The Same Fate Awaits All Sins Chapter 16

Worship – 01

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"My god, my hero"

— Gabdong

Today marked Gu Yanta's first day back on duty. Rarely seen in uniform, he was dressed in his deep blue police attire, making him appear even taller and more upright. The silver epaulettes on his shoulders gleamed under the light. Back when he had just graduated from the police academy and worked as a neighbourhood officer at the local station, he would come home every day and meticulously iron his uniform until it was perfectly smooth, often burning his fingers in the process.

Later, when he joined the criminal investigation team, his first day was filled with excitement. He had dressed impeccably in his uniform, saluting everyone he encountered with a standard salute. Just as he sat at his desk for the first time, the then-Captain Wu, now Director Wu, barked at him, "Take off that uniform! Assemble for deployment in ten minutes!"

At the time, Gu Yanta had been utterly baffled by the abrupt reprimand.

Director Wu had sternly explained, "As a criminal investigator, you only have three occasions in your life to wear a police uniform, the day you join, the day you are promoted, and the last day, either when you retire or when you make the ultimate sacrifice."

Recalling this now, Gu Yanta shook his head with a wry smile. He hadn't expected to disappoint Director Wu's expectations. After all, due to his mishandling of command, he had been suspended. Now, as part of his reinstatement, he had to undergo inspections by various supervisory departments, resulting in an extra, unintended occasion to wear the uniform.

By the time the inspection was over, it was already late morning. The early summer sun was intense, scattering fine golden rays through the gaps in the tree leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

The criminal investigation team was in the midst of a meeting in the conference room. Post-lunch drowsiness had set in, and everyone was struggling to stay awake, stifling yawns. During Gu Yanta's suspension, the team's operations had been overseen by the deputy captain, Jiang Ziyu. While the team had benefited from a reduction in second-hand smoke, their ears had suffered from a ton of incessant nagging. At that moment, Jiang Ziyu was earnestly conducting what he believed to be a necessary safety regulations seminar, but the team members were on the brink of despair.

My god, my head is going to explode, thought Chen Chen.

My god, my eyelids are about to collide, thought Ma Qin.

Just as the team was teetering on the edge of rebellion, the conference room door creaked open slightly.

A sharply defined profile with pronounced features appeared in the doorway.

"Boss!" Chen Chen, sharp-eyed as ever, was the first to notice. "You're back!"

The criminal investigation team, as if seeing salvation, surged towards the door in a chaotic swarm.

Jiang Ziyu abandoned his mouse and rushed over to wrap Gu Yanta in a bear hug.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing, Old Jiang, mind the personal space..." Gu Yanta said, though he still patted Jiang Ziyu on the back.

Tears of joy welled up in Jiang Ziyu's eyes. "Aiya, you're finally back! I will return the role of captain to you immediately, I can't handle these troublesome brats any more!"

"So that's your real motive..." Gu Yanta muttered, curling his lips in displeasure.

"Boss, our ears have suffered enough under Deputy Jiang, if you didn't come back soon, calluses were going to block our ears!" Chen Chen wailed in exaggerated frustration.

The members of the criminal investigation team nodded fervently, like pecking chickens.

"Alright, alright, since I, the Emperor, have returned, all of you should get back to your posts!" Gu Yanta surveyed the room, then suddenly remembered something. He grabbed Chen Chen by the arm and whispered, "At Old Lin's wedding, you mentioned that Consultant Lu was coming to work at the police department, where is he?"

"Hahaha! Boss, are you for real? It's only the end of May, Consultant Lu is probably buried in his thesis right now!" Chen Chen laughed so hard he nearly doubled over. Under Gu Yanta's glare, he forced himself to stifle his laughter and added, "Boss, you wouldn't know, but because of that scandal about a celebrity plagiarising their thesis, the standards for passing postgraduate dissertations have been raised tenfold this year. Even though Consultant Lu is a genius, he still has to focus on his thesis more than ever."

