Burning Article 5917

  Chi Zhou Public Security Bureau has someone coming to pick up two colleagues from Zijin City.

  After some small talk, Cai Xuelin hinted for Cheng Chou to get on the car together. Cheng Chou hesitated for a moment before getting on the car.

  He thought, since that person is waiting every day, it won't make a difference for one or two more days. But Hong Ye and Chen Yan might not be able to wait that long.

  Above all, he didn't know how to explain to the detectives that at the critical moment of redeeming his son, why he still took out precious time to see a stranger.

  The detectives seemed to have grasped some information and drove straight to Jiuhua Mountain without stopping.

  "It was originally an unnamed canyon with an elevation of only over 300 meters, but due to the treacherous terrain and signs of loose rocks at the top, the local tourism bureau did not include it in the Jiuhua Mountain scenic spots for safety reasons. So if tourists don't have a detailed map to guide them, they generally can't find it." A stout police officer explained the situation.

  Cheng Zhou had heard him introduce himself before, his name was Yin Min, a relatively feminine name.

  He was over thirty years old, slightly ugly in appearance, and his height seemed to be below the minimum standard for police officers. However, at this age, he was already a third-level police inspector and also the person in charge of the missing persons and suicide cases in the local area of Chuan Yue Xia.

  All the way, the detectives may have been embarrassed by the presence of an outsider and didn't chat much.

  Only Yin Min asked Cheng Chou a question after learning about his identity: "Where does the other party want you to meet at Jiuhua Mountain?"

  Cheng Zhou hastily replied: "Through the Strait."

  "What time?"

  "He told me to get off the train and go directly to Chuan Yue Gorge, and that I must arrive before 3 am. He said someone would find me when I got there." This was what Situ had previously taught him to say.

  "Three o'clock..." Yin Min raised her wrist to check the time, "It seems we don't have much time left, Xiao Wang, step on it!"

  Half an hour later, the car drove directly into a building in Jiuhua Mountain.

  Cheng Chong was politely asked by a police officer to go to an empty room and wait for a while. Because it was unclear whether the kidnapper would contact Cheng Chong, his mobile phone was taken away and connected to a monitoring device.

  The policeman stayed behind to operate the computer while the others went next door to a temporary conference room.

  "Before leaving, Yin Min said to Cheng Zhou: 'It's now 0:35, please give us an hour to make arrangements. Don't worry, as long as your son is still alive, we will definitely try our best to rescue him.'"

  Cheng Chou couldn't sit still on the sofa, so he got up and paced back and forth in the room. When he walked to the wall that adjoined the next room, he suddenly heard a clear conversation from the other side.

  Cheng Zhou was taken aback and took a step back, his voice disappearing. He tried to take another step forward, and his voice became clear again, as if he were also in that room.

  What's going on? The walls are so thin here? But why can't I hear anything if I take a step back?

  The police officer fiddling with the computer roughly understood Zhang Jiuzhou's anxiety and did not stop him from pacing back and forth.

  Cheng Chou thought of inviting him to come over and listen, but his mouth opened and then closed again. If only he could hear the sound from next door, it would be as if he had become able to see ghosts; wouldn't the police suspect him?

  Cheng Chou wanted to leave the wall, but people's inferior nature of wanting to know secrets made him stay in place without moving, only changing his posture. From other people's perspective, he seemed to be leaning against the wall with a troubled heart.

  Ten minutes later, from the conversation of the detectives, Cheng Zhou learned:

  The suicidal incidents in the gorge have drawn high attention from local government.

  The Chi Prefecture Public Security Bureau received a series of missing person cases, and after investigation, it was found that they were all related to a webpage and Chuan Yue Xia.

  Most importantly, all the corpses of those who jumped to their deaths from the precipice have disappeared, which is also why this matter did not initially attract police attention until it was spread online and missing persons reports were received.

  The corpses disappeared? How is it possible? So many people's bodies are all gone? Cheng Zhou was puzzled.

  "......Have you guys tried linking to that webpage?" asked Yin Min from next door.

  "Of course." Cai Xuelin replied.

  "What's the result?"

  "It's very strange, many people in our police station have tried, but every time they enter the jump page, what comes out is a landscape picture of Jiuhua Mountain, and there are no other instructions."

  Yin Min paused for a moment, "Our situation is similar to yours, but we have a colleague who seems to have seen something different. He only left behind the words 'crossing the gorge' and disappeared on the second day."

  "Ah!" Cai and Ni expressed regret and shock, then Cai hurriedly asked: "What's special about this colleague of yours? Why can he see things that we can't?"

  Yin Min paused for a longer time this time, and finally said somewhat vaguely: "Our colleague had some trouble during that period and was asked to drink tea twice."

  Alright, everyone understands now.

  "It seems like a psychological issue, perhaps only those who want to escape from life... or need to have some kind of pessimistic mentality can see the hint?" Nī Gōng analyzed.

  Yin Min replied, "We think so too. Among the dozen or so missing persons in our locality who have been investigated, it seems that they all had some kind of dissatisfaction with their lives. There were wives whose husbands had affairs, businessmen who failed in their ventures, people who had lost love, students who were frequently bullied at school, and even a junior high school student who was obsessed with time travel and thought about it day and night."

