eighth story

Wu Qinyang hurriedly caught up with Zhong Liyin, but he didn't know what he wanted to ask.He always felt that there seemed to be very important information in Zhong Liyin's story, but because of the vagueness of the narrative, he couldn't grasp the key points well.However, the connection between this story and the current subway disappearance case is unclear. Wu Qinyang suddenly remembered that Zhong Liyin said "serious news" before, so he decided to start from this point, and confirmed again: "Uh, Well... I want to ask about that story... Is it really a news adaptation?"

"I guess so." Zhong Liyin seemed uncertain, "It's been too long, and I can't remember."

Wu Qinyang was a little disappointed, but not discouraged, because the answer was somewhat within his expectations.Zhong Liyin still remembered that it was because of his good luck, and it was normal not to remember, after all, it has been so long, and not everyone has a super memory.Wu Qinyang thought about changing his thinking. If the story is really an adaptation of news, then the news is the original source material, and the adapted story is the second dissemination. When Zhong Liyin retells the story, it has been at least the third dissemination. .

Artistic processing and the diffusion effect of spreading it from one to another can easily compromise the authenticity of the event. As a rigorous science student, Xiao Wu certainly understands this.With a change of mind, he quickly clarified his staged goals, and said to Zhong Liyin: "Actually, I'm quite interested in this matter." I want to find that story, and I want to ask if you still remember which book you read it in?"

If it is really like what Zhong Liyin said, the place where the incident happened was just a little-known small city, the possibility of directly finding the report decades ago is quite low, so at this stage we can only start from that story .Because when the author publishes, it is likely to use a note to indicate that the story is adapted from a certain event in a certain place, which is a very important and clear clue.Wu Qinyang couldn't help feeling a little thankful that Zhong Liyin had read this story in the school library. If it was genuine street stall literature, he would basically have given up the idea of ​​pursuing it, because it was impossible for him to have the energy and ability to complete it. thing.

Zhong Liyin still looked very sorry, and said to him: "I really don't remember this clearly, but it should be a monthly magazine, the kind with more than a dozen stories in one book." Suddenly he seemed to remember What, "By the way, I went to the library to help sort out old books. That book was one of them. Later, those books were sent to the old library. You can go there to try your luck. But it’s been so many years, it’s not necessarily that it has been sold as waste paper.”

Wu Qinyang felt that this was a low-probability event, but there was still a glimmer of hope, and it was better than nothing.The University of Science and Technology has two libraries, the old and the new. The new library was invested and built by Qin Zhi at the beginning. After the new library was completed and put into use, the old library gradually became deserted. Some newspapers and magazines with a long history and little use were transferred to the There.However, there is also a corresponding period of time for magazine retention, because there are many types of such materials, at least dozens of them; the update is very fast, for example, there are 24 monthly magazines a year, and [-] semi-monthly magazines a year. Not counting the various supplements, if they were all saved, it would not be enough to build another library.

Wu Qinyang calculated the time silently in his mind. Zhong Liyin saw this story almost ten years ago, and the time limit for the library to transfer old monthly magazines to the old library is usually about two years, so it should be at least 12 years previous magazine.It is not uncommon for valuable periodicals and newspapers to be kept for decades, but dispensable magazines are somewhat dangerous.

But no matter what, Wu Qinyang decided to go to the library, thanked Zhong Liyin, and left the classroom quickly.

Zhong Liyin looked at the back of him leaving, and let out a soft "heh" in his heart, without the hesitant and apologetic look on his face just now, he glanced in the direction of the old library through the window, and left quickly up.

Wu Qinyang ate casually—mainly because he really didn't have that kind of thought right now, and his mind was full of confusion and confusion about the current situation.The connection between the subway disappearance and my family, why my father, who has always been calm, suddenly changed his face when he heard "Xuejun Station", the mother's secrecy, and the story Zhong Liyin told had no connection with the current incident.Although Xiao Wu is used to being heartless, it doesn't mean that he can ignore what happened at home like a normal person, especially this incident has been exaggerated with a serious atmosphere, whether it is because of Responsibility or curiosity—he just wanted to figure it out.

Wu Qinyang is not narcissistic enough to think that he is smarter than the elites of the police station, and the subway disappearance case has not made any breakthrough until now, so Wu Qinyang decided not to use his brain on this matter for the time being; And judging from the current attitude of his parents, it is presumably impossible for him to take the initiative to explain the truth to him in a short time, so the only clue he can grasp is the story—although it is very possible in the end It was nothing to fetch water from a bamboo basket, but as mentioned above, Xiao Wu's determination and perseverance after he firmly established a belief are still very scary.

