dmims Chapter 17 Waterway Horror
Chapter 17 Waterway Horror
The wick of the kerosene lamp in the office crackled once.
Li Ran glanced at his pocket watch; it was 4:50 a.m.
"That's about it." He put the pocket watch back in his pocket and looked at Shen Qiushui.
Shen Qiushui nodded, stuffed the last few forged procurement documents into her bosom, and put on an old dark gray coat over them.
Neither of them spoke again. They opened the office door and slipped out.
The corridor was pitch black, except for a few embers from cigarette butts burning in the spot where the two informants sat at the warehouse entrance at the far end.
Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui went down the stairs on the other side and went around to the backyard.
There was a dog hole at the base of the wall in the backyard, which had long been covered by weeds.
Li Ranmo parted the grass and crawled through first.
Shen Qiushui followed closely behind.
Outside the wall was a narrow alley, piled high with broken baskets and tiles.
The two walked quickly, one in front of the other, close to the wall.
The night breeze was cool, making one's neck feel tight.
After walking for almost twenty minutes, we arrived at the old sluice gate.
The river was as black as ink, and there were only two or three lights on the opposite bank where the inspection team was stationed.
The row of red brick buildings, the warehouse, lies quietly by the river.
Li Ranmo squatted in the reeds, staring at the old locust tree in front of the warehouse.
There was no one under the tree.
There was no movement from the back door either.
"Ah Bing and the others should have arrived by now," Shen Qiushui said in a low voice.
Li Ran remained silent and waited for a few more minutes.
On the side of the warehouse, the loose wooden plank moved slightly.
A figure emerged and waved in this direction.
It was Abing.
Li Ranmo then stood up and ran over quickly with Shen Qiushui.
"Dr. Li, Nurse Shen," Ah Bing said in a low voice, "the goods have all been moved in and are piled up at the entrance of the waterway tunnel. The boat is also ready and hidden in the river branch behind."
"Okay." Li Ranmo nodded. "Hurry up and get it on the boat as soon as possible."
The three of them crawled through the crack in the wooden planks.
Inside the warehouse, there were more than a dozen wooden crates, all tied together with hemp rope.
The small wooden door against the wall was open, behind which was a narrow stone staircase leading directly to the dark water below.
"Move it," Li Ranmo said.
Ah Bing beckoned two of his men over and they began moving boxes.
The box was very heavy, and two people carried it carefully down the slope.
Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui also joined forces.
As they were carrying the third box, a sharp whistle suddenly rang out from outside the warehouse.
Then came a cacophony of footsteps, many of them, coming from all directions.
"Oh no!" Ah Bing's expression changed.
Li Ranmo rushed to the crack in the wooden planks and looked out.
Outside, dozens of dark figures had already surrounded the warehouse.
The beams of flashlights swayed wildly, illuminating the uniforms worn by those people—the Department of Health's inspection team.
The one leading the group, standing with his hands behind his back in front of the warehouse's metal door, was none other than Wang Qingnian.
"Listen up, you people inside!" an inspector yelled at the top of his lungs. "You're surrounded! Come out and hand over the smuggled drugs!"
Shen Qiushui ran to Li Ranmo's side, her face pale.
How did he know?
"There's a mole, or they're watching too closely." Li Ranmo's voice was steady. "Ah Bing, how much cargo have been moved?"
"Only three boxes are gone," Ah Bing said anxiously. "What about the rest?"
"Never mind that," Li Ranmo said. "Take your men and get the three boxes that have already been moved ashore onto the boat immediately. Take them by water. Follow the secret passage we discussed earlier and head directly to the second dock downstream. Someone will be there to meet you."
"Then you guys—"
"We'll stay and hold them off," Li Ranmo said. "Let's go!"
Ah Bing gritted his teeth and waved to his men: "Let's go!"
Several people carried the box and quickly crawled down the stone steps.
Li Ranmo turned around and looked at Shen Qiushui.
Are you scared?
Shen Qiushui shook her head and took out a small iron can from her bosom.
"Smoke grenade, just one."
"That's enough," Li Ranmo said. "When they break down the door, throw them towards the entrance. Then we'll back up and jump into the river from the back door."
"The back door is locked."
"Kick it away."
Outside, Wang Qingnian's voice rang out, tinged with laughter.
"Dr. Li, stop hiding. I know you're in there. Open the door and hand over the medicine, and we can talk this out."
Li Ran ignored him and quickly walked to the back door of the warehouse.
The door was made of wood and had an old-fashioned padlock on it.
He took two steps back and kicked the door hard near the lock.
boom!
The door wobbled, but the lock didn't open.
The banging on the door outside grew louder, the metal door clanging and rattling.
"Li Ranmo! You can't escape!" Wang Qingnian shouted. "Caught red-handed today, let's see how Chen Qitai can protect you now!"
Li Ranmo kicked him again.
Click!
The sound of wood cracking.
The third kick.
The door, still secured with the lock, was kicked open.
A cold wind blew in from the river.
"Let's go!" Li Ranmo grabbed Shen Qiushui and tried to rush outside.
