Strangers

Very strategic.

Qi Xie was a little helpless: "I especially don't like to show my face, so this is good."

Xie Yu stared at him.

Qi Xie noticed this gaze and chuckled lightly: "Do you think I'm just being nice because I'm taking advantage of it?"

"Yes." Xie Yu said frankly.

Qi Xie didn't make any rebuttals: "I'm going to Nanjing on Thursday, Assistant Qian still invites you to go with me."

"Okay." Xie Yu agreed.

"Well, what's the matter, haven't you considered what purpose she has?"

"I have made some guesses, but I need evidence to support it. It may exist in this case." Xie Yu looked directly at him, "And traveling with you will always have adventures."

Qi Xie smiled and sighed: "This is a business trip, not a trip."

On the Shanghai-Nanjing Expressway, the black Mercedes headed west.

After passing the Nanjing toll gate, there was a Buick waiting there. After flashing the lights to signal each other, Master Zhang followed the car to the Jiangsu branch of Guixintang.The receptionist was respectful and led Qi Xie and his party into the CEO's office, where a woman and a man greeted them.

The woman's name is Min Wenxi, the CEO of Guixintang's Jiangsu branch. Although she is 46 years old, she does not look old. first meet."

Out of etiquette, Qi Xie was supposed to hold her fingertips, but that capable temperament made him change his mind.So he shook her palm vigorously like a man, and said with a smile, "Boss Min, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

Boss Min let go of his hand and looked at Assistant Qian: "Little Qian, long time no see."

"Hello, Mr. Min!" Qian Sining bowed with a smile. In contrast, the original appearance of a mature woman instantly returned to that of a girl.

"This is Xie Yu." Qi Xie introduced.

"Hi Mr. Min, I'm Mr. Qi's assistant." Xie Yu lied on his own initiative.

Mr. Min led the three of them to a seat, but did not introduce the man behind him.When Xie Yu took his seat, he took a look. The man was in his 30s, wearing a black suit, standing upright, without much expression, and seemed to have some skill in his demeanor. He was probably a bodyguard.

"It's been a hard journey." Mr. Min looked at the three of them. "We'll be staying at the Pearl River Hotel at noon. After dinner, you can take a rest in the guest room and go to see the scene in the afternoon."

"Mr. Min is being polite." Qi Xie said with a smile, "You don't need to mobilize people, just keep it simple."

Mr. Min raised his hand: "You are people borrowed by the headquarters to save the scene, and you deserve this treatment."

Qi Xie shook his head: "Don't dare to save the field, everyone is working for Guixintang together."

Mr. Min looked directly at him: "You are somewhat sure of this matter."

Qi Xie smiled: "Let's go to the scene to see it before we talk about it?"

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the Jinling sun was burning like a fire.

The black Mercedes followed the Buick to a construction site near the Confucius Temple. Through the car window, Xie Yu saw several renderings of commercial complexes and a logo with the words "Chaosheng Mall" printed on the wall.

"It turned out to be a project of Chaosheng Group." Xie Yu understood, "I met their boss Lu once. He is a man of extraordinary appearance. Unfortunately, his son is not doing his job properly. He once lost [-] million in a row in a casino overnight."

"Wuling was young in Jinshidong, with a silver saddle and a white horse to spend the spring breeze. Where did the fallen flowers travel? Laughing into the Orchid wine shop." Qi Xie said, "That's what you call romantic and suave."

"It's just a dude." Xie Yu said contemptuously.

The car turned into the gate of the construction site, and a huge foundation pit lay in front of us.

The excavation has been carried out to the second basement level. At this time, the progress should be stepped up, but the construction team stopped working completely. Several heavy excavators curled up with buckets motionless. Protector sprinkled with water.

Mr. Min and the bodyguards got out of the car, led Qi Xie and his party to wear helmets, and walked down the foundation pit slowly along the slope.

"Accidents started to happen before the project started." Mr. Min explained, "On the morning of the foundation laying, a manager broke his arm. Not long after the excavation, an earthwork on the east side collapsed, and two workers were buried in it and nearly died. Mr. Lu had a car accident last week. Mr. Lu didn’t believe in evil at first, and he couldn’t stand such frequent accidents. Let us see if there is any taboo in this place. Our people walked around the scene for a few days and couldn’t see it. What happened, I had no choice but to borrow you from Master Xun."

