Uninvited

"Anyway, here's what happened." Zhou Mi cleared his throat.

There have always been quite a few stray cats in the residential areas in the northern part of the city. For more than ten years, animal welfare organizations have been coming here regularly to carry out their work in order to increase the local cat sterilization rate. Every cat on the street with a missing corner of its right ear is solid proof of the accuracy of this number.

Among them is a legendary black and white cat, white only for its paws. It always inexplicably appears just when rescuers think their mission is complete, its erect ears mocking humanity's helplessness. No one has ever seen what it looked like as a kitten or an old cat; it seems to have been born a fully grown black and white cat weighing about thirteen pounds.

"This weight was measured by the fruit scale in the store before, and it automatically went up," said Zhou Mi, the data provider.

Over time, that's how it ended up.

Some say this cat possesses a spirit, hence its intelligence and longevity; others say it's simply a case of many similar-looking cats creating confusion; still others believe it's a bionic robot sent by the government to monitor people's lives. Whatever people think, the sage probably doesn't care.

Zhou Mi's connection with the immortal began a long time ago. When she first started running the store on her own, the convenience store would leave a huge pile of cardboard boxes in the warehouse every time they received a new shipment. Her rule was that she would never start unpacking anything until the day before the recycling person was due to come. Over time, the sound of a cat meowing could be heard in the warehouse. Every time she opened the door, a black and white cat would come out.

“Our warehouse really doesn’t have a back door,” Zhou Mi said, pointing to the warehouse door inside the convenience store. “I’ve checked it myself, and there are no holes or anything in the corners. The Great Immortal just appeared after being refreshed.”

“…Okay.” Cheng Xiangwu accepted.

"Huh?" Golson didn't.

As the saying goes, "A guest is a guest," and although this guest didn't increase sales, he did boost the store manager's morale. Zhou Mi simply treated her home as a supply station, occasionally feeding the cat. Over time, she thought she had become familiar with the cat. One day, she heard rustling sounds coming from a corner on the second floor of her house. She guessed it was a mouse, and it was time for friendship to come in handy, so she went downstairs to the storeroom to ask a shaman for help.

The immortal took two steps on the second floor, then turned around and went downstairs.

Zhou Mi was furious. She called her parents for help as she went downstairs, only to find the shaman standing at the bottom of the stairs watching her. She tried to communicate using the only two languages ​​she knew, but the shaman probably didn't understand and turned to walk towards the warehouse.

Zhou Mi was overcome with grief and reached out to lock the warehouse door.

"So you didn't actually lock the door before." Cheng Xiangwu realized that she had received incorrect information.

But after watching Zhou Mi for a while at the warehouse entrance, the immortal unlocked the door again.

Regardless, that night, the grieving Zhou Mi had a dream. In the dream, she was surrounded by swirling clouds and mist, with distant green mountains shrouded in haze. The Great Immortal sat atop a high stone staircase like a stone lion, looking down at her standing at the bottom. Behind him were thick, heavy double wooden doors, with stone walls extending from either side to block out the courtyard behind them. Two black stone lanterns hung in front of the doors, unlit and swaying even without a breeze.

The two were at least twenty or thirty meters apart, but Zhou Mi still heard the Great Immortal's cry when it opened its mouth.

Of course I didn't understand.

"But as I was trying to go up, someone called out to me from behind and told me not to turn around." Zhou Mi deliberately lowered her voice as she said this.

"Wow—" Golson was very cooperative.

"That was, how should I put it, a very strange voice. I could understand every word that person said, but when it came out as a sentence, it was really weird. It was like taking a word out of different videos and putting them together to form a sentence, like an audio clipping." Zhou Mi held up two fingers and cut them twice.

“Oh, and then?” Galson asked.

“Then that person said,” Zhou Mi pursed her lips as she said this, “that the immortal is the cat here and cannot kill any life other than fish, so he can’t help me catch mice.”

