Non-tourist guide

Although they weren't wearing uniforms or carrying standard equipment, the three security team members clearly took their work to heart and were prepared to strictly fulfill their duties. As the saying goes, appearance reflects the heart, and the three of them alone gave Cheng Xiangwu the same stubborn presence as the roadblocks.

The wind and sand obscured the sky, and the world beneath it was gray and gloomy.

Diana, who was closest to the three men, naturally wouldn't listen. She gripped the camera strap tightly, took a step back, and tried to create a friendly atmosphere with a smile, saying in a gentle tone, "I was just trying to promote the positive effects of the environmental protection project for my boss. If all the evidence is taken, how am I supposed to write an article? What about my conscience as a freelance journalist?"

As a law enforcement officer, Xie Wuchang's professional instincts kicked in when he saw the three of them.

The man in the cloth shirt remained silent, then nodded slightly. The tattooed man quickly stepped forward and reached for the camera, but Xie Wuchang stepped forward to block the photographer, frowning as he said, "There shouldn't be any confidentiality requirements for non-private construction site environmental protection projects. It's legal for her to take these photos."

"Legal?" The tattooed man was taken aback by this question, then scoffed, "Where is the law? Here, anything that doesn't comply with our regulations is unacceptable."

"...Is it also your regulations that allow you to carry guns?" Xie Wuchang asked, his brows furrowed.

"What's it to you? Do you think you're a tourist wearing sunglasses?" The tattooed woman waved impatiently to move aside the person blocking her way, but her arm was blocked, hindering her work. The man's expression and manners instantly turned sour, and he continued to hurl insults and shove her several times. Xie Wuchang's fists gradually tightened as she maintained her composure.

Xiao Fu sighed impatiently and glanced at Cheng Xiangwu.

The stalemate continued. The man in shorts clicked his tongue, took two steps forward, looked at the man in cloth shirt, and when the man nodded, he reached for his lower back.

Then I found nothing.

The man had been carrying an old-fashioned Mauser pistol on his belt at the back of his pants, but now it was lying in Cheng Xiangwu's hand. She looked at the old thing in her hand, which was older than her, and spread her five fingers. As expected, she saw that the pads of her fingers, which had touched the barrel, were shiny with oil. It seemed that this man's jamming rate was no more than 20%.

"You—" The man in shorts was startled by the shadow behind him and took a step back, almost stepping on the man in cloth shirt's foot.

“…That gun.” Xie Wuchang also saw it. While she was still in a standoff with another person, she couldn’t help but show a look of joy on her face. “Can I take it back later?”

Cheng Xiangwu looked at her hands with a troubled expression; her fingerprints were now on them.

"What are you thinking?!" The tattooed man swung his arm, ready to strike.

Xie Wuchang grabbed the arm that was thrusting at her, pulled and twisted it, and then kicked upwards with her knee, subduing the dangerous assailant to the ground with standard police self-defense techniques. She pressed one knee against the assailant and reflexively touched her lower back before realizing that she wasn't wearing handcuffs or a police officer today, so she withdrew her hand and adjusted her sunglasses.

"...A cop?" the tattooed man said incredulously, still lying down. "How did you get in?!"

On the other side, the man in the cloth shirt waved away the man in the shorts with a grim expression, drew a long metal rod from his waist, swung it in a circle and gripped it tightly in his hand, staring at Cheng Xiangwu who was still holding a gun, and said, "Make your move."

Cheng Xiangwu, who was still holding a gun, didn't know whether this person was asking her to shoot or asking someone else to do it. She dodged the long stick that was thrust at her, and when it changed into a downward slash, she kicked the stick in half with her leg.

Half a steel pipe clattered and rolled to the ground. Cheng Xiangwu kicked his legs while holding the gun in his hand and found that the hostility around him had disappeared.

“Now this is indeed a trophy.” Xiao Fu said, taking out an evidence bag similar to Han Lingfeng’s and walking forward. Ignoring the person who was still glaring at the person with half a stick in his hand and the person who was pressed against the wall, he walked to Cheng Xiangwu’s side, took out his phone and took a picture of his actions, put the evidence into the bag and sealed it for preservation, and took out a wet wipe and covered the palm of the person who was still open to the sky.

Cheng Xiangwu began to carefully wipe her hands.

"...What do you want?" the man in the cloth shirt asked, dropping the broken steel pipe in his hand. His expression was now quite unpleasant.

Xie Wuchang happily accepted the evidence bag and thanked Bai Yunxian, then pursed his lips and looked at her.

