A rather masculine voice came through the phone: “Excuse me, are you Mr. Liu? We’re from the police station. The exploration team that went to Tibet for inspection has encountered an incident.”
Upon hearing the words “an incident has occurred,” Liu Dashao felt as if a hammer had struck his chest, and his head buzzed with a sudden dizziness, leaving him momentarily stunned and confused. Fan Debiao and Cai Qingchong, seeing Liu Dashao’s face change dramatically, could only exchange bewildered glances, unsure of what serious matter had occurred, sitting there anxiously. It wasn’t until Liu Dashao steadied himself and quietly asked, “What kind of incident happened?”
The voice on the other end hesitated: “Why don’t you come to the Sanli Street police station first? It’s not convenient to talk about it here.”
“On our way now!” After Liu Dashao said this, he had the taxi turn around. Fan Debiao thought to himself, weren’t we going to see Da Guoguo? Why are we heading to the police station? Could it be to turn ourselves in? However, Liu Dashao’s subsequent explanation made his heart drop as well. It had happened—within just a week, something had gone wrong!
Upon entering the police station, the three were led into a small office where two police officers wearing peaked caps were seated. Judging from their insignias, they seemed to be of high rank.
Liu Dashao looked at them suspiciously and asked, “Who are you two?”
After saluting him, one of the officers, a man with a mustache, said, “I’ll be straightforward. The expedition team lost contact with the outside world while at the ancient Ge ruins in Xinjiang. It was three days later when the rescue team from the 113th Army Corps of the People’s Liberation Army found them. By then, out of the five archaeologists, three had been confirmed dead, one was missing, and one remained alive but in a vegetative state at the capital’s hospital.”
Before he could finish, Liu Dashao grabbed his collar anxiously and asked, “Damn! What about Uncle Diao, Diao Deyi? How is he? What about Wang Feifei and Jackson? Tell me quickly!”
Shaking his head, the officer with the mustache replied, “Mr. Liu, please calm down. We’re here to inform you that the person in the hospital is Ms. Wang Feifei, the vice president of the French Tour Exploration Team. Jackson, a French national, is indeed on the list of the deceased. As for Mr. Diao Deyi, whom you mentioned, his whereabouts are still unknown. Given the unique geographical conditions in Xinjiang, the rescue team has ceased further search efforts, and we apologize for that. Among Ms. Wang Feifei’s personal belongings, we found a photograph of you two together and her diary, which led us to realize she was your girlfriend, so we decided to contact you. There’s another thing: our investigation found that your friend Da Guoguo, who is currently in the hospital, had also visited the same location with them several months ago. He, too, suffered heavy losses, returning alone, and he is now critically ill and temporarily transferred to the military hospital by the national security authorities.”
Before he could finish speaking, Fan Debiao dropped to the floor in shock, while Liu Dashao had already quickly put on his coat: “Take me there quickly!”
Outside the ward corridor, there were many people standing or sitting. As the three rushed to the door of the ward, they were about to push it open when two fully armed soldiers, holding Type 56 assault rifles, blocked their way.
“Move aside, I need to get in,” Fan Debiao roared and tried to push the soldiers aside, but at that moment, a voice called out, “What are you doing?”
Liu Dashao turned around to see the speaker was a high-ranking officer.
“Comrade, my boss is inside. I heard he’s in danger; I must go in and see how he is!” Fan Debiao only threw out these words before reaching out again to push the ward door.
“Hold him back,” a cold voice ordered.
The two fully armed soldiers at the door simultaneously raised their Type 56 assault rifles and pointed them at Fan Debiao’s chest. Fan Debiao turned around and shouted at the officer, “What do you mean? Does being an officer make you so important? I don’t give a damn! If you dare shoot me now, fine. If not, when you finish work today, I’ll smash your testicles with a brick!”
The officer sneered, “I’m not letting you in because I want to cause trouble. I’m doing it for your own good.”
He glanced at Fan Debiao indifferently before calmly addressing Liu Dashao, “Sir, since I had someone notify you, of course I’ll let you in, but no matter what you see inside, I hope you can stay calm.”
Seeing the officer’s serious expression and realizing Fan Debiao’s previous behavior had indeed been impulsive and inappropriate, Liu Dashao could only nod.
“Go ahead, see your friend for the last time!” The officer said heavily before turning his head away, no longer looking in their direction.
“Last time?” When Liu Dashao heard the officer say these words, his heart sank again. He took a deep breath and, with Cai Qingchong and Fan Debiao, solemnly pushed open the door to the intensive care unit.
Inside the ward, chaos reigned. Seven or eight doctors and nurses were busily surrounding the bed. Various instruments were flashing lights, most of which Liu Dashao didn’t recognize. He only recognized the ECG machine that made him shudder with fear.
