Chapter 84

Terminal illness, it’s a term filled with despair.

Humans, as intelligent beings, fear death and yearn for survival.

When people learn that they have a terminal illness, they will feel lost and in pain. Some will become despondent, while others will be encouraged to seek every possible way – every possible way to survive.

Although they all have terminal illnesses, their fates are different. Some people die quickly, while others can live for several years or even more than a decade. Medications, surgeries – as long as there is hope, they are willing to try.

They are lonely, isolated, fearful, hoping to meet more people like themselves, encouraging each other, huddling together for warmth. Even if hope is faint, they still want to support each other and survive.

In such circumstances, support groups for patients emerged.

The formation and existence of such groups are of great significance to these patients. Here, it becomes an important gathering place for them to exchange information. It also becomes their spiritual comfort and even a pillar of support.

The support group where Chen Yanqiu is located was spontaneously formed by patients. In the group, people often complain about some strange encounters, discuss purchasing channels for medications, or share usage results. Compared to ordinary groups, this group is more active, with people posting various messages incessantly every day.

Among these messages, there is also news of death. Every now and then, a profile picture in the group will turn gray and will never light up again. They empathize with each other, lighting candles for those who have passed away.

It seems that from the moment they were diagnosed by the hospital, they became different from ordinary people. It is the existence of such groups that fills their lives with directionlessness.

Song Wen had just recently entered, and what surprised him was that the group they were in, self-proclaimed as the third group among patients, had over two hundred members. This indicates that there are quite a few patients in the entire city.

Even late at night, there were still over a hundred people online in the group, and after two o’clock, many people were still actively chatting.

At the beginning of his involvement in this case, Song Wen was full of doubts. He felt that he was very far away from Chen Yanqiu and couldn’t fully understand his life and feelings. Now, entering the chat group where he used to be, Song Wen suddenly felt closer to him and those patients.

These people were originally ordinary people, chatting about the movies they watched today and the clothes they planned to buy tomorrow. But they are also different – every sentence seems to be filled with despair and yet also with a yearning for life.

Suddenly, someone said, “I wonder if there’s a chance to finish watching this drama.” The atmosphere in the group became low, but soon, everyone became enthusiastic again.

“After waking up, I heard that they are developing a new targeted drug in India.”

“It seems like the South City Affiliated Hospital is planning to add some rooms to this department.”

“Sigh, I like the nurse with the last name Li over there. She’s good-looking and gentle, very skilled at giving injections.”

After Lu Siyu woke up, he leaned on the side of Song Wen, eating dinner and watching the chat in the group. Honestly, Song Wen’s porridge was well made from his taste. The dishes, however, were average, with room for improvement.

It was already past midnight, but those patients showed no intention of sleeping at all. They seemed to be seizing the last moments of their lives, reveling in a sort of celebration.

Later, the conversation shifted to “part-time work.”

Someone with an administrator tag named Zhuo Zhuo jumped in and asked, “Anyone looking for a part-time job? Those who want to take on tasks, private message me!”

“Ah, Zhuo Zhuo, recruiting business again?”

“Are you forcing us to sell?”

“Cut the nonsense; if you don’t want to, there are others who do. Private message if you need money!” Zhuo Zhuo added, “Before this Friday, urgently need one person, male. Negotiable pay. Those with fate, come forward.” After two minutes, Zhuo Zhuo retracted this message.

Song Wen frowned, “Why are they posting job information at two in the morning? And… after posting, why retract it? Is the purpose to prevent other patients from seeing their conversation in the morning?” He paused for a moment, “And… since Zhuo Zhuo posted that, why did the group suddenly go quiet? Could it be that many people stay up at night specifically waiting for this information?”

“You go ask,” Lu Siyu said.

Song Wen was using Zhang Rui’s account, with the username Rui Xue Zhao Feng Nian. He typed a few words, “What kind of job is this?” After thinking for a moment, he deleted it and changed to “I’m interested.” Then Song Wen and Lu Siyu exchanged a glance, and Lu Siyu nodded at him.

Song Wen sent those four words.

After a while, Zhuo Zhuo’s profile picture shook, “?”

Song Wen didn’t know how to respond for a moment—whether his secret code was right or wrong or if there was some other issue. Then he saw a reply, “You’re not Zhang Rui.”

Song Wen sent three words, “Yes, I am.”

The other party remained silent for a moment, then replied, “Zhang Rui is dead. Who are you?”

In an instant, both Lu Siyu and Song Wen were instantly alert. Someone knew that Zhang Rui was dead? Could this person know something about the case? Could there be a connection?

Song Wen was thinking about how to respond when Lu Siyu took the phone with a spoon, pressed a few words, and asked another question, “Don’t you believe me?” Since they were pretending to be Zhang Rui, they might as well keep up the act to probe the other person’s authenticity.

Song Wen saw that Lu Siyu had taken the spot, got up to wash his hands, and sat at the dining table to eat. He had eaten some before, so this was like a midnight snack for him. He lowered his head to peel the boiled shrimp.

The other party remained silent for a moment, then sent a line of text, “In our group, we clock in every week to prove our existence. Zhang Rui hasn’t clocked in for six consecutive months, and his phone isn’t answered. He’s dead. Who are you?”

So, the other party judged that Zhang Rui was dead based on this. Lu Siyu blinked his eyes lightly and typed a line of text, “I am his friend. Where did Chen Yanqiu go? Do you know?”

The other party’s profile picture dimmed for a moment. Just when Song Wen thought he might not reply, the other person sent a message.

“He hasn’t appeared for a long time; I don’t know.”

“What did he do during the last part-time job?”

What they needed to figure out first was what this so-called part-time job was. From the looks of it now, it’s highly likely that this part-time job is related to Chen Yanqiu’s later strange behavior. It’s also possible that it’s related to his death.

