Shen Mingde, who was asleep, suddenly felt a tingling pain on his face, like a mosquito bite. He casually chased away the mosquitoes, changed his position and fell into a deep sleep again. The mosquitoes didn't seem to give up, still swirling around them. The bite seemed to intensify, the sting became more intense, and it was accompanied by a shaking of the head. Shen Mingde woke up slowly, his throat was dry, and his nasal cavity was filled with the smell of smoke and the smell of burnt electronic products. He waved his hand impatiently at the "culprit" who woke him up, but collided with another object with a "snap". The object was soft, thick, and warm, like a hand. Shen Mingde slowly opened his eyes, and with a drowsy haze, he saw a black metal frame ceiling hanging from the bare cement ceiling. It seems that this is the most popular "industrial style" decoration design nowadays. The space I am in is not large, and it can even be described as "crowded". A single sofa was pressed under Shen Mingde, and a large-screen monitor of more than 20 inches was placed on the computer in front of him, and it was isolated into a small boxy space by an orange wall. A uniformed man huddled in the aisle that only allowed one person to enter and exit, leaning over to stare at Shen Mingde. It seems that he is the master of that hand. Another uniformed one blocked the entrance to the cubicle. Shen Mingde had the illusion that he was like an animal in a cage, coupled with the displeasure of being woken up by the two security guards. He sat up abruptly and drained half of the bottle of mineral water on the table in one gulp. Then he rubbed his eyes vigorously and massaged his face with both hands. He felt his face itchy and his whole face was about to be rubbed off by himself.

Shen Mingde finally came to his senses, and he looked at the uniformed man standing next to him from his feet to his head. This is a strong man like an iron tower, with broad shoulders and a broad back under the well-fitting uniform. The light was shining from the man's back and was obscured by the brim of the uniform's hat, which made the man's face a little blurry. However, this person gives people an inexplicable sense of majesty and oppression. Shen Mingde pressed his swollen temples, and from the unique uniform, he recognized that this person should be a police officer. In an instant, all the memories flooded into my mind like a tidal wave. Last night, the tragedy in the hospital and what happened to him made him feel uneasy. After escaping the hospital, he wandered the destination and wandered the streets alone. He didn't dare to go home, hoping to find a place where there were many people to rest. So, he spent the rest of the night in the private room of this Internet café.

The policeman spoke, probably meaning that Shen Mingde was related to the murder case in the central hospital last night, and asked him to go to the police station to assist in the investigation. There was some resistance in his heart, but under the fatigue and the shock of the two policemen, he gave up resistance and followed them into the police car. The environment outside is still rainy and foggy, and the humidity and heat are unbearable. Looking at the dark silhouette of the building and the passers-by holding umbrellas, Shen Mingde felt that everything outside the police car was so illusory. He is currently facing some very real problems. When he arrives at the police station in a while, what should he say to the police?

The police car drove quickly through the streets, and before Shen Mingde could think about his words, he had already carried him to the door of the police station. He was taken to a small room to wait, presumably an interrogation room. Shen Mingde has never entered the interrogation room, and this room seems to be very different from what is depicted in film and television works. There are no excessive furnishings in the room, and there is no single reflective glass mirror that can only be seen from the outside. There were four cold chairs next to the cold table, and it seemed that the air conditioning in the room was turned on sufficiently, making Shen Mingde tremble. A policeman walked into the interrogation room, and Shen Mingde couldn't help but straighten up and sit in the direction facing the door. The policeman, however, had no intention of sitting down with a pile of papers in his hand. He just held a glass of water and walked quickly to Shen Mingde. At the moment when he put down the water glass, he gritted his back molars, and his lips moved slightly and spit out a sentence: "Don't say a word." Someone saved you. After that, he walked briskly out of the interrogation room.

Soon, an older police officer and a younger police officer interrogated Shen Mingde. The old officer spoke very kindly. He first ruled out Shen Mingde's suspicion of murder, because judging from the monitoring of the hospital that night, he did not have the time to kill. The veteran police officer regarded Shen Mingde as an eyewitness to the case. During the questioning, he did not mention the words "suspect", "suspect", or even "suspect" once. What the old police officer always knew from Shen Mingde was "what he saw on the night of the crime".

