Chen Tianhua

The two "passersby" who came over both appeared to be tall, dark-skinned young men who seemed to be frequently out and about.

The taller man looked down at Zhou Rui, who was collecting soil samples, and frowned as he asked:

What are you doing?

Clearly, judging from the equipment they brought and their current behavior, Mi Qiao, Zhou Rui, and their group of four did not appear to be tourists.

Zhou Rui, who was squatting on the ground, looked up and asked curiously, "What we do is none of your business. And what are you doing?"

Because he went to bed late last night and got up too early this morning, and was also a little carsick, and to make matters worse he fell twice while climbing the mountain, Zhou Rui was already full of anger and frustration. Now, being questioned in such an interrogative tone by two "unidentified men" made his response naturally unpleasant.

Before the man could say anything more, Ye Chong immediately took over the conversation, saying, "We are from Taiyu Biological Laboratory, here to collect some samples."

"Thai? Sawasdee ka?" asked the shorter of the two men.

The taller one said to his companion, "It's not Thailand, it's the 'state' of ecology, the 'universe' of the universe, a laboratory in Citong."

After explaining, he turned back to Ye Chong and asked, "How did you end up here collecting... these are soil samples?"

"Oh, it's related to research," Ye Chong said succinctly, clearly not intending to reveal the details of their research.

"I'm a police officer, this is my identification." The taller man took out his identification from his pocket and showed it to Ye Chong and Mi Qiao and Gao Shu who had gathered around. Then he continued, "Could you briefly explain why you're here to collect samples? Of course, I won't go into details about any related scientific research secrets."

The two "passersby" who came over to "question" Mi Qiao and the other three were Officer Zhao Feng, and his police academy classmate, roommate, good brother, Officer Wang De'an, who had just arrived in Citong last night.

On Sunday, after receiving a call from Zhao Feng and hearing that Zhao Feng had found three bodies hidden deep in the mountains under the guidance of that dream, Wang De'an, having finished dealing with the remaining issues of his case and written his report, asked his superior for leave and rushed to Citong City.

They were both materialists. Whether it was investigating a case or anything else, their standard of judgment was based on facts, evidence, and tangible proof.

Therefore, the real-world impact of Zhao Feng's dream rekindled their enthusiasm for investigating the "Many-Armed Monster hallucination."

Of course, this is also related to the fact that they have both only been working for a few years, have not started families, and are both single. Otherwise, after finishing their work, they would hardly have any free time to investigate such a bizarre and unreal thing.

The two of them chatted until late last night in Zhao Feng's dormitory, discussing all the known information they had about their investigation into the "Many-Armed Monster illusion" and making various speculations. The more they talked, the more excited they became, so they got up early this morning, called a car and went into the mountains, heading straight for the cave where Zhao Feng had found the body.

However, neither of them expected that they would encounter other people so early in the morning in that remote mountain area where there were hardly any flat roads.

Although Ye Chong claimed they were researchers from the "Taiyu Laboratory," Zhao Feng remained suspicious and continued his questioning.

After all, the things they were investigating were very strange, and this area was also very special, with many strange things happening recently.

After checking Zhao Feng's identification, Ye Chong rummaged through his backpack, took out his own identification, and handed it over, saying, "The reason we came here to collect samples is because of the thunderstorm that happened in the early morning of February 14th. As for why... that involves our lab's secrets and can't be revealed, and... even if I explained, you probably wouldn't understand."

Zhao Feng ignored the slight sarcasm in the other party's words. After checking and recording the information on his phone, he asked Mi Qiao, Zhou Rui, and the other three to show their identification as well.

However, neither Mi Qiao nor Zhou Rui had their identification documents with them; they had left them at their accommodation.

Indeed, they never imagined that even deep in the Purple Huan Mountain, they would encounter police checking their IDs.

Zhao Feng didn't make things difficult for them; he simply used his phone to manually register the information they provided.

But Mi Qiao sensed something was wrong. "Officer Zhao, why are you here? And why are you checking our identities? There has to be a reason, right?"

Zhao Feng glanced at her and said, "Because there's a crime scene not far from here."

Upon hearing this, Mi Qiao and the other three were stunned.

A murder actually happened here?

"What murder case? Where is it?" Zhou Rui asked instinctively.

Zhao Feng said, "I can't tell you that. You should see an official announcement in the news soon."

According to their investigation, it can be basically determined that the male victim killed his two female companions and then committed suicide. After the case is closed, related news should come out soon.

Zhou Rui didn't press further, knowing that Ye Chong would likely have access to more detailed information later.

Just as Zhao Feng finished registering the four people's information and was about to leave, Wang De'an suddenly spoke to Mi Qiao:

"Ms. Chen, are you from Source City?"

Mi Qiao, now known by her new identity as "Chen Tianhua," nodded. "Yes, what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's just that your accent doesn't sound like it's from Source City; it sounds a bit like it's from Yang City," Wang De'an said.

"I left Source City with my parents when I was very young," Mi Qiao answered succinctly. Her identity as "Chen Tianhua" was part of a complete set of experiences, which she remembered very clearly.

"How many years have you worked in Citong? Have you always been at that Taiyu Laboratory?" Wang De'an asked again.

Ye Chong asked curiously, "Officer, why are you asking this?"

Mi Qiao frowned slightly, but asked in return, "Are you a police officer like this Officer Zhao?"

Wang De'an also showed her his identification.

However, after looking at it, Mi Qiao frowned. "Aren't you a police officer from Citong?"

"I'm here to assist with the investigation," Wang De'an said simply. "Ms. Chen, you haven't answered my question yet."

"I've only been in Citong for a little over half a month," Mi Qiao replied simply and concisely.

"And what about before you came to Citong?" Wang De'an asked again.

Ye Chong picked up the conversation again. "Officer Wang, have we gotten ourselves into some kind of trouble? Is it forbidden to conduct scientific research sampling here? Should I contact my unit's legal department?"

"No need, you guys go ahead with your work, just don't go that way," Wang De'an said, pointing in a direction.

Then Wang De'an and Zhao Feng left the four of them and headed towards the cave where the three bodies had been found.

"Is there something wrong with Chen Tianhua?" After walking a certain distance and making sure that Mi Qiao and the others couldn't hear him, Zhao Feng asked his companion in a low voice.

When Wang De'an was questioning "Chen Tianhua," Zhao Feng didn't interrupt, because he knew his friend's personality well and knew that he must have discovered something.

Wang De'an nodded. "I always felt that she resembled someone."

"Who does he look like?" Zhao Feng asked curiously, knowing that his friend had a strong memory for faces and images.

"We were asked by Yang City to help investigate a case involving certain individuals," Wang De'an said.