Suspicion

It was almost noon when Lan Mu finished his IV drip. He got out of bed and searched for his charger for a long time but couldn't find it.

His personal belongings were all in the bedside cabinet. After spending seven days living in the deep mountains and old forests, he had no idea where his charger had gone.

With no other choice, he went to the nurse's station to borrow a charging cable and hurriedly charged his phone.

Then, while deep in thought, he went to the cafeteria to eat.

After he had eaten his fill, while using the restroom, he was still wondering why he had been blocked. Even if he had really been fired, Editor-in-Chief Liang wouldn't have needed to do that!

Although his relationship with Editor-in-Chief Liang was usually just average, blocking him directly was clearly a move to cut off all ties.

"I can't figure it out! I'll ask Cheng Ming later what happened at the newspaper office."

As he walked out of the restroom, he found himself in the corridor outside his ward. He saw several burly men entering his ward. Their appearance alone told him they were up to no good, and he was instantly alarmed.

"I don't know anyone in Fuzhou except the police and reporters. Who else could it be?"

Lan Mu thought of a terrible possibility. He wanted to check the time but realized he hadn't brought his phone.

But it was already past one o'clock, and about two or three hours had passed since Qin Yu left.

If it wasn't the police or reporters looking for him at this time, it could only be that group of people...

"Damn it, I finally know why they sent the anonymous letter to Modu. It seems the sender also knew that sending it locally wouldn't be of any use."

"That group of poachers was let in by the rangers themselves. They likely have a network in Fuzhou, either with connections in the media, the police, or even both! That's why the anonymous letter was sent to Modu. This also explains why Fuzhou locals didn't know about the poaching situation, while I found out in Modu."

Lan Mu took a deep breath and quickly turned to leave. He went downstairs and out of the inpatient building.

He didn't dare to go back to his ward. Who knew what that group of people was looking for him for.

First, he left the hospital and found a small convenience store. He looked for the Fuzhou Metropolitan Daily newspaper and then, using the phone number on the newspaper, called Qin Yu's newspaper office from the store's phone.

He first posed as Qin Yu's classmate and mentioned a news story. After a few transfers, he finally got through to Qin Yu.

"Hello, are you Mr. Lan?"

"I'm Lan Mu. Is anyone next to you?"

"Uh... no, everyone's busy."

Lan Mu immediately said, "Come here alone right now. I want to thank you properly."

Qin Yu was taken aback. "Uh, you don't have to, it was just a small favor..."

"You must come!" Lan Mu's tone was firm, as his life was on the line.

Qin Yu was confused by Lan Mu's insistence and had no choice but to say, "Okay, I'll be right there."

"Do you know where I am?"

"Huh? Aren't you at the hospital?"

Hearing this, Lan Mu was basically certain that Qin Yu herself was fine. He figured she wouldn't have saved him back then if she wasn't.

Besides, Lan Mu's intuition told him that Qin Yu was a straightforward person and unlikely to be involved with poachers.

"When you submitted the material, who knew about it? In other words, who else at your newspaper knows I'm in this hospital?"

"Editor Yu knows, and the editor-in-chief definitely knows... and two of my colleagues know. What's wrong?" Qin Yu had no idea what was going on.

"I'm at the convenience store across from the hospital. Tell these people my location, don't say anything else, and come over immediately! I'll give you a huge scoop!"

After speaking, Lan Mu hung up. However, he couldn't leave the convenience store because he had no money on him.

The store owner looked at him suspiciously, as he was wearing a hospital gown.

Lan Mu smiled apologetically. "My friend will be here shortly to pay, sorry."

After that, Lan Mu squatted by the convenience store, keeping a close eye on the hospital.

About ten minutes later, the same burly men who had entered his ward walked out of the hospital.

Lan Mu stared intently at them, clenching his right fist, very nervous.

But then he relaxed, because the group didn't even glance in his direction and directly got into a black Toyota.

"Phew..." Lan Mu breathed a sigh of relief. He could basically rule out any problems with the newspaper office.

But this made him even more hesitant to call the police. If he had contacted the police directly and said a group of suspicious people were looking for him, the police would have protected him as an important witness.

But who knew what problems existed within the police force?

It wasn't until the Toyota drove away that Qin Yu finally arrived.

Lan Mu had originally intended to follow the group, but that was impossible now, so he gave up.

He first asked Qin Yu to pay for him, and then they returned to the hospital, cautiously approaching the ward.

