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

When Lin Ye was taken to the car, the lights were still on on the back slope of Qingshan.

It's not a construction light.

There are seven cold light lamps.

Bundles of them were swept across the drainage ditches, overgrown weeds, and old canal openings.

Box number three was covered by a sealing bag, with the lid open, and the ash, gravel, and stone slabs inside were photographed separately.

The people from the seventh department did not touch it directly.

They used long-handled clips to separate the contents little by little.

The movements are very slow.

They were also very cautious.

Lin Ye sat in the back seat of the car, his wrists still strapped with restraints.

Xiaoman was taken to another vehicle.

She glanced at him before getting into the car.

Lin Ye wanted to say something, but the car door had already closed.

With a bang.

It shut out the outside lights and wind.

There were only two people from the Seventh Division in the car.

One sat in the passenger seat, and the other sat next to Lin Ye.

No one spoke.

Lin Ye didn't ask.

His ears are too quiet right now.

It was eerily quiet.

Old Li is gone.

Boss Wei is gone.

Grandma Zhao is gone too.

Even when the mountains were deserted at night, there were always a few gossiping voices arguing underground.

It looks like someone has covered the entire cemetery with a thick cloth.

Everything was stifling.

He couldn't help but look out the window.

It was pitch black in the direction of the back mountain.

Master Lai has disappeared without a trace.

The car started.

The passenger in the front seat pressed his earpiece and whispered:

"The suspects were transferred to other vehicles."

"Key personnel are being held in solitary confinement."

"The pursuit team is still on the right flank."

A response came quickly from the earpiece:

"The objective is to break out of the first containment zone."

"Repeat, the target is to break out of the first containment zone."

"There seems to be someone providing backup."

The passenger's face darkened.

Lin Ye heard this, but didn't say anything.

No one would believe him even if he told them.

Besides, he himself only knew a little bit.

Not a single person from Master Lai ran away.

He must have another plan.

At the same time, on the outer side of the back slope of Qingshan Mountain, at the end of the abandoned maintenance road.

Master Lai stopped, leaning against a crooked locust tree.

His left shoulder was still bleeding.

The wound on his calf was more severe; with every step he took, blood seeped out of his trouser leg.

An ordinary person would have collapsed long ago.

He simply glanced down at it.

Like seeing a little mud on clothes.

Ahead, a black van without license plates was parked in the shadows of the trees.

The car lights were off.

Two people were standing next to the car.

One was wearing a gray windbreaker, and the other was wearing a baseball cap.

Upon seeing Master Lai emerge, both of their expressions changed.

Are you injured?

Master Lai raised his hand.

"It's alright."

He spoke softly, but his breathing was clearly disordered.

The man in gray tried to come over and help.

Master Lai dodged to the side.

"The box is gone."

The two froze.

Master Lai spread out his right hand.

The gray-black fragment lay in my palm.

It still looks unremarkable.

Like a piece of cracked stone skin.

The two people next to the car both lowered their heads, not daring to look any longer.

Master Lai stuffed the fragment into a black cylinder that had been prepared beforehand.

The inner wall of the cylinder was lined with a thick layer of grayish-white cloth, the material of which was unknown.

As soon as the fragment entered, the surrounding wind seemed to pause slightly.

Master Lai then got into the car.

The car door closed.

The man in gray took out a first-aid kit and said in a low voice, "Treat the wounds first."

Master Lai leaned back in his chair.

"Drive first."

"Where to?"

"The old dock."

The car did not start immediately.

The man in gray hesitated for a moment.

"The back mountain has been sealed off, and it's not necessarily safe in the city either."

Master Lai closed his eyes.

"So we'll travel by water."

He took out an old cell phone.

The phone screen is cracked and the SIM card slot has been altered.

He dialed a number.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered.

A man's voice came from the other end.

It's slow, but also steady.

"You're too late."

Master Lai smiled, but there was blood at the corner of his mouth.

"I almost didn't make it back."

There was a half-second pause on the other end of the phone.

"Where are the things?"

Master Lai glanced at the black cylinder at his feet.

