It was dark at night, and the Shi'an Building was brightly lit.
Li Nian sat in front of his seat and pinched the bridge of his nose. Xiang Jiang sat opposite him, playing with his phone in silence.
Li Nian was no stranger to this man's condition—since Xiang Jiang became the head of the Emergency Management Department, the two of them had never collaborated on a mission. Even if a branch of the Sinking Society is found under the abandoned building of the hospital, they are not "cooperating on the battlefield" in the true sense.
After returning from Gengsheng Town, Li Nian kept asking Hao Wence to keep an eye on Xiang Jiang's communications. Unfortunately, there is no problem at all in this person’s communication records.
If Fu Xingchuan hadn't insisted that he had an intuition that this person was looking for trouble, Li Nian himself would have almost given up.
Xiang Jiang's working condition is very wonderful. In addition to being completely inactive, this person can't fault his daily work and even handles it very neatly. But if this person is willing to take the initiative to discover clues and work as hard as Fu Xingchuan, it is far from being said.
Like a machine without personal emotions.
For example, at this moment, Li Nian worked overtime until about two o'clock in the morning, so this person stayed with him. I don't even touch the computer, I just play games.
"Have you read today's report?" Li Nian took the initiative.
"The number of minor pollution cases increased by 5.7%. Some people deliberately spread pollutants. According to the responses of various investigation teams, the sources of pollution are small objects with good omens. According to regulations, investigation teams above Class B will not be used." Xiang Jiang stared at the phone and answered without moving his eyes.
Li Nian's home is almost completely different from the outside world. This room is small, but the decoration style is cold and grand, with excellent aesthetics. The furniture and hard furnishings are all made of high-grade materials. If you take a few photos in this house and show it as a high-end apartment in a big city, you will probably deceive many people.
"You know that's not what I'm asking." Fu Xingchuan crossed his hands and put away all the smiles on his face.
But when he said "according to regulations," he left a subtle pause.
Outside the empty guardhouse, the words "Green Bamboo Garden" are written on the entrance.
"It's not that good. Xiang Jiang will still only handle it according to the rules. This matter still depends on the ninth team. You can do your best to assist them." Li Nian took off his coat and served himself a bowl of rice. "On your side?"
Li Nian's chopsticks stopped.
But now, looking at it, it’s really a dream come true.
In the world that Li Nian couldn't see, Xiang Jiang's twin brother Xiang Hai was lying behind Xiang Jiang. The dark eye holes pointed slightly downward, looking straight at the colorful mobile phone screen.
Sometimes, a passive person who follows the rules and makes no mistakes is more difficult to deal with than a villain who deliberately causes damage.
"I'm sorry, Director Zhou. According to our comprehensive judgment, the situation is not serious enough to require intervention. There is nothing we can do about public opinion."
"There are frequent small conflicts and injury cases in the city? Well, we have found someone spreading harmful items here. No, it is not dangerous, we can handle it."
In the early morning, Li Nian parked his car in front of an old community.
Xiang Jiang nodded and had no intention of moving. As the door closed, he continued to sit in the empty office, half-closed eyes playing a mobile game with exaggerated lighting effects.
After speaking, Xiang Jiang hung up the phone directly.
According to the clear regulations of Shi'an, pollution of this level does not warrant the dispatch of a Class A investigation team, unless the top management actively applies for it. In the past, Fu Xingchuan would have pulled him to apply together with a quick step, completely suppressing this subtle doubt. However, judging from Xiang Jiang's reaction, it might be a bit troublesome to apply for strong intervention in advance.
It was Director Zhou of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Li Nian continued to flip through the book and listened with bated breath.
After stopping at the door of his home, Li Nian did not take out his keys immediately.
Li Nian stood quietly where he was, his formal attire incompatible with this place. After nearly a minute, Professor Li turned around. He opened the door with the key in one go, the lights in the living room turned on, and Li Nian stepped into his residence.
"Why, are you so strict today?"