After listening, Qi Xie asked, "What was this land originally?"

"Village in the city." Mr. Min said.

"Has the excavation ever turned up anything?"

"Two coffins and some copper coins were dug out, and the supervisor said it was normal."

"Where is the coffin now?"

"The coffins of the people in the previous dynasty have not been claimed. The workers have burned some paper for the coffin owner and have already disposed of them."

"Are there any other abnormalities during the construction process?"

Mr. Min stepped over a section of the water pipe: "It is said that there is no."

It took half an hour to walk around the bottom of the pit.

Qi Xie sometimes looked around, sometimes lowered his head, and occasionally patted the ground.

"See what's strange?" Boss Min asked.

Qi Xie picked up a piece of mud, crushed it and sniffed it: "There is a strange smell in this soil."

Xie Yu also picked up a little, but could only smell the mud.

Qi Xie told Assistant Qian: "Please call two or three workers over here, I want to dig here."

"Xiaoqian, you don't have to run away." Boss Min turned his head, "Xiao Chen, you go."

The bodyguard nodded, and soon brought three workers. At this time, Qi Xie had circled a circle the size of a manhole cover on the ground. After a brief explanation, he dug a few shovels into the loess.

Suddenly there was a clang.

Pulling out the shovel, the head of the shovel was scratched, and it seemed that it had hit a hard object.

"Dig around it." Qi Xie said.

The three workers tightened their gloves, and the shovel flew up and down. As the yellow mud peeled off bit by bit, the shape of the hard object gradually emerged...

a cylinder.

Red-gray, rough surface, about [-] cm in diameter, with a sharp upper end, and the lower end is still buried in the soil.Xie Yu knocked, the texture was like granite, it seemed hollow.

"It seems that someone took this land earlier than Chaosheng." Qi Xie had intentions, took the huge blueprint, spread it on the ground, moved his fingertips along the paper, paused, and took A red pen draws a cross.

"It's all here," he said at last.

"This is—" Assistant Qian saw that there were as many as ten red crosses.

"That's right." Qi Xie's eyes swept over the foundation pit, "This thing is not just one, but a group."

"Why are there pillars underground?" Assistant Qian was very puzzled.

"This is not a man-made pillar." Qi Xie explained, "This thing is called Sun Tai Sui, and it is a living stone bamboo shoot. According to legend, there is a group of craftsmen in the land of Jingchu. They don't need wood to build a house, they just bury the seeds. In the pillar pit, this object can grow in the soil. Because the bamboo shoots Taisui take root in the earth, they correspond to the four seasons, and the house built with it as the skeleton will have a miraculous effect, and the long-term residents can maintain their health and prolong their lives. .”

"Is the accident of the project related to it?" Mr. Min asked.

"That's natural." Qi Xie said with a smile, "The so-called ground breaking on Taisui means that there are some things under the ground that humans cannot offend. The Taisui here can be interpreted in many ways, including Shi Taisui, Rat Taisui, and of course this 'sun shoot." Tai Sui'."

Xie Yu felt that he was simply nonsense.

Assistant Qian thought for a while: "According to this, these bamboo shoots are too old to deal with?"

Qi Xie pondered for a while: "Not necessarily, but we have to find an expert in civil engineering and ask which one to move first that will not affect the structure."

Mr. Min immediately contacted the person in charge of the project, and the other party said that he would give a reply the next day, and the subsequent work could not be carried out temporarily. Qi Xie decided to call it a day, and they walked back along the slope.

"Mr. Qi." Xie Yu called out.

Hearing him call himself that, Qi Xie knew that the other party had something to say, so he slowed down knowingly and walked alongside him at the end.

"You go back first." Xie Yu whispered, "I want to investigate those three things."

"What three things?" Qi Xie didn't know.

