Zhao Cui went through the data reported by his subordinates again. From 5 p.m. to 3 a.m., he read the report of about 60,000 words, looked back and forth through more than 600 pictures, and under the catalyst of three consecutive packs of cigarettes, organized it all in his head, and then placed them in front of his desk. Then, he waited for the dawn sun to appear. There is almost no unusual information to be found in the report, and these pictures are also screenshots from the surveillance screen, which are high-definition, and it is impossible to even delve deeper into them. It seems that all this investigation has entered a kind of blind spot, but the angle of this blind spot is different. The seemingly impregnable walls always give Zhao Cui the illusion that they have been patched up many times. Is it an illusion, or is it an inspiration that can only be triggered by one's own exploration? It doesn't matter to him anymore.

Zhao Cui is not a person who stares at a place and does not let go. In his decades of criminal police career, he has enough experience to often find unexpected angles in the blind corners, and then use a posture that ordinary people cannot understand to look at the essence from that angle. It's just that now, the experience of the past doesn't seem to be very practical. The things that were missed must be by their side, but when they walked into the corner, they were blocked by people. Use your last strength to find your way back, or keep your last thoughts and stare at the corner?

The predicament before and after was always aimed at him. But he can't be angry, he can't be afraid, emotions are a very subtle thing, joy or disgust, they can cause trouble to his true thoughts. Perhaps it is such an inner attachment that makes Zhao Cui an incomprehensible person in life. Zhao Cui, who is about to retire, once had a family and a son, but as his state of mind became deeper and deeper, finally one day, his wife left a letter, taking her son who had just completed the moon, and completely left Zhao Cui's sight. In this way, he will not be stained with a trace of filth, without a trace of dust.

Zhao Cui's life is very frugal, and his biggest expense is cigarettes. More than 40 yuan of Chinese cigarettes are spent on it almost all a month. At first, he smoked 23 cloud cigarettes, but when he was doing things with other departments, the 23 cigarettes were lame, and he was also addicted to smoking, so he couldn't carry a few packs of cigarettes on his body, and then when he delivered cigarettes, he took out a few boxes and confirmed that China was good before handing them out. Instead of such a complication, it is better to directly fill the Chinese cigarettes, and when you go through other departments, you can also omit those troubles.

As for other hobbies, they can be seen from a white billet house that Zhao Cui bought himself. Since his wife left with his son, he sold the marital house, and all the money was transferred to his wife's bank card. After receiving the money, his ex-wife only replied with two words: Thank you! After that, there was no more news, as if he had never appeared in his world, filling in a mistake that had never appeared, erasing all this, and then he had nothing. After that, Zhao Cui bought a 43-square-meter single-family apartment, and the decoration was free, directly with a bed and a bathroom, which is all about this room. In this house, Zhao Cui's belongings can be seen at a glance, except for a change of clothes and police uniforms, a towing board, a mobile phone charger, a cigarette tray, dozens of cigarettes, a washing machine on the balcony, dirty curtains, and nothing else after that. Personal belongings are so small that they can be counted on a pitiful hand, and almost all the things they use all the time are stored in their own offices.

In short, Zhao Cui is a failure, but as a policeman, he is worthy of his profession. At least he has access to all the cases that need to be handled. This kind of person who has no desire and no desire is so stubborn.

But many things will always be messed up before he gets an answer. For decades, dozens of cases have always been banned or suppressed from above. Zhao Cui has never delved into this kind of thing, and criminal cases are not just about dead people. Criminal cases, big and small, involve people big and small, but in the end, these things that can be suppressed cannot make waves. If you press down, you will press down, and if you close the case quickly, Zhao Cui believes that maybe some things may bring greater consequences if you turn out the real idea. It doesn't matter.

But this time Zhao Cui decided not to let go. Because two people died in a row, a 42-year-old middle-aged woman, when she was withdrawing money from the bank, she was stabbed in the back of the head with a bamboo stick from behind, and died on the spot. The other is a senior high school student, 17 years old, an outstanding cadre in the class, etc., who was also stabbed into a bamboo stick from the back of the head and died on the spot. The former has surveillance, the latter knows nothing. Both of them are not yet dead age, there is no reason to die, innocent, and the misery of two families.

After so many years of police career, it is coming to an end, and now he is fifty-nine years old, and he will be able to retire at the age of sixty next year. But what did I get? What did I prove? Whether I got it, or I proved it, it seems that after living most of my life, I will eventually return to the beginning, and I will eventually become a person who does nothing.