The corridors are old and the cement floor is full of dust, somewhat like an unfinished rough. Under the flickering lights, the security door opposite my home was ajar, and it was dark inside.
Li Nian ignored him. Professor Li opened the book in the night and lowered his eyes.
Xiang Jiang responded in a businesslike tone.
Only then did Xiang Jiang raise his head and glance at Li Nian. After all, he remained silent and attached an "agree" to the email application.
On the coffee table in the living room, a thermal casserole was filled with light stews, and the dishes were still warm. Next to the casserole lay an empty bowl with rice grains stained on it. Someone had obviously eaten it long ago.
"It's a pretense. There were so many missing people back then, so it's not natural to investigate an unrelated person like Zhong Chengfeng alone." Li Nian put down his chopsticks and spoke calmly. "There happens to be a missing person case now. Lu Xiaohe knows whether to merge the case and how to prioritize it."
Seeing Li Nian arrive home, Fu Xingchuan got up from Li Nian's sofa.
Qingzhu Garden is located in the old city. The apartments are only five-story buildings. The whole building is in the style of the last century. Most of the people who still live here are elderly people. The paint on the building is mottled and cracked, like the cracked and wrinkled back of an old man's hand. The trees around the building are dead and weeds are growing in the flower beds. The stinking ditch had no cover and gave off a stifling smell.
Thinking of a strong man named Yin who had secretly taken over the case, the expression on Li Nian's face remained unchanged.
"I guarantee that no one will find out." Fu Xingchuan saluted.
There are countless scratches on the security door, and the walls are covered with graffiti. The handwriting and painting style are undoubtedly written by children. There are still some unclean paste marks on the door, and the yellow paper remnants of the charm are clearly visible.
"I'm leaving first." Li Nian closed the book and stood up, "You should go back early."
In the early hours of the morning, all the windows were darkened. Looking from the entrance of the community, the compact buildings look like heavy tombstones.
Li thought silently.
"You're finally back, how's it going?"
"I'm back," he said.
"We recently seized the Sinking Society's stronghold, and they should find ways to cause trouble and retaliate. The timing is sharp [gǎn], and the nine teams are immature. I will send two more B-level investigation teams to investigate other areas." Li Nian said lightly, " I sent you an email, please reply.”
He turned around and looked at the door opposite his home.
The quiet atmosphere lasted for less than three minutes, and Xiang Jiang's cell phone vibrated. He answered the phone with an expressionless face: "Hello, Director Zhou."
"There is one thing I need to ask you face to face." Fu Xingchuan's tone became serious unconsciously, "The excuse you used to ask them to investigate Meng Huai's case was a cover-up. Li Nian, what on earth do you think?"
"You don't need to come in person. The risk is too high if it gets discovered if it gets sunk."
It's just that they have all been painted with a dark color by time.
"Whether it's a pretense or not, as long as you put this case in, Yin Ren and the others will consider it comprehensively. Compared with Minister Meng, two elderly people were missing from the nursing home at the time. Compared with Minister Meng, their situation is more similar to Zhong Chengfeng's To be close.”
Li Nian pondered for a moment and picked up the chopsticks again.
"Meng Huai's disappearance is a piece of information with great reference value. The situation is unknown. Compared with missing persons of similar nature, this kind of large deviation case can explain the problem better... This is my logical judgment."
Li Nian put a piece of tofu into his bowl and spoke in a calm tone.
"But you have to ask me if there is any personal relationship involved in this decision. If I say 'yes', what will you do? Give up cooperating with me, or report the situation to Shi'an." Fu Xingchuan's eyes were complicated.
"It's troublesome, that's why I said, I'm not good at dealing with science positions."
After a while, Fu Xingchuan also picked up a piece of tofu and ate it.
"You all look the same. You come with a purpose and leave after completing it. The lowest level employees are like this, even at your level... ugh."
"Since there is no point in getting the answer, there is no need for you to ask me." Li Nian's words made it difficult to hear the emotion.
"Who said that?"
