The situation is a bit beyond expectations.

Just as the two of them walked out of the tree-covered path, they happened to run into a group of people coming back from the warehouse behind them.

The two people at the front were both wearing police uniforms. The woman with a ponytail noticed them. Perhaps she thought it was conspicuous for two young students to be walking together in the hospital late at night, so she walked straight towards them.

"You said there's a way... She's coming straight towards us!"

Starry Lin complained.

"Don't worry." Sunny Xu remained calm, "By the way, do you recognize her?"

"Huh?"

Starry Lin stared at her for a while, feeling that she looked somewhat familiar, but couldn't remember who she was.

"She's my sister." Sunny Xu answered matter-of-factly, "Didn't you want to meet her before?"

"Ah..."

"She drove past me before. If she had seen me, she would have caught me and I wouldn't have been able to get away, so I quickly hid."

He cautioned:

"But it's different now that we're out. Just say that I came to the hospital to take care of you. Don't reveal anything."

"No problem."

Starry Lin nodded.

Thinking about meeting her best friend's family, she inexplicably felt nervous.

*

In the darkness of the night, two police officers walked back from the direction of the warehouse.

They had already made an agreement with the hospital security department to first ensure the safety of the internal medical staff and patients, arrange personnel to patrol and monitor various passages, and most importantly, keep a close eye on the surveillance.

"Xiao Li, you don't look too good."

The person speaking with a smile was a man in his fifties or sixties, with traces of the years on his face and a few strands of white hair.

"I'm a bit tired. But I've gotten used to it over the past few years. After all, encountering a major case, no one in the whole city can relax."

Li Qinglian sighed lightly.

This young woman, who used to be full of spirit, now appeared somewhat weary. Her eye sockets were slightly dark, her originally plump cheeks slightly thin, apparently due to long periods of busyness and living a life with reversed day and night. However, her bright eyes, although tired, still had a sharpness to them.

"Old people like Teacher Zhou, who retired a few years ago, have been called back to help. It seems that we are indeed stretched thin. If we talk about hardship, it's you guys who are working hard."

"Haha, serving the people, it's not hard at all." The old police officer laughed heartily, "Actually, I'm fine. I have nothing to do at home anyway. Besides, my superiors didn't give me any heavy tasks. If you ask me, you young people who run around everywhere are the ones who are more tired."

"Well..."

"Hey, that's enough with the polite words. Don't keep coming back and forth." Teacher Zhou waved his hand, his expression becoming serious, "Officer Li, what do you think of the scene over there?"

"No one is injured at the moment, which is a good thing. The problem is that there are no witnesses either." Li Qinglian replied, "Based on the extent of the damage at the scene, it doesn't seem like the work of a single person, but more like a whole demolition team."

"The security guard said that the time interval for patrolling that position is usually half an hour, and there were no abnormalities during the previous round of patrols." She speculated, "To cause such a scale of destruction in a short period of time, could it be homemade explosives?"

"...If that's the case, it's quite dangerous."

The old police officer muttered to himself, taking out a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He was about to take one out when he suddenly seemed to realize something and smiled.

"Is it okay?"

"No problem, I don't mind."

Li Qinglian shook her head.

"Good."

Seeing the other person smoothly light up a cigarette, he took a satisfying puff but didn't immediately answer. Li Qinglian thought for a moment and tentatively asked:

"Teacher Zhou, it seems like you have other thoughts?"

"Hmm? Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking, you saw that scene and didn't seem surprised at all. Instead of asking about the explosives, you asked about the hospitalized patients first..."

Although it's important to understand the situation in detail, there should be a sequence. The incident happened in the warehouse, and the only ones capable of carrying tools would be outsiders. Why would he suddenly bring up the hospitalized patients? Unless someone already knew that the two were connected.

"As for what you said about explosives and such, we need to send someone to investigate the scene. We just came to see the situation and eliminate the danger. As for the patients, I'm concerned about whether they will be frightened. That's all."

Li Qinglian didn't say anything.

During this period of time, a case had attracted everyone's attention.

It was a series of murders that occurred in the Dongcheng District, and each victim had a bizarre cause of death. Strictly speaking, it was a case that would attract widespread attention. However, the victims were all restless unemployed people or notorious thugs, and it had not yet been reported.

