Chapter 109 Chapter 109 Looking for the Corpse
Without waiting for Tu Lanxun to invite him in, Teacher Nie pushed the door open and came in.
She looked around. Although she was well-mannered, her back was tense and she was as alert as a wild beast entering another beast's territory.
Teacher Nie was on guard against N and the many powerful ghosts that frequented the convenience store. Mikhail's bronze lynx eyes flickered behind the cigarette rack. Sonya's humpback whale tail swam along the edge of the first-floor staircase. N, who had silently appeared behind Tu Lanxun, glared at Teacher Nie with a chilling gaze.
"Please take a seat." Tu Lanxun broke the silence and asked Teacher Nie to sit down next to the cashier. "What can I do for you?"
Teacher Nie coughed, took the hot water that Tu Lanxun pushed over, and, with the smoke of incense sticks curling beside her, she said, "I want to see someone from the Game Management Bureau."
Perhaps it was the wisdom of years of survival that had shaped her. Even with her strong intentions, Teacher Nie's expression remained gentle, making it impossible not to agree to her request. Tu Lanxun lowered his eyes, thought for two seconds, and asked, "Why?"
Why did you suddenly agree to cooperate?
Teacher Nie stared at Tu Lanxun. Rarely, her gaze lacked the sharpness she'd shown to N, instead revealing a complex and gentler emotion. Like a female elder, she spoke softly, "Thank you for protecting Siyu. No matter what your reasons were, thank you."
Tu Lanxun was slightly surprised. "Have you talked to Song Siyu?"
"No." Teacher Nie glanced at the light, a faint smile on his face. "I don't want to disturb her life. She has her own career and friends. She doesn't rely on anyone else, only on her own hard work to make a living. She's doing very well."
It turned out that on the night Tu Lanxun rescued Song Siyu in Western Province, Teacher Nie was actually nearby. She had been lingering around Song Siyu, wanting to take one more look at her.
Tu Lanxun was silent. Teacher Nie's love and hatred were so clear that she couldn't help but sigh, "Okay, why are you looking for the Game Management Bureau? Can you tell me?"
Teacher Nie put down the water cup, tapped the wall of the cup with her blood-red nails, and said in a wandering voice, "I saw the morning glory."
"What?" Tu Lanxun was horrified.
Teacher Nie died later than N, and his involvement in the Kingdom Group and his position in it were far more profound than N's.
"Don't get me wrong, I have no intention of colluding with them again." Teacher Nie said with a hint of self-mockery, "Qian Niu was the one who dealt with me in the first place. How could I have forgotten that?"
Tu Lanxun took out his phone to record the situation. "Can you tell me what happened at that time?"
Teacher Nie replied, "He found me. He was hunting me. Perhaps the group knew about our group of ghosts being rounded up by the Gaming Administration. At least they've gathered around you, and you have a close relationship with the Administration."
Tu Lanxun was certainly caught in this danger. In fact, the confrontation between the two sides had already reached a fever pitch, but it was just being kept secret and not brought to the surface.
Teacher Nie continued, "I ran into him in the central provinces. Siyu was already under the protection of the Tourism Administration, and I was returning to Lucheng."
Ghosts travel in a very primitive way. They can take trains or walk on their legs alone. The speed depends on their own strength.
"I met him at the airport in the capital of Huang Province. He was coming for me, carrying a ghost-killing weapon modified by the Heavenly Kingdom Group—you should have seen something similar at the Tourism Administration."
Teacher Nie pursed his lips and smiled. "It's not bad. Ghosts are easier to hide than living people. After circling the terminal with him a few times, I boarded a taking-off plane and left. I was squeezed into the belly of the plane, tugging on the gradually retracting wheels. I almost froze to death for the second time."
Tu Lanxun nodded. "So, the Heavenly Kingdom Group is intentionally dealing with you. But I have a question," she asked both N and Teacher Nie. "Since the strange invasion will cause a large number of ghosts who know the evil deeds of the Heavenly Kingdom Group to return to Earth, there is bound to be the possibility of them negotiating with the living. Why would they dig their own graves, open up the horror game world, and promote the strange invasion of Earth?"