"The manager's accident, the landslide at the construction site, and Mr. Lu's car accident." Xie Yu pushed his glasses to cover his voice, "I don't believe there is such a thing as Tai Sui, there are only two possibilities for continuous accidents, either coincidence or man-made. "

Qi Xie laughed, and then shouted to the front: "Mr. Min, you go back first, Assistant Xie and I still want to walk around the scene."

Mr. Min nodded: "Alright, I'll let you know the engineering answer."

Qi Xie waved his hand and watched her and the bodyguard leave, but Assistant Qian stayed where she was.

"You can go back to the hotel first." Qi Xie said.

"Mr. Qi and Assistant Xie are both working, how can I be lazy?" Qian Sining folded her arms charmingly, and smiled at Xie Yu, "Don't worry, detective, when it comes to solving the case, Our goals are the same."

"That's good." Qi Xie suddenly became interested, "Why don't we make an assignment, one person investigates one accident, and gathers at the hotel at night?"

"Okay." Qian Sining readily agreed, "Leave the manager's affairs to me."

"I can find a way to contact Mr. Lu." Xie Yu took out his phone.

"Then I'll go to the landslide site to have a look." Qi Xie raised his hands and walked towards the east of the construction site.

That night.

The three gathered in Qi Xie's guest room.

Qian Sining opened the laptop and copied the photos from the phone into it: "The manager stepped on the empty steps and broke his bones during the foundation laying ceremony. I asked the etiquette company, and the company didn't admit that it was their responsibility. But I was in the warehouse. I photographed the steps used in the ceremony, and the screws on the top were loose, and traces of man-made can be seen."

Xie Yu put down his coffee cup: "Young Master Lu had a car accident on the Second Ring Road in Beijing. The other party hit and ran because he was driving drunk at the time and did not call the police. Afterwards, he found the license plate number from the driving recorder and wanted to find out the owner of the car. Revenge, but found that it was a license plate car, and there was no way to check it."

Qi Xie put on a face of an old teacher, slowly waving his folding fan: "Failed."

Qian Sining smiled helplessly: "Half a day is too short, it's hard to go deeper."

"What I want is a conclusion, not an excuse." Qi Xie put away his folding fan and nodded to the two of them, "If you ask you to check something, you can't find it for a few hours? Is this how you work as assistants?"

"What about you?" Xie Yu asked.

"Me?" Qi Xie smiled and opened the folding fan, "I didn't find anything either."

☆, health master

Xie Yu raised his eyebrows slightly: "Are you joking?"

"No." Qi Xie took it for granted, "I really didn't find anything."

"Really..." Xie Yu crossed Erlang's legs, and tapped twice on the armrest with his right hand playfully.

"What?" Seeing him like that, Qi Xie seemed to have intentions behind his words.

"It's nothing." Xie Yu's mouth was not smiling, but his eyes were slightly bent, "Ms. Qian Sining, I have something to ask you."

Qian Sining raised her red lips: "Please enlighten me."

Standing up gracefully like a British detective, Xie Yu paced back and forth in front of the two of them: "I have been thinking for the past few days, Ms. Qian, or why Guixintang let me participate in these cases. Going forward along the timeline, I found that on the second day after investigating Fengtie, Guixintang had the first conversation with me through the mouth of the boss. "The matter you want to investigate involves certain people, and the interest groups behind these people happen to be It has something to do with Guixintang." Here, Boss Qi used the term "guanxi". There are generally two types of ties, alliance relationship and antagonistic relationship. After that, he suggested that both parties take a step back, explaining that there is indeed a relationship between Guixintang and "certain people". There is a kind of opposition. However, this opposition is not on the surface, but a delicate game, a stalemate behind the scenes, and a precarious balance."

Xie Yu paused, then continued: "At this time, Boss Qi stated to 'certain people' that my investigation had nothing to do with Guixintang, and I let them handle it, but the other party did not attack me. So I thought, What are they afraid of? Afraid of the Tianhui Group behind me? Afraid of the "Mr. Qi" next to me? I don't think so. Boss Qi's statement seems to have nothing to do with him, but it is actually a kind of acquiescence. ——This is Guixintang's instruction, so that I can investigate the "Mistletoe Project" to deter or strike 'certain people'."

Xie Yu stood still and his eyes fell on Qian Sining.

