"There are three and a half hours before dark. Before nightfall, we need to find out everywhere Doctor Fang went before he disappeared!"
"We have to investigate before dark? Do you have other things to do tonight?" Old Wu asked, confused, as he drove.
"This city isn't safe at night."
"Xinhai is the safest city in the South Central region. Some shopping districts here basically operate twenty-four hours a day — they call it the city that never sleeps." Old Wu gripped the steering wheel. "You young people should know this better than me."
Chen Ge smiled but didn't explain.
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Xinhai Second Hospital.
Xinhai had a total of eleven Tier-A hospitals, and the Second Hospital where Doctor Fang worked ranked very high, located in the most prosperous area of Xinhai.
"Hello, I'd like to ask about someone." Chen Ge approached the hospital front desk with Old Wu, who was wearing a police uniform. The on-duty nurse hadn't been inclined to pay attention to Chen Ge, but after seeing Old Wu's uniform, her attitude improved considerably.
With the nurse accompanying them, Chen Ge made his way to the Department of Otolaryngology, where a doctor was examining a patient.
"Doctor Fang hasn't come to work for several days now. I'm not sure of the specifics either. The doctor inside is surnamed Zhao — he's Doctor Fang's colleague and close friend. He should know some information." The on-duty nurse left after saying this, and Chen Ge and Old Wu waited until Doctor Zhao finished examining the patient before entering the room.
"Which one of you is the patient?" Doctor Zhao was busy. He hadn't been sleeping well recently — the dark circles under his eyes were heavy, and he looked somewhat drained.
"We're not here to see a doctor." Chen Ge gestured toward Old Wu beside him. "This is a frontline criminal investigator from the city precinct's detective division."
He didn't mention his own identity, nor did he say that Old Wu was a police officer from the Hanjiang city precinct. Every word he said was technically true, but the impression it gave was that both of them were part of Xinhai's criminal investigation team.
"A criminal investigator?" Doctor Zhao realized the seriousness of the matter. "You're here about Doctor Fang?"
"So you really do know something." Chen Ge sat down in a chair, while the real police officer, Old Wu, stood guard at the door.
"I already told the local precinct officers everything yesterday. I didn't expect detectives to show up today. Could it be that Doctor Fang has already…" Doctor Zhao didn't finish the sentence, but everyone present understood what he was trying to say.
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't be asking. Just tell me what you know." Chen Ge casually picked up a pen and paper from the desk, ready to take notes. He gave off a very professional air.
"Over the past few weeks, Doctor Fang's condition has been very poor. There was one surgery that went wrong, and complaints from patients have increased — that was almost impossible before. Old Fang is the best otolaryngologist and head and neck surgeon we have here."
"Is Doctor Fang's mental state connected to his family?"
"I met with Old Fang's family yesterday. His wife and daughter both seemed perfectly normal — very worried about him. Oh, right!" Doctor Zhao seemed to suddenly remember something. "I heard from Old Fang's wife that Old Fang often talks to himself, saying things like 'they're coming,' 'they're happy,' 'they've already come.'"
"They're coming? Is someone secretly watching Doctor Fang?" Old Wu closed the department door and walked over. He hadn't expected that their first case upon arriving in Xinhai would be something this bizarre.
"A few days before his disappearance, Old Fang often stayed awake all night, holding a knife by the window, occasionally peering outside — as though someone was standing downstairs. His wife and daughter were both terrified. They'd occasionally look outside too, but there was never anyone there." Doctor Zhao sighed. "Old Fang's wife wanted to hire a psychiatrist for him, but before the doctor could be found, Old Fang had already disappeared."
"Neither Doctor Fang's wife nor his daughter saw anyone outside the window — is that correct?" Chen Ge wanted to confirm.
"Old Fang's wife didn't see anything at all, but his younger daughter told the precinct officers yesterday that there was a smiling woman hiding in their house."
"A smiling woman?" Chen Ge narrowed his eyes, and two words surfaced in his mind — No Smile.
"The precinct officers went to Old Fang's house but didn't find any woman. They think it was a hallucination brought on by his daughter's stress."
"Hallucinations are also tied to certain memories. They should have thought more carefully about that." Chen Ge didn't comment on how the precinct had handled it. Right now, he just wanted to find Doctor Fang as quickly as possible. "Doctor Zhao, do you know who the last person to see Doctor Fang was?"
"As far as I know, it was probably me." Doctor Zhao looked haggard. "Old Fang had taken two weeks off, but a few days ago — before his leave was even over — he suddenly showed up at work. He seemed to be in decent shape, so I figured he'd recovered. I didn't think too much of it and made plans with him to grab a few drinks after work."
"Doctor Fang disappeared at the hospital?"
"That seems to be the case. After work, Old Fang didn't go home. He locked himself in a room, and I have no idea what he was doing. When I came in the next day, I received the news that Old Fang had gone missing." Doctor Zhao looked regretful. "If only I had paid more attention that day."
"Don't blame yourself. This has nothing to do with you." Chen Ge furrowed his brow in thought, recalling the scene from his first phone call with Doctor Fang.
Doctor Fang had mentioned being watched by No Smile. He had also said that during a recent hospital storage room renovation, he had found a letter in the old storeroom. After opening it, the letter told him to go to some abandoned hospital in the middle of the night — if he didn't, something very bad would happen (see Chapter 1007).
"Doctor Zhao, was there a renovation of the hospital storeroom a while back? At that time, Doctor Fang entered the old storeroom, didn't he?"
"How did you know that?" Doctor Zhao was very surprised, but in his mind the storeroom renovation and Doctor Fang's disappearance were two entirely separate things that couldn't possibly be connected.
"Think carefully — did Doctor Fang's strange behavior begin after he entered the old storeroom?" Chen Ge set down the pen and tucked the note with his scribbled observations into his pocket.
"Now that you mention it… that really does seem to be the case." Doctor Zhao's expression grew even more surprised. Chen Ge gave him a completely different feeling from the precinct officer who had questioned him yesterday. "A real detective — you're impressive."
"If it's convenient, could you take us to the old storeroom right now?"
"Sure. It's about to be decommissioned anyway." Doctor Zhao had a very close relationship with Doctor Fang and was more than happy to help.
After letting another doctor know, Doctor Zhao led Chen Ge and Old Wu out of the hospital.
"The old storeroom isn't inside the hospital?" Chen Ge looked puzzled.