Chapter 401 The interrogation and investigation lasted a week, like wild grass that had been dried up, long and tedious.
The atmosphere in Battalion No. 3 was extremely oppressive.
Wang Xiaoya's death was like a cold, hard boulder, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts, making it hard to breathe.
The task force's investigation was proceeding at full speed, with the office lights burning almost all night. Every soldier was called in for questioning individually, from their daily routines to their interpersonal relationships; even a few extra words exchanged with someone on a regular basis were subject to repeated interrogation.
The members of the female soldiers' platoon, in particular, were the focus of the investigation. Every time Chen Xiaocao came out of the office, her eyes were red and swollen from crying. Liu Landi, on the other hand, was terribly silent and had lost a lot of weight.
In the camp, Bai Wei's "testimony" buzzed around like flies, spreading everywhere.
She said she accidentally discovered that Wang Xiaoya was stealing food of unknown origin and sneaking out of the window to go to the back mountain late at night. She emphasized that she reported Wang Xiaoya to the instructor after some internal struggle, out of a strong sense of responsibility as a revolutionary comrade.
She also said that after Wang Xiaoya was released from solitary confinement, her mental state was very unstable. She kindly tried to comfort her and advised her to trust the organization and not to do anything rash. Unexpectedly, Wang Xiaoya had a guilty conscience and was extremely guarded, so she wouldn't listen to any advice and eventually took her own life.
This explanation was so well-woven that it not only cleared himself of any wrongdoing but also portrayed him as a "good person" who was loyal to his duty, cared for his comrades, and was powerless to change the situation.
At first, quite a few people did believe it.
But as time went on, some dissenting voices began to emerge.
But as time went on, all sorts of private discussions began to emerge like mushrooms after rain, quietly appearing on the dining tables in the cafeteria, during training breaks, and between the beds in the dormitories.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Zhuoyue said in a low voice to Xu Gaogui beside him, poking at the cornbread in his bowl with his chopsticks in the cafeteria. "You know that girl Xiaoya, she's more timid than a rabbit. During the last assessment, she was trembling with fear at the sound of wolves howling. Would she dare to run barefoot to the dark back mountain in the middle of the night?"
Xu Gaogui pushed up his black-rimmed glasses, his gaze behind the lenses gleaming with rationality. "I also find it strange. Logically speaking, suicide out of fear of punishment usually occurs when the crime has been exposed, the evidence is conclusive, and there is no other way out. But at that time, the special task force had not yet been formally established, and the investigation of her was only a preliminary inquiry, far from being at a dead end or beyond redemption. Why was she in such a hurry to end her life?"
“That’s right!” Li Si, one of Gao Kai’s police officers, couldn’t hold back and slammed his fist on the table indignantly, causing the soup in his rice bowl to spill out.
"Brother Kai, what kind of mess is this!" Li Si's eyes were red with anger. "She ran up the mountain barefoot! Who has ever seen someone commit suicide like that? That takes a lot of determination, she must have really wanted to die! But why would she do that? That woman Bai Wei said she had something to hide, what could she possibly have to hide? She just stole a piece of candy, right? Who hasn't sneaked a snack these days? Is it really worth making such a fuss about?"
Gao Kai's face was grim, and he remained silent, only clenching the dark steamed bun in his hand tighter and tighter, his knuckles turning white from the force. After Su An was locked up, he was like a wild beast trapped in a cage, restless and angry, yet with nowhere to vent his frustration. He wanted to find Instructor Qin, wanted to ask about the situation, but he couldn't even get through to Instructor Qin. He could only wait, and this feeling of helplessness was driving him crazy.
These private discussions, like pebbles thrown into a stagnant pond, may not stir up huge waves, but they create endless ripples in the still water.
Everyone here is an elite selected from various military units; they are not fools who can be easily fooled. Bai Wei's explanation seems reasonable and watertight at first glance, but if you calm down and think about it carefully, you will find that there are many loopholes in the explanation.
It was Chen Xiaocao who truly brought this suspicion to a climax.
When she was called in for questioning by her female instructor Zhang Ruobing once again, this usually shy and introverted girl finally broke down. She cried and intermittently recounted a detail that moved even Zhang Ruobing.
“Xiao Ya…the night she had the accident…in the cafeteria…she gave the biggest piece of braised pork from her bowl to Sister Su An, and then poured the rest onto me…” Chen Xiaocao sobbed, barely able to continue. “She said…she said she hadn’t had a good appetite lately and wanted to lose weight…but she loves eating meat the most, and every time she gets her food, she asks the cooks to give her an extra spoonful of meat broth to mix with her rice…”
"She also said... she smiled and told us to take good care of each other and be kind to each other... The way she looked... thinking about it now... it was like... like she was making her last wishes..."
This detail, like a sharp thorn, pierced the hearts of everyone who heard it.
It spread, intentionally or unintentionally, among the soldiers whose resolve was beginning to waver, through the words of the instructors.
Would someone contemplating suicide die out of fear of censorship?
No.
It's more like she chose death because of some deeper, more unspeakable despair. She wasn't running away from anything; she was using her life to fulfill something, or rather, to protect something.
The story behind this is far more complex and heavy than the words "suicide out of fear of punishment".
The person behind this heavy burden, Bai Wei, who seemed weak and innocent, began to appear blurry and suspicious in the eyes of the public.
Finally, the week-long lockdown is over.
That morning, while it was still barely light, the heavy iron door of the solitary confinement cell slammed shut with a loud bang, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet camp.
The two doors were opened at almost the same time.
Bai Wei emerged with heavy dark circles under her eyes, a haggard face, and chapped lips. She deliberately made herself look more disheveled, as if she had suffered inhuman torture and immense mental pressure in solitary confinement. Her head was slightly lowered, and her shoulders were hunched, hoping to gain a shred of sympathy from anyone who saw her with this pitiful appearance.
Meanwhile, Su Tang also came out.
She seemed even thinner; her already slender cheeks were slightly sunken, making the lines of her jawline even more defined and sharp. After a week without sunlight, her skin appeared almost translucently pale.
But her eyes were as calm as a bottomless ancient pool, without ripples or waves, revealing neither sadness nor anger. It was a deathly stillness that settled after extreme calmness, more unsettling than hysterical madness.
The two met in the cold corridor in the early morning.
At that moment, all the early-rising soldiers in the camp, whether they were going to the parade ground for morning exercises or to the water room to wash up, seemed to have been put on pause. They subconsciously stopped in their tracks, watching this scene from afar, not daring to even breathe loudly.
The air seemed to freeze.
Everyone thought a dramatic confrontation was about to erupt. Would Su An rush forward again and slap Bai Wei? Or, at the very least, would he curse her with the most vicious words?
However, Su Tang only glanced at Bai Wei indifferently.
That look in his eyes was light and detached, devoid of any emotion, as if he were looking at a roadside stone that was in his way, or a wisp of dust being blown by the wind.
Then, without looking to the side, she strode past Bai Wei.
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