Not the Best Start Chapter 8

Blake Pang felt that he had waited too long in the box. After Ethan Shen left, he lost the mood to drink. After looking at the watch for the thirteenth time, he stood up and said, "I'll go check it out."

"Hey, Brother Hui, I'm not saying that you're too controlling of Ethan Shen. He actually doesn't like you, right? You've been keeping an eye on him for eight years. You think that once you leave, he'll be a free man. I don't understand how you can still be so nice to him." Mason Yang said carelessly.

Blake Pang frowned and said, "I have always wanted to be his friend."

"Ethan Shen is such a difficult person to deal with. You've worked so hard, brother." Mason Yang couldn't help but complain. Blake Pang was a little restless. He looked at his watch for the last time and opened the door: "I'll be right back."

"Brother Hui, Brother Hui?" Mason Yang was a little surprised by Blake Pang's behavior. He followed Blake Pang out of the door and saw Blake Pang jogging over. Mason Yang thought about it and felt a little worried, so he followed him.

Blake Pang followed the instructions all the way to the bathroom. As soon as he turned the last corner, he immediately shouted: "A Liang!"

Mason Yang behind him was sobered up after hearing his shout and rushed forward. He saw Blake Pang hugging Ethan Shen lying on the ground, slapping his cheeks and shouting: "A Liang! A Liang!" Mason Yang was completely sober. He took two steps forward and stared at Ethan Shen's wet face and front: "What's wrong!?"

Blake Pang picked up Ethan Shen and rushed out without saying a word. Although Ethan Shen was thin, he weighed at least 110 pounds. Blake Pang picked him up like a quilt and ran away. Mason Yang rushed out right after him, saying as he ran: "I'm going to pay the bill and call a taxi, Brother Hui, be careful!"

When Mason Yang rushed out after paying the bill, he saw that Blake Pang had already put Ethan Shen in his car. Mason Yang immediately rushed over to stop him: "Brother Hui, you've been drinking, it's too late for anything to happen!"

"It's too late!" Blake Pang shouted. Mason Yang held the car door tightly and said, "The car I called will be here soon, wait a minute!"

As soon as Mason Yang finished speaking, a taxi appeared at the hotel entrance. Mason Yang quickly went around to the other side of the car, grabbed Ethan Shen out, and rushed to the taxi. Blake Pang slammed the door shut, and jumped into the car with Mason Yang. Blake Pang sat in the passenger seat, and Mason Yang sat in the back seat with Ethan Shen in his arms. Blake Pang yelled at the bewildered driver: "Go to the hospital! The nearest hospital!"

The taxi driver panicked when he saw two burly men getting into the car, and an unconscious person lying in the back. He stepped on the accelerator as fast as he could. The taxi radio was broadcasting late-night news, saying that the probability of taxi drivers being killed has been increasing recently. The driver glanced at the man in the passenger seat with a cold sweat. Blake Pang sat there with a murderous look on his face, watching Mason Yang's expression in the back seat through the rearview mirror so that he could immediately detect Ethan Shen's situation, while watching the road ahead. The driver took a look and found that Blake Pang was starting to grab his chest. The driver, who had already imagined that it was a gun, trembled all over.

Blake Pang took out his SWAT ID, placed it in front of the driver, and said, "We are police officers, not murderers."

When Ethan Shen was carried out of the car, it was exactly 20 minutes after Blake Pang found him. Mason Yang carried Ethan Shen out, and Blake Pang ran to the emergency center. Ethan Shen was pushed into the emergency room ten minutes later.

Mason Yang sat in the corridor, sweat still pouring out of his forehead. Part of it was because he was scared, and part of it was because of the exercise. Blake Pang stood outside the emergency room, his fists clenched tightly, and his shirt was soaked on his back. Mason Yang took a breath and said, "Brother Hui, sit down for a while, Ethan Shen will be fine..."

"...It's a murder!" Blake Pang suddenly said in a low voice. Mason Yang was so frightened that he couldn't respond for a moment.

"Shen, Ethan Shen wouldn't..."

"What Aliang saw was a murder!" Blake Pang recalled the strange behavior of Ethan Shen before he got off the car. At this juncture, his reaction became even calmer. His clear mind was sorting out the people and things he and Ethan Shen had met over the entire weekend. He knew Ethan Shen's ability. He rarely talked to Ethan Shen about what he had done in the past week, because Ethan Shen knew it all. On the other hand, he also habitually avoided this behavior. During the banquet between him and Mason Yang, whenever Mason Yang asked about his recent situation, he changed the subject. This was not only for the good of him and Mason Yang, but more importantly for Ethan Shen.

