Clues

In the operations conference room on the seventh floor of the research institute, Sun Hang saw Yang Lian again, along with Wang Xiyi, who was wrapped in bandages like a rice dumpling with her long legs propped up on the table.

Yang Lian had changed into the institute's standard casual uniform. She stood before a whiteboard, clutching a thick stack of papers with a deeply furrowed brow.

The whiteboard was covered with photos and clue cards pinned up by magnetic tacks, with a lengthy analysis scrawled around them in marker... Sun Hang took a closer look and found that it was basically all information related to the anomalous incident at South City Public Cemetery.

"I just received word. The Tianfu City Management Committee intends to hand the follow-up on this matter over to the Special Operations Team sent down by the Federation. We only need to cooperate with them at critical moments," Sun Hang said. "But judging by their attitude... they basically consider this case closed. The so-called follow-up is only meant to shut down public discussion."

"That's their business. It has nothing to do with me," Yang Lian said coldly. "I'm going to find my sister."

"Seems like you and your sister were close," Sun Hang said. "I thought you were the kind of person who treated everyone with the same cold, emotionless face."

"My mother died from complications when she gave birth to me. My father spent all year traveling for official business, so my sister raised me from childhood," Yang Lian said. "Even if no one is willing to help me, I'll keep looking on my own."

Her tone was calm, but resolute.

"There's a saying: an elder sister is like a mother," Wang Xiyi said, looking like a mummy. "I used to have an older sister too."

"What happened to her?" Sun Hang asked instinctively.

"When I was first infected with the Anomalization Virus, I couldn't control my strength and killed her," Wang Xiyi said.

"Oh, sorry." Sun Hang realized he seemed to have asked something he should not have.

"There's nothing to apologize for. It happened many years ago... Besides, she had already been infected with the Anomalization Virus and had completely lost her mind... Even if I hadn't killed her, she would have eventually become an anomalous creature," Wang Xiyi said. "In the director's words, I helped set her free."

Sun Hang let out a breath, walked over to the whiteboard, and studied it for a while before shaking his head helplessly. "Are you trying to figure out the appearance pattern of that Phenomenon-type anomalous creature?"

"Mm." Yang Lian nodded, pinned up another photograph, then swiftly began writing beside it with her marker.

"I really feel like everything you learned during your seven years at the Investigation Bureau went straight into your ass," Sun Hang muttered under his breath, crossing his arms. "Besides, all these so-called 'patterns' and 'conditions' you wrote down can't stand up to scrutiny at all... A lot of these conclusions look like nothing more than wishful thinking to me."

The marker in Yang Lian's hand stopped. She took a deep breath, then said softly, "...I know. But this is the only thing I can do. I can only hope things develop in the direction I predicted... This is also my only chance to bring her back."

"If you really want to take a gamble, I have a suggestion for you." Sun Hang casually pulled out a chair and sat down. "Check the weather forecast for the near future. Find the days that are overcast, windless, and have relatively low atmospheric pressure, then mark them one by one."

"The weather forecast?" Yang Lian froze for a moment, then turned toward Sun Hang with an excited look. "Did you get some crucial information?"

"You could hardly call it information..." Sun Hang said. "When the Spacetime Displacement first appeared, I saw those missing people on a television screen. And when the original spacetime was displaced back into place—just a few hours ago—I saw a sky shrouded in heavy clouds... But you know today was a perfectly clear day without a cloud in sight. That old man in the wheelchair told me that I saw those 'scenes' that didn't exist in reality because I had resonated with that anomalous creature."

"Resonance... resonance!" Yang Lian gripped her marker tightly. "That means when the third Spacetime Displacement occurs, those 'nonexistent scenes' you saw will also appear in the real world!"

"I never said that... Even that old man didn't dare guarantee it, much less me." Sun Hang shook his head. "I'm only giving you a direction to investigate... But no matter what, it's more reliable than playing deduction games with those worthless photos."

"I'll check right away!" Yang Lian hurriedly opened the laptop beside her, entered a string of passwords into an input field, and directly accessed the Tianfu City Meteorological Bureau's management backend.

With Yang Lian's clearance, nearly all the Meteorological Bureau's data was completely open to her.

"The nearest overcast day is three days from now, May 19th." Yang Lian stared at the screen. "Windless conditions, atmospheric pressure of 997 hectopascals, average humidity of 46%... It's the only windless day in the next fifteen days."

"Simple. We just need to place a batch of beacons in South City Public Cemetery," Sun Hang said. "The moment their signals disappear, it'll mean spacetime has been displaced again."

"The Special Operations Team sent down from above is already doing that," Wang Xiyi added. "They've sealed off the entire displaced area and ordered 140,000 custom-made beacons. They're expected to distribute them by airdrop in two days."

"Then it depends on whether they're willing to share the information with us," Sun Hang said.

"Probably not." Wang Xiyi shook her head. "Those 'Imperial Envoys' sent down from above all think too highly of themselves. We're the ones expected to cooperate with them... Getting them to cooperate with us instead, heh, not unless the director personally steps in."

"That might not even work," Yang Lian continued. "We can't place our hopes on them. We need to make another batch of beacons ourselves."

"Does the Investigation Bureau have any ready-made ones?" Sun Hang asked.

"Yes, but not enough," Yang Lian said. "I calculated it. If we deploy them at the minimum spacing, we'll need at least six thousand beacons. And considering all sorts of uncontrollable factors, the actual number needed would have to be at least double that."

"That's twelve thousand... Tch." Sun Hang smacked his lips. "The factories in Tianfu City capable of making these beacons have probably all been booked out by that Special Operations Team already, right?"