"All done?" Bai Yunxian, like the leader of a group, put one hand on her hip and looked around before speaking to the man, "We came to take a look and ask a few questions. Now that you know you couldn't stop us, do you have anything to explain beforehand?"

"Are you really the boss's son?" the tattooed man, still lying on the ground, asked in surprise. "You know you're—"

"Who gives you the right to question me?" Bai Yunxian asked Xiao Fu without turning her head, "Do you have any clues?"

“The security team is indeed only responsible for security,” Xiao Fu said. “Those who know the specific details of the incident need to contact relevant people in more relevant areas.”

“…I still have to go find her.” Bai Yunxian frowned and gestured with her chin toward the man in the cloth shirt. “Lead the way, let’s go find your captain.”

"Hurry up and lead the way for our young lady!" Diana urged.

Xie Wuchang pulled the person on the ground up and clapped the paper in his hands.

The closer they got to those blue-roofed factory buildings, the more footprints they saw, indicating they were nearing areas of human activity.

"There's no road connecting this place to the outside. How do you all get in and out?" Xie Wuchang asked.

"Why do you think I'd answer the cop's questions?" the tattooed man said, clutching his stomach. "Especially since he's the cop who just beat me up."

“I hit you in self-defense; you struck first,” Xie Wuchang said patiently. “I’m not a police officer from the local police station, and I’m not on duty today. I’m asking you these questions mainly because I’m curious. Answer if you want. Anyway, we’re going to see your captain later. If you’re willing to answer now, we’ll ask fewer questions later, your captain’s mood will be less bad, and you’ll be less likely to get beaten up.”

"Uh." The man in shorts turned around and looked at the man in the cloth shirt. "I wonder what these people are here for. What should we do?"

“…I don’t know,” the man in the cloth shirt said.

"We already said we're here for publicity," Diana said earnestly. "Paying for our own travel expenses and even giving it away for free, wow, what a conscientious media outlet!"

Xie Wuchang covered his mouth, then realized he was wearing a mask and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then can you give me back my gun?" the man in shorts asked, reaching out his hand.

“…I can use this, but the key is the location where the evidence itself was found. I can remove any personal traces from it.” Xie Wuchang thought for a moment and said, “I see you’re basically no different from unregistered residents, right?”

"Hey, you can't say that." The tattooed man pouted. "I went to junior high school, although it was in another city."

“Most of the people here used to be from out of town,” Diana nodded. “It’s still the same now. Even with such a strict census, what’s the point of doing this?”

"What do you mean by 'meaningless'?" the tattooed man asked, puzzled. "You get money, a place to live, and cigarettes to smoke, except you can't go home, uh."

“That’s pretty much the same treatment as people with unknown identities…” Xie Wuchang said, frowning.

"Because families react slower when someone from out of town goes missing, understand?" the man in shorts chuckled, then pulled a cigarette out of his shorts, flicked the lighter, and lit it. "From the time someone goes missing until they are found, people from out of town have to buy train tickets, which takes a week. What happens to the body a week later is not up to us."

"Hey, you can say that?" The tattooed man nudged the man in shorts' arm with the pine tree on his arm.

"What's done is done." The man in shorts glanced at Bai Yunxian out of the corner of his eye through the smoke. "So what if I said it?"

“…We’re just doing this for money, we don’t know much,” the man in the cloth shirt said. “Don’t remember our names. You can ask, but we won’t answer detailed questions.”

"Alright then." Bai Yunxian nodded. "This area is all abandoned mine now. Does an ecological reserve need you to watch over it like this?"

"You'll have to see for yourself when you get there," the man in the cloth shirt said, shaking his head.

"...So this place is still being mined?" Bai Yunxian adjusted her glasses. "That project—"

She didn't continue speaking.

"When did you all arrive?" Xie Wuchang asked, picking up the conversation.

"About six months ago, around the time after the Lunar New Year," the tattooed man said uncertainly. "Everyone was like that. The people who operated the machines arrived a little later, and the houses were pretty much the same."

“I came early, right after the Lunar New Year. There was no electricity here at first, so we just set up tents,” the man in shorts said. “But the team leader was here from the beginning, with the boss.”

As they spoke, the football field-sized plaza enclosed by green wire mesh could be vaguely seen in the distance.

“That area was used to store stones,” Diana said. “But that barbed wire wasn’t there before; it was newly built?”

“No, it was already there when I arrived.” The man in shorts shook his head. “They said it was a guardrail, but beyond that is the mining area. Only the people operating the machines can go in.”

"Whose fence has been drawn up in a circle?" Diana wondered.