Just then, a loud crash came from the metal door.
The door was kicked open.
Seven or eight inspectors rushed in, shining their flashlights haphazardly.
"There it is! The back door!"
Shen Qiushui immediately pulled the tab on the small tin can and threw it forcefully toward the door.
The jar hit the ground with a thud!
Thick white smoke burst open instantly, filling most of the warehouse.
"Cough cough! What is that?!"
"My eyes! My eyes!"
The inspection team was in complete disarray.
Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui seized the opportunity to rush out the back door.
Outside the door are stone steps, and two meters below is the dark river water.
"Jump!" Li Ranmo shouted.
The two jumped down.
thump! thump!
The river water was icy cold.
Li Ranmo surfaced, wiped his face, and saw Shen Qiushui floating up beside him.
"Swim to the other side!" he shouted.
The two swam desperately towards the other side of the river.
From the warehouse behind, came Wang Qingnian's furious roar.
"Shoot! Shoot! Don't let them get away!"
Bang bang bang!
The bullets hit the water nearby, splashing water.
Li Ranmo pulled Shen Qiushui along and plunged into the water.
Holding his breath, he paddled desperately underwater.
He swam for an unknown amount of time, his lungs felt like they were about to burst, before finally surfacing.
Looking back, the warehouse was already far away, the lights were flickering, and the gunfire had stopped.
Shen Qiushui also appeared from the side, panting heavily.
"No...they didn't catch up."
"They don't have a boat, we can't catch up." Li Ranmo panted, looking downstream.
In the darkness, the shadow of a small boat is rapidly disappearing around the bend in the river.
It was Ah Bing and his group.
The cargo has been shipped.
"What about us?" Shen Qiushui asked, her lips turning purple from the cold.
"Get ashore," Li Ranmo said. "Drift along the tributary for a while, then find a place to climb up."
The two drifted downstream with the current.
After drifting for about ten minutes, I saw a patch of reeds on the shore.
They swam over, struggled to climb ashore, collapsed in the mud, soaked to the bone and shivering with cold.
It took Li Ranmo a while to sit up.
"Where are the documents?"
Shen Qiushui touched her bosom, her expression changing.
"It fell into the water...maybe, or maybe it fell into the warehouse while running."
Li Ran remained silent for a few seconds.
"Never mind, as long as everyone's alright."
"But the document has the hospital's stamp on it. Even though it's forged, Wang Qingnian will definitely be able to spot the problem once he gets his hands on it." Shen Qiushui's voice tightened.
"Even if he sees something wrong, he can only suspect it; there's no direct evidence to prove we forged it." Li Ranmo stood up, wrung out the water from his clothes, "At most, it will only make him more suspicious of Vice Dean Chen."
In the distance, the crowing of a rooster could be heard.
It's almost dawn.
"Let's go back first," Li Ranmo said. "Change your clothes, so no one will notice anything amiss."
The two walked back along the riverbank, their steps uneven.
By the time I reached the vicinity of the dog hole in the back wall of the hospital, it was already dawn.
They slipped back in, went into the building, and returned to their office.
Li Ranmo took two sets of clean clothes out of the closet and tossed one set to Shen Qiushui.
"Put it on."
The two of them turned their backs to each other and quickly changed their clothes.
The wet clothes were stuffed into the broken wooden box under the bed.
Just as I finished tidying up, I heard hurried footsteps outside the door.
Then came the sound of banging on the door.
"Li Ranmo! Open the door! The Department of Health is investigating!"
Li Ranmo and Shen Qiushui exchanged a glance.
Shen Qiushui walked over and opened the door.
Four inspectors were standing outside the door, the leader of whom was a man with a pockmarked face.
Where is Li Ranmo?
"Here." Li Ranmo walked over, his face expressionless. "What is it?"
"Section Chief Wang requests your presence." The pockmarked man stared at him. "Now, immediately."
"What's the reason?"
"Reason?" The pockmarked man sneered. "Last night at the Laozhakou waterway warehouse, someone was smuggling medicine and violently resisted law enforcement, injuring several of our brothers. Dr. Li, you couldn't possibly be unaware of that, could you?"
"I don't know," Li Ranmo said. "I was on duty at the hospital all night."
"On duty?" The pockmarked man glanced into the room. "Who can prove it?"
"I can vouch for that," Shen Qiushui said. "I was on duty last night too, checking the medication list with Dr. Li."
The pockmarked man looked at her, then at Li Ranmo.
"Alright, save those words for Section Chief Wang." He waved his hand. "Take them away!"
Two team members stepped forward and tried to grab Li Ranmo's arm.
"I can walk by myself." Li Ranmo brushed their hands away and looked at Shen Qiushui. "Nurse Shen, could you please tell Vice President Chen that I'll be right back?"
Shen Qiushui nodded, her eyes showing worry.
Li Ranmo followed the inspection team.
In the corridor, many doctors and nurses peeked out and whispered among themselves.
Shen Qiushui closed the door and ran quickly toward Chen Qitai's office.