"Qin Ze, you're here."
Ma Yan turned toward the bedside.
Her voice was hoarse, like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing repeatedly against each other.
"Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"
Qin Ze sat down beside her, took an apple from the fruit basket, and began peeling it.
Ma Yan shook her head.
"Let's watch some TV."
Qin Ze hadn't forgotten Number Three's reminder.
He switched to Jiang City Channel One, where the morning news was playing.
"Last night, under the leadership of the newly arrived executive officer, the Jiang City Law Enforcement Department carried out a severe citywide crackdown."
"It uprooted the human trafficking organization uncovered a few days ago, along with seventeen local gangs."
"According to the investigation, a total of forty-eight martial artists and 126 ordinary people were involved in the human trafficking organization. All were executed last night."
A list of their names soon appeared on the television, each accompanied by footage of their execution.
Qin Ze couldn't help marveling once again at how swift and decisive the executive officer was.
They were arrested and killed the same night.
Not a single one had been spared.
Qin Ze remembered that those were the same people listed in the ledger.
The news anchor continued:
"The truth behind the arson and matricide case from the night before last has also come to light, thanks to the executive officer's personal investigation."
"The culprits were a gang called the Black Tiger Gang. They kidnapped a girl who was passing by, and Ma Yan intervened in an act of justice. The Black Tiger Gang forcibly abducted her as well, then set the fire and framed her."
"All members of the Black Tiger Gang have been executed. Not a single fish slipped through the net."
"The Law Enforcement Department highly commended Ma Yan's act of justice and awarded her ten thousand yuan for her bravery."
"At the same time, the Jiang City Committee has decided to award Ma Yan the title of Outstanding Citizen..."
Ma Yan's wrongful accusation had been cleared, but she couldn't bring herself to feel happy.
Her mother had died in the fire.
She had been paralyzed from the waist down, unable to stand, let alone move.
How desperate must she have been, watching helplessly as the flames reached her?
Qin Ze didn't know how to comfort her, so he handed her the peeled apple.
"Have an apple."
But Ma Yan's hand grasped empty air.
She reached for it several times, but failed to take the apple from Qin Ze's hand.
"Sister Ma Yan, your eyes..."
A nurse pushed a cart into the ward.
"Bed four, time for your injection."
The nurse deftly hung an IV bottle and tied a tourniquet around Ma Yan's wrist.
Qin Ze asked, "Nurse, may I ask what happened to her eyes?"
As she inserted the needle, the nurse replied, "Severe emotional upheaval and excessive grief have temporarily blinded her."
Qin Ze frowned slightly. "When will she get better?"
Nurse: "That depends on her."
"The worse her mood, the less favorable it will be for her eyes to recover."
Qin Ze asked, "Is there really nothing wrong with her physically?"
He recalled how Ma Yan had looked last night, her right eye scarlet and her body covered in blood.
Qin Ze had been startled at the time too. She had looked just like an evil ghost fresh from hell.
"She's physically healthy, just a little malnourished and somewhat weak from the severe blow she suffered."
As for Ma Yan's condition last night, the nurse explained that it was a stress response in an emergency.
It was like the story on the news once: a child was trapped under a truck, and in her desperation, the mother lifted it by herself to save the child.
Yet afterward, no matter how hard the mother tried, she couldn't move the truck an inch.
Hearing that Ma Yan was all right, Qin Ze was relieved.
After inserting the needle, the nurse pushed her cart out.
Qin Ze pondered for a moment, then said, "Sister Ma Yan, the bad people have all received the punishment they deserved. Auntie's spirit in heaven wouldn't want to see you drifting through every day in a daze either. Pull yourself together!"
Ma Yan still didn't react, as if she hadn't heard him.
Qin Ze suddenly thought of Qin Yu.
That woman never stopped yammering all day, like a chatterbox, and close girlfriends would have an easier time talking to each other.
However, Qin Ze called several times, but Qin Yu never picked up.
Knock, knock, knock~
Qin Ze looked toward the door.
Five people in white uniforms came in, pushing a strange little cart.
There were three men and two women.
The three men were obviously bodyguards.
Two of them stood guard at the door, while the third followed the two women closely.
"Who are you?"
Qin Ze put down his phone and immediately grew wary.
The woman in front smiled warmly.
"Don't be nervous, little brother. We're Ma Yan's coworkers. We came especially to see her today."
Qin Ze pointed at the cart. "What's that?"
"A testing machine our company makes," the woman explained. "It's for checking Ma Yan's health."
What kind of company treats people this well?
They pay so much attention to their employees' health.
They're practically a model for capitalists.
Qin Ze asked, "Does your company offer such good benefits?"
"Of course," the woman said proudly. "We're a biopharmaceutical company, after all, so naturally we have to take responsibility for every employee's physical and mental health."
As she finished speaking, the other woman pushed the cart to the bedside.
A sophisticated electronic instrument with a display screen sat on it.
Around it were various bottles and jars bearing labels Qin Ze couldn't understand.
"Ma Yan, do you still remember me?"
"I'm Sister Wang from the project department?"
The warm older sister came to the head of the bed and called to her softly.
Ma Yan nodded slightly.
"The company knows all about what happened to you."
"Just focus on recovering from your injuries. Your wages will be paid as usual."
"Also, to reward your act of bravery, the company has already transferred a bonus of thirty thousand yuan to your account."
Once again, Qin Ze marveled at how well the company treated its employees.
"Today is the day for the routine health check. Since you couldn't come to the company, the project department sent us over."
"Just like before, relax."
As she spoke, the warm older sister drew a little of Ma Yan's blood.
Then she had Ma Yan turn onto her side and took out a thicker needle.
Was she going to perform a bone marrow aspiration?
"Wait."
Qin Ze frowned.
He had never heard of a health check requiring a bone marrow aspiration.
The older sister's hand paused.
The three bodyguards in the ward instantly fixed their gazes on Qin Ze.
Three Level One Martial Artists.
This company really did spare no expense.
Ma Yan's voice was hoarse. "It's all right, Qin Ze. It's just a routine check."
The older sister smiled too. "Don't worry, little brother. We haven't hurt your sister. It's just a checkup."
Since Ma Yan had said so herself, Qin Ze didn't stop them again.
Ma Yan didn't make a sound as a needle that large was stuck into her.
Even Qin Ze couldn't help grimacing as he watched.
Once everything was done, the older sister immediately placed the collected samples into the testing instrument.
Qin Ze asked, "Is there a problem?"
The older sister shook her head. "Don't worry. Your sister is in very good health."
"Ma Yan, we'll get going. See you at the company."
The five left the ward with the cart.
Qin Ze's eyes flickered.
He had never seen such a strange company.
"Sister Ma Yan, get some rest. I'm going to school."
"Call me if you need anything."
Qin Ze stayed with Ma Yan a little longer, then slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and left.
The Blood Hand Gang's headquarters.
After losing quite a few men in the Cloud Mountain incident last time, the gang leader had ordered everyone to lie low for a while and recuperate, which happened to spare them from the Law Enforcement Department's crackdown last night.
But they could dodge the first day, not the fifteenth.
Early that morning, a mysterious black-robed figure had stormed in and slaughtered the Blood Hand Gang, leaving corpses strewn everywhere.
"I'm asking you, where is Wang Biao?"
The black-robed figure lifted the gang leader, who was covered in blood.