Chapter 164 Not a Coincidence
“…It’s quite a coincidence indeed.”
As Ms. Mary said, there is really nothing left on that island.
The island is generally high on the sides and low in the middle, forming a basin, which is why a lake forms in the center. Now, perhaps due to the global downpour six months ago, the entire center of the island is covered by water. Not only is there no sanatorium, but even the houses of the island's indigenous inhabitants, as Ms. Mary had mentioned, are gone, leaving only the frozen lake, as calm as a mirror.
During the video call, the head of a foreign rescue organization shared a video.
"This is the current state of the island. There's really nothing left. Everything is underwater. Through the surface of the lake, you can vaguely see the ruins of the buildings below... Ms. Mary said it was already like this when they left."
The person in charge was obviously disappointed. He thought he could find the other party's lair, but all he saw was a ruin.
"Because we were worried about pathogens in the lake water, we didn't dare go down before we were fully protected... And we speculated that they blew up the institute themselves, and perhaps took away all the data before the decision was made. Perhaps it was because the experimental subject... the monkey escaped and caused a leak, so they abandoned the institute..."
This road is blocked again.
In order to obtain the information, everyone had to start over and try to find the traces of Edmund and Gis through other channels and information.
At this time, all the relevant information about Jiang Qian had been collected.
…
The subordinates Zhang Chongguang sent to look for Jiang Qian could not find her name in the registration list of the two bases at the airport and the urban area of City A. In desperation, they could only find their superiors again with the notice.
"Captain Zhang, we don't have this person here. Are you sure he's here?"
Of course, Zhang Chongguang wasn't sure where the person was. When he heard that his base couldn't find him, he said, "Then leave him here for now. Maybe he's in City B or somewhere else."
People from several surrounding cities often travel back and forth, so it is not certain that people will go to other nearby cities.
Unable to find anyone at his own base, Zhang Chongguang did not waste time and planned to report the investigation results first after finishing the work at hand, and then ask other nearby bases.
Just as he was thinking this, he saw Zhao Wen coming in.
Thinking of what he said before about someone around him who had dealt with people from Nanhe County, Zhang Chongguang asked, "Where is the person you mentioned before? Why didn't you bring him?"
Zhao Wen had been busy these two days and didn't react to what Zhang Chongguang said for a while. It was only when he saw the notice with a photo printed on it waving in his hand that he remembered.
He slapped his head and said, "Oops, I forgot!"
Zhao Wen was usually very efficient in his work. This was the first time Zhang Chongguang noticed he had forgotten something, but he didn't get angry. "Don't worry, I'll call the other base first."
Although Zhao Wen said he had a brother who knew someone named Jiang in Nanhe County, Zhang Chongguang didn't hold out hope. He didn't think that person would know the person he was looking for. After all, there were so many people in Nanhe County, and even if they all had the surname Jiang, it wouldn't be such a coincidence.
Knowing that it is not easy to find someone, Zhang Chongguang is not in a hurry.
Seeing that he was not in a hurry, Zhao Wen also relaxed. Since it was not an urgent matter, he did not rush to find someone to take a look. He got busy with other things and put the matter behind him.
Two days later, several nearby bases finished checking the population registration list and called Zhang Chongguang back. Without exception, they said they had not found the person.
Zhang Chongguang was just thinking about whether to expand the search area further when the subordinate he had originally sent to look for the person came up with an idea.
"Captain Zhang, if this person was in City A before the mutation, he shouldn't have gotten far. We can't find him in several nearby bases, so the possibility of him being somewhere else is definitely even smaller. And we don't know if he's still alive."
If he had died in an accident before, it would be impossible to find him no matter how hard you look in the population register.
Although the subordinate didn't know why they were looking for this person, they knew that this was not the captain's relative, so they dared to say, "I think we should look for this person's family members and neighbors, maybe there will be other clues."
Zhang Chongguang thought about it and realized he was missing something. Because the document was sent from the rescue center, he subconsciously assumed the person he was looking for was still alive and hadn't considered the possibility that they might have passed away.
He asked his subordinates to print out several more copies of the information from the system, and then called the surrounding bases one by one.
Not long after, both City P and City N called and said that they had found the person he was looking for on their registration lists.
The people from City P said they had found the village chief of the village mentioned in the information he had given them, and the people from City N said they had found the father of the person he had been looking for, and they also provided more specific information.
"I heard someone came here before to inquire about the whereabouts of this family, and finally found the family of Jiang Weimin's daughter-in-law's sister on the list. She provided information at the time that Jiang Weimin's family is now working on the train, but we don't know which train they are on now..."
Zhang Chongguang didn't expect that he actually got a clue in a roundabout way, and was very surprised.
After thanking him, he hung up the phone and wondered whether to send someone to look for him on the train, or to go to the two bases to find out more about the situation.
After all, the families of train staff do not stay in the same place as ordinary passengers. Even if they are on the same train, if the other party stays in the room and does not come out, it is difficult for them to judge whether the person is on the train, let alone complete the observation task.
