nosy

Although everyone was eager to get their hands on Xue Rong's brain, she had something else that interested her more.

"Hey, I heard that Cheng Song went to be a chef later, is that true?" Xue Rong tried to get closer to Cheng Xiangwu in a caring manner, but her hands were cuffed, and this action only made her look like a troublemaker.

"You don't even know this?" Cheng Xiangwu tried to move away from her, but Xue Rong put her chin on her shoulder, so close it was frightening. Anyone who didn't know better would think they were close relatives who could confide in each other.

Xie Wuchang, walking behind her, clearly remembered the man pointing a gun at someone's head earlier, and his expression was quite amusing.

"Back then, I might not even leave the mountain once a month," Xue Rong sighed pitifully, then asked with a genuine smile, "Hey, little Cheng, do you like Daddy or Mommy more?"

After these words were spoken, only the sounds of breathing and footsteps remained at the scene.

Cheng Xiangwu shrugged off the man and refused to answer the question.

"Since you were here thirteen years ago, you should know what happened here back then," Xie Wuchang asked, grabbing Xue Rong's arm. "Was there any connection between the fire at Ms. Cheng's house then and that?"

“Thirteen years ago…it sounds like something that happened in a past life.” Xue Rong, not getting an answer, replied listlessly, “Thirteen years ago, thirteen years ago, ah!”

"You remember now?" Xie Wuchang asked expectantly.

"That was when we were moving. Oh, I forgot to take so much wine with me. What a pity," Xue Rong said regretfully.

"...Please explain the reason for the move, thank you," Xie Wuchang said with a frown.

"The reason... let me think about it." Xue Rong pondered.

Thirteen years ago, Xue Rong moved because the construction site completely shut down. With no work to do, there was no reason for her to stay in this godforsaken place. For the next thirteen years, she didn't go back to her hometown to relax. Instead, she spent the retirement pension that Boss Bai gave her and lived a life of waiting to die, raising flowers and playing with birds in the suburbs of Senhu City, until her boss called her back to work half a year ago.

Thirty years ago, Bai Bai Co., Ltd.'s mining operations here were halted due to an accident. The ecological protection project carried out afterward targeted the cave and the surface, mainly the affected area in the mine collapse incident thirty years ago, specifically a natural underground cave that cracked due to vibration in the mine, and the area around the mine, specifically the quarry surrounded by green barbed wire.

The mining operation has indeed stopped, but the work of clearing the stone from the cave is still ongoing, and there are still miners working there, but their numbers have decreased sharply. On the contrary, the number of security personnel has increased significantly.

"So, they're still quarrying stone here, just not digging anymore, and you're being more careful and stricter with your personnel," Xie Wuchang summarized.

"That's it, little police officer." Xue Rong nodded.

"Then why did it suddenly stop?" Xie Wuchang asked, puzzled. "Just because the mining rights expired?"

"Does mining require permission?" Xue Rong was even more puzzled. "Picking flowers and fruits, mining—Does Boss Bai have to ask the mountains for permission to mine? Ah, she's a bit superstitious..."

“…Because the mine is state-owned,” Xie Wuchang replied reluctantly.

"Alright, alright, whatever you say goes, little policeman." Xue Rong didn't care too much about the answer. The wrinkles under his eyes flowed slightly towards the sky. "I don't know what they were mining. Thirteen years ago, this site was shut down because of a riot at that quarry."

It was a raging fire, but years later, even the scars left by the fire have become part of the landscape's decoration.

“That day, I thought that place was too quiet. When I rushed over, I saw more than a dozen people holding hands and standing in a circle in the middle. They didn’t say a word, and then suddenly they all caught fire.” Xue Rong muttered to herself, “That place originally had a wall made of other things around it, but that day it was all burned to the ground and now it’s been replaced by tires.”

“Other things,” Xiao Fu turned and asked, “wax made by Ms. Cheng Song?”

"You're a foreigner, yet you seem to know quite a lot." Xue Rong leaned closer to Xiao Fu with interest, forcing Xie Wuchang to quicken his pace. "Blue-eyed weirdo, where are you from? How did you get involved?"

“Naturally, it’s to find the truth,” Little F said matter-of-factly. “That quarry was surrounded by a special wax material for a long time. You would periodically put one or two human corpses in there, and when you checked again, only the bodies were left, not the heads. Am I right?”

Upon hearing this, Xue Rong's smile softened slightly. "...If you guys find out about this, the boss will have a real headache. Would you mind telling me who told you?"

“Of course it’s me,” Little F said proudly. “I advocate independent thinking.”

"Hmm...?" Xue Rong was somewhat puzzled.

"Aunt Xue, please tell us," Bai Yunxian said, emphasizing her words. "We came here for these reasons, and we didn't know we wouldn't leave."

“…Sigh.” Xue Rong sighed sadly.

“Those who self-immolated must have been union members. What happened next?” Xie Wuchang pressed.

“A union? I think there is such a thing…” Xue Rong pondered, but seemingly without getting an answer, she simply stopped thinking about it and started anew, “Later, everything here fell into chaos.”

The mass self-immolation caused panic among the workers who were already living in a low-pressure environment. Panic is more contagious than mental illness. Under the sense of crisis amplified by the flames, the illegal and unwritten rules that had been suppressing rumors and fears began to dissolve along with the wax walls. Curses and rebukes resonated with the sound of fireworks explosions. Smoke and an eerie burning smell filled the air, and stone chips and blood flew together.

In the sweltering heat, the security team members picked up their guns, but because they didn't know whether they should fire, the guns were taken from them, and they were shot dead instead.

In the heatwave, the miners tried to steal a vehicle to escape, but because there were no lights on the mountain road in the dark, the minibus driver ended up crashing into a ravine.