Shen Mingde didn't answer the old officer's question, he just looked at the water in the cup silently.

The old officer didn't seem to have a displeased expression, and he immediately changed the subject: "Who was that companion with you that night?" Why did he destroy the surveillance footage of the victim when he was killed? ”

Shen Mingde remained silent. I know if it's because he thinks this "non-violent, non-cooperative" attitude is in his favor, or if he really believes that someone will come to save him.

The young police officer sitting next to him suddenly said angrily: "Although you are not located as a murder suspect, you can't escape the suspicion of hired murder!" Answering questions honestly may help you reduce your suspicion! ”

Shen Mingde couldn't hold on a little anymore. He wanted to yell, "I didn't do anything!" Victims themselves! And asked for police protection. Just then, the door opened, and two officers were called out. Half an hour later, Shen Mingde was taken out of the interrogation room by another policeman. The policeman whispered to him, "You're saved." You did very well. ”

That's how he was, he went through the formalities with the help of the police in a daze, and then was taken out of the police station. The police handed Shen Mingde over to a middle-aged man who had been waiting at the door for a long time. The man was dressed in a white shirt and trousers, and insisted on wearing a tie on a hot day. He is a white-collar worker working in an office building, looking harmless to humans and animals. Shen Mingde, a white-collar man, led him into a luxury car. From the license plate, Shen Mingde recognized that it was a car from Chen Yongyi's company. There were four people in the car besides himself. They are the driver, the white-collar man in the co-pilot's seat, and the two bodyguards who sandwiched Shen Mingde in the middle. The car was driving around the city without anyone talking to him or doing anything to explain. Shen Mingde felt that Chen Yongyi had exposed his lies and wanted to find him to settle down. But he didn't feel like it. Surveillance footage at the entrance of the police station and on these streets has already captured Shen Mingde getting into Chen Yongyi's company's car. Chen Yongyi should not be so blatantly evil.

The car drove into a construction site. You can see that the workers are working in full swing. They all got out of the car in front of a building that was almost finished. The white-collar man led Shen Mingde into the first floor of the building. It's a very empty space, with exposed steel bars, pipes, exposed concrete walls, columns, and staircases. Hot and humid air drifted in through the hollows of the uninstalled doors and windows, and was cooled in this huge space. Between the concrete columns, a young man turned his back to Shen Mingde's direction. After the white-collar man motioned for Shen Mingde to meet the person, he left the building and returned to the car with the others to wait.

The man seemed to hear Shen Mingde's footsteps and turned around. The man wore gold-rimmed glasses and a friendly smile on the corner of his mouth. Shen Mingde recognized him as Chen Huaizhi at a glance. But for some reason, he always felt a sly gaze shooting from behind Chen Huaizhi's glasses.

"Brother Shen, you're frightened. I'm a little delayed here, and I'm late. The police are not difficult for you, right? Chen Huaizhi took a few steps to meet Shen Mingde and asked very politely. At the same time, he also handed Shen Mingde a small bottle of mineral water.

Shen Mingde was not polite, and drank half of the bottled water in one go.

"Brother Shen is Gao Bowen's person, right?" Chen Huaizhi's question almost made Shen Mingde squirt out the water he drank.

It seems that Chen Yongyi already knows his role. They knew that they were not Gao Bowen's "guide". And why did you take yourself out of the police station today? Are you afraid that I will reveal everything to the police? Shen Mingde pondered in his heart, but he was still confused. He secretly decided to give him a vague answer before the high-definition situation. So, Shen Mingde said: "How is it possible? ”

This answer should be vague enough, right? One can guess from a variety of angles. On the one hand, Chen Huaizhi can understand this sentence as "How can I be the one who does things for Gao Bowen?" I'm with you." Of course, it can also be understood as "How can I not be a person of Gao Bowen?" ”

Chen Huaizhi said with a smile: "That old man Gao asked Brother Shen to be the 'leader', it was really a miscalculation. ”

After hearing this, Shen Mingde's mood relaxed a lot. It seems that Chen Yongyi still thinks that he is a "leader". At the same time, they were very glad that this "leader" was on their side.

