The second echelon of the action group to Lake Bahrain arrived in a hurry the afternoon of the next day.

They saw a messy camp with a pile of charred flesh in the middle. The stiff bodies of the team members were divided into four rows and laid out on the potholed ground, littered with fallen eucalyptus trees.

A man sits on the trunk of a fallen tree, and the setting sun shines only on half of his face. The sea blue of his eyes could not resist the scarlet of the setting sun, and the desolation of the night pulled the joy of life from his pupils.

The man sits there like a sculpture, allowing you to cut open his sleeve and wrap the cuff of the blood pressure monitor around his upper arm. When he asked him questions, he didn't answer, as if he had lost his soul.

"Don't touch them!"

It was the man's only words, roaring like a wounded lion. The new firing squad was removing their ID cards from the bodies of the men's members, but it was clear that the men were not willing to do so.

He was still looking forward to something.

For the past 18 hours, Pete has dragged the bodies of his team members to a relatively open area in the camp one by one.

Exhausted, Pete slumped on the trunk of a tree lying across the ground, the undead floating overhead whispering, or maybe it was just the wind, which Pete thought was the team members saying goodbye to him. He tried to use Luo Qing to tow them, but those souls were like the wind of another world, and finally they still blew towards the heavens and disappeared without a trace.

Those of us, blindfolded from birth, stand on the stone path leading to the cliff and walk towards the abyss of death. You grope barefoot in the eternal night, and it's always cold on the stone paths. Sometimes you will inadvertently touch a warm hand, only to know that someone is walking with you. But when you want to hold that hand, you find that the person has fallen into the abyss.

Either way, Pete lost them forever.

··· ···

Shixia City, China

On July 23, the great heat, the ecliptic longitude of the sun is 120°, the hottest days of the year.

Because it is located at the southern tip of China and on the southeast coast of the city, Shixia City has abundant rainfall and is warm all year round, and the coldest time will not drop below 25 degrees Celsius, which is a typical tropical maritime monsoon climate city.

During the day, there are only a handful of pedestrians on the main roads in the city. Dare to go out without the blessing of air conditioning, which is equivalent to climbing to the crater shirtless, and heroically taking a selfie after posting it on Moments.

The coastline of Shixia City is 150 kilometers long, and many people like to drive to the beach after work every summer. The blue sea is a good psychiatrist, and many things can be forgiven when you face the sea.

A red Porsche 911 roadster is driving on the coastal road in Qinwan District, and the theme song of "Fast and Furious 7" is playing "See You Again" in the car. There are very few residents in Qinwan District, mainly some industrial enterprises are built here, so there are not many vehicles on this section of the road.

“It's been a long day without you my friend

And I'll tell you all about it when I see you again”

Pete hummed along to the melody, driving slowly, occasionally turning his head to look to his left, his eyes as blue as the sea. It's been more than a month since he returned from Australia, and he's been recuperating at home, and Treehouse hasn't delegated him a new assignment.

When he first came back, Pete locked himself in his room all day, sitting in front of the window in a daze. The meal that his father brought in, he occasionally took a bite, and more often it was brought back by the original local in the next meal. His mother, who went back to England to do business, shortened the trip and hurried back.

The old couple was so anxious that they didn't know what to do. They just heard their son say that he went abroad on business and talked about a girlfriend, and they dumped him when they returned home.

One afternoon, Pete suddenly walked out of the room as if his phone had been turned off and restarted, and it was time to eat and drink. Pete, a child, if there is a hurdle in his heart, no one can enlighten him. But no matter how difficult it is, he has the day when he figured it out, and all he can do as a parent is companionship.

Last night, he received a notice to go back to the head office. At this time, he was told to go back, probably about the reorganization of the team, Pete thought to himself.

As there were fewer and fewer buildings in the vicinity, until only street signs remained, Porsche finally drove to the end of the road, the Treehouse Group Headquarters. Porsche stopped far away in front of the big iron gate to enter the island, and Pete leaned out and waved at the camera next to the gate: "Miss Yuchi, I'm back again!" ”

There is a small glass window on the 5-meter-high exterior wall, which looks like a window in a cell to deliver meals to prisoners. The window was pulled open horizontally, and a girl in a white baseball cap looked outside.

The girl's facial features are upright, her expression is indifferent, and she has the feeling of an iceberg beauty. People who come to the Treehouse Group for the first time will be very curious why they are a big beauty who can eat with their faces, why they would stay here as a guard guard.

