I work as a security guard at a cemetery, and I overhear the dead chatting about getting rich quick.

Three days later, at dawn, a construction team entered Qingshan.

The fog was very heavy that day.

The asphalt road outside Qingshan Cemetery was not completely dry, and the grass and leaves along the roadside were covered with water droplets.

When the first white construction vehicle drove up, its headlights were lowered very low.

The vehicle has neatly arranged blue lettering on it:

The second phase expansion project team of Qingshan Cemetery.

Two vans followed behind.

The truck's exterior was very ordinary, like any construction vehicle you could see anywhere in the market. The sides of the truck bed were labeled "Geological Testing Equipment," "Drainage Maintenance Equipment," and "Safety Protection Materials."

An ordinary person would glance at it and not think much of it.

The car was parked on the side of the temporary construction access road on the outer side of the back mountain.

The driver's side door opened, and a man in his forties got out first.

He had a buzz cut, dark skin, wore a gray work jacket, and a pair of old boots covered in mud.

His name is Xing Shanhe.

He's not the kind of person you see in TV dramas who carries a Luoyang shovel and talks about feng shui and dragon veins all the time.

He looks more like a veteran construction foreman who spends years on construction sites.

But after he got out of the car, the first thing he looked at was neither the road nor the cemetery gate.

It's the back mountain.

His gaze was very steady.

Like a hunter who, before heading into the mountains, first determines which way the wind is blowing.

A young man, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, got out of the passenger seat. He was carrying a tool bag and still looked a bit sleepy.

His name is Luo Xiaohu.

Luo Xiaohu rubbed his neck and asked in a low voice, "Brother Shan, what exactly are we searching for this time?"

Xing Shanhe did not turn back.

"Get to work."

"I know how to do the work," Luo Xiaohu glanced at the back of the mountain, "but this setup doesn't seem like ordinary work. They've brought radar, probes, endoscopes, and miniature winches, and they're even following proper construction permits. Are we... groping around in broad daylight?"

Xing Shanhe finally glanced at him.

"Do you want it to be tonight?"

Luo Xiaohu immediately shut up.

Two seconds later, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I'm just curious. A place like Qingshan Cemetery doesn't seem like it would have a large tomb."

Xing Shanhe put the safety helmet on his head.

"Luo Xiaohu".

"Why."

"In our line of work, the worst thing is to be overly curious," Xing Shanhe said in a low voice. "You get paid to do your job, so don't pry into my motives."

Luo Xiaohu nodded awkwardly.

"Understood, Brother Shan."

"If you know, then shut up."

"oh."

The rear door of the van is open.

Several people started carrying boxes down.

The box wasn't big, but it was very heavy.

Four people carried one, and they were very careful when they landed it.

Some of the boxes were labeled "Slope Detector".

Some are labeled "Drainage Pipeline Endoscopic Equipment".

There were also several black boxes with no markings, only numbers.

He walked to the temporary command vehicle and knocked on the door.

The car door was opened from the inside.

Su Tinglan sat in the back row with a construction plan on her lap.

She was dressed very casually today, wearing a light-colored coat, her long hair tied up, and her face was expressionless.

Master Lai sat in the passenger seat, holding a thermos, his eyes half-closed.

He looks like he hasn't woken up yet.

But Xing Shanhe knew that the old man was perfectly lucid.

"Miss Su."

Xing Shanhe bent down to get into the car, then looked at Master Lai.

"Master Lai".

Master Lai raised his eyelids slightly.

"Is everyone here?"

"All of them are here." Xing Shanhe handed over the list. "Ground team, detection team, culvert team, control team, logistics team. All the publicly identified members are on the construction team roster, and their certificates, work badges, insurance, and temporary registrations all match."

Su Tinglan took the list.

"Where's the equipment?"

"Everything is here," Xing Shanhe said. "We have two sets of ground-penetrating radar, one set of deep-penetrating probes, three sets of pipeline endoscopes, as well as miniature winches, high-intensity lights, support frames, gas detectors, and robots."

Master Lai unscrewed the lid of the thermos and blew on it.

"Let me make this clear first, I won't be digging deep."

Xing Shanhe nodded.

"Know."

Master Lai looked at him.

"Knowing is one thing, but don't get itchy fingers."

Xing Shanhe smiled.

"Master Lai, rest assured. I've been in this business for so many years, I know best which places you can touch and which places you can only look at."

Master Lai snorted.

"I can only believe half of what you guys say at most."

Luo Xiaohu happened to be passing by outside and, upon hearing this, couldn't help but glance into the car.