Fu Xingchuan snatched another piece of tofu from the casserole.
"If you let go, I will try my best to assist our Great Heavenly Master. If you don't let go... I can't do what Yin Ren can, but I will help you keep an eye on the progress. At this point, I don't want Shi'an to be the worst. A staunch ally is distracted.”
Li Nian was silent for a moment: "There is beer in the refrigerator, you can take it yourself."
"I can't tell, kid, I've been with you for so long and I didn't even know you could drink. When did you learn to drink?"
"I know you will come sooner or later." Li Nian answered the question.
When Fu Xingchuan opened the beer bottle with a pop, Li Nian had almost finished eating. He held the bowl and ate the last piece of cabbage, and the ring on his finger reflected a thin light.
Fu Xingchuan subconsciously looked in the direction of the living room door.
He had met Meng Huai.
More than 20 years ago, he was working in the Class A investigation team of the Shi'an Haigu branch. At that time, Meng Huai was selecting the director of the Emergency Management Department, who was two or three years older than him.
At that time, Fu Xingchuan was young and vigorous, and he was said to be a generational genius of the Fu family. Suddenly seeing someone who was more recognized, he was quite dissatisfied with this sister who was dressed in an unconventional way.
But unlike his exaggerated appearance, Meng Huai is very lively and talkative. Before Fu Xingchuan could show off his unique youthful awkwardness, Meng Huai stepped in on his own.
"Xiao Fu, I heard that you also trained as a ghost master and a corpse master? That's amazing! When I was your age, I was never able to master the corpse master's spell. Now, too, I am taking the assessment to be promoted to a ghost general. It’s always been the corpse slaves’ side... How about it, are you interested in communicating?”
Her tone was exceptionally cheerful, making it difficult to refuse.
At that time, Fu Xingchuan was just a teenager under 20, and he particularly disliked this "equal" dialogue method. Over and over again, he felt embarrassed to express his "unconvinced" in front of Meng Huai -
After several exchanges, he found out that it was true that Meng Huai's corpse skills were lacking, but it was also true that he was much better than him. Every time he really learned something from himself, Meng Huai would sincerely thank him. More often than not, it was Meng Huai who gave him subtle hints, telling him to avoid detours in the Corpse Corps.
That girl really has no airs at all.
Compared with Shen Mo, the mentor assigned to him by Shi'an at that time, Meng Huai was more like an elder in the true sense. After he was completely relieved, Fu Xingchuan asked Meng Huai face to face why he was worried about himself who was not a subordinate. Meng Huai just smiled.
"Because you are very talented, much more talented than I was before. And you have a good temperament, and you will become a responsible boss one day. What else..." "What else?"
"There is a younger brother across the street from me. We grew up together. I have been going to his house for more than ten years. What do boys of your age mind? I don't know yet?"
"From which family?" Fu Xingchuan suddenly became alert - someone who has known a genius like Meng Huai since childhood must not be much different.
Meng Huai laughed and scratched his highlighted hair: "Hey, people don't believe this."
The two communicated a lot. From Meng Huai's words, Fu Xingchuan got to know the mysterious "brother from the opposite door" more or less, and also got a rough idea of Meng Huai's situation.
Meng Huai's parents were both nocturnal travelers and died in a gray transaction. Meng Huai became an orphan at the age of four or five and lived with his grandfather, who was slightly demented. Two teachers lived opposite them, and they had a son who was two years younger than Meng Huai.
Perhaps because they couldn't bear to see their children's peers suffer, and their families were well off, the two teachers simply began to take care of their poor neighbors, delivering food every day -
"Xiao Li actually doesn't think much of our family's ancestral business of 'pretending to be a ghost.'" Meng Huai once said, "I guess he will become a professor or something in the future. He is extremely well-behaved. At first I went to their house for dinner. He would lock himself in the house and not come out."
"I came to Shi'an after I graduated from high school, and I even had a quarrel with him because of this. That kid didn't even recognize Shi'an, and he must have thought that I would be sentenced for not going to college. He also said that I engaged in some feudal and superstitious activities every day. Sooner or later you will suffer."
