SFTD -Chapter 163 Seven Hours of Terror

Wang Xuchao finally got to the main point.

After Lu Zhongping was taken away from the Sports Institute the previous day, he had been panicked but did not immediately confess. Instead, he was waiting for the school’s reaction—after all, he was the academy’s star coach. Surely they wouldn’t just ignore him.

But by around 4 p.m., still having had no lunch and exhausted from fear, he sat in the dim interrogation room and endured seven hours of torment, wide-eyed and terrified.

Lu Zhongping soon began to feel weak all over—dizziness, chest tightness, cold sweats pouring down. In that state, he truly believed he had been poisoned, and severely so, because this matched the symptoms of Zeng Zhicheng’s condition.

At this point, Lu Zhongping was completely terrified. The forensic doctor’s words had seemingly come true.

The dark detention room was completely silent. The only sound was a leaking faucet by the sink—drip, drip, endlessly repeating. In the suffocating quiet, the sound felt amplified to the point of being deafening.

He leaned against the wall, gasping for air. When he was brought in, he had already observed the room—it was a dead corner of the detention facility, a single isolation cell similar to solitary confinement. It had clearly been arranged deliberately by the police so he would be hidden away and hard to notice.

It felt like he could die here without anyone ever knowing.

The more he thought about it, the weaker he felt. Even standing was impossible. Cold sweat kept sliding down his face.

Driven by survival instinct, he crawled desperately toward the iron door, pounding and shouting. Just when he was on the brink of despair, someone finally came.

He grabbed onto a police officer, tears and mucus streaming down his face, losing all his earlier arrogance.

“Help me find Captain Wang! I want to confess! I’ll tell everything! Get me a doctor—I’ve been poisoned, I’m going to die! Please, please save me!”

After that, Wang Xuchao arrived, followed by Dr. He, fully equipped in white protective suit, mask, and gloves. The moment Lu Zhongping saw the doctor, he almost cried from relief and immediately confessed everything.

On the night of June 20th at 9:30 p.m., Liu Haiyan had called him in panic, saying that Xu Miaochi was dead—she had been pushed and then stopped moving. She didn’t know what to do, whether to inform the school or call the police.

Lu Zhongping told her to stay put while he rushed over. At the artificial turf field of the football grounds, he found her crouching by the woods. After checking Xu Miaochi, he confirmed she had already lost breathing and pulse.

He told Liu Haiyan to return to the gathering and act as if nothing had happened. When she wanted to call the police, he slapped her and warned that if she did, the entire team would be investigated and all competitions would be cancelled.

The young and frightened Liu Haiyan broke down, wiped her tears, and returned to the party. Because many people were present, no one noticed her absence.

After that, Lu Zhongping used the jacket tied around Xu Miaochi’s waist to pad his arms, carried her body to the track field, and scattered sand into her mouth and nose. He posed her face-down in the sand, then brushed away footprints with a branch.

He took the jacket, dug a hole in an area where rat poison had been placed, and buried it.

Two months passed without results, and the case gradually faded. But Zeng Zhicheng did not give up and began investigating Xu Miaochi’s case in detail. Lu Zhongping grew increasingly afraid as Zeng Zhicheng got closer to the truth.

After New Year’s Day, Zeng Zhicheng came again. He was unwell and coughing. Lu Zhongping gave him some immunity-boosting medication used by the team—but it had been tampered with. Zeng Zhicheng felt significantly better after taking it for a few days.

A week later, Zeng Zhicheng returned again, asking for competition records related to Xu Miaochi. Lu Zhongping realized it was time to act.

He handed over a forged match schedule and gave Zeng Zhicheng several capsules, claiming they were an advanced version of performance boosters.

Zeng Zhicheng accepted them, drank them with water, and soon collapsed unconscious.

That night, Lu Zhongping wore a hat and gloves, placed the body into a car, and drove toward the seaside using Zeng Zhicheng’s vehicle. Passing Ding Stone Bridge, he saw several cars passing below in the flashing headlights.

Standing on the bridge, he smoked for a long time. Finally, he changed his plan and threw Zeng Zhicheng off the bridge. The body crashed onto the road below with a loud impact.

He was startled himself, but then thought passing vehicles would crush the body—making it look like either suicide or a traffic accident.

After that, he drove toward the sea. He avoided touching the gun and personal belongings inside the car to avoid leaving traces. He used a metal rod to jam the accelerator, sending the car straight into the sea.

The remaining prepared drugs were hidden in his cigarette case. With that, the evidence chain was complete.

Xu Biao shook his head after hearing everything.

“So you also found the car?”

Wang Xuchao nodded and pulled out a badly water-damaged outpatient booklet.

“Lu Zhongping drove into the sea with the windows open. Most things were washed away, except the gun and this booklet, which got stuck by the driver’s seat.”

It was a Yong’an City Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital outpatient booklet. Zhou Hai took it and flipped through it with difficulty. It was brand new, with no writing inside.

“So he only registered, but never actually saw a doctor.”

Wang Xuchao had reddened eyes.

“Yes… I wanted to send this to his wife, but I just couldn’t find the courage.”

Xu Biao said nothing, only patted Wang Xuchao’s shoulder.

Zhou Hai opened a drawer and took out a file folder.

“Give this to his wife. These are CT scans of Zeng Zhicheng’s brainstem tumor and his symptoms after getting sick. Tell her… he didn’t stop loving his family. He was just sick, it affected his emotions, and he didn’t want them to worry.”

Wang Xuchao took the folder and hugged Zhou Hai tightly. After a long moment, he choked up:

“Thanks, brother. From now on, you’re my brother.”

Xu Biao immediately pulled him away.

“Hey, stealing my connections in front of me? What, is Zhou Hai your brother now?”

Zhou Hai’s face twitched.

Wang Xuchao rolled his eyes.

“Alright, enough nonsense. I’m leaving—I still need to go to Zeng’s family.”

Zhou Hai stood up.

“You should go. Will Zeng Zhicheng be posthumously recognized as a martyr by the Yong’an Public Security Bureau? After all, he was poisoned because of this case.”

Wang Xuchao shook his head.

“I don’t know. Director Liu is coordinating it. As long as that surname Xiao doesn’t block it, it should be fine.”

After he left, Xu Biao looked at Zhou Hai, who was still frowning.

“What’s with that face? The case is solved, nothing messy left, what’s there to worry about?”

Zhou Hai shook his head slowly.

“I’m just thinking… even though that outpatient booklet was blank, it shows Zeng Zhicheng probably realized he was sick. And he knew it was terminal. Maybe he didn’t go home because he didn’t want his family to suffer from watching him decline. Maybe he thought being resented was better than being missed into grief.”

The room fell into silence.