The Same Fate Awaits All Sins Chapter 48

Mind Control – 04

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"Alright! Then let's split up into two groups, Consultant Lu and I will go to Yuchuan University to find Professor Zhang, while Chen Chen and Yu Tiantian will head to Ren'ai Hospital to gather more information!" Gu Yanta assigned the tasks.

"Yes, sir!"

Chen Chen and Yu Tiantian immediately set off for Ren'ai Hospital, while Lu Zheng and Gu Yanta wasted no time, driving straight to Yuchuan University.

"Do you think the deaths of these three people are connected to this Dr. Zheng?" Gu Yanta was sceptical. "He's an attending psychiatrist at a major hospital, his status, position, and income are all quite substantial. No matter the reason, it's hard to imagine him doing something like this unless... he's a deeply hidden psychopath."

"I don't think so. From what I know about Zheng Yandong, he's just an introverted, ordinary person, aside from not being very social..." Lu Zheng fell into deep thought. "But that was three years ago. After all, people change..."

Yuchuan University's Haibei Campus remained as serene and elegant as ever. The two of them made their way to the faculty building of the psychology department. Lu Zheng had already made arrangements in advance, and when they arrived, they found Professor Zhang's office door slightly ajar. Lu Zheng knocked gently three times.

"Please come in!" A deep, clear male voice came from inside.

The two pushed open the door and entered. Professor Zhang Weiling sat at his desk, wearing reading glasses as he reviewed documents. He was an elderly man in his sixties, sitting with a perfectly straight back. His hair was neatly combed, and he looked full of energy.

"Xiao Lu, have a seat!" Professor Zhang paused his work and spoke politely to Lu Zheng.

"Thank you, Teacher. This is Captain Gu Yanta from the City Bureau's criminal investigation team, he's here with me to gather some information." Lu Zheng introduced them. Gu Yanta greeted Professor Zhang, and the two of them took their seats.

"I got a rough idea over the phone earlier. You're mainly here to learn about Zheng Yandong, correct?"

Professor Zhang's gaze had a piercing quality, as if he could see right through people. Gu Yanta found it difficult to meet his eyes directly.

"Yes, Teacher. The situation is like this, a bizarre mass death incident recently occurred at Ren'ai Hospital. Coincidentally, all three deceased had been treated for depression at Ren'ai Hospital earlier this year, and their attending physician was Dr. Zheng Yandong." Lu Zheng gave a brief summary of the case and its implications. "We urgently need detailed medical records for these three patients, but we've been informed that Dr. Zheng has gone abroad and is currently unreachable. We've come to ask you about him and see if you might have a way to help us get in touch with him."

Professor Zhang nodded, indicating that he understood. "This Xiao Zheng... how should I put it, he's a good kid, just a bit too introverted at times. You probably don't know the real reason he went abroad, do you?"

"Mhmm, the explanation given by Ren'ai Hospital is that he went abroad for further studies," Lu Zheng hesitated. "But if that were the case, there would be no need for him to resign."

"Ai..." Professor Zhang let out a long breath. "Xiao Zheng is a good person in every way, just unlucky..."

"Teacher, please clarify."

"At the beginning of the year, one of Xiao Zheng's patients, an eighteen-year-old suffering from depression, died by suicide. Ordinarily, this wouldn't be considered unusual, but the timing was peculiar. The patient took their own life the very night after their first psychological counselling session at the hospital," Professor Zhang paused momentarily. "But what made the patient's family most suspicious was the last text message received on the patient's phone..."

"A text message?" Gu Yanta frowned.

"Yes, I understand that young people nowadays mostly use chat apps rather than text messages," Professor Zhang continued, "which is why the family paid particular attention to this text message. They suspected someone had manipulated the patient into taking their own life, and the only suspect they pointed to was Zheng Yandong."

"Why didn't the patient's family call the police?" Gu Yanta asked. "And what did the text message say?"

"They reported it, but since the deceased had indeed died by suicide and the police found no evidence of foul play, the case was left unresolved." Professor Zhang shook his head. "I don't know the exact content of the text message, however, the patient's family refused to let the matter go. Because the suicide occurred during psychological counselling, the hospital deemed Xiao Zheng negligent. To appease the grieving family, he had no choice but to resign."

Lu Zheng furrowed his brows. Professor Zhang's account raised several questions. As a psychiatrist, Zheng Yandong had the expertise to influence a depressed patient's state of mind, even to the extent of guiding them toward suicide. But what would be his motive? And if Professor Zhang was on good terms with Zheng Yandong, why would he bring up something that would only make the police suspect him? Was this mysterious text message a new lead in the case, or merely a red herring designed to mislead?

After a brief hesitation, Lu Zheng spoke. "Professor Zhang, we will conduct a thorough investigation into this matter. For now, could you provide us with Zheng Yandong's contact details in Canada?"

"I don't know who is trying to frame Xiao Zheng, but I believe he wouldn't do something like this. He is a perfectly normal and mentally sound individual..." Professor Zhang fell silent for a long moment before finally saying, "Since this is an official police request, I won't withhold information, Xiao Zheng never actually went abroad..."

"Then what about his exit records?" Gu Yanta asked, perplexed.

"He told me himself, someone wanted him dead, and even after his death, they wanted to ruin his reputation," Professor Zhang's voice trembled slightly. "So he altered his exit records and pretended to have gone to Canada. In reality, he was hiding in his hometown. He contacted me a few times during that period, but possibly due to inconvenience, we lost touch in the past two months... This is everything I know."

