Chapter 91: I thought you were really strange.
Bai Xiaoyuan and the others were startled: they didn’t expect that besides people, there was also a bear in the duty room.
But the bear didn’t look quite like the usual bears; its head was smaller. Upon closer inspection, it didn’t really look like a bear at all.
The bear’s face retreated, and the middle-aged man was still looking at the three young people outside: “Who’s looking for me?”
Bai Xiaoyuan: “Hello, are you Teacher Qin Yeshi?”
“I am.” Qin Yeshi walked out of the duty room, still holding two packages in his hands. “What is it?”
Bai Xiaoyuan and Tang Cuo stated their purpose: “We work under Qin Ge and came specifically to find you.”
Upon hearing the name “Qin Ge,” Qin Yeshi was visibly taken aback. He then waved to the guard allowing Bai Xiaoyuan and the others to enter.
The office building of the Western Office was very quiet. Qin Yeshi did not take them to the main building; he directly stood in the courtyard and asked them, “What about Qin Ge?”
Qin Ge was the adopted son of Qin Shuangshuang, and he was Qin Shuangshuang’s younger brother. When Qin Ge usually saw him, he would call him uncle. Qin Yeshi was very fond of Qin Ge, always thinking that Jiang Xiaochuan was too young to talk to, but Qin Ge suited him well, often urging Qin Ge to come and play with him. However, in recent years, he had become busier with work, spending most of his time working out of town, and had fewer opportunities to meet with Qin Ge and his family.
Bai Xiaoyuan took off her backpack and took out a small search and rescue robot made by Jiang Xiaochuan, explaining their purpose to Qin Yeshi.
“Work with me?” Qin Yeshi looked at the three young people in front of him. He could easily see that these three had little experience in facing enemies, and the only possibly useful one was the female sentinel in front of him.
“Bai Xiaoyuan, right?” he asked, “What’s your spirit body?”
Bai Xiaoyuan replied, “Sand cat.”
Qin Yeshi immediately frowned.
He had seen many formidable female sentinels. Among his old colleagues, there was one who, if not for taking a break to have children, would have been the champion of the National Special Human Skills Competition Sentinel Group for several years, instead of him or Gao Qiong.
His spirit animal came up to him, stood up, revealing a crescent-shaped patch of white fur on its chest.
“Wolverine.” Qin Yeshi saw the curious looks from Tang Cuo and Gao Shu and casually pointed at the animal beside him, saying, “That sentinel, what’s your spirit body?”
Gao Shu: “swordfish shark.”
Qin Yeshi: “Are there only you few people under Qin Ge? None of you are useful.”
The three looked embarrassed: “But the Luquan incident…”
Qin Yeshi raised his hand, stopping Bai Xiaoyuan’s words: “No need to say more. Although my team belongs to the crisis office’s criminal investigation department’s field team, my personal position is now with the Special Management Committee. If people from the crisis office want to join my team for joint operations, they must get permission from the Special Management Committee.”
Bai Xiaoyuan: “Teacher Qin…”
“No need to call me teacher.” Qin Yeshi’s face was stern, “Don’t get familiar. This is not a joke. Bringing you three to work is just adding trouble for myself.”
As he was about to turn away, he glanced at Tang Cuo: “Hey, what about you? What’s your spirit body?”
Tang Cuo: “Panda.”
Qin Yeshi froze. A peculiar smile appeared on his face: “Panda?”
Seeing his interest, the three of them nodded quickly.
Qin Yeshi: “Have you met Zhang Xiao? The one who signed Qin Ge’s adjustor certificate.”
Tang Cuo: “I’ve met him. He really likes my panda.”
Qin Yeshi: “What about Zhang Xiao’s partner? Have you met him?”
Tang Cuo: “Captain Gao Qiong, of course, I’ve met him too. He didn’t seem very happy; I’m not sure if he doesn’t like pandas or me.”
Qin Yeshi looked gleeful: “Both.”
He seemed to be in a very good mood, carrying a package in each hand, and walked toward the office building. There was a dorm at the bottom of the office building, and the three wanted to follow him in to persuade him further, but they were stopped.
The next morning, Qin Ge and Xie Zijing finally arrived at the Western Office. Bai Xiaoyuan and the others had already informed him of Qin Yeshi’s attitude. Qin Ge had no choice but to go himself. He contacted Qin Yeshi and headed straight for Qin Yeshi’s temporary dormitory at the Western Office with Xie Zijing.
The guard at the office still recognized Xie Zijing. When he appeared, they were surprised and delighted: “Lao Xie, you’re better?”