"The 'guide' or something is simply a scam by Gao Bowen." Chen Huaizhi scolded sharply.

However, as soon as he heard this, Shen Mingde became vigilant. They know everything. Yes, if you think about it, you can understand that Chen Yongyi has directly contacted the person "Lao Yu". Chen Huaizhi used to be Gao Shan Xing's ex-boyfriend. How could they know?

"Oh, Brother Shen, don't be so nervous. I don't mean to reproach you. Chen Huaizhi said with a bit of a hippie smile.

"Now that you all know, let's open the skylight and say something. What do you want? Shen Mingde said as he stepped back behind him. At the same time, he plans a route to escape.

"Brother Shen, Brother Shen. Please relax. I have absolutely no intention of harming you. Chen Huaizhi said, then raised his hands parallel to his head, opened his palms, and signaled to Shen Mingde that his hands were empty. Then, he continued, "My people are now waiting in the car outside the building. We have to be 100 meters away. There was an unobstructed space around the two of us, and there was certainly no place for ambushes. None of the doors or windows of this building have been installed. So it's not a closed space. If something happens, you can run away. Run to the door behind me and you'll be able to get to the second phase of the building that's under construction. It's full of workers, and anyone can call the police for you. Brother Shen, I definitely don't intend to hurt you......"

"And what are you going to do?" Shen Mingde asked vigilantly.

Chen Huaizhi put down his raised hands, paced back and forth in a distance of three or four meters in front of Shen Mingde, and said, "Let's talk." Brother Shen, I have always respected you very much. Business-minded, capable, and affectionate. I know that your subordinate, a good brother, Zhou Tengfei is missing......"

Shen Mingde immediately asked, "Xiao Jing told you?" ”

Chen Huaizhi replied with a smile: "I don't know her well. Will she tell me the truth? Luckily, I have a few friends at the police station. Ask them about the situation and you'll probably know. I know that you are investigating the matter of that lake in order to find Zhou Tengfei. In the end, the investigation really came to Gao Bowen's head. So ......"

"So you want me to give up the investigation?" Shen Mingde asked with a frown.

Chen Huaizhi turned around very respectfully, faced Shen Mingde, and continued, "That's why I want to help you." That's why I let you and my father in on the night of the celebration. ”

Shen Mingde's mood eased slightly, and he asked, "Then, your father." What does Mr. Chen think? ”

Chen Huaizhi smiled mysteriously at this question. He looked at Shen Mingde gently. This kind of friendly eyes without killing intent made Shen Mingde feel cold down his spine. For some reason, this fair-looking and handsome young man always had an evil aura on his face, and an unfathomable height that was not comparable to his twenties.

Chen Huaizhi cleared his throat and said, "I want to get some information. Brother Shen, let's exchange information. I didn't expect your investigation to progress so quickly. On the night of the celebration, you infiltrated the drama school. What did you see in drama school? ”

Shen Mingde's face was still foggy. Chen Huaizhi is so curious about the drama school, is he concerned about the living corpses in the water tank? Or a drawing of an alpine apricot? However, Shen Mingde is most concerned about his own safety at present. Although Chen Huaizhi has always been disguised mildly and tamely. But he still asked with a displeased face, "You are following me?" Those who pretend to be ghosts are your people? Was your guy in the drama school where we were? ”

Chen Huaizhi waved his hand and said, "Brother Shen, you misunderstood. I said I wanted to help you. It's just that, while helping you, I'm looking forward to getting some information from Gao Bowen's side. That's what I'm here for. ”

Shen Mingde said calmly: "Okay." You just said that we are 'exchanging information'. So what kind of information can you give me? Can you help me find Zhou Tengfei? ”

Chen Huaizhi said: "I don't have that ability. You'll have to find it yourself. Still, I can make it a little easier for you. 'Lao Yu' is still alive. ”

This news really made Shen Mingde's eyes widen. He calmed down and asked, "How can I trust you?" ”