In the heatwave, technicians wanted to leave messages and communicate with the outside world via satellite, but the communication equipment malfunctioned.

"My only eye is blind too." Xue Rong squinted her remaining eye, it was hard to tell if she was smiling or just blinking. "I was too close to the fire and got burned, and then I got cut by flying glass, so I can't see anymore. But some people say I look cool like this."

"Who is it?" Bai Yunxian asked curiously.

"Tian Tian, ​​your older sister." Xue Rong smiled and tilted her head.

A greater threat came from those who, amidst the sudden chaos, began fighting over human rights. In the dim yet blindingly noisy environment, no one could communicate. This chaos was rapidly exacerbated when a few people suddenly appeared in the crowd, recklessly running towards the center of the fire. For a moment, no one could believe that the people around them were normal.

"Later, several helicopters came to put out the fire," Xue Rong said. "Everyone knew that was useless; the fire was no longer the biggest problem."

She sighed occasionally as she recounted these past events, as if every word brought her pressure, forcing the old woman to maintain her internal pressure balance in this way.

After the fire, the construction site was left with only the finishing touches and the remains of the fire itself. The human remains and the abandoned tools were all included in the remains and were collectively referred to by later generations as "a great fire".

"The problem lies in the escape of the caged creature," Little Fu concluded thoughtfully. "Then the Five Fragrances Pavilion caught fire, the UFO was lured away, burned to the point of being unable to move, and was subsequently hidden and enshrined by the union members. This is the result of the incident thirteen years ago."

As she spoke, she corrected herself, "But if the two environments are similar, the quarry fire should have also caused harm to those trapped inside. Rather, the online paint itself was set up to threaten those people... I see."

Having concluded her thoughts, she looked at Cheng Xiangwu and smiled strangely, "You're the scapegoat I've chosen."

"...You're saying those people want to blame all the injuries that thing sustained on her?" Bai Yunxian reacted first, adjusting her glasses, her eyebrows furrowed in anger. "Isn't that a pretty good excuse..."

"Don't think too much about it," Cheng Xiangwu waved her hand and said. She herself didn't have any particular thoughts on it. "It doesn't matter what they thought or did before, as long as it's resolved."

“…You’re fine the way you are.” Bai Yunxian sighed.

“Indeed, one must always look forward.” Xie Wuchang nodded in agreement. “Ms. Cheng’s attitude is commendable.”

“I don’t approve of this,” Little Franz said, dissatisfied. “Behavior is one thing, thought is another. What you’re doing is no different from cleaning.”

"Isn't it bad to overthink things? Those guys do strange things precisely because they've pondered too many incomprehensible ideas?" Xue Rong said, turning his head to the side.

Four to one, Xiao Fu clicked her tongue, pulled her suitcase and walked quickly forward, trying to make it seem like someone was chasing her.

"But why did those people self-immolate in the first place?" Xie Wuchang asked, then realized the question was pointless and said, "Fine, never mind."

"Why didn't you ask?" Xue Rong turned her head and asked curiously, "Do you know the reason?"

“…I don’t know,” Xie Wuchang said, “but I know they’re a bunch of lunatics.”

"That just means I don't know," Xue Rong said, swaying her shoulders.

During the conversation, the group found themselves far from the quarry area, following the tracks left by the conveyor belt and wheels. The bumpy, undulating mountain road was quite difficult to traverse, but at least there was a path.

"I remember that union you mentioned. I used to have a lot of my friends there," Xue Rong said, turning her head. "However, I haven't been in touch with them since I retired thirteen years ago. How are they doing now?"

"...They..." Xie Wuchang didn't know how to answer this question.

“Given that level of practical martyrdom, the first few would probably be questioning their faith if they hadn’t been saved by now,” Little F said. “So your friends are unlikely to contact you anymore.”

“…I see.” Xue Rong said listlessly.

At the foot of the mountain not far away, next to a machine, Diana was taking pictures of the mountain scenery with her camera. She turned her head and saw a few people, waving as she ran up to join them.

"You're quick," Xue Rong joked. "Do reporters these days also rely on physical fitness for their jobs?"

“The entry standards have been lowered quite a bit now, but physical fitness is always a plus.” Diana felt much more at ease seeing the man handcuffed and could joke again. “I haven’t seen a single miner along the way. Has this construction site become completely automated?”

"I think so? But no one goes down now, the machines are pulling things out," Xue Rong said uncertainly.

“Well, automation replacing manual labor is also one of the arguments,” Diana nodded.

"Automation is far more expensive than manual labor, mainly for the sake of secrecy," Bai Yunxian said.

“That’s hard to say.” Little F shook her head, approaching the mine shaft. She seemed to be in a good mood. “There are things that humans can’t do.”

"...You really like construction sites that much?" Diana asked, puzzled.

“After all, it was a tourist attraction I booked in advance,” Xiao Fu nodded. “Moreover, it’s quite meaningful and valuable.”

The suitcase she was pulling bounced along with its owner's steps, and she stumbled forward.

"...In short, if the reason for not hiring miners was to prevent accidents, then why did you restart operations six months ago?" Bai Yunxian asked, adjusting her glasses. "And why did you have to be brought back? What is the purpose of starting operations here? Is it something to be ashamed of?"

"Did you all come here just to find out what the boss is planning?" Xue Rong asked.

“...It was also to stop her,” Bai Yunxian said.

“Xianxian, you don’t even know why she did this. She’ll be heartbroken,” Xue Rong sighed.

Bai Yunxian did not answer.

“But at least we can be certain that Ms. Bai Langtao’s reason for restarting this project six months ago was indeed related to the ultimate goal of the ‘ecological environmental protection project’,” Xiao Fu said. “Let me guess, was her original goal to resurrect her sister?”

