Liu Xiang's emergency treatment began around 8 p.m. on August 14th and didn't conclude until the early hours of August 15th.
Apart from Wang Yu and Lu Tingfeng, everyone else waited outside the emergency room. The moment the "Surgery in Progress" light turned off, they instinctively stood up, their eyes fixed nervously on the doctor who emerged.
Fortunately, the news was good. The doctor removed his mask and announced, "The surgery was successful. The patient's vital signs are stable, but she'll need to be monitored for 48 hours to confirm no complications before being transferred to a regular ward."
Hearing this, everyone visibly relaxed.
Guan Xia sank back into her chair, rubbing her numb legs. "At least Liu Xiang's life is out of danger. I wonder if Captain Zhou has gotten any results yet. Hopefully, the investigation will confirm that Geng Jing wasn’t the one who stabbed her."
Pang Le, reminded by Guan Xia’s words, looked up at Xu Nian. "By the way, Geng Jing and that skinny guy were detained on the spot and taken to Nanping Precinct. Have their statements been taken? What did they say? And who’s that scrawny guy who fought with Geng Jing?"
Guan Xia also turned to Xu Nian, recalling Zhong Xiaoyu’s earlier speculation. She was genuinely curious about the identity of that young man—and the two people accompanying him, who seemed like undercover officers. What had they uncovered that led them here?
Xu Nian, exhausted after days of nonstop work, rubbed his temples. His dark circles were pronounced. "Captain Zhou’s team has reviewed the surveillance footage. They’re almost certain Geng Jing didn’t stab Liu Xiang. But to keep up appearances, Geng Jing can’t be released just yet. As for the statements, Geng Jing has already talked—since he didn’t do it, he’s cooperating. The other guy’s still holding out, but given his mental state, he won’t last much longer. Also..."
He paused before continuing, "That guy’s tied to other cases. The two officers with him are from the Narcotics Division. I don’t know the specifics of their operation, but Captain Zhou’s negotiating with them. At the latest, they’ll take him away by tomorrow morning."
Guan Xia wasn’t entirely surprised, but she exhaled deeply. This case was like a tangled ball of yarn—just when they thought they were making progress, new threads and unexpected twists emerged, leaving them scrambling.
After sitting in the hallway for a few more minutes, Liu Xiang, still under anesthesia, was finally wheeled out.
Guan Xia stood and glanced at her. Even unconscious, Liu Xiang’s face was deathly pale, her brow slightly furrowed.
The medical staff didn’t linger, pushing her straight toward the elevators.
The group followed, keeping their voices low as they discussed.
"It’s been over 48 hours. Based on our earlier assumptions, we could only keep Liu Xiang in the dark for that long. But now she’s hospitalized—do we still arrest her on-site?" Pang Le was the first to voice the question.
Guan Xia considered it. "If we arrest her now, Geng Jing’s whole plan falls apart. Once he’s out, he’ll definitely come to see her. We’ll probably have to wait for Captain Zhou’s decision."
Xu Nian agreed. "Let’s hold off for now. Liu Xiang isn’t going anywhere. We’ll follow Captain Zhou’s lead on how to proceed."
Zhong Xiaoyu added, "There’s another issue. If we delay arresting Liu Xiang, someone will have to stay and ‘care’ for her. Otherwise, her not seeing anyone will make her suspicious. Who do we assign?"
Almost immediately, Guan Xia thought of Fan Ya, Ge Qing, and Gao Cuicui—the three women they’d recently apprehended.
To avoid slip-ups, they’d need someone already in the know. Those three were the only ones who could play the part without raising Liu Xiang’s suspicions.
The others reached the same conclusion. Ji An glanced at Xu Nian. "One of those three? Their statements showed deep remorse. If we offer them a chance to reduce their sentences, they’d probably cooperate. The question is whether they can act well enough not to tip Liu Xiang off."
Xu Nian didn’t commit right away. "Let’s talk to them first. If it doesn’t work, we’ll figure something else out."
After Liu Xiang was settled in the ICU, the group didn’t linger. Only Qi Bai and Zhong Xiaoyu stayed behind to keep watch while the others left the hospital.
On the way to the parking lot, Xu Nian asked Guan Xia, "Heading straight back to the hotel to rest, or going to Nanping Precinct?"
