"Been Waiting for You for a Long Time" (Thanks to Alliance Leader "Ding orz Yi")

Fang Pingfang, Zhao Feng, and eight other members of the investigation team, under the pretext of assisting the Civil Aviation Administration in investigating the mid-air bird strike incident, had a conversation with several passengers who were originally in Jianzhou on that flight.

According to the passengers' descriptions, they clearly saw the little girl in the white dress appear outside the wing, and they provided further detailed descriptions of the little girl's appearance, clothing, and movements.

Using this information, Fang Pingfang and others had the technical support department of "Shenxing Technology" create a virtual avatar, which was then used to confirm and compare the avatar with those passengers.

However, through conversations with several passengers, the descriptions of the little girl's clothing, shoes, and hairstyle outside the plane were basically the same, with little difference, but the descriptions of her facial features differed somewhat. Thinking about it, this is understandable. The situation was chaotic at the time, and passengers saw the little girl from different angles and through different windows, so it's reasonable that they didn't see her facial features clearly, or that their memories differed from reality.

Although there were different descriptions of the little girl's facial features, almost all the passengers who saw her had the same conclusion—the little girl was very pretty, and her white princess dress looked very elegant and fitted.

On the other hand, through Zhao Feng and Wang De'an's skillful questioning, they discovered that when these passengers saw the little girl outside the plane and on the wing, they did not experience fear or other similar emotions like Montamira or those who had previously seen the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster" illusion in China.

They didn't have any particular feelings about their own subjective emotions at the time. Even if they felt scared, it was simply because of the plane's condition. After seeing the little girl, some people felt surprised, some felt excited, and some couldn't say what they felt. Everyone's feelings were different.

Judging from this point of view, the little girl in the white dress seems to be a different kind of being from Montamira's "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant illusion."

But if we say she wasn't an illusion but a real person, according to the passengers' descriptions, when she was standing on the wing, she didn't have any securing tools; it was as if her little black leather shoes were simply glued to the wing, becoming one with it.

Her hair, hair accessories, and clothes weren't blown around too much by the wind, making her look less like she was standing on the wing of an airplane in flight and more like she was standing on a balcony on the fifth or sixth floor.

This situation is so contrary to basic physical principles that it's difficult to explain if it's not an illusion.

Zhao Feng also tried asking if anyone remembered Xiang Kun, Tang Baona, and Yang Zhen'er, the three passengers on the same flight. The two girls were very beautiful and had a great presence, while Xiang Kun had very distinctive features: a bald head, glasses, and a tall, strong build. So he thought there was a good chance that passengers would notice the three of them.

As he expected, most of the passengers they spoke with remembered Xiang Kun and his two companions, even those whose seats were far away, and they noticed them while waiting for their flight.

Of course, most passengers were more focused on the two beautiful women; Xiang Kun's bald head was more of a distraction—"Oh, those are the two beautiful women next to that bald guy!"

However, while other passengers did notice the three of them, they didn't make any special discoveries. Especially when the plane struck a bird, the engine caught fire and stopped, and the plane plummeted, everyone was terrified, thinking they were about to experience a plane crash. Later, their attention was drawn to the little girl in the white dress outside the plane, so naturally no one paid attention to what the three of them were doing or how they were behaving.

But after talking with these passengers, Zhao Feng was certain that Xiang Kun, Tang Baona, and Yang Zhen'er were definitely hiding something; it was impossible that none of them had seen the little girl in the white dress.

Afterwards, instead of going to Tongshi Town and Chongyun Village to find Xiang Kun and the other two, they followed Fang Pingfang's suggestion and took a plane to see Old Du.

Upon arriving at the hospital, while waiting for the elevator, Zhao Feng noticed that no one else was around and couldn't help but say to Fang Pingfang, "That Old Du doesn't say anything. Even if he does, it'll just be some vague and mystical stuff, like death isn't the end."

Zhao Feng understood Fang Pingfang's reason for not immediately going to see Xiang, Tang, and Yang after talking to the passengers on that flight. However, he was against her going to see Old Du next. In his opinion, unless the hospital found the reason for Old Du's drastic change in health, and that reason was unusual, there was really no need for Old Man Du to come over. Old Du was clearly unwilling to be honest with them, and that old swindler was quite adept at hiding things and deceiving people.