Xue Rong blinked.

"And the purpose of restarting the project six months ago was to revive Bai Yuntian, right?" Xiao Fu said confidently. "You knew about it, and you were willing to help, precisely because you witnessed her past—"

"This is all Cheng Song's fault," Xue Rong said with a smile.

"...What's wrong with her?" Cheng Xiang asked five times.

With the altitude no lower than it could go, the group found themselves in a safety zone in front of the mine. In the distance, behind the iron gate extending inward from the tracked vehicles lay the tunnel entrance to the mine, a dark and unpredictable place where no one should enter.

Beside the iron gate were several large pieces of machinery whose structure and function were unclear, as well as a transport vehicle. None of them were working; they were just standing there motionless.

Xue Rong suddenly smiled brightly, as if seeing an old friend. She took a few quick steps, kicked open one of the doors in the building, the lock shattered, and the door trembled as it hit a pre-prepared stool. There was no one inside, but some old things: a stretcher, a hospital bed, a metal cabinet, a dusty folding stool, and an empty office desk with a broken corner of its glass. This used to be a medical station.

"This is Cheng Song's office." Xue Rong turned to the group and gestured with her chin. "This is relatively safe. Have a seat."

The space, which hadn't been cleaned for quite some time, was clearly unsuitable for anyone to sit in. Xue Rong and her pants didn't seem to mind; she simply blew on the chair and sat down. Xie Wuchang wiped the chair clean and sat down next to her. Bai Yunxian took some disinfectant spray from her toolbox, swept it around a few times, and then sat down as well. Diana patrolled the area taking photos, while Xiao Fu put on gloves and went to open the metal cabinet door.

"What's wrong with her?" Cheng Xiangwu asked, sitting on the hospital bed.

“There used to be at least one dead person lying on that hospital bed every day,” Xue Rong said in a low voice, jokingly as if scaring a child.

“Dead.” Cheng Xiang nodded. “I asked Cheng Song. I heard Bai Langtao talk about what happened thirty years ago, but she didn’t go into details, like she was telling a fairy tale. What happened to my mother?”

“…Hmph, a fairy tale.” Xue Rong laughed. “When I was young, I heard there were many extraordinary people here, so I came to see for myself. There were indeed many extraordinary people, but there were even more corpses.”

"You came all the way to the construction site?" Bai Yunxian turned around and asked.

"Of course, your family wasn't as big back then, and your boss wasn't as generous. But Tian Tian was so cute when he was little, polite yet stubborn, always running around with his schoolbag on his back," Xue Rong said with a smile.

“…Eh…” Bai Yunxian asked curiously.

“I know a bit about what happened back then!” Diana wiped a chair and sat down. “Most of Boss Bai’s partners disappeared later. Not only those who did business with her at the beginning, but also those like you, Captain, later. They said they all scattered, but I have a hard time finding their contact information.”

"Of course, they're all dead after all," Xue Rong frankly admitted, then nodded seriously. "Bai Nianyun is quite suspicious, and Bai Langtao is no less so. I didn't arrive early. I heard that the group that came down the mountain with them at the beginning made a big fuss over the division of money. Quite a few people came to cause trouble, and I helped deal with some of them. I don't know many other details, but now their company is called Bai Bai, so I guess everything has been settled."

As she spoke, a faint look of nostalgia crossed her face. "When I first came here, this office was still under construction. I thought it was just an ordinary clinic, so I tried to get on good terms with the doctor. I spent all my time helping Cheng Song carry water and things and smiling at her. She was indeed good at treating injuries; she was ruthless but effective. But later I discovered that there were more dead people lying here than living people. Occasionally, she would even operate on the dead. After arresting someone and questioning them closely, I found out that this person was actually a forensic doctor."

"The forensic doctors back then were truly remarkable," Xie Wuchang said admiringly.

“Indeed,” Little F nodded. “And based on the information we have now, that person’s clinical performance can be described as excellent.”

"Hmm... alright!" Xue Rong was convinced and nodded. "Doctor Cheng is remarkable!"

"Then why did you call her crazy?" Bai Yunxian sighed and asked, "Did she come before or after the incident at the Bai family?"

“Both the front and back are here, but this clinic was built after the accident. The ones built before the earthquake collapsed.” Xue Rong said, frowning and nodding as if she was being forced to accept an unfair treaty, but she smiled and said, “Okay, now I have to keep talking. The boss will definitely understand me, after all, I’ve been handcuffed by the police.”

“…Thank you for your cooperation,” Xie Wuchang said.

Regardless of whether the incident occurred before or after the Bai family's death, they needed a way to dispose of the body. After all, the people here had developed a sense of land conservation thirty years ago, though the supply couldn't meet the demand. The most serious issue regarding the body was preservation. Although most relatives of the deceased wouldn't be too concerned about the body's integrity after receiving compensation, the saying goes, "the dead must be seen," and since they had come all this way, they had to take something with them.

Most families who cannot find the body will not leave, but it takes time for the family to reach the vicinity of the mining area. Every step of transferring the body from the mining area to the cold storage is quite costly. At that time, the problem of the bodies in the mining area not being handed over to the family in time, resulting in excessive accumulation, is a well-known major problem.

In this regard, Cheng Song, as a forensic doctor, has unique insights. She has seen many cases where improper preservation of corpses due to accumulation resulted in the inability to produce complete or correct corpses. She also provided the Bai family with a solution that was quite suitable for the construction site environment at the time, namely, adipocere.