Chen Huaizhi said unhurriedly: "How can a person who has 'immortality' die so easily? He was at Yongning Rehabilitation Home. As he spoke, Chen Huaizhi took out a key from his pocket. He continued: "Tell me what you saw, and then I'll give you the key and show you how you can meet him. Moreover, what you see in drama school, you may not understand yourself. Perhaps we can analyze the mystery together. ”

Shen Mingde said: "Then, you have to answer me a question first. You can send someone to follow me to the drama school, why don't you send your people into the drama school to have a look? How do you know there's something in drama school? ”

Chen Huaizhi still said with a smile on his face: "First of all, I must clarify that I have not followed you. All I know about your sneaking into the drama school that night is because Gao Bowen called later. He reprimanded my father on the phone for not managing his own people. I answered the call because I handle all these kinds of things in the company. So I know your whereabouts. Well, tell us about the inside. ”

After Shen Mingde listened to this explanation, he believed Chen Huaizhi first. He said, "I saw a lot of pictures of children. He paused, only to see that Chen Huaizhi only nodded indifferently and motioned for him to continue. So, Shen Mingde continued: "I saw the painting of Gao Shan Xing. There are two old men on the painting, which are estimated to be the old men of the Zhao and Wang families. And your father and Chu Yao. There must be one who may be the second son of the Zhao family. They're doing a ceremony, do you know the meaning of the painting? ”

Chen Huaizhi seemed to have his eyes open, looked into the distance behind Shen Mingde, and said in a heavy tone: "The old man of the Zhao Wang family and my father have always been very good to Shanxing. Chu Yao used to be her teacher and taught her dance. The second brother of the Zhao family carved various small animals out of wood for Shanxing as gifts to her. So the apricot was impressed with them. ”

Looking at Chen Huaizhi's nostalgic expression, Shen Mingde asked, "Then you still leave her in the village by the lake." Why didn't you pick her up? Was she never your girlfriend? ”

Chen Huaizhi smiled and said, "Brother Shen really investigated me as well. It was I who sent the apricot into that village. But I did it all because I wanted to protect her. ”

Shen Mingde asked suspiciously, "What do you mean?" ”

Chen Huaizhi said: "I believe that through Brother Shen, your own investigation already knows the role of Shan Xing. For everyone who has attained 'immortality', they see something unclean almost every day. It was a nightmare that tormented them. Later, the troupe taught them a ritual called 'town'. In short, it is a ritual that can suppress evil spirits, suppress ghosts, suppress those things that are not clean. This ritual worked so well that over time it became a belief among the 'immortals'. At the same time, the 'immortals' and the troupe also have an agreement to sacrifice to the 'Yamamiro' every year as a sign of loyalty. Gradually, this ritual called 'town' and the ritual of offering sacrifices to 'Yamamira' were held at the same time. The 'immortals' believe that the ritual 'sacrifice' is a vessel. The 'sacrifice' can suppress and absorb the unclean evil. When the vessel has absorbed the visible evil of the 'Immortals' and filled it, they kill the 'sacrifice'. This was done so that the evil spirits in the container could be sealed in a short period of time, and before the 'sacrifice's body stiffened, she would be sent to the lake and handed over to the 'Yamamiro' to dispose of. Gao Shan returned to the drama school alive after the first sacrifice, followed by the second and third sacrifices. The 'Immortals' used him as a vessel that could be reused over and over again. Do you know how painful it was for me to watch her get killed once a year? In order to help Shan Xing end this torture, I sent her to the ancient village by the lake. ”

Shen Mingde asked: "Then have you taken into account Gao Shan Xing's feelings?" Imprisoned there, does she agree? Also, how can you guarantee that Gao Bowen or others can't take her out of the village? ”

Chen Huaizhi continued: "No one can bring her out. Because the apricot has now become a 'resentful spirit' state. In order for her to get into this state, I can't ask for her consent, I have to make her feel that I cheated on her and betrayed her. However, I can help her return to her normal state. You must have heard the old saying 'the bell must be tied to the bell'. But it's not time yet. ”

