Catalina got the list of guards who were guarding outside the room from Wu Qi, and found two of them, confirming that the situation at that time was basically consistent with what she said.
If this is the case, we must find out why no one came to notify us in time.
At noon, when Catalina and Tang Feng met up, she told him about this matter. Tang Feng said, "I have a question that can confirm yours. Huang Zheng said a long time ago that he had never seen Zhang Hong. I have asked many people about this matter. No one who appeared next to Shi Hao had seen Zhang Hong before Shi Hao died."
"So what Zhang Hong said about him having received instructions from Shi Hao is probably false," Catalina said.
Tang Feng took out his notebook and drew an axis on it: "Let's sort out the timeline and fill in what we have done. First of all, the last time someone saw Zhang Hong before the retreat was when they saw Shi Hao and Zhang Hong talking in the cafeteria. The time mentioned by several witnesses was in a range, about between 5:00 and 5:10.
The time of the first explosion was 6:10. This time is accurate, and many people looked at the time when they heard the explosion.
Zhang Hong began to organize the rear troops to prepare for retreat, probably around 7:00.”
Katerina added: "It was around 6:00 when Shen Yuan went to look for Shi Hao, and there were Wu Qi and several guards to prove it.
The time when Zhang Hong and Suero communicated was 6:40, which was the time recorded by both Suero's communication station and Hei Muguan. Wu Qi also brought the communication log out when he retreated.
Zhang Hong reported to Suero that there was a problem with the teleportation array at 6:46.
The time of reporting that the situation outside was not good was 6:51, and these are also well-documented times.
Finally, according to Wu Qi and the guards, after Zhang Hong finished his report, he suggested to Suero that he help lead the retreat, and he probably left the communication station a minute or two later. "
"Very good, these lines are connected correctly, and Zhang Hong's itinerary is also very interesting. Now we have to fill in the gaps in the middle. There are several doubts now." Tang Feng added the time points they knew on the axis, and then wrote (1) below, and then recorded as he wrote, "First, what was Zhang Hong doing between five and six o'clock? Second, who did Shi Hao arrange to report this situation to Wang Jiyuan, and why didn't he show up in the communication room? Third, what happened to Shen Yuan? Fourth, why did the teleportation array break down?"
"Now is not the right time to ask Zhang Hong the first question," said Catalina.
"I'm afraid of alerting the enemy. You're right." Tang Feng circled the second question. "I have a direction for this question. I found a soldier from Shi Hao's guard squad. He is the only survivor of his guard squad. If Shi Hao hadn't asked him to notify the surrounding troops to retreat, he would have died in front of the north gate with Shi Hao. He was seriously injured in the past few days and just woke up today. I'll go ask him this afternoon."
He then circled the number four and said, "As for the fourth question, I'll leave it to you. We have experts in this area. Lorenzo from the Heritage Talisman Tower came to support us yesterday. You can take Wu Qi to find him. We'll review the situation in the evening."
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Alexander, a soldier in the guard squad, was lying on the hospital bed, recounting what happened that day in a weak voice: "We were all in the headquarters, which was the city lord's mansion. Captain Shi sent Platoon Leader Cheng, also known as Cheng Jing, to inform us to gather at the north gate for battle... Everyone was very nervous at the time. I heard our squad leader Prot ask if Suero had been notified and when the reinforcements would arrive. At that time, Platoon Leader Cheng mentioned that he met Zhang Hong on the road. Zhang Hong said that he would go to notify the communication room and let Platoon Leader Cheng go directly to mobilize the troops."
"Zhang Hong is not a member of your guard, nor is he Cheng Jing's superior. What Cheng Jing did is against the rules, right?" Tang Feng asked.
Alexander shook his head and said, "That being said, the situation was very urgent at the time. Platoon Leader Cheng said that Captain Shi didn't have any guards around him at the time, and it was too dangerous. He was afraid that running to the communications room in the opposite direction would be a waste of time, so he did this. But in the end, no reinforcements came, and he regretted it later."
"Is it possible that someone saw Cheng Jing and Zhang Hong together?" Tang Feng asked again.
"I don't know about that..." Alexander suddenly paused, "Cheng Jing once mentioned that he ran into Zhang Hong just after he walked up the hill where the communications room is located. According to the direction he came from to find us, I should be able to infer the approximate location."
Tang Feng took out the map drawn by Huang Zheng and asked Alexander to find the place where they might meet based on Cheng Jing's description.
Alexander carefully drew three circles with a pen. "These three places all fit what he said. But I don't know which one it is."
"In fact, it is very clear. If Zhang Hong really wants to affect the communication between Heimuguan and Suero, the place he chose should be easier to observe the situation in the communication room and the transmission room." Tang Feng stretched out his hand and tapped one of the circles. "Only this place meets this requirement."
Then, he checked out three patrol teams and a magic detection outpost in the surrounding area, "It depends on whether these people saw what happened that day."
Tang Feng came out of Alexander's ward and immediately got a list from Wang Jiyuan, then checked the people on it one by one.
These people were located relatively far back in Heimuguan, so they were relatively well preserved. Tang Feng spent an entire afternoon investigating and questioning more than a dozen people, but to no avail.
But when he asked the 21st person, that person gave an answer that made him very excited.
Su Degao, the leader of a patrol team, said: "Yes, I glanced over there when I was patrolling. Cheng Jing and Zhang Hong were indeed talking there. It was a little dark at the time, but when the two were talking, most of their faces were facing the direction where the sun was setting. I could see it very clearly.
At that time, Zhang Hong seemed to be promising something to Cheng Jing, but Cheng Jing left without saying a few words.
Tang Feng asked, "Were you normal when you left?"
"It's quite normal, but the only problem is that after Cheng Jing left, Zhang Hong stood there almost motionless, and didn't seem to be doing anything at all."
"I didn't know what they were talking about at the time. But according to what you said now, I suspect that Zhang Hong deliberately didn't report it. At that time, my team passed that point several times, and Zhang Hong stood there for at least ten minutes. Now I think it's really strange!" (To be continued)