Besides the man-made industrial mine shafts, this mine also connects to several underground natural caverns. Thanks to the region's unique abundant groundwater resources and temperature environment, the Bai family, with Cheng Song's assistance, quickly excavated several artificial corpse greenhouses. Once adipocere is achieved, it's equivalent to preservation, so properly storing and maintaining the body is no longer a problem; it can then be used only as needed.

"Back then, I didn't contribute much to what happened in your family. I originally came here looking for someone to fight, and I never expected to encounter something like this." Xue Rong smiled. "The boss won't allow people who know the truth to run away easily. Most of those people who ran away at the beginning were lucky, otherwise they would have ended up like the original group of partners."

“…I can relate to that,” Little Franz remarked. “The employer’s secrets are so alluring, they’re a deadly temptation.”

“But you seem to be able to live a lot, so don’t show off,” Bai Yunxian said with a smirk.

"Then why did you call my mom a madwoman when she's just doing her job?" Cheng Xiangwu asked.

"Because she brought the corpse back to life," Xue Rong said.

After the underground tremor, the Bai family originally planned to completely seal off the mine. Before that, the Bai family continued to use the greenhouse to process the corpses. However, some of the corpses showed unexplained activity. Specifically, the corpses that were lying properly after adipolysis disappeared. After searching, they found that they were all running towards the underground. Fortunately, most of them collapsed halfway down.

In response to this strange phenomenon, the Bai family formed an investigation team, whose members were all extraordinary individuals who had contributed to the investigation of the Bai family’s strange phenomena and were subsequently retained in Senhu City, such as Cheng Song and Xue Rong.

Intrigued, Cheng Song investigated and discovered that the corpses that moved again were mostly headless or had been working deep underground for a long time, and had completely undergone adipocere formation. Upon dissection, it was found that the hearts of some of the moving corpses had resumed beating. After ruling out paranormal and scientific explanations, the investigation team could not find a suitable explanation.

Intrigued, Cheng Song investigated and concluded that the phenomenon was highly likely related to the earthquake. With the help of a geologist, the investigation team located another area affected by the earthquake fissures—Lake Sen—where they discovered albino whale carcasses and found vibrations around their hearts. The Du family vehemently opposed the investigation team's attempts to dissect the bodies. As a compromise, they allowed Cheng Song to conduct regular examinations and collect tissue samples. To oversee his conduct, Du Xingke joined the investigation team as the Du family's representative.

All records of the whale carcass were deleted, leaving only the conclusion that an unknown creature, contaminated by unidentified substances in the lake, once existed in Sen Lake and died after being stranded due to the drop in water level.

Geologists concluded that groundwater carrying unknown substances seeped into the stone, giving it the ability to act as a medium for transmitting the unknown. An earthquake created a longitudinal fissure in the mine, leading the investigation team to quarry stone and attempt to extract the unknown substance. However, the chemical technology at the time was insufficient for perfect purification, so they had to use a thermal melting method. While inefficient, it was effective, resulting in an unknown liquid metal of low purity. It was solid at room temperature but could dissolve in paraffin and petroleum.

A special wax material with stable properties is obtained after adjusting the proportions.

According to the investigation team's tests, this special wax material has excellent insulation properties against mechanical waves, and its energy conduction properties far surpass those of silver or copper. When the wax is ignited, it amplifies the volatile substances emitted by any material immersed in it by tens of times, and may even stimulate the potential of some materials that would otherwise be undetectable.

“…Everything is based on this material,” Little Franz said regretfully. “Why wax of all people?”

Cheng Song was curious about this, so he studied it and used wax with similar composition as material to make table candles. He then used these as table candles in the Senhu Grand Restaurant to observe the diners' emotions and heart rate reactions as an experiment.

“Wow—” Diana exclaimed, “That sounds so evil.”

"Right?" Xue Rong nodded seriously.

"So initially, it was only used as a candle at the dining table," Bai Yunxian said, puzzled. "And it sounds like it worked quite well, so why was it later extended to be used on food?"

"Who knows?" Xue Rong snorted. "Who knows what she's thinking all day long, but she always has a smile on her face."

Guided by a stonemason by the Senhu Lake, Cheng Song fused wax with the amber from a whale carcass to obtain a special wax oil. After several tests on the wax oil with no abnormal reactions, they finally lit it and saw what it was.

"...We all saw it. After that thing appeared, some people immediately knelt down and tried to commit suicide." Xue Rong frowned.

"I saw it directly." Little F said thoughtfully, "Did you investigate the related incident afterward?"

“I don’t know, but there should be some, but I don’t know why the family didn’t make a fuss,” Xue Rong said. “The boss said he wanted to control that thing, but it’s very strange that the surveillance cameras can’t capture it, so we can only keep an eye on it.”

Intrigued by this, Cheng Song began to study it and discovered that this entity could "exchange information" with the burning wax. Specifically, unknown electromagnetic waves of indistinguishable information were detected on-site. At the same time, the entity's limbs would actively contact the person closest to it. This behavior would have an unconditional mental influence on some people and would also cause corpses that had rapidly turned into adipocere to stand upright and move again. Both would attempt to move towards the mine, and if they could not, they would remove their heads.

The investigation team confirmed that this phenomenon was similar to, or even identical to, previous strange occurrences at the Bai Mansion.

This magnetic field can be simulated using stones containing special metals, while the reaction can be isolated by a previously prepared wax. Using wax as a sealant, stones as the environmental fulcrum for interaction, fire and wax oil as bait, and regularly adding corpses as nutrients, they have established a simple, specialized ecological tank here, which they have maintained well.

The research was recorded in detail in a notebook stored in a metal cabinet. Xiao Fu took them out one by one to read, and after finishing one, he handed it to Bai Yunxian, and then passed it around to her.

The artificial ecological environment was destroyed by a fire and restored to its natural state until six months ago.