She Yan Ran: "So?"

"Guixintang wants to kill people, so I want to lend me this knife." Xie Yu said firmly, "After confirming this, I began to think about who 'certain people' are. Since it can check and balance Guixintang, its power must not It’s small, but there are no similar companies in China, and there are no criminal organizations involved with Guixintang. ——It’s not business, it’s not gangsters, there is only one possibility, which is politics.”

Qian Sining smiled: "Which political road is it specifically, does Mr. Xie have any nominations?"

"Yes." Xie Yu was sure, "Cultural Assets Preservation Department."

Qian Sining seemed to have expected this result a long time ago, and shook his head calmly.

"Of course, that's its original name." Xie Yu picked up the coffee on the table and took a sip with ease, "Now it should be called - Special Information Department."

Qian Sining was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed, "As expected of Mr. Xie, this has exceeded my expectations!"

"It should be so." Xie Yu was not modest.

"Can you tell me how you found out?" Qian Sining asked excitedly.

"Because I have enough self-knowledge." Xie Yu looked at her, "To be honest, when I first found out that I was being used by Guixintang, I was very proud, thinking that mastering the "Mistletoe Project" would be powerful enough to control 'some People' fell apart. However, after I calmed down, I began to reflect, only to find that I couldn't even figure out the real prototype of this novel, and I couldn't do anything with this kind of nondescript evidence. If Guixintang wanted to lend me This knife needs to be sharpened again, that's why you brought me into Shennongjia and showed me more truths. ——Many years ago, the Special Information Department sent people to contact the Shanding tribe and sent all the tribe members Massacre, it is a pity that the tags on their clothes were melted into the bronze pool and were permanently preserved as evidence of the crime. Another thing is very interesting. I asked Mr. Lu just now, and his statement is somewhat different from Mr. Min. Mr. Min told us , It was Chaosheng Group who found Guixintang to solve the case, but Mr. Lu said that Guixintang took the initiative to send it to the door. So I think the Shennongjia incident is the same, Guixintang took the initiative to search and rescue students, just to dig out this inhumane massacre.”

"That's right." Qian Sining smiled, "But I heard from Mr. Qi that the sign only showed the words 'Special Letter'. How did you know the full name?"

"I've observed it carefully." Xie Yu said to himself, "It's an old pin-style iron badge, about 1 centimeter wide, and if the ratio of length to width is not out of balance, the length should be about 4 to 5 centimeters." Special The three characters "Xin" are exposed on the surface, about 3 centimeters long, so there should be one or two characters behind it. If it is a single character, it is difficult to form a sentence, so there are two. The completed phrase of "Xin" is nothing more than "signal" If there is a switch between beliefs, letters, etc., and the functions of the Cultural Assets Preservation Department, the most appropriate one is the Special Information Department."

Pop, pop.

Qian Sining clapped his hands: "It's very exciting."

Qi Xie chuckled: "I said earlier that he would see it."

"Don't laugh first." Xie Yu glanced over, "I dare to make the above inference because of what you said just now."

"What?" Qi Xie asked.

"With your strength, it is impossible not to find out the truth of the landslide, so it's not that you didn't find out, but you didn't want to tell it. Because you are in a very contradictory state now. On the one hand, you can't refuse the arrangement of Guixintang, on the other hand You don’t want me to investigate in depth, so you can only refuse and welcome, and talk and talk.”

Qi Harmony's expression almost admits.

"Assistant Qian." Xie Yu turned to her, "I obtained the truth through Guixintang, and Guixintang brought down the Special Information Department through me. This is a win-win situation, and I am willing to do this business with you."

Qian Sining stood up softly, and stretched out her hand: "I hope we can have a happy cooperation."

Seeing that Qi Xie and Xie Yu had something to say, Assistant Qian tactfully left the guest room, leaving space for the two of them.

Xie Yu spoke first: "You can help me or ignore me, but don't persuade me, because it won't work."

"I won't persuade you." Qi Xie said calmly, "But there is one thing you're mistaken about. Mr. Xun doesn't kill people with a knife, but with a gun. You're just one of the bullets."