Teacher Nie was a bit embarrassed. "I don't know. I wasn't brought into the game world after my death." She smiled bitterly. "Maybe they remembered the last bit of kindness they had for me. And from the perspective of the time, there were almost no humans like you who could physically transcend the Fourth Treaty."
The one who finally answered this question was N. He had been standing on the other side of the shelf, observing their conversation coldly and pointedly. "Because all the unjustly killed ghosts thrown into the game world have been transformed. When they return, they only retain the memories of being horror characters, not the identities of the living people they once were."
There are two exceptions, one is N and the other is Mikhail.
Mikhail's awakening is also related to Tu Lanxun and N.
N knew who he was from the beginning.
"Okay. I'll contact Director Wen for you." Tu Lanxun agreed.
#
Wen Chong quickly sent a car to pick up Teacher Nie. The subsequent interrogation would be the responsibility of the Tourism Administration. The person who arrived was Lu Lianbing, and she brought another piece of good news.
"The authorities are studying a 'Ghost Rights Draft', but it focuses more on the cause of death and the statute of limitations for prosecution. If there are cases in the future where someone is killed but there is no evidence, the testimony of the victim's ghost may also be legally certified," Lu Lianbing said happily.
Tu Lanxun also became cheerful. "What about the lives of ghosts in the mortal world? How are they managed? And how are their basic rights divided and restricted? Any news?"
Her ghost community has been a gray area until now, where neither the public nor the government has investigated. There is no law proving that she has violated the law, nor is there any law supporting the existence of the community.
"No." Lu Lianbing shrugged, his attitude relaxed. "But I think it will be soon. I'm quite optimistic. You have to eat one bite at a time, and you have to take things one step at a time."
Tu Lanxun's happiness didn't diminish at all. She bought Lu Lianbing a drink, and he took a dozen bags of instant coffee powder. She was ready to stay up all night in the office. She left with a smile, saying, "I'll treat you to dinner later."
Tu Lanxun found it interesting and asked, "When will we turn back?"
Lu Lianbing waved his hand and said, "I can't blame you, Dexing."
Originally thought it would take a long time, because Lu Lianbing, a regular staff member of the Tourism Administration, was really busy, especially when faced with a boss like Wen Chong who was decisive and had no idea what vacation was. They had been traveling like a top from Western Province to Lucheng. Tu Lanxun thought they might not have any vacation in the next six months.
As a result, I received two messages when I woke up early the next day. The first one was from Lu Lianbing, "Someone invites you to dinner."
The second message was from Li Ao, "Are you up? I need to go out for something, I'm here to pick you up now."
Li Ao's message was sent half an hour ago. Tu Lanxun slept through two alarms and one missed call. He ran downstairs while calling Li Ao back, only to find that Li Ao's car was parked at the door and he was leaning against the car smoking.
There was a police car and a forensic vehicle transporting corpse samples not far away. Tu Lanxun was startled and walked towards Li Ao, "Captain Li, you want to treat me to a meal - no, what is it?"
Li Ao put out his cigarette, glanced around cautiously, and before Xiao Zhang came over, he extinguished the cigarette butt and threw it into the mineral water bottle. Then he said, "There's a case. Director Wen referred me to it. You should be aware of the situation."
"Teacher Nie?" Tu Lanxun reacted quickly.
"right."
Xiao Zhang ran over, stopped, and wrinkled his nose. "Why does it smell like smoke?"
She looked at Li Ao suspiciously. Li Ao moved his arm as if nothing had happened. He had recovered well, but he had to hold back when stretching it to a certain angle. Xiao Zhang was furious. "Captain Li, my sister-in-law specifically told me to watch you and not smoke. I accepted the gift and ate the meal. How can I live like this? And what about your health?"
Li Ao closed his eyes with a headache. "What does it have to do with me if you accepted her gift? Just go to whoever invites you to dinner... Don't worry about it. I'm in good health."
Xiao Zhang was unwilling to do so and decided to go all out: "Then I'll go and tell my sister-in-law. I'll risk my dignity, but you go home and kneel on the keyboard. Your arms were already half-dead, and now your legs are in a terrible state too..."
