Silence, extremely silent, so silent that it was embarrassing.
Tan Yan stared at Minister Yu quietly for so long that Minister Yu's thick skin was about to break, then he slowly said: "It shouldn't be that exaggerated. I haven't been to such a far place. I have been in Ping County all these years and have never left."
Minister Yu gritted his teeth and explained: "What I mean is that it is possible that these holes are connected. Sometimes they appear alone, and sometimes they appear in pairs. If you deal with one hole, the other one will naturally disappear."
"I don't know." Tan Yan shook his head. He didn't ask any further questions and was obviously not interested in it.
Minister Yu was very curious about Tan Yan's attitude. He had been facing the "void" alone for forty years, but he had no desire to explore why the "void" appeared. He had devoted himself to the safety of Ping County, but when he heard that "voids" appeared all over the world, he had no intention of helping.
He is great and ordinary, dedicated and indifferent, and these contradictions are not inconsistent in him.
"You have been able to guard Ping County for so long, and you even exposed the secret hidden for many years in order to solve the 'hole' at the intersection. Why are you so indifferent when you heard that other places have encountered such disasters?" Minister Yu asked.
"… My power is limited," Tan Yan said simply, "I am a police officer in Ping County. All I can do is protect the safety of Ping County. This is my duty."
"What if you are no longer a police officer in Ping County?"
"If I retire," Tan Yan thought for a moment, "I should get a good night's sleep first. I've been very tired these past few years."
Although he didn't say it, Minister Yu already understood what Tan Yan meant. He risked his life to protect Ping County not because he had a strong sense of justice, nor because he wanted to be a hero, but because it was his duty. Once he reached retirement age, he would no longer care about it.
Some people might think that this idea is cold-blooded, but Minister Yu can understand Tan Yan.
A person's power is limited. Even if Tan Yan is a superman, he can't save everyone. All he can do is to be loyal to his duties and do his best. He is bound by his duties and will not naively dream of saving the world.
He is a calm and responsible adult.
"Okay," Minister Yu decided to put this topic aside, "let's talk about your abilities. In the lava world, you showed physical strength and mobility far beyond that of ordinary people. Where does this power come from?"
Within a few hours of returning to the real world, Minister Yu recalled his experience in the lava world countless times and discovered a detail.
When being carried by Tan Yan to jump over the lava river, Minister Yu clearly saw that the stone pillars under Tan Yan's feet could not bear the weight of two people because his head was facing downwards. Some of them even collapsed the moment Tan Yan jumped on them. The supporting force of the stone pillars was definitely not enough to serve as a foothold. Even if Tan Yan really had great skills in lightness skills, he could not do it.
"You didn't really step on the stone pillar, but you pretended to step on it for me to see, right?" Minister Yu asked.
At that time, Tan Yan still wanted to hide the fact that he was very familiar with the world behind the void, and he deliberately concealed it in front of the minister until the skin on his face fell off. Then he gave up and knocked the man unconscious.
Seeing Tan Yan nod in agreement, Minister Yu asked, "How did you do it? And your face was not injured at all. Even if you wore a mask, it would not be able to completely withstand the temperature of the magma, right? When you returned to the real world, your face became older again. What happened? Is this face real now, or is it the younger one? How old are you?"
He seemed to want to reach out and pinch Tan Yan's face, but he restrained himself and waited quietly for Tan Yan's answer.
Tan Yan frowned, and the expression on his middle-aged face was very natural, not like he was wearing a mask at all. He reached out and touched his face, and said sullenly, "I am 58 years old, and many people can prove it. As for my face, I didn't notice it at first, but it seems that I haven't aged since I came back from the void for the first time. I wonder if you are the same."
Minister Yu remembered that Qiao Zhixue had said that he had a special energy reaction, and silently agreed with Tan Yan's conjecture, but the specific situation still needed to be observed.
"I think there are three possibilities," Minister Yu analyzed calmly. "The most likely possibility is that because you have entered another world, your body has changed. You will not age with the time on Earth. Your life span is unclear, but your physical condition may remain at this time. The second possibility is that you will continue to age, just like ordinary people. The least likely possibility is rejuvenation, and staying in the prime of your body like you. We will analyze this issue slowly. Now let's talk about your superpowers."