Zhao Cui has struggled in his heart, but he has nothing to lose, and often this struggle can be settled in a moment. Since Zhao Cui received an order from the top to stop the investigation into the bamboo stick killing, he agreed, and was silent in the office for a long time.

Yesterday, Zhao Cui heard about the murder incident in the school early in the morning, and he hurriedly led the team and gathered all the available police forces in the surrounding area, nearly 100 people, and settled in the school. The investigation was launched, one by one, it took most of the day, and the scope of the authenticity of the case that could be touched gradually decreased, just when they were ready to work hard to persevere, the boss asked him to retreat, verbally saying that the impact was not good, in fact, Zhao Cui heard a helpless sigh on the other end of the phone, and knew that everything was over.

After returning to the team, the investigation team that Zhao Cui had just formed was forcibly disbanded, and all the equipment was dismantled. As if respecting his intentions, the cabinet where he had placed his papers was not removed, but was told that he wanted him to tidy them up and that someone would come and clean them up early tomorrow morning. Zhao Cui sat down in a chair dejectedly, silent and smoking, trying to restrain his emotions. Why did these documents come to collect tomorrow? The reason can't be pondered, so Zhao Cui has time to look at these things desperately.

If everything has changed? How do I know if it has changed? Zhao Cui asked himself, the skills to solve the mystery cannot be used here. This time, the answer seems to be not in these cases, but more about everything that I don't know, or already know. Everything is best if it is a fortuitous factor. But what if there is an obvious but unsearchable power to hide? So what should I ask? Whenever Zhao Cui cracks a case, when summing up, he always thinks about the true nature of causing such a serious thing, and what will happen if it is reversed. It's just that this kind of doubt will always be crushed by reality, and the predetermined cause will always have a definite effect, but there is only one question, what means does reality use to break everything?

"Let's call it fate. Liu Ting's father, Liu Zheng, once answered Zhao Cui's question positively, "No matter how everything starts and ends, someone has to be responsible. For a huge proposition, there must always be something ethereal that tells us that we can find an answer, even if there is no correct explanation. ”

"We're not idealists!" Mr. Zhao said.

"Materialist dialectics is the basis of all theories, and that's fine. However, we have solved so many tragedies and seen the more tragic stories behind these tragedies, and those materialistic things can only stand there at all times. The things that comfort oneself are still relying on oneself, which is part of idealism. That's all we can do. ”

"yes, that's all we can do. Zhao Cui said at the time.

So let go of the things that we can't believe, and we still have pure emotions to support our actions. We find a clue in the darkness and then arrest the poor man in the light, mixed with too many emotions. But as long as we have a purpose, all the things that support our emotions will become the best comfort for ourselves. ”

Liu Zheng's statement, Zhao Cui can't explain. But not long after the two talked, Liu Zheng took off his police uniform because he was shielding the criminal. A woman who had been abused by her husband, after years of violent beatings, their children could no longer bear the violence, and killed the father. For the sake of the child's future, the mother finally made a decision to cover up the facts, and the mother resolutely made a scapegoat. In this process, Liu Zheng knew everything, but did not debunk it and decisively closed the case. In the second year after the mother's incarceration, the matter was revealed. Liu Zheng took the blame and resigned.

If it were you, you would do the same. This is what Liu Zheng said to Zhao Cui when he was leaving.

At five o'clock in the morning the next day, the boss took away the last document in Zhao Cui's hand on time, and there was nothing left, only the inspector with a cold expression, staring at Zhao Cui for about ten seconds, and then left.

"Zhou Chong!" Zhao Cui left his office, came to the case handling area, and shouted to the policeman who was sleeping on the table. He is Zhao Cui's subordinate, Zhao Cui's apprentice, and a member of Zhao Cui's temporary task force.

Zhou Chong heard Zhao Cui shouting to himself, reflexively raised his head, looked around in a daze, and found Zhao Cui who was already walking beside him, and asked, "Boss, what's wrong?"

"You showed me all the impact materials you printed out?" asked Zhao Cui.

Zhou Chong nodded, he yawned, picked up the teacup beside him, and took a sip: "The photos printed out according to your requirements are all given to you." ”

"Six hundred and twelve photos?"

"Yes, six hundred and twelve pictures. ”

"Did you find a problem?"

Zhou Chong shook his head.

"Yes, no problem at all. ”

"Is there a fake? These are all hard disk data directly retrieved from the command center!"