"I don't know, none of us have been inside, but I looked, there's nothing inside except stones." The tattooed man scratched his head. "Maybe they're some expensive stones."

“The coating material is even more expensive,” Bai Yunxian said.

"...Oh, I see." The tattooed man looked puzzled.

"But as a security team, your job can't just be preventing thieves, can it?" Xie Wuchang asked. "The roads here are all blocked off, and there's nothing valuable. Are there many people like us?"

"Hehe!" The tattooed man laughed. "No, it was just the boss and her entourage who came by helicopter. Apart from the first two months when they had to move things, there isn't much work now, but who would complain about not having enough work?"

"...I hope you can live a little longer," Xie Wuchang sighed.

"What do you mean?!" the tattooed man exclaimed in dissatisfaction.

"There aren't many security personnel; their main job is patrolling," the man in the cloth shirt said. "Occasionally, crazy people will run into the mining area without regard for the consequences."

"...A madman?" Xie Wuchang was taken aback.

"I don't know how we found this place, I don't know how we got here, but it's here." The man in shorts took a deep drag of nicotine. "They run in like madmen, they don't even flinch when they're shot, they just faint when they're caught, it's terrifying, and—"

"And?" Diana pressed.

"And it's contagious," the man in the cloth shirt said. "At first, almost every day someone would go crazy. The boss would take them away and then replace them. Later, they gradually returned to normal, but we still have to be vigilant."

"...Have you investigated the cause?" Xie Wuchang asked.

“Ask the captain.” The man in the cloth shirt shook his head.

Stepping onto the uneven, irregular, and unclean stone steps, which were wide and narrow, the group entered the factory area. A faint, unidentified noise rose from the surroundings, and the road surface became smoother underfoot.

More visual sources here than people are cameras.

"That's about it," said the man in shorts. "Let's find you a place to sit and wait. Have you had lunch?"

"Where is your Captain Xue?" Bai Yunxian asked, frowning.

"...The captain should be taking a nap; she had some drinks at noon," the man in the cloth shirt said.

The blue-roofed buildings are more like sturdier tents than factories. Upon closer inspection, the walls are covered in dust, and the entrance is haphazardly paved with red and green bricks with a sink nearby. A quick look inside reveals that the walls of these buildings are made of rather thin synthetic wood panels, with uniform frames and random placement. They are a prime example of sacrificing everything else for speed and practicality.

Looking down, one could see grass sprouting from the cracks in the wooden wall, having taken root here before the factory buildings.

The building where the group settled was a canteen that also served as a staff break room. There were people and food available, but not many people. The groups were clearly divided into those doing physical labor and those doing mental labor. Some were eating, while others were playing cards with their legs crossed. Judging from the number of seats, there weren't many people eating. The cook and the cafeteria lady were the same person. The kitchen wasn't big, but the food refrigeration room was a separate room.

The three men who led the way brought the people here and ran off. None of them dared to wake Captain Xue up. As expected, the group became the center of attention as soon as they entered the room.

"Logically, most people on the construction site should be here by now," Xie Wuchang said. "If you want to ask anything, you should do it during the lunch break."

"What could these people possibly know? Today's menu?" Bai Yunxian said impatiently. "We don't have much time. Here's what I'll do: I'll go and try to wake them up."

"Hey, wait!" Xie Wuchang quickly advised, "There must be someone who knows something. If she wakes up, we'll really have no chance. Ms. Bai, please sit down. Would you like some tea? There's watermelon over there. Would you like some? I'll get it for you."

“…Alright.” Bai Yunxian glanced at the civil servant, went to the corner, grabbed a piece of paper, wiped the chair, and sat down. “Go and ask what time the lunch break ends.”

"Leave it to me, Miss!" Diana said as she ran inside. Then she turned back and pulled Cheng Xiangwu, who had also torn off a piece of paper to wipe the chair, and said earnestly, "We have a mission. You can't just sit here and wait to die."

“Yes.” Little Fer put his suitcase down next to the chair and sat down. “Please bring me some food and a teacup.”

“Go by yourself,” Cheng Xiangwu said. “I have a mission.”

Little Fu stood up in dissatisfaction.

"Why are you in the same industry as her?" Bai Yunxian asked, puzzled. "Do you work at a media company?"

“Hmm…” Cheng Xiangwu changed his words under Bai Yunxian’s gaze, “More or less, I guess I’m a frontline worker.”

“So-called informants,” Little Franz nodded.

Compared to the security team whose entry and exit times are unpredictable, the canteen chefs should obviously know more. It was already past the kitchen's working hours, and meals were self-service. The canteen chef, who had shaved her head and was wearing a vest, was adding freshly cooked soup to the thermos. She wasn't wearing a hat, but no one was worried about her eating hair.

