In the old wooden house, Gu Chen found too many suspicious points.
It can be said that from the location of this village and the permanent residents here, it is easy to see that this is a very secretive place and it is difficult for ordinary people to stay here for a long time.
However, the old lady was able to isolate herself from the outside world and enjoy a quiet time.
If you want to say that she likes to be quiet and lonely, Gu Chen believes that there may be such a person.
However, it is not difficult to see from the old man's food reserves that someone often delivers supplies here.
However, it can be seen from Gu Chen's conversation with the old man just now that the old man seems to be hiding something in his heart.
On the other side, the police officers who were accompanying him were still communicating with the old man, and Gu Chen also led everyone to start casual inspections in the rooms of the old house.
"Junior Brother Gu, look quickly." On one side, Gu Chen was still checking the condition of the rice vat. On the other side, Lu Weiwei seemed to have made a new discovery.
Gu Chen and Officer Wang turned around to look. Lu Weiwei was already pointing at a tube of chopsticks and reminded:
"Since the old man lives here alone, what do you need so many chopsticks for?"
"She doesn't live here alone at all." Gu Chen walked to Lu Weiwei, also checked the chopsticks in front of him, and said involuntarily:
"This doesn't mean anything. The key is, we need to know, does she have any family members? What kind of work do their family members do?"
"Also, how she communicates with the outside world is very important."
"I wonder if these people have asked about the results?" Officer Wang crossed his arms and walked back and forth around the kitchen, saying involuntarily:
"Listening to the old lady speaking, it's quite difficult to speak. I feel that the accent is indeed a local dialect, but I just don't understand. What is she doing here at such a young age?"
"So her identity must be confirmed." Gu Chen said, waving his fingers.
Seeing that there were not many suspicious places in the kitchen, everyone turned back and came to the direction of the old lady's bedroom.
In the bedroom, the local police officers were still communicating with the old lady in dialect, but it seemed that the communication results were not ideal.
"How's the question going?" Gu Chen came to the side of the second-level superintendent and asked.
The second-level superintendent shook his head: "This old lady always speaks in a garrulous manner. It would be really tiring to ask questions."
"That means you haven't found any valuable clues yet?" Lu Weiwei said casually when she heard this.
The second-level superintendent was a little embarrassed, but he still nodded and admitted: "That's right, I didn't ask for many valuable clues."
"The main thing is, when we ask something, she just talks to us about something else. We always talk about something else, but we never get to the same topic."
"Ask her something, and she'll talk to you about something else."
Having said this, the Second Superintendent also sighed heavily, feeling that it was indeed difficult to communicate with the old man.
"I understand." After learning the situation, Gu Chen nodded slightly and came to the old lady again.
Gu Chen also turned to look at the second-level superintendent and said hurriedly: "You can translate it for me later."
"Okay." The second-level superintendent nodded in agreement without hesitation.
Gu Chen looked at the old man and asked curiously: "Old man, where does your family work?"
"My family? They... they work out of town."
"Where exactly?" Seeing that the old lady was still willing to answer, Gu Chen asked.
At this time, the old lady also started rambling:
"It's just... it's very far. It takes a long time to take a car. I don't know the details."
"In the past, every time they came back, I told them not to go too far away, but they just didn't listen and just liked to run away."
"Sometimes I fall and no one takes care of me. These people, well, they don't even listen to me."
"Okay, old lady." Here, Gu Chen listened to the old lady's complaints and the real-time translation from the second-level superintendent beside him, and then asked again:
"Can you show me your ID card?"
"ID card? I don't know where this thing was lost a long time ago?" Seeing that Gu Chen wanted to see her ID card, the old lady began to shirk.
"Okay." Seeing that the old lady seemed reluctant to cooperate, Gu Chen asked again:
"Then what's your name?"
"What is my name? My name is Liu Xiangmei." said the old lady named Liu Xiangmei.
The second-level police superintendent beside him quickly spoke the local dialect, checked with the old man, and then explained to Gu Chen:
"She said her name is Liu Xiangmei."
