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墨書 Inktalez
Zhao Lifeng took a deep breath and slowly exhaled a cloud of white mist. He looked at me intently for a moment, then turned without a word and walked into the vast snowstorm.
"Zhao Lifeng!" I shouted in vain, my voice shredded by the biting wind. Indeed, for him, this was the safest choice. I was injured, trapped in the frigid wilderness, and wouldn’t last much longer. Once I died, his secret would remain buried forever. It was only in such life-and-death moments that the essence of humanity truly revealed itself.
I watched as Zhao Lifeng's figure disappeared into the distance, suddenly feeling a wave of relief wash over me. Once, I naively believed that as long as I treated others kindly and did the right thing, life would be free of regrets. However, reality proved otherwise. True lack of regret does not lie in always being right but in having done all one could.
But there was one thing Zhao Lifeng hadn’t misjudged: in this situation, I indeed couldn’t hold on for long. As a doctor, I knew all too well how quickly hypothermia and blood loss could take a life. Lying in the snow, I felt myself slowly turning into an ice sculpture. The bone-chilling cold pierced through me like tiny knives, cutting deeper into my marrow with each passing moment.
I tried to move my body slowly, but the heavy branch pinning my leg wouldn’t budge. I pushed with all my strength, only to be met with excruciating pain as if someone were drilling into my bones. I had to stop. It seemed I needed to think of another way to save myself.
We hadn’t arrived at the prison on time; the police must have discovered the accident involving the prison van long ago. It had been over 48 hours since the crash; they surely had unearthed the wreckage and realized there were two survivors.
So I guessed that at this moment, the Search and Rescue Team was likely conducting operations somewhere in these mountains. All I could do now was make myself more visible so that their drones could spot me quickly.
I reached for the branches around me, breaking them one by one. Each movement sent waves of pain throughout my body; I gritted my teeth and snapped every branch within reach. Then, I arranged these branches on the snow before me to form as large an "SOS" as possible.
After that, all I could do was pray that the Search and Rescue Team and their drones would find me soon. The cold gradually numbed my senses, and with the weight of the branches pressing down on me, my right leg had completely lost feeling; even the pain throughout my body began to fade into the background.
I knew this was a dangerous sign. The distant snow-capped mountains looked down coldly upon it all. Ice particles floated through the air, sparkling like tiny stars. I felt myself slowly sinking, falling into an endless void.
A while later, a faint buzzing sound suddenly pierced the silence of the desolate forest. At first, I thought it was just tinnitus or perhaps a hallucination before death. But the sound seemed to grow clearer, and I forced myself to stay awake, straining to discern its source.
It couldn't be mistaken; it was the mechanical roar of a drone! I wanted to wave my hand or shout loudly, but this body felt as if it no longer belonged to me. I could only muster all my strength to open my eyes and see a Little Black Dot circling in the gray sky.
The drone's buzzing grew closer, and I felt a rush of air brushing against my cheek. Soon, just a few minutes later, I heard barking and voices in the distance. The sounds grew nearer and clearer.
I heard someone shouting, "Over here! We found her! There's only one!"
Many footsteps approached rapidly, the crunching of snow underfoot echoing around me. A stranger's face appeared in my line of sight; he wore a thick winter hat, and the white vapor from his breath condensed in the air.
"Hang on, we're here to rescue you; you're safe now."
Then I heard many people working together to clear the branches off my legs, while medical personnel checked my injuries and loudly confirmed my name. I was carefully lifted onto a stretcher and wrapped in a thermal blanket.
A wave of exhaustion washed over me like a tide. Just before slipping into unconsciousness, I grasped the hand of one Rescue Personnel who was supporting the stretcher. "There’s… there’s another person…"
"We know; don’t worry, the Search and Rescue Team is searching this area with all their might," the Rescue Personnel gently patted my hand.
I closed my eyes with relief; at that moment, all I wanted was to sleep soundly.
---
Five months later.
I stood on the prison yard, extending my hand to feel the warm sunlight of early summer on my fingertips. Before this, I had been in the hospital for treatment and recovery.
When I first regained consciousness, I immediately reported finding a body in the cabin. During that time, the police came to the hospital multiple times to ask me about the details. I described the location of the cabin, the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the Girl's Corpse, the evidence I found (the photos were lost in the cabin but the ring remained in my pocket), and what Zhao Lifeng said during our confrontation.
Eventually, after considerable effort, law enforcement located the girl's body in that wasteland; forensic identification confirmed she was Zhao Lifeng's former fiancée. Her family had not given up searching for her over these past two years. Receiving this news was painful, but at least I no longer had to live with constant anxiety.
I had also tried to inquire about Zhao Lifeng's whereabouts with the police; they simply informed me that based on existing evidence, he was considered a major suspect in this case. They organized multiple searches in Nanshan but had not found him yet; he was currently wanted nationwide.
"Zhou Jinyu, come here for a moment."
The Supervisor's voice interrupted my thoughts, her face adorned with a smile.
"I have two pieces of good news to share with you. The first is regarding the Wooden House Corpse Case you reported earlier. The girl's family has specifically written a Letter of Appreciation to express their gratitude. They said thank you for helping them find their daughter and for risking your life to uncover the truth. I'll hand you the Letter of Appreciation shortly."
"And there's a second piece of good news," the Supervisor continued with a grin. "The prison authorities believe that you have made significant contributions in this matter, and they will be proposing a Sentence Reduction Proposal to the court, aiming to secure a reduction in your sentence."
My eyes felt a bit misty as I awkwardly nodded and thanked the Supervisor, who then patted my shoulder before walking away.
I let out a sigh of relief and looked up at the sky, where a fluffy cloud was slowly drifting by.
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