yan asked on the way to the conference room.

Qiao Jiali nodded: "I called Zhou Yi yesterday. Everything seems normal so far. The provincial hospital has also arranged a treatment plan. I heard from Zhou Yi that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he should wake up in a couple of days."

Chen Yan nodded with relief, but at the same time felt a little strange, because the case was convened suddenly without prior notice, and Wu Yongcheng did not ask them to prepare.

"By the way, where is my master?"

"He's probably already in the conference room. I think he went upstairs earlier." Qiao Jiali was referring to the floor with the director's office.

Jiang Biao walked at the very back, yawning constantly, his face full of sleepiness.

He has been running around for the past few days. Although Lu Xiaoshuang has been found, Xu Liu is still missing. Before it is confirmed that the deceased is Xu Liu, the body parts need to be found, and the person also needs to be found.

So he hasn't slept or rested for the past few days. When he really can't take it anymore, he just dozes off in the car for a while. Even with his iron body, he feels like he can't keep going.

He smelled like a jar of sour wine. The three of them walked into the conference room and immediately saw Wu Yongcheng sitting next to Xie Guoqiang. Their hearts skipped a beat.

Because Captain Wu's expression was clearly not good.

Xie Guoqiang, standing to the side, remained calm and composed, showing no emotion whatsoever.

Jiang Biao was second only to Wu Yongcheng in seniority in the Third Brigade. He knew that Director Xie appeared to be an approachable leader who sometimes joked with his subordinates and seemed unconventional.

But in fact, he had heard long ago that before becoming the director, Director Xie was a rather strict pragmatist, and those who worked under him all complained bitterly.

Ni Jianrong, standing to the side, seemed much more relaxed than the other two.

After all the attendees had arrived, Xie Guoqiang looked around and said casually, "Is everyone here?"

Wu Yongcheng nodded: "All done."

"Everyone, I have something to announce first."

Everyone's ears perked up.

Xie Guoqiang said in a deep voice: "The identity of the victim in the 430 major dismemberment case has been confirmed."

Most people's eyes clearly showed a hint of surprise. In the past few days, various departments have been conducting a full investigation, but the information is relatively scattered and has not been fully summarized.

Even though Chen Yan and his team only had bits and pieces of information, they were still somewhat surprised to confirm the deceased's identity.

Because of the special nature of this case, a lot of important information is first given to Xie Guoqiang, and then the bureau chief personally arranges and coordinates its dissemination.

This was a clear instruction issued by Xie Guoqiang, demonstrating the importance he attached to this case.

Everyone was waiting for Xie Guoqiang to reveal the deceased's name.

Unexpectedly, Xie Guoqiang suddenly changed the subject and said, "In addition... the suspect in this case has also been identified."

Next, when Xie Guoqiang revealed the identity of the deceased, the members of the Third Brigade felt that it was basically expected.

But when he said the suspect's name, almost everyone was stunned.

Jiang Biao, Qiao Jiali, Chen Yan, and Xu Nian all turned their gazes toward Wu Yongcheng.

Wu Yongcheng's face was ashen.

……

A ward in the Department of Neurology at the First Central Hospital of the Provincial Capital.

Zhou Yi drew the curtain and then walked out of the ward.

He didn't go far; he just stood at the door of the ward and stretched his body a bit.

Inside, a caregiver was wiping Lu Xiaoshuang's body and massaging her muscles.

Lu Xiaoshuang was admitted to the hospital in a coma. According to the doctor's orders, she needed to be turned over every two hours to prevent bedsores and avoid nerve compression and necrosis.

This isn't difficult; after the nurse taught Zhou Yi, he just needed to follow her instructions.

The nurses had some difficulty doing it, but for Zhou Yi, Lu Xiaoshuang's weight was no problem at all.

The nurse said that she would also need to give the patient a hot water bath and massage to promote blood circulation and prevent muscle atrophy.

This put Zhou Yi in a bit of a dilemma. Turning someone over is fine if you're careful, but close contact nursing practices like wiping or massaging are really inappropriate.

Finally, after asking the nurse, I paid for a caregiver to come and help.

Whenever this happens, Zhou Yi will leave the ward to avoid the situation.

The aunt smiled and said to the patient next door, "She's obviously not married yet, she's shy."

According to the treatment plan provided by the doctors here, it is estimated that after three hyperbaric oxygen therapy sessions, the carbon monoxide concentration in the patient's blood will decrease, and he will be able to wake up.

However, a full recovery will require further treatment, and whether there will be any long-term effects will depend on the examination results after waking up.

In any case, Lu Xiaoshuang's situation is developing in a positive direction.

Moreover, there is a very crucial point: before sending Lu Xiaoshuang to the provincial capital in the early hours of that day, Wu Yongcheng arranged for professionals to conduct an injury assessment on Lu Xiaoshuang, because regardless of whether Lu Xiaoshuang's disappearance was subsequently handled together with the dismemberment case, it involved a criminal case, and the injury assessment had to be recorded.

The main purpose of injury assessment is to confirm whether the person involved has been subjected to violence, drugging, or sexual assault.

Lu Xiaoshuang had numerous abrasions on her body, which were determined to be non-violent epidermal abrasions, indicating that she had not been subjected to violence or coercion.

That means she might have been drugged, but unfortunately, Lu Xiaoshuang inhaled a large amount of methane and carbon monoxide, making it impossible to detect the inhalation of drugs such as ether. We can only wait for Lu Xiaoshuang to wake up and tell us herself.

Finally, and importantly for everyone, Lu Xiaoshuang's hymen was intact, and there were no signs of violence or injury to her genitals, leading to the conclusion that there was no possibility of sexual assault.

His condition has improved in the past two days. The intensity of the caregiving itself is nothing to him. The main thing is that his tense mood has relaxed. In any case, as long as he is alive, that's all that matters.

He didn't inquire further about the progress of the dismemberment case.

Wu Yongcheng is right about one thing: he is not yet the captain of the Third Brigade, so he can't ask every question he wants.

He knew that Wu Yongcheng didn't care, but that didn't mean others didn't care either.

Moreover, he believed that if anything happened, Wu Yongcheng would definitely call him.

"Alright, young man, come in." The aunt called out from inside the ward.

"I'm here," Zhou Yi replied.

(End of this chapter)