Today's main dish is knife-cut noodles, with both spicy and non-spicy braised dishes. The stir-fried water spinach is uniformly served with fermented bean curd. It is also accompanied by mushroom and egg drop soup and various pickled vegetables. The watermelon is cut into triangles.

The dining area was filled with the sounds of snoring, creating a lively atmosphere.

"People from outside? That's rare." The cafeteria worker greeted him warmly, putting his gloves aside. "It's lunchtime. Have you eaten yet? If not, just grab something to eat. We don't have much else here, but I kneaded this dough really well today."

Xiao Fu wandered around but couldn't find any ceramic cups, so he took a few small bowls instead.

"Thank you for your hard work, Master!" Diana waved the camera in her hand. "We came from outside to check on the progress of the environmental protection project. We heard that the person in charge here is taking a nap now, so we wanted to ask you first. Your skills look quite good. You must have been working here for a long time, right?"

"Indeed, I've always been the only one cooking in this cafeteria." The cafeteria chef smiled proudly. "Cooking was really difficult six months ago when the cafeteria wasn't built yet, but it didn't stump me."

“I heard there was no fire or electricity back then!” Diana said admiringly, then earnestly. “Under those circumstances, you were asked to cook. Boss Bai must have had a lot of trust in your cooking skills, like a partner during the pioneering days. I don’t think anyone else can answer our questions but you. Could you please talk to us?”

"Hehe." The cafeteria worker scratched his bald head. "Alright, let's sit down and talk, but I don't know much about that environmental protection project either."

Xiao Fu took out a tea canister from his suitcase and brewed tea in a bowl.

The canteen cook's name was Shi Feifei. During her brief conversation with Diana, she casually revealed her background. She lived in a rural area outside the mining area and was originally a kitchen helper at a fast food restaurant in a town outside the mining area. When she heard that a construction site was hiring cooks, she made a phone call and was successfully hired after a simple interview. Before she knew it, she had already packed her bags and boarded a helicopter.

"That was my first time riding in a helicopter," Shi Feifei said with an embarrassed smile. "The sound was really scary, but it was also quite fun. However, it was really scary when I arrived and found out there was no water or electricity. I thought I was going to lose the job I had finally found."

"...We should be afraid that this is human trafficking." Xie Wuchang said, crossing his arms. "In any case, looking back now, they were in a great hurry to recruit people at the time."

“I think so. And at first, there was no electricity, but everything else was fine. But when I thought of cooking over a fire, Captain Xue wouldn’t let me start a fire.” Shi Feifei said seriously, gesturing as he turned the gas valve. “Then some induction cookers were brought over. Wow, they were really hard to use. It took half a day to boil water, let alone stir-fry or cook rice. For the first few days, we ate steamed buns for a long time.”

"...Did this person mention why fires are prohibited?" Little F asked thoughtfully. "Tobacco is a common plant here."

"They say that the ecological zone is very afraid of fire, but I don't really understand." Shi Feifei pointed to the kitchen area. "Actually, we're using electric stoves now, so it's not like we can't use them at all. We can use a small flame, but we're not allowed to smoke near the wire mesh."

“So that’s the ‘ecological reserve,’ I see.” Diana nodded. “Do you know what changes have occurred in that area in the past six months?”

“…I really don’t know.” Shi Feifei thought for a long time before saying, “I don’t even know who is protecting what in that protected area. Apart from those operating the machines, we rarely go near there.”

"Is it because Captain Xue wouldn't allow it?" Diana asked.

"Actually, the boss doesn't allow it, but we usually don't go there. The road is difficult to walk, and I think there's something... well, weird about that place." Shi Feifei touched his strong arms. "If you stay near there for too long, you'll feel dizzy and nauseous. Those who operate the machines have to wear special equipment to work, and the security team doesn't go there either."

“…I feel dizzy and nauseous.” Cheng Xiangwu remembered Han Lingfeng saying that his police dog got seasick, and figured it must be the same symptoms.

"But according to this statement, there was no water or electricity here before you came, so naturally no one was doing any 'ecological protection'. How long did this period of inactivity last?" Bai Yunxian asked, frowning.

"I really don't know," Shi Feifei said helplessly.

“Speaking of the strange things,” Diana said, “the security team members who brought us here said that crazy people used to sometimes come here.”

"...Yes, that's true." Shi Feifei said hesitantly, seemingly reluctant to discuss the topic. "There were quite a few at first..."

"Do you have any guesses about this matter?" Xie Wuchang encouraged.

