Chapter 519 - 245: The Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell?
Chapter 519: Chapter 245: The Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell?
BAM!
The "boy" was slammed face-down onto the ground, completely unable to resist, landing with a heavy thud.
"Ah—"
"Waaah... Officer, help me! Ma’am, help me! He’s hitting me! Bad guy! Let me go! Boo-hoo-hoo~"
Stunned by the sudden attack, the "boy" let out a sharp, terrified cry. His voice carried a deliberate, childlike tremor and whine, as if he were a genuinely frightened child. He flailed his arms and legs, trying to struggle.
But his meager strength was nothing against Yang Qi—like an ant trying to shake a tree. Yang Qi pinned him to the ground, his knee digging into the small of the "boy’s" back. With one hand pressing down on his neck and the other twisting an arm behind him, he held him completely immobile.
The sudden turn of events stunned everyone.
The police officers and special police were frozen in place, shocked by Yang Qi’s unprompted actions.
The nearby medical staff stared with their mouths agape at the unbelievable scene unfolding before them.
How could the young expert, who had been so quiet and gentle just moments ago, suddenly be so rough with a frightened child who had just been rescued?
The other rescued children huddled together, trembling as they watched in terror.
"Expert... Expert Yang, what are you doing? Let the child go! He was just rescued, he’s terrified!"
An older police officer was the first to react. He took a step forward, his voice urgent as he tried to intervene, his eyes fixed on Yang Qi with a look of confusion and disapproval.
The special police officer also frowned, his hand moving to rest on his holster.
Yang Qi didn’t lessen his grip. He spoke calmly, "He’s not a child. He’s one of the criminals who snuck in. You can check his hands, his face, his teeth! Search him!"
"Wha-what? A criminal?"
The police and special police officers thought they had misheard, their faces filled with astonishment.
He clearly looked like a small, skinny boy, no older than ten.
’His cries are a bit shrill, but isn’t that how all scared children sound?’
"Check him!"
Yang Qi’s gaze swept over them.
The special police officer felt a jolt at the intensity in Yang Qi’s eyes. Recalling the incredible feats Yang Qi and his animal companions had demonstrated earlier, he gritted his teeth and decided to trust him this one time.
He immediately stepped forward and squatted down. Ignoring the "boy’s" increasingly frantic cries and struggles, he forcefully turned his face toward the light.
Under the light, the face, streaked with tears and dirt, did look childish at first glance. But the special police officer had been professionally trained in observation. As he focused and looked closer, he immediately noticed something was wrong.
The contours of the "child’s" face, especially the line of the jawbone, were small but already possessed the sharp definition of an adult. The skin texture was also slightly coarse, not as delicate as a real child’s.
Around the corners of the eyes and mouth, there seemed to be fine lines that had been deliberately concealed.
The special police officer then grabbed one of the "boy’s" wildly flailing hands.
The hands weren’t large, but the knuckles were thick. On the fingertips and the web of the thumb, there were clearly visible calluses.
These were definitely not the hands of a ten-year-old child!
These were the kind of calluses formed from years of holding tools, or even firearms!
"These hands..." The special police officer’s expression changed.
At the same time, the other police officer came forward and began to search the "boy’s" body.
He quickly found a hard, matchbox-sized object in a hidden pocket sewn into the inside of the loose, old T-shirt the "boy" was wearing. It was tightly wrapped in waterproof plastic.
The officer carefully unwrapped the plastic. Inside was a small bag of white crystalline powder. When he brought it closer to smell, it gave off a pungent, chemical odor.
"This... this is..."
Although the officer wasn’t a narcotics detective, he’d been around enough to recognize the smell. It was very similar to meth!
"Could he have dwarfism?"
A middle-aged female doctor who had been observing calmly from the side had also noticed some clues. She adjusted her glasses and offered a professional analysis.
"Some patients with dwarfism retain a child-like physique and facial features into adulthood, but the development of their bones and teeth, especially the characteristics of their hands, are different from those of an actual child."
Dwarfism?!
Hearing this, the police officers, the special police, and the other medical staff who had gathered around all drew a sharp breath. They stared in disbelief at the "boy" on the ground, who was still whimpering, but whose eyes now betrayed a deep-seated despair and venomous hatred.
Knowing his cover was about to be completely blown, the "boy" on the ground began to cry and struggle even more violently. He shouted nonsensical, childish phrases, attempting one last performance.
Yang Qi couldn’t be bothered with his nonsense. He raised his hand and struck a seemingly random spot on the back of his neck.
"Urk~"
The "boy’s" body stiffened abruptly. His cries stopped, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
Only then did Yang Qi release his grip and stand up. He dusted off his knees, though there was no dirt on them, and said flatly,
"Whether he has dwarfism or not... take him in for a full examination. Check his bone age, tooth wear, and get a scan of his internal organs. That will make everything clear."
"Right, right, hurry! Examine him immediately!"
The police officer snapped back to reality and agreed repeatedly. His gaze toward Yang Qi was now filled with a mixture of lingering fear and immense gratitude.
’If we had really let this ’dwarf criminal’ slip into the hospital with the children, or even treated him as a protected victim, God knows what kind of trouble he would have caused!’
A group of people immediately rushed forward, tightly securing the unconscious "dwarf criminal" with restraints. They lifted him onto a mobile stretcher and, under the guard of a police team, quickly transported him to the hospital’s emergency examination room.
The other, real children were gently led to another area by a female officer and a nurse for comfort and a preliminary check-up.
The examination results came back quickly.
Bone Age Assessment: Epiphyseal plates fully closed. Bone density indicates a late-middle-aged adult male.
Dental Wear and Pulp Cavity Analysis: Degree of wear consistent with a person aged 40-50. X-rays show significant narrowing of the pulp cavity.
Full-Body Organ Scan: The shape, size, and structure of all organs present as typically middle-aged male, with no traces of childhood development.
Preliminary Blood Screening: Multiple hormone levels are consistent with an adult. Traces of drug metabolites were detected.
Based on a comprehensive review of all test results, the consulting doctors reached a clear conclusion.
"The subject is approximately 135 cm tall and weighs 32 kg. However, based on his skeletal development, dental wear, organ condition, and physiological indicators, his true age is estimated to be at least forty-five, possibly even approaching fifty."
"He suffers from pituitary dwarfism, which has resulted in his short stature, but his secondary sexual characteristics and physiological functions are fully mature."
"Furthermore, drug components were detected in his system, and his fingers have specific calluses formed from long-term handling of weapons."
A man nearly fifty years old had disguised himself as a ten-year-old boy, hiding among kidnapped children in an attempt to exploit the police’s sympathy and negligence to get away.
Upon learning the results, everyone fell into a stunned silence.