Xie Yu's eyes were firm: "Even so, I will hit the target for my own will."

"Sit down, don't stand." Qi Xie changed his tone relaxed, and poured coffee into the other's cup, "How is your novel going?"

Xie Yu was a little surprised to hear him mention this: "Update to the fifth part."

Qi Xie asked with a smile, "When will the finale be?"

"Each one is an independent story and does not need an ending."

Qi Xie thought for a while, and then said: "I've read "The Length of D4DR", and in the end you killed the main character."

Xie Yu picked up the cup: "That's an early work, not yet mature."

"I found that all your protagonists have the same personality." Qi Xie looked at him with a smile, "rational, calm, tenacious, and always have the determination to die for the truth."

"This is a commercial selling point." Xie Yu did not shy away, "I show my image, attract a certain readership, and then copy myself, accumulating success."

Qi Xie shook his head slowly: "I mean, maybe you can change to another mode..."

Xie Yu interrupted before he could finish speaking: "I said, don't persuade me."

Seeing that his intention was seen through, Qi Xie shrugged and disarmed.

"Werther is doomed to die because of Lotte." Xie Yu borrowed Goethe's metaphor, "The author can control the scene, but he cannot control the reaction of the protagonist. The ending of a character is decided the moment he stands on the stage."

Qi Xie's eyes gradually softened: "You are right."

Xie Yuping looked at him: "Thank you for respecting my decision."

Qi Harmony nodded.

"I'm going back to my room first, you should rest early." Xie Yu stood up while speaking.

"Wait." Qi Xie suddenly ordered, "Whoever allowed you to go, sit down."

Xie Yu paused and stared at him warily: "I declare in advance that I am not Ding Li."

Qi Xie clicked his tongue: "What nonsense, I'm telling you something serious."

"Let's talk." Xie Yu stopped joking and sat upright again.

"I don't need to hide it from you now." Qi Xie took the remote control of the air conditioner and turned the temperature up a bit. "The Ministry of Special Information is referred to as the Ministry of Special Information. There are four institutes, the 'Data Institute' collects folk information about strange things, the 'Research Institute' conducts research on strange phenomena, the 'Application Institute' tries to put the research results into practical use, and there is a 'Cleaning Office' to clean special objects. The information leaked by the Ministry of Information is doing the work of destroying corpses and eradicating traces. Among them, the 'Data Institute' and 'Application Institute' are managed by Master Xun, and last year they were converted from a secret organization to a regular enterprise, which is now Guixintang."

"So that's how it is." Xie Yu knew it clearly, "It is said that there are differences within Guixintang. The cooperation faction and the separatist faction are fighting openly and covertly. It seems to refer to its relationship with the Special Information Department."

"Not all." Qi Xie denied, "The political circle is the backer of Guixintang, and a complete separation is not good for each other. Master Xun does not want to leave the Ministry of Special Information, but wants to overthrow the current Minister Han and replace him, so there are internal struggles. Yes, it is actually the pro-Xun faction and the pro-Korean faction. At the beginning of the establishment of Guixintang, Lord Xun took away many capable people from the special letter department. Not long ago, he found a group of characters like me from all over the world. Now the special The strength of the Ministry of Information has been greatly weakened. There are only a group of weak scholars left in the scientific research institute, and many people have defected from the cleaning office. Now Master Xun is making the final deployment: search and rescue students, establish a positive media image; win over the real estate leader Chaosheng Group, and expand the market Influence; expose the history of the Ministry of Special Information, put pressure on Minister Han, wait for everything to be ready, beat the drums and send troops, and sit back and watch.

After Xie Yu listened, he remained silent for a while.

Qi Xie looked at him: "Now you should know what kind of role you played in it."

Xie Yu did not respond to this sentence, but only asked: "Did the Fengtie couple be silenced by the 'cleaning station'?"

Qi Xie nodded: "The 'Mistletoe Project' is a long-term project of the Research Institute of the Ministry of Information and Information Technology. As you said, it studies how to preserve the 'soul' of human beings. Feng Tie once had a relative die because of this project, so he is To use the pen to fight and reveal the inside story, it is a pity that the mission was not successful, and the family was also affected."