“…Eh—” Golson was incredulous.

"Right? I also think it's strange that cats kill fish but not mice." Zhou Mi shrugged.

“Not really, well, it is strange!” Golson nodded.

"So I asked why," Zhou Mi said, "and that guy actually said this—"

“It was born in that courtyard, so naturally it has to abide by the rules of that courtyard.” She spoke in a strange tone. “In short, if you’re looking for the spirit’s original family, then that’s the only place.”

“That sounds really suspicious,” Goulson said. “Well, we have no choice but to go!”

“That’s how it should be!” Zhou Mi turned around and pulled out a notepad from her table piled with parts. She then picked out a ballpoint pen from the corner, tapped the lead out on the table, and wrote down a short address.

No. 1 Qingshan Road.

"This is the house number. I saw it in my dream, and when I searched it after waking up, I found that it actually had a location, but it's too far away, and there's no bus service." Zhou Mi tore off the house number and placed it on the counter, then took out his phone and opened the map.

A winding green line stretches northward until it almost pierces the dark green map sticker representing the mountains and forests before stopping.

The vehicle traveled for more than two hours.

"With those rules and this address, this really must be one of those temples deep in the mountains. The name 'Great Immortal' is truly well-deserved," Gorson remarked.

"Oh no, no." Zhou Mi exited the navigation and went to the profile page. "I'm a fish and shrimp farmer."

The Toshi Aquaculture Farm in Moriko City has no official website or contact number.

“…Such a pragmatic rule,” Golson said after a moment of silence.

“I think so too,” Zhou Mi nodded in agreement. “People with double standards like that are usually hard to deal with. Good luck to you guys.”

"Isn't that right?" Cheng Xiangwu picked up the note. The familiar house number was, of course, her father's hometown.

“…Thank you.” She sighed. “Let’s go check it out as soon as possible.”

Hopefully, that door will open for her this time, otherwise she'll have to climb over the wall again with two people on her back.

After consuming three ice creams, the two began to stroll back. Coincidentally, the protagonist of their earlier conversation jumped out of the roadside bushes, landed on the ground, and walked towards them.

"Hehehe, Great Immortal." Gorson squatted down and rubbed his hands together. "We're going to your hometown to complain right away. Just you wait."

The immortal struck with lightning speed, slapping her hand away.

"Damn it." Golson gritted his teeth, stood up, took a bite of ice cream, and then felt relieved. "Oh well, it's actually quite cute."

Remembering what Zhou Mi had just said, Cheng Xiangwu squatted down to magnify the blurry black blob into a clear cat, and tried to extend her palm.

The immortal swung his fist like the wind, instantly disarming her.

“…Let’s go.” Cheng Xiangwu stood up, took a bite of ice cream, and started walking home. “Cats can’t talk.”

“Let’s go, let’s go, there aren’t any kind translators here.” Golson nodded and followed. “Speaking of translators, I saw several checkpoints on that road ahead. Will Sister Fufu get into trouble since she doesn’t have a driver’s license?”

"That is a problem." Cheng Xiangwu thought for a moment, then took out his phone and opened his contacts.

The call connected in less than three seconds.

"Xie Wuchang," she began, "can you drive?"

“…Of course I will, Ms. Cheng.” Xie Wuchang’s voice was accompanied by a lot of background noise. “But I hope you’re not calling during my work hours to confirm the validity of my driver’s license. How did the press conference go this morning?”

"It was quite exciting," Cheng Xiangwu said.

“I’m asking from a reporter’s perspective, both of you,” Xie Wuchang reminded them.

"Let her explain in detail later," Cheng Xiangwu said. "We need to go to a cat farm in the north to investigate something. It'll take half a day round trip. Can you drive?"

There was some noise on the other end of the phone for a while.

"...You really know how to make things difficult for me." Xie Wuchang sighed. "Although I'm just hoping for the best, perhaps you can find a reason for me to take leave during the mission?"