During this weekend's outing, he and Ethan Shen stayed at a movie theater, a noodle shop, and finally this hotel. Blake Pang first rejected the noodle shop. He stared at Ethan Shen almost the whole time, and the other party would not talk to anyone. And if it was this hotel... Could it be that in the few minutes that Ethan Shen was out, he had already met someone and talked to him?

Blake Pang thought about it again. He ran to the bathroom for about a minute, Ethan Shen was gone for seven minutes, and walked for about three minutes, leaving four minutes. Did he talk to another person during these four minutes? As far as Blake Pang knew, this time was not enough. There were no signs of attack on Ethan Shen. He just had a physical problem, and this was probably not an act of revenge against Ethan Shen.

Blake Pang went back to the front and began to think about the possibility of the cinema. Ethan Shen was sitting in a corner. Apart from Blake Pang, he could hardly communicate with anyone. The only person who was closer was the person behind him... the person behind him. Blake Pang frowned. He remembered that there were a bunch of noisy couples behind him. When Blake Pang bought the tickets, the seats behind him and Ethan Shen were still empty. It seemed like they came to see the movie on a whim. If the news about Ethan Shen did not come from his conversation with others, but was said unilaterally by the other party--- Blake Pang turned his head and looked at Mason Yang: "Call Captain Lucas, someone is going to be killed! 1.75 meters tall, about 60 kilograms, male, sat in row 9, seat 14 at Pingcheng Cinema yesterday!"

Mason Yang was shocked and quickly took out his phone reflexively. He accepted Blake Pang's orders subconsciously. Mason Yang instantly remembered the case of Emily Shen's murder. Emily Shen was stabbed three times, and although Ethan Shen almost suffocated, he did not go to the hospital, but now he was sent to the emergency room!

Mason Yang jumped up suddenly and called Jordan Wang, who answered the call after a beep. Mason Yang shouted like a machine gun: "Captain Lucas! We need to check someone, Ethan Shen is in the hospital!"

As soon as he heard the word "Ethan Shen", Jordan Wang immediately realized what had happened. He quickly asked: "Characteristics, time and place?"

Mason Yang calmed down and repeated what Blake Pang had said to him, then he emphasized: "Ethan Shen is in the emergency room now."

Jordan Wang said solemnly: "I understand. I'll take people to investigate immediately." Then he quickly hung up the phone.

Mason Yang was still a little restless after the call ended. He couldn't tell what kind of pain Ethan Shen had suffered, and it was probably only Blake Pang who knew. Blake Pang had handled so many emergency incidents, and he knew Ethan Shen's condition very well. However, Blake Pang was now standing there gloomily, his eyes fixed on the door.

An hour later, Ethan Shen was pushed out. His eyes were half open, and his pupils were not focused. Blake Pang and Mason Yang rushed over immediately. When he saw Blake Pang, Ethan Shen's brows relaxed a little. His face was pale, but he raised one hand. Blake Pang grabbed it and then looked at the doctor.

"Don't worry, there's no serious problem," said the doctor on the side with a surprised expression on his face, "His heart had stopped when he came in, and I didn't expect him to recover after just two rounds of CPR. But he has severe internal bleeding, you..." The doctor looked at the size of Blake Pang and Mason Yang, and seemed to have secretly supplemented the whole process of the fight.

"Was his injury just due to fighting?" When Blake Pang asked this question, even the doctor was a little confused.

"...Has he ever taken performance-enhancing drugs before?"

"What?" Mason Yang was stunned.

"I don't know." Blake Pang answered calmly.

Thirty minutes after Ethan Shen was settled, Jordan Wang called again to ask about Ethan Shen's situation.

"The doctor said that after he woke up, his symptoms were like excessive stimulant use. He had severe internal bleeding. I suspect..."

"...drug related?"

"It's just a suspicion." Blake Pang said, "Ethan Shen was unconscious on the spot, and his heart stopped beating for several minutes when he arrived at the hospital. If we restore the victim's process of being victimized---"

"An overdose of stimulant drugs, a group fight, and death?" Jordan Wang said in a low voice.

"There were seventeen stab wounds in total," Blake Pang said. "Seventeen bleeding spots. The victim's abdomen was probably pierced."

"Damn it." Jordan Wang cursed.

"There's one thing I'm thinking about," Blake Pang frowned and said, "I have some impression of that guy. He's not skinny, has a girlfriend, and doesn't look like a drug addict."

Jordan Wang hummed and said, "He ordered his movie ticket online. We have found his address and are now checking the surveillance footage from that day."

Just as Blake Pang was about to hang up the phone, he saw Mason Yang waving at him and pointing to the room. Blake Pang immediately said "wait" to Jordan Wang and then walked into the ward.

Ethan Shen seemed to have regained his composure. He looked at Blake Pang and moved his lips. Blake Pang put his ear close to his mouth and heard his faint breathing: "At --- home --- at...his --- home..."

