Starting with dissecting ghost stories

"You took the day off today, right? How about we find a teahouse to have a drink and chat?" Wen Yan said to Shen Xing, looking as if he was still eager for more.

"Okay, but I can't stay for too long. I have to go back before noon to cook for my sister." Shen Xing seemed a little hesitant, but still nodded in agreement.

Chen Liming listened intently, eager to join the conversation and learn as much as he could... but now he had to quickly set up surveillance based on the existing evidence to prevent another victim from appearing.

After saying goodbye to Chen Liming, Wen Yan and Shen Xing walked out of the alley. Neither of them intended to take a taxi. Instead, they walked and talked along the path by the river.

Wen Yan was curious as to why Shen Xing thought the murderer had received a hint from someone, while Shen Xing was mainly asking if the murderer had noticed any unusual factors in the Li Ya family annihilation case.

After several rounds of back-and-forth dialogue, neither side got any useful answers. In the end, Wen Yan relented.

"It's possible that the other party also knows about the strange things... You haven't joined the Ninth Squad yet, so there are some things I don't know if it's appropriate to say." Wen Yan hesitated for a moment, glancing at Shen Xing beside him.

Clearly, Wen Yan remembered his old friend's words and did his best to act as a persuader.

"I'm also considering joining the external team..." Shen Xing shook his head, not looking at Wen Yan, but just thinking with his head down, "I feel that it's more dangerous to continue to have only a superficial understanding like this."

Upon hearing Shen Xing's reply, Wen Yan smiled, took out an ID card from his pocket, and handed it to Shen Xing.

Shen Xing curiously took the black ID card. It didn't have any "Public Security" markings, but it had a gold national emblem embossed on it, with the words "Work Permit" printed in gold Song typeface below.

Opening the leather case, a cardboard card was inserted into the transparent plastic compartment, with Shen Xing's headshot pasted on it, and the words "Provincial Emergency Public Health and Environmental Safety Supervision Office" in bold at the top.

The title is "Specially Appointed Forensic Medicine Consultant," and below it is a series of numbers and a seal.

You've already printed your own certificates?

"Take it. I guess Lao Lu has already told you about this," Wen Yan said. "He wants you to leave this city and go to the provincial capital."

"That's what he said." Shen Xing nodded and put his work ID directly into his pocket. "But I don't know the specific reason." Wen Yan nodded slightly after watching Shen Xing accept the work ID.

Now, his goal is to lure this young man to the provincial capital.

He had indeed underestimated this young man. Keeping him in this small town might interfere with what he wanted to do. Transferring Shen Xing away was the best option.

"You know that the supernatural doesn't appear in electronic devices, right?" Wen Yan asked.

"I know," Shen Xing nodded.

"Life detectors, electronic thermal imaging, and even radar can all be interfered with by the anomaly," Wen Yan continued. "The Ninth Squad previously relied on radar to search for the anomaly."

"You can do that?" Shen Xing was somewhat surprised, but his surprised expression disappeared within a second.

Wen Yan naturally noticed this expression.

A surprised expression shouldn't linger on a person's face for more than a second; if it does, it's most likely an act.

Because Shen Xing was genuinely surprised just now, not acting.

He was unaware that military radar could also detect anomalies, and if this theory were followed, electronic satellites in the sky could also locate the anomalies' hiding places through satellite images they captured.

Does that mean the Ninth Squad is invincible?

"Then why did you go through so much trouble when you were looking for Wang Xinran before?" Shen Xing couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Because there are some places where radar is completely jammed, and satellite images can't capture anything." Wen Yan stretched out his hand, pointed his index finger down to the ground, "This is one of them."

"Can't get a picture?" Shen Xing asked, puzzled.

"Yes, the Ninth Division calls these places the Mother Nest. Usually, the frequency of strange occurrences in these places is much higher than in other places, and the exact reason is still unknown."

"The distribution of the mother nests varies. Some provinces have none at all, some have several, some are in remote mountain villages, and some are directly in densely populated first-tier cities... Evacuating people is almost impossible."