"Are you feeling unwell?" Cheng Xiangwu asked, eating her ice cream.

"...Can I take this as a threat?" Xie Wuchang asked.

"...Let me think. This morning, the mayor gave us some information, saying that something similar to what happened at No. 2 Middle School might happen in those two buildings in the Southern Community, and that such deaths would only occur among people who know about the murderer." Cheng Xiangwu sighed slightly as she thought of Gu Wanqiu. "She said she could handle it, but I don't think she intends to explain, either way. If you want to solve the case, you'll have to find a way to catch up with her progress yourself."

"Isn't this a pretty capable local reporter?" Xie Wuchang smiled, then lowered his voice, "The captain is currently investigating the local union matter, which you all know about. I'm continuing to investigate the traces inside the Southern Community. According to your logic, my long stay here hasn't been a waste of time."

So the team was also operating in multiple directions. Cheng Xiangwu thought for a moment and said, "Did you find anything?"

"First of all, there were no traces of elderly or intellectually disabled people at the scene, but when we asked the elderly residents, most of them did not have any particular memory of what happened at the time." Xie Wuchang seemed to have moved to a quieter place, where the noise had mostly subsided.

“Secondly,” Xie Wuchang suddenly laughed, “we collected quite a lot of cat hair from the victim’s front door.”

The tabby cat was shedding fur, and Cheng Xiangwu looked down at his trouser legs.

"If there's anything else I can say, it's that I still haven't found any trace of the other accomplice." Xie Wuchang's voice was hesitant. "The neighborhood committee gave us a list of all the registered residents in the community, and we've visited or called them all, but there are no suspicious individuals. At the moment, we can only speculate that they are illegal occupants."

"Is there any house that smells of candles?" Cheng Xiang asked five times.

"...Can you tell me why you asked that?" Xie Wuchang asked.

"One guess is that the mayor also smelled of candles," Cheng Xiangwu said.

“…I see.” Xie Wuchang’s voice softened. “We will conduct door-to-door inspections of the remaining vacant units. We’ll let you know when we have more information.”

"So, is it there or not?" Cheng Xiang asked five times.

“Many residents worship the gods, but not many people smell so strongly of candles that they can smell candles on their bodies. They are mostly elderly people,” Xie Wuchang said. “Especially those with injuries or illnesses, elderly people who used to do manual labor. Their homes smell of candles, but there is no altar in sight. I don’t know what kind of faith that is.”

“…I see.” Cheng Xiangwu dropped the wooden stick in her hand and prepared to go upstairs.

"When are you going north?" Xie Wuchang asked.

"When it's convenient for the driver," Cheng Xiangwu said.

"...Let's make this clear first, I can only try to talk to the captain about this." Xie Wuchang sighed. "We should discuss things more, whether it's good or bad."

After the call ended, the two went up the stairs.

"I wonder if Sister Fufu is back yet," Golson said, following behind.

"It's time to come back." Cheng Xiangwu said, and just as she turned the corner, she noticed a figure at her own door.

It was Xiao Fu. She stood in the doorway, her trench coat already back on. Hearing footsteps, she turned around, didn't move, and opened her phone to show the two of them a message.

There are people inside the house.

Cheng Xiangwu was taken aback. She rummaged through her pocket to make sure her key was still in there, then looked at Xiao Fu and took out her key from her pocket to prove it was there.

There were no signs of forced entry on the apartment door, and Cheng Xiangwu remembered to lock the balcony door before leaving.

She handed the matcha ice cream cone to Xiao Fu, waved her hand, and waited for the two of them to step back to the end of the corridor before taking out her key and opening the door normally.

There were three pairs of shoes in the entryway: leather shoes, ankle boots, and sneakers. The visitor even brought slippers for himself instead of wearing the original owner's.

"You're back." At the end of the entryway, sitting on the single sofa in the living room was one of the uninvited new guests, Gu Wanqiu. She had changed her clothes and gotten rid of the candle smell, but she was no different from the meticulous person she was in the morning.

