Chapter 006: Dark Soldier
"Yes, yes, yes!" Long Wu trembled with fear.
Lin Chuan turned around and left, heading straight downstairs.
Room 2005.
Zhou Kai had just delivered food to Lin Chuan's mother. The auntie was very happy and kept praising Zhou Kai as a good child, which made Zhou Kai feel somewhat shy.
"Xiao Kai, I really need to thank you properly this time!" the auntie said with a smile, "Oh yes, I will repay you for the medical expenses once I return!"
"No, no..." Zhou Kai said awkwardly, "The medical expenses weren't paid by me!"
"Not by you? Then who was it?" the auntie was stunned.
At this moment, a voice came from the doorway: "Mom, it was me!"
"Chuanzi!" The auntie sat up straight away. It had been eight years since she heard this all too familiar voice. She eagerly looked towards the door. Indeed, it was her son, Lin Chuan. The auntie threw off the blankets, wishing she could rush forward and embrace her son.
"Mom, don't move," Lin Chuan walked over quickly, "You've just had leg surgery, you can't move around recklessly."
"Chuanzi, is it really you?" the auntie's eyes widened, she was dumbfounded and said, "I'm not dreaming, am I?"
"No, you are not dreaming!" Lin Chuan shook his head urgently, saying, "Chuanzi has truly returned!"
"My son!" The auntie grabbed Lin Chuan's hand and touched his face vigorously, as if she feared that the son in front of her wasn't her own. Once she was certain that all of this wasn't a dream, she suddenly burst into tears, saying loudly, "Do you know what life has been like for your mother since you left?"
For a woman, the husband is her sky, the son is her earth; only with the sky above and the earth beneath does she feel utmost happiness. However, when her world's sky collapsed and earth shattered... for eight years, these eight years, she felt like she lived like the walking dead.
Now, her son had returned once more, as if she had regained her very own earth. She hugged her son tightly. Lin Chuan patted his mother's back, whispering, "Mom, I won't ever leave again. I will stay by your side and never let you suffer again."
The reunion of mother and son was a warm and touching scene. Zhou Kai was moved by this moment.
Due to the surgery and the emotional tumult, the auntie soon fell asleep. Lin Chuan tucked his mother in and then held her hand tightly. Zhou Kai hurriedly asked, "Brother Chuanzi, after the police took you away, Long Wu's men came."
"And then?" Lin Chuan frowned.
"Officer Zhang stopped them."
Suddenly, Lin Chuan's ears twitched, and he said, "Alright, I need to go, take good care of my mom."
"Brother Chuanzi, where are you going?" Zhou Kai hurriedly asked, "Tomorrow... the hospital fees for tomorrow... no, I... I don't have any money."
"Don't worry, the money issue will be resolved," Lin Chuan suddenly turned around, showing a rare smile.
"Uh-huh!" Seeing Lin Chuan's smile, Zhou Kai didn't know why, but he trusted Lin Chuan immensely.
Outside the hospital.
At the main entrance, two massive Pixiu statues stood as Lin Chuan went to the side and took a draw on his cigarette, the spark flaring brightly in the dark.
"Come out!" Lin Chuan exhaled a puff of white smoke.
"You really did find me!" Behind him stood Zhang Wenhui, still in his scruffy police uniform. Between his nicotine-stained fingers was a cigarette butt burnt down to the filter. He took a final drag, the flame almost reaching the filter.
"Why are you following me?" Lin Chuan turned his head to look at the man.
"I'm just very curious about what kind of background you have!" Zhang Wenhui looked at Lin Chuan with a smile, revealing a row of yellowish teeth with his fiendish grin.
"It's none of your business!" Lin Chuan turned around and walked away.
"Where are you going?" Zhang Wenhui asked urgently.
Lin Chuan paid no heed and quickly made his way toward the Huai Mountain South Road police station. Zhang Wenhui watched Lin Chuan's departing figure; leaning against the Pixiu at the hospital entrance, a spark of shrewd intelligence lit up within that ****-like smile of his. In Zhang Wenhui's eyes, everything Lin Chuan did was almost transparent—of course, what puzzled Zhang Wenhui was Lin Chuan's background.
In the darkness, another spark flickered. Zhang Wenhui gradually put away his trademark smile. That night, when he returned home, he turned on his computer and accessed the National Data Bank's website. He intended to retrieve Lin Chuan's information with his Red Star No. 1 key, thinking it would be a piece of cake. Unexpectedly, a strange scene unfolded—only Lin Chuan's basic details were displayed on the screen, which was everything about Lin Chuan up to eight years ago. From eight years ago up to the present, it was all hidden deeper within the screen.
The fluorescent screen was very bright, and a black prompt box flashed with a bewitching red message: Access to this file requires a Red Star No. 5 or higher key; please enter the correct key.