"Ah... never mind, never mind." Gu Yanta quickly waved him off, "Get back to work!"

"Damn, you value a man over friends, burning bridges once you've crossed them, Boss, you're no longer my hero!" Chen Chen retorted indignantly.

Municipal Psychiatric Hospital.

Dr. Lai Jingjing was engaged in a heated argument with a senior doctor.

"He's already shown violent tendencies towards others, I believe we should immediately initiate confinement and medication therapy!" declared the grey-haired senior doctor.

"I absolutely do not believe this child is a schizophrenic who's criminally incompetent. He has the ability to control his behaviour, and his thoughts are clear. The emotional disturbances he's exhibiting can be corrected gradually through psychotherapy, I do not recommend medication!" Lai Jingjing said unreservedly.

"Dr. Lai, if he's not forcibly treated and he returns to society, causing harm to others, can you take responsibility for that?" the senior doctor said sharply. "Regardless of whether he can control his actions, I still recommend mandatory confinement therapy to prevent him from becoming a hidden threat!"

"Professor, I've previously misdiagnosed a normal person as mentally ill, which delayed a police investigation and resulted in severe consequences, I refuse to make the same mistake twice!" Lai Jingjing said resolutely, "This child has an exceptionally high IQ and exhibits antisocial tendencies coupled with a strong histrionic personality. If we rigidly treat him as though he has schizophrenia, we won't just ruin this child, it will also make it impossible for me to face my career!"

"Fine, let's do as you say, you young people are always so passionate, I'm... getting old..." the senior doctor said with a resigned shake of his head.

"Nor... normal?" The pale-faced teenager's voice trembled slightly as he looked at the diagnosis in front of him.

The eighteen-year-old's face was unusually delicate, but it lacked the youthful vibrance typical of his age. Instead, his entire demeanour radiated an eerie aura that made others uncomfortable.

"Yes, where are your parents?" Lai Jingjing asked kindly.

"Oh, they don't care about this," the boy replied nonchalantly.

"Child, you don't have a mental illness, just a minor psychological issue. This is a normal part of adolescent rebellion. Yours might manifest more intensely than others, but don't worry. I was your age once too, with regular psychological counselling, you'll surely overcome this shadow in your mind," Lai Jingjing said, her eyes sparkling with compassionate warmth.

The boy nodded, but the flicker of hope in his eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by a hawkish, sinister glare. "I'll come. Let's hope you can cure me."

Knock, knock, knock.

"Come in!"

The boy's eyes darted warily toward the door.

A tall, refined young man entered. His movements carried an effortless grace and confidence that made ordinary people feel almost inadequate in comparison.

"Dr. Lai, hello, I'm Lu Zheng." Lu Zheng greeted her with a polite nod and handed over some documents. "This is a proposed psychological research project from our institute. We would like to invite you to lead it."

"Xiao Lu, please have a seat. There's no need to be so formal, just call me Sister Lai in private from now on," Lai Jingjing said with a warm smile. Then she noticed the boy staring intently at Lu Zheng with a piercing gaze and quickly added, "This is one of my patients."

Lu Zheng glanced briefly at the boy, avoiding his unfriendly eyes, and gave a slight nod. "Sister Lai, I'll let you continue here, you can call me once you're done. I'll take my leave now, no need to see me out."

Lai Jingjing said apologetically. "I do have some things going on at the moment, I'm really sorry, but I'll go through the project carefully and get back to you. Next time, I'll treat you and Captain Gu to a meal!"

"Alright, goodbye." Lu Zheng turned and closed the door behind him.

After a moment, he paused, a faint sense of puzzlement crossing his mind as he muttered, "Why would I need to bring Gu Yanta to a meal? It's not like he's a member of my family..."

‿︵‿︵ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ・❉・ ʚ˚̣̣̣͙ɞ‿︵‿︵

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Translator Notes

Please feel free to comment any mistakes I made so I can improve and do better as I go through the book.

Translated: November 27, 2024 by Angel

Edited: January 4, 2025 by Angel