Xie Zijing: “Yes, I’m better!”
The dormitory was behind the office building. As the two approached, Xie Zijing kept greeting several people. He said he was sent by headquarters to assist Captain Qin Yeshi with his work. His former colleagues were surprised to see him lively, some very surprised, and others scrutinizing him with suspicion.
“You are well-liked,” Qin Ge said, “It seems these people like you a lot.”
Xie Zijing: “I work hard, so of course they like me. But that’s a professional appreciation; in private, I have no personal ties with them.”
Qin Ge: “What do you mean by ‘ties’?”
Xie Zijing: “Just those kinds of ties. Don’t get jealous.”
Qin Ge: “…You’re overthinking it, Comrade Xie Zijing. Right now, my mind is full of the Luquan incident and Zhou You. I have no time to think about your past ties with the people here.”
But he actually did think about that guide who once forcibly invaded Xie Zijing’s “sea area.” Qin Ge felt an inexplicable hostility and curiosity towards this guide.
The two of them climbed the stairs, and when they looked up, they saw Qin Yeshi waiting in the corridor.
“Sis told me, is this your boyfriend?” Qin Yeshi opened his dormitory door while glancing at Xie Zijing, “Looks alright.”
Xie Zijing gave him a friendly smile: “Hello, Uncle.”
Qin Yeshi: “Who’s your uncle? Have you two gotten your partner application approved?”
Xie Zijing: “…Hello, Captain Qin.”
Qin Yeshi then asked, “What’s your spirit body?”
Xie Zijing: “Lion. Barbary lion.”
The previously impatient Qin Yeshi suddenly turned his head, his voice changing tone: “Barbary lion?! Are you the legendary sentinel of the Western Office?!”
Xie Zijing smiled: “Legend… Maybe.”
Qin Yeshi’s attitude towards him immediately changed, and he pulled him to sit on the sofa: “I rarely come to the Western Office, but I’ve heard a lot about you this time. You’re Qin Ge’s potential partner, right? That’s great, those under Qin Ge are trash…”
“Uncle, they’re all good.” Qin Ge quickly added, trying to salvage Bai Xiaoyuan and Tang Cuo’s poor first impression, “My department is the psychological adjustment department, not a field team. Don’t hold my people to field team standards.”
Qin Yeshi finally calmed down and turned to pour tea for Xie Zijing and Qin Ge.
The dormitory was very small. Xie Zijing was quite familiar with this building; he used to live here, sharing a room with another sentinel. Being from the headquarters, Qin Yeshi had a room to himself. Apart from the somewhat tidy bed, the small room was cluttered with paper materials on the table and sofa.
Qin Ge glanced at the room’s layout, feeling it very familiar: “Uncle, the way you arrange your materials is just like Teacher Yuan.”
Next to Xie Zijing was the nightstand, which held a charger, a Kindle, and a palm-sized photo frame. The photo showed Qin Yeshi and another man standing in front of the Arrow Pavilion in the Forbidden City. Snow was on the glazed tiles, and behind them were the five bronze oxen, a landmark on the pavilion square. Qin Ge had taken Xie Zijing there and recognized the third ox behind them.
The third ox symbolized “Peace and Safety.”
Qin Yeshi and the man beside him were both wearing red scarves, their noses red from the cold, with happy smiles on their faces.
“My lover, Yuan Yue.” Seeing Xie Zijing staring at the photo, Qin Yeshi introduced proactively, “This was taken a few years ago, in the Year of the Ox. Everyone wanted to take a photo with the oxen. Your Teacher Yuan works in the Forbidden City; I went to pick him up from work, and he insisted on taking a photo with the ox in front of the Arrow Pavilion.”
Qin Ge was confused: “No, Teacher Yuan said you dragged him to the Arrow Pavilion. He can see the oxen anytime, but you said it was his zodiac year, so he had to take a photo with the ox to get its blessing for good health.”
Qin Yeshi seemed choked up, pausing before raising his hand: “He told you that?”
Qin Ge: “Was Teacher Yuan lying to me?”
Qin Yeshi: “No, no, in our house, Teacher Yuan is always right. Remember this principle.”
He turned to look at the photo again, thinking of something, and couldn’t help but smile at Xie Zijing: “He’s a very nice person.”
Xie Zijing gave him a goofy smile, indicating he understood.
Qin Ge was used to the interaction between Qin Yeshi and his partner, so he interrupted their conversation and started talking about Xie Zijing. He detailed everything Xie Zijing had been through, as well as the nightmare Xie Zijing had witnessed during the Luquan incident.
