Chapter 1 Outside the ICU

Outside the intensive care unit, Zhou Ze sat on the floor against the wall in the corridor, a lit cigarette between his fingers. Below him was a mess of cigarette butts.

Lao Zhang was still lying inside, his condition not improving but steadily deteriorating.

A night had passed.

Perhaps for Lao Zhang,

his days had shortened by another night, his life could be counted on his fingers, and not in "days" but in "hours."

Even though Zhou Ze didn't want to admit it, as a doctor, he knew that, given the illness and available treatment, Lao Zhang was beyond help.

Not every illness can expect a miracle. People like to promote an "optimistic and positive" spirit, believing it can create miracles and defeat illness.

But that was just a way for people to amuse themselves.

Otherwise, hospitals wouldn't need doctors. They could just hire those speakers who give pep talks to high school students to give speeches in hospitals to cure diseases.

He stubbed out the cigarette on the corridor tiles.

Zhou Ze lowered his head,

closing his eyes slightly.

Rather than continuing to observe the situation, he was waiting for Lao Zhang's soul to appear after his death.

At least,

he could chat with Lao Zhang one last time,

talk to him,

ask him if he had any regrets,

and ask if he had a habit of digging holes or hiding passbooks under the sofa, so he could help him find them and give them to his son or ex-wife.

Birth, aging, sickness, and death,

the cycle of yin and yang.

Even if you become a ghost, you can't resist this great trend, and you can't really change it.

It had been a long time since Boss Zhou had felt so powerless. The last time he felt this way was many years ago when he first started, when he still had ideals, dreams, and a simple desire.

But after repeated failed rescues, seeing patients pass away,

that powerlessness, that paleness, that sense of failure and decadence,

were the most torturous.

But later, he got used to it.

Zhou Ze smiled.

He thought that becoming a ghost messenger would allow him to change some things, but all he did was relive the emotions he didn't want to face before.

This feeling,

was really bad.

But what you should let go of, whether you want to or not, you still have to let go of it.

"You must be in a lot of pain too, right?"

Lao Zhang in the ICU must also be in a lot of pain.

Death,

might really be a relief for him.

Just like when Zhou Ze wanted to save the old man whose lifespan had ended, the other party might just want a quick end.

Lying there with extensive burns, even if unconscious, even with anesthesia, that kind of pain was unavoidable.

Ordinary people get their appendix removed and it hurts for two nights, let alone this situation.

At this thought,

Zhou Ze felt relieved.

When Lao Zhang died, when he was freed from pain,

he would take advantage of the time before his soul went to hell,

and have another cigarette with him,

and brag a little.

It seemed,

quite pleasant.

It seemed that the shadow and oppression of death had dissipated a lot at this moment, and it was not so unacceptable.

Outside, hurried footsteps could be heard.

It must be Lao Zhang's subordinates or people from the bureau coming to see him.

Since Lao Zhang was sent to the rescue room yesterday afternoon, the people who came to see him had been endless. Many people rushed over immediately after finishing their shifts, just to accompany Lao Zhang outside the ward.

Logically speaking, with this guy's personality, he shouldn't have such good relationships.

Perhaps it was because he was about to die. When a person is about to die, the past grievances don't matter anymore. What remains is admiration for his personal character and integrity.

However, this time the person who came seemed a bit young.

He was wearing jeans and a blue short-sleeved shirt. After running over, he directly faced the window and shouted at Lao Zhang in the ICU:

"Dad! Dad! Dad!!!"

Zhou Ze was a little surprised.

He looked up at him,

seeing that he had the urge to force open the door to the ICU,

Boss Zhou immediately stood up, reached out and pressed the other person's shoulder:

"Don't be impulsive."

The other person's body trembled, took a deep breath, but tears had already dripped uncontrollably from his eyes. He finally leaned against the wall, slowly sat down, hugged his head, and cried bitterly.

Boss Zhou stood next to him, watching this young man vent his emotions.

After a long time,

the young man looked up at Zhou Ze:

"How's my dad doing, doctor?"

He should have received a notification before he came. He should have called himself to inquire on the way back. There was no need to hide such things, and there was no need to hide them. The family had the right to know the truth.

So, the reason why he was asking Zhou Ze now was nothing more than to seek a little psychological comfort.

Not many people have the courage to face the bleak reality frankly. Most people still need to be coaxed. If no one coaxes them, they coax themselves.

But unfortunately,

he asked the wrong person.

"Oh, he's about to die."

"............" The young man.