"What's going on? What big news?" Qin Yu followed Lan Mu in a daze, still unaware of the situation.

Lan Mu shushed her and first peeked into the ward. Seeing that no one else was there, he went inside.

He hastily grabbed his phone and his clothes, even though his shirt and pants were already tattered.

He wanted to be discharged. He felt that the hospital was not safe at all.

He had narrowly escaped death at the hands of the poachers. The threat of death at that time had stimulated him so much that he felt extremely insecure in this unfamiliar place.

"Sigh, nowhere is safe. Thinking back, I was most carefree and at ease back in the deep mountains."

Lan Mu felt a pang of nostalgia for the time he was still the White-haired Lion. Just as he was preparing to leave the hospital room, he suddenly heard his only fellow patient sobbing under the covers.

The sound of crying was very faint, but he still heard it.

"Hmm?"

Lan Mu suddenly thought of another possibility. He stiffly walked to the sickbed and asked, "Why are you crying?"

The person's crying stopped, but they didn't speak. They just peeked their head out and looked at Lan Mu timidly. For a man, he looked incredibly pathetic.

Lan Mu asked again, "Those people from just now... weren't they looking for you?"

The person wiped away their tears and slowly nodded.

"Damn it!" Lan Mu's mouth twitched, and he slapped his forehead.

He was speechless, realizing he had made a huge misunderstanding. Thankfully, he hadn't actually followed those people.

At this moment, Qin Yu was still confused and pressed, "Mr. Lan, what exactly is this big news?"

Lan Mu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I... this... big news..."

His eyes darted around, and he immediately pointed at the fellow patient. "Ask him! A group of fierce-looking people were looking for him just now. Maybe he was threatened!"

The two of them looked over together. The person was startled, their eyes seeming to say, How did you know?

Lan Mu curled his lips, thinking, Just as I suspected. He then said, "Reporter Qin, he seems to be in trouble, threatened by criminal forces or something. This is your first-hand interview... Hmm, I'll call the police first."

The person anxiously sat up and shouted, "Don't call the police!"

"I'm calling my own police, it has nothing to do with you." After saying that, Lan Mu walked out of the room.

Officer Xiong had left him his number. It wasn't long before it connected.

Lan Mu got straight to the point, saying he felt the hospital was unsafe and hoped to be discharged immediately. He also informed Officer Xiong about the anonymous letter.

Officer Xiong considered it and agreed, but it had to be arranged by the police. After all, Lan Mu was an important witness and couldn't just disappear.

Lan Mu casually asked about the case's progress. From Officer Xiong, he learned that the ranger, Xiao Tang, was immediately apprehended. They then followed the lead and caught four poachers. It was a pity that the poachers seemed prepared; the truck was empty except for cages. These four men appeared to be ordinary truck drivers, but they matched the description perfectly.

Hearing that there had been significant progress in the case, Lan Mu was relieved. This matter was in the hands of the police, and he didn't need to meddle further.

After hanging up the phone, Lan Mu leaned against the hospital room door. All he needed to do now was wait for the police to pick him up.

He was seen dialing his colleague Cheng Ming's number while listening to Qin Yu continuously questioning the patient in the room.

However, Cheng Ming's call went unanswered. Lan Mu felt agitated and decided to temporarily set aside the matters in Modu and deal with the issues here first.

He returned to the room to assist Qin Yu in interviewing the patient. With his help, he quickly got the whole story.

It turned out the person had offended someone. Local thugs were hired to beat him up. Not only that, but he was also threatened for fifty thousand yuan and told not to report it to the police.

The man was utterly pathetic, truly afraid after being beaten, and dared not call the police.

"Qin Yu, if you expose this matter and use public opinion to urge the police, this kind of thing can be easily resolved. Your name is Li Zhou, right? Don't be afraid. The more you're scared, the more troublesome it gets. They only extorted fifty thousand from you, it's not a big deal. You don't have to pay a cent, and they should pay you medical expenses."

Lan Mu had seen many such situations. Often, victims were afraid of the perpetrators and ended up paying to settle the matter. He had used public opinion to help victims in Modu many times. In the end, once the police got involved and took it a bit more seriously, it was resolved. It wasn't a major case.

After handling this matter and using it to explain why he had urgently called Qin Yu over, Lan Mu still felt he had troubled her too much. She was, after all, his savior. If he weren't penniless right now, he would have truly wanted to thank her properly.