"Exit records can be altered?" Gu Yanta was shocked.

Professor Zhang nodded. "Actually, Zheng Yandong is a computer expert. What do you usually call people like that? Hack..."

"Hacker!"

"Yes, yes... I can never quite remember these new terms you young people use."

As they left Professor Zhang's office, Gu Yanta felt that the case was becoming even more confusing. Zheng Yandong was clearly no ordinary person, if he were truly the murderer, then with his ability to modify exit records, it would have been effortless for him to use a fake base station to send the victim an instructive text message or exploit the hospital's system vulnerabilities to shut down the ventilators of three deceased patients.

However, the key issue was that the direction of this evidence was too obvious, everything pointed too directly at Zheng Yandong. But what was Zheng Yandong's motive? And why had he claimed that someone was trying to destroy him?

"This Professor Zhang we just met, what do you think of him?" Gu Yanta asked Lu Zheng after they got into the car.

"Hmm... highly knowledgeable, aloof in nature," Lu Zheng replied. "That's probably why Professor Zhang and Zheng Yandong got along so well."

"So their relationship was purely a friendship between generations?" Gu Yanta remained sceptical.

"What else could it be?" Lu Zheng countered.

"Could it be some sort of age-gap romance..." Gu Yanta speculated wildly. "Otherwise, how could two people become such close friends after just a few weeks of acquaintance and maintain that bond for years?"

"A gentleman's friendship is as light as water," Lu Zheng remarked, then shot Gu Yanta a glare. "Not everyone is as lustful as you!"

"I... how am I lustful? Confucius said, 'Food and sex are natural human desires.' Wanting to have sex with someone I like, is that so wrong?" Gu Yanta protested indignantly.

"That's not the point..." Lu Zheng's face suddenly flushed red. "And anyway, that quote isn't from Confucius. It's from Mencius: Gaozi I..."

"Lu Xiaozheng, what are you implying? You think I'm uncultured, right? Let me remind you, I was an outstanding graduate of the Public Security University!" Gu Yanta hastily defended himself. "I even gave the commencement speech, you know!"

"Okay, okay! You're a top student, alright?" Lu Zheng said exasperatedly.

"I..." Gu Yanta was at a loss for words. When it came to academic knowledge, I certainly couldn't compare to Lu Zheng, but... but at least I am physically strong! Otherwise, why not let Lu Xiaozheng try being on top yesterday?!

"Let's change the subject, talk about the next steps for work," Lu Zheng, seeing Gu Yanta's speechless expression, couldn't help but find it amusing. He quickly adjusted his facial muscles and pretended to keep a straight face.

"Ah... alright. I was just about to ask you, what's the next move?" Gu Yanta asked. "Should we start by investigating that suicide case Professor Zhang mentioned from earlier this year?"

"Mhmm," Lu Zheng replied calmly. "The top priority is still finding Zheng Yandong. We also need to focus on examining the phones of today's three deceased victims."

"Got it, I'll go make arrangements. The autopsy report won't be ready until tomorrow, so how about we grab something to eat first?" Gu Yanta stretched lazily. "I'm completely exhausted, you know what happened yesterday..."

"Why are we back to this topic again... Enough!" Lu Zheng shot him a glare, thinking, This damn Gu Yanta, how is he so shameless? Doesn't he feel even the slightest bit embarrassed?! To hide his own flustered state, Lu Zheng shut his eyes and put on a lofty air. "Whatever! Just drive!"

"Let's go!" Gu Yanta hit the accelerator and sped back into the city.

Evening was the most comfortable time of the day. The heat had finally faded, and the night breeze carried a refreshing coolness.

After parking the car, Gu Yanta unfastened his seatbelt to get out, but when he glanced at Lu Zheng, he realised the man was already asleep. No wonder he had been so quiet for so long, looks like Lu Xiaozheng was just as worn out from last night! Lu Zheng's sleeping profile looked pure and innocent, like a boy untouched by the harshness of the world. The black shirt he wore accentuated the elegant curve of his neck, making his collarbone appear even more delicate, shimmering with a faint pale glow. Gu Yanta stared at him for a long moment before smiling to himself. Unable to resist, he leaned in and planted a feather-light kiss on Lu Zheng's cheek.

Startled by the sudden attack, Lu Zheng jolted awake and instinctively grabbed Gu Yanta by the neck. Trapped in Lu Zheng's grip, Gu Yanta couldn't move and quickly begged for mercy. "Hey, hey, let go... Lu Xiaozheng! It's me!"

Only then did Lu Zheng snap back to his senses and release his hold.

"Aiya! My neck, it's going to be broken by you!" Gu Yanta rubbed his sore neck and grumbled, "You're trying to murder your own husband!"

"Hmph! Serves you right! I told you not to sneak up on me!" Lu Zheng unfastened his seatbelt, ready to get out of the car, but then suddenly paused. "Wait... murder who?"

"Ah... brother! Murdering your brother!" Gu Yanta "corrected" himself. Tch! Lu Xiaozheng, you might as well just embrace your inner German orthopaedics! You stubborn brat, always talking tough, but in the end, you still have to face the truth in bed! (Angel: German orthopaedics, or 德国骨科, is an internet term used to refer to unreasonable relationships between peers, especially siblings.)

Lu Zheng didn't press further, because deep down, he knew he was just a stubborn little duck refusing to admit the truth. In fact, he was actually a complete zero in his heart! After all... being the one... was just way too exhausting...

‿︵‿︵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: February 3, 2025 by Angel

Edited: February 25, 2025 by Angel