SFTD -Chapter 134 Campus Gunfire (Final)

Yes—the person who arrived was none other than Ceng Yimin.

She was tall, heavily built, almost obese. Dressed in men’s clothing, she would have been hard to identify as female at a glance. Seeing that only Zhou Hai was there, her initial fear gradually faded.

She lowered her head slightly. “So it really was you who figured out my identity. What else did you find out?”

“I also found out that after your father returned from Europe, he infected you with a fungal disease. That’s why the onychomycosis and fungal infections on both your hands kept recurring.”

Ceng Yimin laughed. “You really are impressive. But so what? Do you think you’ll still have a chance to tell anyone?”

As she spoke, she raised the syringe in her hand and rushed forward.

Zhou Hai knew there must be some dangerous chemical inside it. At this moment, she was clearly intent on killing him to silence him. He had very little time.

He threw the handle of a surgical knife toward her. She hadn’t expected him to have anything in his hand, and her glasses were knocked off instantly—but it didn’t slow her down. She lunged forward.

With a heavy crash, she pinned Zhou Hai to the ground, her hands gripping his neck.

Her massive body weight made him unable to move. With one hand, he tried to pry open her grip on his neck; with the other, he struggled for the syringe in her hand. They kicked and thrashed violently. The wires from nearby medical machines became tangled around them.

Ceng Yimin was also beginning to tire, but she kept pressing down with her body weight. Waves of suffocation blurred Zhou Hai’s consciousness.

At that moment, the ward door was pushed open.

Zhou Hai knew it had to be either Chu Menghan or Lin Jia’s mother. Using his last bit of strength, he kicked out, sending a machine crashing to the ground with a loud clatter.

Chu Menghan instantly rushed in, grabbing Ceng Yimin’s wrist holding the syringe and slamming it against the floor again and again. On the third impact, the syringe shattered, releasing a corrosive cloud of smoke. The entire room filled with a pungent acidic smell.

Chu Menghan twisted her wrist and forced Ceng Yimin’s arm behind her back. Only then did Zhou Hai regain his breathing, rolling to the side and coughing violently before he could finally breathe normally again.

Police officers entered and prepared to cuff Ceng Yimin, but Zhou Hai waved them off. Chu Menghan quickly stopped them.

“What is it?” she asked.

She helped Zhou Hai sit up. “Search her. See if she still has hydrochloric acid or a gun. Her bag is outside the bathroom.”

Chu Menghan searched her and indeed found a small glass bottle wrapped in a black bag at her ankle. At first glance, it looked like medicine.

“Found it! Take her away!”

Ceng Yimin was taken away.

Chu Menghan picked up her backpack—there was no gun inside. Both of them were stunned.

“You should report to Director Liu,” Zhou Hai said. “Her father is one of the officers who returned from Europe last year during the fugitive pursuit. I suspect he is Captain Ceng, responsible for cybersecurity.”

Footsteps sounded in the corridor. Lin’s mother and a group of doctors rushed in to check Lin Jia’s condition and restore the equipment.

Chu Menghan helped Zhou Hai to the next room.

“Call Director Liu immediately and report everything. I suspect Ceng Yimin already returned the gun to her father. How did we miss this during the inspection?”

Chu Menghan shot him a glance. “Not now.”

She called a doctor over. “Check his neck and hands.”

After making the call, she came back to see Zhou Hai already soaking his hands in a medical basin.

The doctor glanced at him. “Luckily, no hydrochloric acid hit you. Just a lot of scratches—looks like fingernail wounds.”

Zhou Hai thought of Ceng Yimin’s heavily infected hands and shuddered.

“Quick, give me a large amount of disinfectant. She’s infected with dark-pigmented dematiaceous fungi. Also call Dr. He—he has preventive medication.”

The doctor was startled and immediately began intensive disinfection of Zhou Hai’s neck and hands.

When Chu Menghan returned, she saw his hands submerged in a basin and his clothes soaked.

“What happened?”

Zhou Hai felt slightly guilty. “Her fungal infection is very rare and has no effective treatment. I’m afraid of being infected, so I disinfected urgently.”

Chu Menghan frowned. “With your build, why rush in? If I’d been a little later, you’d be disfigured.”

Zhou Hai looked helpless. “She was trying to inject Lin Jia with hydrochloric acid—50 ml. If it had gone into her body, she would’ve died instantly. She would have been dead before you even arrived.”

Chu Menghan accepted the truth but still said, “Are you okay? If you can still move, come back for interrogation. Director Liu already took Captain Ceng in.”

