The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 271 Accident and Injury
In the sweltering heat of late summer, the recycling station emitted a pungent stench, and the large number of people gathered at the entrance was clearly unusual.

Sure enough, the sound of sirens grew louder as they approached, followed by an ambulance.

No need to ask, something must have happened.

"Brother Fei?" the police officer asked in surprise when he saw Qi Fei. "What are you doing here?"

Qi Fei looked and saw that it was Xiao Lu. He hadn't seen him for a while since Zhu Ming'en's case.

"Oh, Xiao Lu, there's a case of medical malpractice. I'm here to get some information. I didn't even know you were transferred to this area." Qi Fei said, pointing to the recycling station. "What's going on?"

"Oh, we received a report that a family of three was found unconscious at this recycling station." Xiao Lu said as he led Qi Fei inside. "It looks like they suffered heatstroke because of the hot weather. Our area is in the suburbs, and there have been several cases of heatstroke recently."

The small space was piled high with thick cardboard boxes and flattened plastic bottles. The door was wide open, there was no air conditioning, and only a ceiling fan was constantly spinning.

Emergency responders arrived at the scene and found Sheng Dazhi, Zhang Yingdi, and Sheng Tianbao lying haphazardly, unconscious.

As the paramedics lifted the three people onto the stretcher, they exchanged words: "Their pupils are dilated; it looks like they can't be saved."

A middle-aged man in a white t-shirt was standing nearby. Xiao Lu checked the police report and walked up to him: "Mr. He, right? You're the one who called the police?"

The middle-aged man nodded: "It's me."

"Let's find out what happened. What was the situation at the time?"

“I’m a resident nearby. I recently bought some cardboard boxes for furniture and brought them here to sell. I called out several times at the door but no one came out. I saw the shop was open, so I went inside to call for help, and that’s when I saw these three people lying on the ground. I quickly called the police.”

While Xiao Lu was asking questions, Qi Fei looked around the small store. The paramedics were already prepared and carrying three people to the ambulance.

Qi Fei took two or three steps forward and suddenly reached out to touch the skin of the three people.

Indeed, as the paramedics determined, all three individuals had already experienced a drop in body temperature, rendering any attempts at emergency treatment futile.

"This is a bit strange," Qi Fei whispered in Zhong Kui's ear.

Zhong Kui wasn't afraid of getting dirty, and reached her hand into the gaps between the neatly stacked cardboard boxes: "Hmm, there's a ghostly aura here."

Upon hearing this, Qi Fei surprisingly didn't accuse Zhong Kui of being superstitious. For the first time, he agreed: "These three people didn't suffer from heatstroke. I just touched their skin, and it was very dry, which means they didn't sweat before they fainted." As he spoke, he imitated Zhong Kui and put his hand into the gap in the cardboard. "Although the room temperature is the same as outside, the covered areas are still cool, which means the air conditioning was on all along, and Mr. He only turned it off shortly before he arrived."

Zhong Kui glanced at the ceiling: "The lights are still on, in broad daylight. Unless they were afraid of the heat and lowered the roller shutter to make it dark. None of the three of them are sweating. It seems the shop door was opened after they fainted."

"Mr. He," Qi Fei approached Xiao Lu and joined the investigation, "did you see anyone suspicious when you came over?"

Without hesitation, Mr. He replied, "This place is dirty and smelly, and there's nobody here at midday. If the owner weren't so difficult to talk to, I wouldn't have bothered bringing this junk here in the scorching sun."

"It seems you have some reservations about them," Zhong Kui said with a smile. Upon hearing this, Mr. He immediately replied, "That's not just me. I doubt many people in our neighborhood like them. I don't know what kind of dealings they have with the property management, but they've monopolized the scrap metal business in our neighborhood. Other scrap metal collectors can't even get into the neighborhood."

This wouldn't have been a big deal, but they take advantage of the fact that they're the only ones who can collect it. Getting them to come to my door to collect it is like begging and pleading. For example, with my little bit of cardboard, if I contact them to come and collect it, they'd have to give it to me for free. I have to bring it here myself to get a few dollars.

"Ha, I never thought their lazy, underhanded trick would actually save their lives."

"There's no guarantee he can be saved," Zhong Kui said.

"Huh?" Mr. He exclaimed in surprise, "They're going to die?"

"By the way, I heard that there used to be an old lady at this house, but she had an accident not long ago. Did you know about this?" Qi Fei said.

"How could we not know? It's all over the place. Hasn't this family been making a scene lately, demanding compensation from the hospital? They're the ones who killed that old lady," Mr. He said indignantly.

"Hmm? How do you know they won't have the surgery?" Qi Fei asked suspiciously.

"What kind of surgery?" Mr. He asked, puzzled.

"You're saying they killed the old lady themselves, are you referring to their refusal to perform the surgery?"

"Huh? Even in that condition, they still won't treat her?!" Mr. He was even more furious. "What sins did that old woman commit to give birth to such a heartless son and grandson?"

Many people heard the scream when the old lady was knocked down by her grandson that day.

If everyone hadn't urged her to go to the hospital, the old lady would probably have died on the spot.

"Was the old lady injured by Sheng Tianbao?"

"I don't know anything about Tianbao. He was the youngest one we just saw off, the one who was all dark-skinned." Mr. He described him, undoubtedly referring to Sheng Tianbao. He pointed to a blue pickup truck parked outside the door, "Look, that's the car that hit him. I heard that when he was backing up, he didn't see the old lady squatting behind the car and just drove right up to her."

The old woman screamed so loudly that her grandson didn't hear her. Apparently, it was her daughter-in-law who heard the screams and banged on the car door before stopping the car.

"When did this happen? I don't recall this case being mentioned in the traffic police's report." Xiao Lu was surprised.

"Hmph, they won't call the police. If they do, Sheng Tianbao will be guilty of causing serious injury, and regardless of who the injured person is, he will have violated the criminal law," Qi Fei said coldly. "No wonder I told Dr. Li that the old lady was injured in a fall. So that's why."

"It seems we were only half right. The deliberate medical disturbance is true, but the reason they refused to give Luo Yongmei active treatment wasn't for compensation. It's because if Luo Yongmei could speak, she might expose that Sheng Tianbao was the one who hit her."

Qi Fei recalled what Dr. Li had said about Luo Yongmei slapping Sheng Dazhi every time, and couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that in this matter, Luo Yongmei hates her son the most. She conspired with them for the sake of her wife and son."

As they were talking, Mr. He covered his nose and said, "If you want to know the situation, why don't we talk somewhere else? It stinks here, even more than usual. Is something rotten? I feel like throwing up from the smell."