Zhao Chengshuang looked at Ye Qing. He had basically understood Ye Qing's personality by now and knew that Ye Qing was not someone to speak without good reason. If he spoke, it must be about something very important.
"Go ahead," Zhao Chengshuang said. With his former personality, he would have agreed right away, but now he dared not boast. He had to learn from Ye Qing and become a man of his word.
"Could you give me some materials on the Beihua Residential Area developer and the construction party..." Ye Qing paused, then added, "Especially information regarding the social relationships of the developers and the leaders of the construction team."
"No problem!" Zhao Chengshuang nodded. Such tasks were really simple for him.
"What do you need these for?" Zhao Chengshuang asked.
Ye Qing was silent for a moment, then said gravely, "I suspect that the explosion at the Beihua Residential Area was no accident!"
"What!" Zhao Chengshuang's eyes widened instantly. If it wasn't an accident, then it had been orchestrated. Such a major incident, no matter who was behind it, was utterly condemnable. This kind of act could even be classified as a terrorist attack!
"How could you think that?" Zhao Chengshuang looked at Ye Qing. He knew Ye Qing was not one to speculate wildly, but such news was still shocking and hard for him to accept.
Ye Qing pulled out the rough sketch he had drawn the previous night and handed it to Zhao Chengshuang, saying, "The locations I marked are where the building was most severely damaged. In these areas, the bricks are shattered. The damage isn't as severe in other areas."
"And what does that prove?" Zhao Chengshuang asked curiously.
"Detonators, they exploded at these locations!" Ye Qing replied.
"Oh?" Zhao Chengshuang was taken aback for a moment, then he understood what Ye Qing meant. The places that were most ruined were definitely where the explosions had occurred, and even the bricks had been blown to pieces. Other areas, not being the loci of the explosions, although collapsed, were less damaged.
"But... that... that doesn't necessarily mean it was done on purpose," Zhao Chengshuang said. "I asked my colleagues; the initial investigation found no signs of tampering. Moreover, the detonators were construction equipment, not external bombs."
"No!" Ye Qing shook his head, pointing at the places on the map, "Take a closer look at how these locations are distributed."
Zhao Chengshuang looked and shook his head; he still couldn't see anything unusual.
"The distribution of these locations may seem random, without any obvious pattern. But these specific spots could bring down the whole building," Ye Qing pointed at the sketch, his voice grave, "I would say, shift any of these explosion sites just ten meters away, and the building wouldn't collapse.
Even if it was the construction team setting the detonators, they wouldn't place them this precisely right at these spots."
"Really?" Zhao Chengshuang looked again at the sketch, but he still didn't understand. "How can you tell? Why wouldn't it collapse if moved ten meters away?"
"This is a matter of architectural knowledge. I don't fully understand the details, but I can make some basic calculations. Besides, when I was in the military, I underwent training on this kind of defense system demolition, and we were taught about this," Ye Qing looked at the drawing and continued solemnly, "In fact, there are many methods to demolish a building.
Normal demolition to bring down a building through blasting would use another method, which ensures that the building only collapses within a designated area, minimizing deviation. Military demolition, however, doesn't consider such details; it focuses on destruction."
At this, Ye Qing paused, looked at Zhao Chengshuang, and said gravely, "This building was demolished using military methods!"
"What!" Zhao Chengshuang's eyes widened, and he instinctively tried to sit up. But as soon as he exerted force on his waist, his whole body pain surged, and he fell back into his previous position, crying out in pain.
"How could this be?" Zhao Chengshuang exclaimed in surprise. If what Ye Qing said was true, then this matter was enormous.
Ye Qing shrugged; when he had entered the building to rescue people last night, he had noticed something was off, so he sneaked back to check these spots later that night. And indeed, his suspicions were confirmed; there was definitely something wrong with the incident!
"If it's really , and it was an orchestrated incident, then this case will become the biggest one in Shenchuan City in nearly twenty years!" Zhao Chengshuang said gravely, though his voice carried a hint of excitement. Solving such a major case would be enough for him to boast about for a lifetime.
Ye Qing furrowed his brows and said solemnly, "If it really was an orchestrated incident, then we must find the person responsible for creating it as soon as possible. Otherwise, who knows what else might happen in the future!"
Ye Qing had come to see Zhao Chengshuang at this time because he was worried about more explosions happening; he had to find the perpetrator as soon as possible.
"Don't worry, I'll call right now to get all the information on the developer and the construction party!" Zhao Chengshuang said.
Zhao Chengshuang picked up his phone to make the call, but just then, two women entered through the door—it was Chen Keai and Huo Pingping.
"Hey, dead cop, I heard you almost croaked. Miss here, being a humanitarian, specially came to see..."
Huo Pingping started to rant as soon as she entered, but when she saw Ye Qing, her half-finished sentence abruptly stopped. Her expression shifted from casual to indignant, and she clenched her fists tightly as if ready to attack, glaring fiercely at Ye Qing.