The mother nest.....

This was the first time Shen Xing had encountered this vocabulary word.

As expected, the Ninth Team, equipped with advanced technology, had a much broader perspective than we did.

"The abnormality of Corruption King Xinran has been transferred by the Ninth Detachment, but the fluctuations of the Mother Nest have not disappeared," Wen Yan said. "Therefore, my suggestion is to take you and your sister to the provincial capital, where it will be safer."

Why can't the radar detect this strange thing?

Then Shen Xing couldn't leave either.

If he leaves, won't he be detected by the radar? What's the difference between Shen Xing leaving here and cutting off his own arms? Unless he never studies anomalies again in his life.

The more Wen Yan said this, the more determined Shen Xing became not to leave.

"Is this due to an excessive concentration of strange phenomena? Or is there another reason?" Shen Xing asked curiously.

"We don't know the reason yet. There are two possibilities. The first is that there is a strange and large-scale gathering. The second possibility is that... there is an extremely powerful or enormous anomaly within the mother nest."

Too big?

Upon hearing that word, Shen Xing maintained a perfectly still facial expression, but a slight ripple stirred within him. 【01-Wall】?

Will it be you?

If it's not that, then what anomaly could it be?

"It's so dangerous here, why did you still choose to come?" Shen Xing asked Wen Yan, who was standing beside him. "Shouldn't the external team be able to refuse the Ninth Squad's request?"

"No matter how dangerous it is, someone has to clean up this mess." Wen Yan looked at Shen Xing and said with a smile, "Are we just leaving these people here to fend for themselves after everyone's gone?"

When a person lies, they will unconsciously look at the face of the person asking the question, in order to confirm whether their lie has fooled the other person.

Wen Yan's reason for coming here was definitely not for any grand cause, and similarly, Shen Xing's purpose in asking this question was not out of genuine curiosity. "We're here, let's stay here... To be honest, after seeing the corpse, I feel like I can't eat anything right now." Wen Yan looked away and pointed to the teahouse in front of them.

"You'll get used to it," Shen Xing said, looking in the direction Wen Yan was pointing.

"By the way, your girlfriend, she's the one who was affected by this whole thing, right?" Wen Yan seemed to suddenly remember something and asked, "Her surgery seems to be over. I heard that once she's stabilized, she'll be transferred to the provincial capital... Aren't you going to see her?" "Sigh..." Hearing this, Shen Xing once again pulled out the wry smile he had practiced countless times, sighed, and said, "Her uncle... ...that is, Director Wang who introduced us, has already come to see me."

He said Xin might spend the rest of her life in bed, and told me to forget about the relationship and start a new life, and that they would take good care of her... but I...

Upon hearing this, Wen Yan thought for a moment and decided to do Shen Xing a favor, one that Shen Xing would have no way to refuse.

"Now that you're officially part of the external team, no one can stop you from going," Wen Yan said. "How about I take you to see her later? You really want to see her again, right?"

"Moreover, I've heard that even comatose patients in a vegetative state can sometimes think and hear what others are saying. Besides, her condition isn't entirely vegetative; it's just that her brain is damaged and she's in a state similar to being locked up. She should be able to understand speech and has the ability to think logically."

"Even though the chances are slim, we should still give it a try, right?"

Wen Yan's words were not supported by any medical logic and were entirely based on emotional manipulation.

Is there a chance of waking up?

Then I shouldn't have gone at all.

If Wang Xinran wakes up with damaged memories, that would be fine. But if she wakes up with a fully formed mind, what will she say when questioned by the police? That her own brother sees everyone else as monsters, but Shen Xing as a human?

But once Wen Yan spoke up, Shen Xing simply couldn't refuse.

Because he's now portraying himself as a devoted lover.

"Really?" Shen Xing had to feign delight as he looked at Wen Yan.

"Then we can skip this tea, right?" Wen Yan smiled and said, "Let's go, let's take a taxi."

"Thank you, Professor Wen, I don't know how to thank you enough."

Damn.