"exist."

The sound from the other end finally changed.

"Sure?"

"I picked it myself."

The other end of the phone went quiet.

After a few seconds, the man said:

"Who stopped them?"

"Seven places."

"You've been exposed?"

Master Lai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb.

"They've had their eyes on Qingshan for a while now."

The person on the other end of the phone sounded a little cold.

"How much was lost?"

Master Lai did not answer immediately.

Su Tinglan.

Chen Jin.

White kite.

Xing Shanhe and his group.

They were all left behind in the green hills.

His face didn't show much expression.

"This is all I can bring out."

The person on the other end of the phone didn't ask any further questions.

very realistic.

It's also very clean.

What do you want?

Master Lai looked up at the mountain shadows rushing past the car window.

"Prepare the ships for departure."

"tonight?"

"The sooner the better."

"You are badly injured."

"So I'm going back to headquarters."

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

"Old Wharf Berth No. 3"

"Someone will pick you up in an hour."

Master Lai nodded in agreement.

The person on the other end of the phone said again:

"Wenren Heng is waiting for you."

Master Lai's smile faded.

"Tell him not to wait too long."

The phone hangs up.

The only sound inside the car was the low rumble of the engine.

The man in gray finally started the car.

The black van glided into the night along the maintenance road and quickly disappeared behind the trees.

On the Qingshan side, Lin Ye was led to a temporary control point.

The location is not at the main entrance of the cemetery.

It looks like a temporary prefabricated house erected next to the expansion construction area.

Several unlicensed cars were parked outside.

The lights inside are very bright.

It was so bright it hurt your eyes.

Lin Ye was forced onto a metal chair.

The wrist straps were still on.

There were two people sitting opposite me.

One of the people in charge asked.

One person is responsible for recording.

They didn't immediately interrogate Xuan Gui, nor did they ask him what he had heard.

The first question is quite ordinary.

"Name."

"Linye."

"Profession."

"Night shift security guard at Qingshan Cemetery".

Why was it located in an underground burial area?

Lin Ye looked at the table.

"They were taken away."

"Who will take you down?"

Lin Ye looked up.

"Many of the people you arrested probably know this."

The person on the other end wasn't angry.

Just keep asking:

"What is your relationship with Xing Shanhe?"

"Not familiar with them."

"With Su Tinglan?"

Lin Ye paused for a moment.

"I thought we knew each other."

The person taking notes looked up at him.

The person asking the question continued:

"And Lai Changqing?"

Lin Ye took a moment to process what they were talking about before realizing they were referring to Master Lai.

"hostility."

The person asking the question glanced at him and wrote down what he said.

They didn't investigate further.

At least not in the first round.

The questioning continued until dawn.

The problem keeps coming back and forth.

Qingshan expansion.

underground entrance.

Shimen.

The main chapel.

Box No. 3

Lai Changqing.

Lin Ye said what he could say, and said he didn't know what he couldn't say.

That's not entirely a lie.

There are many things he really doesn't know.

For example, where does Master Lai intend to take that thing?

For example, what exactly is Su Tinglan's identity?

For example, Xing Shanhe and his group prepared several lines before entering the tomb.

But there were some things he didn't say.

For example, he heard "the jade tablet was taken out of the box".

For example, he knows where the real contents of box number three are.

For example, Qingshan is now silent.

Saying these things out loud will only lead you into a deeper pit.

The next morning, he was moved to another room.

The room is even smaller.

There are no windows.

There was a glass of water and a boxed lunch on the table.

Lin Ye glanced at the boxed lunch.

Vegetables, eggs, and rice.

It's not poisonous.

But I had no appetite.

When the door opened, Xiaoman was brought in.

Her wrist was wrapped in a temporary brace, and her face remained cold.

Lin Ye stood up instinctively.

The seven people nearby immediately looked at him.

Xiaoman spoke first:

"sit."

Lin Ye had no choice but to sit back down.

The people from the Seventh Division arranged for the two to sit across from each other at the table.

They weren't allowed to get too close.

The person asking the questions has changed.

The same old problems.