Seeing that Lu Weiwei had already started recording on sticky notes, Gu Chen asked again: "Can you tell me your ID number?"
"ID card number? Who remembers this? I have long forgotten it." The old lady seemed to be forgetful.
So Gu Chen asked again: "In which year were you born? Do you remember your birthday?" After listening to the translation of the second-level superintendent, Gu Chen asked again.
The old lady waved her hand directly and said involuntarily: "My memory is not very good. I am getting older and I can't remember many things clearly."
"I haven't had a birthday in many years, so I don't remember birthdays or anything like that."
The old lady kept waving her hands to avoid it, which made everyone very embarrassed.
The second-level superintendent immediately responded in dialect: "Old lady, do you only remember who you are? Don't you remember anything else?"
"I don't remember, my brain is not working properly." The old lady shook her head and pointed to her head.
Seeing this, the second-level superintendent quickly asked: "How many children do you have? What are their names?"
"How many children? I have two children." When the second-level superintendent asked, the old lady quickly raised two fingers.
"Then what are their names?" the second-level superintendent asked again quickly.
"What's their name? What are their names?" When asked here, the old lady seemed to be forgetful again.
He looked at the ceiling, thoughtfully, then shook his head, waved his hands and said:
"I do not remember."
"No...it can't be right?" Hearing what the old lady said, the second-level superintendent was speechless and turned to look at Gu Chen: "She said she has two children, but what are their specific names? She can't remember them anymore."
"Oh, then you are very ill. It is very dangerous for you to stay here alone like this."
Listening to the old man's story, Gu Chen grinned and said quickly:
"Okay, you come back with us today and we can help you find your family. Do you think that's okay?"
"In a situation like yours, someone must take care of you. It's very unsafe to live here."
After a pause, Gu Chen quickly said: "Well, it's getting late now and we have nowhere to go. Can you let us stay overnight?"
"Tomorrow, we will take you out tomorrow, do you think it's okay?"
"I...I don't want to go out, I don't want to go out." Seeing that Gu Chen was about to take her away, the old lady immediately waved her hand and refused.
When Lu Weiwei saw this, she quickly came over to persuade her: "It's very dangerous for you to stay here alone like this."
"Moreover, criminal activities have occurred here recently. The criminals we are looking for may have already come to this area."
"If you don't come with us, it will be very dangerous to stay here. We are also thinking about your safety."
"I won't leave." Even though Lu Weiwei gave various explanations, the old lady still waved her hand and refused: "I live here well, I don't want to leave."
"Bad guy? I didn't provoke anyone, and they didn't dare do anything to me."
Seeing how stubborn the old lady was, Officer Wang said angrily after listening to the translation from the Second Superintendent:
"The bad guys don't care if you are an old man or a child. Previously in the mountains, in Hemu Village, an old man was attacked, his head was knocked, and he was locked in an uninhabited cellar."
"If we hadn't discovered this early, he would have died in the cellar long ago. This kind of thing has already happened. It doesn't mean that if you don't provoke others, they won't attack you. This kind of person can do anything.
.”
After a pause, seeing that his momentum completely suppressed the old lady, Officer Wang quickly said again:
"We are still searching for these criminals. You definitely can't stay here. Tomorrow, at dawn tomorrow, you leave with us."
"I...I don't want to leave." Officer Wang said this, but the old lady seemed to be very stubborn and she seemed to be playing with you.
When Gu Chen saw this, he also took a step forward and said, "Old lady, who is the person who sent you supplies?"
"Supply? What is 'supply'?" After hearing Gu Chen's words, the old lady also looked confused.
The second-level superintendent on the side quickly replied: "He is the person who delivers food to you. Who is this person?"
"I don't remember." As soon as the second-level superintendent finished speaking, the old lady shook her head.
Of course, all this was within Gu Chen's expectations.
When this old lady decides to pretend to be stupid and hide it, it seems difficult for you to get the desired result in front of her.
I feel like if you continue like this, this old lady will still use the same attitude and play tricks on you.
