Madness of the Heart

Xiaxi City.

The cold winter in the small northern cities is a bit bleak, and the sky is white snow, but when they fall on the ground, they become gray mud.

Cheap lanterns and colored lights are sparsely hung in the streets and alleys. During the day, the light bulb is not powered on, and the dust on the lantern is very obvious. Even a festive color like red can hardly disperse the unpleasant haze in the air.

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

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

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

5-2, He Maolian, the former head of the investigative news department of Xiaxi Evening News, a woman who is over 60 years old, Lin Zhongguo worked under her.

According to the work process of traditional media, before making key reports, reporters need to communicate with the director to select topics and determine a reporting direction. Subsequent interviews and writing will strictly follow this direction, so as to avoid the "shot death of returned manuscripts". ". 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 reporters, plus a photojournalist, the director’s name will not appear on it, but he exerts a lot of effort, and if there is an error in the manuscript, the director must also be associated with it. responsibility.

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

"Xiaxi Evening News" has long since ceased publication, and most of the employees of the newspaper have changed careers, and the older ones retire directly. Before coming to Xiaxi City, Mingshu had contacted the media group in Xiaxi City and also contacted He Maolian. After learning that the police wanted to know about Lin Zhongguo, He Maolian was silent for a long time, and asked "Where are you the policeman" several times, and then after a short silence: "You come to Xiaxi City to find me, I do I have a lot to say to you."

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

Ming Shu showed her ID, He Maolian took a closer look, and his unclear gaze stayed on Ming Shu's face, as if she was judging whether the young policeman was trustworthy.

Ming Shu stood upright and let her observe.

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

Ming Shu said: "I am the head of the serious crime team of the Criminal Investigation Bureau of Dongye City. It is me who contacted you."

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

After saying this, He Maolian returned the certificate to Ming Shu, and said, "Come in. The house is narrow, so take care of it."

The furnishings in the room are in the style of the last century. The cabinet has feet, leaving a small space between the bottom of the cabinet and the ground to breed darkness and accumulate dust.

Maybe people at this age are nostalgic and always reluctant to lose what they have used. Ming Shu noticed that there was an old-fashioned pendulum clock on the table, and the sound of the hands scratching on the face of the clock was extremely loud, as if he was using the last bit of energy to show his existence. And beside the pendulum clock, there is also a "big head" computer.

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

He Maolian made a cup of tea for Ming Shu, and took out a thick pile of yellowed manuscripts, "These are the manuscripts handed to me by Lin Zhongguo. More than ten years ago, investigative journalism was popular, unlike now, it is all fast on the Internet. Selling news. He exposed a lot of illegal businesses, and because of this he offended many people he couldn’t afford to offend.”

Ming Shu took it and read a few articles.

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

Nowadays, computers are almost all used in offices in all walks of life, and texts like this are rarely seen on paper, pen and ink.

"It's been 17 years in a blink of an eye." He Maolian squinted. "The police also came to me back then and asked me if I knew why Lin Zhongguo disappeared, and asked me what he was reporting before Lin Zhongguo disappeared. I told them clearly, Lin. This person Zhongguo is upright and doesn't know how to adapt. If he is murdered, the people who harm him must be the businessmen who were exposed by him."

The investigation record provided by the Xiaxi police is not exhaustive, and it only states who has excluded the possibility of committing the crime.

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

But Ming Shu felt that He Maolian wanted to say more than that, and he didn't want him to find out these people one by one and check them again. Otherwise, He Maolian would not let him come to Xiaxi City after receiving the call.

"Teacher He, you didn't tell the police everything you knew back then, did you?" Ming Shu asked.

There was a noise from a child outside the window, but the room suddenly fell silent.

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

After being stretched minutes and seconds, He Maolian said: "There are some things, I couldn't tell you the police at that time, I have my concerns. But over the years I occasionally think, is it right or wrong to do this?"

After speaking, He Maolian lowered her head and looked at her wrinkled hands, "I still can't think of an answer until now."

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 was holding the sick to receive him.

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

"Does Lin Zhongguo mean it?" This was unexpectedly unexpected.

He Maolian nodded, "Lin Zhongguo is very paranoid and does things regardless of personal safety. Xiaxi is such a big city. The people he offends not only retaliate against him, but also wear shoes for his relatives. He doesn't care about these. His motto is- -In the face of malice, someone must stand up. But in protecting his son, he can be regarded as fulfilling his duties as a father."

Ming Shu said: "Lin Jiao."

"Yes, Lin Jiao, Lin Zhongguo's only son." He Maolian continued: "Before Lin Zhongguo went missing, he once reported me a topic of investigating the harsh folk customs of backward villages and towns."

Ming Shu's eyes sharpened immediately, "Is it a "ghost card"?"