He got Qin Yu's phone number and promised to treat her to a meal after the poaching case was resolved.

As a gesture of apology, Lan Mu walked Qin Yu all the way to the downstairs of the inpatient building.

Qin Yu didn't seem to mind at all. "No need to see me off. I told you, it was just a small favor. I only brought you to the hospital, and I learned a lot from following a senior like you. Don't be so polite!"

Lan Mu smiled, thinking Qin Yu was a good person. She was beautiful and kind-hearted. However, saving his life was saving his life. Lan Mu never liked owing favors. He felt a meal was not enough; he would repay this kindness slowly in the future.

After seeing Qin Yu off, Lan Mu simply sat in the hospital's small garden to rest. All the fuss just now was purely him torturing himself.

"I'm too suspicious. Those poachers are probably still agonizing over how to escape Fuzhou, right? How could they possibly find the hospital? I'm losing it."

Lan Mu chuckled self-deprecatingly, feeling his occupational hazard was a bit severe. He was always overanalyzing. He wasn't a police officer or a detective, so why be so suspicious?

He wasn't professional in such matters and didn't need to get involved. He just needed to point them out when the time came.

Not long after, the police arrived. A police officer got out of a police car and was spotted by Lan Mu as soon as he entered the hospital.

"Here!" Lan Mu waved and walked towards him.

The officer was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. Upon seeing Lan Mu, he said, "I was sent by Brother Xiong. Let's go. The bureau has a medical room, and you can recuperate there."

"Is that so..." Lan Mu looked at the officer's ID. He was indeed a police officer named Wang Jinghu.

"Officer Wang, don't I need to go through any procedures to be discharged?"

Wang Jinghu replied, "No need for such trouble. We'll handle everything. You're an important witness, so you just need to come back to the bureau with me as soon as possible."

Lan Mu nodded. He didn't have any luggage to bring and got into the police car directly in his hospital gown.

As the police car drove away from the hospital, Lan Mu sat in the passenger seat and habitually asked, "How's the case going? Have you caught anyone?"

"We just caught a few, and they basically match the description. We're waiting for you to identify them in person!"

Following up on his words, Lan Mu asked several more questions, but Wang Jinghu remained tight-lipped and didn't bother to respond.

Lan Mu smiled, unconcerned, thinking, The Fuzhou police are quite tight-lipped.

The police car had been driving for half an hour. Lan Mu hadn't said anything, but when he saw the car leaving the city and heading into the suburbs, he finally felt something was wrong.

He wasn't from here, so he naturally didn't know the roads in Fuzhou, but he could tell when they were leaving the city.

"Officer Wang... is the Fuzhou Municipal Bureau in the suburbs?" Lan Mu asked tentatively.

Officer Wang Jinghu's expression remained unchanged. He said casually, "Of course not. We've caught a few criminals and they're temporarily at the Zaolin District Sub-bureau. Didn't I say I was taking you there for identification?"

"Oh..."

Lan Mu didn't ask any more questions. Officer Wang Jinghu's words were consistent and without contradiction.

He thought to himself that he shouldn't be so suspicious. He had seen police IDs countless times, and Officer Wang Jinghu's was absolutely real and couldn't be faked.

So, Lan Mu stopped talking and sat obediently in the car.

However, a few minutes later, Lan Mu regretted it.

Because the police car drove into a villa complex...

Lan Mu hurriedly tried to open the door, only to find it was locked. He said to Officer Wang Jinghu, "You..."

Before he could finish, Officer Wang Jinghu honked the horn three times in quick succession. The iron gate of a villa's yard opened, and the police car drove straight in.

Watching the iron gate slam shut with a bang, Lan Mu forced himself to calm down, but his heart sank to the bottom.

Several strong men had been waiting for a long time. They walked directly to the car doors. Lan Mu had nowhere to escape.

Lan Mu was taken out of the car, sandwiched between several men.

"This is the sub-bureau you were talking about?" Lan Mu asked with a cold, gritted-teeth laugh. He never expected that even the police couldn't be trusted.

Officer Wang Jinghu ignored him completely. With a stern face, he said to one of the men, "I'm leaving now. I won't see Boss Zhao."

"Hurry back! Tamper with the dashcam footage and traffic monitoring so you don't arouse suspicion," the man said, then opened the iron gate.

"I don't need you to tell me!" Officer Wang Jinghu said, driving the police car away in a hurry.