But if we ask someone to go to Jingming Mountain to inquire for detailed information, the bases are so far apart that going back and forth would be a waste of time.
If both sides were to go looking for someone, it would be too much of a fuss. Zhang Chongguang thought about the principle of keeping the search as confidential as possible and felt a little worried.
Just when he was worried, he heard a knock on the door. Then the guard on duty at the door of the village committee lifted the cotton curtain at the door and led someone in.
"Report, this comrade said Director Zhao asked him to come."
Zhang Chongguang looked up and saw a familiar face. He asked in surprise, "It's Qingshan. What did Zhao Wen ask you to do?"
Zhang Chongguang came to Xiaozhao Village a long time ago and worked with all the villagers. Although he couldn't say that he knew everyone in Xiaozhao Village, he could still recognize the names of activists like Zhao Qingshan.
"It's me!" Zhao Qingshan bared his teeth. "Captain Zhang, Brother Wen said you were looking for someone named Jiang from Nanhe County. Let me see if I know him."
"Oh, yes, that's true." Zhang Chongguang then remembered what he had said to Zhao Wen before. "I was so busy that I forgot. It turns out that the person Zhao Wen was talking about was you!"
Since they were acquaintances, there was no need for polite greetings. Zhang Chongguang simply handed over the paper on the table and said, "Look, this is the person. Do you recognize him?"
Zhao Qingshan took it, frowned at the photo on the paper, and replied, "I do know someone who looks very similar to this one, also surnamed Jiang, but I don't know if it's this name."
Zhang Chongguang didn't expect that someone around him actually recognized him. He said in surprise, "Really? Tell me more!"
Seeing Zhang Chongguang so excited, Zhao Qingshan told him about his several encounters with the Jiang family. "...but we only met twice and didn't exchange names, so we can't be sure."
Although he said he couldn't be sure, Zhang Chongguang thought of the two phone calls he had just hung up, and suddenly felt that it might really be such a coincidence.
He brought out a few other photos with information written on them, "Take a look at these. Do you recognize them?"
Zhao Qingshan looked at the photos and spoke decisively this time.
"I know them! This is Uncle Jiang's family!"
If it was someone who looked alike, he couldn't guarantee it. After all, he and Uncle Jiang's daughter had only met once or twice. But if a family looked alike and looked the same in photos, the possibility of mistaking them was extremely small! Not to mention that he and Uncle Jiang and his wife had not only met, but later took a bus together to the train station in City B and spent several hours together.
Zhang Chongguang perked up. "Then do you know where they are now? Especially this female comrade? Is she still alive?"
Although Zhao Qingshan had almost no contact with the Jiang family regarding this issue later, he had heard other people in the village mention it.
"They're definitely still alive. I heard that their family got a job working on a food truck and moved in. Someone in the village even told me they saw them on the truck..."
After hearing this, Zhang Chongguang felt relieved, as this matched the news from City N.
One person’s statement may be inaccurate, but if two people say the same thing, the possibility of being misled is greatly reduced.
After thinking about it, Zhang Chongguang decided to report directly to his superiors.
He pulled Zhao Qingshan to sit down and called the secretary over, "Say what you just said again and have the secretary write it down."
While the secretary was taking notes, he sat aside and wrote a written report on the two phone calls he had heard today, and finally sent it out together with the one written by the secretary by fax machine.
…
Jiang Qian's information appeared on the conference table of the National Rescue Center.
“…It’s quite a coincidence indeed.”
Although the content of the report was very limited, and Zhao Qingshan didn't know much after all, after sorting and summarizing it, almost everything Jiang Qian wanted to conceal was revealed.
"Not long after they arrived at the airport, a train appeared in City A."
"Their whole family works on the train."
"The train just started heading south, and their relatives are in City N."
"There happened to be the exact same fingerprints on the box as this girl's."
“…”
Although these things seem to be coincidences individually, once they are connected together, they become a big net that covers Jiang Qian tightly.
Her little escapist tricks were no match for the people present at the meeting. Just by looking at the report, they were certain this was indeed the person they were looking for.
Some impatient people couldn't wait any longer, "I'll send someone to look for him on the train right now."
They didn’t know the details of the train before, but now they know that there is a little girl behind the scenes controlling it, so what are they waiting for!
But some disagreed with immediate action. "The girl has been hiding it for so long, obviously she doesn't want anyone to know. She's done so much, technically speaking, she's been helping us the whole time. What if you rush over so hastily and scare her?"
Someone agreed, "Yes, we can't treat hiring people like catching criminals. We don't want to make people who originally had a good impression of us afraid to come forward in the end."
"If you ask me, we can send a message to confirm first. If she's interested, she'll naturally contact us. If not... we can find another opportunity to talk to her properly."
"That's what I mean. The little girl has a train and has done something so troublesome. We can't make enemies with her."
Overall, the people in the room preferred a more moderate approach. The minority followed the majority, and the matter was ultimately settled.
The person who was finally assigned to be in charge of this matter was the only female comrade among the participants.
…
【Author’s words】
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