Xiao Yan was standing behind her. When she saw Cheng Xiangwu looking over, she silently looked away.

But it wasn't either of them who were speaking.

"Why are you alone?" The freelance reporter who had been at odds with Gu Wanqiu that morning was sitting with his legs crossed on one side of a two-seater sofa. He turned to greet the person standing in the doorway, "Long time no see, my colleague!"

In an instant, Cheng Xiangwu, who had already bid farewell to his journalistic career, realized the ugliness of politics and journalism.

"Do you have anything to explain?" she asked, standing at the door, not even in a hurry to change her shoes.

“I opened the door,” Gu Wanqiu said, raising her hand and shaking the familiar set of keys. “You may not remember, but I used to live here.”

She didn't have much of an impression of whether she had lived in Chengxiangwu's place, but she knew that this temporary housing, which far exceeded the living space required for a fifteen-year-old homeless boy, could only have been applied for by her lawyer.

"That's it. I guess you could say I followed you here." The freelance reporter propped his head up with his hand, a bright smile on his face. "I brought some information that might be of interest to you. Won't you talk to me before you ask me to leave?"

"Oh my god." Little Fu, holding an ice cream cone, appeared behind Cheng Xiangwu without anyone noticing. "I almost became the only person you turned away from. Should I feel honored?"

"Ah, is the mayor inside?" Golson cautiously peered through the gap between the two people into the doorway. "Why are there so many people?!"

“…Isn’t that right?” Cheng Xiangwu genuinely felt that the house had become too crowded.

Arranging seating becomes a difficult task when there's no intention to forcibly throw people out of the house.

Xiao Fu squeezed past the person blocking the door and went in first to change her shoes. She sat down on the empty double sofa first. Gao Ersen followed her in with some hesitation. After glancing at Gu Wanqiu, he sat down next to Xiao Fu. Compared to the choice of squeezing onto the double sofa with the two of them, Cheng Xiangwu decided to sit with the stranger she didn't know.

So now she can see Gu Wanqiu as soon as she turns her head. Even at this distance, she still can't smell the candle scent. It seems that the scent is indeed the office-limited air freshener.

Now comes the belated introduction to each other.

"Let me introduce myself first. My name is Diana, of course, in Chinese characters, but please call me 'Anna' if you need to." The unfamiliar freelance reporter began. After some time, the disheveled look on her body hadn't been tidied up much, or rather, it was part of her personality. But she spoke with great enthusiasm, her eyes shining with anticipation, making her look like a passionate young person from the old era.

She propped her head up on the armrest of the sofa and looked around. "Now you all know me. I'm a freelance journalist, and of course, a local from Senhu City."

These words sounded familiar. Cheng Xiangwu thought for a moment and realized that this person was probably the reporter her colleague had mentioned who had a special fondness for the Bai family.

"Judging from this morning's program, I don't think the two of you are in a relationship where you can enter through the same door one after the other." Little Franz shook the ice cream cone in his hand, like an interview microphone.

“That’s why I said I followed them here, that I was tracking them.” Diana didn’t shy away from using the word. “What we investigative journalists do is pretty much the same as what hitmen do, except for the last step.”

This made Cheng Xiangwu feel a little closer to this person.

“But the former is often more racially distinctive.” Little Franz smiled. “Please call me Little Franz. Now let’s talk about your purpose and offer, Miss Diana.”

“Shouldn’t we bother each other a bit at a time like this?” Diana spread her hands. “What are you doing here? Wow, what a coincidence, me too! That way we can find a place to have a drink together after sunset today.”

Her vivid performance didn't win anyone over for the time being, partly because no one else was drinking, not to mention there was a minor sitting across from her.

“Your value determines how long you can sit here.” Xiao Fu put down his half-eaten ice cream cone. “Although you are much more fragrant and delicious than this Miss Gu Wanqiu, I’m already past the age of liking sweets.”