At that moment, Zhang Wenhui was utterly stunned.
According to his estimations, the Red Star No. 1 key had already surpassed all the authorities of the public security departments. In the country, this was considered a very high level of clearance. In other words, the data of members below the rank of major general, including some special operation units within the country, could be accessed. However, accessing Lin Chuan's information required a Red Star No. 5 key. What kind of person would that be?
Suddenly, a piece of information exploded in Zhang Wenhui's mind.
It was an occurrence from over ten years ago. As a representative of the domestic security department, he had attended a meeting behind the red walls. At that meeting, a leader had once mentioned a troop to him. It was said that this troop was active overseas all year round, rarely staying domestically, and unknown to anyone.
About this troop, Zhang Wenhui had never entertained any notion in his mind. Now, several years later, he was straining his brain and, all of a sudden, he recalled the codename of that troop: Dark Soldier!
However, Zhang Wenhui quickly dismissed the thought in his mind. After all, that was only a legendary troop, which might not even exist. Moreover, back then, the leader had only proposed establishing such a troop to consolidate national authority and secure the interests of the Chinese diaspora abroad. How could Lin Chuan possibly be a member of the Dark Soldier? With a sneer, Zhang Wenhui left the hospital.
...
The next day, when the staff of the police station started their workday, they found that Lin Chuan was actually asleep on the interrogation chair.
The bespectacled female interrogator walked in, her high heels clicking against the floor. She looked at Lin Chuan sitting on the interrogation chair with an authoritative gaze and raised a smirk, saying: "Lin Chuan, you've thought it over all night, how did it go?"
Lin Chuan glanced at the female officer and showed a trace of a smile—after all, this policewoman was reasonably polite to him. Lin Chuan responded, "I've thought it through. I haven't done anything wrong, what do you want me to say?"
The simple exchange made the female officer feel like she was losing ground. She narrowed her eyes and said faintly: "Lin Chuan, as a police officer, I still advise you to cooperate with our work. Just clarify the matter, and it'll all be over."
"I really haven't done anything wrong. If anyone is to blame, it should be Long Wu; it was he who wanted to hurt my mother first." Lin Chuan raised his head; signing would equate to admitting defeat. In Lin Chuan's book of life, there were only death and no such thing as defeat. Admitting defeat meant being captured. This was an absolute taboo. He would rather die than let the enemy extract any information from him.
"Lin Chuan!" The female officer's voice trembled slightly, "If you keep this up, I won't be able to help you!"
Knock, knock, knock...
Song Xiaojia hurriedly knocked on the door, awkwardly saying, "Political commissar, um... Deputy Director Li has ordered to release him."
"What?!" The female officer was startled and said, "He was the one who captured him, and now he's telling us to release him?"
"Yes!" Song Xiaojia nodded and added, "You can go ask him for details."
Slightly taken aback, the female officer hurriedly left. Before long, Lin Chuan was released. Song Xiaojia was unclear about why Lin Chuan was released, and no one had explained it to her. When she came out of the interrogation room, she followed Lin Chuan closely.
"What do you want to do?" Lin Chuan turned and looked at Song Xiaojia.
"I..." Song Xiaojia hesitated before speaking, "To let you out. Also, to tell you to better conduct yourself in the future and avoid getting into fights and killings."
Lin Chuan walked up to the Cayenne parked in the courtyard of the police station, tore off the seal on the front, then climbed into the car and drove straight out of the courtyard. Song Xiaojia watched Lin Chuan's retreating back, sneering, "Sooner or later, I'll have you in my hands."
Next to her, Zhang Wenhui stepped over, a tainted yellow finger clutching a cigarette, looking at Lin Chuan's departing back with a smirk that was not quite a smirk.
...
Because he couldn't bear his mother's insistence on being discharged, Lin Chuan had no choice but to proceed with her discharge from the hospital. It takes a hundred days to recover from bone and muscle injuries, but the old lady didn't want to waste money staying at the hospital. She would rather recuperate at home. Moreover, what she had broken was not a major bone, but a minor bone in her leg. After surgery, she only needed to rest properly for a couple of months before she could basically get out of bed and walk.
"Mom, the discharge procedures are done," said Lin Chuan with a smile.
"Good," the aunt replied with a smile. "I feel uncomfortable living here. It's not as comfortable as home."
"Okay, I'll take you home." Lin Chuan helped his mother out.
On the day they were discharged, Zhou Kai and Lu Dapao, along with a few others, also arrived. They carried thermoses and brought blankets. Just as they left the hospital, they encountered Long Wu. Long Wu, with his arm in a cast and bandaged up almost covering half of his face, was standing at the entrance with a group of underlings. Seeing Lin Chuan coming out, he quickly approached with a welcoming smile on his bandaged face, his eyes barely visible.