"...Actually, our tent wasn't originally here, it was near that barbed wire fence." Shi Feifei looked uncomfortable. "We didn't sleep well for those few days. It was noisy as soon as we went to sleep, but we couldn't hear anything when we woke up. It was really weird. I think that's why so many mentally ill people would run in there in the middle of the night. Uh, I can't really say..."

She quickly changed the subject, stood up and said, "That's all I know. Oh, I have to go back now. You guys rest."

After saying that, she left, taking with her a small bowl for brewing tea.

“If there was no one here at all six months ago,” Bai Yunxian frowned, “then mining and ecological protection would have been nothing but empty talk. Six months ago, this was just a wasteland, no one was watching over it, but it was occupied and outsiders weren’t allowed to come in.”

"As for the time frame, it should start from thirteen years ago." Cheng Xiangwu propped his head up and thought for a moment. "After that, the things that were originally trapped here were taken away by the union, and there was no point in continuing the work here."

The details of what happened here thirteen years ago still need to be revealed by those in the know.

“At least there had been some environmental protection projects before that,” Diana said thoughtfully. “Why choose that particular place? It used to be just a large flat area where stones were piled up and waiting to be transported away.”

"Doing ecological protection in developed mining areas sounds like putting a face mask on a corpse," Xiao Fu commented. "It's more like conducting an experiment than environmental protection. I'm quite curious about the purpose of this experiment. Ms. Bai Langtao doesn't seem like the kind of person who would donate money for the sake of love and peace slogans, right?"

“…Let’s go take a look at the barbed wire fence,” Bai Yunxian said, standing up. “Let’s see how the ecology is there now.”

"I have a very bad feeling," Xie Wuchang said, his brows furrowing so deeply that they pressed down on his eyelids.

"Are you still going?" Bai Yunxian asked.

"...Go." Xie Wuchang forced a smile. "Of course I'll go. Shall I carry the suitcase for you?"

"No need," Bai Yunxian said.

The destination was quite clearly located, but the roadblocks were indeed present.

“We should bring that, the special equipment,” Diana said tactfully. “It sounds like there would be some pretty bad consequences if we didn’t.”

“Besides the experience, there’s a more obvious problem,” Little Fer pointed to the barbed wire fence, “How do we get in?”

From a distance, it looked like a green fishing net, but now that they were closer to it, they realized that they weren't much different in size from the fish. The net was nearly twenty meters high, with a thick layer of tire walls inside to block the wind and obstruct the view. They could peek through the gaps, but not much.

Next to the green net area is a rather perfunctory greening, specifically a few trees and a patch of grass, lacking wildness and with an incomplete ecosystem.

"...Just a quick glance shouldn't have much of an impact." Bai Yunxian looked at the wall thoughtfully, then turned and asked, "Cheng Xiangwu, can you climb up there?"

The person who was called squinted and looked at it. Even with the tire wall as support, the green net was swaying slightly in mid-air, much lighter than the materials used in ordinary courts.

"Yes," she said, "but you can't bring people with you; the net is too thin."

“…I admire you so much as a colleague.” Diana clutched her clothes and said, “Could you take my camera up there, record a video, and bring it back?”

"Alright then." Cheng Xiang nodded.

"Let's find a spot where the cameras can't see us," Xie Wuchang said, glancing back. "Lunch break is almost over."

After walking around the barbed wire fence for five minutes, the group bypassed the factory building and entered the artificial green belt. Xie Wuchang and Xiao Fu stood guard outside, while Diana stayed in place to provide backup. Bai Yunxian went deeper into the area to look for other clues.

Cheng Xiangwu climbed up the wire mesh. Every time the wire mesh swayed, she felt a floating sensation similar to that of an airplane during turbulence. There was a strange smell on the mesh, but luckily she was wearing gloves.

As the guide had glimpsed earlier, the only things parked inside the barbed wire and tire walls were homeless, rough stones, irregularly shaped and naturally recognizable, as if they could be immediately returned to nature if thrown back into the ravine. Most of them were tied with ropes; they might have better places and uses, but perhaps because they were harmful to the environment, they could only be left here for now.

After scanning the area from above with her camera, Cheng Xiangwu landed on the ground, leaning against the tire wall. From this angle, the stones looked even more unfamiliar. They stood there solemnly, some large, some small, some with patterns, some with cracks, and perhaps they all had their own names, but Cheng Xiangwu didn't recognize any of them. She tugged at the ropes binding the stones; they were just ordinary hemp ropes, but quite sturdy.

