The third day after the military training ended.
Yan Jingxing and Ji Chunzao took the eldest lady's car and headed all the way to Jinjiang City.
He was filled with emotion. He didn't expect that the opportunity for him to return to the city would be today. But this time the destination was not in the city, but a hotel near the High-tech Development Zone.
"Jing Xing moved to our town from the city, right?"
He was looking out the window at the familiar and unfamiliar highway scenery passing by one after another. Ji Chunzao leaned over with a smile. If Miss Xie on the other side hadn't calmly grabbed her, the curly-haired girl would have been cheek-to-cheek with him right now. Face.
"Do you feel nostalgic?"
"……Okay."
Yan Jingxing looked away.
"If I didn't make friends, I might miss my old life because of loneliness. But I am very happy and busy now, and I can't remember the past."
"Oh~ you are really good at talking~"
Ji Chunzao prolonged his tone, and Miss Xie on the side cleared her throat.
"On your next day off, if you have time, you can drive everyone around the city and find a place to play. Forget it today, there are still important things."
That's right, they set off almost as soon as the military training ended, which shows that they really couldn't wait.
Two hours later, the car stopped at the entrance of a hotel that stood at the intersection and was more than 20 stories tall.
A familiar figure was waving goodbye to several men in suits and ties.
After seeing Xie Yuzhi get out of the car, the men bowed respectfully.
"We meet again, Mr. He."
Xie Yuzhi nodded slightly, then turned his eyes to the figure who was walking down the stairs.
"I asked, are you a little too anxious?"
Detective He Feng smiled bitterly.
After not seeing him for the past few days, the man no longer looked dusty. After putting on a clean and tidy appearance, he looked like a human.
"How have you been these days? My father's subordinates shouldn't have abused you, right?" Xie Yuzhi asked, "If you have anything to say, just say it and I will file a complaint for you."
"...That's not true. I'm doing pretty well."
He Feng shook his head.
"Eat well and sleep well. My elder brothers are very friendly to me. Originally, if I were to go abroad alone, I wouldn't be able to stay in such a good hotel. After all, I am traveling around to earn a little money, so I have to save travel expenses."
"You look dissatisfied. Is it because you need something else?"
"Of course it's freedom!"
the man yelled.
"In this line of work, I am looked down upon and looked down upon by others every day. I have to run around every once in a while. Sometimes I am discovered accidentally and I have to be caught and beaten up. If I can't find a job, I have to go to jail. I haven’t finished my meal... This kind of job is not as stable as working honestly. Isn’t it just to be comfortable? I also had a saying at that time, which was called 'Life is precious, but love is even more valuable'..."
"——'For the sake of freedom, both can be thrown away'."
Miss Xie nodded calmly in agreement.
"Don't worry, as long as you take us to the destination and share the information, you can get the freedom you want."
"Rather than resorting to threats of violence, I would rather get you to speak on your own initiative. Or would you rather communicate with those thugs who don't know their origins?"
"Forget it, I think even if I look back now, others will definitely not treat me well. I just want to leave this place of right and wrong as soon as possible. But..."
He Feng hesitated for a moment and then spoke slowly:
"After all, I almost caused you guys to fall into a trap. Even if it's just to compensate, I shouldn't just walk away like this."
This guy was definitely not telling the whole truth, but it didn't matter what he thought in his heart. What mattered was that he agreed.
"It's good to assess the situation. So, can you please explain the information in detail?"
…
"The person you are looking for is a homeless man who is said to live in the mountains."
After getting into the car, He Feng sat in the passenger seat and began to talk about his investigative experience during this period with the young people in the back seat.
"This man likes to drink in small shops in Shigang Village. I found an older insider. He mentioned that when this man was drunk once, he mentioned that he had been an explorer. Including career status, and Including the bad habit of drinking, this is considered correct, right?"
"Well, I think this is the guy we're looking for."
"In addition, this man also said that he has been looking for someone, but no matter who asked, he did not continue the conversation. Of course, in fact, no one cared about what a poor and down-and-out old drunk said. Everyone regarded him as It’s just drunken talk and crazy talk.”
When Yan Jingxing heard this, he suddenly remembered the contents of the diary.
The once-famous explorer in the industry joined an alien expedition team organized by unknown people in order to escape the poverty caused by alcoholism and seize the opportunity to turn his life around.
He went through all kinds of hardships and almost died on another planet; in the end, he betrayed everyone and won the "body", all for the purpose of trying to change his life.
But the reality is that in the nearly ten years since then, the explorer's research on the "element body" has always yielded nothing. He could not get recognition, so he turned back into that decadent guy.
Just like life goes round and round, no matter how hard a person works, his destiny will return to the starting point again...
"Did you find out what happened to him later?"
"This person has no friends or relatives in the local area, and no one even knows where he lives. So it is quite difficult to know about him. We basically rely on hearsay from a few acquaintances in the village."
Yan Jingxing and Xie Yuzhi looked at each other and realized something at the same time:
The villagers in Shigang Village seem to only know that the explorers "live in the mountains" and "live in caves", but do not know the specific location; this means that their "secret base" has not been exposed yet.