Coming here is likely a wasted trip. It would be better to go directly to Tongshi Town to find Old Du's godson. Maybe we can find clues from his godson. Then we can come back and interrogate Old Du. Maybe that will be effective. After all, it was his godson who provided him with medical expenses, which is why he has such good medical conditions and stays in such a good ward.

Fang Pingfang clearly had her own ideas, and chose to bring their investigation team directly over. However, she did not go directly to the ward to see Old Du, but instead went to see Old Du's attending physician first to learn about Old Du's condition in detail, especially the process of his previous entry into the ICU and his miraculous recovery, and finally his inexplicable significant improvement in health.

However, after hearing Fang Pingfang's conversation with the doctor and seeing her and Zhou Rui analyze Old Du's relevant medical records, look at various types of medical images and numerical change curves, Zhao Feng and Wang De'an realized that they had indeed misunderstood. Even if Old Du still didn't say anything, Dr. Fang's visit would have yielded more information than the two of them had before.

After spending more than two hours at the hospital, Fang Pingfang finally went to see Old Du —the meeting had been arranged in advance.

They didn't all eight of them go into the ward; only Fang Pingfang, Zhao Feng, Wang De'an, and Mi Qiao went in.

To Zhao Feng's surprise, when he saw them arrive, Old Du was sitting by the window peeling oranges with his legs crossed, actually smiled and said, "I've been waiting for you for a long time."

"You knew we were coming?" Mi Qiao asked blurtly.

Old Du chuckled, "I knew someone would eventually come."

Wang De'an said, "Mr. Du, do you still remember the two of us?" He instinctively thought that this Old Du was about to use his usual tricks to fool people again.

"Of course I remember, Reporter Wang, Reporter Zhao. These two are your colleagues, also reporters? Hehe, they both look quite energetic, very good, very good." Old Du handed a peeled orange to Wang De'an: "Here, have an orange. This wasn't provided by the hospital; a young nurse here brought it especially for me. It's very sweet."

"No, please eat." Wang De'an almost blurted out, "Did you tell fortunes for this young lady?"

Old Du seemed to see through his thoughts and laughed, "Don't worry, I didn't tell fortunes. It was that little girl's grandmother who was scammed. I taught her how to persuade her grandmother and how to call the police to get the money back. Now, not only has the money been recovered, but her grandmother hasn't been affected either. She's seen through the scammers' tricks and is very grateful to me. She often brings me food, hehe."

Wang De'an was stunned for a moment. He felt that Old Du had changed a lot since their last meeting. He seemed even more unfathomable. Moreover, his complexion, breathing, and the rhythm and strength of his speech were nothing like those of an old man recovering from a serious illness. In fact, according to the doctor, the lesions in his body had not been eliminated and he should still be a seriously ill patient.

Fang Pingfang hadn't spoken since entering the room, finally spoke, "Mr. Du, my surname is Fang. This is my assistant, Ms. Chen. We are making a documentary and would like to interview you. This is our website; you can take a look... Mr. Du, you just said 'we've been waiting for you for a long time.' Did someone notify you that we would be coming?"

Old Du didn't bother to verify Fang Pingfang and Mi Qiao's identities, seemingly uninterested in whether they were reporters, filming a documentary, or what kind of documentary they were filming. He chuckled, "You could say someone notified you, or you could say no one notified you. Miss Fang, do you believe in fate?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Pingfang and Mi Qiao were fine, but Zhao Feng and Wang De'an frowned simultaneously, feeling that Old Du was about to start saying something ambiguous again.

Fang Pingfang replied earnestly, "To be honest, I haven't thought about this question carefully. Mr. Du, do you believe in fate? Are you implying that our meeting with you was something you predicted through fate?"

Old Du laughed, "I used to deceive people by telling fortunes and relying on fate, but back then I didn't believe in fate or what I predicted. Now I still don't believe in fate, but I have other things I believe in. Those things exist both in my mind and in the world; some people can see them, and some can't."

Then, he suddenly changed the subject, saying to Zhao Feng and Wang De'an, "You asked me before why I turned myself in, right? I said then, 'I saw my true self, so I suddenly repented.' You probably didn't believe me, thinking I was just talking nonsense. But actually, I was telling the truth. It's just that I didn't tell you exactly how I saw my true self. At the time, a boss brought over a very special wood carving..."

