A Bad-Hearted Doctor is Unbearably Beautiful - Chapter 41

The engine cut out abruptly. Lu Xiao and Shen Zhao slammed their car doors and sprinted toward the Criminal Investigation Bureau’s briefing room.

“Wang Deng, Wu Di! Is the whole team here?”

Lu Xiao’s face was grim. He snatched his laptop from his desk and pulled Shen Zhao toward the conference room.

“Everyone’s here, and the projector is ready!”

The conference room doors slammed shut with a heavy, ominous thud.

“Tech crew, access the video link! Patch it through to the projector now!”

Zhang Zhen moved quickly, syncing Lu Xiao’s laptop to the display. Immediately, the image of that sterile ward filled the screen.

Shen Zhao forced himself to regulate his breathing, coaching himself to face the imagery head-on. He put on his glasses—which he had meticulously polished twice—and looked up. Something in the image… seemed to have changed.

The child’s face now bore traces of intense suffering.

On the slightly grainy surveillance feed, there was nothing but featureless white walls and the boy, who had his eyes squeezed shut as if enduring an invisible agony.

Lu Xiao stood before a whiteboard next to the screen, his gaze sharp and his expression severe. “Tech group, track the source of the video signal immediately! Triangulate every possible transmission point!”

“Criminal unit, run a cross-match on all recent missing male children between the ages of ten and fifteen in the city. Compare all provided photos one by one. I want a positive ID on that kid as fast as possible!”

Lu Xiao was about to give another order when a sudden burst of ear-splitting static erupted from the video feed.

Is the kidnapper showing himself?

Everyone in the room leaned in, eyes glued to the screen for any sign of movement. The screen flickered violently, and then—

“Surprise!”

A raspy, arrogant voice accompanied by a burst of sickly, ecstatic laughter echoed through the conference room.

“So, everyone’s here!!”

The voice felt like a jagged blade, slowly and deeply scoring the minds of everyone present, before ruthlessly rubbing salt into the wounds.

Alarm bells rang in Lu Xiao’s head. He shot a glance at Zhang Zhen before sprinting toward the windows, checking the surrounding buildings for any sign of a suspicious figure watching them.

“What kind of coward hides in the shadows playing ghost?” Lu Xiao barked.

Zhang Zhen quickly checked the terminal. “The audio was automatically patched through when we opened the link. He can hear us, but he shouldn’t be able to see the room.”

Lu Xiao yanked the curtains shut, sealing every gap. He stepped up to the laptop and roared at the screen: “Who are you? What do you want!”

The voice responded with a long, drawn-out, frivolous laugh. “Oh, Captain Lu…”

The tone was mercurial—alternating between a low murmur and a sharp shriek—like a serpent flicking its tongue, rattling the nerves of everyone in the room. Lu Xiao slammed his fist onto the table in a fit of rage, causing the laptop to shudder.

The voice was an unmitigated, blatant provocation.

“Trace the signal, NOW!!” Lu Xiao’s roar filled the room.

“Shhh… you’re too loud. You’re scaring our little friend,” the phantom voice continued. “Captain Lu, did you really think I’d send this link without preparation? Between you and me, I’m the only one who gets to do the finding. Hahahaha!”

As the kidnapper’s laughter grew more unrestrained, the video feed suddenly zoomed in, focusing sharply on the child’s face.

The boy was deathly pale. His lips were parched, tinged with a sickly blue hue, and sweat poured from his forehead. His eyelashes and eyelids were twitching uncontrollably.

“Now then, the performance I’ve so painstakingly prepared for you is about to begin. Oh, by the way… is Doctor… Shen… there?”

At those words, every head in the room swiveled toward Shen Zhao. Their eyes were filled with unspoken questions.

Lu Xiao’s expression was as dark as it could get.

Propping up his fever-stricken body, Shen Zhao fought to keep his mind functioning. He gripped his pen so hard he left deep gouges in his notebook. He raised his voice and said: “I’m here.”

There was no immediate reply. After a few seconds of silence, a faint, lingering breath came through the speakers—a sound like a low moan.

“No. 13… I’ve missed you so much.”

The voice was incredibly soft, yet it seemed to seep into the very marrow of Shen Zhao’s bones.

Shen Zhao’s heart hammered against his ribs; a cold shiver raced down his spine. His Adam’s apple bobbed as his pupils dilated. He stood up, leaning toward the screen to hear the voice more clearly.

That name. Aside from those at the Angel Welfare Home, who else could possibly know it? But the way the man said “No. 13” was sickeningly intimate, dripping with an affection that made Shen Zhao’s stomach turn.

Lu Xiao’s eyes widened. That tone… why did it sound like he was flirting?

The way the man singled them out felt like a calculated act of vengeance. But who was the target? Him, or Shen Zhao?

Old Zhou looked at Shen Zhao and couldn’t help but ask, “Dr. Shen, do you know what’s going on here?”

Shen Zhao shook his head slightly, but a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead and splashed onto the table.

On the other end of the screen, the kidnapper seemed to be savoring Shen Zhao’s reaction. “What? Scared? Don’t worry. Let’s start with an opening act to loosen things up.”

The sound of mechanical whirring drifted from the speakers.

The four metal restraints holding the boy to the bed began to sink slowly, increasing the pressure on his limbs. A second later, the boy’s raspy crying filled the room.

A mechanical arm rose from the foot of the bed. At its tip was a long, thin metallic needle.

The needle had already pierced the sole of the boy’s foot. He snapped his eyes open, staring in terror at the ceiling. He thrashed his limbs with all his might, but it was useless. He opened his mouth to scream, but only choked, sobbing whimpers came out. He was drenched in tears, unable to form a single word.

“Damn it! Is this guy even human?” Lin Xue shouted, slamming her hand on the desk.

The child spasmed, his eyes trembling with helplessness.

Beep.

The single needle on the mechanical arm retracted, replaced by a row of silver-tipped needles. Under its programmed instructions, the arm moved again. The first needle slowly sank into the edge of the boy’s big toe.

The boy’s body jolted. His thighs and knees shook violently on the bed. You could see the sheer effort he was making; his ankles rubbed raw against the heavy metal restraints as he tried to pull his feet away from the object beneath him.

Because he was pinned flat, he could see nothing but the ceiling and the small patches of space to his left and right.

What is at my feet? How do I get away? When will the next torture begin?

To him, everything was a void of unknown terror. The boy’s body continued to shake; saliva and tears streamed down his face as he let out a silent, desperate cry.

Then came the second needle…