Xing Shanhe swept his gaze across the room coldly.

Luo Xiaohu immediately grabbed the box and ran.

Su Tinglan spread out the floor plan.

"In the first phase, we will only work on the reserved land behind the mountain and the old drainage culvert area."

Xing Shanhe looked down at the picture.

On the drawings, the center of the old cemetery area was completely avoided.

The red circle marks the foot of the back slope, the outside of the old drainage culvert, the edge of the west slope, and the old dirt road leading to the reserved land for the second phase.

Su Tinglan said, "The stated reasons have already been written down."

She pushed the documents over.

"Fire exit upgrades"

"Slope reinforcement".

"Drainage system renovation".

"Anti-settlement maintenance of old cemetery areas".

"Expansion of greening on the back mountain."

"All the necessary permits are in order, and the construction team is operating normally during the day. The ordinary workers are just doing ordinary work, while the core equipment is operated by your people."

Xing Shanhe nodded.

Footsteps could be heard outside the car.

The two men walked to the command vehicle.

One male and one female.

The man was tall, had a cold face, wore a black coat, and stood like a nail.

The woman had short hair, wore black gloves, had a calm gaze, and carried an inconspicuous small bag on her waist.

The man's name is Chen Jin.

The woman's name is Bai Yuan.

Like Xiaoman, she also comes from Qingquetang.

They're not here to do construction.

They came to protect Su Tinglan and Master Lai.

Bai Yuan opened the car door in a very low voice.

"We've checked the surrounding area; there are no abnormalities so far."

Chen Jin continued, "There are two blind spots at the back of the mountain, and we have already arranged for people to fill those spots."

Master Lai looked up and glanced at them.

"Me, an old man, need two knives to guard me?"

Bai Yuan said, "Command."

Master Lai clicked his tongue.

"You all talk the same way."

Su Tinglan glanced at the two of them, her finger pausing briefly at the edge of the drawing.

She thought of Xiaoman.

I remember Xiaoman standing next to Lin Ye, chewing on a mint and looking at people indifferently.

Not only are they unlikable, they're also a nuisance.

Xing Shanhe put away the list.

"Are there any other people I should specifically avoid?"

Su Tinglan looked up.

There's a night shift security guard named Lin Ye.

Xing Shanhe paused for a moment.

"Is it the one I mentioned above?"

"Um."

Master Lai glanced at Su Tinglan but said nothing.

Su Tinglan continued, "Don't make contact with him, and don't let him get close to the core equipment. Continue normal construction during the day, and don't expose anything unnecessary. If you need to advance the work at night, notify me in advance."

Xing Shanhe asked, "What if he gets close to the fence?"

"Treat this like a regular staff member," Su Tinglan said. "Assert them to leave; don't resort to violence."

"clear."

Before Xing Shanhe got out of the car, Master Lai suddenly said, "Xing Shanhe."

Xingshan River turns back.

Master Lai, holding his thermos, looked towards the back of the mountain.

"This place isn't clean, don't try to apply your old methods."

Xing Shanhe remained silent for two seconds.

"I've got it."

It was exactly 9:00 AM.

The second phase of the expansion of Qingshan Cemetery has officially commenced.

The director of the management office was present in person.

People from the urban construction department came, and people from the fire department also came.

The supervisor held a folder, the safety officer wore a red armband, and the construction team erected a blue fence around the reserved land on the back mountain.

One fence after another was erected, quickly covering the outer side of the back mountain completely.

Large safety notices are posted on the outside:

Construction site, no unauthorized personnel allowed.

Fire lane upgrades are underway; please use alternative routes.

Do not approach the slope reinforcement area.

Drainage system renovation, please pay attention to safety.

For the maintenance of the old cemetery area to prevent subsidence, please follow the instructions of the staff.

It looks very professional.

It's so perfect that you can't find any fault with it.

Lin Ye stood at the entrance of the security booth, watching the construction vehicles enter through the side gate, and remained silent for a long time.

Xiaoman stood next to him, chewing on a mint.

Uncle Zhao came out of the security booth, still holding an enamel mug in his hand.

He glanced at the fence in the distance.

"Phase two has begun."

Lin Ye turned to look at him.

"Uncle Zhao, you knew this all along?"

Uncle Zhao took a sip of tea.

"The announcement has been posted."

"The notice was only posted today."

"Then we'll find out today."

That's very much like Uncle Zhao's words.

It was also very perfunctory.

Lin Ye didn't try to beat around the bush with him.

"The old drainage culvert is also within the construction area."

Uncle Zhao paused for a moment.

very short.

"It's written in the announcement."

