Chapter 264: THIS MAN NEEDS A HOSPITAL

Shen Zihao hadn’t left the house in days, holed up behind locked doors and drawn curtains, growing more paranoid by the hour. But today he emerged just after dawn, moving with a clear, sudden purpose the surveillance team hadn’t seen from him in over a week.

He wasn’t alone. Ren Hao stumbled beside him, barely upright, weak and unsteady, one arm gripped tight enough to bruise.

The watchers stationed outside relayed the sighting immediately, a second team already mobilizing before Shen Zihao’s car had fully pulled out of the driveway. They tracked him across the city, keeping careful distance, until the car finally stopped outside an abandoned warehouse on the industrial edge of town, rusted signage barely legible above the entrance.

Inside, Shen Zihao chained Ren Hao to a support beam, the metal biting into his already-raw wrists before he taped his mouth shut. He crouched in front of him, tilting his head, something darkly possessive curling at the edges of his smile.

"The Omega drug must be working perfectly," he murmured, almost tenderly. "You’re already close to heat, aren’t you? I can smell it on you—that pathetic, desperate need."

He dragged a thumb across Ren Hao’s jaw, watching him flinch. "I can’t wait to fuck that hole one last time before I kill you. But first—" He straightened, brushing off his hands with clinical detachment. "—I have to show my face at work. Can’t miss a day, not without questions I’m ready to answer. Don’t go anywhere."

He laughed, low and cruel. "Not that you could."

He padlocked it firmly from the outside, testing the chain once before walking back to his car.

The moment his taillights disappeared down the road, the team stationed at the warehouse radioed the unit monitoring Ruijie Corporation, instructing them to stand by.

Minutes later, the head of security relayed final confirmation to Liuxian.

He smiled, setting his phone down with quiet satisfaction.

He’d save the best for last.

First, everyone else who’d made this possible, every hand that had helped Shen Zihao hide for ten years while his victims either died quietly or vanished into psychiatric wards no one thought to question.

The psychiatric hospital fell first, officers moving through the halls with warrants in hand, seizing records Kong Siying had described in exact detail.

The doctor who’d fled the country sat handcuffed in an interrogation room already, extradited and delivered back into custody three days prior, his composure long since cracked under questioning.

Every officer on the payroll who’d helped bury Shen Zihao’s crimes went down next, names pulled straight from the financial trail Liuxian’s men had traced back through years of falsified reports and quiet payoffs.

Then came Shen Zihao’s parents.

They hadn’t seen it coming, comfortable in their sense of untouchable safety right up until the moment black vehicles surrounded their estate from every direction at once.

Officers poured through the gates before either of them could reach a phone, Lin Suyin’s teacup shattering against the floor as two officers entered the sitting room without knocking.

"Lin Suyin. Shen Wentao." An officer stepped forward, badge raised. "You’re under arrest for obstruction of justice, conspiracy, and accessory to multiple felonies."

"This is absurd." Shen Wentao rose sharply, indignation flaring. "Do you know who we are?"

"We do." The officer didn’t blink. "That’s precisely why there are twelve of us here instead of two."

Shen Wentao’s face reddened, mouth opening to argue further before a second officer stepped in, cutting off any attempt at negotiation before it could start. Lin Suyin said nothing at all, her face draining of color as the reality of years finally catching up to her settled in, hands trembling as an officer guided her toward the door.

Behind them, another team moved swiftly through the estate’s offices, seizing hard drives, financial records, and a small locked safe Shen Wentao had clearly hoped no one would find.

Every drawer, every filing cabinet, every hidden compartment they’d used to bury the truth for years came apart under careful, methodical search.

Meanwhile, Bai Feng’s phone rang just after nine, Guiying’s name lighting up the screen.

"There’s a case coming your way. I have a feeling you already have some insight on this." Guiying didn’t waste time on pleasantries. "Below is a victim’s testimony, plus everything Liuxian’s team has gathered. You’re the only one who can see this through properly."

Bai Feng listened as Guiying laid out the details, evidence stacking higher with every sentence, victims spanning years, corruption reaching into institutions that should have protected people instead of burying them.

Names he recognized from prior ORF cases surfaced somewhere in the pattern, threads he’d never managed to connect before now finally pulling taut into something coherent.

"I’ll take it." He didn’t hesitate once Guiying finished. "This explains why Ruijie Corp’s board reached out to me last week, trying to distance the company from Shen Zihao before this broke publicly."

"Thank you." Relief colored Guiying’s voice. "I’ll have everything else sent to your office by this afternoon."

"Take care of yourself while you’re at it," Bai Feng added quietly, thinking of Guiying’s own history tangled somewhere in the roots of this case, though he didn’t say as much aloud.

By noon, most of the culprits sat in custody, statements already being taken, evidence catalogued and secured.

Only one piece remained.

The rescue team received their signal precisely at twelve fifteen, breaking through the warehouse’s side entrance within seconds, bolt cutters making short work of the padlock Shen Zihao had left behind that morning.

Dust hung thick in the stagnant air, sunlight cutting narrow beams through cracks in the roof, illuminating the small, chained figure slumped near the far wall.

They found Ren Hao exactly where he’d been chained, barely conscious, his skin clammy and pale beneath the dim overhead lights.

Gu Yanchen dropped to his knees immediately, medical bag already open, fingers pressing carefully against Ren Hao’s wrist to check his pulse while another officer worked the chains free.

"Careful with him." Gu Yanchen’s voice stayed sharp, focused, cutting through the tension crackling through the warehouse. "Don’t move his legs yet, I need to check for fractures first."

Ren Hao’s eyes fluttered weakly, barely tracking the movement around him, breath shallow and uneven against the tape still covering his mouth until someone finally peeled it away.

Gu Yanchen worked fast, checking his vitals with practiced efficiency, expression growing grimmer with every second that passed. Bruising mapped Ren Hao’s arms in layers, old fading into new, his wrists raw where the chains had rubbed skin down to nothing.

Someone radioed for the ambulance already stationed a block away, engines already running the moment confirmation came through.

"This man needs to get to the hospital right now." His voice cut through the room, urgent, unwilling to wait for confirmation. "If we’re too late, he’s going to die."