The police initially thought that the local underground forces had developed into gang warfare, so they attached great importance to it and launched a large-scale search in the nearby areas. However, they quickly discovered that the situation was not as they had thought:

The killer was likely to be a single person, or it was unlikely to be a group committing the crimes, otherwise there wouldn't be such scarce traces left at the crime scenes.

The whole case was shrouded in an eerie atmosphere. Based on the results of some precise tests, the truth behind these several murder cases was unimaginable and seemed beyond human capabilities.

Some things, if investigated too deeply, would only leave people puzzled.

Naturally, not only Li Qinglian felt confused among the people involved, but for those who worked in this profession, the most important thing was their own duties.Everyone was busy with their own affairs, who had the time to meddle in others' business?

However, while others could turn a blind eye, Li Qinglian couldn't.

Apart from her professional duties, Li Qinglian had her own obsessions to resolve, which were even related to her choice of becoming a police officer.

She hesitated for a moment,

"Professor Zhou, could it be... related to the case we are currently investigating?"

Instead of answering, Professor Zhou asked back,

"Why would you think so? I believe most people wouldn't associate these two incidents."

Li Qinglian keenly caught the implied meaning in his words.

"Most people" wouldn't think so?

"In that case," she asked with a smile, "may I hear the opinion of the senior?"

The rising smoke obscured the old policeman's expression, and all she heard was his calm reply.

"Let's focus on the current work first. We still need to check the surveillance."

"...I understand."

Li Qinglian wasn't too discouraged. After ten years, she had sighed all the sighs she could. Conversely, even the slightest hope was a great encouragement to her.

After walking for a while, Li Qinglian suddenly noticed a familiar face ahead.

Despite the distance, she wouldn't fail to recognize a family member living under the same roof.

"Professor Zhou, I'll go check it out."

She immediately said.

"Hmm, you mean the young couple ahead?"

The old policeman squinted at the two young people who were affectionately glued together not far away, feeling a youthful vibe. Seeing them whispering to each other as if they were the only ones in the world, shining brightly in the night, he, a middle-aged man, could hardly keep his eyes open.

"Oh my, look at them, so lovey-dovey. Young people these days are really bold, they seem to be high school students, right? Back in my day, even holding hands was done sneakily, unlike them, more passionate than an old married couple."

Professor Zhou teased while laughing.

Some people his age would be conservative and frown upon such a scene, even criticizing it as "corrupting social morals". But this old policeman was of the open-minded sort, and instead advised,

"But Li, we're not school teachers, let's not meddle in their puppy love, alright?"

"That's my younger brother."

Li Qinglian's reply was succinct.

Professor Zhou choked on his smoke.

I didn't mean to not help you, kid. The old policeman looked at the young man with a hint of pity. It's just your bad luck to be caught by your sister.

For a high school student of this age, being caught dating would probably be a bolt from the blue, right?

*

Of course, the reality was different from what the old policeman imagined.

Li Qinglian walked up to them, first sizing up the long-haired girl clinging to her brother's arm, then turned to Sunny Xu and asked,

"Is she the female classmate you mentioned who would be staying at our place temporarily?"

"Yes..."

Before he could answer, Starry Lin interrupted him.

"Yes!"

The girl spoke first, then bowed sincerely in thanks.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".

"Thank you for lending me your room."

"Oh, that's no problem."

Li Qinglian raised an eyebrow and asked straightforwardly,

"So, what's going on with you two tonight? Sunny, why aren't you at home, but at the hospital? Are you feeling unwell?"

Sunny shook his head.

"I came with her."

Li Qinglian noticed the girl's pale face and the sweat on her forehead, and didn't doubt his words.

"Alright, nothing happened, right?"

"Nothing." Sunny answered naturally, "The doctor checked her and said it was nothing serious, just a bit anemic. He told her to rest well, so we just came out."

At the end, he asked curiously,

"Sis, why are you here so late? Did something like a murder happen in the hospital?"

Li Qinglian smiled and ruffled her brother's hair.

"Don't worry about adult's work."

After a few casual words, Sunny asked,

"Can she stay at our place tonight?"

Li Qinglian paused, looking again at the girl standing next to her brother.

The long-haired girl pursed her lips, she seemed a bit nervous, but didn't object.

"It's fine..."

She was about to ask more about the girl's family, but heard Sunny speak again.

This time, he said something that startled both women present:

"Also, sis, can Starry Lin stay at our place for a while?"