"What a coincidence?"

Uncle Zhao looked at him.

"There are many coincidences in this world. Winning five dollars in the lottery is also a coincidence."

Lin Ye said, "But as soon as I found out there was a problem with the old drainage ditch, they started to modify the drainage system."

There was a half-second of silence outside the security booth.

Uncle Zhao put down his cup.

"What did you investigate?"

Lin Ye didn't answer.

Uncle Zhao's face slowly darkened.

"Linye."

"Um."

"Are you having second thoughts about living again lately?"

Lin Ye touched the tip of his nose.

"I've been behaving myself lately."

"Honest?" Uncle Zhao sneered. "Your honesty is like a dog passing by a butcher shop without opening its mouth. It looks like it's holding back, but its eyes are practically glued to the meat."

Lin Ye: "..."

Xiaoman paused for a moment while chewing candy.

It's as if they felt this metaphor was worth keeping.

Lin Ye sighed.

"Uncle Zhao, I didn't mean to rush in."

Uncle Zhao stared at him for a few seconds.

"That would be best."

After he finished speaking, he turned and walked towards the security booth.

As he reached the door, he left with another sentence:

"Don't get too close to the construction site. Don't get close during the day, and definitely don't get close at night."

Lin Ye watched his retreating figure.

"What exactly do you know?"

Uncle Zhao stopped in his tracks.

He didn't turn around.

After a long pause, he said, "I know that if you get involved any further, you'll end up burying yourself in the mud sooner or later."

The door closed.

The radio in the security booth rang out softly.

Lin Ye stood still, without moving.

Xiaoman said, "He was very scared."

Lin Ye looked at her.

"You noticed?"

"Um."

"What are you afraid of?"

Xiaoman looked towards the back mountain.

"have no idea."

Lin Ye also looked over.

The construction site fence is already halfway up.

Workers, dressed in work clothes, pushed carts back and forth.

Someone is nailing down signs.

Someone has set up a safety net.

Someone is carrying cement bags.

The supervisor is taking photos.

The director of the management office accompanied the urban construction workers to look at the blueprints.

Family members who are simply passing by during a routine tomb-sweeping visit might glance at the grave at most.

An older woman carrying flowers asked softly, "Sir, will you be leaving the old cemetery area untouched?"

The staff member smiled and said, "Nothing, don't worry, Auntie. It's just an upgrade of the fire lane on the back mountain, and we'll fix the drainage system while we're at it."

The woman breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good. It's good to have it repaired; it's really difficult to walk there when it rains."

Lin Ye listened, and his heart sank.

This is the most troublesome part.

It didn't come secretly.

It came during the day.

There are fences, supervisors, approvals, safety helmets, and public notice boards.

To the average person, the cemetery would just look like it's under normal maintenance.

No one would think this was a group of tomb raiders with equipment.

No one would know that what they were really eyeing was the old drainage culvert and the cavity under the back hill.

Lin Ye walked a few steps toward the fence.

Xiaoman followed.

"You want to come closer?"

"Just look."

"Don't go in."

"I know."

He stood outside the cordon, watching from a distance.

Xing Shanhe was standing in front of a makeshift table, meeting with the supervisors and management staff.

He was wearing a safety helmet and holding a measuring tape and blueprints; he looked like an ordinary construction supervisor.

Luo Xiaohu squatted to the side, organizing the toolbox.

As he tidied up, he couldn't help but glance in the direction of the old drainage culvert.

Xing Shanhe said in a low voice, "Keep your eyes away."

Luo Xiaohu immediately lowered his head.

"Know."

"Do only what you do during the day."

"Brother Shan, I just want to take a look."

"Even if you do look at it, don't look at it too much." Xing Shanhe's voice was very low. "People on ordinary construction sites don't stare at a culvert."

Luo Xiaohu was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening.

"clear."

Lin Ye was standing far away and couldn't hear what they were saying.

But he could see the expressions on their faces.

One is too stable.

One was too nervous.

They don't look like ordinary construction teams.

Xiaoman saw it too.

"Those two are not right."

Lin Ye asked, "What's wrong?"

"The one in charge has been trained," Xiaoman said. "The younger guy is afraid of him, not like a worker is afraid of a foreman, but more like a novice is afraid of a master."

Lin Ye frowned.

"Tomb raiders?"

Xiaoman looked at him.

"You know?"

"Just a guess."

"It's possible," Xiaoman said.

Lin Ye's throat was a little dry.

He had only ever seen tomb raiders in novels before.

Seeing these kinds of people in Qingshan now makes me feel really uncomfortable.