The old library is now deserted, and only some people who are looking for old materials will visit occasionally.Wu Qinyang pushed open the glass door of the old building, and there was a creaking sound on the hinge of the door, startling a black and white cat lying in the grass.The old library is not desolate enough to be in disrepair for a long time, the equipment is still in good condition, and there is a special person responsible for cleaning the garbage in the library every day, but the books with a faint musty smell have accumulated a stale smell, and the interior is also slightly dark. It is a place that will make people feel depressing after staying for a long time. It is far less pleasant than the new building with bright and clean windows, a spacious study room and wireless Internet access.

Wu Qinyang probably knew that the materials of newspapers and magazines were arranged according to the year, and after calculating the time according to the inference 12 years ago, he was basically sure that the publication date of the magazine would not be later than [-], but in order to To be on the safe side, Wu Qinyang still counted the time difference of three years forward, tentatively setting the time between [-] and [-].

The next thing to do is to find the librarian and ask where the books, periodicals and newspapers are stored during this time period, and then it depends on your luck.Wu Qinyang walked quickly to the service desk, and found that the only computer that was turned on was parked on the registration page for book borrowing, and no one was there.

Wu Qinyang thought that the administrator probably went to the toilet or simply went to eat, so he decided to wait patiently. Suddenly, he was startled by the sound of "classmate" coming from behind. Looking back, he saw a young man about the same age as his brother , holding a few books in his hand, he is the kind of person who can really show eight teeth when he smiles.Wu Qinyang thought that he was a student in the school and came to borrow books, but he realized that this was the librarian he had been waiting for when he saw the work card on his chest.

"Student, come to borrow books?" The man smiled, walked around to the service desk, pulled out a chair and sat down, and skillfully registered the return of books in the system.Wu Qinyang took the opportunity to glance at the name on his work card, and the young librarian in front of him should be named Qi Rui.

Wu Qinyang said: "Excuse me, I want to ask, where is the monthly magazine around [-]?"

Qi Rui said "Huh?", and then said, "Monthly magazine? What type? What's the name of the magazine?"

Wu Qinyang was in trouble for a while, because he didn't know the name of the magazine, so he had to answer honestly: "I don't know the name of that magazine, it's the kind that publishes stories...each issue has about More than a dozen stories." The last sentence is the information I got from Zhong Liyin, so I don't know if it's accurate or not.

"Don't know the name?" Qi Rui gave him a somewhat surprised look, probably because he hadn't met such an unreliable borrower for a long time, so he was inevitably a little interested, "Let me think..."Story Lecture"? "Fiction Monthly"? Or "Social Digest"?..." Qi Rui announced the names of more than a dozen monthly magazines in one breath, "Does this sound familiar?"

"..." Wu Qin said in his heart that it's not a matter of familiarity or not. He either forgot or didn't know it at all, so he changed his mind and said, "Uh... I just want to take a look..."

"[-], right?" Qi Rui didn't care about Wu Qinyang's inconsistent remarks, "Go up the stairs to the middle three floors of the sixth row on the left, where the monthly magazines are all there, remember not to give them the order Messed up."

Wu Qinyang thanked him, went up to the second floor, and found the sixth row of bookshelves on the left. Judging from the labels on the bookshelves, a total of 23 monthly magazines published in 23 were stored here.If there are 270 monthly magazines, there are 760 six titles if there are [-] kinds of magazines. Even if each magazine has an average of only ten stories (in fact, it must be far more), then there are [-] stories.Wu Qinyang couldn't help being dumbfounded, this is really a big project, and he was afraid that he might miss some important information just by browsing the table of contents, because some people's titles didn't reflect the content of the story well, and to put it bluntly, the text was wrong.

Just when Wu Qinyang was in a dilemma, Qi Rui quietly appeared behind him at some point and asked, "How did you find it?"

Wu Qinyang was startled again, because he didn't hear Qi Rui's footsteps at all.Qi Rui stood about two steps away from him, with his hands in his pockets, in a very casual posture, half of his face was buried in the shadow of the setting sun, looking silent and profound, while the other half of his face was covered by The incandescent lights in the library cast a strange light.Wu Qinyang hesitated for a moment, and then said: "I haven't found it yet." In fact, he hasn't done anything yet.

Qi Rui looked at him with interest, and asked, "What are you looking for? Tell me, maybe I can help you."