Shen Mingde angrily rolled up his sleeves, handed the ugly scratch to Chen Huaizhi, and said, "Then this! What's going on with this? This scratch is left by Gao Shan Xing, she wants to kill me! Also, what is the matter with the 'guide' you are talking about? ”

Chen Huaizhi still maintained his tepid attitude, and said, "Brother Shen, please don't get excited, listen to me." The scratches may really be left by the mountain apricot, but it is definitely not the mountain apricot that will kill you, but the villagers in the lakeside village. In order to keep the lake a secret and prevent outsiders from coming into close contact with the people of their own village, they would kill the people who were tagged. The 'guides' are all outsiders. When the people of the lakeside village need to come out, they need a 'guide' to bring them out. The 'Leader' will be killed when he completes his duty. Unless the marked person can see the lake and make sacrifices, he becomes a believer in the 'Yamamira'. In their eyes, they become their own people. Well, I've said so much. Has my sincerity been expressed? Brother Shen, please tell me what you saw over there. ”

Shen Mingde poured the small bottle of mineral water in his hand into his stomach in one gulp, and then found himself in the secret room, and told all the things about the water tank and the living corpse in the secret room. Chen Huaizhi, who heard these things, also fell into a state of contemplation, and he paced around in front of Shen Mingde, sipping the water in the bottle one by one. Look at the way he looks, pondering.

After a while, Shen Mingde asked tentatively, "What do you think?" ”

Chen Huaizhi suddenly made a look of sudden realization, raised his voice a little and said, "Evidence! That's damn proof! ”

Shen Mingde said: "I also considered giving those things to the police as evidence, but those water tanks have been removed and hidden somewhere else......

Chen Huaizhi rushed excitedly and said: "It's useless to be hidden. As long as those things exist, they can be found. Gao Bowen definitely didn't dare to destroy those living corpses. Moreover, it makes no sense for you to hand over those things to the police. Chen Huaizhi saw that Shen Mingde was confused, so he continued: "The living corpse soaked in the water tank is evidence. The police won't believe it. But for us, that's the evidence of Golberwin's murder of believers! ”

"You know about that fire at the theater school?" Chen Huaizhi saw that Shen Mingde gave an affirmative answer, so he continued: "I guess it must not be an accident, but murder. We don't know what happened that night, but the living corpses do. All they need to do is find them and bring them back to the lake to be resurrected, and they will have the opportunity to accuse the villagers of the lakeside village of Gao Bowen and Gao Zhongchen's evil deeds of murdering the believers. Gao Bowen would never dare to destroy those living corpses! He could only hide them. I guessed that there must be something hidden in the ruins of the drama school, but I didn't expect it to be such an important thing! ”

Seeing that Shen Mingde nodded as if he didn't understand, Chen Huaizhi happily handed over the key to Shen Mingde's hands. Then, he said to Shen Mingde very seriously: "Brother Shen, you have to be careful of those killers and find that lake as soon as possible." If we are to make a successful sacrifice in the lake, we must control Gao Bowen. Because the current sacrificial rites are still presided over by him. You can go to the lake without worry. I'll take care of the rest. ”

Shen Mingde felt a little moved, but he still asked vigilantly, "Why are you helping me?" ”

Chen Huaizhi smiled and replied: "I have a cooperative relationship with Gao Bowen, so it is inconvenient to inquire about the news. There are many secrets of the lake and 'Yamamira'. I need a 'third party' like you to help me get the information. Only by controlling Gao Bowen will Shan Xing be safe. I'll be able to get him back. When the time comes, we will all be safe. As long as Gao Bowen is here, our lives are in his hands. Do you understand what it's like to be controlled by people? Soon, when you remove that mark and gain 'immortality'. Brother Shen, you will feel this way too. ”

"So, next, Brother Shen? Shall I drive you back, or will I ......," Chen Huaizhi asked cordially.

Shen Mingde didn't wait for Chen Huaizhi to finish speaking, he waved his hand and signaled to Chen Huaizhi that he didn't want to go with him. Just as Chen Huaizhi turned to leave, Shen Mingde seemed to remember something, and shouted, "Where is this key used?" ”

In the echo of the wide space, Shen Mingde got the answer.