There were drag marks on the ground. Following the marks, she saw more stones that hadn't been tied up yet. Some of them looked even stranger, and some were still damp with moisture, so they were quite fresh.

Near the center of the quarry, there is a slightly open area with gray gravel covering the sunken ground in the middle.

As she looked around, the scene before her seemed vaguely familiar. She walked a little to the outer edge, then stopped and turned her head, realizing that this open area was remarkably similar to the stone courtyard where she had spoken with Bai Langtao at the Bai residence. Whether this similarity was intentional or unintentional, she wondered if the architect, Dong Yilin, knew quite a bit about it.

At the end of the drag marks was a conveyor belt, which connected to an iron gate with a padlock. It was noisy outside the gate, so Cheng Xiangwu decided to turn back first.

Although there was no "ghost wall" scenario in Shilin Cuozong, she still couldn't find her way back, so she walked towards the wall, climbed over it, and went outside first.

Just as she touched the tire, voices nearby stopped her in time.

"...Do you know?" The tense voice sounded somewhat familiar, and Cheng Xiangwu moved even closer.

"Hey, hey." This was an unfamiliar voice, an older voice, its leisurely tone infuriating. "You were so cute when you were little, how did you turn out like this?"

Cheng Xiangwu peeked out through the gap in the tire and saw that the person with her back to her was Bai Yunxian, but her back also blocked another person from view. It seemed that this person had encountered someone who looked like a patrol while walking around. Cheng Xiangwu took two steps back, not wanting to let her, who was climbing over the wall, be discovered as well.

"...Where are those two people you were watching from over there?" Bai Yunxian asked.

"Oh, don't worry, I certainly won't touch the police." The man chuckled twice as if he remembered an amusing sound. "After all, if the number of people returning decreases too much, it will be harder to fool the other side."

Cheng Xiangwu stopped in her tracks.

"Where is that foreigner?" Bai Yunxian's voice betrayed her anxiety.

"Hmm... he should be dead. It's all her fault for pointing a gun at me." The man sighed slowly, then smiled and said, "It's alright, leave it to me. Just tell me where you're hiding that reporter."

Wow, Cheng Xiangwu was startled by this sudden news.

“…I won’t tell you.” Bai Yunxian took a step back, her tone cold yet tinged with panic. “You caught me just to do this? Why don’t you just kill me too?”

"Hey, you can't say that," the man said earnestly. "But you really shouldn't have come here. You've heard what happened here, and you must be feeling bad, right?"

“Absolutely not,” Bai Yunxian said indifferently.

“…Go back, Xianxian.” The man chuckled and said in a coaxing tone, as if speaking to a child, “I won’t tell your mother, but I’ll just give that little policeman a heads-up, and we’ll pretend you were never here. Go back now?”

"And then?" Bai Yunxian said coldly, "Pretend I was never here, pretend nothing happened, and you just have a meal and then leave?"

"Your mom will be very disappointed in your behavior." Even the casual voice turned somewhat disappointed.

"...Aunt Xue, I only found out my sister had been dead for half a year." Bai Yunxian sneered, "Who cares about that kind of thing anymore?"

"...Sigh." Xue Rong sighed sadly, tapping her curved cane as if muttering to herself, "What should I do..."

She pondered for a moment, then looked with her remaining eye at the dusty sky over the mining area, only to see a giant bird descend from the sky and swoop down towards her.

"Wow..." Xue Rong exclaimed, picking up her cane. "So it turns out that birds really do appear when the forest is big enough."

The cane blocked the downward kick, Xue Rong slightly bent down to dissipate the force, and then took a side step to pull the handle horizontally. The scabbard fell to the ground, and a long sword drew a clear and bright arc from the cane. He grabbed it and pointed it directly at the person who had rolled to the ground.

"Uh!" Bai Yunxian was startled by the person who jumped down, and became tense after recognizing who it was. "You—"

"Are reporters this dedicated these days?" Xue Rong exclaimed. The one-eyed old man, around sixty years old, had a casual smile on his face. He was wearing a long robe with wide sleeves, and his hair was tied up casually. The loose strands of hair partially covered the eye that was not covered by the blindfold and the fine lines below it. Just a moment ago, Cheng Xiangwu smelled alcohol on this man when he got close.

Receiving no reply, Xue Rong tilted her head, swaying as if she were about to lose her balance. Then, with lightning speed, she approached with a knife in one hand. Cheng Xiangwu drew her knife and blocked the bright blade aimed at her neck. There had been quite a few people targeting her neck these past few days.

Or perhaps there were just too many people who wanted her dead? She sighed as she thought this.