Bai Xiaoyuan and the others hadn’t been so detailed. Qin Yeshi looked at Xie Zijing, then at Qin Ge, with a face full of shock: “You all know about the Warehouse No. 0 beneath Luquan?”
“You’ve been there?”
“I haven’t, but I know such a place exists,” Qin Yeshi said softly. “After my sister was transferred from the Crisis Office and Gao Tianyue took over as director, I was also reassigned. The Special Management Committee took my file directly. Although I am still part of the Crisis Office’s field team, my personnel relationship is with the Special Management Committee. So, my team is very special, reporting directly to the Special Management Committee when necessary, without interference from the Crisis Office. I learned about Warehouse No. 0 later.”
He looked at Xie Zijing for a long time before saying, “Not easy, Xiao Xie.”
He took out a palm-sized tablet and turned it on. Qin Ge recognized it as an imager.
After a moment, the imager lit up, projecting a three-dimensional structure of a place.
“This is Warehouse No. 0,” Qin Yeshi said. “The complete construction plan and cell distribution of the Warehouse No. 0 were mapped out by the Wolf Fang team led by Gao Qiong after the Luquan incident.”
Back then, after Gao Qiong, as the captain of the Wolf Fang team, discovered the bodies of all the members of the Falcon team at the Western Office, he was immediately seconded by the Special Management Committee to investigate the incident. The Western Office personnel couldn’t intervene, and the entire investigation was carried out by Gao Qiong and his team. Gao Qiong and his team entered the Warehouse No. 0 and obtained first-hand information about it.
“…Wait a minute. Are you saying that before Gao Qiong entered, the Special Management Committee had no information about the Warehouse No. 0?” Qin Yeshi explained in detail to the two.
The Warehouse No. 0 is an extremely special warehouse under the management of the Special Management Committee. It was established a long time ago, and the original batch of documents had been lost in the course of power transitions over the years. In the late 1990s, the Special Management Committee once sent a specialized survey team to investigate the Warehouse No. 0. At that time, there were still over ten managers in the warehouse, but most of the prisoners had already died.
The Special Management Committee withdrew the old managers and thoroughly cleaned up the bodies and cells in the Warehouse No. 0. Due to the significant reduction in prisoners, there was controversy within the Special Management Committee regarding the continued existence of the Warehouse No. 0. Eventually, the only managers sent to the Warehouse No. 0 were a pair of very young brothers with the code names “Elephant” and “Rat.”
“Elephant and Rat are from the Special Management Committee. They have been living inside the Warehouse No. 0 since then, intermittently returning to the surface for daily necessities and reporting,” Qin Yeshi said softly, “They were both very young at the time, but both suffered from scotophobia. They couldn’t live normally in crowds, but their abilities were extremely strong, so they were eventually assigned to the Warehouse No. 0.”
Xie Zijing turned to look at Qin Ge.
“A form of social phobia. They would be very afraid of other people’s gaze, afraid of social interaction and contact with others,” Qin Ge thought for a moment, “But they weren’t afraid of each other, so managing the Warehouse No. 0 was the most suitable job for them. These two were the controllers of the Warehouse No. 0, and the prisoners had to obey them.”
He also remembered what Jiang Yong had said. All the prisoners in the Warehouse No. 0 were regularly injected with sedatives. For Elephant and Rat, these were not people, just sleeping, unaware objects.
Qin Ge suddenly realized that the way Elephant and Rat were placed, and the way the prisoners in the Warehouse No. 0 were handled, were essentially the same: people who were valuable but didn’t know how to be used properly were first given a place to stay to ensure they didn’t cause trouble.
“At that time, the investigation report from the Wolf Fang team showed that Elephant and Rat were injured during the Luquan incident,” Qin Yeshi recalled the contents of the report, “The Luquan incident was caused by some of the prisoners in the Warehouse No. 0 attempting to escape. The Warehouse No. 0 not only housed sentinels and guides but also many special humans we hadn’t even heard of. Some of them united in some way, took advantage of Elephant and Rat’s unpreparedness, caused a disturbance, and broke through the top of the Warehouse No. 0, returning to the surface.”
Coincidentally, the surface happened to be the campsite of the Falcon team. The Falcon team fought against the fugitives but ultimately lost, with all members perishing.
“The public reports stated that there were no injuries on the bodies of the Falcon team; they were drowned by sudden underground water surges,” Qin Yeshi said. “That’s not true. Every body of the Falcon team showed signs of battle. Captain Bai Fan had the most severe injuries and died from excessive blood loss.”