Honestly, despite the tedious surveillance work—poor meals and long hours cramped in the car—sleep hadn’t been an issue. Once Liu Xiang clocked out, Guan Xia and the others had returned to the hotel.
So even though it was nearly 1 a.m., Guan Xia wasn’t tired. "Let’s go to Nanping. We won’t get Liu Xiang’s statement anytime soon, but I want to review the surveillance footage from Yan Xingyu’s disappearance. Besides Liu Xiang and those three women, there were others involved—like the driver who picked up Fan Ya. Gao Cuicui mentioned Liu Xiang was picked up by a van. If we can trace that van, it might even be the same one used in Ning Xin and her daughter’s abduction. Finding it and matching DNA would nail both cases—and give us leverage to pressure Liu Xiang."
As she spoke, her thoughts flowed smoothly. When she finished, she looked up to find Xu Nian smiling at her.
Guan Xia blinked, unsure why he seemed amused—until he said, "You’ve grown quickly. In just three or four months, you’ve developed your own investigative approach."
She was taken aback, then embarrassed. Avoiding his gaze, she was about to respond when Jiang Yingyao chimed in, grinning. "She really has. When I first joined the unit, I was still a rookie after three or four months. It just goes to show—Guan Xia was born for this line of work. Natural talent."
His praise held admiration, but also a hint of envy.
Guan Xia flushed. Her rapid progress wasn’t talent—it was pure luck.
However, thinking about the system, Guan Xia suddenly recalled a question—it had already been two days since Fan Ya and four other suspects were apprehended, yet the system remained silent, without any prompts about energy charging like before. Could it be that since their crimes weren’t intentional but rather the result of being deceived and manipulated, the system didn’t count them?
Guan Xia speculated inwardly, unable to resist grumbling about the system. It was undeniably useful, but also incredibly dumb. Every rule had to be figured out through trial and error, with no certainty of correctness. She wondered if the system would become smarter once fully upgraded.
Wang Yu and Lu Tingfeng were investigating Liu Xiang’s social connections, while Qi Bai and Zhong Xiaoyu remained at the hospital to guard Liu Xiang. The rest of the team could fit into one car, so they didn’t split up. Xu Nian drove, and they sped back to Nanping District Police Station in a flash.
When they entered Captain Zhou’s office, the lights were on, but no one was there. Guan Xia and the others waited for a while before Captain Zhou arrived, looking somewhat disheveled.
Compared to Guan Xia’s team, Captain Zhou appeared even more exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes nearly rivaling a panda’s and faint bloodshot veins visible. The moment he saw them, he asked, “How’s Liu Xiang? No life-threatening danger, right?”
Xu Nian briefly summarized Liu Xiang’s condition, and Captain Zhou let out a heavy sigh of relief. “Good. As long as she’s stable, it won’t affect our next steps.”
At the mention of “next steps,” Guan Xia immediately perked up, her eyes gleaming with focus as she looked at Captain Zhou.
Captain Zhou said, “I just reported to the higher-ups, and they approved our operation plan. Here’s what we’re going to do.”
He concisely outlined their strategy, which aligned perfectly with Guan Xia’s earlier thoughts—using Geng Jing as bait to reel in bigger fish, hoping to catch the buyer and push the case to a new breakthrough.
Naturally, Guan Xia and the others were eager to cooperate. Captain Zhou added, “To ensure Liu Xiang doesn’t catch on, I specifically requested two unfamiliar female officers from a neighboring unit. They’ll pose as a patient and a family member in Liu Xiang’s hospital room, acting their parts flawlessly so Geng Jing won’t suspect a thing.”
Guan Xia pressed further, “Captain Zhou, when do you plan to release Geng Jing? Also, today’s events were so sudden—our surveillance team appeared almost immediately after Liu Xiang was injured. How are you going to explain that?”
Captain Zhou chuckled. “Geng Jing isn’t like Liu Xiang. He’s the type who prefers brawn over brains. During tonight’s interrogation, we already smoothed it over by saying we were passing by on a case and heard someone screaming for help. The interrogating officer even scolded Geng Jing, saying that if we hadn’t arrived in time, given the victim’s blood loss, even if he wasn’t the one who stabbed her, he’d still bear secondary responsibility and could end up serving jail time. Geng Jing seemed genuinely remorseful, repeatedly asking when he could leave. He really didn’t mean to hurt Liu Xiang—he just lost his temper in the moment, not wanting to lose face in front of her, which led to the scuffle. He doesn’t seem to doubt our story.”