Gu Chen felt that a long-term plan was needed, so he compromised with the old lady: "Old lady, it's getting late now, can you arrange a place for our people to stay? Let's stay overnight."
"This... okay." Seeing Gu Chen put forward this condition, and it was already snowing outside, the old lady nodded in agreement:
"I still have some things to keep out the cold in my material. I'll get them for you."
After the words fell, the old lady came to a corner of the room, opened the wooden box there, and took out some old bedding from it, also reminding everyone:
"The bed in that room over there is empty. You can clean it up and you can stay there."
After looking at the people in front of her, the old lady added: "It's just that there are so many of you, I'm afraid..."
"It doesn't matter." Gu Chen didn't wait for the second-level superintendent to translate the dialect. He knew the general meaning from the old man's tone and expression, so he quickly explained:
"We have a few injured people here. It's okay for them to stay here while we still have to travel. Do you think that's okay?"
"Oh, is that so? Which of you is staying here tonight?" Seeing what Gu Chen said, the old lady also asked curiously.
Gu Chen glanced at the second-level police superintendent and pointed at the second-level police superintendent and said, "His leg is injured."
"Ah?" Hearing Gu Chen's words, he hesitated. He had never worked with Gu Chen before, so the second-level superintendent still lacked a tacit understanding.
When Gu Chen said this, he was stunned for a moment.
At this moment, Lu Weiwei behind her quickly slapped her hand on the shoulder of the second-level superintendent and reminded her again:
"That's right, when he was going down the mountain, he fell and sprained his ankle, so he needs to stay overnight temporarily."
"Is that so?" Seeing this, the old lady looked up and down at the second-level superintendent.
At this time, the second-level superintendent finally understood what Gu Chen and Lu Weiwei meant, so he quickly echoed:
"No...that's right. It was dark just now and the road was slippery. I slipped from above and sprained my foot. It's a little difficult to walk. Can I stay overnight?"
"Okay, you can live here, who else?"
"He." Hearing what the old lady meant, Gu Chen pointed to another trainee police officer and said quickly:
"He also fell down. The two of them will stay at your place tonight."
"Okay, then you stay in that room over there, and I'll clean it up for you."
After listening to Gu Chen's explanation, the old lady quickly picked up the old bedding and started walking towards the opposite room.
Seeing this, Lu Weiwei thanked the old lady behind her and said, "Thank you then."
The second-level superintendent here was still in a state of confusion. Officer Wang pulled him down to Gu Chen and reminded him in a low voice:
"From now on, you and your colleagues, keep an eye on this old lady carefully. You must pay special attention to any movement from the old lady's side."
"I know... I know." Seeing what Officer Wang said, the Second Superintendent also nodded silently.
Gu Chen also continued to explain in a low voice: "If you stay here, you must be extra careful. If there is any situation, please contact us immediately."
"Also, no matter what, we must take this old man away tomorrow. It is not an option for this old man to stay here. We can temporarily take her outside. This will help get her out of her comfort zone, and the interrogation will be very effective."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Understood." After understanding what Gu Chen meant, the second-level superintendent also nodded silently.
Gu Chen patted the second-level superintendent on the shoulder and reminded him, "Then Liu Xiangmei will be left to you."
"Don't worry, Director Gu, leave this to us, no problem." Seeing that Gu Chen had said so, the second-level superintendent could only agree.
Later, after everyone had a brief communication, Gu Chen asked two police officers to stay at Liu Xiangmei's home and secretly monitor Liu Xiangmei's situation.
And he led everyone out of the house and came outside.
Officer Wang walked up to Gu Chen and asked out of curiosity: "Gu Chen, where are you going to find your whereabouts in this snowy day?"
"Since someone often comes to deliver supplies to the old man, there will definitely be traces here." After hearing what Officer Wang said, Gu Chen paused, expressed his thoughts, and continued:
"I feel that those broken vegetation can exactly illustrate these problems."
"Those two senior trekkers may have come directly here. These people are not simple. I even suspect that the three outdoor hikers are the ones with scars on their faces."