"You really mean that? I didn't expect someone sitting in the corner of the first row to say something like that." Diana grinned. "Alright, then let's talk about me and my manuscript."

That's what she said, but she didn't actually take out any papers to distribute to the people present.

"As a local investigative journalist in Senhu City, it's natural for me to provide my fellow villagers with the most explosive truths I can find. And the bigger the bomb that explodes, the deeper it's usually buried in the first place. My target is our local big star, Bai Bai Co., Ltd., which is the Bai family." Diana introduced herself and her target with great enthusiasm. "This person has already been hyped up several times in the last century. By now, shouldn't we put an end to this stale news? Perhaps some people would say that."

Actually, no. Only Gorson showed interest; it was the first time she had ever seen a reporter in person, a professional one.

“That’s true.” She nodded. “Actually, a lot of people have been criticizing this company, but this level of attention is nothing compared to big news or entertainment programs. They’ve been operating normally all along.”

Not only at its headquarters, but also at its branches in other cities, there are many opponents, and online abuse is commonplace.

“What this student said makes a lot of sense. What we in the self-media value most is attracting attention. No matter how unreasonable something is, over time it will blend into the background and make people lose the desire to look away. At that time, it will be much more difficult to make the public sensitive.” Diana sighed slightly, but her smile did not change. “At this time, the importance of the explosion becomes apparent.”

She raised a hand. "A huge noise."

Then he raised another one, describing it as "a huge crack that cannot be ignored."

He clapped his hands together, making a soft sound. "Everything that was buried in the past will be wiped clean of dust by the explosion. Everyone will see the ruins left after the explosion, and everything deep inside those ruins."

After making a prayer-like gesture, her smile grew even brighter. "This is what I want to do, what I must do. And how to do it, I think you two, who have been approached by the mayor, probably know a thing or two."

Little Frye threw the last piece into his mouth, chewed it, and clapped his hands.

“That’s right!” Diana continued on her own. “I plan to blend in with the guests at that old man Bai Langtao’s sixtieth birthday party and expose her long-standing atrocities in front of the distinguished guests she personally invited—that is—”

"That's it?" Golson asked cooperatively.

“The Bai family secretly funded gang members to traffic local migrant workers for their organs,” Diana said.

After he finished speaking, no one responded for a moment. Gorson cautiously turned his head to see the reaction of the mayor of Senhu City.

The mayor looked up.

“Since the Mineral Resources Law was enacted in 1986, many groups emerged in Senhu City preparing to jointly apply for exploration and mining rights in the northern mountainous areas. These people were mostly local northern agricultural and commercial personnel, including Bai Langtao’s elder, Bai Nianyun.” Gu Wanqiu began, her words landing squarely on the ground. “But it wasn’t until six years later, in mid-1991, that they officially merged, submitted their mining plans, and applied for loans, all under the guise of Bai Nianyun. Aside from procedures like environmental surveys, I suspect this was also to avoid the census.”

The 1990 census form had 21 items, 15 per person and 6 per household. None of the people present had filled out this form before.

"Can't you at least give me a written notice before you speak, since you're completely outside my knowledge base from top to bottom and inside to outside?" Little F said, frowning. "If you're not willing to explain, please give a report at least three business days before you speak next time."

"Isn't a census a necessary procedure no matter where you are?" Diana asked curiously, and after her speaking time was over, she sat down again.

“The road doesn’t go to our house,” said Xiao Fu.

"...In short, although the population census did not involve industrial restructuring and was not a sudden policy change, there was a need to register the migrant population in 1990. Private coal mine development companies like Baibai need to pay attention to this, because they need a large number of temporary workers with incomplete household registration transfer procedures or unclear identities. To avoid scrutiny and reduce wages and accommodation costs, this explains why the company only released large-scale recruitment information after 1991," Gu Wanqiu said. "And the results were very considerable."