"I know, so I'm a little skeptical. ”

"Boss, you say, what's the problem. ”

"The surveillance footage, transmitted from the intersection to the hard disk of the command center, and then transmitted to us by the hard disk, and you used the highest authority, are the deepest and unaltered image data. This is a material that can never be changed. ”

"That's right! This information can't be changed!" Zhou Chong added.

"But why, what time period of monitoring do I want, and I have that time period of monitoring?" Zhao Cui asked the right question.

Zhou Chong frowned and said, "Yes, in the past, when we investigated a case, there was always a lack of monitoring. It's not like now, it's always about hitting where it is. And, Boss, the time you asked me to retrieve the road sections are those probes that are often missing due to machine, line, and host problems. When I retrieved it, I was still wondering if it was the government's recent repair of these machines that made me find it so easily. ”

"Have you repaired it?"

Zhou Chong shook his head and said with certainty: "When I transferred it, I was afraid that the sudden repair would cause asymmetry in time, so I specially inquired about the maintenance of these equipment. During that long time, there was never a unit to maintain these equipment. ”

That confirmed my thoughts. ”

"Someone faked?"

"No, it's not fake, it's real. ”

Zhou Chong grinned, not knowing how to answer.

Zhao Cui looked left and right, and before eight o'clock, there were just two of them in the office. Only then did he say: "Zhou Chong, I have something for you to do." However, this kind of thing can have a big impact. ”

"Boss, you let me be an undercover agent?"

"Almost. ”

When Zhao Cui told Zhou Chong what to do, it seemed that Zhou Chong was very reluctant, and Zhao Cui said that Zhou Chong's ideological work was enough. Zhou Chong was helpless, but he believed in Zhao Cui. Since Zhou Chong joined the police, he has followed Zhao Cui to handle cases, and all incurable diseases can be solved easily under Zhao Cui's methods. And that's not all. Zhao Cui's style of life shows the faith that a police officer should have. Indescribable faith. is often the strongest of beliefs.

Because of yesterday's death, the school decided to have a two-day school holiday. Without the pressure of class, Sun Qian stayed in the bed until ten o'clock before she crawled out of the bed in a panic. The weather is getting colder and colder, and the coolness is getting more and more sufficient, Sun Qian is wrapped in a thick coat, and she can't help but shake her body in the house.

This house is very large, three bedrooms, two living rooms and two bathrooms, although it is simply decorated, but all the appliances in it are brand new. Nian Hao once said that the government lent it to him, but this is too luxurious. The room where Sun Qian and Nian Hao slept was in the easternmost part, with a huge room, a warm bed, and the person they loved the most. This could be a happy life.

Although Sun Qian is still young, she has already imagined what her happy life will look like in her mind. Every morning, the two of them got up from the bed, made breakfast for Nian Hao, and then went to work and went home after the day. All troubles, all sorrows, all joys, all secrets, are all calmly relative. What a blessing this is.

Just as he was thinking, the person who had been sleeping soundly in the house walked out.

"There is no class today, so I'll go shopping for clothes with you. Nian Hao walked straight to the balcony naked, looked at the sunlight outside the house, and said very plainly.

When Sun Qian saw Nian Hao's appearance, although everything happened to the two, she still blushed. I couldn't help but bow my head. "Aren't you cold?"

Of course, Nian Hao could feel the cold, but he liked the pain of this kind of freezing. Because this feeling keeps him clear-headed. He smiled and replied, "Get used to it." The hot water in the welfare home has always been very tight, and I have been taking cold showers since I was a child, and I am not afraid of this temperature. ”

"No wonder you're so hot, I woke up several times last night with your heat. I thought you had a fever. ”

"It's good to have a fever. Nian Hao said, turned back into the house, and dressed himself. It is true that Nian Hao has no medical records except for being sent to the hospital with heart problems when he was a child.

"It's next to the shopping street, let's go there and have a look. Nian Hao dressed himself and arranged his hair in front of the mirror in the house. "There are a lot of good shops over there, and you girls like those delicious and new little things. ”

Sun Qian nodded happily, the temptation of food was still great for her, but she quickly shook her head. denied: "That commercial street is too expensive, I don't have much money on me, let's go to the small commodity market and look for something cheaper." ”

"Are you afraid I don't have any money?"

"Where is the money for you an orphan. Speaking of this, Sun Qian immediately shut up, in fact, she still wanted to add, you are funded by the government.

