Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 522 provides clues

The short-haired woman didn't answer immediately. The phone on the table rang. She glanced down at the screen, answered, and hummed twice. Her expression grew increasingly serious.

The person on the other end of the phone spoke very quickly, and Xu Xiaoyan couldn't hear what they were saying.

But from the short-haired woman's increasingly furrowed brows and increasingly short replies, she could sense that something was wrong.

"Okay, I understand... Yes, I just saw it on the computer screen, the person who reported the incident is still here... um, she hasn't left yet... Okay, I've already told her to wait."

The short-haired woman hung up the phone, let out a long sigh, and looked up at Xu Xiaoyan.

"Wait a moment," the short-haired woman said. "Some military personnel are coming to ask you some questions."

Xu Xiaoyan was stunned for a moment. The military? She reported a missing friend to the police, how did it involve the military?

Although Qing City is not large, it is not the kind of place where even trivial matters can alarm the military.

Is it really necessary for the military to make a special trip just because a girl can't be contacted? Unless the matter is much bigger than she imagines.

The short-haired woman probably noticed her confusion, but she didn't explain anything. She simply came out from behind the counter and turned on all the fluorescent lights in the lobby.

The lights instantly illuminated the entire hall, and she moved a chair to the counter, gesturing for Xu Xiaoyan to sit down and wait.

Xu Xiaoyan sat down as instructed, her mind racing.

The military is coming. What does that mean? It seems that Blue Moon's disappearance is not an isolated case.

This matter has most likely reached a level where "military force needs to be used." Could it be related to upstream flood discharge?

Fifteen minutes later, the sound of car engines could be heard in the distance, getting closer and closer. It wasn't just one car, but a whole convoy.

Xu Xiaoyan stood up and walked to the door.

The convoy stopped in the square in front of the trading center. Three military green trucks, their headlights still on, illuminated the entire square.

Soldiers in camouflage uniforms were sitting in the back of the trucks. It was impossible to tell how many there were, but judging from the size of the convoy, there were at least several dozen.

The passenger door of the truck at the front opened, and a person jumped out.

The man was wearing a crisp military uniform, was very tall, and walked with long, steady strides, his boots making rhythmic sounds as they pounded on the concrete.

Behind him followed a squad of about twenty soldiers, lined up in two rows, marching in unison, all with their eyes fixed ahead.

Xu Xiaoyan leaned against the door frame, watching the small group walk over in a grand procession.

The leader walked straight into the trading center hall, his gaze sweeping around before locking onto Xu Xiaoyan with unmistakable accuracy.

"Hello," he said, walking up to Xu Xiaoyan. "Did you report a female friend missing?"

Xu Xiaoyan nodded.

"What's your name?"

"Xu Xiaoyan".

"What's your friend's name?"

"Blue Moon".

The officer took a small notebook out of his pocket, opened it, and wrote a few words on it.

"Tell me the specifics."

Xu Xiaoyan took a deep breath. She knew that the next few words were crucial. If she said them well, the military would take this matter seriously and would put in the effort to find Lan Yue.

If not handled properly, they might treat it as a regular missing person case, pass it on to the next level, and then let it go.

She needs to make this matter sound big, serious, and worthy of attention.

But she couldn't make up a lie, because the person standing opposite her was a military officer. If she told him a lie, he could find out within five minutes.

At that point, your credibility in his eyes will be ruined, and no matter how much truth you tell afterward, it will be useless.

So, based on the truth, she rearranged and emphasized the key point: "I suspect my friend has been kidnapped by an organization."

The officer's eyebrows twitched. He didn't interrupt her, but simply pressed the pen tip against the notebook and waited.

Three days ago, my friend Lan Yue secretly came to tell me something.

Her boss told her that the dam would release a lot of water in three days, and that big fish could be caught downstream, so all the staff in the store took leave to go.

She came to tell me behind her boss's back, and then hurriedly went back, saying that she had made a false excuse to pee so as not to be suspected.

The officer scribbled rapidly in his notebook, the pen scratching softly.

"Then I believed what she said, so I bought a fishing net and a fish basket, and set off downstream early this morning."

But when I got downstream, I found that the speed and scale of the water level rise were completely wrong.

That wasn't normal water release, it was flood discharge. I was almost swept away by the water, but I escaped with my life because I ran fast.

Xu Xiaoyan paused for a moment, "After I came back, I went to her house and knocked on the door, but no one was home."

Then I went to the shop where she worked. The shop was closed, the shutter door was down, and there was a notice on the door saying "Internal Adjustment".

I asked the shop next door, and they said that a white van took everything from the shop around 7 p.m. last night, and the shop was closed this morning. Blue Moon has disappeared.

She slowed down her speech at this point and brought out her final "inference".

"When I went to buy a fishing net, the owner of the fishing tackle shop told me that several people came to buy nets early this morning, all of whom came because they heard that the dam was going to release water."

A shop owner told his employees that the dam was releasing water, and the employees then told their friends, who in turn told their friends.

So many people heard the same message at the same time, and the content of the message was highly consistent.

"Three days later, the dam gates were opened wide, and big fish could be caught downstream. I think this is definitely not a coincidence."

The officer put down his pen and looked at her.

Xu Xiaoyan knew that her next words were like walking a tightrope. She had no evidence, no solid logical chain, and couldn't even produce the most basic supporting evidence.

But she needs a compelling explanation to convince the military to treat this as a "case" and investigate it.

"I think someone is deliberately spreading false information to cover up something else."

As for what that incident was, whether it was an organization kidnapping people or covering up some other secret, I don't know.

But I really can't get in touch with my friend Lan Yue. Her boss has run away, and the shop has been emptied. I really don't think this is a coincidence.

The officer was silent for a few seconds, wrote a line in his notebook, then closed the notebook and put it in his pocket.

He looked at Xu Xiaoyan and said, "We will verify all the information you provided. Go back and wait for news. We will handle your friend's matter."

Xu Xiaoyan opened her mouth, as if to say something, but the officer had already turned away.

He gestured to the soldiers behind him, and the twenty men turned around in unison and strode out of the trading center.

Xu Xiaoyan took two steps and stood at the door, watching the group of people get onto the truck.

The doors slammed shut, the engines started, and the three military green trucks turned around, their headlights sweeping across the square before disappearing into the night.

She stood at the doorway, watching the taillights of the cars grow smaller and smaller until they became three blurry red dots, and then disappeared completely.

The short-haired woman walked out from behind the counter, still holding the cup of tea in her hand, and stood next to Xu Xiaoyan. The two of them looked together in the direction where the convoy had disappeared.

"So many people have come," the short-haired woman muttered to herself. "Looks like this is no small matter."