However, if someone is willing to organize a large-scale search of the mountain, it will be leaked sooner or later.
"But you still got it."
"Yes, I inquired in several nearby villages and towns for several weeks, and finally found out that the last person who knew the traces of this man was the abbot of a rural temple. Yes, this drunkard later started to believe in Buddhism. , and also helped as a volunteer in the temple for two years.”
"That master is still there?"
"This is another weird thing. When I wanted to find someone, I found out that the master had gone to another city. I asked a circle of people for help before I got the phone number. Then the other person told me that he had also been I have been paying close attention to the whereabouts of that person since the cause of his disappearance was a fire in the temple."
"After a fire, people disappeared?"
Yan Jingxing touched his chin.
"Doesn't this sound too weird?"
"It's indeed strange, but that's what happened. According to the master, it was late at night. It had just rained lightly two days ago, but for some reason a wildfire broke out. The fire quickly spread to the entire temple. Fortunately, Thanks to the blessing of Bodhisattva, no one was injured, but the explorer just disappeared. His body was not left at the fire scene. At that time, everyone was busy putting out the fire, and no one saw where he went."
"Later I told the police about it, but because there was no one at home, there were very few clues left. Even daily necessities were burned completely in the fire, so there was no way to investigate. So That’s it.”
"After that, no one knew his whereabouts. I couldn't even find out any rumors suspected to be related to him. This person seemed to have 'disappeared'..."
The detective's story comes to an end.
"Anyway, that's all I know."
"You said the same to those thugs?"
"Yes, I didn't hide a word."
"Then where are we going now?"
"It's where the ruins of the temple that was destroyed by fire are located." He Feng replied, "If the thugs make new moves because of my information, I guess they will go to the same place."
"Was that temple rebuilt later?"
"No, if it is really rebuilt, the abbot master will not have to leave. According to my understanding, after the temple ruins were bulldozed, the land was bought by a local real estate company and is currently used as a warehouse-"
"Wait, you said 'local real estate company'?"
Xie Yuzhi suddenly interrupted.
"Uh, what's wrong?"
"Do you know the specific name?"
"I remember, it seems to be called Industrial Real Estate Co., Ltd...."
After hearing He Feng's reply, the girl's slender eyebrows frowned slightly.
"Yuzhi?"
Yan Jingxing noticed the abnormality in Xie Yuzhi's expression and looked at her with some worry.
"...That's my father's property."
Miss Xie subconsciously clenched her hands into fists, and then quickly released them. Her tone remained calm.
"I'll call him and ask him about the situation. Also, please do the driver a favor and drive faster."
*
The same day, a few hours later.
Dusk is passing, and the night is dark.
A car drove into the sleepy woods, looking inconspicuous in this environment. Not far from it, a dozen cars were parked on the side of the road, and there was an atmosphere of solemnity in the silence.
Xie Jianye, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was about to open the door and get out, but the driver reached out to stop him.
"Boss, please stay here first."
Liu Tie, who was in the driver's seat, was watching the situation ahead. A huge fleet of vehicles was spread out to guard various key points. There were off-road vehicles parked at the entrance and both sides of the road, and the people inside were keeping an eye on the nearby situation. Be prepared to contact a companion.
"Isn't this one of ours?" Xie Jianye asked with some confusion.
"They are our people, they are all. Including the warehouse, there are also manpower arranged, and there are other convoys on the nearby road waiting, ready to come to support at any time."
Liu Tie took a deep breath and replied.
"Everything is ready."
"That……"
"You'd better not go down there." Liu Tie insisted, "If there is a conflict later, there will be so many people and it will be difficult to look after you. If you get hurt, I can't bear the responsibility."
"Are you trying to scare me?"
"It's better to be cowardly, bullets don't have eyes. Even if you don't think about yourself, you still have to think about the eldest lady."
"...You kid, have you learned how to educate me now?" Xie Jianye laughed, "You talk the same thing."
"I learned it all from the eldest lady."
Liu Tie unbuckled his seat belt and jumped out of the car, then turned around and said again.
"I'll just go. The car is hidden in the woods and it's not easy to find. Just wait in the driver's seat and you can drive away at any time."
…
After he left, Xie Jianye was silent for a long time. He patted the rudder and wanted to get out of the car, but his cell phone rang. He opened it and saw it was a call from his daughter.
Starting from the afternoon, Xie Yuzhi called him three times in succession. Compared with the usual alienation of not contacting him once for ten days and a half, he should have been happy for this, but his daughter was on the phone. What he said was a bit incomprehensible to him - or rather, it was difficult for his pride as a father and elder to accept it.
"What do you mean by 'it's too dangerous, don't join in the fun, wait for me to come'. This little girl is really rude in what she says. Am I your father or are you..."
He sighed and finally got through.
"Well, I'm already here. Okay, okay, I'll listen to you and wait nearby. Is that okay?"
(End of chapter)