"Huh?" Golson paused, then asked cautiously, "Does this mean that the company is deliberately hiring undocumented workers?"

“Yes, but recruiting is one thing, managing is another. You may know that this company used to have a security team, but do you know what kind of people were in that team?” Diana held up five fingers and counted them off one by one. “There were self-proclaimed martial arts practitioners who gambled on boxing matches, some street thugs with some fighting skills, gamblers who would do anything for money, knife-wielding gang members, and armed bandits. Most of these people were not outsiders, but rather came from the initial group of partners, who are locals.”

She pulled her hand back as she spoke, “Later they said it was transformed into a union, but I know that this group of people has been doing dirty work and making dirty money for this black-hearted company, including deceiving people without legal status into having high-paying short-term jobs, helping to solve various problems, and fighting for compensation, etc., but all the people who went there later disappeared.”

The unions mentioned in these remarks are no different from the gray organizations. Cheng Xiangwu looked at Gu Wanqiu. She had said that those people were not profit-seeking creatures whose behavior was traceable, but a group of madmen.

But Gu Wanqiu kept her eyes down, showing no intention of explaining anything. She sat on the sofa with her back straight and her shirt crisp, as if she were about to leave at any moment.

"Since you've said that, how dare you do those things?" Cheng Xiangwu turned to ask the person who was still casually sitting at an angle, "Aren't you worried that your news and you yourself will disappear together?"

“That’s because I have top-secret information!” Diana sat up slightly, just a little. “I threatened a guest to get me into the banquet, and in getting the invitation, I also learned this crucial information—which is highly accurate and can guarantee my safety—”

Her gradually rising tone stopped there, but her smile didn't return. "I can't be the only one talking. Doesn't anyone else have anything to say?"

"Yes," Cheng Xiangwu responded immediately, pointing with her thumb towards the armchair. "What's your relationship with her?"

“…You actually asked me that.” Diana’s smile faltered, and she awkwardly scratched her cheek with her finger. “Simply put, it’s unrelated. Stalking is of course a one-sided act. I’m an opportunist, so of course I know how to push my luck.”

"Okay." Cheng Xiangwu didn't say anything, then turned to look at Gu Wanqiu, "So what are you here for?"

Gu Wanqiu also turned her head, "Most of what she said about the Bai family is true, even exaggerated—"

"What are you doing here?" Cheng Xiangwu asked.

"...As mentioned before, I'm here to discuss with my classmate Gorson where she'll be going next, and to inform you about the disciplinary deficiencies in your workplace through Ms. Dai," Gu Wanqiu said.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xiang paused for a moment. If they were to discuss matters concerning Golson, they would have to consider Diana's existence.

"I'm going to the mountains with Sister Xiangxiang and Sister Fufu to see the cats next," Gao Ersen said, looking at Gu Wanqiu. "What does the mayor want to discuss with me? Is it the animal vaccine issue?"

"We're going to discuss your future life plans and personal safety," Gu Wanqiu said bluntly. "Gorson, as a minor, you shouldn't be discussing these kinds of issues with me directly, but you should know that now, no one but yourself can speak for you."

Upon hearing this, Golson opened his mouth but remained silent for a moment.

Cheng Xiang opened her mouth five times, "She—"

“You can’t do it either.” Gu Wanqiu didn’t turn her head. “Only I can take responsibility for her problems, and she also has responsibilities that she has to bear. This is my oversight, Gorson. I’m very sorry.”

Even when she was apologizing, her voice remained unchanged, and her expression was equally unchanging.

The person she was talking to was momentarily at a loss for words. She had been waiting for this apology, but now she realized that accepting it also meant accepting something else.

“…I’m so surprised.” Diana sat up, her smile disappearing as she lowered her crossed legs. “I don’t know what happened between you two, but what responsibility does a minor have to bear? Where are her family? Where are her guardians?”

