It's easy to be vulnerable when you feel like you're the only victim.
They will think that God is against them and that they have been abandoned and isolated by the whole world and society.
But when you find that there is another unlucky person exactly the same as you next to you, you will feel much more comfortable and think that God is not bad at all, at least he has left you a companion.
This is human nature. Most people who grew up in the countryside must have heard their grandmothers tell them when they were young not to play near ponds or rivers. They warned you that a child had fallen into the water and turned into a ghost, and they want to drag you down to be a scapegoat.
These are just words to scare children away from playing in dangerous areas, but it is precisely these most rustic words that can often reflect many simple and profound things.
Zhou Ze lit a cigarette.
Don't panic,
Don't panic,
Before, I was worried whether this chain would cause any subsequent harm.
But when I saw the police officer next to me who had such a righteous character, I was no longer afraid or worried at all.
"What do you do?" Zhang Yanfeng asked, blowing out a puff of smoke.
"It's not convenient to tell you this. Let me explain it this way. Your work and mine are both striving for socialist modernization and social harmony."
Zhang Yanfeng frowned.
"If you encounter a difficult case in the future, you can come to the bookstore and ask me to help you. That's all I can say. For some things, knowing too much may not be a good thing for you."
Zhou Ze reached out and patted Zhang Yanfeng on the shoulder.
"Keep being your good policeman, that's good."
After Zhou Ze withdrew his hand,
Zhang Yanfeng also reached out and patted his shoulder.
The two looked at each other and smiled.
"I don't believe in the existence of ghosts and gods in this world. I never will."
"Keep holding on to this belief." Zhou Ze let out a long sigh, "Just think that my coming to see you tonight was just a dream. Now we can get to the point. Let's talk about this chain of yours. When did you start having that dream
By the way, you seemed to have said before that it has been more than 20 years?"
Zhang Yanfeng nodded. "Yes, it has been more than 20 years. My father is also a criminal policeman. Our family is a police family. My son is also studying in the police academy now."
"amazing."
Zhou Ze didn't think this was nepotism. Who would be so bored as to call the whole family to be police officers, or criminal police officers, because of nepotism
"I remember that year, the year my father died."
Zhang Yanfeng spoke calmly.
Zhou Ze also listened calmly.
"At that time, I had just started working for two years. My father's death was a big blow to me. To be honest, I was a little depressed and a little scared.
I am really afraid. I am afraid that one day I will sacrifice myself.”
"Police are also human beings." Zhou Ze said.
"But it's different, it's really different, I'm ashamed of my fear."
Zhang Yanfeng shook off the cigarette ash and continued:
"The first time I had that dream was also that year. I stayed up all night to process a case file and then fell asleep in the office. That night, I had a very long dream. Even now, the dream is so clear that I can even remember every scene at that time.
I stood in a cold corridor.
I heard the sound of chains dragging along the ground,
That place was very cold, really cold. That was the coldest time I ever felt in my life, and it was in a dream, haha."
Boss Zhou picked his ears. He slept with Bai Yingying, the female zombie, in his arms every day.
I have long been immune to the word "cold".
A normal person couldn't stand the negative energy emanating from Bai Yingying, but Zhou Ze enjoyed it.
“I saw a man in white clothes, coming from a distance, he walked very slowly, step by step;
On his feet, there was a pair of handcuffs that locked his ankles. Every time he took a step, the chains on the ground would make a "clattering" sound as they were dragged.
That voice continued to echo in my dreams for more than twenty years.
He came from afar,
Passing before me,
I couldn't see his face clearly.
His hair was messy.
But when he came towards me, I didn't feel cold anymore, I even felt a kind of warmth.
Then he was gone, as if he had not seen me at all, and he went on till he reached the end of this corridor;
Then,
He disappeared.
After that, the dream ended.
There were no ups and downs, and no twists and turns. In fact, it was just an ordinary dream. But precisely because that dream was so real, so real that it seemed as if it had really happened, I have always remembered it for more than twenty years.
After that, whenever I dreamed, no matter what I was doing in the dream or what kind of dream it was, I would have this anklet on my feet.
That one, which was supposed to be the anklet on the man in white, appeared on me. "
Zhang Yanfeng took a deep breath and exhaled heavily.
"I once consulted a psychologist for work convenience, but his answer did not satisfy me. Do you know what he said
He said, I was guilty and afraid, afraid that I would be exposed or something would happen, haha..."
At this point, Zhang Yanfeng smiled, threw the cigarette butt on the ground, and stepped on it hard.
"I have lived up to the national flag and the police badge in my life. You know, on the day of my father's funeral, he was wearing a police uniform and draped with the national flag."
"I believe it."
Zhou Ze looked at Officer Zhang. To be honest, he reminded him of the director who had bought books in his bookstore before.
Just like on Weibo, if a local urban management officer bullies someone or beats an old lady, a lot of people will forward and comment on the news, but if a firefighter or a policeman dies in the line of duty, only a few people will forward the news.
