Madness of the Heart

Xiaxi City.

The cold winter in the small northern city is a bit bleak, with white snow floating in the sky, but when it falls to the ground, it turns into gray mud.

Cheap lanterns and lanterns are scattered in the streets and alleys.During the day, the bulbs are not powered on, and the dust on the lanterns is very obvious. Even a festive color like red can hardly dispel the unpleasant haze in the air.

There were not many pedestrians on the road, so Mingshu stopped in front of an old building holding the umbrella he bought while watching the live broadcast.

This building is only 6 stories high. It is almost impossible to see such a short building in Dongye City, but it can be seen everywhere in Xiaxi City.

Mingshu took out his mobile phone, confirmed the address again, then put away his umbrella and walked in.

On 5-2, lived He Maolian, the former head of the investigative news department of "Xiaxi Evening News", a woman over [-] years old, and Lin Zhongguo worked under her back then.

According to the work flow of traditional media, before making a key report, the reporter needs to communicate with the director to select a topic and determine a report direction, and the subsequent interviews and writing must strictly follow this direction, so as to avoid the manuscript being "shot" to the greatest extent. ".During the interview, the reporter can contact the director at any time and ask the director to give reasonable suggestions.

A manuscript is usually signed by only one or two journalists, plus a photojournalist. The director’s name will not appear on it, but his efforts are definitely a lot, and if there is a mistake in the manuscript, the director must also be held accountable. responsibility.

In other words, if Lin Zhongguo's disappearance is related to the reports he participated in, then He Maolian is the person most likely to know some clues.

"Xiaxi Evening News" has long ceased publication, and most of the newspaper's employees have changed careers, and the older ones have retired directly.Before coming to Xiaxi City, Ming Shu had contacted the media group in Xiaxi City, as well as He Maolian.Knowing that the police wanted to know about Lin Zhongguo's events back then, He Maolian was silent for a long time, asked several times "Where are you from?" There are many things I want to tell you."

The door opened with a "squeak", and an old woman with gray hair stood in the door, it was He Maolian.

Mingshu showed his ID, and He Maolian took a closer look, her eyes resting on Mingshu's face, she seemed to be judging whether this young policeman was trustworthy.

Mingshu stood upright and let her observe.

"I thought it would be a policeman who was at least 40 years old." He Maolian said.

Mingshu said: "I am the team leader of the serious crime team of Dongye City Criminal Investigation Bureau, and I am the one who contacted you."

"Mingshu, Brightness and Forgiveness, a good name." He Maolian smiled and sighed: "That's right, it's better to be a young person with drive. Only young people have the courage to change the world."

After saying this, He Maolian returned the certificate to Mingshu, made a way out and said, "Come in. The house is narrow, so please take care of me."

The furnishings in the room are in the style of the last century. The cabinet has legs, leaving a small space between the bottom of the cabinet and the ground, which breeds darkness and accumulates dust.

Maybe people of this age are nostalgic for the past, and they are always reluctant to throw away the used things.Mingshu noticed that there was an old-fashioned pendulum clock on the table, and the sound of the hands scratching the clock face was extremely loud, as if he was using his last strength to show his existence.And next to the pendulum clock, there is also a "big head" computer.

It is conceivable that He Maolian used such a computer to process each manuscript.

He Maolian made a cup of tea for Mingshu, and took out a thick stack of yellowed manuscripts, "These are the manuscripts given to me by Lin Zhongguo. Investigative news was popular more than ten years ago, unlike now, the Internet is full of fast He exposed many unscrupulous merchants, and thus offended many people he could not afford to offend.”

Mingshu took it over and briefly read a few articles.

Lin Zhongguo's pen is vigorous, even if it is only a draft, it is still pleasing to the eye.

Now almost all walks of life use computers for office work, and it is rare to see words presented with paper and pen and ink like this.

"It's been 17 years in a blink of an eye." He Maolian narrowed her eyes. "The police also came to me back then, asking me if I knew why Lin Zhongguo disappeared, and what I was reporting before Lin Zhongguo disappeared. I told them clearly that Lin Zhongguo Zhong Guo is an upright man who doesn't know how to adapt, if he is harmed, the people who harm him must be the businessmen he exposed."

The investigation records provided by the police in Xiaxi City were not exhaustive, and only stated who had been excluded from committing the crime.

These people should be the people He Maolian mentioned to them.

But Mingshu felt that what He Maolian wanted to say was more than that, and he didn't want him to find out these people one by one and check them again.Otherwise, He Maolian wouldn't have asked him to come to Xiaxi City after receiving the call.

"Mr. He, you didn't tell the police everything you knew back then, did you?" Mingshu asked.

There was the sound of children playing outside the window, but the room suddenly fell into silence.

He Maolian didn't seem to be hesitating or remembering, but confessed alone.

