Chapter 168: The Storm (Part Two)

“Keep sleeping. I’m going to the hospital to check on him.” Lu Kun hastily threw on his clothes and climbed out of bed.

“All right. Be careful on the way,” Liu Liping urged him, sensible enough to understand the seriousness of the situation.

...

At the hospital, Cheng Yuan, Cheng Hao, and a crowd of others were packed outside the intensive care ward.

“How is he?” Lu Kun asked, arriving at nearly a run and breathing heavily.

“Brother Kun, Brother Shitou was shot in the left side of his chest. The doctors are inside removing the bullet now!” Cheng Hao replied, his small face twisted with worry.

“He’ll be fine,” Lu Kun said, forcing a smile as he tried to reassure everyone.

“You’ve all been working hard for most of the day. Let some of the men go home first. With so many people crammed into this little corridor, making such a racket, there isn’t much more we can accomplish.”

The group exchanged glances, then shook their heads in unison.

“No. Brother Shitou hasn’t made it out of danger yet. How can we go home and rest?”

“That’s right. We’ll go back after Brother Shitou is out of danger.”

“Hey, hey, brothers, listen to me for a moment. You all know what Shitou and I mean to each other.

“We grew up together. We’re as close as brothers. Would I ever harm him?” Lu Kun said sternly.

Shitou’s Six Lieutenants began quietly telling the others about the many years of friendship between Shitou and Lu Kun. Cheng Hao, being blunt by nature, spoke up.

“Of course not. Brother Shitou told us that whenever he wasn’t around, we were to listen to you, Brother Kun.”

Everyone froze.

Shitou had indeed said that to his six chief lieutenants, though whether he had said it to the others was another matter entirely.

Lu Kun came back to himself, cleared his throat, and said, “I’m only asking some of you to go home first. I’m not telling every one of you to leave. Judging by the situation, Shitou won’t be fully recovered in just two or three days.

“As the old saying goes, even a broken bone takes a hundred days to heal, let alone a gunshot wound.

“Let some of the men go home now, then have another group come tomorrow to take over. Shitou needs someone watching over him around the clock.”

“Brother Kun is right,” Bamboo Pole immediately agreed. “The brothers who came out with me first to search for him can head back now. We’ll return at noon tomorrow to take over.”

More than twenty young men looked at one another for a long while before finally agreeing to leave with Bamboo Pole.

With nearly half the people gone, the corridor was finally a little less crowded.

“Have you notified Shitou’s uncle and his girlfriend?” Lu Kun asked, sitting on a chair outside the operating room and patting Cheng Yuan on the shoulder.

Cheng Yuan stared blankly for a moment and looked toward the others. Every one of them shook his head in confusion.

That made sense. They had heard that Shitou had an uncle who was a government official, but none of them had his contact information.

As for going to the Criminal Investigation Brigade to report the news, they probably lacked the nerve. Every one of them had a questionable past in one way or another. If they happened to run into an officer who wanted to make an issue of it, being detained for ten days or half a month would hardly be unusual.

“I’ll do it,” Lu Kun said.

He stood up, walked a little farther away, found a quiet spot, and called Lu Chaoyang on his mobile phone.

Lu Kun had expected it to take a long time for him to answer, but the call was picked up almost immediately.

Lu Kun paused for a moment, then quickly told him the general details of Shitou’s condition and the name of the hospital.

“All right. I’ll be there within half an hour.” Lu Chaoyang hung up after saying this.

Lu Kun shook the brick-sized phone in his hand and hesitated over whether to tell Shitou’s girlfriend that he had been shot.

He glanced at his watch. It was exactly three in the morning.

He immediately dismissed the idea.

It would be better to wait until dawn.

“Doctor, how is the injured man doing?” When Lu Kun returned, he happened to see the doctor pushing Shitou out of the operating room.

Perhaps the doctor had been thoroughly exasperated by the large crowd of inexplicable people earlier, because he addressed Lu Kun in a rather severe tone.

“What are you to the patient?”

“I’m a member of his family,” Lu Kun replied solemnly, lying without hesitation.

Once the doctor heard that Lu Kun was a relative, his expression finally softened.

“The operation went fairly well, but he still needs to be observed for a while. If his condition doesn’t deteriorate significantly within twenty-four hours, he can be transferred out of intensive care.”

“Thank you, Doctor. Thank you.”

The weight in Lu Kun’s heart finally lifted. From the doctor’s words, it seemed that the danger period was the next day. If nothing unexpected happened, Shitou would recover as long as he received proper care.

“By the way, what department does the injured man belong to? We didn’t find any identification on him,” the doctor asked as he walked away.

“He works for the Criminal Investigation Brigade. You probably couldn’t find his identification because it fell off while he was fighting the criminals. I’ve already called the brigade’s deputy commander. He’ll be here within half an hour,” Lu Kun hurriedly replied.

Hearing this, the doctor finally set aside his doubts. A faint smile appeared on his previously cold face.

“All right. Remember to have the Criminal Investigation Brigade reimburse the medical expenses. Don’t pay for everything yourselves.”

Lu Kun stared at him in surprise.

“He was injured in the line of duty. He’s a hero of the people! Don’t be foolish enough to cover the operation and medical bills yourselves. Go to the Criminal Investigation Brigade and have them issue the proper documentation so the expenses can be reimbursed. While you’re at it, have them apply for a nutrition allowance, convalescent support, rehabilitation expenses, and the like for this hero.”

The doctor glanced at Lu Kun’s clothes and felt compelled to offer the advice.

Lu Kun looked down at himself.

A sleeveless undershirt, knee-length shorts, a pair of baggy trousers, and wooden sandals...

He was dressed exactly like a poor laborer from the lowest rungs of society.

“Thank you for pointing that out, Doctor. When the deputy commander of the Criminal Investigation Brigade arrives, I’ll ask him to apply for those benefits for my brother,” Lu Kun said, recovering quickly and putting on an expression of profound gratitude.

“No need to thank me. I simply don’t want a hero of the people to shed both blood and tears,” the doctor said with a wave of his hand and a smile.

...

That night, Lu Chaoyang came over and made a detailed inquiry into what had happened. He left at dawn.

With the campaign against criminal gangs and corruption so intense, he still had to remain on the front line at his post.

After the province’s top official returned, the senior leadership quickly reached a consensus on cracking down on organized crime and corruption. Armed forces throughout the province were mobilized.

Lu Kun returned home and sat with Liu Liping in front of the television, watching the news broadcast on Angui Television.

In a single morning, three news bulletins were interrupted by reports of criminals being arrested.

“It looks like public order in Angui is finally going to improve significantly,” Liu Liping said with a smile as she looked at Lu Kun.

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