"Then I heard she was attacked, and I guess she got scared and quit." Xue Rong sighed as she muttered, "Although she was ruthless and had strange ideas, it's definitely much more boring here now that she's gone."

The scene was quiet for a while. After Xue Rong finished recounting the past, she seemed a little sleepy, and her head and eyelids drooped.

"Based on these records, I don't think this phenomenon can be called a 'resurrection'," Little Franz said critically.

"Isn't that enough?" Xue Rong was convinced of this. "Being able to walk, move, and even make judgments—isn't that the same as being alive?"

"...But my mother should know that Auntie didn't die because of that existence, but because of an accident." Bai Yunxian looked up from her notebook and said in a deep voice, "She didn't even leave behind a body."

"So it stopped thirteen years ago." Xue Rong nodded.

“Then my sister—” Bai Yunxian looked up.

“Her body is still here. I don’t understand what she was trying to do or what she was going to do, but…” Xue Rong sighed, “Sometimes I think that thirty years ago, I should have killed them all.”

As she spoke, she looked at Cheng Xiangwu again and blinked her one eye. "But I didn't do it back then, I didn't do it thirteen years ago, and now I'm so old, I don't have many friends left, so, let's just forget about it."

"...To be honest, it's amazing, both for you now and for you in the past," Diana said, resting her head on her hand as she recovered from her shock.

"Of course," Xue Rong laughed. "Back when I was eighteen, I was invincible south of the Yangtze River, which is why I came here to see what was going on. I never expected this..."

"I didn't expect you to stay all this time?" Diana asked curiously.

"I never expected to meet a friend I could talk to about anything except fighting," Xue Rong said, nodding with a smile. "I was incredibly sad during that time, but it's over now. Looking back, it was really good, and then..."

She spent thirteen years tending flowers and playing with birds, waiting to die, before she actually died, she returned here.

"...I don't really understand why Ms. Bai Yuntian died?" Xie Wuchang asked, frowning. "If she died because of this, then wouldn't Bai Langtao's actions have been counterproductive?"

“…Because,” Xue Rong said after a long silence, “Tian Tian is very stubborn and doesn’t know how to forget her troubles.”

The space remained silent for a long time. Cheng Xiangwu picked up some notes and flipped through them. The notebook had a frosted, colorful plastic cover and spiral-bound pages, yellowed and worn, with occasional bloodstains in the corner. She couldn't understand the contents, but the handwriting looked familiar. Cheng Song's handwriting had always been bad because she wrote in a hurry, as if she wanted to pour everything in her head onto the paper. So many cursive characters and abbreviations were not professional terms; the right to interpret and modify them belonged solely to her.

Bai Langtao said Cheng Song was a forensic doctor and she didn't feel anything, but now, sitting on the mattress, smelling the disinfectant that even dust couldn't cover up, and looking at the signed cover of the spiral notebook in her hand, she felt as if she was reminiscing about that person.

"These notes," Xue Rong said, looking at Cheng Xiangwu. "Little Cheng, you can take them with you."

"...Is everything alright with Bai Langtao?" Cheng Xiangwu asked in surprise.

"If there were connections, it wouldn't have survived until now." Xue Rong smiled nonchalantly. "No one else can understand these things anymore, and besides, the boss has a problem, which is that she's superstitious."

"Okay." Cheng Xiangwu looked at the notebook in her hand, thought about what Cheng Song had done, and looked at Xiao Fu and said, "Then I'll give these things to you."

“…Oh…” Xiao Fu was stunned. She was still holding one of the books in her hand and reading it. At this moment, the two pieces of information were conflicting, and she needed to calm down.

"...I don't want to question your decision." Bai Yunxian remained silent for a long time before speaking, "But why?"

"Because she's not superstitious, and she can understand it," Cheng Xiangwu said.

“Then I will too—” Bai Yunxian paused, adjusted her glasses, and lowered her voice, “Okay, I can only understand part of it, but that’s partly due to the handwriting. Anyway, I’ve never been able to understand Aunt Cheng’s handwriting.”

"Hmph." Little Fu smiled smugly, "Thank you both for your trust. I accept this gift, and I will surely be able to transcend time and language to understand all its mysteries."

"Keep it up," Cheng Xiangwu said.

Afterwards, Xue Rong recounted many events from back then, describing how she rose through the ranks from a wandering swordsman to become a lackey of a big boss, then became the next boss's protector, how she retreated to the mountains, and how the boss dragged her out of the mountains to find new employment.

Diana especially enjoyed these stories, and her support made Xue Rong proud. The two quickly became good partners, exchanging questions and answers. If it weren't for the limited space, they could have had a couple of drinks and started putting their arms around each other. Xie Wuchang, sitting next to her, hesitated several times before speaking. Xiao Fu and Bai Yunxian, who had little to say about the stories, were diligently reading Cheng Song's notes in an attempt to catch up with the research progress from thirty years ago.

"So, the reason Ms. Bai Langtao restarted the project half a year ago is," Little Fu paused, looked up from his notebook, and continued, "to prepare a large amount of wax material and to fill the Senhu Grand Hotel with underground stone."

"...Isn't this...?" Xie Wuchang broke out in a cold sweat. "Does she intend to kill all those guests? Has she gone mad?!"

“Let me make it clear that I’m not speaking up for her, but I don’t think so.” Diana had a different opinion. “Putting aside the vague goal of ‘resurrection,’ what would she gain by killing people in this way? Besides, the green net we saw before appeared at Senhu No. 2 Middle School, which was undoubtedly a precautionary measure, proving that she probably didn’t want that to happen.”

“…That’s true.” Xie Wuchang nodded. “The information in these reports is from a long time ago, so it’s hard for us to confirm whether she has made any new discoveries.”