"Name." The girl asked.

“Your lovely Peter Hunter。” Pete replied.

“ID。”

“TH03021197。”

In fact, Pete's license plate is registered, as long as he drives one meter further, the iron door will automatically open after the camera scans the license plate. But Pete just likes to repeat this manual review step again and again, in order to take a look at Xia Yuchi.

"Long time no see, please have a steak tonight?" Pete said with a grin at Xia Yuchi.

"Get out." Xia Yuchi's tone was tepid, and he closed the window at the same time.

"Okay."

The heavy electric iron door slowly opened to the other side, and if it weren't for the gorgeous gold pattern carved on the door, it would really make people suspect that the door was actually a detention center. Pete stepped on the gas pedal and drove in, and the iron door closed again.

Xia Yuchi, a senior employee of the Security Department, can be said to be guarding the Nantianmen of the head office, and his salary is higher than that of Pete, the captain of the firing squad.

Treewood Group advertises its main focus on science and technology, and has subsidiaries such as Gujing Energy and Xinxi Energy, as well as Ubei Financial and Jianhou Military Industry in other fields.

Most of its subsidiaries are leading enterprises in various industries, and they have elite talents selected from prestigious universities, and these elites can hold their heads high and do a good job in the turbulent society.

The head office in Shixia City is surprisingly low-key and never publishes recruitment information to the public.

Those who are lucky enough to receive its job offer email will be attracted by the salary it offers, and the annual salary of a trainee salesman who has just entered the business department is enough to pay a down payment for a single apartment in the suburbs.

It's just that most people who are invited for an interview will be asked confusing questions by the interviewer and then told that you are not suitable for the position.

An 18-year-old boy got out of the car and looked around as a taxi pulled up in front of the iron gate.

The small glass window was knocked, and Xia Yuchi opened the window.

"Hello, I'm here for an interview." The boy said.

"Name."

"Lu Yulin."

Xia Yu received a paper letter directly from the board of directors early in the morning, reminding her of the arrival of the applicant. Usually, the list of people invited by the head office for interview will be registered through the intranet, and the security room will verify online and then release.

The list of personnel issued by the board of directors means that the company has secretly conducted a large number of investigations on him in the early stage, and he has already been scheduled to be hired, and the personnel department can be skipped.

"There's going to be a vehicle coming into the island later." After speaking, Xia Yuchi closed the window.

The electric iron door opened a crack, just enough for one person to pass through, and Lu Yulin walked in. It turns out that there is an iron gate in front of it, which really looks like a prison, Lu Yulin thought to himself. After walking more than ten meters, the second iron gate in front of him slowly opened. After stepping out of the second iron gate, the scene in front of me suddenly opened up.

Lu Yulin's place is 800 meters above sea level, with a low mountain on the right, a boundless sea on the left, and an asphalt road under his feet. If you look out to sea from here, you can see the artificial island of the Treehouse Group Corporation.

At this time, an electric sightseeing car drove over from the parking lot behind the security room and stopped beside Lu Yulin.

"Mr. Lu Yulin, hello, I'm here to pick you up on the island, please get in the car." The driver of the sightseeing bus greeted Lu Yulin. The driver is dressed in a black suit and white gloves and feels like a waiter picking up and dropping off guests at a tourist attraction.

After driving 5 kilometers on the winding mountain road, a 20-meter-wide and 300-meter-long bridge appeared on the sea, and at the end of the bridge was the artificial island of the Treehouse Group Corporation.

Before going to the bridge, there was a security booth, which was different from the previous big iron gate, and only a simple hut was set up here, which could only accommodate three or five people, and a security guard sat in the booth.

"Send someone for an interview." The driver of the sightseeing bus stops.

"Name." The security guard prepares to check the list of interviewees on the company's intranet on a computer.

"Lu Yulin." The driver replied.

When the security guard heard the name, his hand on the keyboard paused, looking at the letter on the table.

"Lu Yulin." The driver repeated it word for word.

The security guard came to his senses, and then directly opened the railing in front of the car and put the sightseeing car inside.

It wasn't until he crossed the bridge that Lu Yulin understood the intention of the Treehouse Group to arrange a sightseeing bus to pick up people, and the scenery on the artificial island was indeed very good, and it was worth enjoying.