Qin Ge’s face turned pale as he stared at Qin Yeshi.
“Yang Chuan died from broken ribs piercing his lungs, while Wen Xian suffocated,” Qin Yeshi said calmly. “Your parents both died after fighting.”
Xie Zijing’s heart trembled. He suddenly realized that since his memory had returned, he had been immersed in his own injuries and his parents’ disappearance. After being reminded of all his feelings for Qin Ge by the mermaid’s song, he didn’t immediately recall that Qin Ge’s parents were members of the Falcon team who also died in the Luquan incident.
And after learning the truth about the Luquan incident, Qin Ge had not shown a single trace of sadness or anger in front of him.
Xie Zijing looked at Qin Ge. Qin Ge’s face was too pale, as if all the color had drained away, but he seemed to hear the intense sound of Qin Ge’s heartbeat.
His guide, even when tormented by intense emotions, could still control himself perfectly, showing no signs of losing control.
Xie Zijing grabbed Qin Ge’s hand. Qin Ge asked, “What about those fugitives?”
“They’re dead. Elephant and Rat dragged all the bodies back to the Warehouse No. 0,” Qin Yeshi said. “In the Wolf Fang team’s investigation report, Gao Qiong expressed his doubts and confusion at length. Although all the evidence was complete, he suspected that Elephant and Rat’s testimonies were problematic. There were indeed people detained in the remaining cells of the Warehouse No. 0, but all the information was in Elephant and Rat’s hands, and Gao Qiong couldn’t access it.”
After Gao Qiong and the Wolf Fang team completed their investigation and submitted the report, the Special Management Committee did not continue to pursue it. They accepted the report as correct and assumed that everything was normal in the Warehouse No. 0.
Xie Zijing was puzzled. “Why?”
Qin Yeshi looked at him. “You experienced the Luquan incident firsthand. Are you sure you only saw one person at the time?”
“I’m absolutely sure. Qin Ge retraced my memories; original memories don’t lie and can’t be modified,” Xie Zijing said firmly. “The only person who came out was Zhou You… X.”
“That means Elephant and Rat were lying,” Qin Yeshi said.
Qin Ge frowned. “I don’t understand. Why didn’t the Special Management Committee continue the investigation? To find out the truth, all they had to do was enter Elephant and Rat’s sea area and trace their memories.”
“Elephant and Rat were under the Special Management Committee at the time, but Gao Qiong and his Wolf Fang team were under the Crisis Management Office. They were just seconded by the Special Management Committee to work. In terms of procedure, he didn’t have the authority to investigate Elephant and Rat’s ‘sea area,’ and there were no psychological adjusters in the Wolf Fang team. In the report, he hoped for Zhang Xiao’s assistance in the investigation, but that request was ignored. Returning to the Warehouse No. 0. It is used to detain special prisoners, but whether it should exist has always been controversial,” Qin Yeshi explained. “Over ten years ago, the Special Management Committee was also facing many troubles. The influence of the Bell Alarm Association incident had not yet been eliminated. My sister was valued for her role in the Bell Alarm Association incident and was seen as a strong competitor for the top position in the Special Management Committee. At this time, if the incident in the Warehouse No. 0 were exposed, it would pose a great threat to the then leader… who is now the leader. After reading the report, I realized that they suppressed all doubts, treated everything as if it had been resolved, and simply used the influence of the Falcon team to get my sister and me out of the Crisis Management Office.”
Qin Ge and Xie Zijing looked at each other, this was something they hadn’t anticipated.
Everything seemed like a series of coincidences, guided by some unseen force.
X’s escape led to the death of all members of the Falcon team and the disappearance of Xie Zijing’s parents.
The case of Xie Zijing’s parents’ disappearance, the destruction of Xie Zijing’s “sea area”, and the complete loss of memory about Luquan, all these were treated as an ordinary missing persons case and not linked to the Luquan incident.
The administrators of the Warehouse No. 0, Elephant and Rat, perhaps for their own self-preservation or other motives, lied to Gao Qiong, concealing the truth of the Luquan incident.
Gao Qiong took the report back to the Special Management Committee and requested to continue investigating Elephant and Rat. He even suggested that Zhang Xiao assist.
However, due to power struggles within the Special Management Committee at the time, the case of the Warehouse No. 0, which posed a serious threat to the top position, was suppressed.
Because “everything had been resolved.” The deaths of the Falcon team were treated as accidents, the Warehouse No. 0 still existed, Elephant and Rat remained administrators, but the number of prisoners inside decreased, reducing the threat.