"It's not a superpower. My strength in the real world is ordinary, just like most people. It only became stronger after entering the 'void'. This strength is not what you think..."
Having said this, Tan Yan was silent for a long time, as if he was thinking about how to organize words to describe his own strength.
"It was like... when I got there, the air around me was very close to me," Tan Yan described with difficulty. "When I jumped up, something pushed me to jump higher and farther. I wanted to make myself look older, and it was as if there was something very breathable in the air sticking to my face. When I looked in the mirror after returning home, I felt older."
His description was too simple and Minister Yu was unable to determine the cause of this phenomenon.
"You... after all these years of possessing extraordinary powers, you don't have the slightest desire to explore?" This was the most incredible thing about Minister Yu.
A person can be indifferent to others and can behave very contradictory, but he should not be so indifferent to himself. Doesn't Tan Yan even have curiosity
"I'm not extraordinary, Minister Yu. I think you may have misunderstood something. I'm just an ordinary person, rough and uneducated. I may have encountered some strange things, but anyone who encounters them should have the same reaction as me, and maybe even do better than me." Tan Yan said sincerely.
Minister Yu: “…”
What the hell is wrong with this person's perception of himself!
"Since you are an ordinary person, why don't you report this kind of thing?"
"I told you, but no one believed me. I also didn't want to take anyone to such a dangerous place. What if someone died? We've been dealing with it this way all these years." Speaking of this, Tan Yan had a worried look on his face.
Minister Yu calculated the date, and Tan Yan said that he encountered the first "void" when he was 18 years old, which was 40 years ago, 12 years earlier than the first known "void" in the world. It was the 1970s, and the country had just emerged from a turmoil. Both society and culture were in an extremely closed state. At that time, if he told others that he had gone to another world... who would believe it!
"At first, no one believed me. Later, I found that I didn't seem to age, so I didn't dare to say it anymore." Tan Yan continued to explain, "What if I am regarded as a monster?"
Minister Yu could understand Tan Yan's hard work over the years, and gradually had a rough idea of this person.
Tan Yan is indeed an ordinary person, an ordinary person in difficult times.
Decades ago, in that turbulent era, there were many people who were like nails and had no regrets. They did not do anything noble, nor did they think they were great. They just worked diligently and devoted every day to national construction. One person's power is limited, and no matter how much work they do, it will not have much effect. But it is the efforts of countless "ordinary people" that have brought the country to today's prosperous era.
Tan Yan is such a person.
For forty years, he has always treated this as his job. No matter how dangerous it is, he has always persevered and exerted his utmost energy within the scope of his duties. Whether he understands or not, he must persist, otherwise Ping County will suffer a devastating disaster. Protecting people's lives and property from infringement is Tan Yan's mission.
With no one to talk to and no one to support him, he managed to survive for forty years, hiding the secret that he would not age and might be a monster.
Minister Yu looked into Tan Yan's eyes, which were filled with deep fatigue. This man was exhausted, but he still dragged his body to persist, and he was shining with the brilliance that countless outstanding working people had in the past.
"I looked at your file and found that you have never been married. Why? It's so difficult. Don't you want to find someone to share the burden?" Minister Yu asked.
"After working for two or three days, I was introduced to several people and met them all. But I don't dare to get married. There is something wrong with me. Don't waste the good girls."
He regarded his adventures as a disease and saw himself as an outlier.
"Your private life is also extremely clean, with no signs of ever having a sexual partner. Is it because you don't want to, or have you been influenced by the other world and have no desire in this regard?" Minister Yu couldn't help blushing when he said this. He was also very concerned about this. What if he really entered the "void" and lost his ability... Even if his son is already grown up, he will still care!
The two of them talked for such a long time, and it was at this moment that Tan Yan finally showed some expression. He said with a red face: "Why, why can't I do that! It's just... I'm a policeman, how can I break the law knowingly, and I can't harm a girl from a good family, so I just have to endure it."
Minister Yu breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good, that's good. It hasn't been easy for you these years."
"It's okay. I'm used to it."
For a moment, the air was filled with an awkward atmosphere. Minister Yu quickly changed the subject: "The environment was too bad at that time. I couldn't see your face clearly. Can you take off the mask?"