At this point, Diana looked at Cheng Xiangwu, who was still in a daze, and asked mysteriously, "My dear colleague, has there been any result regarding what we discussed last time?"

“…Oh.” Cheng Xiangwu finally came to her senses and replied, “No, she just said she wanted to celebrate her birthday.”

“…She’s just good at lying.” Bai Yunxian snorted and thought for a moment before saying, “Besides herself, the only other person who might know about this is that woman surnamed Dong who’s always with her. Aunt Xue, do you know where she is?”

"You mean that conman? That guy's all weird and eccentric, and he always has a long face. He's really boring, and I don't know him at all." Xue Rong said, yawning. "I don't know anything else."

“But you think she won’t succeed, and you think we don’t need to, and can’t, stop her.” Little F looked at her and said, “Do you know if Ms. Cheng Song’s research has made any new progress?”

"...What does it have to do with me?" Xue Rong's voice was weary. "Now that Cheng Song is dead, she's gone and I have nothing to do with her anymore."

“Her progress was accomplished by other people,” Bai Yunxian said, staring at the notes in her hand. “Those who worship that thing like a god would never have allowed it to happen if they knew her actions were for this purpose, and those people are practically everywhere…”

She paused, then laughed dejectedly, "That's why she doesn't say anything."

“…Alright.” Xue Rong stood up. “I’ve said what I needed to say, you should all leave now.”

Bai Yunxian paused for a moment, then said, "...I want to go into the mine—"

"Impossible." Xue Rong interrupted coldly, then laughed and said in a pitiful voice, "Xianxian, the boss will kill me."

"...Unrivaled south of the Yangtze River?" Bai Yunxian asked.

"Hey, that's without guns," Xue Rong blinked and said. "Besides, there's nothing in there. What are you going to do there?"

“Aunt Cheng’s notes don’t mention any specific information about ‘successful resurrection,’ but if my mother wanted to do it, she should at least have seen a successful case.” Bai Yunxian adjusted her glasses. “I want to go and see those greenhouses. Aunt Xue, if you won’t let me in now, I’ll find a way myself. You know I always have a way.”

"...Xianxian, it doesn't smell very good there now," Xue Rong said tactfully.

"No, no, no, that area is definitely harmful to the lungs right now," Xie Wuchang said, somewhat conflicted.

“I brought protective clothing,” Bai Yunxian said, pointing to her suitcase. “And tools.”

Cheng Xiangwu felt that she might have heard of these things before.

"What is the quantity?" Xiao Fu asked, leaning closer.

"Odd number," Bai Yunxian said with a smile.

“…I’d barely mind wearing what you’ve worn,” Little F said.

“The airbags are disposable,” Bai Yunxian sneered.

"Are you going in alone?" Cheng Xiangwu asked. "What if you die inside?"

"...Cheng Xiangwu, can you speak more politely?" Bai Yunxian adjusted her glasses. "My clothes have a professional leash. You guys can hold them from the outside. If something happens to me, I'll signal you, okay?"

"Do you need any filming equipment?" Diana asked considerately.

"Of course I've prepared as well," Bai Yunxian said, looking up.

Cheng Xiangwu looked at Xue Rong, only to find that she was just staring at them in a daze. Perhaps she was getting old, and after walking such a long way and thinking about so much, she must be tired.

"...Hmm?" Xue Rong noticed the gaze and came back to his senses, saying helplessly, "Well, fine, these young people these days are really something else."

"Not at all," Xie Wuchang sighed. "Let me unlock your handcuffs."

“Alright.” Xue Rong handed over the handcuffs she had taken off. “I was originally planning to keep them for myself, but unfortunately.”

"...This is not mine." That was all Xie Wuchang could say.

“Well then,” Bai Yunxian suddenly cleared her throat, “Aunt Xue, before we officially begin preparations, there’s something I need to confirm.”

"Hmm?" Xue Rong tilted her head, smiling good-naturedly as she replied, "What is it?"

"Did Aunt Cheng explicitly mention back then whether that individual was attracted into the quarry because of the flames or because of the quarry's magnetic field?" Bai Yunxian asked, enunciating each word clearly.

"Hmm...asking me about this..." Xue Rong pondered with a troubled expression, "I think they said it was ignited by fire—"

“Miss Xue Rong,” Xiao Fu interrupted, “please don’t use vague terms like ‘seems,’ please be more precise.”

"Eh..." Xue Rong touched her blindfold a little embarrassedly, "Call me 'Miss' or something..."

"Don't interrupt her!" Bai Yunxian said righteously. "It's normal for elderly people to have bad memories, and Aunt Xue isn't a professional. It's good enough that she can provide testimony. Let's continue."

The clinic was quiet for a short time to give the elderly a chance to think.

“Oh.” Xue Rong thought for a moment and continued, “I remember now, Cheng Song did say that if you don’t ignite it, the magnetic field will only react to things that already exist inside.”

"Ha!" Bai Yunxian laughed loudly, spreading her arms to show her smugness. "What did I say? Come on, repeat it, what did I say?"

Seeing everyone staring at her, she cleared her throat, put her hands away, and waved one hand at Xiao Fu, "Come on, it's time to keep your promise."

"...What promise?" Cheng Xiangwu looked at Xiao Fu, only to see her glare at him fiercely with a gloomy face.

“…This is all because of you.” Little F pointed at her three times with his finger.

Cheng Xiangwu, who had been targeted by the three small items, felt extremely confused.

"A bet's a bet!" Bai Yunxian continued waving, "Hurry up!"

"Huh?" Cheng Xiangwu looked at Xie Wuchang in confusion.

"Why are you looking at me?" Xie Wuchang said, puzzled and serious. "I haven't discussed your issue with Ms. Fu."

