I'm trapped in a block

Chapter 1252 Eliminate Suspicion
Xu Demin straightened his chest, a surge of passion coursing through his limbs, even restoring vitality to his numb legs and icy hands.

The interrogator looked at Xu Demin without changing his expression.

"Why choose Tonggu when we can build anywhere?"

he continued to ask.

"Because we're short of people here! Nobody wants to come. If we don't even have people, how can we talk about construction?" Xu Demin replied without hesitation.

The officer opposite him fell silent, a rare occurrence, and his expression seemed to change slightly.

"Comrade Xu Demin, do you have any complaints about Tonggu?" He looked at Xu Demin and asked with utmost seriousness.

"I have nothing but gratitude for Tonggu."

Xu Demin was telling the truth; he only realized he liked the place after he arrived.

The people here are simple, kind, and pure-hearted. The town at the foot of the mountain is peaceful and serene, unlike the noisy big cities. Although Xu Demin is a lively person, he enjoys this peaceful feeling even more.

The local cuisine in Tonggu suited his taste perfectly. He gained 10 pounds in the year he was there, and his superiors said he had become quite round and told him to control his weight, otherwise it would be difficult to introduce him to potential partners.

Moreover, in Tonggu, he could truly learn knowledge and use it to realize his ideals. Unlike those vague and unrealistic jobs, he could see the ore being dug out and transported to distant places.

The thought of the ore he mined being transformed into tools for every person, steel bars to support buildings, and weapons to defend the country fills Xu Demin with excitement.

It was this belief that kept him full of passion.

The judge looked at him, and he looked at the judge.

He seemed no longer afraid.

He didn't do anything wrong, so what is he afraid of?
Their eyes met. Xu Demin looked at him firmly without flinching, his gaze conveying to the other that every word he spoke was true.

After staring at each other for a while, the judge surprisingly looked away first and then at the documents in his hand.

"Comrade Xu Demin, you can go now."

Xu Demin was stunned. He could leave just like that?

He sat blankly in the chair, without any reaction.

The judge put away the documents and said to Xu Demin, "If needed, we will summon you again. Please put down your work and cooperate immediately."

Xu Demin then realized what was happening and gave the other person a poorly executed salute.

"Understood! Sir!"

Even after stepping outside and seeing the light of day again, Xu Demin still felt somewhat surreal.

"They just released me like that? They didn't arrest me?"

"I'm such a prime suspect, and nothing's happened?"

Xu Demin thought he was going to be tortured for seven days and seven nights, with different people each day and the same questions every day.

It seems that those police officers are also under a lot of pressure and don't have time to spend too much energy on him.

So, what exactly happened that day?

Xu Demin wanted to turn around and ask the officers, but when he thought of the interrogation he had just experienced, he immediately chickened out.

"Let's not, in case it arouses suspicion again and we get arrested..."

Xu Demin fled back to his dormitory as if his life depended on it, his heart still pounding. The shadow cast by this interrogation would likely take him a long time to heal.

……

With the mine temporarily closed, Xu Demin's normal work also came to a standstill, giving him time to read the books he hadn't been able to finish.

Various rumors about the explosion began to circulate, most of which were unfounded and based on hearsay.

What can be confirmed is that those twenty people are indeed missing.

Searchers dug deep around the explosion site and checked all the exits around the mine, but found no trace of the twenty people.

Everyone says you should see the person alive or dead, but there wasn't even a scrap of flesh left on those twenty people. Even if each of them was holding explosives and detonated, there would still be some trace left, but there was nothing at the scene.

Every day, people were called in for questioning. From technicians like Xu Demin to railway transportation managers, almost everyone who might be involved was questioned carefully. Xu Demin was even called in several more times to help identify the people evacuated on the day of the incident.

He was the one who organized the evacuation of the onlookers that day, so he also became an important witness.

"Comrade Xu Demin, did you spot any suspicious people or unfamiliar faces among the crowd that day?"

They all worked in the mine and knew each other to some extent. Xu Demin thought carefully and realized that there were no unfamiliar faces that day.

He shook his head.

"You think about it more carefully?"

"Really, no, sir. I'm very good at recognizing people. I can remember the names of everyone who left with me that day, and the number is also correct."

Seeing Xu Demin's certainty, the officer had no choice but to wave his hand and tell him he could go back...

Xu Demin noticed that the officers looked increasingly exhausted. Clearly, things were not progressing and the pressure from above was too great, leaving them physically and mentally drained.

The mine was searched again and again, and wave after wave of personnel were investigated. They went from being full of confidence to being disheartened.

It should have been something that was easy to figure out, so why can't I understand it?
Xu Demin could understand that feeling.

It took him a long time to detach himself from the "materialist" stance and believe that people really do "disappear into thin air." For those police officers who had solved many difficult cases, it was indeed difficult to believe this.

Even so, Xu Demin still scoffed at those rumored "ghost stories".

He believes that this matter can be explained scientifically.

However, current science cannot fully explain it, just as the ancients could not explain lightning or fireballs falling from the sky.

Something must have happened that day that modern science cannot explain...

Xu Demin opened the book in his hand, which was "Dream Pool Essays" written by Shen Kuo, a scientist from the Northern Song Dynasty. It recorded a strange story:
“In the sea off Dengzhou, there are often clouds that resemble palaces, pavilions, city walls, figures, carriages, horses, and canopies, all of which are clearly visible. This is called ‘mirage’.”

"Ouyang Xiu once served as an envoy to Hebei. When he passed through Gaotang County, he saw ghosts and spirits passing through the sky at night in the post station. The sounds of carriages, horses, people, and animals could all be distinguished..."

This is a record about mirages. The ancients did not understand why pavilions and carriages would appear in the sky, so they wrote down their doubts.

Xu Demin stared intently at the records in the book...

……

“Production was suspended for a month and a half. Later, the pressure became too great, and we had to resume production. After the mine was unsealed, I immediately ran to the scene of the incident. There was nothing there except for traces of the search.”

"Later, someone said that if you go to the scene of the incident at dusk, when the sun sets, you will feel a chill. I tried it, but I didn't feel anything. I guess it's just hearsay and rumors..."

(End of this chapter)