"In addition, I even suspect that the other two amateur outdoor hikers who are not very professional and were the first to go up the mountain may also come here."
"Junior Brother Gu, do you mean that these people who come to hike outdoors in the mountains are just drunkards who are not interested in drinking?" Lu Weiwei quickly understood what Gu Chen was thinking.
At this time, Gu Chen also nodded silently and expressed his opinion:
"Swallow's sudden return may not be that simple. She must be here to do something."
"And what followed were these three groups of outdoor hikers. These people came at the wrong time, or were too sensitive."
"It's just the past few days that Yanzi has been missing. I don't know what their purpose is for coming here now. But these people may have some connection with the missing Yanzi."
Looking back at the candlelit room, Gu Chen added, "Don't look at this old man. It's quite pitiful to stay here alone, but I don't think she might like this kind of place."
"She may have her own purpose for staying here, but it's very difficult for us to find clues from her now."
"That's right." As soon as Gu Chen finished speaking, Lu Weiwei quickly answered: "You can see that this old man is actually very clear-headed."
"Know what to say and what not to say."
"Just like the local police officer who asked her just now, if you ask something, she will tell you something, and she will always talk to you in a roundabout way."
"It seems that she is not clear-headed, but in my opinion, she is relying on her old age to show off her old age."
"Anyway, let's ask Senior Brother Lu Qiang to help investigate this Liu Xiangmei, and also investigate this hidden little village. Compared to Director Liu Yuan in the town, he is no stranger to this village."
With a faint sigh, Gu Chen said again: "What we have to do now is to look for clues and see if there are any other traces here."
"I believe that those broken vegetation must have been left by those outdoor travelers. They must have a special mission when they came here."
"Okay, I'll listen to you." Seeing what Gu Chen said, Officer Wang also reminded:
"But Gu Chen, now we have discovered this village, but we haven't found the whereabouts of those people yet."
"It's not difficult." As soon as Officer Wang finished speaking, Gu Chen used his flashlight to shine on the road.
Officer Wang squinted and saw that some weeds were swaying here and there on a small road, but some weeds fell very regularly.
At first glance, it looks like someone has stepped on it.
"I understand, those people must have passed through here?" Officer Wang quickly understood what Gu Chen meant.
Gu Chen nodded silently and said, "Is there anything else you have to do now?"
"No, let's chase him quickly, don't waste time." Officer Wang didn't say anything now.
So Gu Chen nodded slightly, continued to lead the police officers on hand, and began to pursue the direction.
That night, all kinds of snowflakes fell from the sky.
It was extremely cold in the entire dense forest, but fortunately, everyone's bodies quickly became warm as they walked along.
After coming out of the hidden village, Gu Chen continued to follow the trail based on the traces he saw.
When he reached an intersection, Gu Chen stopped and looked at the bamboo forest ahead.
Other personnel also came to Gu Chen one after another, looking towards the direction of the light.
"Although there is no obvious road here, when leaving the village, you must pass through this bamboo forest."
"Moreover, this place is the only one relatively empty. It must be a man-made passage."
After taking two steps, Gu Chen's body bent slightly, and then he realized that although the ground was covered with white snow, there were still some looming footprints.
Seeing that Gu Chen had found the footprints, a trainee police officer couldn't help but said: "Aren't these just footprints? It seems that these people have not left here long."
"It didn't take long." Gu Chen nodded slightly, turned around and asked the trainee police officer: "How many people do they have?"
"How many people?" The trainee police officer was stunned, and quickly walked to Gu Chen's side, imitating Gu Chen's posture, squatting in the snow, and squinting to observe.
After a long time, he replied: "Looking at the shape of the footprints, there should be two people."
"Moreover, the university has not completely covered the footprints of this groove, so they must have also stopped in the village."
"That's right." As soon as the trainee police officer finished speaking, Gu Chen waved his hands and said, "We came down from the mountain and didn't find any footprints because they were all covered by heavy snow."
"But it's also covered in heavy snow, but there are footprints here, which means they stayed in the village for a long time."
"It was only after I had been in college for a while that I chose to leave overnight."