Xie Yu didn't ask any more questions, and twisted the handle of the coffee cup.

"Okay." Qi Xie poured himself a glass of water: "Now you know what you should know and what you shouldn't know. It has nothing to do with me if Master Xun wants to kill the donkey after the matter is over."

"I know." Xie Yu asked, "What about you, what do you think?"

"I don't want to think about anything." Qi Xie raised his legs up while holding the cup, and chanted complacently, "There is no near name for doing good, and there is no near punishment for doing evil. You can protect your life, live a whole life, and support your relatives. It can last all year."

Xie Yu said without a tone: "The mean capitulationism."

Qi Xie smiled: "Living is the real thing."

The structural engineer replied that a stone pillar in the northeast corner can be moved.It took a whole day to excavate, drill, and connect the boom. Finally, the bamboo shoot Tai Sui was slowly pulled out like a tooth.

A deep tooth hole was left in the ground.

Eighty centimeters wide and bottomless, a curious worker threw a stone into it, but there was no response.

"Is everything ready?" Qi Xie asked in a deep voice.

"It's all here." Qian Sining moved two boxes, "Full-face respirator, compressed air can be used for four hours."

"Understood." Qi Xie tied his shoelaces tightly, "You stay here, Xie Yu and I will go down."

In order to facilitate movement, Xie Yu changed contact lenses, the thin lenses sticking to the cornea, reflecting the dark abyss.

"What's next." Xie Yu hoped to be mentally prepared.

Qi Xie put on his gloves: "In short, it's not a leisure club, nor an entertainment center. It's too late for you to regret it now."

Xie Yu chuckled and lifted the equipment: "Adventures are entertainment for me."

After the rope was prepared, the two hung the locks and turned on the headlights, and went down into the cave one after the other.

The four walls are rough and cramped, and there is still enough space from the top, but when you actually go down into the well, you find that there is not even a place to move around.Although both of them were thin, it was difficult for them to even raise their hands. They were tightly pressed in front, back, left, and right, as if a deep breath would get stuck in their chests.Descending along the rope bit by bit, the light circle above the head gradually dimmed, but the darkness below gradually expanded, as if a python opened its huge mouth and was devouring its feet.Xie Yu descended here, and couldn't help worrying about how to climb back. Countless images rushed into his mind in an instant: broken elevators, subways during peak hours, crowded auditoriums, cable cars that broke down between cliffs...

"Hello." Qi Xie suddenly stopped and looked up, "Your breathing is too fast."

"Really." Xie Yu's voice passed through the mask, and although it was distorted, the other party could still hear the clues.

"You don't have any claustrophobia, do you?" Qi Xie asked.

"No." Xie Yu firmly denied, "Normal people's heart rate would increase in this kind of place."

Qi Xie raised his head: "Your feet are shaking."

"This is a stress response. The excitation of the sympathetic nerves leads to an increase in the secretion of adrenal cortex hormones, which in turn causes various metabolic abnormalities such as elevated blood sugar, high blood pressure, and shortness of breath."

Qi Xie chuckled, "Short for fear."

"Stress response is a human instinct, and it has a protective effect on the body." Xie Yu bowed his head, "You can't go away yet!"

"Yes, yes." Qi Xie replied with a good temper, and continued to descend.

"How deep is it?" Xie Yu asked.

"More than 100 meters." Qi Xie said.

Xie Yu turned his head subconsciously, and the headlight was aimed at the valve gauge of the gas cylinder in the dark, and the remaining capacity was 97%.

"Speaking of which..." Qi Xie's voice came from under his feet, and he asked in a relaxed tone, "Do you have a younger sister?"

"Yes." Xie Yu replied.

"How younger than you?"

Xie Yu paused: "4.5."

"I also have a cousin who is four years younger than me." Qi Xie said at the foot, "Who else is in your family?"

"My mother, Aunt Wu." Xie Yu paused, "Why are you asking this?"

Qi Xie wouldn't say that it was because he was too nervous and wanted to divert his attention, so he shirked it as a casual chat.

Xie Yu didn't notice Qi Xie's intentions, so of course he didn't appreciate it: "A waste of oxygen."