Wu Qinyang had already thought of asking the librarian for help, but when he thought that he neither knew the title of the journal nor the specific publication time, and only knew one of the stories was just a general idea, he would go out of ten. Nine times, people would ask "Student, are you kidding me" like a monster, and then be politely invited out, or be thrown out directly.

But Qi Rui's expression was very sincere, so sincere that Wu Qinyang's heart moved slightly. He felt that even if he told Qi Rui, it would not have much impact on him. If he looked forward and backward, he would miss important clues, so he simply told him. Qi Rui told the truth: "I want to find a magazine, it should be in [-]...or earlier, no later than this time, a monthly magazine, there is a story in it about the bus disappearance case - many people disappeared After investigation, the police found that the buses they took all passed the same station..."

Wu Qinyang briefly stated Zhong Liyin's story again, and before he finished speaking, he heard Qi Rui say: "I remember this story, it's been an urban legend for some years." As he spoke, he walked to the bookshelves in the first two rows, Sliding fingers across rows of neat saddle stitch bindings, "It should have been [-], not [-] years, to say that it was adapted into a story." Looking at Wu Qinyang again, he raised his eyebrows slightly, "Not many people your age know about this."

Wu Qinyang secretly slandered in his heart, saying that you only look five or six years older than me, and you sound old-fashioned when you speak, but because you need others, you can only think in your heart and ask again Said: "Then do you remember which book it was in?"

Qi Rui said: "I have to think about it." After a while, he said, "It's probably "Night Language Stories" in [-], and this is not a monthly magazine, but a semi-monthly magazine. You can look for it." Speaking from the third row He took down a stack of yellowed magazines from his bookshelf, handed them to Wu Qinyang and said, "Can I help?"

Wu Qinyang hurriedly said: "Then there is no need."

Qi Rui said, "Are you interested in this?"

Wu Qinyang couldn't say that he wanted to investigate why his own father was abnormal, so he gave a vague "hmm".

Qi Rui smiled: "Speaking of which, this incident is quite similar to the recent subway disappearance case. Well, take your time and look for yourself. If you need help, you can find me downstairs."

Wu Qinyang said: "Thank you." Brainwashed by various explicit hints from others and himself, I really felt that these two cases were related, and I couldn't wait to find out. Sit down in the seat, thinking that the workload of 24 books is much better than 270 six books.Wu Qinyang briefly browsed through these 24 magazines, and finally found the article titled "Lost Bus" in the second half of July [-] issue of "Night Talk Stories". , and secretly glad that he didn't do anything directly just now, fortunately he asked Qi Rui, otherwise the wrong information he got from Zhong Liyin made him devote all his attention to the monthly magazines, and his work would almost be in vain.

Wu Qinyang put the other magazines back on the bookshelf, and read the story carefully.The length of the story is not very long, it is not an exaggerated novella, and Wu Qinyang finished it in only half an hour.Zhong Liyin's narration is basically the same as the content of the story, but some details are slightly lacking.For example, the family background of the missing child—both parents died in an accident, and they have been in foster care with relatives since then. The relatives didn't care much about him, so they didn't choose to call the police until three days after he disappeared.Wu Qinyang guessed that the author probably used this to criticize the indifference and ruthlessness of human nature, and the words were quite fierce and indignant.

The child didn't say nothing to the police's questioning, at least he said things like "the bus never stopped" and "everyone on the bus was asleep" on the day he disappeared, without providing more clues, more like It's pure ignorance, but the only clues coincide with today's subway disappearance case again.

Wu Qinyang secretly wrote down these details, turned to the last page in a nervous mood, and let out a long sigh of relief.

At the end of the article, there is indeed a line of blackened small characters in the epilogue-this story is adapted from..., and there are two sentences about the author's creative thinking and so on.But Wu Qinyang's attention was all focused on the small print that marked the source of inspiration - "A piece of news from the K City Evening News on April 2003, 4", that's it!Wu Qinyang finally breathed a sigh of relief. He thought it was a blessing to find the time and place, and the newspaper could be found slowly. Unexpectedly, the author attached the specific date and the name of the newspaper so thoughtfully. It really took no effort. Now as long as Just find this newspaper.

But the newspaper from 36 years ago...Wu Qinyang's brows were lightly knotted again. It is unlikely that there will be an evening paper from City K in the library of City A, and even if there is, it is unlikely to have 36 years ago... …but finding the magazine in just one night was quite a breakthrough anyway.Wu Qinyang suddenly thought of Qi Rui. He seemed to understand the matter from his tone just now, and there might be clues related to the news.Otherwise, there is still a police station to ask for help... If this matter is really related to the disappearance of the subway, it is not considered a private use of public power, right?