The Same Fate Awaits All Sins Chapter 51

Mind Control – 07

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City bureau

Chen Chen was leading the tech team in a tense network investigation when Gu Yanta placed a book in front of him. "The writing on the inside cover of this book needs to be compared with Zheng Yandong's handwriting. Also, tell Yu Tiantian to arrange for a few more people to visit the homes of the other two deceased, deliver the autopsy results, and see if they can find a matching book while they're at it."

"Got it, Boss! By the way, Dr. Cheng is here, I asked him to wait for you in your office," Chen Chen said without even looking up.

Gu Yanta hesitated for a moment before responding, "Alright."

Standing nearby, Lu Zheng noticed Gu Yanta's reluctance and said softly, "I'll go instead."

Cheng Yu was sitting on the sofa in Gu Yanta's office, drinking cup after cup of water. A thin layer of sweat appeared on his handsome profile, making him look visibly anxious.

He knew all too well that once the family became suspicious and requested an autopsy, the truth would inevitably come to light. While both the power outage and the medication error could be considered medical accidents, their nature was entirely different. A power outage was a "natural disaster," meaning the hospital would bear the responsibility. However, a medication error was a "man-made disaster," which meant that the blame would fall directly on the involved medical staff. Cheng Yu had taken a calculated risk by covering up the real cause of death, after all, it had taken him considerable effort to transfer from a community hospital to a prestigious large-scale tertiary hospital, he couldn't afford to lose his medical licence over this.

When the families started demanding to call the police and the situation spiralled out of control, Cheng Yu had no choice but to contact Old Liu. Old Liu, the head of the local police station, was not only his cousin but also Gu Yanta's former superior. In fact, he had played a matchmaker role in introducing Cheng Yu to Gu Yanta back when the latter still worked at the station.

As expected, Old Liu reached out to Gu Yanta, and the moment Gu Yanta arrived, Cheng Yu's emotional defences crumbled, the front he had been putting up instantly collapsed. That was why he had mustered the courage to come to him today, he wanted Gu Yanta's protection, even though he had lied to him.

In the two or three years since their breakup, Cheng Yu had dated other men, but for some reason, he could never recapture the feelings he had with Gu Yanta. Cheng Yu had never stopped thinking about Gu Yanta. He had considered getting back together, but since he was the one who had insisted on breaking up in the first place, his pride wouldn't allow him to go back on his decision. Someone as proud as Cheng Yu would never eat his words.

Thinking about it now, Cheng Yu couldn't help but sigh. Two months ago, he had unexpectedly run into Gu Yanta while out for a meal. Cheng Yu had thought he could handle it lightly, but the moment he turned away, his heartbeat quickened uncontrollably. He realised then that he still had feelings for him, it was the same feeling he had when he first met Gu Yanta. It turned out that this feeling would not dissipate with the passage of time.

The familiar sound of footsteps echoed in the corridor, making Cheng Yu's entire body tense up. He tried his best to compose his expression, but the moment the door opened, Cheng Yu's smile froze. The familiar footsteps faded into the distance, it wasn't Gu Yanta who had entered but a delicate-featured young man. Cheng Yu had seen him a few times before, he was one of Gu Yanta's colleagues, His name seemed to be Lu... Right! Lu Zheng!

Cheng Yu instinctively disliked Lu Zheng. Knowing Gu Yanta as well as he did, he was certain that Lu Zheng was exactly Gu Yanta's type at first sight. Whether in appearance or temperament, he was too perfectly aligned with Gu Yanta's dream partner.

However, when they first met, Gu Yanta introduced Lu Zheng as his colleague. That meant nothing had actually happened between them, because Gu Yanta was terrible at keeping secrets. If he had a boyfriend, he would want the whole world to celebrate with him, it was simply impossible to downplay the relationship as just colleagues.

As Cheng Yu analysed the state of Gu Yanta's relationship with Lu Zheng, Lu Zheng spoke up. "Dr. Cheng, hello. Although we've met a few times, we've never had a proper introduction. I'm Lu Zheng, the psychological consultant for the criminal investigation team."

"Ah... hello, Consultant Lu." Cheng Yu wiped the sweat from his palms nervously. It seemed his secret had been completely exposed. If Gu Yanta wasn't willing to face him, it meant he had no intention of covering for him either.

"I..."

"Dr. Cheng..."

Both men spoke at the same time.

"You first, Dr. Cheng. After all, hearing it from your mouth is different from hearing it from mine," Lu Zheng said calmly.

A chill ran through Cheng Yu's heart, it seemed he had no choice but to come clean. "Regarding the three deceased patients from yesterday... There's something I need to report."

Lu Zheng lifted his eyelids slightly, and Cheng Yu felt a wave of cold dread.

"Oh? Please go ahead, Dr. Cheng." Lu Zheng made no mention of the autopsy reports of the three deceased. This was his way of giving Cheng Yu a chance. After all, Cheng Yu confessing before knowing the results of the investigation could count as voluntary surrender, which might be considered in any future sentencing. This was already the greatest leniency Lu Zheng could extend to Cheng Yu, for Gu Yanta's sake.

"In fact, this matter was my fault..." Cheng Yu's voice trembled slightly. "I shouldn't have concealed the truth, and I definitely shouldn't have colluded with the nurse to fabricate a story to mislead the police..."