When X escaped, he couldn’t have known about these subsequent events.
But the subsequent connections, countless thoughts, eventually paved a smooth path for his escape.
Back then, as long as someone believed that the deaths of the Falcon team needed thorough investigation, as long as Elephant and Rat’s testimonies were doubted, as long as Gao Qiong’s requests were responded to, X would not have slipped through the cracks.
Qin Ge felt an indescribable anger.
The two of them, along with Qin Yeshi, talked through the night, analyzing the Luquan incident from years ago and the subsequent clues they had discovered related to X.
When Qin Ge and Xie Zijing left the office, the sky was already bright.
They bid farewell to the sentries and walked slowly along the road. Bai Xiaoyuan, Tang Cuo, and the others had also spent the night awake, waiting for the news Qin Ge would bring back.
The Falcon team had close ties to all of them. Qin Ge’s anger gradually subsided, and he had to control himself and carefully consider what might happen next.
“Qin Ge,” Xie Zijing suddenly said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Qin Ge was taken aback. “About what?”
“The notebook didn’t mention your parents’ situation, and I didn’t remember it at the time either. But you? You clearly remembered, so why didn’t you tell me?”
Qin Ge was silent for a long time before speaking. “I could handle it myself. It’s not a good thing. If you don’t remember, then it’s fine.”
Xie Zijing held his hand, and the two of them stood on the road in the faint morning light, the scent of butter tea wafting from the nearby shop.
His guide had always been accustomed to digesting everything on his own. For over a decade as a dependent, although he was loved by the Qin family, he still didn’t dare to be completely honest about his feelings. They were family, yet not quite. Qin Ge appreciated them, loved them, and made himself excellent to repay them, but over the years, he had learned to handle everything on his own, to be completely independent, without relying on anyone.
After Xie Zijing’s “sea area” was restored, Qin Ge must have thought the same: Xie Zijing had enough on his plate, his own unease and sadness didn’t need to bother him.
Xie Zijing opened his arms and hugged him tightly.
“What’s wrong?” Qin Ge was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, “I’m fine. Really.”
“I’m not fine,” Xie Zijing said softly. “I’m very sad.”
Qin Ge didn’t say anything, but nestled in his embrace, his hands encircling Xie Zijing’s waist.
“You used to be a very direct person when we first met. You said what you liked, were happy when you were happy, and didn’t hide any emotions,” Qin Ge said. “I thought you were really strange.”
“Just strange?”
“…also very admirable,” Qin Ge said. “I can’t do that.”
Xie Zijing gently rocked him in his arms. He had a million things he wanted to say, but he also didn’t want to force Qin Ge to change his personality.
“I’m different from others,” Xie Zijing finally said slowly, resting his chin on Qin Ge’s head. “You should learn from me.”
He ruffled Qin Ge’s head. “I’m here, I’m by your side.”
The person in his arms hugged his waist tightly, as if taking a deep breath, a faint choked sound coming from his nose.
How could everything be fine? Xie Zijing thought, that’s the truth you’ve been longing to uncover. The final fate of his parents was reduced to a few casual sentences in the report, Qin Yeshi didn’t go into much detail, but even from the simple descriptions, one could tell that they must have experienced a terrible battle.
They died in battle. They were heroes. But they shouldn’t have left like that.
The morning light gradually elongated their shadows. Qin Ge’s tears seeped into Xie Zijing’s clothes.
They loved each other in their own way.
And at this moment, in the conference room of the Special Management Committee, a discussion on the quarterly work summary of the Special Management Committee had just ended.
“If there are no further questions, let’s adjourn,” said the secretary-general who presided over the meeting.
As soon as he finished speaking, the deputy secretary-general, Cai Yi, sitting behind him, immediately raised his hand.
“I have an agenda item,” Cai Yi said, standing up.
The people in the meeting room looked at each other in surprise. Since the incident involving Cai Mingyue, Cai Yi had appeared much more low-key than before. This was the first time in a long time that he had taken the initiative to speak up at a meeting.
The secretary-general glanced at the expressions of the leaders. Seeing that the top leader did not show any displeasure, he nodded to Cai Yi. “Xiao Cai, what topic do you want to discuss?”
“I want to discuss the issue of the continued existence of the 0 Warehouse located underground in Luquan, within the jurisdiction of the Western Office,” Cai Yi said loudly. “To make this discussion more efficient, I have prepared some information about the 0 Warehouse. Please take a look first.”
With these words, the expressions of at least half of the people in the meeting room immediately changed.
Cai Yi had obviously come prepared.