But this time, the questions were much more detailed.

"Xiaoman, that's my real name."

"Jiang Man".

"The purpose of coming to Qingshan."

"Protect the forests and fields."

"Who arranged this?"

Xiaoman glanced at the other person.

Gu Wantang.

The person asking the questions took notes.

Why did Gu Wantang assign you to protect him?

"have no idea."

"you do not know?"

"I only accept missions."

That sounds really rude.

But she spoke very calmly.

The person who asked the question paused for a moment, then looked at Lin Ye.

Do you know why Gu Wantang sent people to protect you?

Lin Ye said, "Maybe I'm just annoying."

Xiaoman glanced at him.

Lin Ye immediately added, "It's also possible that I got into trouble before."

The person asking the question did not respond to his joke.

"What's the trouble?"

Lin Ye said everything he could.

Ningzhi Chaqingshan.

Uncle Zhao was threatened.

Su Tinglan approached him.

The underground entrance has been tampered with.

He spoke incoherently.

Like an ordinary person caught up in something.

In fact, he was indeed drawn into it.

After noon, he and Xiaoman were separated again.

Su Tinglan did not reappear.

Xing Shanhe didn't have it either.

Chen Jin, Bai Yuan, and the thin captain were even less likely to be included.

The entire lockdown point is like a machine.

Everyone was separated.

Every sentence was recorded.

Each statement was then cross-referenced.

On the third day, Lin Ye clearly sensed that the problem had changed.

The person asking the question no longer just asked him "What happened?"

Instead, they started asking:

"Why were you the one who said we shouldn't touch the black jade fragments in front of the stone gate?"

Lin Ye's eyelids twitched slightly.

"I guessed."

"In the culvert, why were you the one judging by the sound of flowing water, and not the windy spot?"

"Environmental assessment".

"Why did Lai Changqing keep asking you questions in the main chapel?"

"have no idea."

Xing Shanhe said, "You've been giving them directions the whole way."

Lin Ye looked up.

The person asking the question looked at him.

There was no coercion.

They simply turned over another statement.

"The skinny captain said, 'You once said, "The voice on the walkie-talkie isn't necessarily a living person."'"

Lin Ye didn't say anything.

The other party continued:

"Su Tinglan said that you reacted the most strongly to box number three."

Lin Ye twitched his finger.

The person asking the question saw it.

But they didn't pursue it immediately.

He simply put down his pen.

"Lin Ye, do you know something that others don't?"

Lin Ye looked at him.

After a few seconds, he said:

"When people stay down there for too long, they all start to get all weird and confused."

The person asking the question nodded.

"Can."

He closed the file.

That's all for today.

When Lin Ye was taken back to the temporary room, his heart sank even more.

They didn't expose them directly.

But they've already started thinking in that direction.

On the evening of the fourth day, Lin Ye and Xiao Man were taken to another office.

There was no restraint strap this time.

On the table were two cell phones, an old wallet, a set of keys, and Xiaoman's small black bag.

When Lin Ye saw his phone, his first reaction wasn't actually happiness.

Rather, it was a guilty conscience.

Because there was also a transparent evidence bag on the table.

Inside the evidence bag was a small notebook.

Black cover.

The edges and corners were worn white.

Lin Ye recognized him at a glance.

his.

Aoyama's night shift notebook.

That thing used to be kept in his duty room drawer.

The first few pages listed patrol times, broken lights in the cemetery, and which family had left their offerings lying around.

It got more and more outrageous after that.

Old Li.

Boss Wei.

Old Mrs. Zhao.

snuff bottle.

Stamp album.

Secondhand goods street.

Revolving vases from an arts and crafts factory.

There are also some random keywords.

Many of them were notes he jotted down because he was afraid of forgetting them.

I didn't think much of it when I wrote it.

Now that it's in the evidence bag, it looks really dangerous.

Lin Ye stared at the notebook, remaining silent for a long time.

Xiaoman saw it too.

She turned her head to look at him.

His eyes clearly showed his expression.

You still have this?

Lin Ye returned her a look.