"Tell me about your experience." He asked with a smile, "How is your family? Where did you study? When did you start writing novels?"

Xie Yu felt it was pointless: "Go ask and shake your head."

"That's so boring."

Xie Yu took a deep breath: "My father's name is Xie Guangjun, and my mother's name is Cheng Yun. They were married early and have been busy with their careers. They gave birth to me in their 30s. My father died of illness when he was 40 years old. Xie Xin was his posthumous son. My mother ran the company alone, and now Tianhui is the only one. She wanted me to inherit the family business and sent me to Germany to study for an MBA, but I was not interested in doing business. After graduating from a master’s degree, I returned to China for a showdown, saying that I wanted to engage in writing. She There is no clear objection, but only a condition, if the royalties exceed one million in one year, I will agree to write it down.”

"And then?" Qi Xie asked.

"And then there's the West Territory."

After Xie Yu said, he felt the rope sway, and Qi Xie had already jumped to the ground.

☆, Orb

Xie Yu descended and let go of the rope: "Didn't you say there are still more than 100 meters left?"

"It's true that there are still 100 meters left. This is just a transfer station." Qi Xie looked around. It was an onion-shaped space, about the size of an ordinary living room. But it is a stone.There are many passages extending around, winding and winding, like holes drilled by worms.

"What is this place?" Xie Yu adjusted his breathing and moved his stiff body a little.

"We are in the bulb of Sun Tai Sui, and those curved channels are its roots."

Qi Xie took off his gloves and took out three sticks of incense, which were not lit, and stuck them on the ground in the center, bowed solemnly three times, then stood up, walked towards one of the passages, and said to go this way.

Xie Yu looked into the hole. The height of the passage was only one meter, and he could only crawl forward if he wanted to move forward.

An instinctive resistance surged up, but was suppressed by will, and he asked, "Is there an exit ahead?"

"Probably not." Qi Xie said, "There are all such roads ahead, if you don't want to go, you can wait here."

"I don't want to go." Xie Yu emphasized, "I just want to know where to go."

"I don't know either." Qi Xie looked at his feet, "We have to give ourselves to it, and it will take us where we should go."

"Who is it?" Xie Yu asked.

"Bamboo shoots are too old." Qi Xie said.

Xie Yu was speechless immediately, and pushed his glasses habitually, but touched the mask.

Qi Xie looked at the ground and thought for a while: "This group of bamboo shoots is like bamboo shoots. There is a female shoot first, and then many child shoots gradually sprout from her root system. Now we have to go through these roots to reach the bulbous root of the female shoot. .”

"and then."

"She'll tell us something."

"what's up."

"I don't know."

Xie Yu sighed deeply: "I really don't know why I believe you.—Let's go, a quick battle."

Qi Xie clasped the gas cylinder tightly, and crawled into the hole. Xie Yu took out a marker pen to mark on the wall, and followed with his head down.

Fork and bend, uphill and downhill, crawling in the dark cave, Xie Yu only felt that the human world was being thrown farther and farther behind.The top of the head and the bottom of the body are all stone fibers, twisting and intertwining forward, making people's eyes dazzled, so he can only stare at the neat heels in front of him, and finally even counted the lines on the soles.

After crawling for more than half an hour, he looked back and was stunned.

"Hello." Xie Yu called to the front, "I only have 48% left."

Qi Xie turned around: "Are you a battery?"

Xie Yu frowned: "I said gas cylinder."

Oh, Qi Harmony.

"Oh what." Xie Yu was very dissatisfied with his leisurely, "This means that I don't have enough oxygen when I turn back now."

"Enough." Qi Xie didn't care, "This tank of gas can last for four hours, your pressure gauge must be broken."

"If it's good."

"Then save yourself some time." Qi Xie said relaxedly, "It's not far ahead, we'll be there soon."

"Okay." Xie Yu said, "But if you have any left after my oxygen runs out, I will grab it without hesitation."

The other party smiled: "You really have a sense of companionship."

What Qi Xie said was true, and after crawling more than ten meters, the space suddenly became spacious.