The other party remained silent for a long time.

Song Wen lost his patience and gave up, saying, “Looks like the other party logged off. Tomorrow, we’ll check the identity of this person. We can even bring them to the police station for questioning.” After saying this, he stuffed a peeled shrimp into Lu Siyu’s mouth.

Lu Siyu bit into the shrimp and directly typed, “Name your price.”

Zhuo Zhuo, who hadn’t spoken for a long time, suddenly came alive. His profile picture went from black and white to color, and his activity became incredibly lively. “Ten thousand bucks,” he replied.

Lu Siyu typed, “Let’s discuss it in person.”

“Cash only.”

“Transaction afterward.”

“Alright, I’ll set the time and place. I’ll send it to you later.”

The two quickly reached an agreement. Song Wen was stunned by this mode of transaction. “Are you planning to exchange money for information?”

“What’s wrong with that?” Lu Siyu glanced at him. “Anyway, the other party is a patient. Let’s consider it a charity.”

“You’re offering two months’ worth of your salary. You’re quite generous,” Song Wen remarked. “And aren’t you afraid that the other party might be a scammer and doesn’t know anything?”

“No, he should know something. Besides, he wants money, and I hold the purse strings. Whether the information is worth it or not, I’ll be the judge. As a police officer, are you afraid of scams?” Lu Siyu clicked open one profile after another, checking those names. “Running this group, recruiting people for part-time work, and even selling drugs—all for the sake of money.”

After getting sick, only money can prolong their lives.

Lu Siyu added, “And what Lao Jia said before is probably right. This part-time job is likely not legitimate.”

Song Wen frowned. He hadn’t failed to consider this possibility. If those patients were being manipulated, that would be a terrifying prospect. “Many of those patients don’t have much time left and are in need of money. So, they… could do anything.”

As he spoke, Song Wen handed another shrimp to Lu Siyu, feeling a sense of satisfaction in feeding him.

Those people, nearing death, lacked the strength of ordinary people but had an unyielding spirit. They were on the brink of death, their lives no longer had value, yet money and desires were amplified infinitely. For such people, there were no moral boundaries left. With enough money, they were capable of anything.

“After boiling the shrimp, rinse it with ice water; it’ll be more tender…” Lu Siyu said calmly, stirring the porridge in front of him with a spoon. “This is how humanity is. In slave societies, people were commodities. Even in modern times, there are people trafficking children and women. Even those on their deathbeds have value. However, such people are still a minority. Cases like the one we’re dealing with are probably rare.”

The chasm between good and evil, poverty and wealth, life and death, is inherently insurmountable. Under terminal illness, this chasm is magnified. Life is slipping away, the self no longer exists, and they can sell their dignity, even commit murder, take the blame, or carry drugs…

Song Wen’s phone buzzed, and a message quickly came through. “KFC in front of People’s Park, twelve noon, I’ll be wearing a red dress.”

Song Wen was stunned by this message. “It’s actually a woman…”

Lu Siyu handed him back the phone. “Getting sick doesn’t discriminate between men and women.”

The next morning, Song Wen woke up to a message confirming their deductions. Indeed, the dried corpse was Chen Yanqiu’s. The department had also begun investigating the previous issues, confirming whether the deceased cremated at that time was Zhang Rui.

Instead of going to the police station, Song Wen took Lu Siyu directly to People’s Park in Nancheng. They arrived around twelve o’clock, just in time for lunch, and KFC was always crowded.

As Song Wen walked to the entrance, he looked around. This KFC had glass walls on three sides, offering a broad view, and there were also Starbucks and Häagen-Dazs nearby. It was no wonder the other party chose such a place.

From afar, they saw a girl in a red dress nibbling on chicken wings. She stood out in the KFC with her fiery red outfit. The girl looked pretty good, with a side ponytail hanging down beside her face. Her almond-shaped eyes glanced at them when they sat down opposite her. “Are you here to ask about Chen Yanqiu and Zhang Rui? Did you bring the money?”

Lu Siyu took out a paper bag, showed her the money, and then put it back.

Song Wen said, “This matter won’t concern you afterward, but the premise is that you have to know about them.”

The girl glanced at them again, her eyes turning around. She wiped her oily hands with a tissue. “You… both of you, at this age, with this attitude, and this… so handsome… could it be… police officers?”

Song Wen said, “Well, this doesn’t really have anything to do with the transaction, right? Anyway, we’re not bad people.”

The girl pursed her lips. “…I need to make sure… just in case…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Song Wen suddenly reached out a finger and flicked the girl’s hair. The girl didn’t expect it and exclaimed as she dodged backward.

However, she wasn’t as fast as Song Wen. With a flick of his finger, a Bluetooth earpiece fell out of the girl’s hair, landing with a clatter on her tray in front of her. Her scream was drowned out by the noise of the restaurant.

“It’s just asking for some information, not like it’s a scene from Infernal Affairs.” Song Wen pointed to the nearby Starbucks. “Call Zhuo Zhuo over; since we’re all here.”

The girl blushed and glared at the two of them, then grabbed the earpiece and ran off.

Lu Siyu had been sitting silently with a cold expression the whole time. After the girl left, he turned to Song Wen. “How did you figure it out?”

Song Wen pointed to the pile of chicken bones in front of them. “She has terminal illness, but her appetite is still good? And she keeps tilting her head to the side occasionally, as if listening to something. And then…” He gestured toward Starbucks. “Someone over there was watching us.”

Sure enough, after a while, a woman wearing a hat walked over from the direction of Starbucks and sat opposite them.

“Zhuo Zhuo?” Song Wen asked again.

“It’s me. So, what do you want to know?” The woman’s voice was slightly hoarse. She looked to be in her early twenties, with calm and dark eyes that had seen life and death.