After the elongated seconds, He Maolian said: "There are some things that I couldn't tell you the police at that time. I had my concerns. But these years I occasionally think, is it right or wrong to do so?"

As she said that, He Maolian lowered her head and looked at her wrinkled hands, "After thinking about it until now, I still can't think of an answer."

Ming Shu said: "But you have actually decided to tell me."

He Maolian smiled dryly, "If you don't say it, I'm afraid I won't have a chance to say it."

Mingshu could see that the old man received him dragging his sick body.

"I didn't tell the truth, but I kept my agreement with Lin Zhongguo." He Maolian said.

"Is it what Lin Zhongguo meant?" This was beyond Mingshu's expectation.

He Maolian nodded, "Lin Zhongguo is very paranoid, and he doesn't care about personal safety when he does things. Xiaxi City is so big, the people he offended not only revenged him, but also put shoes on his relatives. He doesn't care about these, his motto is—— —In the face of malice, someone has to stand up. But in protecting his son, he has fulfilled his duty as a father."

Mingshu said, "Lin Jiao."

"Yes, Lin Jiao, the only son of Lin Zhongguo." He Maolian continued: "Before Lin Zhongguo disappeared, he gave me a report on the topic of investigating the bad folk customs of backward villages and towns."

Mingshu's eyes suddenly sharpened, "Is it a 'ghost card'?"

He Maolian froze for a moment, with a look of relief on her brows, "It seems that you are indeed looking into this matter. The 'Ghost Card' originated in Qiuxu Village, and all the baby girls born there were made into ' Ghost cards, but that was decades ago. When Lin Zhongguo was working at Xiaxi Evening News, the 'job cards' industry had disappeared in Qiuxu Village."

"But Lin Zhongguo told me that as far as he knows, there are many people making 'ghost cards' in other northern villages and towns, including Silin Town near Xiaxi City. These people have learned from the experience of Qiuxu Village , are no longer concentrated in one place, and more secretive trading channels have been developed, so it is difficult to investigate, and even if we have the evidence, we may not be able to overthrow them in the end."

Mingshu said: "But Lin Zhongguo still insists on investigating?"

"He wants to investigate, but in fact he is also very hesitant. He is more cautious than usual when dealing with this matter." He Maolian said: "The first time he mentioned the 'ghost card' to me was a year before he disappeared. He was not sure whether he should investigate, so he came to ask me what I meant. I told him that those people were fundamentally different from his previous investigation subjects. They were all murderers, while others The person who took over the beam with him was at best a businessman who was unethical. He could be ruthless enough to do something to a newborn baby, and even kill a person without blinking an eye. It is not so easy to find evidence. He listened and did not follow up with him later. I mentioned it. But one month before the accident, he came to me again, saying that after much deliberation, he was still planning to dig into this matter."

Hearing this, Mingshu was puzzled.

Since Lin Zhongguo expressed his intention to investigate the "ghost card" a month before the accident, he should have done something during this month, but the police in Xiaxi City never mentioned the "ghost card" from the beginning to the end, and they only investigated Other businessmen who have conflicts with Lin Zhongguo.

Did the police get no clues at all?

Or do you obviously have a direction, but you don't want to check it?

"Lin Zhongguo made a request to me." He Maolian said: "He asked me to assure him that if he encounters misfortune, he must not tell the police or anyone else about his investigation of the 'ghost card'. Rotten between me and him."

Mingshu frowned.

"There's nothing he can do about it. As a reporter, he has the responsibility to face the darkness. But as a father, he also has the responsibility to protect his son." He Maolian sighed repeatedly, "Those people can do anything, but the police even He can protect Lin Jiao for a while, but he can't protect Lin Jiao for the rest of his life. He hopes that Lin Jiao can be safe and sound, and it is best not to even know what happened to him. 'I am not a good father, but at least Lin Jiao should not be punished because of me. Harm'—that's his exact word."

Mingshu was silent for a long time, "So Lin Zhongguo was indeed killed in the process of investigating the 'Ghost Card' industry. Did he leave any other clues for you?"

He Maolian said: "I only know that he saved a baby girl. I guess, maybe it was because of this baby girl that he was killed by those people."

The baby girl 17 years ago should be under 18 now.

Lin Jiao and Chi Xiaomin have such a close relationship, is Chi Xiaomin the baby girl from back then?

After being rescued by Lin Zhongguo, the baby girl survived somewhere and was not found, but at the same time she did not have a registered permanent residence and became a "black household".

Now whether it is Lin Jiao or Chi Xiaomin, their wings are full, and they are finally able to unite to punish those who buy "monster cards"?

But Chi Xiaomin is 21 years old this year.

wrong.

The age of 21 is just the information shown on the ID card, and that ID card is simply forged.

