I thought it over for a while, then decided to go into the police station with Wang Xiaopeng.
The atmosphere here was strange. When the old police officer saw us go in, he looked regretful, but I couldn't talk to Wang Xiaopeng about this while standing outside the station.
Besides, compared to the old officer who had tried to warn us, Wang Xiaopeng seemed more normal.
I didn't know whether that normality was a disguise, but at least I could be sure Wang Xiaopeng wasn't a ghost.
The police station was bustling, just like the noisy environment I'd heard in my dream. The arrested criminals and the family members who had come to collect them were making a racket, while the officers seemed to be split into two distinct groups.
After I followed Wang Xiaopeng into an office, that division became even clearer.
The office was fully equipped, but everything was brand-new. It looked as if it had just been renovated.
There were eight officers in the office. Including Wang Xiaopeng, that made nine. They all looked as exhausted as he did, as if they'd been up for several days, yet they were inexplicably keyed up.
Wang Xiaopeng rubbed his face and invited Lü Qiaolan and me to sit down.
One of the officers poured us some water.
I thanked him, but didn't touch it.
Seeing that, Lü Qiaolan sat upright and likewise left her glass untouched.
"What have you found?" I took the lead and asked first.
All eight officers besides Wang Xiaopeng frowned.
Wang Xiaopeng gave a bitter smile and stopped one of them from speaking.
"We're all members of the special investigations team. We were transferred here from different places and are here with Officer Zhuang," Wang Xiaopeng said, then added, "We were among the first batch