Zhao Feng and Wang De'an initially thought that Old Du was using his old tricks to fool them again, but unexpectedly, he suddenly revealed some valuable information, which made them both perk up.

The two exchanged a glance. Why hadn't Old Du mentioned these things on their previous visits, but this time, with Dr. Fang and Chen Tianhua present, he blurted everything out? Did the old man have a favorable impression of Dr. Fang and Chen Tianhua, or did he simply dislike them?

Old Du not only recounted the origin of the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving that gave him nightmares, but also described the content of his nightmares, detailing the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster" he saw in his dream, his feelings at the time, how he processed his thoughts after waking up, and how he eventually turned himself in and reported his accomplices.

He even told Fang Pingfang about what happened in prison later, his interactions with some of his fellow inmates, the visits Xiao Liu and Qi Haoguo made to him after he fell ill, and the questions Qi Haoguo asked.

After saying that, Old Du didn't expect any response. He waved his hand at them and said, "That's all I know. If you want to know more, you can go to my 'godson' and have him take you to see Mr. Qi. He should have had a similar experience to mine. I believe he can give you some insights and perhaps solve your problems."

Fang Pingfang then asked a similar question, "Mr. Du, did someone tell you that we were coming today?"

Old Du maintained his calm and collected expression, as if it were a closely guarded secret, and shook his head with a smile, "I've already said, no one told me, and no one informed me. Go ahead, you already know what you want to know, don't you?"

Seeing that Old Du had started eating oranges and wasn't going to pay any attention to them, Fang Pingfang left the ward with Mi Qiao, Zhao Feng, and Wang De'an to meet up with Zhou Rui and the others who were waiting outside.

Wang De'an frowned. "Before we went to see Old Du, we checked with the hospital staff and no one had visited him during this period. Could it be that the person who notified him was someone inside the hospital, a doctor or a nurse?" He was clearly convinced that Old Du must have received a notification from someone, otherwise he wouldn't have suddenly changed his attitude and dumped so much information on them all at once.

"He said that it could be said that someone notified you, or it could be said that no one notified you. Perhaps he meant that 'notification' is correct, but it wasn't a 'person' who notified you?" Mi Qiao said thoughtfully.

"Oh my god, Hua Hua, please don't say things like that in the hospital, okay? I'm getting goosebumps," Zhou Rui said, rubbing his arm.

Upon hearing this, Wang De'an fell silent and looked at Zhao Feng, recalling the time his friend had been "found in a dream" and his body had been discovered.

Could it be that the person who notified Old Du was the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster from his dream?

Did Old Du reveal all these things on the orders of the Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Monster?

Wang De'an felt a chill run down his spine and subconsciously glanced back at the door of Old Du's ward.

"Let's not worry about those for now. What we need to decide now is whether to go find Mr. Du's 'godson,' that Mr. Qi, or to go find the owner of that Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Wooden Carving, that Mr. Feng," Fang Pingfang said.

"Before this Old Du surrendered, he was in Shenhai, right..." Zhao Feng suddenly turned to Ye Chong and said, "Xiao Ye, contact your colleagues in the 'information department' and see if you can find any information about that Mr. Feng. With the company name and address, it should be easy to find. See if this Mr. Feng has any connection with Xiang Kun, Tang Baona, and Yang Zhen'er."

"Okay." Ye Chong agreed and quickly sent the relevant information.

Then, just as they took the elevator downstairs and were about to head to the hospital parking lot, the information collection department sent them the data.

Ye Chong, looking quite surprised, said to Zhao Feng and the others, "Feng Xiuye, who took that wood carving to Old Du, is Tang Baona's uncle. Before Tang Baona resigned and partnered with Xiang Kun, she had been working at her uncle's company."

I recommend a new book, "The Colorful Tiger," written by a fellow reader; it's quite unique.

Introduction:

A story about a wildlife conservationist who is reborn as a tiger.

It makes the vast mountains and fields burst with the rhythm of life.

It brought the dawn of wisdom to savage races.

It has traversed towering mountain peaks and dived deep into vast oceans.

It is Prometheus, it is Moses, it is Kuafu chasing the sun.

It is a leader, a prophet, a pioneer.

Its life was legendary yet short, but it ushered in a completely new era.

When the dust settles, through the mist...

All that can be seen are faded colors.