It looked more like someone was carrying professional tools and preparing to dismantle his floor.

Before noon, the first white line around the construction area was drawn.

The white and gray lines are drawn along the reserved land on the back hill.

Red paint markings were sprayed on the ground.

A1.

A2.

B1.

C3.

One of the thin lines runs from the foot of the back hillside to the outside of the old drainage culvert.

Lin Ye stared at that line.

The more I looked at it, the colder I felt inside.

It and the area in the early construction documents that Ningzhi showed him were almost overlapping.

He took out his phone, took pictures of the construction notice and the area outside the fence, and sent them to Ning Zhi.

Construction has begun.

Ningzhi returned a few minutes later.

"Holy crap."

The next one pops up quickly.

"Is your cemetery operating on rocket speed? I just found out there was a problem with the old drainage ditch, and they're already renovating the drainage system?"

Lin Ye looked at the screen.

No reply.

Because that's what he was thinking too.

too fast.

What a coincidence!

It was so coincidental that it seemed like someone didn't care at all that he had noticed.

Or rather, the other party felt that even if he figured it out, he couldn't stop him.

In the afternoon, regular construction officially began.

First, clear the weeds from the fire lane.

Piling and positioning have begun in the slope reinforcement area.

The drainage system renovation team drew up the pipeline diagram.

The anti-settlement maintenance of the old cemetery area only symbolically measured the outer perimeter and did not extend into the central cemetery area.

Everything is proceeding as announced.

Not at all out of line.

Ordinary people wouldn't see the problem.

Lin Ye, however, became increasingly annoyed the more he looked at it.

Because he knew that what truly mattered was hidden within the "normal."

Around 3 p.m., Lao Liu came out of the management office and handed Lin Ye a temporary work arrangement sheet.

"Please adjust your night patrol routes for the next few days."

Lin Ye took it and looked at it.

The reserved land behind the mountain and the old drainage culvert area have been cordoned off as a construction control zone.

The night patrol route circles around the outside.

"Aren't you patrolling inside the construction site?"

Old Liu frowned.

"The construction company has people on duty, what are you doing going in? Who will take responsibility if there's a safety accident?"

Lin Ye pointed to the column about the old drainage culvert.

"Are there people here at night too?"

"Equipment debugging," Lao Liu said. "Some tests are more accurate at night because of interference during the day."

Lin Ye looked at him.

Old Liu grew impatient with the stares.

"Why are you asking such detailed questions, you're just a security guard?"

Lin Ye smiled.

"I'm afraid I'll get lost in the middle of the night."

Old Liu tucked the pen behind his ear.

"Just don't go to the wrong place."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Lin Ye looked down at the work schedule.

Black and white on white paper.

Route adjustment.

Entry into the construction restricted area is prohibited.

Contact the project safety officer in case of any abnormal situation.

He twitched the corner of his mouth.

The arrangements are quite clear.

Move him away from the old drainage culvert.

Block the road.

Give another set of legitimate reasons.

Lin Ye folded up the schedule and stuffed it into his pocket.

In the evening, Su Tinglan sent a message.

"I heard your cemetery is going to start construction?"

Lin Ye stared at the sentence for a few seconds.

He looked up.

In the distance, inside the construction fence, a row of construction lights had just come on.

Before it even got dark, the lights were already prepared.

Lin Ye lowered his head to reply to the message.

"Um."

Su Tinglan quickly sent another message:

"Are you busy?"

Lin Ye looked at the screen.

He knew she was testing him.

I also know that she probably knows everything.

But he still replied.

"busy."

Su Tinglan: "Then be careful."

Lin Ye stared at the words "Be careful" and suddenly smiled.

Xiaoman looked at him.

"What did she say?"

"Tell me to be careful."

Xiaoman remained expressionless.

"She knew it was dangerous."

Lin Ye tucked the phone into his palm.

"Um."

Night slowly descended.

Ordinary workers gradually left.

The supervisors and management personnel also left.

Only the construction team's personnel remained inside the fence, along with a few dimly lit construction lights.

Qingshan Cemetery has returned to its quiet state at night.

The dead people in the East District started chatting in bits and pieces.

Grandma Zhao complained that the construction team was noisy during the day, saying the noise was giving her a headache.

The old man next door said he'd been dead for twenty years, and this was the first time he'd felt that even the dead needed to protect their rights.

Lin Ye listened, but didn't laugh.

He stood on the outer edge of the west section, looking towards the back mountain.

Behind the fence, the machine noise was very low.

hum.

hum.

It's like something is slowly waking up underground.