A perfect crime? To me, it's full of flaws!

On the other side, in the suburbs of City A, in a field.

A man in his forties was holding a string and leading a seven or eight-year-old boy running along the edge of a field, while a colorful butterfly kite swayed and flew in the air.

"Uncle, higher! Higher!" The boy's laughter was clear and full of childlike innocence.

A smile appeared on the man's face as he looked at the boy with a complicated expression, and he tugged hard on the kite string.

On a ridge not far away, a woman sat quietly, watching this scene with tender eyes.

However, her face was completely bloodless, and her left hand was firmly embedded in the soil, as if she were struggling for something.

........

Outside the kitchen of the Experimental Primary School.

Smoke swirled around.

Fan Liang paced back and forth in frustration. There were no new discoveries on the school's surveillance cameras. Liu Juan simply took Xiao Hao's hand and walked out of the back door naturally. Xiao Hao did not struggle or cry.

"We'll have to wait a bit. Haitang is working on that report, and Xiao Liu is dealing with those crumpled pieces of paper. There's no use rushing it." Qi Feng leaned against the wall and handed Fan Liang a cigarette.

"How can we not be anxious!" Fan Liang took a deep breath, the smoke choking him and causing him to cough violently. "The traffic police said that Liu Juan's trail went cold five kilometers away! Now we can only expand the search area, and all the police officers in the jurisdiction have been sent out to conduct inquiries in the areas where Liu Juan's trail was lost."

"So you need to relax even more." Qi Feng patted Fan Liang's stiff shoulder. "Your nerves are more taut than a steel wire right now. If you collapse before we even catch them, who will take command?"

"But that child... I'm afraid..." Fan Liang's voice suddenly lowered, and he swallowed the rest of his words.

Qi Feng remained silent.

At times like these, any words of comfort seem pale and powerless.

Qi Feng was also anxious, but there was nothing he could do; all subsequent actions depended on receiving news.

Time passed by, second by second.

Every second was so unbearable.

An hour later.

"Squeak..."

The door to the lounge opened.

Lin Haitang came out.

"We have the results."

"The Seventh People's Hospital." Lin Haitang pointed to the top line of words pieced together. "The patient's name starts with the character 'Ren,' but the fragments corresponding to the last two characters are missing. It's very likely that it's Ren Yongshou or Ren Wenkang."

Her finger continued to move down, landing on a shocking word.

"Diagnosis opinion: suspected...cancer."

The last two characters are clear and complete.

"Where is the Seventh People's Hospital?" Qi Feng's gaze instantly sharpened like a knife as he shot towards Fan Liang.

"In the eastern suburbs, there is a specialized oncology hospital," Fan Liang blurted out almost without thinking.

"Walk!"

Without uttering a single wasted word, the two turned and rushed outside.

Lin Haitang instinctively followed, but Qi Feng stopped her.

"Haitang, you stay." Qi Feng's tone left no room for argument. "Keep an eye on the progress here. Those shopping receipts are of utmost importance now; they might help us narrow down the scope of our investigation again!"

Lin Haitang paused, nodded heavily, and turned back to the lounge.

Qi Feng, together with Fan Liang and several waiting police officers, rushed towards the police car.

The piercing sirens once again tore through the sky.

The atmosphere inside the car was terribly oppressive.

A young police officer unconsciously rubbed his gun holster repeatedly, his thighs trembling violently as if they were powered by a motor.

"Hey guys, relax a bit," Qi Feng said, leaning back in his chair and breaking the silence with a relaxed tone. "Especially you, Xiao Yang, if you keep shaking like that, I'm afraid you'll shake the car door off my side."

The young police officer, Xiao Yang, whose name was called, blushed, pressed his leg tightly, and stammered, "I...I'm sorry, Brother Qi, I..."

"Is it okay? If not, go back to the team first." Fan Liang turned around from the front row, his brows furrowed.

"I'm fine! Captain, I'm fine!" Xiao Yang straightened his back.

Fan Liang didn't say anything more, but simply explained to Qi Feng, "Xiao Yang hasn't been out of school for long and has little experience, so please bear with him."

After saying that, he winked at another veteran detective sitting next to Xiao Yang.

The old detective, named Kou Shi, lived up to his name, being taciturn. At this moment, he simply moved closer to Xiao Yang without making a sound, giving him a reassuring look.

The police car sped along the road for nearly an hour before finally arriving at the Seventh People's Hospital in the eastern suburbs.

At the hospital entrance, backup police from the local police station were already in place and were diligently gathering information.

Fan Liang jumped out of the car and walked straight toward a middle-aged man in uniform.

"Director Gu, how's the situation?"

"Old Fan, you've finally arrived." Director Gu's face was grave. "We found out. A month and a half ago, a patient named Ren Yongshou came here for treatment, suspected of having late-stage rectal cancer. However, he hasn't come to the hospital since."

Just then, a police officer jogged over.

"Chief! Captain Fan! We've found him! The suspect arrived in a taxi; the license plate number is A7527! We've contacted the driver; he's on his way to the station!"

"Okay! Let's go to the station and wait!" Fan Liang made the decision immediately.

"Captain Fan," Qi Feng suddenly spoke up, "Leave me a car. I need to go ask the attending physician about something."

"Okay." Fan Liang said without hesitation, "Let Xiao Yang and Shi Tou go with you."

Fan Liang led the main force to the police station, while Qi Feng led two criminal police officers, one old and one young, into the hospital's outpatient building.

Office of the head of the oncology department.

"Director, please take a look at this report." Qi Feng pulled up Ren Yongshou's electronic medical record image. "Based on your experience, how serious is his condition?"

The elderly director, his temples graying, adjusted his glasses and carefully examined the data on the screen.

"Judging from the report, the situation is very serious. Further examination is needed to make an accurate diagnosis, but he hasn't returned since his initial diagnosis..." The senior doctor sighed and offered his assessment, "If I were his attending physician, I probably wouldn't recommend any more invasive treatments. I'd prescribe more painkillers so that he can pass away more comfortably in his final days."

Whether or not treatment is given, it won't make much difference.

At this moment, Qi Feng understood some things he hadn't understood before.

But none of that matters right now; the most important thing is to find the child!

Just as he was about to lead his men to the police station to meet up with Fan Liang, his cell phone started vibrating wildly in his pocket.

It is Lin Haitang.

"Qi Feng! The receipt is out! It's a receipt from a pharmacy, and it shows all sorts of strong painkillers!"

"address!"

"I checked the location! It's in the eastern suburbs, outside the city, in a place called 'Sanli Town'! I've sent the address to your phone!"

"Okay! Good job! Go back to the station and wait for news!"

"Get on the bus! We're going to Sanli Town!"