Chi Xiaomin has a list of those who own the "ghost cards" of Silin Town in Dongye City, and this list is likely drawn up by Lin Jiao.Lin Jiao had already obtained key evidence, but he did not expose them. He just instigated—most likely—Chi Xiaomin to intimidate the buyers and lead them to commit suicide.

Why did Lin Jiao do this?

It is not the same now, if the evidence is handed over to the police, no, no evidence is needed, and only part of the clues will do.Even if the investigation is difficult, the police will never be perfunctory.

At least the Major Crimes Squad doesn't.

Lin Jiao gave up a more well-paid job and came to the city bureau as a consultant, isn't it just to get closer to the police and to avenge his father?But why choose private punishment in the end?

Do you not trust the police?

Or do you prefer to take revenge yourself?

After leaving He Maolian's house, Mingshu has been thinking about these issues.

Lin Jiao had known for a long time what was going on with his father's disappearance, but the police in Xiaxi City hadn't given him an explanation so far.He might think that the police in Xiaxi City knew everything, but colluded with bandits and ignored human lives.

So he doesn't believe in the police, he doesn't believe in the law, he only believes in himself, and he only believes in retribution.

Becoming a consultant is to make it easier to get first-hand information from the police.

But misleading Xu Yin is a huge failure.

If it weren't for Xu Yin's weird reaction when he saw Chi Xiaomin's photo, it would have been impossible for the serious crime team to connect the "ghost card" with Lin Jiao.

Mingshu let out a breath of white air, got in the car and called Xiao Yuan.

·

Silin Town.

The snow fell intermittently, almost without stopping.Xiang Tao didn't gain much from staying in the town for the past few days. First, the people in the town spoke words that he couldn't understand at all, and second, the words were ugly. The people in the town are actually the bottom class." Lamb", the police were able to control the entire town, but it was inevitable to startle the snake.

Xiang Tao observed and collected evidence calmly, and found six elderly men whose clothes were obviously different from those of ordinary townspeople.They are between 60 and 75 years old, with goosebumps on their faces, eyebrows and eyes are drooping downwards, and the skin almost covers their eyes.They all wore black long ao, which differed in details, such as the color of the sleeves and collars, which were reminiscent of the rank uniforms of chefs.

Xiang Tao already had a judgment in his mind - these old people might be "master craftsmen".Every one of them had the blood of an innocent baby girl on their hands.

An old man with a long coat walked in front of Xiang Tao, supported by strong men on the left and right, looking pampered.Xiang Tao's eyes intersected with his for a short while, the other party obviously saw this "outsider", but his eyes were still like a pool of stagnant water.

He doesn't think he has committed a crime.

None of them thought what they were doing was against humanity.

Xiang Tao suddenly felt terrified.

Although many criminals in the city are extremely vicious, they at least know that they are committing a crime.And the people in this town don't think that it is an extremely sinful thing to make a baby girl into a "ghost card" from the root.

Xiang Tao clenched his fists.

And in the next moment, he heard a sound behind him that was so small that it could be ignored.

Turning around, he saw a little girl in a light yellow padded jacket.

The little girl is close to 1 meters tall, with a big face and looks relatively strong. She looked at Xiang Tao timidly with her eyes. The moment Xiang Tao turned around, she made a subconscious dodge, but she didn't really dodge. Take two steps back.

Xiang Tao knew this little girl.

Since the day before yesterday, she has been following him, not following him closely, but watching from a distance.

This time, it was the closest she followed.

After arriving in Silin Town, there were always townspeople following Xiang Tao, especially in the first few days when he arrived.Later, those people probably felt that he was not a threat, so they hardly followed him, but when they saw him wandering around, they would still look at him a few more times.

The little girl's eyes were completely different from theirs.

Xiang Tao felt that the little girl had something to say to him.

Most likely a call for help.

Maybe it was an "imminent" call for help.

Xiang Tao looked around, smiled at the little girl, pointed at himself with his index finger, "Are you looking for me?"

The little girl nodded, shook her head again, opened her mouth, but before she could utter a word, her eyes turned red.

"Can you understand me?" Xiang Tao asked again, "Can you speak Mandarin?"

This time the little girl just nodded.

"My hometown doesn't snow in winter. It's the first time I've seen such a big snow. I want to build a snowman, but I can't." Xiang Tao pointed to the snow in the distance, "Can you teach me?"

After half a minute, the little girl nodded vigorously.

In a world of ice and snow, Xiang Tao handed the little girl a pair of gloves.

There are a dozen or so boys playing snowball fights nearby, and their figures are not obtrusive.

The little girl squatted on the ground to tire the snowball, Xiang Tao followed her example, and heard her whisper, "Uncle, can you save me?"

This is a very common sentence, but Xiang Tao's heart immediately clenched.