No one answered her. Little Ferguson stood up, leaving Golson sitting alone on the spacious sofa, speechless. Under everyone's watchful eyes, she went to the kitchen, fetched water to boil, and took out a tea canister from the cupboard. It was Longjing tea.

"Mayor Gu?" Diana frowned and looked at Gu Wanqiu.

“Diana, I know a thing or two about why you’ve been so persistent in investigating the Bai family’s illegal activities. Your parents disappeared because of the union’s recruitment.” Gu Wanqiu said, lowering her eyes.

“…That’s only one of the reasons.” Diana’s expression didn’t change much.

“I know,” Gu Wanqiu said. “The information you received is true, which means you’ve been involved in related incidents multiple times. Have you ever wondered why you’ve survived until now?”

“...because I have good legs,” Diana said.

“Because Bai Langtao told me six months ago, ‘Let that young man who keeps chasing after the union live.’” Gu Wanqiu said, “I notified the people at the station, I arranged the night bus schedule, and I expedited your visa application process so that you could catch the flight you booked with the temporary number on the train.”

She finally looked at Diana, her glasses reflecting the light and obscuring half of her vision. "Bai Langtao stopped cooperating with those people a long time ago. Your information is true, but it's all outdated. Merchants who put expired products on the shelves without realizing it are just the lowest-level middlemen, not even as good as dogs sent out to bite people."

After saying that, she turned her gaze back to the other person, ignoring their reaction, and said, "Your grandparents finally understood the benefits of moving after being advised a few times. That's why you, a local, still have to stay in a hotel when you go back to your hometown. Think more about them, and think about your future, instead of sunk costs."

"...Is this why you didn't kick me out earlier?" Diana asked. "Do you think that after hearing these words, I wouldn't stay here anymore, wouldn't hang around under that old man Bai Langtao's nose anymore, wouldn't come into contact with that evidence and those people anymore? For what reason? Don't tell me it's for my safety."

Gu Wanqiu did not answer her.

After a long silence, Diana sighed deeply, "Well, at first, I just felt sorry for those two people."

She leaned back against the sofa armrest again, lowered her eyelids, and her weariness washed over her after her smile disappeared.

"Without any evidence of their deaths and no remains, they went out as usual, and all that came back was a check." Her voice lowered. "My grandparents didn't care, and I wasn't even that heartbroken. We continued with our lives as usual, except that I occasionally had to scold some of my uncivilized classmates, but to be honest, it wasn't that hard to deal with."

This wasn't the first time anyone present had heard this claim, but this particular perspective was indeed new.

“Then one year during the Qingming Festival, I went out and people asked me if I had gone to sweep the tombs?” Diana suddenly laughed again as she said this. “Then I suddenly felt that those two were really pitiful, and then I got a little angry, and got angrier and angrier, and finally, I had to do something.”

Her smile grew wider and wider, and she eventually returned to her original level.

"It's the same now." She looked at Gu Wanqiu reproachfully and said, "Doesn't what you said mean there's still a lot I can dig up? Mayor, you really know how to keep reporters in suspense! Right, my colleague?"

The air was filled with the delicate fragrance of green tea.

Cheng Xiangwu had nothing to say. The two men's remarks did not move her much. Regardless of whether they were positive or negative, she only gained a new understanding of the professional ethics of journalists and decided that she would never be a journalist again.

“Thank you for your pursuit of truth, Miss Diana. In my opinion, information marked with past time is not necessarily outdated. Miss Gu Wanqiu’s boring remarks are just a politician’s occupational hazard.” Xiao Fu picked up his teacup and sat down again.

Xiao Yan had followed them to the kitchen at some point, and now he was carrying a tray of steaming teacups, which he placed one by one on the coffee table in the living room, and put a sugar jar in the middle where no one could reach it.

As if alerted by the sound of the sofa sinking beside him, Golson looked up.

"...So there are people like you out there." She said, a smile that wasn't really a smile on her face.