“The patient’s blood pressure is dropping rapidly!”
“Increase the infusion to 4000 CC.”
“Ventricular fibrillation is occurring…”
“Prepare defibrillation! Step back… one… two… three…”
“Pa…” (the sound of defibrillation)
“Not enough, three hundred!”
“Step back… one… two… three…”
“Pa…”
“Four hundred…”
“Pa…”
“Five hundred!”
“Doctor, we can’t increase it anymore; the patient can’t take it!”
“Five hundred, step back… one… two… three…”
“Pa…”
“…”
Liu Dashao didn’t dare breathe heavily, let alone approach to look at Da Guoguo. His eyes were fixed on the ECG monitor, silently praying, “Come on! Wake up! … Buddy, you must survive.”
“Administer adrenaline, five hundred and eighty, step back… one… two… three…”
“Pa…”
A long beep sounded, and the ECG had turned into a straight horizontal line.
At this moment, Fan Debiao could no longer hold back. He rushed to the bedside, pulling left and right, shoving the doctors and nurses aside: “Boss, wake up quickly… it’s me… it’s Debiao!”
Before he could finish saying “Ah,” Fan Debiao suddenly realized that the person in front of him wasn’t Da Guoguo at all but an old man he didn’t recognize. Looking at the old man’s white hair and wrinkled face, he must be at least eighty years old. How could he be the sharp-eyed middle-aged man?
“Haha—” Fan Debiao laughed loudly, “You got it wrong, you got it wrong. He’s definitely not my boss. So it’s all just a prank…” Fan Debiao turned around, opened the door, and saw the tense face of Su Yougui and the cold face of the officer.
A distinctly masculine voice came through the phone: “Are you Mr. Liu? This is the police station. The expedition team that went to Tibet has run into trouble.”
At the mention of “trouble,” Liu Dashao felt as if a sledgehammer had struck his chest, and his head buzzed with a loud “hum.” For a moment, he was utterly at a loss. Fan Debiao and Cai Qingchong, noticing Liu Dashao’s drastic change in expression, exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of what major incident had occurred. They sat there, anxiously waiting. It wasn’t until Liu Dashao steadied his nerves and asked in a low voice, “What happened?” that the tension broke.
The voice on the other end hesitated before replying, “Come to the Sanli Street branch first. It’s not something we can discuss over the phone.”
“We’ll be there immediately!” Liu Dashao said, then instructed the taxi driver to turn around. Fan Debiao thought to himself, weren’t we supposed to go see Big Guoguo? Why are we heading to the police station? Are we turning ourselves in? But Liu Dashao’s next explanation hit him like a thunderbolt—something had gone wrong. In just a week, disaster had struck!
Upon entering the police station, the three were ushered into a small office where two police officers with large-brimmed hats sat. Judging by their ranks, they seemed to be of considerable seniority.
Liu Dashao eyed them suspiciously and asked, “You are…”
After saluting him, one of the officers, a man with a mustache, spoke up, “Let me get straight to the point. The expedition team lost contact with the outside world while at the ancient ruins of Guge in Xinjiang. When the rescue team from the 113th Corps of the People’s Liberation Army found them three days later, three of the five archaeologists were confirmed dead, one was missing, and the remaining member is currently in Capital Hospital, showing signs of life but completely unresponsive—essentially in a vegetative state.”
Before he could finish, Liu Dashao grabbed him by the collar and urgently demanded, “Damn it! What about Uncle Diao? Diao Deyi? And Wang Feifei, Jackson? Tell me! Tell me now…”
The mustached officer shook his head, “Mr. Liu, please calm down. We’re here to inform you that the person in the hospital is Ms. Wang Feifei, the vice president of the French Tour expedition team. Among the deceased is indeed a Frenchman named Jackson. As for Mr. Diao Deyi, his whereabouts remain unknown. Given the unique geographical challenges of Xinjiang, the rescue team has ceased their efforts. We apologize. In Wang Feifei’s personal belongings, we found a photo of you two together and her diary, which revealed she was your girlfriend. That’s why we decided to contact you… There’s one more thing. Our investigation revealed that your friend Big Guoguo, who is currently in the hospital, went to the same place with them months ago and suffered heavy losses, being the only one to return. He is now critically ill and has been temporarily transferred to the military hospital by the National Security Bureau.”
Before he could finish, Fan Debiao collapsed onto the floor. Liu Dashao quickly grabbed his coat, “Take me there now!”
The corridor outside the ward was already crowded with people standing or sitting. The three rushed to the ward door, about to push it open when two fully armed PLA soldiers with Type 56 submachine guns stopped them.
“Move aside, I need to get in,” Fan Debiao shouted, attempting to push past the soldiers. At that moment, a voice called out, “What do you think you’re doing?”