Cheng Yu recounted the events of that day in full detail. At midday on September third, three patients were rushed into the emergency centre one after another due to shock caused by an overdose of sleeping pills. By the time they arrived, their conditions were already critical. Given the urgency of the situation, Cheng Yu didn't have time to conduct a thorough physical examination and instead followed standard emergency protocols and administered the usual dosage of medication. Just as one of the male patients was on the verge of being away from danger, Cheng Yu noticed a wound on his body, right over the kidney, a clear sign of recent surgery. But according to his medical records, he had never undergone any operations.

A chill ran down Cheng Yu's spine, This is bad! Before he could come up with a solution, the patient's blood pressure began to plummet, and he developed symptoms of acute kidney failure. The sudden turn of events left the other medical staff in the room stunned. In the ensuing panic, they scrambled to resuscitate him, but their efforts were in vain, the patient died.

The other two patients soon experienced the same complications. Aside from Cheng Yu, there was one more resident doctor and two nurses in the emergency room at the time. When the four of them listened to Cheng Yu's analysis, they realised their negligence had led to a catastrophic mistake. Gritting his teeth, Cheng Yu proposed that the four of them stick to a single version of events. That night, it had been the two nurses on duty, so they agreed to claim that a hospital power failure had caused the ventilators to shut down, leading to the patients' deaths from respiratory failure.

The families were still waiting anxiously outside, completely unaware that their loved ones had already left the emergency room as cold, lifeless corpses...

"But the hospital really did experience a power outage that night, how did you manage that?" Lu Zheng pressed for details after hearing Cheng Yu's confession.

"I studied this field in the past, so hacking into the hospital's power control system wasn't much of a challenge..." Cheng Yu made no attempt to hide the truth any more.

Lu Zheng smiled bitterly and shook his head. Doctors these days really need to have three heads and six arms! Not only did they diagnose and perform surgeries, but now they were all skilled hackers too! Zheng Yandong had hacked into the immigration system to alter travel records, and now Cheng Yu had hacked into the hospital's power control system to trigger a complete blackout. Each one is more 'talented' than the last! Yet none of them had put their abilities to good use, all were employed to cover up their own crimes!

"Consultant Lu, I..." Cheng Yu saw the mocking expression on Lu Zheng's face and felt an overwhelming sense of shame. His voice grew quieter and quieter. "Could you please tell Captain Gu that I won't dare do it again next time? Could you help me suppress this matter for me this time, I... I don't want to go to prison!"

Lu Zheng let out a cold scoff, his disdain for Cheng Yu deepening. "Dr. Cheng, you're an adult, you need to take responsibility for your actions. If this had just been a case of a medical accident due to a technical mistake, the worst you'd face would be having your medical licence revoked. But now, you and the three other medical staff you mentioned are suspected of falsifying death records and deliberately causing a power outage in a public facility. Have you even considered the consequences of your actions? To put it bluntly, you may even be facing charges of involuntary manslaughter."

Cheng Yu's handsome face instantly turned pale, and cold sweat trickled down his cheeks. "Then... then what should I do? Where's Captain Gu? I want to see him!"

"Dr. Cheng, don't you understand? The reason Captain Gu isn't coming to see you is that he doesn't want to face you. You want him to pull some strings for you? Do you think he even has the nerve to do that?" Lu Zheng righteously snapped. "Since you turned yourself in, we'll take that into consideration. Now, will you go through the next steps yourself, or shall I cuff you?"

Cheng Yu's face was ashen, and his gaze was blank as he slowly stood up. "I understand, I'll go myself."

Gu Yanta watched everything unfold from the surveillance room, and he couldn't help as a dull ache rose in his chest. Cheng Yu had been his first love, and they had been together for quite some time. To say he had no lingering feelings at all would be a lie. Even though Cheng Yu had heartlessly dumped him back then, Gu Yanta had never been able to truly hate him. Thinking back on all those years he had spent hopelessly devoted to him, only to be met with disdain, he couldn't help but sigh. Perhaps that was precisely why Cheng Yu had become so reliant on him, to the point that even after making such a grave mistake, he still expected Gu Yanta to protect him.

Lu Zheng silently walked into the surveillance room and patted Gu Yanta's shoulder without a word. Gu Yanta let out a long sigh.

When he turned and saw Lu Zheng's delicate features and unwavering gaze, a warmth spread through Gu Yanta's chest. From the first time he had set eyes on him and felt his heart skip a beat to the steady, enduring affection that had grown between them, Gu Yanta felt certain that this time, he had truly fallen for the right person. Damn, the heavens really were looking out for me! Just like Chen Chen had said, it was as if a great blessing had fallen straight from the sky and landed right in my lap!

At that thought, Gu Yanta hugged Lu Zheng even tighter, as if he wanted to merge him into his very bones and never be separated from him for the rest of his life.

"I can't breathe..." Lu Zheng managed to squeeze out.

Only then did Gu Yanta loosen his arms slightly. Lu Zheng wriggled free from his embrace and huffed, "What's with you? Your ex-boyfriend gets into trouble, and you're this upset?"

Gu Yanta couldn't help but laugh. "I just realised that reminiscing about the past only makes me cherish the present even more."

To lighten Gu Yanta's mood, Lu Zheng playfully put on a jealous expression and plopped onto a chair with a pout.

Gu Yanta ruffled Lu Xiaozheng's hair and chuckled. "Lu Xiaozheng, I love you! Of all the people I've met and the sights I've seen in my life, I love you the most!"

‿︵‿︵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 6, 2025 by Angel

Edited: February 25, 2025 by Angel