The People Who Had Already Died

Black liquid gradually crawled across the walls of the Technical Department.

But it did not spread anywhere else. A few minutes later, Zhang Ze slowly withdrew it, not truly dragging the Police Station into the Door-After World.

Because he heard the crisp sound of the computer starting up.

"Beep~"

No one had touched the computer, yet it turned on by itself. Zhang Ze walked over to it, and the screen reflected his face.

Most of the software on the desktop was unusable. The status bar at the bottom showed there was no signal and no internet connection. Zhang Ze focused on two folders labeled Lost Media No. 008 and 009.

He first clicked on Lost Media No. 008.

After the file was extracted, it turned out to be a video.

"Surveillance footage again?"

"No, this surveillance footage is... from the Police Station."

Zhang Ze narrowed his eyes slightly.

The video showed the Police Station corridor. He knew it well and recognized it at a glance. Ordinary surveillance footage had a timestamp in the upper-right corner, but this video had none. Still, judging from the changes in light outside the windows, it was after 11 p.m.—footage recorded after Zhang Ze and Kuai Liang had gone out on duty.

Everything in the video was normal at the moment.

The entire Police Station was silent. The lights in the middle of the corridor were on. Though there was no one around, the place still looked solemn and righteous. Two rows of honor boards for exemplary officers hung on the walls, and the banners read, "Serve the People." At first glance, nothing seemed unusual.

Master Guan came out halfway through to get a cup of coffee, then returned to the Technical Department. It looked like he was working.

"If this Lost Media No. 008 is the video uploaded from my videotape, does that mean this damaged videotape contains surveillance footage from the Police Station tonight?"

"What kind of joke is this?"

Zhang Ze was stunned once again.

Just like when he had encountered Zhu Xiu at Hanjiang City People's Hospital earlier, could this be another precognitive type of Lost Media?

He kept watching.

Master Guan diligently restored the videotape.

After a while, he suddenly seemed to hear something. He stood up, walked out into the corridor, and looked toward the lobby.

At first, he saw nothing. Master Guan looked confused, as though he had experienced an auditory hallucination. But soon, he seemed to spot something on the wall. His expression changed abruptly, and he scrambled back into the Technical Department.

"What was on the wall?"

"It couldn't be a ghost, could it? If it really were something beyond scientific explanation, Master Guan wouldn't react like that."

"A more likely reaction would be to rush to the armory, grab a Police Type 95, and empty the magazine."

Zhang Ze dragged the video back to the moment when Master Guan looked at the wall.

The angle was too high, so the video could not show what was on the wall. All he could tell from Master Guan's terrified reaction was that it had to be something horrifying.

Master Guan had worked at the police station for over twenty years.

He had certainly seen all kinds of dead people, corpses, and severely wounded victims. Something capable of frightening him pale and sending him fleeing in such a miserable state was definitely no ordinary thing.

Zhang Ze pressed pause.

He turned and left the Technical Department, personally heading to the spot in the corridor where Master Guan had looked in the video. Imitating Master Guan's movements, he turned his gaze toward the wall.

A row of honor boards hung on the wall.

Zhang Ze had seen honor boards before. They were used to commend officers who performed outstandingly and were devoted to their duties, displaying their portraits, career records, and personal mottos on the wall.

This sort of thing was extremely common. Many schools also displayed portraits as a way to strengthen a sense of collective belonging and honor.

Zhang Ze was familiar with the people displayed on the honor board as well.

Kuai Liang, Li Sanbao, Captain Yan...

They were all familiar faces. At first, Zhang Ze did not notice anything wrong until his gaze shifted to the text beside the portraits.

"Kuai Liang, outstanding exemplary officer of Hanjiang City. Three years ago, he was stabbed three times while fighting criminals. Rescue efforts failed, and he died heroically. He was posthumously awarded the title of Outstanding Exemplary Officer, and his family was granted the treatment accorded to martyrs' families."

"Li Sanbao, outstanding exemplary officer of Hanjiang City. During the 3.19 case, he was attacked by criminals and suffered multiple injuries across his body. He died heroically, demonstrating the qualities expected of a people's police officer. He was posthumously awarded the title of Outstanding Exemplary Officer..."

Zhang Ze:?

What did it mean that all of them were dead?

Looking around, the honor board on the wall included almost every officer from West City Police Station. Kuai Liang, Li Sanbao, Captain Yan—none of them had escaped. Every single one of them was displayed there.

And every description stated that they had died heroically.

In other words, this wall was a memorial wall honoring fallen officers!

"If Kuai Liang had died long ago, then who was the person who went out with me earlier?"

"No, that was absolutely impossible. If he were dead, my Crow couldn't possibly have failed to notice."

Zhang Ze stared fixedly at the words on the wall.

He was certain that Kuai Liang was not dead.

He was even more certain that Li Sanbao and Captain Yan were not dead.

After all, he still had to cooperate with Chen Ge later. If they were already dead now, Chen Ge would probably start doubting his entire life when he saw them.

Since these officers were not dead, there had to be something wrong with the descriptions on the wall. Master Guan had probably been terrified after seeing those words.

Zhang Ze returned to the Technical Department.

He continued playing the video.

After Master Guan returned to the Technical Department, he sat in his chair, drenched in sweat as he called someone. But judging from his repeated dialing, his attempts to make a call had failed.

The next second.

A knock sounded in the video.

Half a face seemed to appear near the door.

But the picture suddenly cut, and the camera returned to the Police Station lobby.

Zhang Ze moved the progress bar back to the final frame from before. At most, he could see half a face. Anything more was completely unclear, and he had no idea who that face belonged to.

"The video isn't over yet."

"Compared to the other Lost Media, this video is already quite long."

"There isn't much useful information unless there's something else later."

Zhang Ze continued watching.

The video had obviously been sped up. In just a few minutes, a beam of high headlights appeared outside the Police Station. Judging by the timing, Zhang Ze and Kuai Liang should have returned.

Several Crows flew into the Police Station.

This was Zhang Ze's earlier attempt to send the Crows in to investigate the Police Station.

After that, the video showed Zhang Ze walking in alone. Kuai Liang was nowhere to be seen.

That was normal.

Because Zhang Ze had knocked Kuai Liang unconscious and placed him in the front passenger seat of the police car.

But this very scene gave Zhang Ze a faint sense of unease. Since he could not see Kuai Liang, he began to wonder what had happened to him.

Just as Zhang Ze hesitated.

The video progressed to the point where Zhang Ze had finished checking Captain Yan's office and entered the Technical Department.

Zhang Ze's eyes immediately widened.

He wanted to see where Master Guan had been hiding. He had searched for so long, yet failed to find him.

In the video, Zhang Ze stood before the computer, watching the video on it as well.

Like a Russian nesting doll, Zhang Ze was watching Zhang Ze watch a computer screen from inside the computer. The scene was extraordinarily bizarre, as though the time of the recording had overlapped with reality.

The only difference from reality was this.

The Zhang Ze in the video was not alone. As Zhang Ze stared intently at the computer screen, someone stood to his left.

A person wearing a police uniform, with graying hair and a slight hunch.