It was conceivable that

if Lao Zhang's son wasn't also a police academy student and had inherited some of Lao Zhang's good qualities,

if it were someone else,

Zhou Ze would definitely be beaten now.

"I tried my best, but there's nothing I can do. The burn area is too large, and the postoperative reaction is very bad." Zhou Ze continued, "It's eight o'clock in the morning now. He'll probably live until tonight, and it would be a miracle if he lives past tonight."

"I don't believe it. I don't think my dad will die." The young man gritted his teeth.

"Okay."

Zhou Ze reached out and patted the young man's head below, comforting his last bit of stubbornness.

He and Lao Zhang were like brothers, so this young man was naturally Zhou Ze's nephew.

"Where's your mother?" Zhou Ze asked.

The hospital's critical illness notice had already been issued, and Dean Lin had also notified the police station about the specific situation.

"She lives abroad. She called me and said she can't come back for the time being." The young man replied, "According to you, doctor, she won't make it back in time either."

A bare official? (referring to government officials whose family members live overseas)

Zhou Ze frowned slightly, thinking that after Lao Zhang kicked the bucket, he would have to talk to his ghost about it. As a people's police officer, he actually let his ex-wife go to the U.S., which was determined to destroy them. It seemed that he didn't do a good job in family ideological work.

"Also, my mother's current husband seems to be hospitalized too, so she can't come back."

The young man slowly stood up. He first looked at the cigarette butts on the ground, then took out a cigarette from his pocket and handed one to Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze took the cigarette,

nodded,

so this wouldn't be considered a bare official, right?

After all, he was already married.

Fortunately, the young man didn't know what Zhou Ze was thinking, otherwise, even the best qualities wouldn't stop him from wanting to hit him.

Honestly, Lao Zhang was quite pitiful, his family life was chasing after Zhou Ze's childhood friend, Lao Wang,

but he still couldn't reach Lao Wang's level.

Zhou Ze always felt that if Wang Ke was willing, he could write a book about his experiences, which would definitely be more popular than those so-called tragic love novels.

At that time, he would set up a special column for his book in the bookstore, focusing on this.

"I never thought my dad was a good father," the young man said.

"Yeah." Zhou Ze deeply agreed.

"But he's a good policeman."

"Yeah." Zhou Ze still deeply agreed.

"Now, he's about to die." The young man sighed, "Even now, I still have a kind of illusion that he will survive, just like every time he went out to do a mission to catch fugitives, my mother and I were always worried at home, but he would still return home the next day."

"I have good news to tell you," Zhou Ze said.

"What good news?"

"That gangster didn't make it through last night. He's already dead."

"Thank you," the young man said.

He wasn't thinking about revenge right now, he was only thinking about his father's safety.

Zhou Ze felt a little uncomfortable because when that person died, he was busy performing surgery on Zhang Yanfeng. By the time he went back, his soul had already gone to hell. He couldn't find it.

If he had been at the scene at the time, he would never have let him die so easily. When he was alive, Zhou Ze couldn't easily touch him, but after he died, he was within Zhou Ze's control.

No matter how much grievance and misfortune they suffer in society and in life, people who inflict anger and harm on children are not worthy of sympathy at all.

At this moment, there was another noise outside.

Turning his head to look, it was a group of children, with their parents standing behind them.

Each of the children was holding a bouquet of flowers, some also carrying origami cranes and airplanes they had folded themselves. Everyone walked over quietly, while the adults stayed where they were.

These,

were the children that Zhang Yanfeng had rescued from the gangster's hands.

The children might not understand what gratitude is. After all, they were only in kindergarten. It was estimated that they didn't understand any great principles, and most of them probably didn't even remember what happened yesterday because they were too frightened.

But their parents remembered. They organized everyone in the parents' WeChat group to come together. No matter how busy the parents were, they took time off to accompany their children.

When these children grow up, their parents will tell them about this, and in the future, these children will believe that there are good policemen in this world, because their lives were saved by a police uncle.

The young man looked at this scene, watching the children neatly place the flowers and origami cranes outside the ICU. He cried again, his head deeply buried, sobbing very hard.

Zhou Ze subconsciously took out another cigarette, but looked at the children around him and put it back.

Two of the bolder children leaned against the window and looked inside, seeing Zhang Yanfeng lying inside. One was startled and retreated quickly, and the other burst into tears.

It was really,

too scary!

"Pfft!"

Zhou Ze laughed.

While laughing, Zhou Ze put his arm around the young man's shoulder and pointed to the crying child, signaling him to look.

The young man looked up,

crying and crying, looking at the child, he also laughed,

laughing,

tears flowing...