“Let’s go.”

—

An hour later, Zhou Hai and Director Liu sat in the room next to the interrogation chamber. Chu Menghan stood in front of Ceng Yimin.

Director Liu frowned deeply. A case involving one of his own officers’ family members was extremely troubling. He looked at Zhou Hai’s bandaged hands and neck.

“The gun registered under Ceng Xianrong has already been sent for inspection. When we upgraded to the Type 92 service pistol, the bureau replaced more than ten guns, but twelve officers returned theirs. Only he didn’t because he was on assignment, though the paperwork was completed and the serial number no longer matches the current records. This was a management oversight. If we had discovered it earlier, we wouldn’t have reached this dangerous point. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Just minor injuries.”

“You spoke with Ceng Xianrong?”

“Yes. He rarely paid attention to his family due to work. He didn’t even know his daughter’s interests. But his attitude was good… we really do owe too much to our families.”

Zhou Hai knew that even if the case wasn’t his fault, his daughter stealing the gun made him partially responsible. With a death involved, his career might even be affected.

Inside the room, Ceng Yimin began confessing.

At first, she had liked Sun Jingya. She had liked her since high school. Her feelings for another girl were too shameful to admit. That was also why she followed Sun Jingya to East South University.

Because of her inferiority, she never dared express herself and could only secretly stalk them. She grew jealous watching Sun Jingya and Lin Jia’s close relationship. Lin Jia’s constant closeness to Sun Jingya intensified her resentment.

Her infection last year—skin peeling, blisters, nail discoloration, even nail loss—made Lin Jia avoid her, which further triggered her rage.

She began retaliating: slashing tires, throwing paint, leaking Lin Jia’s phone number on online platforms, using her hacking skills.

She wrote multiple love letters to Sun Jingya, all unanswered.

Eventually, she snapped. She sent a threatening letter with a photo of a forest near the north gate fountain, marked “January 28, 12:30 PM—meet or die,” planted a week in advance in Sun Jingya’s apartment.

Unexpectedly, both girls came together. Lin Jia immediately confronted her, exposing her stalking and harassment, and warned her to stop or they would report her.

Ceng Yimin had already prepared for this. If Sun Jingya still rejected her, she intended to die with them. So she brought her father’s gun.

After drinking, she shot them.

Seeing them fall, she poured alcohol over their clothes and threw a lighter—but it failed to ignite. Panicking, she fled.

As she drove, she sobered up and realized her crime could be traced. She hacked traffic surveillance systems via a forum, deleted footage, and even transferred money while disguising herself.

She also used listening devices to monitor her father’s communications, allowing her to evade detection.

But when she saw Lin Jia recovering in the hospital, panic set in again. If she woke up, everything would be over.

She stole hydrochloric acid from the lab and went to the hospital—but failed due to Zhou Hai’s intervention.

A psychologically twisted individual like her was not rare to Zhou Hai, but someone who planned to die together from the beginning was.

As for the wax mold issue Zhou Hai cared about, Ceng Yimin—though right-handed—had practiced shooting with her left hand, which frustrated him greatly.

If only they had preserved wax molds from both hands, they wouldn’t have wasted an extra day.

—

Zhou Hai lost interest in the rest of the interrogation. He left with Director Liu and rushed to the hospital.

On the way, he called both families and shared a suggestion with Lin’s father, who agreed immediately.

At the hospital, Sun Jingya’s parents were already outside. Zhou Hai brought them into the ward.

Lin Jia was still unconscious. Sun’s father, seeing her, finally softened. After nearly two days in hospital, the emotional strain had been unbearable.

Zhou Hai placed a box in front of Sun’s father with his bandaged hands.

“This was left by Sun Jingya for Lin Jia. I think it should be opened in front of her.”

Inside were photographs. Sun’s parents broke down in tears.

Zhou Hai continued:

“Sun Jingya and Lin Jia were close friends. They looked similar too. When you didn’t know Lin Jia was in this bed, you still gave the same love. Why not continue that way?”

Lin’s father was moved and walked over to Sun’s father, patting his shoulder.

“She is our Jia Jia, and your Jingya. Her future still needs both families.”

Lin’s mother nodded eagerly. “Yes, let’s become one family.”

Sun’s father looked at his wife. “Do you agree?”

Through tears: “Yes.”

The four of them held hands, all grievances dissolving in an instant.

Zhou Hai quietly stepped out, not wanting to disturb them.

He looked at the warm winter sunlight outside. It felt like the scent of hotpot still lingered at his nose.

Tonight, he could go home and eat dinner early.