Nian Hao smiled slightly, returned to the living room from the house, took Sun Qian's hand, and helped her up, "I have money, rest assured, clean money." I'll pay for whatever you want. ”

"Can you ask where you came from?" Sun Qian looked at Nian Hao squarely, she knew that Nian Hao was hiding many secrets, and those who had these secrets could disappear at any time. What you can know, you must know.

"After he died, he left nothing but a lot of medals, and he appointed me to deal with the medals, and I gave those medals to the state, and the state rewarded them. Speaking of which, Nian Hao remembered the old guy. In the welfare home, the only old man who really accompanied him to grow up. But the old man, who had passed away, was very relieved when he left, but he had no children or daughters.

A girl in love seems to be very obedient to this kind of talk, regardless of whether the other party is a lie or not. Sun Qian added: "Then you also said that there is a lack of money for college. ”

"I'm going to spend this money on the people I like, and it doesn't matter if I'm for myself. "It's a lie. Nian Hao once said that the house they are staying in was temporarily lent to him by the government, but he actually bought it. It can be said that it is for protection that Sun Qian does not know too much.

"Well, I'm going to spend a lot of money today. Sun Qian smiled.

Nian Hao nodded. "You're not going home for the next two days?"

"You want me home?"

Nian Hao shook his head.

Sun Qian hugged Nian Hao and hugged him. "I really want to go on with you like this. ”

"Yes. Nian Hao said lightly.

Sun Qian kissed Nian Hao's cheek: "Don't lie to me, I gave you everything." You know? I don't want to understand anything, and if I do, I might disappear everything. ”

"Why do you say that? Nian Hao's face darkened, but his tone did not change.

Sun Qian looked at Nian Hao with a confused expression, "Isn't it?I feel that you have too many secrets, but I don't want to know." What I can understand is that people like you don't lie to me. ”

"Yes, I won't lie to you. Nian Hao replied, his face turning back to a hint of tenderness.

Nian Hao was holding Sun Qian at this time, but the scene in his mind was not like this. He remembered that in the past, he held Yao Luoxuan like this, standing in the same living room, it seemed that the two of them had just finished arranging their new home. In this way, before setting off in the early morning, the two hugged each other and refused to be separated for a long time. And where does this memory come from? Nian Hao doesn't know, but the only thing Nian Hao knows is that this memory is real. Never changed in him, real memories. It's just that it doesn't exist in this world. I can't even find the way to pursue this memory on my own. In his memory, Yao Luoxuan also said like this, "I don't want to understand anything, if I understand, maybe everything will disappear." ”

But everything has disappeared, in all the facts that I faced. Nian Hao was not holding Yao Luoxuan, but another girl. The person Yao Luoxuan married was not Nian Hao, but another man.

At the same time, the other end of the house, the house directly opposite, is Yao Luoxuan's home. Affected by yesterday's event, Yao Luoxuan's husband Han Chen was also idle at home. It should be said that Han Chen voluntarily stayed at home, mainly because of the relationship between his two children, the eldest son is in the first grade, and the younger daughter is in the middle class, and the school they are in is very close to the high school, so it has been affected. Yao Luoxuan is a policeman, no matter what, he should be on the front line. So Han Chen voluntarily gave up today's job and stayed at home with his children.

However, today there is a guest at his house. It's Zhou Chong.

After the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, Han Chen brought Zhou Chong into the house. Zhou Chong hinted, and Han Chen asked his eldest son to take his younger daughter to play in other rooms. Seeing that the two children were gone. Zhou Chong took out two photos from his arms and put them in front of Han Chen.

Han Chen picked up these two photos and looked at them. In the photo, his wife, Yao Luoxuan, is sitting on a chair by the Huangpu River with a teenager, kissing. The photograph was taken diagonally upwards and downwards, apparently from a probe by the river. The clarity is very high, and Yao Luoxuan's face is happy.

And the other is on the busy street at night, and his wife and the boy support each other. And the angle of this one is obviously taken from the camera at the entrance of the store next to it. The two are very natural, and their faces are full of happiness.

"I see. Han Chen put the photo on the table, looked at Zhou Chong, and did not have mood swings.

Zhou Chong was stunned for a moment, knowing the fact that his wife was cheating, men were almost uncontrollable anger, and Han Chen just said that I knew. Did he already know it, or did he know it now? For this kind of emotion, Zhou Chong immediately thought that the relationship between the two was almost gone, and only men would have such emotions.

"Thank you, give me the picture. Han Chen added: "It's not a good thing to be kept in the dark. ”