“…This usually happens when you feel guilty and want to throw a tantrum.” Diana narrowed her eyes. “You steal a candy, only to find out it’s an empty package, and then you get caught. That’s the feeling.”

“I understand…” Xue Rong nodded thoughtfully.

Xiao Fu ignored these people and their comments. She took out her notebook, turned her back to the corner, flipped through it, and finally stopped at one page. She handed it to Bai Yunxian and said seriously, "You are only allowed to go this far."

"Why should I?" Bai Yunxian protested. "You didn't mention this restriction back then."

"...Take it or leave it!" Little F was very dissatisfied and tried to take back the notebook.

"Give it to me." Bai Yunxian reached out, took the notebook, first put her glasses away and put them in her pocket, then lowered her head to stare at the paper, and then turned and ran.

The door was kicked open again, the sound of it hitting the wall like a bomb.

"You—" Xiao Fu's narrowed eyes widened, she gritted her teeth and chased after him, but quickly turned back and dragged Cheng Xiangwu out the door, "You go and bring her back to me!"

As soon as they went outside, Bai Yunxian was running all the way up the mountain, as if her legs had never been hit before. Cheng Xiangwu said helplessly, "You said it yourself—"

"Go after her!" Little Franz threatened urgently, "or I'll shoot her!"

Despite the threat of death, Bai Yunxian was dragged back with a smug look on her face. She crossed her arms and sneered incessantly, "Hmph, hmph hmph hmph—"

"Is it leaking air?" Cheng Xiangwu asked, holding her up, while handing the precious notebook to its owner with her other hand.

Xiao Fu snatched his notebook, glared at Bai Yunxian, and then repeatedly flipped through the pages to check the contents.

"I see." Bai Yunxian stood up straight, took out her glasses from her pants pocket and put them on again. "Then there are two types of beings: the spinal type and the invertebrate type. The spinal type has more thinking ability, while the invertebrate type adapts to the environment more quickly."

"What an arrogant understanding! Those aren't symmetrical creatures," Little Fran quickly retorted.

"That's just a more apt metaphor," Bai Yunxian said, dissatisfied. "Besides, isn't that roughly the same idea in your notes?"

"...It's a bad habit of our family to biologicalize the characteristics of unknown individuals in order to understand and analyze them in a lower dimension." Little Fer put away his notebook with dissatisfaction and said in a threatening tone, "You better bring back some valuable clues, or I'll find a way to give you an unforgettable nightmare."

After saying that, she turned and walked towards the entrance of the mine tunnel. While they were running around, Xue Rong opened the iron gate and explained the precautions to Diana, who was peeking in.

"This person's mental age is at most sixteen," Bai Yunxian commented sarcastically. "He's about the same as those medieval teachers who studied at home until middle age and were then released to teach others."

“…That’s about right,” Cheng Xiangwu said.

"What do you mean, 'almost'?" Bai Yunxian asked.

“Middle-aged,” Cheng Xiangwu said. “She must be in her fifties.”

Back then, Cheng Xiangwu had seen this person's personal identification card. Of the long string of English words, she only recognized a few numbers that symbolized his birth date. When his age and face were compared, he seemed like a fraudster. But foreigners do look quite similar, so she didn't pay much attention to it afterward.

Looking back now, compared to Xue Rongyi, someone in their fifties really shouldn't be so lively.

"...Cheng Xiangwu, tell me the truth, how do you know this person?" Bai Yunxian asked solemnly.

"Well, I met them while I was working. There are a lot of foreigners in big cities..." Cheng Xiangwu said vaguely, and quickly ran away before the listeners started to scold her.

Inside the iron gate, following the idle conveyor belt, the mine tunnel quickly disappears into the stone cavern through a neat, orderly brick-paved path. Ordinary machine excavation marks are covered and concealed by barbed wire, ensuring a minimum level of safety for those walking through. There is no wind or machine noise inside, but it is still noisy—a kind of irritating white noise that you can't shake off, but then disappears upon closer listening.

Xue Rong led the way, turning right behind a wall lamp at a three-way intersection, descending the slope, then turning right again at a triangular marker. At a precipice-like abyss, they crouched down, climbed down a long ladder, and upon landing, turned to see a black iron stone door tightly embedded in the rock wall. The entrance had a revolving valve, unforgettable at first glance, but if not carefully examined, this inconspicuous door would completely disappear once the gaze was turned away.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Bai Yunxian put on her airbag, donned her pure white protective suit, zipped it up, and handed the traction rope to the others. She then grabbed a probe and approached the door. Xue Rong stepped forward, turned the door valve, and pulled open the nearly half-meter-thick door with a sharp clang. Behind it was another compartment, a rectangular room about three meters in diameter filled with iron racks piled high with unlit candles and rusty tools. There was another door inside, an iron door that opened easily, without windows. Beyond that was the embalming area for the deceased. Everyone, wearing masks, stood at least five meters away from the door, but when it opened, they all held their breath.

Unfortunately, no particular odor came out of it.

Seeing that the white figure hadn't entered, Xue Rong started asking all sorts of questions to ease the tension in the group.

"Little sister, you seem quite familiar with this place. Did you work as a reporter here before?" Xue Rong asked casually as she sat down on the ground.

“My parents used to work as miners here, but that was a long time ago.” Diana sat down as well. “I might have seen you when I was a child, but I don’t remember now.”

"Hahaha, I'm very different now than before." Xue Rong laughed heartily, her voice echoing through the rock face. "What are you thinking? As a reporter, it's not easy to dig up news here."

“Didn’t you say before that some of the deceased’s families didn’t pursue the matter too much?” Diana laughed heartily and pointed to herself. “I was one of those who didn’t pursue it, but I felt that this was very unfair to my parents, and I wanted to get ahead, so I started pursuing it again.”

