Chapter 103

Chapter 103

There was so much video on the hard drive that it would definitely be a struggle for just Qiu Ziyu and Nan Mu to watch it all.

Qiu Ziyu wanted to take it back to the police station and have colleagues at the video processing center help, but Nan Mu worried that given Huangfu Junsheng’s connections with the police, it would be trouble if word got out.

The two were momentarily at an impasse, but when Wang Zheng heard about it, he immediately pounded his chest and said he’d take care of it.

Qiu Ziyu thought Wang Zheng knew some computer whiz who could use software to help them quickly search and pinpoint things. He never imagined that Wang Zheng would go to a school and recruit a bunch of computer science students.

Qiu Ziyu was shocked by his unorthodox move. “This is your brilliant plan?!”

Wang Zheng blinked his innocent big eyes and retorted with self-righteousness, “Yeah. College students, man-free, cheap, and efficient. What’s not to like?”

Qiu Ziyu snapped, furious, “Do you think the videos I gave you are just some match-three game downloaded off the internet? Have you considered what kind of uproar it would cause if your little students uploaded these videos online? Never mind that-if anyone found out these videos passed through my hands, I’d be fired!”

Wang Zheng remained completely unflustered by Qiu Ziyu’s anger. “That’s easy. Just draw up a liability form later, stamp it with your police station’s seal, and have them sign it. Say whoever leaks it will face criminal charges. They’re all soon-to-be graduates preparing for grad school or civil service exams, so they definitely won’t dare.”

Qiu Ziyu flatly rejected it. “No way! Do you think you can just stamp the police station’s seal whenever you want?”

“You’re so damn stubborn.” Wang Zheng looked at him with a “tough love” expression. “If you can’t get the official one, then just carve a homemade stamp, right? Relax, those little bookworms have studied so much they can’t easily tell real from fake.”

Qiu Ziyu: “…” Qiu Ziyu showed an expression of disbelief: “Bro! Making an official seal privately is illegal! You want me to knowingly break the law?”

Wang Zheng was silent for a moment, then tentatively asked, “Then… I’ll do it?”

Qiu Ziyu: “…” “If you don’t say anything, I’ll take that as a yes.” Wang Zheng smiled and patted Qiu Ziyu’s shoulder. “Then it’s settled. I’ll take care of it this afternoon. You bring the hard drive tomorrow, and we’ll work hard to get it done in one day.”

One day? Watch all that footage in one day? Qiu Ziyu was stunned, and a bad feeling rose in his heart.

The hard drive Zhou Zhiheng sent had a total of forty-eight video clips, each from one of forty-eight cameras, each about six hours long. Finding people wasn’t like watching a movie; you couldn’t just skim through. You had to search the footage for them. How could they possibly finish in one day?

Qiu Ziyu asked hesitantly, “How many people did you find?”

Wang Zheng: “Forty-eight people.”

This time it wasn’t just Qiu Ziyu; Nan Mu, who was drinking water, was so shocked by Wang Zheng’s operation that he spat out his water.

Seeing how unsettled they were, Wang Zheng swore, “Just put your minds at ease! Those college students don’t care at all what’s in the videos. They only care about whether doing this will get them credits, whether it’ll help them graduate, and if there’s a little money it’s even better.”

Qiu Ziyu: “Didn’t you just say students are free and efficient?”

Wang Zheng turned back to look at him in surprise, “Yeah, but since it’s not my money, why wouldn’t I pay them? Won’t they work harder if they’re paid?”

Qiu Ziyu: “…” “But you just reminded me.” Wang Zheng turned to Nan Mu. “Five hundred per person per day. Do the math yourself and remember to transfer it to me.”
Qiu Ziyu: “You’re robbing us…”

Wang Zheng: “What, you think our students from the prestigious A University of Science and Technology aren’t worth the price?”

Qiu Ziyu, a graduate of A University of Science and Technology: “…”

===

Despite Wang Zheng’s repeated assurances, Qiu Ziyu remained cautious.

He had Xu Yang prepare an empty room overnight, purchasing forty-eight brand-new computers, and enlisted a trusted computer expert from the criminal police unit to set up an internal network disconnected from the internet, to prevent any video information from leaking.

Based on Nan Mu’s description, they also tried to reconstruct a portrait of Wen Miao wearing a blue-and-white hoodie, hanging the image on the wall of the room, and instructed everyone to carefully scrutinize any footage that might show Wen Miao.

Yes, that was precisely why Nan Mu wanted the video – he only wanted to prove that there was indeed a woman in a blue-and-white hoodie on the cruise ship that day. As for the truth behind the shipwreck, Nan Mu held little hope.

Zhou Zhiheng was, after all, from Hongyun Pharmaceutical. Even if he knew the truth about the wreck, he would never hand over that specific footage. How many cameras were actually on the cruise ship was, in the end, only what Zhou Zhiheng claimed.

Words alone were no proof, so Nan Mu didn’t believe the truth of the wreck could be found from these videos.

But, unexpectedly…

The following afternoon, just as Nan Mu finished having a nurse change his dressing, he received a call from Qiu Ziyu.

The moment he answered, Qiu Ziyu’s breathless panting and the sound of wind rushing past the microphone while running came through, sounding extremely urgent.

Nan Mu called out to Qiu Ziyu three times before the other end seemed to hear him, and Qiu Ziyu urgently asked, “Nan Mu, you’re still at the hospital, are you safe?”

Nan Mu was a bit bewildered by the sudden concern. “…Safe, why?”

“What about Nurse Panpan? She’s not with you, right?”

Nan Mu watched the unfamiliar nurse who had just finished tidying up the equipment and was walking out, thoughtfully closing his ward door. Perplexed, he replied, “She’s not here.”

“Good that she’s not!” Qiu Ziyu seemed to sigh a tremendous breath of relief.

Qiu Ziyu’s reaction made Nan Mu sense something, and he gradually frowned. “What’s wrong with her?”

“This Panpan is trouble! Long story short, get Xu Yang to come stay with you, and also tell the hospital to assign you a different nurse. Whatever you do, don’t let Panpan near you. I’ll send you a video in a bit – you’ll understand once you see it.”

Qiu Ziyu still seemed uneasy about Nan Mu being alone at the hospital, especially since he’d had a streak of bad luck lately with one incident after another, so he suggested, “How about I have Fang Yue come guard you? Just in case Panpan shows up, there’ll be someone to protect you.”

Nan Mu didn’t know why Qiu Ziyu thought Panpan would attack him, but he felt, “No need, don’t waste manpower. She probably won’t kill me.”

The other end paused, then reflexively asked, “Why?”

Nan Mu’s fingers tapped anxiously and unconsciously on the bed rail. “If she wanted to harm me, she wouldn’t have needed to take you all to rescue me.”

Nan Mu hung up the phone and pressed the call button on the wall.

The nurse who had just left came back in, thinking he was feeling unwell. When she heard him ask about Panpan, she couldn’t help but pause. “Panpan took leave several days ago, said it was a family matter.”

It was only then that Nan Mu realized the nurse who had been changing his dressings these past few days had indeed been a different person, but he hadn’t noticed at the time.

He lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then asked the nurse, “Please call Dr. Yu Jingtong for me.”