  Cai Xuelin also said: "In our case, several missing cases were found to be related to crossing or Jiuhuashan. Only Chen Yan's disappearance was strange. According to her mother, she had been helping a friend during this period, and the experience of that friend made her very angry, and she even quarreled with her family several times. She herself did not have any suicidal tendencies."

  Cai Xuelin seemed to take a sip of tea, and after putting the cup on the table, he continued: "However, at first we didn't pay attention to this case. It wasn't until Chengzhou reported it that we connected her disappearance with the series of disappearances in Jiuhuashan."

  Yin Min knocked on the table, "What's strange is that apart from our local Chizhou, it seems that only your Zijin City has had similar missing person cases. We've contacted other city bureaus and none of them have heard of any similar missing person cases happening. Colleagues from other city bureaus also helped to link to that webpage, but even the jump page didn't appear."

  "It's strange, really strange! But the strangest thing is, where did all the corpses that jumped off the Queer Cliff go?" Nī Gōng's question made the people next door temporarily fall silent.

  "Isn't this really crossing over?" Cheng Zhou heard someone on the other side jokingly say.

  Then a burst of laughter erupted.

  "Want to try skydiving with a parachute tomorrow?"

  "Haha, remember to bring the Time-Traveling Manual and essential tools."

  "Alright." Yin Min clapped her hands, letting everyone refocus their attention.

  "Cheng Zhou himself and the information about his son's disappearance have just been introduced by Comrade Cai. His son's situation is different from those who are missing, it's very likely that he was implicated, perhaps Cheng Zhou knew something, the kidnappers sensed danger, so they kidnapped his son to coerce him. Perhaps it's a kind of warning, telling him not to interfere with Chen Yan's case."

  Cheng Zhou's nerves tensed up as soon as he mentioned himself.

  "In my observation, Cheng Zhou himself is also quite strange. From the content he has been explaining to several detectives, my colleagues in Zijin City and I all feel that this person must be hiding some things from us, things that he doesn't want us to know. But for now, we don't need to pay attention to him. If he's really connected to the perpetrator of the Chuan Yue Xia disappearance case, he'll eventually reveal his true colors."

  Cheng Chou cried out in his heart for injustice.

  "In short, no matter what, this case is very likely to become an important clue to unravel the mystery of Chuan Yue Canyon. Later, when we set up our defense, everyone must be careful and vigilant, and go all out to not only rescue Cheng Hongye but also try to capture the kidnappers!"

  "Yes!"

  Yin Min began making specific arrangements after consulting with Cai and Ni.

  "Time is limited, I'm assigning personnel now. Wang Yong, when can the special police get there?"

  "Already on the road, it takes only 15 minutes to arrive at Jiuhua Mountain, but it will take a little more time to get to Chuan Yue Gorge."

  "Have them gather here first and try not to alert the criminals."

  "Knock knock."

  Chengzhou was startled and looked up at the gate. Was it this side of the door that was knocked on, or the one next door?

  The detective sitting in front of the computer got up to open the door.

  Just as the detective's hand touched the door handle, Cheng Zhou suddenly felt a pang of unease and blurted out: "Don't open it!"

  Situ appeared behind him and grabbed him with one hand, "Don't go!"

  Too late!

  The detective has opened the door.

  Outside the door, a little monk less than 130 cm tall was standing with his hands together and his head down, looking at his own feet.

  "Excuse me, who are you?" The detective thought to himself that it was unlikely a monk from the temple on the mountain had run down here. But what was he doing here? And were there even monks this small in the temple now?

  The little monk slowly raised his head...

  A flat face with only a pair of eyes on it.

  Those eyes seemed to be filled with all the negative emotions towards the world.

  When these eyes look at you, it's as if you're surrounded by all the malice in the world.

  The detective may have been slow to react due to his technical position, and even out of fear, he had to pat himself twice before pulling the gun out of its holster.

  "Who are you? What brings you here?" The detective shouted loudly. He hoped someone next door could hear his voice and come out.

  No! There should be their people on duty in the courtyard too, where are they now?

  Why is the yard that was originally lit up now pitch black?

  Why hasn't anyone come out from next door yet?

  "King's team! King's team!" The detective yelled at the top of his lungs while pointing a gun at Little Monk.

  The little monk took a step closer, his vicious gaze fixed directly on the detective's face.

  "You're really useless! Haven't many people told you that you're useless? Go die! Why don't people like you just go die?"

  "You're a joke for staying in this world, listen up, how many people are ridiculing you! They all talk behind your back, saying that your existence is as disgusting as dog shit!"

  "No one will love you, no one will cherish you, you'll encounter endless misfortunes, all the unhappiness will find its way to you! Every day you stay in this world will be more painful than the last!"

  "Go die! After you're dead, you can take revenge on them..."

  "Don't listen to him!" shouted Cheng Zhou, who was standing next to Situ.

  "Shut up!" shouted Situ.

  "Bang! Bang! Bang!" Three consecutive gunshots.