To be honest, when Fu Xingchuan heard that his younger brother was a "boring ordinary person", he immediately lost interest.
Meng Huai saw people as very vicious, and when she saw that Fu Xingchuan had lost interest, she rarely mentioned her childhood sweetheart neighbor again. It's just that if I don't mention it, this person's figure will occasionally flash through Meng Huai's words.
For example, one day, Meng Huai suddenly had a bracelet on her hand that didn't match her style at all.
"Oh, this is a birthday gift from Xiao Li... I guess it was because he had nothing to do in college and imitated others to give something to him. You don't know the stinking look on his face when he gave it to me, as if I owed him a thousand or eighty thousand yuan. ”
"Falling? How is it possible? That guy is devoted to academics. I don't have the conditions to fall in love. In our line of work, there might be no one left."
But not long after that, Meng Huai had another ring on his hand.
"Something happened to Xiao Li's parents. My uncle and aunt are half of my parents. Time is running out and we want to make them feel at ease. This is just for show. I will return it to him after I finish pretending for a while. "
"But sometimes I think about it, it would actually be good if I really married Xiao Li."
Seeing this exaggerated genius say the word "marriage" for the first time, Fu Xingchuan was shocked. After all, he couldn't help but said "why".
"Because even if I die one day, our little brother Li will not be sad. You have never seen him. His only hobby is skipping grades, and he has a face that looks like he wants to live a lifetime of learning." Meng Huai made a face. , "And I like him a little bit."
"You can go and confess your love." Fu Xingchuan gave sincere advice about being single since birth.
"That won't work. That guy is extremely serious. I'd better stop harming others. What if I really die early?"
"Well, Sister Meng, it's a bit..."
"... Fu Xingchuan, I know you want to climb up. There is no use avoiding this matter. On the contrary, you must firmly remember this fact."
In Fu Xingchuan's impression, that was the first time he saw Meng Huai showing such a serious expression.
"With your ability, you can choose an easier path. Shi'an's high position is not a trophy for you to prove yourself... Death is not as simple as you think."
At that time, Fu Xingchuan only regarded this as a great truth. The public security in Haigu City is good and the atmosphere is peaceful. There were only some ordinary evil things wandering around at night, and they were all making small fuss as far as the eye could see. The six evil spirits have been sealed for thousands of years. Even if there are one or two accidents in this environment, how serious can it be
He didn't expect that that would be the last time he saw Meng Huai.
The day after that conversation ended, the "divine descending" appeared again after a thousand years.
And on the 200th day after that conversation ended, he met the "Little Brother Li" mentioned by Meng Huai.
The young man had an upright appearance, but his face was expressionless as if it were paralyzed. The man was wearing a formal suit with his shirt buttoned to the top button, looking like a real estate agent.
"Li Nian, double major in history and folklore at University B, still studying." The man stretched out his hand to the leader of the Class C investigation team at the time, "Please look after me in the future."
Fu Xingchuan stood more than ten steps away, and the sun shone on the hands of the young man who called himself "Li Nian", reflecting a dazzling light.
In a daze, the light coincided with the reflection of the ring under the lamp. Fu Xingchuan woke up from his memory and drank the last bit of beer. Over there, Li Nian had already started clearing the table, still looking like he didn't care if the sky fell.
At first glance, this person really hasn't changed at all.
If Meng Huaizhen married this boy, I really don't know what the two of them would be like.
It's a pity. Meng Huai asked him to think clearly, so why not herself? Being able to control ghosts and corpses, and having consciousness, as long as she chooses another path, such as becoming a detective or something, it will always be safer than being in Shi'an...
Detective…
A burst of hot sweat broke out, and the alcohol in the beer was completely useless. Fu Xingchuan took out his tablet and began to quickly browse the information about the disappearance of God from twenty-eight years ago.
Name, gender, age, previous occupation, degree of contact with metaphysics...