The same onion-shaped bulbous root is more than 20 meters long and wide, and the stone vines are criss-crossed, as if a delicately carved dome is covered above the round hall.

Xie Yu looked up and scanned the ground.

A light shines in the dark!He took a closer look, and there was a living creature lying on the opposite side!

——It looks like a monkey, with red eyes, a sallow face, and black hair all over its body, screaming at him, baring its mouth full of pale teeth.

"Don't go!" Qi Xie stopped him, "Move the light a little, don't startle him."

"What's that?" Xie Yu asked in a low voice as he turned his headlights.

"Your kind." Qi Xie said.

Xie Yu was taken aback, then looked again, only to find that it was a boy of two or three years old. ——Red eyes are reflections, and black hair is tattered clothes!

"How could there be children underground!" Xie Yu looked around.

"Don't look for him, he's the only one." Qi Xie said, "It's the first time I've seen an outsider in decades, and I'm inevitably afraid."

Xie Yu was puzzled: "Decades?"

Qi Xie sighed: "It is said that the houses built by Sun Tai Sui can prolong life, so that's what it means."

Xie Yu finally realized something, raised his wrist and looked at his watch, and the second hand stopped in place without moving.

Qi Xie turned off the light, took out a piece of candy from his bag, peeled it off, squatted down, and handed it a little forward.At first, the boy was still waiting for an opportunity to attack, but suddenly moved his nose, hesitated for a moment, and tentatively stepped forward to lick it.Qi Xie smiled and wanted to touch his head, but just as he stretched out his hand, the boy shuddered and jumped back.

"That's how it is." Xie Yu closed the valve of the gas cylinder and did not feel the lack of oxygen. "Time here has almost stopped. You can live without breathing and eating, but the time in the fibrous roots is speeding up, so it takes half an hour Lost oxygen for two hours."

"Okay." Qi Xie stood up, "We have to take this child out."

"Impossible." Xie Yu denied, "Oxygen is needed to leave this space, and we only have two respirators."

Qi Xie took off his mask: "You get him out first, I have my own way."

Xie Yu looked at him: "The boss Qi I know is not the kind of personality who sacrifices himself to save others."

"That's right." Qi laughed, "How about we make a bet? Bet on who will return to the hotel first."

"Okay." Xie Yu said immediately, "How much to bet."

"One thousand?" Qi Xie asked.

"Five hundred." Xie Yu killed half of them.

Qi Xie raised his eyebrows: "So you are sure you will lose?"

Xie Yu snorted softly: "You didn't die in the bronze pond, so naturally you won't die here."

After speaking, Qi Xie flashed to the boy and knocked him out easily. Xie Yu put on the respirator for him, tied his clothes behind his back, and ducked back into the passageway.

However, after walking a few meters, he stopped, and then took off the headlight, slowly covered it with his hands, so that the overflowing light became dimmer, and finally turned off the light completely.

——so that Qi Xie thinks he has left.

Have your own way?Xie Yu thought to himself, Boss Qi's physique has returned to the level of a normal person after the treatment in Guixintang, and it is impossible for him not to need breathing and heartbeat as before.If he wants to return to the surface, he must use a respirator and gas cylinders.In this case, there is only one way to get the equipment, which is to wait for others to "deliver to your door".

So he held his breath and listened.

"Stop hiding, come out?" A harmonious voice came over.

Two pairs of footsteps stepped out of the darkness.

"I don't know what the two of you are doing to find Qi, but you didn't hesitate to follow all the way here." Qi Xie asked with a smile.

"Stop talking nonsense!" The man took off his mask, "Did you kill Master Lu!"

Qi laughed humorously: "Master Lu died in the line of duty, so what does that have to do with me?"

"Fuck/your/mother's surname is Qi! Dare to do it but dare not admit it!" Another hoarse voice cursed.

Qi Xie was not angry at all: "My mother passed away almost 30 years ago, are you interested?"

"Don't give Lao Tzu another topic!" shouted a hoarse voice.

Qi Xie laughed loudly: "Going to Hubei this time, Lord Xun confessed to me two things. One is to bring the five students back safely, and the other is to put Lu Renda's life there. If the two of you want to count