"and……"
Having said this, Gu Chen used his fingers to trace Jiao Qian's footprints in front of him, and then said:
"Moreover, judging from the depth of the footprints, they should have been left not long after it snowed. The footprints are still very new."
"But now, I estimate that they will leave here in about an hour."
"An hour?" Hearing Gu Chen's words, the trainee police officer also felt his heart skip a beat, and quickly said, "Then we have to chase him quickly."
"It takes an hour to walk on the mountain road, and you shouldn't be far."
"Yeah." Seeing this situation, Gu Chen no longer hesitated, stood up, and reminded everyone:
"Everyone, watch your step, let's speed up."
"Okay." Seeing what Gu Chen said, everyone stood up and responded.
Afterwards, everyone began to speed up their pace, almost running in small steps, tracking towards the area ahead.
Due to the slippery snowy road, many police officers slipped and fell to the ground.
But no one complained. Everyone got up, patted their butts, and continued to follow the team.
I don’t know how long we walked, but after walking through the bamboo forest, we crossed Shangqiu and came to a relatively open area.
Gu Chen stopped and looked around, and after confirming the location of the footprints, he couldn't help but said: "The roads in this place are all muddy mountain roads, but you can come here by motorcycle."
"It's snowing now, and the traces of the road have been covered up, so these footprints can help us provide the direction forward."
"Gu Chen." As soon as Gu Chen finished speaking, Officer Wang quickly came to Gu Chen's side and reminded him again:
"Look at these footprints, they feel more and more urgent. Moreover, there are scratches from the footprints here, which means that the other party is also speeding up, and they seem to feel that the person behind them is chasing them."
"It's normal to know that someone is looking for them." After hearing what Officer Wang said, Gu Chen glanced at him and continued to explain:
"There are so many of us, each holding a strong flashlight, searching in the forest."
"You can see the light source from this far away. The other party may have discovered us, so they chose to leave the small village."
"And now we are chasing them all the way behind, insisting on not letting go, and the other party can also identify our position from the light source."
After a pause, Gu Chen continued to explain: "It is very unfavorable for us now, because we are speeding up the pace, and the other party is also speeding up the pace."
"In normal times, with our physical advantage, we might be able to catch up with them."
"But now, the heavy snow has caused us trouble. If we walk faster, we will easily slip."
"That's right." As soon as Gu Chen finished speaking, Lu Weiwei on the side also answered:
"I just came here, and I don't know how many falls I had. The speed is so fast that I can't live fast. Sometimes when I walk, the soles of my feet slide automatically as if they were greased."
Sighing heavily, Lu Weiwei also said angrily: "So, our speed should be about the same as theirs."
"It's just that the speed between us and them is always an hour or dozens of minutes."
"That's right." As soon as Lu Weiwei finished speaking, Officer Wang nodded in agreement:
"So God actually helped them. Regardless of this, everyone has to move forward. Now is the time to compete for perseverance. I don't believe that these two senior travel friends are really so powerful?"
"It's not about how powerful they are." Officer Wang finished speaking, and Gu Chen pointed to the footprints and said:
"It's their equipment advantage. First of all, they wear professional outdoor hiking shoes. Secondly, they wear foot gloves, which may be crampons."
"In this way, they won't be afraid of slipping when they walk. Of course, they do slip sometimes, but not as often as we do."
"So that's it." After Gu Chen finished speaking, a trainee police officer suddenly realized:
"I'm telling you, why do these footprints look weird? It turns out these guys put crampons on their shoes."
"Does that need to be said? I am an outdoor person, or an experienced outdoor person. I often pretend to be in the mountains, so I must have more experience than you." Officer Wang sighed quietly and also complained.
Lu Weiwei on the side quickly reminded: "Junior brother Gu, we have to catch up quickly. The equipment is not as good as others, and the soles of our feet slip from time to time."
"If this continues, the distance between us and them will only grow wider."
"I know." Gu Chen looked back at the panting police officer, and then said:
"Let's do this. Everyone splits into two teams, and the faster ones follow us and continue chasing."