The friction sound of the blades colliding was sometimes fast and sometimes slow, like a rhythmic melody. Xue Rong wielded the knife lightly but occasionally with extremely heavy force. Her moves were unpredictable and difficult to decipher. She stared blankly at Cheng Xiangwu's face several times, but her movements did not slow down much.

"Um... where are you from, reporter?" Xue Rong asked slowly, casually deflecting the knife tip aimed at his chest.

"Outside." Cheng Xiangwu said, flipping over and slashing the blade from the other person's blind spot, aiming a horizontal slash at the arm of the knife-wielder.

Although Xue Rong used a knife, she clearly did more than just use a knife. Her several slashing movements showed some similarities to Bai Yuntian's use of a sword, but the teaching order should have been reversed.

"Hahaha!" Xue Rong didn't even look, laughing heartily as she casually pried open the blade with her other hand. "Are all the reporters outside like this? But we don't have any reporters here..."

With the long sword blocked, Cheng Xiangwu twisted it forcefully with his backhand, shattering the blade. Less than half a dagger remained, dangling in mid-air. Xue Rong was stunned for a moment, then raised it to face the brow of the one who had broken the sword.

Half a dagger fell down, revealing the barrel of a gun; it was a cane-sword-gun.

“…I’m speechless.” Bai Yunxian said gruffly, “There’s no signal here and yet this kind of thing can appear.”

In other words, when Cheng Xiangwu stares into the eye of the gun, it's just a miniature version, but when a bullet hits the forehead, the type and capacity of the carrier don't really matter.

"How interesting?" Xue Rong smiled, her eyes fixed on Cheng Xiangwu's face. She waved her hand dismissively, her tone still leisurely. "Come on, put the knife down."

Cheng Xiangwu released his grip, and the two swords fell to the ground.

“…Hmm…” Xue Rong reached out and took off her mask, paused, and then seemed to be thinking, “This face is so familiar…but I don’t read newspapers.”

“The journalist won’t appear in his own work either.” A voice came from behind.

The person who appeared holding the gun was Xiao Fu. Her white shirt had a large red stain on the chest, and her right sleeve was missing halfway down from the elbow, which was covered in red stains. There was also blood on her chin. She looked like she had been through a tough fight, but because of the steady pace and voice, she seemed more like the one who had done the fighting.

"Huh?" Xue Rong asked in confusion, "Is your heart on the other side? And I remember, they cut off your arm..."

"Then remember to dispose of the remains promptly next time," Little Fran said indifferently. Her hand holding the gun was very steady, as were the BB gun, its larger capacity magazine, and its silencer.

Cheng Xiangwu was moved that she remembered to install a silencer.

"...What should we do now..." Xue Rong was confused by the current situation. She looked up at the sky, as if lost in thought.

“At times like these, both sides should take a step back,” Little Franz said.

“…That’s a good way out for you, isn’t it?” Xue Rong murmured to himself, his one eye still fixed on the sky.

Suddenly, a figure rushed out from the corner and pounced on Xue Rong with a clear purpose. The person being pounced on was stunned and did not move or fire, as if she had not come to her senses.

Xie Wuchang hugged Xue Rong, wrapped her arms around her naked body, and used her own weight to press her down to the ground. She kicked away the gun that had fallen to the ground and pressed down with one knee. Then she reached down to her lower back and this time she actually pulled out a pair of handcuffs and handcuffed the person beneath her.

"Hey... I've been arrested." Xue Rong said, showing little resistance, and instead just lay there happily. "My hands are cuffed, so there's nothing I can do now, right?"

Those handcuffs were obviously from Cheng Xiang's five boxes; she had no idea why they would appear here at this time.

"Heh heh." Little Franz smiled mysteriously, put away his gun, took out a wet wipe and started wiping himself. "At least now we can have a proper talk."

"Hey, hey," Xue Rong cried out with a wry smile as he lay on the ground, "My back! Officer, please have mercy, this old man's back is about to break."

Xie Wuchang straightened up, panting. Her forehead was covered in blood, her hands were still trembling, and her sunglasses and mask were nowhere to be found.

Seeing that no one was stopping him, Cheng Xiangwu quickly picked up the knife and put it away.

"Where is Ms. Dai?" Xie Wuchang asked anxiously.

"They've escaped." Bai Yunxian breathed a sigh of relief and pointed to the depths along the barbed wire fence. "Let's go, ask as we go."

Xie Wuchang breathed a sigh of relief, her expression relaxing considerably. She wiped her forehead, reached out and pulled Xue Rong up. The old man who had committed the crime seemed to have been truly arrested and calmed down. Xiao Fu turned around, picked up her suitcase, and the group continued walking towards the mining area.