“As for releasing him…” Captain Zhou continued, “Even though he didn’t stab anyone, it still counts as provoking a disturbance. Letting him out too quickly might raise suspicions, so we’ll probably hold him for two days before releasing him.”
Guan Xia considered this. Given Liu Xiang’s injuries, two days would be just enough for her to move from the ICU to a general ward. Between blood loss and severe pain, even if she met with Geng Jing, she wouldn’t have the energy to think too deeply. A brief meeting shouldn’t cause any issues.
After briefly sharing updates and finalizing plans with Captain Zhou, he left the office to continue working. Guan Xia requested the surveillance footage from the area where Liu Xiang had left in a van, as mentioned in Gao Cuicui’s testimony. While she wasn’t too tired yet, she quickly began reviewing the footage.
She kept at it until nearly dawn without any breakthroughs, but Xu Nian got a call. After stepping out to answer, he returned and said, “The experts and officers from the task force have settled in at the hotel and want us to brief them on the case.”
Xu Nian looked at Guan Xia. “Are you coming with us, or staying here to keep reviewing the footage?”
Guan Xia only hesitated for two seconds before shaking her head. “You go ahead. I want to keep looking for that van with the key evidence.”
Xu Nian nodded. “Alright. Get some rest when you can, and call me if anything comes up. Stay in touch.”
After seeing Xu Nian and Jiang Yingyao off, Guan Xia turned to Pang Le, who was still glued to the monitors. “You’ve been at this all night. Why don’t you and Ji An go back to the hotel and sleep? I’m not too tired yet—I’ll keep going for a bit and then head back too.”
Pang Le stretched, rubbing his stiff neck and shoulders. “Nah, it’s fine. The office is empty anyway—Captain Zhou and the others are busy prepping for the operation. If I get tired, I’ll just crash here. You focus on your work; don’t worry about me.”
Ji An added, “Don’t worry, Guan Xia. Pang Le and I are adults—we’ll sleep when we’re tired.”
Guan Xia resumed her search, but even after a whole morning, she still hadn’t found anything. Just as she was about to head back for a nap and return in the afternoon, a sudden commotion erupted outside the office—the sound of multiple people running upstairs.
The noise suggested something big was happening. Curious, Guan Xia and Pang Le cracked the door open to peek outside.
They saw a group of unfamiliar officers escorting two individuals past them. Guan Xia wanted to ask what was going on, but without recognizing anyone, she hesitated. By the time the group had passed, Captain Zhou and two others came jogging up the stairs.
Finally spotting a familiar face, Guan Xia was about to ask when Captain Zhou beat her to it, looking surprised. “Expert Guan, did you just arrive this morning, or have you not gone back to rest yet? Have you been reviewing footage all night?”
Guan Xia nodded, and Captain Zhou frowned disapprovingly. “Working the case is important, but you still need sleep—even just two or three hours. Don’t push yourself just because you’re young and healthy. Look at me—I made sure to squeeze in two hours last night despite everything.”
Guan Xia listened humbly before explaining she was about to head back. Then, shifting the topic, she asked, “By the way, Captain Zhou, who were those two people being escorted earlier?”
At this, Captain Zhou’s face lit up with excitement. “They’re the buyers for Yan Xingyu! I thought since our stakeout hadn’t turned up anything in two days, they must’ve caught wind of things and backed off. But just as I was considering calling off the surveillance at noon today, they showed up! The Third Unit team nabbed them on the spot. I’m on my way to observe the interrogation. Want to join me, Expert Guan?”
To their surprise, the two individuals turned out to be the buyers involved in the child trafficking case they were investigating. Guan Xia was taken aback but quickly nodded with excitement. "Let's go together, Captain Zhou."
Guan Xia practically rushed to Captain Zhou's side, her eagerness barely contained. Though their long hours of reviewing surveillance footage had yielded nothing so far, as the saying goes, when one door closes, another opens—and here was a fresh lead falling right into their hands.
