In a parallel world, it was early in the morning on a weekend.
Xiao Chen and Luo Ling stood outside the original site of Huaxia University. It was already autumn, and the wind in the early morning was chilly. Xiao Chen wrapped himself in his short windbreaker, not knowing whether he really felt a little cold or was just naturally afraid of the unknown.
The incident two years ago was an unsolved mystery that was difficult to cover up for this city. The news about the strange disaster spread out at an alarming speed as soon as the time travel occurred. A university disappeared out of thin air in a busy location in a city. Such an incident could not be covered up in this era of mobile communications.
Just a few minutes after the incident, photos and videos of the scene began to flood various groups and WeChat Moments.
However, because the incident itself was so bizarre, countless specious and even nonsense statements appeared during the spread of the news. People with rich imaginations, with incomplete information, made up all kinds of reasons, from a big explosion, to ground collapse, from matter transmission, to aliens abducting humans. There has never been a lack of speculation, and some people even swore that it was God's punishment.
And based on the statement of explosion alone, some people speculated that it was an attack by foreign forces, some speculated that there was an explosion in an underground arsenal, and some even believed that Hua Xia University was conducting black hole research and the school disappeared because the experiment got out of control.
However, because the incident is difficult to explain scientifically, the authorities have not yet reached a conclusion, and have only used the disappearance of matter due to unknown reasons to preliminarily characterize the incident.
Over the past two years, both official and private sectors, both domestic and foreign, have invested a lot of energy and funds to study this incident.
From the beginning, the surrounding residents were evacuated and relocated, and all the surrounding shops were closed and cleared out. The government set up a research area within a block around Hua Xia University and surrounded the area with concrete walls and barbed wire.
In the first year after the crossing, a large number of researchers were stationed here to conduct research. But as time went on, more and more evidence proved that this was indeed just an ordinary pit, as if a giant hand had dug up the university. There was no explosion, no radiation, no unknown elements, at most there were just some pipe leaks.
By now many researchers have withdrawn from here. Apart from the unwilling scientific researchers, the only ones left are some routine observers and guards.
After all, this pit is located in a downtown area. In order to avoid creating a tense atmosphere, people are allowed to visit the outside except for the inside of the fence. Many tourists come here every day to look around and take pictures. Many people even come from abroad just to see the biggest mystery in the world in the past two years. Therefore, it is not strange at all that Xiao Chen and Luo Ling appeared outside the fence, pointing and talking inside as they walked.
They walked along the wall and circled the entire school ruins. In the middle of the wall was a huge pit. The depth of the pit varied, but it was generally an inverted cone, with the deepest part in the center and relatively shallower around. The shallowest part of the pit was six or seven meters, and the deepest part was at least ten meters. Various research institutions had built a lot of temporary buildings and support structures in the pit, and some engineering equipment and instruments were placed in the middle. However, at this point in time, there was basically no one working inside, only some inspectors walking back and forth, and the entire pit looked like a large archaeological excavation site that was half-excavated.
As Xiao Chen walked, he looked at a school map in his hand. Two irregular circles were outlined in red and blue on the map. The area outlined by the blue pen was the part of the campus that fell into the other world, while the area outlined by the red pen was the area that turned into a big pit on this side. By comparing the two, one could naturally know which parts had disappeared from this side but had not traveled to the era where Xiao Chen was.
Xiao Chen carefully checked the situation at the scene based on the location on the map. His powerful mental power also worked in this world. Although there was no magic power for him to drive, at least his perception was much stronger than before. This mysterious feeling could help him find the corresponding location on the map more accurately from the scene.
Luo Ling said: "In fact, the general shape can be seen from the overhead photo. There is no point in checking it carefully again."
Xiao Chen said: "After all, the aerial photo is a flat thing. As for the missing part of the land, I also want to see the depth below. Maybe there is an underground layer, a basement or an underground garage?"
"That's true." Luo Ling nodded in agreement.
The two of them walked very slowly for about an hour before finally stopping near Gongde Road in the southeast part of the school. Gongde Road and Qiushi Road, one east and one south, are the two boundaries of the school. Their intersection has been enclosed in a wall, but the scene inside can be seen through the barbed wire.
Xiao Chen compared the map and said, "From the crane on the right to the white sentry box here, that is the largest part of the missing area. Not only did they dig out a corner of the campus, but they also took in a piece of land along the street. If I remember correctly, most of this is a wall, and there are flower beds and tennis courts behind the wall. There are not many people here on weekdays, and there shouldn't be many people trapped in this area at that time. Feng Wen and Wang Wenyi were attacked outside the wall. There seem to be a few stores near the corner. But I don't come to this corner often, so I can't remember some of them. What stores could they be?"
"A convenience store, a barber shop, and two restaurants." Luo Ling said, "The day the accident happened was a weekend, so it was still early. The barber shop and the restaurant should not be open, but there should be quite a few people in the convenience store. I remember that there was a dining area in the convenience store, with tables and chairs for people who bought meals to sit down and eat. When I passed by on my way, I would also buy breakfast. The business should have been good throughout the morning, and there should have been several employees and customers in it that day."
Xiao Chen said: "This is the problem we didn't notice at the beginning. A group of people were left out."
Luo Ling said: "Is it so urgent to find these people or not? At most, it would just add a few people with similar situations to Feng Wen to the list of travelers. I didn't expect that you would be so anxious to come to this world to do this when the army is going to war." (To be continued)