Li Ao glared in anger, but he was really afraid that Xiao Zhang would tell on him, so he could only say, "Just this once, okay? Why did you hire a scumbag when we were recruiting people? Well, didn't we agree to treat you all to dinner after this? Take your picks, I'll pay."
Tu Lanxun laughed: "Did you hear that, Nuri? Captain Li's attitude is pretty good."
Xiao Zhang kept muttering, "Come on, you don't even know. We're going to a remote place. What good food can we find there?"
Tu Lanxun asked about the location and found out that the destination was a mountain near a county town between Lucheng and the tea market in the south. The mountain was called Badapan, which sounded like a banquet, but it was actually very steep. There were eight small peaks of medium altitude intertwined. The development of the scenic area was average, and no one liked to go there except for experienced hikers. There was no economy there, let alone a developed economy.
She thought of the knowledge of the province's geography and customs she had memorized and laughed, "The wild vegetables near Bada Pan Mountain are delicious, and there are also private farmhouses. Hurry and make a reservation."
Xiao Zhang's eyes lit up, "I'm looking for a guide now."
Li Ao had already gotten into the car, but he couldn't help but touch his wallet. "Can you two be kind enough? These are some mountain delicacies. They're so expensive. And we're going to look for a corpse. Can you guys eat them?"
#
So they set off. While eating bread in the car, Tu Lanxun realized that this trip was to look for Teacher Nie's body and remains.
Teacher Nie naturally accompanied them, but she didn't want to show her face, let alone talk to any strangers. She just followed behind the convoy, occasionally appearing beside Li Ao's driver's seat and giving directions through Tu Lanxun.
It takes five hours to get to Badapan Mountain from Lucheng. By the time we arrived, Tu Lanxun's legs were swollen from sitting. He got out of the car and jumped around with Xiao Zhang to get some blood flowing. Teacher Nie appeared nearby and said, "I haven't been here in four or five years. The last time I was brought here, I was packed up in a box and escorted here."
Tu Lanxun didn't know how to respond to this. Fortunately, Teacher Nie was not interested in chatting, so the group headed towards the mountains.
Teacher Nie remembered being thrown from a high cliff. The box was sealed, but she didn't know the exact location, but she heard it passed the Badapan Mountain toll station. Based on her estimated duration, it must have been somewhere between the fourth and seventh bends.
Badapan Mountain is sparsely populated, and there are many places that even forest rangers cannot reach. It can be said that no one dares to enter from the third bend onwards.
The wheel tracks from that time have long disappeared, but after going around the second bend, the artificially repaired road surface was cut off. However, they found a natural dirt road at the foot of the mountain. They went around the dirt road to the gentle slope on the shady side of the mountain and were able to drive up and pass through the mountainside connecting the third and fifth bends. Originally, mountain people had built a dirt road here, but later, due to the surrounding economic development and forest protection, the mountain people were moved to nearby counties and towns, and no one has come to this road for many years.
The wheels crushed the low grass and trees, and Teacher Nie's perception became clearer. He said, "It seems to be in front." There was a cliff in front, and below it was a steep slope and a vast forest. There was no sign of anything crashing.
As Teacher Nie stood at the edge of the cliff, two lines of cold tears slid down her cheeks. "It's right here. I can feel it."
Tu Lanxun relayed this as Li Ao and a local support climbing team rappelled down the cliff.
After a long search, more than an hour later, a satellite phone call came from downstairs, saying, "Found it."
Teacher Nie's remains and the iron box were no longer recognizable. The former was in pieces with only moss-covered bones left, while the latter was covered with rust. Even if someone walked by, they would just think it was a piece of broken wood stepped on by a wild beast.
The bones were packed into a storage bag as intact as possible and then hung up along the cliff.
Tu Lanxun heard faint friction sounds around him, as if something was passing by.
Several ghosts with numb faces came from all directions, the last light dancing in their eyes, and their clothes were more or less stained with blood and mud.
Could Badapan Mountain be a hidden corpse dumping ground? Otherwise, why would these ghosts appear? Li Aolai had previously done background checks and found only one reported missing hiker in Badapan Mountain in recent years, but no one matched their age or physical appearance.
Teacher Nie said beside Tu Lanxun: "They... may be other people killed by Qianniu..."
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