Seeing Huo Pingping, Ye Qing also felt a bit uneasy. Honestly, he had been caught off guard last night and hadn't seen anything. But the atmosphere was still awkward!
"Captain Zhao, how are you feeling today?" Chen Keai approached the bed, performing her duty.
"Ah, I'm doing pretty well," Zhao Chengshuang smiled and looked toward Huo Pingping, "Eh, it's you again, you old hag!"
"Who did you call a hag!" Huo Pingping's attention immediately shifted, and she glared at Zhao Chengshuang, "I came here with all the kindness in my heart to see you, and this is how you speak to me?"
"Hmph, what good intentions could you have? You just wanted to see what I looked like injured, delighting in my misfortune," Zhao Chengshuang scoffed.
"Oh please, treating my kindness as if it were liver and lungs from a donkey, like a dog biting Lu Dongbin!" Huo Pingping walked to the bedside and extended a finger to poke Zhao Chengshuang's head, gesticulating as she spoke, "Do I look like that kind of person? I am filled with love too. I'm nice to the good people and bad to the bad, I treat people accordingly.
People like you, I'm already being nice not kicking you to death!"
"Stop poking, stop poking," Zhao Chengshuang covered his head with a hand, "Why would you kick me to death!"
Huo Pingping said, "I told you, I'm harsh to the bad people. Someone like you is like a rat crossing the street, everyone wants to bash you!"
"You're the rat!" Zhao Chengshuang retorted unwillingly.
"Say that again, say that again, say that again!" Huo Pingping continued poking Zhao Chengshuang's head. With just one hand, Zhao Chengshuang couldn't fend her off and eventually had to concede and beg for mercy.
After Chen Keai checked Zhao Chengshuang and confirmed that he was fine, she looked up at Ye Qing beside her, "Ye, didn't you go to work this morning?"
"Do I even need to say it, he obviously skipped work!" Huo Pingping exclaimed indignantly.
Ye Qing ignored her and softly said, "I got off work at noon."
"Oh," Chen Keai nodded, paused for a moment, and softly said, "Ye, you were truly heroic yesterday, saving so many people. I once thought you were just a violent person, I'm sorry, can you forgive me?"
Chen Keai was also a straightforward person, frank and open, always saying what was on her mind.
Ye Qing smiled faintly, "Actually, what you said wasn't wrong, sometimes, I am too violent!"
"Ye, you know about this yourself," Chen Keai promptly said, "Actually, you're a pretty nice person, if you could just rectify this violent streak, you could really count as a good man!"
Ye Qing shook his head, "Can't change it."
"Why can't it be changed," Chen Keai urged, "Many people have flaws, but they strive to overcome them. What you have isn't even a flaw, it's just impulsiveness. Next time you feel impulsive, just remind yourself not to be impulsive, and that might help a bit."
Ye Qing fell silent for a moment, "What I'm saying is, this world can't be changed!"
"What do you mean?" Chen Keai asked, not understanding.
Ye Qing did not elaborate further; he was not a violent person, violence was merely a means of solving problems for him. As he had said before, a man's integrity is not about stepping on others but about protecting those who need his protection. If the world sees injustice and those who need protection are harmed, then he would have to continue being violent, even more violent.
Just like his brother Ye Jun's matter, how could Ye possibly let those who exploit disabled people and children for money go?
Huo Pingping waved her hand, "Cutie, don't bother talking to this moronic soldier. This lunatic and bully, talking to him is a waste of face!"
Facing such slander from Huo Pingping, Ye Qing only shook his head helplessly. He wouldn't argue with Huo Pingping for two reasons; firstly, he never argued with others, and secondly, anyone who argued with Huo Pingping was an idiot.
"The Ye brothers are really nice, how can he be a lunatic and a bully? Who has he bullied?" Zhao Chengshuang defiantly said.
Huo Pingping's face turned red instantly, and she spat, "Nonsense, I say it and that's it!"
Zhao Chengshuang, puzzled, glanced at Ye Qing, unable to see him as a bully in any way.
Looking at Zhao Chengshuang, Huo Pingping said, "Dumb cop, I came here mainly to say thank you. My cousin was also trapped inside yesterday, and it was your team that rescued him. Even though you're not that great, I keep my personal grievances separate from work, and I still need to thank you for this!"
"Thanking me is easy, why don't you join me for lunch later," Zhao Chengshuang said with a beaming smile.
"Get lost, I don't have the time for that!" Huo Pingping hugged Chen Keai, "Let's go, Cutie, let's find your White Horse Prince!"
Chen Keai's face immediately turned red, and Zhao Chengshuang instantly glared, "White Horse Prince? Who else in this hospital deserves that title other than me? No need to look elsewhere, I'm right here!"
Both women spat at him simultaneously, not giving him any face at all.