The villainous young lady is actually a scientific research genius!

Three days after Harrison left the country, the joint investigation team arrived at the southwestern border.

The continuous heavy rain has softened the mountain roads.

As the vehicle drove over it, mud swelled up from both sides of the tires and coated the car door layer by layer.

The attacked construction truck is still parked where it was.

The front of the truck was burned down to a charred iron frame, the shattered windshield was scattered in the mud, half of the side panel of the truck bed had collapsed, and several bags of cement, soaked in the rain, had long since hardened into solid blocks.

In the corner, a first-aid kit lay overturned in the muddy water, gauze and medicine bottles mixed together, their original colors no longer discernible.

Only the red-painted serial numbers on the carriage doors are still clearly visible.

Zhou Haiping, the head of the investigation team, squatted down next to the car and opened his work notebook.

"Third group, check the delivery order."

"Fourth group, verify the travel permit."

"Fifth group, take another picture of the ammunition boxes, radio, and vehicle tracks. Angle, location, and serial numbers—don't miss a single one."

After he finished speaking, he looked up at the staff members.

"The rain hasn't stopped yet, and the scene could be disrupted at any moment. It's better to take more photos than to leave less behind."

"Whoever investigates in the future must be able to get to the bottom of it."

Five neutral observers, from three different countries, stood inside the cordon.

Before they arrived, they had already received a thick stack of materials.

The statements in the materials are varied and contradictory.

Some claim that China is using foreign aid projects as a pretext to supply military materials to neighboring countries.

Some say the attack was just a misunderstanding between local militias and engineering teams.

Some even directly accused China of expanding its border deployments and interfering in the internal affairs of its neighbors.

The paper made a big splash.

What was left at the scene was only mud, dried bloodstains, a burned vehicle frame, and cement and medical equipment that had not been delivered to the construction site.

Miller put on gloves and took the engineering order from his assistant.

"Forty bags of cement, two bundles of steel bars, three boxes of medical equipment, and two barrels of diesel fuel."

He raised his head.

Are these goods consistent with the contents registered in the engineering contract?

Zhou Haiping offered no explanation, simply handing over the contract.

"Page 7, item 3."

"You'll understand better if you compare it yourself than if I told you."

Miller turned to page seven.

The translator whispered to himself:

"The first batch of materials for the irrigation canal construction project includes cement, steel bars, basic medical equipment, and diesel fuel for construction."

Another observer picked up the pass and checked the license plate, driver's name, route, departure time and destination one by one.

After reading it, he asked:

How many escorts are in the convoy?

Six people.

Zhou Haiping answered decisively.

"Two of them were equipped with rifles, while the other four were responsible for engineering equipment and medical supplies."

"The gun models, ammunition quantities, and requisition records are all on the list."

The observer took the list.

His pen paused on the paper for a moment.

Six escorts.

Two rifles.

Three boxes of medical equipment.

Forty bags of cement.

He flipped back to the statement accusing China of "armed intervention," read it twice, but ultimately did not put pen to paper.

The statement had a striking title and strong wording.

But the cement in the carriage won't change its name, and the medical kit won't magically transform into weapons.

Zhou Haiping went around to the back of the carriage.

Several wooden crates were placed in the mud, one of which was completely covered by a tarpaulin.

The staff lifted the tarpaulin to reveal a metal ammunition box with burn marks.

The bottom of the box is facing up.

A deliberately scratched English abbreviation remains on the blackened metal surface.

The enlarged photos of the scratches have been developed and pasted onto the cardboard next to it.

Below the photo are the original photo number, negative number, photographer, shooting time, location of the physical evidence, name of the person who handed it over, and final sealing time.

Not one less.

Miller crouched down and stared at the scratch for a long time.

"Can you determine the source of the marker?"

Zhou Haiping didn't rush to a conclusion; he simply raised his hand.

"Please see the next document."

The assistant handed over a numbered search result.

That string of English abbreviations corresponds to the material numbers of a batch of overseas agricultural relief projects.

The batch was registered six months ago, and the declared purpose was agricultural machinery parts.

As for the actual destination after leaving the warehouse, there is no record in the original accounts.

Miller looked up.

"Can't find it?"

"It cannot be found in the original accounts."

Zhou Haiping unfolded the second document, his fingers hovering over several bank transfers.

"However, we found another lead."

"Harrison's organization once allocated funds to a trading company. Subsequently, this trading company paid vehicle rental fees to a border transport company and also paid a middleman for the purchase of communications equipment."

He placed the two comparison images side by side on the table.

"The tire model of the vehicle registered by the transport company matches the tire tracks at the scene."

"The spare frequency band of the radio left behind by the attackers also overlaps with the communication frequencies used by the agency."

Miller did not respond.

An observer picked up a photograph from the scene and stared at the scratches on the bottom of the ammunition box.

The other person opened the fund flow chart and circled the payment dates of the trading company with a pencil.

The observer in charge of vehicle verification has already walked to the roadside.

He squatted beside the ruts that were almost washed away by the rain, and remeasured the tire tread spacing.

He did not get up after the first test.