He Maolian was startled, with a look of relief between her eyebrows, "It seems that you are indeed investigating this. The'ghost card' originated in Qiuxu Village, and all the girls born there were made." "Ghost brand", but that was decades ago. When Lin Zhongguo was working in the "Xiaxi Evening News", the "Ghost brand" industry had disappeared in Qiuxu Village."

"But Lin Zhongguo told me that as far as he knows, many people are 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. , It is no longer concentrated in one place, and more secret trading channels have been developed, so it is difficult to check. Even if you have the evidence, you may not be able to break them in the end."

Ming Shu said: "But Lin Zhongguo still insists on investigating?"

"He wanted to investigate, but in fact he was hesitant. He was 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 pursue the investigation, so he came to ask me what I meant. I told him that those people and his previous investigators are essentially different. They are both murderers and others. Most of the people who took Liangzi with him were unscrupulous businessmen. He could deal with a newborn baby hard and kill a person without blinking. It was not so easy to find evidence. He listened to it, and then he didn’t follow. I mentioned it. But a month before the accident, he came to me again and said that he wanted to go, and he was ready to dig this matter."

Hearing this, Ming Shu felt puzzled.

Since Lin Zhongguo expressed his intention to investigate "ghost cards" a month before the accident, he should have done something in this month. However, the Xiaxi City Police never mentioned "ghost cards" from beginning to end, and the investigators were only investigating "ghost cards". Other businessmen who contradicted Lin Zhongguo.

Did the police get no clues at all?

Or is it clear that there is a direction, but is unwilling to investigate?

"Lin Zhongguo made a request to me." He Maolian said: "He wanted me to assure him that if he encounters misfortune, he must not inform the police about his investigation of the'ghost card', nor should he tell anyone. Rotten to me and him."

Ming Shu twisted his eyebrows.

"There is no way he can do this. 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 everything, and the police do nothing. He can protect Lin Jiao for a while, but he cannot protect Lin Jiao I. He hopes that Lin Jiao will be safe, and it is better not to even know what happened to him. "I am not a good father, but at least, Lin Jiao shouldn’t be affected by me. Hurt'—this is what he said."

Ming Shu was silent for a long time, "So Lin Zhongguo was indeed killed in the process of investigating the'ghost brand' industry. Then did he leave you with any other clues?"

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

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

Lin Jiao and Chi Xiaomin are so closely related, is Chi Xiaomin the baby girl 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 register for a household registration and became a "black household".

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

But Chi Xiaomin is 21 years old this year.

wrong.

The 21-year-old is just the information shown on the ID card, and that ID card is simply forged.

Chi Xiaomin has a list of people who own the "ghost card" of Silin Town in Dongye City. This list is likely to be drawn up by Lin Jiao. Lin Jiao had obtained the key evidence a long time ago, but he did not expose them. He just instigated-with a high probability of instigating-Chi Xiaomin to intimidate buyers and lead them to commit suicide.

Why did Lin Jiao do this?

This is not the year. If you hand over the evidence to the police, no, you don’t need the evidence, you can only tell some clues. Even if the investigation is difficult, the police will never deal with it perfunctorily.

At least the crime team will not.

Lin Jiao gave up a more lucrative job and came to the city council as a consultant, wasn't it just to get close to the police and to avenge his father? But why choose to punish privately in the end?

Don't trust the police?

Or do you prefer revenge yourself?

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

Lin Jiao had long understood what was going on with his father's disappearance, but the police in Xiaxi City have yet to give him a word. He might think that the Xiaxi police knew everything, but they colluded with the bandits and killed them.

Therefore, he does not believe in the police, in the law, only in himself, and only in retribution.

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

But misleading Xu Yin was a huge failure.

If it weren't for Xu Yin's weird reaction when he saw Chi Xiaomin's photo, it would be impossible for the crime team to contact Lin Jiao with "Ghost Card".

Ming Shu exhaled in vain, got into the car and called Xiao Yuan.

·

Silin Town.

The snow fell intermittently, almost without stopping. Xiang Tao has not gained much from staying in the town for the past few days. First, the people in the town said things he didn't understand at all, and secondly, it was a little bit awkward. The people in the town are actually the lowest." "Lamb", the police are able to control the entire town, but it is inevitable that they will be stunned.

Xiang Tao calmly observed and collected evidence, and found six elderly men whose clothes were significantly different from those of ordinary townspeople. They are between 60 and 75 years old, with chicken skin on their faces, eyebrows and eyebrows slumped down, and the skin almost covers their eyes. They wear a black long jacket uniformly, and the style of the long jacket differs in details, such as the color of the sleeves and collar, which is easily reminiscent of the chef's grade uniform.

Xiang Tao already has a judgment in his mind—these old people may be "master craftsmen". Each of them had the blood of an innocent baby **** their hands.

An old man with a long jacket walked in front of Xiang Tao, supported by strong men on the left and right, and looked like a respectable group. Xiang Tao's eyes crossed briefly with him, and the other party clearly saw the "outsider", but his eyes still looked like stagnant water.