In fact, there are still more good people in this world, otherwise this society would have been in chaos long ago.
The two were silent for about a quarter of an hour, and Zhou Ze took the initiative to break the silence.
"I need to find a way to resolve this matter."
Zhou Ze pointed to his feet and stood up.
Opposite this small park is the police station. Zhou Ze suddenly asked:
"When you had that dream more than 20 years ago, were you also in this police station?"
"Yes, but the police station was not this big back then. It was renovated and rebuilt about ten years ago."
"The address hasn't changed, right?"
“Nothing has changed.”
Zhou Ze nodded, "Can you draw?"
"No." Officer Zhang answered bluntly, "Do you want me to draw the scene in the dream?"
“Yes, I hope there is a more intuitive embodiment.”
"There is an expert in this area in the bureau. I can call him over."
"Won't it disturb their rest?"
It’s getting late now.
"Young people need to practice more." Zhang Yanfeng replied.
In a trance,
Zhou Ze seemed to see himself in his previous life training those trainee dogs to death.
Zhou Ze did not go back to the police station. This was Zhou Ze's request. He always felt it was weird to stay in the police station and talk about such ambiguous things. Moreover, there was always a vague pressure suppressing him in that place.
Everyone came to a cafe next to the police station. The young policeman came with his notebook. He had acne all over his face and looked very young. He walked up to Zhang Yanfeng and greeted him:
"Hello, Captain Zhang."
Zhang Yanfeng nodded.
Then the policeman looked at Zhou Ze again and asked, "What's your name?"
"Suspect."
Zhou Ze introduced himself.
“… … ”Little policeman.
Zhang Yanfeng glanced at Zhou Ze, then gestured to the young policeman to sit next to him.
Next, the young policeman opened his notebook and began to draw according to Zhang Yanfeng’s description.
This also opened Zhou Ze's eyes a bit. Perhaps, in the eyes of many people, every policeman is an expert in criminal investigation, but in fact, more and more other professional talents have joined the police force, especially in recent years.
It’s just like the once-famous financial fraudster who was thrown into jail and then absorbed into the FBI organization.
While the little policeman was busy,
Zhou Ze was playing with his cell phone nearby.
About two hours later,
Zhang Yanfeng nodded, indicating that this was almost done, then turned the notebook around, pointed at the screen and said:
“That’s pretty much it.”
Zhou Ze stared at the screen for a while.
A man in white, wearing shackles,
Walking forward numbly,
On both sides, there were dark things, and behind me, there was also a dark area.
This is an extremely narrow space.
Zhou Ze looked at Zhang Yanfeng and asked, "Can you recall some more details?"
"What?" Zhang Yanfeng was a little confused.
“Like here and here.”
Zhou Ze pointed to both sides of the screen. "These two sides are walls, but what is this black area behind? If it is a wall, why doesn't it extend directly outward?"
"I'm not sure, but I remember that the walls of this place in my dream were discontinuous, not connected."
"So, based on Captain Zhang's description, I emphasized the difference between light and shadow here." The young policeman explained, "I originally wanted to paint this as an extension of the wall, but Captain Zhang said that's not the case."
For some reason, Zhou Ze was very concerned about the dark shadows beside the walls on both sides, but he didn't pay much attention to the man in white clothes and handcuffs.
Zhou Ze raised his head and kept thinking.
He thought of the scene in the detention center, the sound of the chain coming from far away, and himself standing at the railing, constantly walking back and forth, trying to find his trace...
Suddenly,
Zhou Ze seemed to have thought of something, and pointed directly at the dark areas on both sides of the screen and said:
"This isn't a wall, could it be an iron railing?"
Zhou Ze gestured with his hands again, "Have you seen old movies? Do you have any impression of those old-fashioned prisons?"
The young policeman immediately turned the notebook over and started revising it, while Zhang Yanfeng next to him fell into deep thought.
"Is that so?"
Soon, the young policeman pushed the notebook towards Zhou Ze and Zhang Yanfeng.
In the screen,
The originally dark and blurry area was changed into iron railings. It was still dark and blurry inside, but with the addition of these railings, the whole picture suddenly became clear and three-dimensional, and even the information contained in it was suddenly revealed.
In a narrow prison corridor,
A prisoner in white prison uniform.
With shackles on his feet,
Walking forward numbly,
Beside him were other prison cells, and perhaps there were many eyes watching him from inside.
Zhang Yanfeng immediately picked up the phone. Zhou Ze didn't know who he was calling, but Zhang Yanfeng's voice was very clear, and he didn't avoid the two people present:
"Lao Wang, it's me, Zhang Yanfeng. Please help me check where our police station was located in the past.
Didn’t you tell me before that the old police station was renovated based on an old building? Please help me check this and find out what this place is and what it was used for before.
What, you want to be more specific
Well,
Just check.
It used to be
In which period,
Has it ever been used in prisons?"