106: Chapter 106 Poisoning

3:00 AM.

Linjiang City First People's Hospital, Nurses' Station.

Head Nurse Zhang Qiao checked the time and turned to look at the nurse beside her, Li Yan.

"The IV in the special care ward is almost running out; remember to go change it."

Li Yan looked down and agreed.

Her hand was tucked into the pocket of her nurse's uniform, her knuckles clenched tightly.

Head Nurse Zhang Qiao observed the young girl she had worked with for over a year. Since the start of the night shift, Li Yan had been absent-minded, picking up the wrong cotton swabs and mixing up dosages while preparing medication.

Head Nurse Zhang Qiao knew that Li Yan had a father with uremia in this hospital undergoing dialysis, and the medical expenses were a bottomless pit. There was also a younger brother in his third year of high school who needed money for everything.

"After this night shift, I'll take the responsibility to give you a day off; go back and get a good sleep," Head Nurse Zhang Qiao comforted her.

"However, the person in the special care ward is an important figure assigned from above. You must verify the medication with Dr. Zhang, and you must go change it together. This is a strict rule; no carelessness is allowed."

Li Yan nodded without speaking.

Head Nurse Zhang Qiao turned and walked toward the duty room to call the doctor.

Li Yan was left alone at the nurses' station.

She raised her head, glanced at the empty corridor, and walked quickly to the medication preparation room.

She pushed the door open and locked it from the inside.

She pulled a glass bottle from her inner pocket; it contained sodium thiopental.

Once this anesthetic is injected intravenously in an excessive amount, it causes respiratory depression, leading to silent heart failure during sleep.

She drew all the liquid from the glass bottle into a syringe, then precisely injected it into the saline solution.

After finishing this, she threw the empty glass bottle into the medical waste bag and returned to the nurse's station.

She did not look up.

In the corner above the medication preparation room, a surveillance camera was glowing with a faint red light.

Five minutes later, Dr. Zhang walked over, yawning. He was in his forties, and his white coat was somewhat wrinkled.

"Two emergency cases in one night shift. I just closed my eyes for a bit, and now I have to come do this."

"A task that a resident doctor could handle, yet they insist on dragging me, the attending physician, over to watch. This rule is really troublesome."

Walking up to the nurse's station, Dr. Zhang glanced at the prepared saline solution on the cart.

"Take out the medicine bottles; I'll go through the procedure to verify them, and then we can go in to change the IV."

Li Yan took out the two medicine bottles for verification from the bottom of the cart. Dr. Zhang glanced at the batch numbers and names. There was no problem, so he signaled for Li Yan to push the saline solution into the bag. After that was done, the two pushed the cart toward the special care ward.

Outside the ward door, two police officers stood guard with cold expressions.

Dr. Zhang stepped forward, "Patient Su Qinghan needs an IV treatment."

A police officer reached out to stop the cart, took their ID badges to check carefully, and compared them to their faces for a few seconds before stepping aside.

Pushing open the ward door, Su Qinghan was on the hospital bed wearing an oxygen mask, her breathing steady.

Li Yan pushed the cart to the bedside, picked up the patient information card hanging on the head of the bed, and carefully verified the bed number and name.

She reached out to untie the bag of fluid on the IV stand that was running low, her right hand gripping the saline solution bag that had been tampered with, preparing to replace it.

"Little girl, you'd better think clearly."

A voice came from the patient bed in the dark corner of the ward.

Zhu Wenhao sat on the edge of the bed fully dressed, "Has no one taught you the consequences of giving that injection?"

This sudden question made Li Yan's wrist tremble, and the bag of saline solution nearly slipped from her hand.

"Sir, I don't understand what you are talking about," Li Yan forced her voice to be steady. "I am just following the doctor's orders to change the patient's medication."

Zhu Wenhao shook his head.

"This hospital, from top to bottom, is covered in surveillance cameras."

"You don't even know that everything you've done and how you did it has been recorded, yet you dare to come here and act as a killer?"

Dr. Zhang, standing to the side, was completely stunned, his gaze shifting between Li Yan and Zhu Wenhao.

Zhu Wenhao did not give Li Yan any more room to argue.

He shouted toward the door, "Police Chief Zhao Gang, come in and make the arrest."

The ward door was pushed open roughly.

Deputy Captain Zhang Lin, who had been waiting outside, rushed into the room with Police Chief Zhao Gang and several criminal police officers.

"Secure them!" Police Chief Zhao Gang gave the order.

Two criminal police officers stepped forward and pinned Dr. Zhang's shoulders.

Dr. Zhang backed away in fear, "Comrade Police, I don't know anything! I'm just here for rounds!"

Two other criminal police officers lunged at Li Yan.

When Li Yan heard the words "make the arrest," she realized her trump card had been completely exposed.

