After hanging up the phone, Cheng Ran stood quietly beside the sofa. The sound of Xu Lan washing vegetables came from the kitchen. Cheng Feiyang would come back in the evening and might cook noodles for an extra meal, so it would be best to have some washed vegetables ready.
A warm and peaceful life is so close at hand, but the world outside the window still looks hideous and dangerous.
After being reborn, everything in front of him seemed to be covered with a layer of light because of his nostalgia for the past, which made him intoxicated.
But at this moment, the veil of light was lifted, and deeper things were finally exposed.
This world is never warm and affectionate. Under the seemingly peaceful river of life, there are ferocious tigers hidden. However, for most people, these are just eye-catching content in the news and newspapers. Before experiencing it personally, they are just the experiences of others. They can be used as a topic of conversation after dinner and can bring a change of taste in the dull life.
Just like Life of Pi, everyone will encounter tigers in their lives, maybe it is personal injury, maybe it is a betrayal, maybe it is a failure to advance in life, or fall from the king to the bottom of the valley.
Everyone has their own ups and downs. After Cheng Ran was reborn, although he had a "no regrets" and "fearless" attitude, in fact, for most things, he still remained cautious, not intervening easily, and kept a distance.
Just like this major event that was later called the "June 2nd Case". In fact, at the beginning, he didn't know much about the situation of this incident, because his memory of the past was very distant, and he was in the ignorant stage of junior high school at that time, so he only had a vague outline of this incident.
He knew that a state-owned enterprise boss named Xie Houming in Shanhai City was kidnapped and killed. Xie Houming was talked about a lot at that time, so he remembered his name. In this case, the family members were still killed after paying part of the ransom. People only remembered the viciousness and arrogance of the criminals. At that time, the people of Shanhai cursed the criminals, but they were still shocked by this incident.
It is said that because this case had a great impact at the time and was not solved immediately, similar kidnapping cases have occurred in nearby counties and cities since then, and its influence can be said to be far-reaching.
In this incident back then, his cousin was able to get away with it. So at first, Cheng Ran didn't know whether this incident would happen again in this world, and if it did, would there be any deviations in the process and results
Taking a step back, even if everything happened exactly as in the previous life, Cheng Ran would use the clues he had as a fulcrum to try to change the event.
Of course, in this process, what he requires is the right time, right place and right people.
A gentleman does not stand on a dangerous wall. Cheng Ran’s so-called regretlessness and fearlessness only apply to himself. For ordinary people, shouldn’t self-interest be the first choice
The kidnappers were extremely vicious... After they were captured, they had more than 20 lives on their hands. Why would he fight against such a vicious criminal
Rebirth does not mean invulnerability, but still being a mortal. We only have one life, and after death, how can we know if we will have another chance of rebirth like a miracle
Instead of enjoying life, you compete with a bunch of professionals who have killed many people before to see who is more ruthless? This is not a warrior, this is courting death.
Therefore, Cheng Ran did not intend to intervene deeply. Only after everything happened exactly as planned, would he try to do something to see if there could be a turnaround and whether he could make a small contribution to the fate of Xie Feibai's family.
But he was still very panicked.
Nonsense, after making the decision, it was like he was facing the criminals head-on. He started looking for them... And what would be the fate of the other party this time
After taking a deep breath, Cheng Ran said to the kitchen, "Mom, I'm going out for a while."
"What are you going to do?"
"Buy something."
"Come back soon, what do you want to buy?"
By the time Xu Lan turned off the water and walked out of the kitchen, the door had already closed with a bang.
There were some things that he had to verify, and he was thinking about what to say after the verification and how to submit the clues to his cousin.
In that case, this matter will change and will be handled.
He went down the corridor and walked in the courtyard. This ancient courtyard bore traces of his childhood growing up. At this moment, he only felt an inexplicable burning emotion in his heart, growing and bubbling up.
There is a fierce tiger in front of him, a tiger that the Shanhai people of this era will never forget. This is a big case, Xie Houming was kidnapped and blackmailed and finally murdered. In his previous life, Cheng Ran did not know Xie Feibai, but it seems that Xie Feibai's family also fell, and his entire life trajectory took a sharp turn for the worse.
This is an event that countless people in later generations have been terrified of. Everything surrounding this tragedy, including social order, people's stability, and public opinion, was in a mess.
But the key to this change lies in him, the tracer of time.
Every step he takes at this moment may profoundly change the future.
Downstairs in a building in the compound, because tomorrow is the weekend, Liu Ying, Yao Beibei and Yang Xia are chatting there and discussing whose house to go to do the exercises together on Saturday.
They saw Cheng Ran walking towards them like a body without a soul.
Liu Ying and Yao Beibei glanced at Yang Xia beside them. It was obvious that they were still in shock over what happened between Cheng Ran and Jiang Hongshao on Tuesday in the square. However, Cheng Ran was approaching quickly. Liu Ying finally waved her hand and shouted, "Cheng Ran! Come here. We have something to ask you."
Then the three of them saw Cheng Ran looking at them, and he said "Oh", without lingering in front of them, and continued walking forward.
The three of them watched Cheng Ran walk out of the door, and Yao Beibei said to them, "What does he mean by... ignoring us?"
…
Cheng Ran walked faster and faster, and then he started to run. He ran wildly with a ball of fire in his chest.
The clue is about to appear.
He supported his hands on the iron railings of the road, pushed his feet on the ground, flew into the air, crossed the road railings, and jumped over the old-fashioned stone piers on the ground used to separate motor vehicles and non-motor vehicles. Seeing that there were no cars on both sides, he sprinted across the road and came to the front of the hardware store.
The owner of the hardware store was packing up his stall and moving some samples of anti-theft iron bars that were displayed outside into the store. Seeing Cheng Ran appear, the fat boss in his forties asked, "Little brother, what do you want to buy?"
"I have a big wolf dog at home. I want to ask if you can make a custom cage for the dog?"
"Oh, sure, you can. If you want a really big one, give me the dimensions, length, width, and height, then I can make it..."
"I don't know what's the right amount. Has anyone done this in your home before? I can take some advice..."
"I haven't made wolfhounds, only some pet dogs... How big is your dog? Generally, this size will do..."
Cheng Ran stood there in a daze.
His mind went blank. "You mean, no one has made it to order?"
The fat boss laughed, "These days, most companies that raise wolfhounds tie them up with iron chains, and few use large iron cages... At least my store hasn't encountered that yet... But for those who don't mind... we can do it!"
What’s going on? What’s going on!
This is the only clue Cheng Ran knows. After Xie Houming was kidnapped, the criminals locked him in an iron cage and sank him into the lake, where he died. Therefore, his body was never found that year. After the incident, the criminals fled the country and traveled to many countries. They were not captured until five years after the sinking.
The report at that time, perhaps considering the tourism economy and influence of Shanhai City, did not specify which of the dozens of lakes near Shanhai City Xie Houming was drowned in. But one of the murderers identified the source of the murder weapon, which showed that when they planned to kidnap Xie Houming, they had ordered an iron cage in advance at a hardware store in Sanchakou, Shanhai City, in the name of imprisoning wolfhounds. Later, they took it away and used it as a tool to drown Xie Houming in the lake.
So... this is the only clue Cheng Ran has.
And now.
This clue is broken.
It was getting late, and the light shone on the boss's greasy face. He was still smiling, but Cheng Ran just stood there in a daze.
So, this matter cannot be changed after all...