He doesn't think he has committed a crime.

All of them do not think that what they have done is against human nature.

Xiang Tao suddenly felt terrified.

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

Xiang Tao clenched his fists.

In the next instant, he heard a noise that was too small to be ignored.

Turning around, he saw a little girl wearing a goose-yellow quilted jacket.

The little girl is close to 1.6 meters tall, has a big face, and looks relatively sturdy. She looked at Xiang Tao timidly with her eyes. The moment Xiang Tao turned around, she made a subconscious dodge action, but she didn’t really dodge, just Two steps back.

Xiang Tao knows this little girl.

From the day before yesterday, she followed him, not the kind of follower that followed closely, but watching from a distance.

This time, it was the last time she followed.

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

The girl's eyes are completely different from theirs.

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

It's probably for help.

Maybe it's an "imminent" call for help.

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

The little girl nodded and shook her head again, her mouth opened, but her eyes were red before she could even say a word.

"You can understand me?" Xiang Tao said again: "You can speak Mandarin?"

This time the little girl just nodded.

"It doesn't snow in my hometown in winter. I saw such a big snow for the first time. I wanted to make a snowman, but I couldn't." Xiang Tao pointed to the snow in the distance, "Can you teach me?"

After half a minute, the little girl nodded vigorously.

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

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

The little girl squatted on the ground tired of snowballs, Xiang Tao followed her to learn, and heard her whisper: "Uncle, can you save me?"

This is an extremely common sentence, but Xiang Tao's heart immediately grasped.

In the absurd and evil world, the weak are struggling as hard as they can. Not everyone here is indifferent. Someone made her voice. Although it was subtle and weak, it disappeared without a trace when the wind and snow blew, but it had the power to excite the deaf.

Xiang Tao took a deep breath, let the cold air force him to calm down, and said in the most determined 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, 12 years old-but she looks older than she actually is, as if she is 16 years old.

There are very few girls in Silin Town. Most of the girls were killed when they were still small babies. But Luo Xueyan survived.

"Master craftsmen" will not kill all girls, because if there are only men in a village, no new girls will be born after several decades.

The town has its own basis for judging which girls should be left behind, but this basis seems to be known only by the "master craftsman". In short, Luo Xueyan became the lucky one who escaped the killing and was raised as a future "nurturing container".

12 was the most innocent age, but Luo Xueyan witnessed her younger sister, cousin, cousin, and the little baby leading the house being taken away.

When she was young, she didn't understand why they were taken away. She asked her mother and aunt, their eyes were always blank, and it seemed that it was only natural for a baby to be taken away.

In Luo Xueyan's memory, her mother would become pregnant once in one or two years, but only one younger brother was added to the family.

Last year, when another baby fell to the ground, Luo Xueyan boldly followed the "Master Craftsman" and went to the mountains.

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

Luo Xueyan heard the faint crying, saw several "outsiders", and witnessed the "master craftsman" swinging the knife at the baby after chanting.

At that moment, Luo Xueyan understood everything.

She even knew what her destiny would be in the future-like mothers, aunts, and all the women in this "beast town" gave birth to children, the boys were kept at home, and the girls were sent to the mountains.

There is a TV in the town, but there are not many channels. Luo Xueyan started to watch the news and learn Mandarin from the show. She knew that she was still young, unable to resist, and could not even leave. But she also knew that before she became an adult, she could live very securely.

She plans to use these years to make herself strong enough—not too strong, as long as she can escape.

However, in April this year, after she turned 12 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 they could supplement nutrition.

She didn't doubt, and did what her mother said. After more than two months, he gradually discovered the abnormality of his body.

She began to develop rapidly, her originally thin body became obese, and within a short period of time, she had gender characteristics.

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

If he hadn't heard it with his own ears and saw it with his own eyes, he would never believe that a mother would treat his daughter like this!

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

"That's a hormone." Luo Xueyan knew it herself, "I hid the medicine, pretending to eat it, and threw it away when no one noticed it."

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

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

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

Xiang Tao's eyes were burning and unbearable.

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

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

In some villages, the girl is 16 years old and is an adult.

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

At this time, Ming Shu was at the Xiaxi City Bureau.

Shen Xun stayed with him.

After receiving Xiao Yuan's application, Shen Xun rushed to the team with members of the special operations team.

"Ghost card" is definitely not the evil that exists in Silin Town, and the police in any one place cannot completely solve it-Qiuxu Village is an example. Decades ago, the "master craftsmen" in Qiuxu Village were swept away, but the darkness has not disappeared, but also flocked to other places and took root.

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

The phone was connected, and Xiang Tao's voice was intermittent due to signal problems. Ming Shu turned on the power amplifier so that Shen Xun could also hear it.

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

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

For a time, no one made a sound.

For a long time, I don’t know if the other side has hung up, Ming Shu held the phone tightly, his eyes were hot, and he trembled: "I will come to rescue you. We will rescue you soon!"