“…Oh.” Xue Rong was taken aback. “Then what are you trying to investigate?”

“…I thought the disappearance of that group of people was related to the Bai family, so I kept investigating in that direction. Now it seems that we can’t save those living people, and the corpses are governed by other ethics and morality. It’s not my place to speak for them.” Diana rested her chin on her knees, looked at the rubble on the ground, and spoke softly. “But there are always people like me who want to do something or want to investigate. What a reporter has to do is bring the truth to them.”

“We’re about the same,” Xie Wuchang said nervously, leaning against the rock wall. “At first, we had very few leads in the cases we were investigating. We only made a breakthrough after we caught someone in a series of cases, but not many. But now we’ve finally made some progress.”

"A case?" Xue Rong became interested. "Young police officers, you're solving cases? What kind of case is it?"

“Almost all the first-year students at Senhu No. 2 High School died overnight, and the cause of death was the same as those headless corpses at your construction site.” Xie Wuchang sighed as he spoke of the old case. “This was just the beginning. There were car accidents and suicide attacks afterward. The local police station was very passive, but we are from out of town, so we can’t be passive together.”

Xue Rong fell silent.

“And according to what was said before, that entity was hidden by the union, so the matter at Senhu No. 2 Middle School will definitely be traced back to those union members, right?” Diana’s voice carried a hint of distress. “…How exactly are they going to investigate? Those lunatics are even willing to self-destruct to avoid leaving any evidence…”

“…There’s always a way,” Xie Wuchang said in a deep voice.

“There is a way,” Xue Rong said. “Those people lived in the outermost area until thirteen years ago. You saw them when you came in, and…”

She touched her blindfold, her smile fading. "Now, people come occasionally. Some just keep running into the cave, while others come for some other reason."

Xie Wuchang stepped forward, squatted down, grasped Xue Rong's hand, and asked with a friendly smile, "Could you please take us to see it later? We can't understand what those people in the union are doing at all, but I think we still have a chance to find out why."

Diana shifted her position, grasped Xue Rong's other hand, and earnestly pleaded, "I know many relatives aren't pursuing this matter not because they truly don't care, but because of something even more inexplicable. The truth is something that exists before we can judge its significance. I think you're the only one who can help us..."

"Hey, hey." Xue Rong was trapped in the middle, caught in a dilemma.

“Captain Xue,” Diana said, looking at her longingly, “If I had known when I was a child that there was such a dashing and interesting person like you at the construction site, I would have come here to play more often.”

"Is that so? Hahaha..." Xue Rong couldn't suppress the smile on her face.

In contrast to the lively atmosphere here, Xiao Fu was holding binoculars, intently looking into the doorway, seemingly anticipating something.

Cheng Xiangwu then recalled the things they had experienced together before, which, in fact, had something to do with minerals.

The causes and consequences are quite complex, but it's not impossible to put it simply.

As an assassin, Cheng Xiangwu was assigned an assassination mission one day, targeting Xiao Fu. Initially, the mission went smoothly. Although this foreigner was immune to all poisons, recovered remarkably quickly, and could read minds, everyone is subject to death. The same applied to Xiao Fu; although she claimed to be above human corruption, she would ultimately die. Cheng Xiangwu, having received the deposit, intended to use Xiao Fu's head to pay the remaining balance.

Once an assassination mission is accepted, it can only be canceled under one circumstance: if the client is confirmed dead and the final payment cannot be made. This is why their line of work strictly forbids tracing the employer's information, to prevent the awkward situation of both sides trying to inflate the price for their kill.

But for Little Fran, the secret was not much different from the desserts she could choose from in the candy store; she only needed to consider whether she liked them and what she needed.

After some investigation, Xiao Fu reluctantly defended his ownership of the person's head, telling Cheng Xiangwu that the person who paid the deposit was dead and completely bankrupt.

Hidden in a forest on the outskirts of the city, the underground coal mines seek new nutrients, and in return, they are willing to exchange precious minerals for fertilizer for planting trees. The forest ranger, after offering a reward to the meddlesome outsider, also becomes deeply involved, along with the precious minerals carefully buried in the soil, entangled with the roots and stems, inseparable.

Cheng Xiangwu was not involved in the follow-up treatment of this forest, but Xiao Fu refused to let go. She paid the remaining balance and asked Cheng Xiangwu to protect her so that she could continue to investigate the ways and means of communication between foresters, trees, and coal mines. The focus was on the latter part because she wanted to.

Of course, this is also why a bounty was initially placed on her head.

Later, the medium did indeed fall into Xiao Fu's hands. It was a crystal clear, soft, and captivating piece of amber with unusual colors. There were no insects sealed inside, only a small piece of the forester's tongue meat, carefully stored in a small waxwood box, emitting an enticing and sweet aroma.

Yes, Cheng Xiangwu tasted that thing. It was the first time in her short life that she understood how taste buds were used. But she was not sure because she had never known what sweetness was, so she could not be sure what it was that had penetrated her brain and driven her crazy. It smelled sweet, and the feeling made her mind clear and happy. How could it be any other taste?

But Little Franz said no, that you're just crazy.

Perhaps, Cheng Xiangwu thought. Now it seems that the impulse to be happy after eating sweets is generally not enough to drive a person to want to kill another person in order to possess it.

The price of her greed was losing a precious back molar.

"So the reason you're only now replaying this video?" Little Fran asked, still staring at the crack in the door, but clearly not at the person inside.

“...Let’s reminisce about our youth,” Cheng Xiangwu said.

Xiao Fu looked up at her, gave a strange cold laugh, and then turned his head away.