"Those who are slow, or those who slipped and were injured on the way to catch up just now, you can slow down appropriately, but you must follow our footsteps."
"Don't keep too long a distance from us, do you understand?"
"Understood." Gu Chen noticed that many people were rubbing their butts, and even some police officers were limping when walking. Many police officers knew that Gu Chen was taking care of everyone.
After all, this guy was running around in the dense forest, even on the snow.
You're lucky if you don't fall or break a bone. Many people are deceived by the snow-covered roads and fall straight into the ditch.
Gu Chen also saw the embarrassment along the way and decided that those who were left behind or injured could slow down and follow the pace.
The fast ones continued to speed up and chased the mysterious person ahead.
Gu Chen walked aside, broke some branches on the roadside, and used them as hiking poles.
Seeing this, other police officers also followed suit.
After completing a simple rest, Gu Chen continued to lead everyone forward.
"Squeak! Squeak!"
The shoes stepped on the snow, making "squeaking" sounds from time to time, but Gu Chen's lips slightly raised, and he said to the people following him:
"Judging from the depth of the footprints, the other party seems to have slowed down. We are probably only about 40 minutes away from the other party."
"They are wearing shoe covers with crampons, but the distance between them is getting shorter and shorter." Lu Weiwei listened to Gu Chen's judgment and panted:
"Then it seems that if we speed up a little bit, we will definitely be able to catch up with these people."
"Stop talking and leave quickly." Officer Wang pounded the stick with an ugly look on his face.
Along the way, Officer Wang fell down again and again, and his buttocks were probably swollen.
But Officer Wang kept silent for the sake of face.
When other police officers who were injured in the fall chose to fall behind, Officer Wang didn't care too much and continued to follow Gu Chen.
And of course Gu Chen saw all this.
But after all, everyone is in a hurry now, so they don’t care too much.
Gu Chen just asked comfortingly: "Senior Brother Wang, are you okay?"
"What do you mean, am I okay? It must be yes, it must be okay. How can a man say no?"
With a wry smile, Officer Wang also pretended to be strong.
Gu Chen insisted on the situation and nodded slightly: "Okay, follow me. I will explore the way for you in front. You follow my footsteps."
After the words fell, Gu Chen continued to pound two wooden sticks and quickly walked forward.
Since Gu Chen used the wooden stick as a hiking pole, he could use the wooden stick to explore the path ahead to avoid missing anything.
The two wooden sticks can also support the body well and avoid excessive physical exertion.
This is actually the function of trekking poles.
Being careful and careful, Gu Chen didn't fall down all the way.
Seeing the depth of the footprints ahead, Gu Chen already had a premonition that it might take a few dozen minutes to catch up with these two mysterious people.
In this way, Gu Chen can clearly know who the other party is?
"Huh...huh..."
As Gu Chen walked faster and faster, Gu Chen discovered that the police officers behind him seemed to be really exhausted. Many of them were forced to slow down and they were all out of breath.
Seeing Lu Weiwei slipping again and falling to the ground, Gu Chen quickly stopped and helped Lu Weiwei up behind him: "Senior Sister Lu, are you okay?"
"It's okay." Lu Weiwei rubbed her towering chest and said with a look of self-blame: "My sense of balance is a bit poor."
"It hurts from the fall." Gu Chen slowly helped Lu Weiwei up.
Lu Weiwei also endured the pain and said with an annoyed look: "It's okay, I dragged you back. Junior Brother Gu, you'd better leave us alone."
Looking back at the people behind her, Lu Weiwei also said helplessly:
"Everyone has been chasing for a long time, and no one is wearing ankle boots with crampons. It is already very good to be able to catch up here."
"However, if this continues, it may be too much for everyone. Junior Brother Gu, you have good physical strength. If you can deal with those two people, you might as well take the first step and hold them back."
"Don't conflict with them first, buy us some time. The key is to know who the other party is, and we will rush over to support you."
After breathing heavily, Lu Weiwei reminded again: "Junior brother Gu, remember to keep your distance from them and don't conflict with them."