Blake Pang nodded to Ethan Shen and said to Jordan Wang: "He was murdered at home."

Blake Pang put the cell phone on the bedside table, touched Ethan Shen's exposed arm, and covered his hand with the quilt. Seeing Blake Pang carefully avoiding the IV on the back of Ethan Shen's hand, Mason Yang was stunned again. He sat down aside, at least he breathed a sigh of relief, the evaporating alcohol made him feel the temperature of his body rise. He looked at Ethan Shen and said, "I was really scared, I thought...he recovered really quickly." Mason Yang changed his words immediately when he saw Blake Pang's eyes.

Blake Pang tucked the quilt in for Ethan Shen and said, "Go get some sleep." Ethan Shen closed his eyes tiredly. Blake Pang winked at Mason Yang, and the two of them walked out of the ward one after the other.

"Aliang has a good ability to recover, so normally, if he insists on not coming to the hospital, I won't force him. After all, the injury wasn't caused by him, so it won't be as serious as the one caused by the patient." Blake Pang glanced at Mason Yang and said, "Do you have cigarettes?"

Mason Yang took out a cigarette from his chest pocket and lit it for Blake Pang.

Blake Pang heaved a heavy sigh of relief: "I have always felt that this is God's punishment for giving him this ability. Everything is fair. His ability to see the future gives people the ability to avoid danger and seek good fortune. He can make some money, but he has to bear this risk."

"Didn't he... show it to himself?"

"I don't know," Blake Pang said, "I don't think he has the ability, or... he doesn't want to see his future."

Mason Yang was silent for a while. He had always thought that Ethan Shen's ability was a blessing from God, but after Blake Pang said this, he realized that this was not luck, but bad luck. Ethan Shen tied other people's bad luck to himself. While others were suffering from bad luck, he was also suffering from bad luck that did not belong to him. He could not get rid of them. Ethan Shen wanted to catch the murderer so badly and change the fate of others, but he could not change it after all. His urgency was just to get proof that he could be free.

Mason Yang said in silence: "Brother Hui, if the surveillance mission on Ethan Shen is lifted from tomorrow, will you come to be a criminal police officer?"

Blake Pang took a puff of cigarette and slowly exhaled, but did not give a direct answer. "Is this a hypothesis, or---"

Mason Yang's eyebrows moved and he said: "...if..."

Blake Pang put the cigarette back in his mouth and remained silent. Mason Yang vaguely felt that things were heading in a direction he didn't want to see. He remembered the email he received in the morning. Ethan Shen's surveillance level was reduced from level six to level seven.

Mason Yang had read Ethan Shen's information internally before taking over Ethan Shen's position. Ethan Shen's previous surveillance level was the highest level, and this level had not changed in the first five years after he left the prison. And starting from the sixth year, his level began to gradually decline. According to this trend, Ethan Shen will soon completely remove the "surveillance" conditions. In other words, get rid of Fang Hui.

"Brother Hui... Ethan Shen is your taskmaster," Mason Yang said, "How long has it been since you last checked his surveillance level?"

Blake Pang put out his cigarette, glanced at Mason Yang, and walked to the end of the corridor: "I'm going to the bathroom."

Mason Yang felt that there were too many things in that glance that he didn't understand. There was cruelty, weakness, and determination. He was not sure what Blake Pang's answer was. Mason Yang knew that the word "brother" was almost a spell to Blake Pang. As long as he regarded someone as a real brother, he would risk his life. Mason Yang was his former brother, and Mason Yang didn't know whether Ethan Shen had also become the person Blake Pang put in the most solid category in the past eight years.

Mason Yang looked at Blake Pang's back as he left, couldn't help but sigh, then walked into the ward and looked at the pale man.

"You are really capable..." Mason Yang sat on the stool beside the bed, staring at Ethan Shen intently. Ethan Shen closed his eyes, frowning even in his sleep. Mason Yang thought of Blake Pang's words and felt pity for him. He stood up and walked to the window to look out.

Ethan Shen's tightly closed eyes slowly opened. He looked at Mason Yang's back for a while, turned over slightly, and fell asleep again.

The black-clad police were stationed around the residential building. Jordan Wang raised his hand to signal the two people in front to retreat, and then nodded to Kevin Xiao. Kevin Xiao went forward and knocked on the door. There was no response from inside. Kevin Xiao put his ear to the door, then he kicked the iron door and shouted, "Someone is calling for help!"

The old-fashioned iron door immediately collapsed under his foot. Kevin Xiao went in first, but froze in the first second he stood there. Two policemen rushed in right behind him, and one of the female policemen immediately covered her mouth. Jordan Wang rushed in next, his eyes suddenly widened: "Call an ambulance!---"