Don't ask, the answer is just youthful ignorance.

The person sitting in the office was the leader from the night in the back hill.

He pushed the phone to Lin Ye.

"The relationship between the two of you has been basically clarified."

The forest didn't move.

The man continued:

"Jiang Man, Gu Wantang's side has confirmed it. She was entrusted to protect you and will not participate in the looting or the transfer of the abnormal objects."

Xiaoman's expression remained unchanged.

"Can I go now?"

"Can."

The man looked at Lin Ye.

"Lin Ye, your situation is a bit complicated."

Lin Ye's heart skipped a beat.

coming.

The man didn't immediately mention the notebook.

"It can be confirmed that you were not an active participant."

"You were coerced into the catacombs."

"You did not participate in the excavation, transportation, or relocation of the core artifacts."

Lin Ye relaxed a little.

The man changed the subject:

"But throughout this whole incident, you were clearly more than just an ordinary person who was coerced."

The office fell silent.

Lin Ye looked at him.

The man reached out and tapped the transparent evidence bag.

"This notebook was found in the duty room of Qingshan Cemetery."

"We conducted cross-comparisons."

"Some of the clues you recorded in your notebook overlap with several recent cases of antique item transactions, secondhand goods trading, and underground tomb incidents in Qingshan."

Lin Ye didn't say anything.

The person continued:

"Xing Shanhe's confession, Su Tinglan's confession, and other people's descriptions all mentioned this point."

"At crucial junctures, Lai Changqing kept pressuring you to speak."

"And after you finished speaking, most of the team survived."

Lin Ye's throat was a little dry.

He glanced at the water glass.

I didn't drink it.

The person opposite him looked at him, their tone remaining calm.

"So we won't ask you why you went into the tomb."

"We'll ask you later why you always seem to know in advance."

Xiaoman's eyes turned cold.

"You said to release them."

The man looked at her.

"It's about releasing them."

He pushed his phone and keys forward.

"You can leave the lockdown area."

"But do not leave Nanjing or the area around Qingshan in the near future."

Lin Ye asked, "Does this count as releasing them?"

The man looked at him.

"Calculate."

He paused, then added:

"Just don't take it as a sign that everything is fine."

Lin Ye remained silent.

This sentence has seven points.

I won't arrest you.

But I don't intend to let you go either.

Xiaoman picked up her small black bag and checked its contents.

She moved very slowly.

Only after confirming that nothing was missing did I put it on my shoulder.

She looked at the small notebook in the evidence bag.

"Aren't you going to return this?"

The man said, "Temporarily detained."

Lin Ye felt a pang of heartache.

It's not that the notebook is valuable.

It contains too many things that cannot be shown to others.

He couldn't help but say, "Those are my work records."

The man looked at him.

Why does your work log contain entries like "Old Li Talks About Snuff Bottles"?

Lin Ye: "..."

There was a two-second silence in the office.

Xiaoman turned her face away.

It seemed like he held back for a moment.

Lin Ye took a deep breath.

"I have a bad memory, I just wrote it down randomly."

The man nodded.

"Can."

"You can continue to explain it this way next time we talk."

Lin Ye didn't take it as a compliment at all.

It was already dark when the two of them came out of the lockdown point.

It's very cold outside.

There was a cordon in the direction of Qingshan, and lights in the distance.

Lin Ye stood by the roadside and turned his phone back on.

The message popped up instantly.

There are dozens of branches.

Uncle Zhao, a few lines.

There's also one from Gu Wantang.

very short.

"Call me back after you get out."

Xiaoman stood next to him.

His right hand was still wrapped with a fixation strap.

She looked towards the direction of Qingshan.

"Did you hear that?"

Lin Ye did not answer immediately.

He closed his eyes.

At this time of year, the area around Qingshan would have been bustling with activity.

Old Li would scold Boss Wei for his foul mouth.

Grandma Zhao would find them noisy.

There are also a few unfamiliar graves where people chat about who burned fake ingots today.

But now, there isn't.

It was empty.

It was so empty it was as if the entire cemetery had fallen asleep.