"What's in there?" Xiao Fu asked Cheng Xiangwu.

“There are only stones.” Cheng Xiangwu said, looking at Bai Yunxian. “It’s very similar to your mother’s courtyard where stones are placed.”

"What do you mean, a courtyard with stones?" Bai Yunxian frowned.

"It's the second floor and up. There's a small path in the middle that you can walk through. The ground there is all stones," Cheng Xiangwu said.

“…That’s not the yard,” Bai Yunxian said, adjusting her glasses. “That’s our family’s helicopter landing pad.”

"...Ms. Bai Langtao's aesthetic preferences are truly intriguing." Xiao Fu took out his pocket watch, glanced at it, and then put it back. "Do you know the more specific uses of those stones?"

“I don’t know, but…” Bai Yunxian pondered for a moment and said, “The uses of stone are nothing more than alchemy, paving and decoration. There are no chemical plants in the city, and this scale is not enough to pave a large area of ​​roads. It can only be used to process into furniture or building materials.”

“But construction projects urgently launched within six months would involve significant activity, and we haven’t heard of any plans to expand the recruitment of construction workers,” Little F said thoughtfully. “Plus…”

"Do you know what it is?" Xie Wuchang asked Xue Rong, frowning.

"Hey... I'm only in charge of security." Xue Rong said unhurriedly, walking slowly like an old man taking a stroll after dinner. "Xianxian, if you're curious, just ask your mom. She'll definitely be happy to answer you."

Bai Yunxian stopped talking and just kept walking forward.

"So you," Xie Wuchang paused, then spoke again, "you had no idea what the consequences of Bai Langtao's actions would be, yet you still helped her kill people?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Rong's expression remained unchanged. She didn't even look at Xie Wuchang, but simply gazed at the sky, casually replying, "Yes, what she's doing has nothing to do with me?"

Xie Wuchang said nothing more. She stared at the old man's back with a complicated expression.

“Hmm…” Xue Rong stepped forward and stared intently at Cheng Xiangwu’s face. Her hands were still cuffed behind her back, but the closeness of her head still made Cheng Xiangwu feel a little troubled, especially since this person’s breath smelled of alcohol. Who knew if she would suddenly vomit on her?

So Cheng Xiangwu quickened his pace.

"Do you know Aunt Xue?" Bai Yunxian asked as she walked beside her.

"Not at all." Cheng Xiangwu truly didn't recognize it.

“…Little sister, smile, like this.” Xue Rong said, leaning closer and laughing heartily as if to demonstrate. Even with her missing eye, her face still seemed approachable, but this was only because her hands were handcuffed.

Cheng Xiangwu quickened her pace, but was stopped by Bai Yunxian.

“Come on, smile,” Bai Yunxian said. “What if your smile is actually quite famous?”

"That's not true," Cheng Xiangwu said, giving a symbolic smile.

"No, that's not right. It should be like a wicked thing harboring bad intentions, insidious and cunning," Xue Rong said, frowning.

"...Take it or leave it." Cheng Xiangwu's smile vanished.

Under Xiao Fu's very dissatisfied gaze, Bai Yunxian placed the toolbox on top of her suitcase and reached out to pull Cheng Xiangwu's face. The direction of her facial muscles was controlled by outsiders, and her owner was powerless to do anything but show a smile to please the intruder.

"Hahaha!" Xue Rong laughed heartily. "Hey, speaking of which, what's your name again?"

"...Are you only asking now?" Xie Wuchang said. "Cheng Xiangwu, do you recognize this name?"

"Hmm...never heard of it." Xue Rong pondered, deep in thought, gazing at the sky. "Cheng Xiang Wu...Cheng...ah."

She stared at Cheng Xiangwu in disbelief, her drunkenness and nonchalance vanishing in an instant. "You're that madman Cheng Song's child?!"

“...My mother is in good mental health,” Cheng Xiangwu said.

"How come she even has a child?!" Xue Rong panicked, like someone who had just graduated years ago and was at a class reunion only to find that all her peers were married and had children, doubting herself and the world around her. "She seems to be married... Yes, that's right. Hey, Xiao Cheng, who's your dad?"

“…Du Ke,” Cheng Xiangwu replied.

"Wow—" Xue Rong winked and whistled teasingly.

Cheng Xiangwu ignored the smile on that face and asked, "You recognize them?"

"Of course." Xue Rong nodded slowly, somewhat proudly, "I've been working on this construction site for over thirty years, until thirteen years ago. What don't I know about what's going on here?"

The third step was to make a discovery.