In an absurd and evil world, the weak are struggling with all their might.Not everyone here is indifferent. Someone uttered her voice. Although it is weak and weak, and disappears without a trace when the wind and snow blow, it has deafening power.

Xiang Tao took a deep breath, let the cold air force himself to calm down, and said in the firmest tone: "Tell me what happened to you."

The snowman gradually had a body, a head, funny eyes and a long nose.

The little girl's name is Luo Xueyan, she is 12 years old - but she looks older than she is, like 16 years old.

There are very few girls in Silin Town, and most of them were killed when they were still babies.But Luo Xueyan survived.

The "master craftsmen" would not kill all the baby girls, because if there were only men in a village, no new baby girls would be born after several decades.

The town has its own basis for judging which baby girls should stay, but it seems that only the "craftsman" knows this basis.In short, Luo Xueyan became the lucky one who escaped the killing, and was raised as a future "breeding container".

12 years old is the most innocent age, but Luo Xueyan witnessed her younger sister, cousin, cousin, and the baby who led the house being taken away.

When she was a child, she didn't understand why they were taken away. She asked her mother and aunt, and their eyes were always blank, as if it was a matter of course for a baby to be taken away.

In Luo Xueyan's memory, her mother would get pregnant once every two years, but there was only one younger brother in the family.

Last year, when another baby was born, Luo Xueyan boldly followed "Master Craftsman" into the mountains.

There are many wooden houses in the mountains, and the "craftsman" entered one of them.

Luo Xueyan heard weak cries, saw a few "outsiders", and witnessed the "master craftsman" swinging the knife at the baby after chanting sutras.

At that moment, Luo Xueyan understood everything.

She even knew what her future destiny would be—like her mother, aunt, and all the women in this "animal town" gave birth to a child, the boy was raised at home, and the girl was sent to the mountains.

There are TVs in the town, but there are not many channels. Luo Xueyan started to watch the news and learn Mandarin by following the programs.She knew that she was too young to resist, and she couldn't even leave.But she also knew that she could live a secure life until she was an adult.

She plans to use these few years to make herself strong enough—and she doesn't need to be too strong, as long as she can escape.

However, in April this year, after she turned 4 years old, her mother gave her a box of medicines without instructions, and asked her to take three pills three times a day, saying that it could supplement nutrition.

She didn't doubt it, and did as her mother said.After more than two months, I gradually discovered the abnormality of my body.

She began to develop rapidly, her small body becoming fat and, for a brief period, gender-specific.

When he heard this, Xiang Tao's fingernails were embedded in his palm.

If he hadn't heard and seen it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe that a mother would treat her daughter like this!

That's not a nutritional supplement at all, it's a hormone!

"It's hormones." Luo Xueyan also understood, "I hid the medicine, pretended to eat it, and threw it away when no one noticed."

This trick worked at first, but in August, Luo Xueyan and several other girls were gathered at the town doctor's home, and each was injected with a medicine.

It was a more effective hormone than pills, and Luo Xueyan's body changed more obviously until it became what it is now.

Luo Xueyan took out a photo from her padded jacket and told Xiang Tao that it was a photo she took during the Spring Festival this year.

Xiang Tao's eyes burned unbearably.

The girl in the photo, delicate and thin, with a thin face and round eyes, is what a 12-year-old girl should look like.

But now Luo Xueyan is bloated and obese, at first glance she looks like she is 16 years old.

In some villages, girls are considered adults at 16.

Thinking of what was about to happen to Luo Xueyan, Xiang Tao couldn't sit still anymore and immediately contacted Mingshu.

At this time, Mingshu was at the Xiaxi City Bureau.

Staying with him is Shen Xun.

After receiving Xiao Yu'an's application, Shen Xun arrived immediately with members of the special operations team.

"Ghost card" is by no means an evil that exists in Silin Town, and the police in any place alone cannot completely solve it——Qiuxu Village is an example.Decades ago, the "craftsmen" in Qiuxu Village were wiped out, and the darkness not only did not disappear, but also flocked to other places and took root.

Whether it is the police of Dongye City or the police of Xiaxi City, there are limits to what they can do. Only the highest-level special operations team can mobilize the forces of all parties to the maximum.

The phone was connected, but because of the signal problem, Xiang Tao's voice was intermittent.Mingshu turned on the amplifier so that Shen Xun could hear it too.

After Xiang Tao finished speaking, Luo Xueyan's immature voice came from the phone, she said: "Uncle, please save me, save the girl like me."

Silence is as heavy as it is, shocking and reverberating in a small space.

For a moment, no one made a sound.

For a long time, I don't know if the other side has hung up, Mingshu held the phone tightly, his eyes were hot, and tremblingly said: "I will come to save you. We will rescue you soon!"