“That’s right, after all, people have to live.” Xiao Fu put down his teacup. “You can keep your head down or up, and Miss Diana is old enough to take responsibility for her own head, isn’t that right, Miss Gu Wanqiu?”

"That sounds so strange," Diana wondered.

“Then blame it on Miss Gu Wanqiu’s logical fallacy.” Xiao Fu turned his head. “Do you want to explain why your words and actions are contradictory? Or I can do it myself, but then there will be no dignity left for politicians.”

Gu Wanqiu picked up the still-steaming teacup, took a sip, and put it back on the tea tray. "There is no contradiction in what I said. You can decide for yourselves how to interpret it."

“Then let’s get to the action.” Little F frowned. “Could you please cooperate a little? It’s not good to keep wasting time on this.”

“In terms of my actions, I was merely doing what a mayor should do. If Ms. Dai is unwilling to accept my suggestion, then I will not force her,” Gu Wanqiu said.

"Including acting as a front for the Bai family, yet arbitrarily revealing their intention to keep the guests they specifically invited away?" Xiao Fu's tone rose a bit. "Forgive my bluntness, but what you're doing won't actually achieve the meaning you want."

"...Meaning?" The word was uttered with a short, abrupt sound, like a sneer or a sigh, but Gu Wanqiu remained expressionless. "Let's talk about that later."

“…You.” Xiao Fu looked at Cheng Xiangwu, “Go and pour out her cup of tea. She doesn’t deserve it.”

"Hey." Cheng Xiangwu almost laughed. She noticed that Xiao Fu would get irritated after only a few words between the two.

“Because she’s a black hole of meaning, she devours the value of actions, and sitting in the same space as her is going to damage my hearing—” Little F said very dissatisfiedly, “Hurry up, or I’ll just throw it on her head!”

"Can I take a picture if you want to splash it?" Diana raised her hand. "I'm sure some newspapers will be willing to buy it."

Cheng Xiangwu didn't give anyone a chance, reaching out and pulling the teacup in front of Gu Wanqiu next to her own.

“That’s fine, I’ll drink it later,” she said.

“…Just keep being this optimistic,” Little Franz said with dissatisfaction, then looked at Diana. “Let’s talk about your job, Miss Diana. You heard what Miss Gu Wanqiu said. I’m not particularly interested in cause and effect between people, but without a doubt, their starting point is the same—that mining area. Have you ever been to that area?”

“I’ve been there, not inside the mine, but the area where the workers lived. But now I hear even that area is off-limits.” Diana said, resting her head on her hand as she recalled, “I went there when I was very young. I only remember that the air was terrible and very noisy. And there were so many people, and most of them looked worse than the sky. I remember the death toll from that massive collapse was only in the double digits, but that number is probably inflated.”

There are several mines in the northern mountainous area of ​​Moriko City, all of which are underground mining operations except for one open-pit coal mine. One of the mines experienced a mine tunnel collapse 30 years ago due to an underground tremor. After the incident, construction was suspended for investigation, and the entire mine tunnel was no longer put into use.

Subsequent identification revealed 25 victims, including 9 fatalities, classifying it as a major accident.

“After that collapse, the mining area was shut down because environmental surveys showed that the area was an ecologically sensitive area, but I couldn’t find the specific report,” Gu Wanqiu said. “Afterwards, Bai Bai neither transferred the mining rights nor returned them; they just fenced off the area, saying it was for ecological protection.”

"...Is this legally permissible?" Diana asked, puzzled.

"The result was that it was possible. It won't work now, but back then the Energy Bureau didn't have a dedicated coal mining department. The mineral veins in Senhu City weren't as abundant as those in the mountainous areas of northern cities, and transportation was just so-so," Gu Wanqiu said. "The protection work continued until the very end. Baibai Co., Ltd. applied for a mining right for 20 years, which was until 2012."

It was also the year that the Five Fragrances Pavilion caught fire.