Looking at it, Fu Xingchuan wiped the sweat from his face.
He swiped the screen with one hand, took out his phone with the other, and dialed Yin Ren's number.
When he was woken up by Fu Xingchuan's phone ringing, Yin Ren was filled with sadness.
As soon as he fell asleep while sucking Zhong Cheng, he was awakened by the sound of a ringing sound that sounded like a reminder before he was even warmed by the quilt. To make matters worse, Zhong Chengshuo, who had just fallen asleep, also woke up completely.
Looking at his lover who was sleepy and full of questions, Yin Ren hugged the other person's neck and answered the phone with murderous intent.
"Mr. Fu Xingchuan, you'd better have an explanation."
Lord Ghost King said coldly.
"It's rare that I consciously worked overtime until just now, and we just went to bed. If it's not an urgent matter, I will go to Li Nian tomorrow to ask for overtime pay."
"It's character."
Fu Xingchuan said, Zhong Cheng raised his head and leaned in to listen.
"...what?" Yin Ren didn't understand for a moment.
"Whether it was twenty-eight years ago or tonight you reported 'Peng Laogou obtained contaminants'. Ordinary people will definitely disappear if they come into contact with that kind of vicious pollution. Among the missing people, there must be Some kind of commonality.”
"I also studied every disappearance case twenty-eight years ago when I was a minister... Broadly speaking, the gender, age, occupation, and belief of the missing persons are all different. At that time, we have never found anything in common among the missing persons. point."
Yin Ren was completely awake. He let go of Zhong Cheng and put the call on speakerphone.
"continue."
"I know Meng Huai, and you also know Zhong Chengfeng's situation. I have a vague understanding of He Huan's situation from Lu Xiaohe. This kind of information is difficult to obtain from unfamiliar missing persons. Based on the current situation... What they have in common The point may be 'character'."
Fu Xingchuan repeated it again.
"At that time, two elderly people were missing in the nursing home. One of them was a retired teacher with great prestige, and the other had no job, but was once known for his warm-heartedness."
"Among the people who disappeared that year, volunteers, doctors, teachers and other professions accounted for a high proportion. I know it's ridiculous to use jobs to flaunt people's morality, but they can indeed reflect some of the characteristics of the missing people. You need to analyze the evil spirits over there. The source of pollution can be thought of from this perspective.”
Yin Ren came to his senses completely, climbed out of bed and sat upright.
"I understand, thank you." Yin Ren said solemnly, "I will consider it."
After that, he tried to get out of bed and continued his research for the rest of the night. Who would have thought that as soon as Yin Ren approached the bed, he felt a warm resistance from his abdomen - Zhong Cheng said that he stretched out his arms and hugged Yin Ren's waist.
Suddenly encountering the King of Hell acting coquettishly, Yin Ren didn't know whether he was more surprised or frightened.
"What's wrong with you?" Yin Ren tried his best to stay calm.
"Wait for me."
Zhong Cheng buried his face on Yin Ren's back, and the plush edge of his nightcap rubbed against Yin Ren's skin.
"I am coming too… "
"I want to study the nature of the evil force. You can't help me." Yin Ren tried to open Zhong Cheng's hand, "Our physical conditions are different, so you'd better get enough sleep."
“Human personality is closely related to the brain and involves the physical structure of the brain.”
Zhong Cheng said he was awake. He finally let go of Yin Ren's waist and his speech became much clearer.
"I happen to have data on this."
"Then just send it to me. I'll do it tomorrow..."
"No, the data is not here. If you want to go to my base, you can only do it now."
Zhong Cheng said rubbing his eyes and taking off his nightcap.
"I have arrested so many serial murderers before, what exactly have I done to them... Yin Ren, haven't you ever been curious at all?"
Yin Ren slowly turned his head. In the darkness, Zhong Cheng's eyes were dark and dull, like two perfect circles cut out of black paper.
"There are more than just evil specimens in my base."
(End of chapter)