“… This was made in the ‘void’ you mentioned. If we take it down, we won’t be able to make it in the real world.” Tan Yan said with embarrassment.
"Although it's not cruel, do you think you can return to the Ping County Public Security Management Office?" Minister Yu said seriously, "You have been listed on the national top-secret list. Your identity and background are more confidential than mine. We will not let you return to your original living environment."
Tan Yan's mood, which had been very stable until now, gradually became depressed. He lowered his head and remained silent for a long time before he slowly reached out and tore off the fake skin on his face, neck and arms, revealing his young skin.
The fake skins that were pulled off disappeared as soon as they left Tan Yan's body. At the same time, Qiao Zhixue, who was guarding outside, began to knock on the door frantically.
"What's wrong?" Minister Yu asked unhappily through the intercom.
"Minister, a strong energy fluctuation suddenly appeared in the room and disappeared very quickly. What happened?"
Minister Yu looked at the place where the fake skin disappeared and replied calmly: "It's okay, I'm fine, don't come in, I will hold a meeting to study it after I finish asking questions, and then I will tell you everything you need to know."
Qiao Zhixue stopped knocking on the door only after he confirmed that the person speaking was indeed Minister Yu.
"It seems that fake skin is a power that does not belong to this world, so once it leaves the medium, that is, you, it will disappear. I don't know in what form this energy will eventually dissipate." Minister Yu said.
Tan Yan... Tan Yan didn't understand.
From the look in the other person's eyes, he knew that Tan Yan was confused again. Minister Yu sighed secretly. He wanted to figure out everything, but the only person who knew the truth understood nothing.
After taking off the fake skin, Tan Yan lost his weathered face and looked like a confused boy. He was unexpectedly handsome. The black and white photo on the profile could not show the real handsomeness of him. His back was straight like a pole, and his arms were full of strength under the clothes, like a young and powerful little leopard. He no longer looked like the honest old policeman just now.
Minister Yu could be serious and cruel when facing veteran policeman Tan Yan, and he could tell the truth. But it must be said that a person's appearance has a great influence on others. Looking at the current Tan Yan, Minister Yu even felt a little bit reluctant.
Minister Yu was deeply moved when he thought about how such a big boy had been carrying a huge secret for so many years and protecting the people of Ping County without fear of life or death.
"Comrade Tan Yan, you have worked hard over the years." Minister Yu said in a heavy tone.
Tan Yan: “…”
I always feel like something is not right... Minister Yu seems to be looking at me with a very motherly expression.
This conversation was extremely confidential, and only Minister Yu and Tan Yan knew about it, and there were no guards following them. This environment made Tan Yan very comfortable, and he cooperated very well, saying everything he could.
But unfortunately, the information Tan Yan knew did not solve the problem that was troubling them, but instead brought many questions.
Originally, it was thought that the cavity was just a natural phenomenon, which would disappear naturally after a while and would not cause much harm. Countries only studied it as a natural phenomenon and did not take it seriously. However, if Tan Yan failed to enter the cavity in time one day, with their existing technology, they could only stop the cavity from spreading for a few hours at most, but could not completely solve the problem.
Why all the voids so far have appeared in Ping County, or are connected to Ping County; why the voids do not disappear after other people are involved, but only react to Tan Yan; why every time Tan Yan returns to the real world, it is Ping County Cemetery (he himself is not clear about this); and whether Tan Yan will die of old age in the future, and who will control the voids after he is gone.
These are problems that need to be solved urgently.
Minister Yu listed all the problems, but couldn't make sense of them.
Seeing that he stared at the conversation record and frowned after asking him, and lit a cigarette, Tan Yan couldn't help but said, "Don't smoke in front of me."
"Huh?" Minister Yu, who was holding a cigarette in his hand, was stunned.
"I try to avoid having any special smell on myself," Tan Yan explained. "Some people are very sensitive to smells. The smell of e-liquid is very pungent. If you get a little bit of it, you may be in danger."
"Sorry." Minister Yu quickly put out his cigarette and wrote this down.
"When you followed me in before, I was very glad that it was a lava world. The smell of sulfur was everywhere, and the smell on you was not obvious."
He looked at Minister Yu with a look that said, "Otherwise you would have died long ago."
Minister Yu: “…”