The main road is lined with carefully landscaped plants, and some unique buildings stand in it, and you can see the towering office building at the southernmost tip of the artificial island a kilometer away. It is the main building of the head office, with a total of 40 floors and a height of 120 meters.

······

"Name?"

"Anzeru."

"Age?"

"15 years old."

Anzeru was tired of such conversations, and she had been locked up in this basement for more than a month answering their questions. Day after day, every day is a different issue. It wasn't until they had asked everything they could, that they re-asked the questions that An Zeru had been able to memorize over and over again.

The day Uncle first brought her to the Treehouse Group, everyone here was very enthusiastic about her, and it felt like all of a sudden the whole world was revolving around her. They arranged for her to be a spacious and comfortable room, provided her with sumptuous food, and someone took her to a set of medical examinations, although she was not sure that some of the items could be called medical examinations.

But only one day later, all those who had taken good care of her suddenly talked about her secretly, and their serious expressions seemed to be discussing a serious disease.

Late that night, An Zeru, who was sleeping soundly, was woken up. She was ushered into this room with gray walls on all sides, a large heavy iron door that blocked out all outside sounds. If a basement with a toilet is set as the standard for a dormitory, then it is considered to be a minimum standard. It would be better to go back to the psychiatric hospital, where the room has at least one window.

"What's your sister's name?" The man asked.

"Kim Yoo-na." An Zeru replied.

"When did Kim Yoo Na start making contact with you?" The man asked.

"Since the first meeting." Anzeru sat on the single bed with her knees crossed, looking at the iron railing at the head of the bed.

In fact, Anzeru had never seen anyone asking her questions, perhaps they had gathered somewhere outside, looking at themselves through the camera. Someone pressed the microphone to talk to her, and someone recorded their conversation in a file, like the FBI interrogating a suspect in a movie. But the interrogation room in the movie will have a large one-way glass window, and there is nothing here but the wall.

"When, where, and what happened when did we first meet?" The man asked.

"During the winter vacation of my freshman year of high school, my parents took me on a trip to South Korea and met my sister in Seoul, we got lost, and it was my sister who took us to the hotel." Anzeru's answer was much simpler than the first time.

Anzeru had resisted, refusing to answer their questions. But she saw no one but the people who came to deliver the food every day, and her protest was, at best, being sold by her honest stomach after a night of hunger strike.

"What happened after that?" The man asked.

"After that, my parents and I went back to China, and my sister often came to see me, and then I was sent to a psychiatric hospital." An Zeru replied.

"In what way did Kim Yoo Na come to see you?" The man asked.

"It just suddenly appeared next to me, and I don't know if she came by plane or Didi." An Zeru replied.

"When Kim Yoona appeared, was it accompanied by blue flames?" The man asked.

"You've watched too many movies, haven't you?" An Zeru stumbled back.

"Did Kim Yoo Na mention 'Australia', 'Lake Bahrain', 'Sacred Tree Seeds', 'Spiritualism', and 'Simulated Insects'?" The man asked.

"Nope." An Zeru replied.

"Have you ever dreamed of singing?" The man asked.

"Yes, sing and sell newspaper songs, do you want me to sing them to you now?" An Zeru replied angrily.

"Have you ever dreamed of killing someone?"

"Have you ever been exposed to anything special?"

"Did you know about the Treehouse Group before?"

"No, no, no, no!" An Zeru jumped up and stood on the bed, slamming the pillow against the wall, "Are you bothered to ask these people every day!" At first, everyone thought I was sick, even myself, but then the liar told me that I was not sick and I was healthy, and that you needed me very much, and told me a bunch of gods and ghosts, and I was so stupid, stupid that I came to the liar's den with a liar! ”

There was a long silence on the other end.

An Zeru cried, crying very aggrieved, crying very presumptuously, her psychological endurance had reached the limit.

(Note: Scientists have done experiments in which a person is kept in a closed environment with food and drink, but all access to information from the outside world is cut off.) The experiment was a lucrative bounty, with some college students taking part in the experiment, and as a result, none of the subjects made it to last for a week. In this state, various sensory organs cannot receive any stimulus signals from the outside world, and after a period of time, pathological psychological phenomena will occur. This experiment is called the sensory deprivation experiment, and the subject loses the concept of time for a short period of time, and later, even if only one day has passed, it will subconsciously feel like a week is long. ）