I changed the location and tested it again.

The mountain wind swept through the valley, carrying the damp chill of the rain.

The evidence collectors kept pressing the shutter button.

Click.

Click.

Keep a copy of each photo.

Each piece of evidence is numbered.

The walkie-talkie on Zhou Haiping's waist rang.

"Team Leader Zhou, Beijing-bound special line."

He took the phone and walked to the side.

Soon, Gu Zhaozhao's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Have the observers checked the physical evidence to determine its location?"

"Checking now."

"Did you include the original negative number in the enlarged photo of the scratches on the ammunition box?"

"Attached."

"What about the radio maintenance number and spare frequency band record?"

"It's in the file too."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

Gu Zhaozhao continued:

"Vehicle registration, tire model, and on-site tire tracks are listed separately, and then cross-referenced."

"Don't just write the final conclusion; let people see how the parts match up in the middle."

Zhou Haiping looked down and flipped through his workbook.

"It's already been organized in this way."

Has the list of personnel transferring physical evidence been completed?

"Still being patched."

"The person who sealed the photographic negatives should also be listed."

Zhou Haiping picked up his pen and wrote down another item.

"I understand. Is there anything else?"

"Not at the moment."

Gu Zhaozhao paused, her voice softening slightly.

"Thank you for your hard work."

That short sentence eased Zhou Haiping's tense expression, which had been tense all day.

"It wasn't hard work."

He looked at the mud and water all over the ground.

"If the materials can ultimately withstand the test, then it's worth it."

Miller stood not far away.

After listening to the translator's account, his gaze lingered on the telephone.

A few seconds later, he spoke:

"Comrade, I have a question."

Zhou Haiping handed him the microphone.

Miller took the phone.

"Why do we have to include even these details?"

"Is it really necessary for the person who discovered it, the person who handed it over, and the person who sealed the negatives?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the dedicated line.

Gu Zhaozhao's voice came again, without the slightest perfunctory tone.

"Because these files were not written for acquaintances."

"Those who look at it today may be willing to believe us."

"The person who looks at it tomorrow might not want to."

She paused for a moment.

"That's alright."

Whether they believe it or not is their stance.

"But as long as the evidence is there, no matter who examines it, they have to match it up item by item."

Miller looked down at the photo catalog in his hand.

The rain tapped on the car roof, fine and continuous.

He didn't speak immediately.

After a while, he opened his notebook and wrote five words on the last line:

The chain of evidence is complete.

……

At 2 p.m., the joint investigation team began examining the radio that had been retrieved and sealed from the attack site.

The radio casing was covered in mud, and a section of the antenna was broken off.

Technicians removed the back cover, revealing the maintenance number hidden inside.

This number is completely consistent with the equipment sequence registered at a so-called "agricultural equipment maintenance point" outside the border.

The observers compared the results three times.

One last time, Miller personally took the magnifying glass and stared at the string of numbers for a full half minute.

"What about the frequency band records?"

The technician handed over a sheet of paper.

"Both the commonly used frequency bands and the spare frequency bands are here."

"In particular, the spare frequency band appeared in the liaison log of an overseas agricultural aid program."

Miller looked up.

Who provided the logs?

"The materials come from the internal accounts and communications records of Harrison's organization. Original documents, retrieval dates, and transfer records are attached separately."

Miller looked down and flipped through a few pages.

"Would they leave this kind of thing in the tent?"

Zhou Haiping stood to the side, speaking in a calm tone.

"They probably thought that no one would put the accounts of the South China Sea, the border, and Beijing on the same table."

He glanced at the maintenance number on the radio.

"Now, they're all together."

Another observer had already opened the vehicle registration information.

Photos of the vehicles registered with the transportation company are tucked inside the documents.

The wheel tread pattern, tire width, and wheel-axle spacing are all listed in the table.

Next to it are photos of the tire tracks at the scene and two sets of measurement data.

The overseas statement on the corner of the table was turned over by the wind, and then quickly fell back down.

No one reached out to take it.

Several observers focused solely on vehicle registration, tire photos, and tire track data, filling out the verification results item by item.

Someone recalculated the measurement values.

Someone reconfirmed the location where the photo was taken.

Some people even copied the payment date, vehicle rental date, and attack time onto the same piece of paper.

Each time I put pen to paper, I am more careful than the last.

In the evening, the five observers signed the on-site verification record in turn.

After the last person finished writing their name, Miller closed the folder and let out a long sigh of relief.

He put down his pen and reached out his hand to Zhou Haiping.

"We will submit a report based on what we have seen today."

Zhou Haiping grasped his hand.

"That's good."

He paused for a moment.

"What we want has never been favoritism."

"Just stating the facts."

The valley gradually darkened after the rain.

The burned-out construction truck is still sitting in the mud.

It cannot speak, nor can it defend itself.

But the numbers on the car doors, the tire tracks in the mud, the radio in the sealed bag, and every signature in the logbook were all waiting for the report to be handed to that bigger table.

Waiting for more people to open the records.

We also await the return of those deliberately dismantled and hidden clues to where they belong.