With lightning speed, she reached into her pocket, pulled out a plastic bottle, opened the cap, and swallowed the liquid inside.

"Stop her!" Police Chief Zhao Gang shouted, reaching out to grab her jaw.

It was too late.

The drug took effect extremely quickly.

Li Yan's body convulsed violently, her eyes rolled back, and she slid downward limply, white foam spilling from the corners of her mouth.

Deputy Captain Zhang Lin leaned in and smelled the residue at the corners of her mouth.

"It's cyanide!" He roared, "Call for emergency help quickly! Get her out and have her stomach pumped!"

Several police officers scrambled to lift Li Yan onto a gurney and rushed toward the emergency room.

Zhu Wenhao stood by the bed, watching this farce, his eyes devoid of any fluctuation.

He took out his phone and dialed the number of Police Chief Li Jianguo of the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The call connected.

"Director Li, there has been a change here at the hospital," Zhu Wenhao said, one hand in his pocket. "The nurse who came to change the medication committed suicide by taking poison."

Police Chief Li Jianguo's voice rose an octave, "What's the situation?!"

"Her identity was exposed, and she took poison on the spot," Zhu Wenhao's voice was flat. "It's cyanide; it acts extremely fast. It's highly likely she won't survive."

"The lead here at the hospital is temporarily broken; this method was clean and decisive."

"On your end, stop the large-scale investigation of internal personnel for now," Zhu Wenhao gave the order. "Secretly control those few people who were previously identified as problematic, and set out to find the real mole. News from the hospital won't be contained for long; once dawn breaks, all kinds of rumors will leak out."

Police Chief Li Jianguo replied, "I will arrange it immediately."

"Additionally, pull manpower to investigate this nurse," Zhu Wenhao added. "Check her bank records and her social connections with relatives."

"To groom a death squad member, whether through coercion or inducement, it will inevitably leave traces in funds or interpersonal networks. If you dig along this line, that hundreds of thousands or even millions in blood money will be the breakthrough point."

"Understood, I will immediately conduct a comprehensive screening of this nurse's family situation and surrounding neighbors."

Police Chief Li Jianguo hung up the phone.

The ward returned to a deathly silence.

Zhu Wenhao glanced at the wall clock; the hour hand pointed to four.

He pulled up his contacts and pressed the number for Director Qi Shan of the Provincial Public Security Department.

Calling a provincial-level leader's private phone at this hour was informing the other party that the situation was extremely urgent.

The phone rang seven or eight times before it was finally answered.

"Zhu Wenhao, what is it?" Director Qi Shan's voice was slightly hoarse, carrying the weight of someone just woken from sleep.

"Uncle Qi, sorry to disturb you late at night, but the case in Linjiang has changed."

Zhu Wenhao didn't waste words, recounting the nurse poisoning the patient and committing suicide by cyanide in the hospital in the most concise language possible.

"The other party has reached the point of being completely unscrupulous; they even dared to forcefully silence someone in the hospital, even against a cadre from the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection."

"I suggest that because the nature of the case has changed significantly, you should go directly to find Secretary Lao to report it as soon as you get to work in the morning to accelerate the Provincial Party Committee's approval process."

"Let the Second Steering Group hang their sign as soon as possible and quickly enter Linjiang City to carry out substantive work. Judging from the current situation, it cannot be ruled out that high-level leaders in Linjiang City are deeply involved in this case. This group has vicious methods and poses a huge social danger; local police forces are already struggling to maintain absolute secrecy and suppression."

Director Qi Shan pondered on the other end of the line.

Zhu Wenhao continued to increase the stakes, throwing out another bargaining chip.

"There is one more thing, regarding the gang-related case of Lei Zhenzi at the Red Star Machinery Factory. No matter how far this case is investigated, Secretary Lei Zhen, as his father, cannot shirk responsibility. A comment of 'poor family discipline' is fatal; if things go wrong, his position as Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission might face removal."

Zhu Wenhao analyzed the dividends behind this.

"Uncle Qi, you hold the banner of the Anti-Gang Office. When the time comes, handle the Linjiang City case and the Red Star Machinery Factory case beautifully. With this solid political achievement as support, at the very least, you can naturally attach the title of Vice Governor and Director of the Public Security Department. Don't you agree?"

Director Qi Shan's breathing grew heavier on the other end of the line.

"Good," Director Qi Shan agreed. "I will go to report to Secretary Lao in person first thing in the morning."

Hanging up the phone, Zhu Wenhao put his phone back on the table.

He turned and walked to the hospital bed, looking at Su Qinghan, whose eyes were closed.

"Qinghan, get well soon."

Zhu Wenhao's voice was very soft.

"Sleep for a while, everything will be fine."

In the quiet ward, there was no echo.

But under the white sheet, the hand of Su Qinghan, which was connected to the monitor sensor, curled its index finger ever so slightly.

This was a secret response.