Liu Dashao turned to see a high-ranking officer speaking.
“Comrade, my boss is inside. I heard he’s in danger. I need to see how he’s doing!” Fan Debiao blurted out, then reached for the door again.
“Stop him,” came a cold command.
The two soldiers raised their submachine guns, pressing them against Fan Debiao’s chest. He turned and cursed at the officer, “What’s your problem? Think you’re so great because you’re an officer? I don’t give a damn. If you’ve got the guts, shoot me now. If not, I’ll smash your balls with a brick after you’re off duty!”
The officer smirked, “I’m stopping you for your own good.”
He shot Fan Debiao a glance, then calmly addressed Liu Dashao, “Sir, I’ll have someone notify you when it’s time to enter. But whatever you see inside, I hope you can remain calm.”
Liu Dashao, seeing the officer’s grave expression and realizing Fan Debiao’s earlier impulsiveness, nodded reluctantly.
“Go ahead, see your friend one last time,” the officer said solemnly, then turned away, no longer looking in their direction.
“One last time?” When Liu Dashao heard those words, his heart sank once more. He took a deep breath, and with Fan Debiao and Cai Qingchong, he pushed open the door to the intensive care unit.
Inside, chaos reigned. Seven or eight doctors and nurses bustled around the bed. Various machines flashed lights, most of which Liu Dashao didn’t recognize, except for the terrifying electrocardiogram monitor.
“Patient’s blood pressure is dropping rapidly!”
“Administer 4000CC.”
“Ventricular fibrillation detected…”
“Prepare for defibrillation! Stand back… one… two… three…”
“Zap…” (The sound of the shock)
“Not enough, three hundred!”
“Stand back… one… two… three…”
“Zap…”
“Four hundred…”
“Zap…”
“Five hundred!”
“Doctor, we can’t go higher. The patient can’t take it!”
“Five hundred, stand back… one… two… three…”
“Zap…”
“…”
Liu Dashao didn’t dare breathe, let alone step forward to look at Big Guoguo. His eyes were fixed on the electrocardiogram monitor, silently pleading, “Wake up! Please wake up!… Brother… you have to survive.”
“Administer adrenaline, five hundred eighty, stand back…”
“Zap…”
“Beep—” A long, flatline tone sounded, and the electrocardiogram became a straight, unbroken line.
At that moment, Fan Debiao could no longer hold back. He rushed to the bed, pulling doctors and nurses aside with both hands, “Boss… wake up… it’s me… Debiao’s here!”
Before he could finish the word “here,” Fan Debiao suddenly realized that the person before him wasn’t Big Guoguo at all, but an elderly man he didn’t recognize. With silver hair and a face full of wrinkles, the man had to be at least eighty years old. How could this be the sharp-eyed middle-aged man he knew?
“Haha—” Fan Debiao laughed several times, “You’ve got the wrong person! This isn’t my boss! Haha—it’s just some sick joke…” He turned, opened the door, and saw Su Yougui’s anxious face and the officer’s cold expression.
“Yougui, I was wondering where you were. Didn’t I tell you to watch over the boss? How could you let him be moved like this? Just because we didn’t take you on this expedition, you’re playing jokes on me? Who’s this old man? Take him back! He’s creeping me out. I’ve been worried sick, but now that I see it’s not the boss, I can relax a bit…”
“Brother, that really is the boss inside!” Su Yougui’s dry mouth uttered those words.
“Impossible!!”
“At first, I wasn’t sure either, but when the boss was conscious, he told me some things that made me believe it’s really him.”
“What? Say that again?” Fan Debiao grabbed Su Yougui by the collar. Though they were close friends, Fan Debiao couldn’t hold back.
“The man inside is Mr. Zuo,” the officer said calmly.
“Ah—” A low growl escaped Fan Debiao’s throat. His grip on Su Yougui’s collar loosened involuntarily. Dizzy and unsteady, he staggered back two steps. If it weren’t for Liu Dashao and Cai Qingchion supporting him, Fan Debiao would have collapsed on the spot.
“Big brother, the person inside is indeed the boss!” Su Yougui’s reluctant mouth uttered two words.
“That’s impossible!!”
“At first, I wasn’t entirely sure either, but when the boss was conscious, he told me some things that made me believe he really is the boss.”
“What? Say it again?” Fan Debiao grabbed Su Yougui’s collar fiercely. Although he was his buddy, Fan Debiao couldn’t care about that anymore.
“The person inside is Mr. Zuo,” the officer said calmly.
“Ahh—” Fan Debiao’s throat let out a low growl. His hand, which had been gripping Su Yougui’s collar, instinctively loosened. A wave of dizziness overcame him, and he staggered backward a few steps, nearly falling to the ground if Liu Dashao and Cai Qingchong hadn’t supported him just in time.
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