Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The news of Chen Wen's survival hit everyone like a time bomb.

Simultaneously, the ensuing mystery involved a corpse suddenly dredged from the riverbed and a dagger inexplicably bearing Zhang Daguo's fingerprints.

"I'm heading over immediately."

Realizing the drowning case might be connected to the deceased Zhang Daguo, Si Muyun didn't hesitate. Disregarding his uniform with the missing button, he ended the communication, grabbed his car keys, and rushed out.

"Captain, what about the detained homeless man?"

"Keep him confined."

"But Captain, he's just a witness with low suspicion. Under galactic law, we can only hold him for 48 hours at most. It's already been two days—keeping him longer isn't advisable." Wang Xiao cautiously studied Si Muyun's expression as he voiced his doubt. "Captain, do you really have no connection with him?"

Si Muyun's expression remained mild for the first two sentences, but at the last one, it turned icy. He said impassively, "Wang Xiao, should I grant you a long vacation until you find a significant other before returning to work?"

Knowing he'd misspoken, Wang Xiao rubbed his nose awkwardly, complaining inwardly that Captain Si's temper had become unpredictable ever since encountering the vagrant.

With a strong sense of self-preservation, he said, "Captain, I was wrong. I won't bring it up again."

Si Muyun looked at him coldly, thinking he never learned—never changes, always repeating mistakes, just like Lin Youhan locked in the interrogation room.

"If he can't be held, release him. Smooth-talkers aren't worth keeping."

With that answer, Wang Xiao responded cheerfully, "Alright, Captain! I'll go release him right away."

Hearing this, Si Muyun, who had taken a few steps, stumbled, his toe stubbing against the floor tiles, nearly falling flat.

When he turned back, Wang Xiao had already vanished.

Si Muyun twitched his mouth—was Wang Xiao a spy sent by Lin Youhan?

-

In the interrogation room, Lin Youhan boredly stood on a chair, gazing out the window. The police station was built deep within residential buildings; outside, rows of structures stood at a distance, not very clear, with only the roar of passing aircraft audible.

He sighed—the 48 hours were long up, so why wasn't he released yet?

As if sensing something, he heard a click behind him. Turning, he saw the interrogation room door open.

He immediately jumped off the chair, straightened his messy clothes, and walked toward the door. "Finally decided to let me out."

Wang Xiao, upon opening the door, saw Lin Youhan walking naturally toward him as if the interrogation room were his own home.

Lin Youhan waved at him. "Hope I never see you again."

"Hey, wait a second." Wang Xiao stopped him. "Didn't you forget to return something?"

Lin Youhan feigned ignorance. "What item? I came in empty-handed. Even if I had anything, you should've found it during the search."

"What about the mirror I gave you that day?" Wang Xiao clearly didn't believe him.

"Mirror?" Lin Youhan pretended to think, reaching into his pocket and feeling a mirror. Without changing expression, he said, "I returned it to you after using it that day. You just don't remember."

Wang Xiao scratched his head in confusion. "Really? Did I misremember?"

He began recalling his movements after leaving the interrogation room that day, mentally running through the events but finding no memory of the mirror.

"Take your time thinking. I'm leaving."

Lin Youhan had no intention of letting Wang Xiao remember he never returned the mirror. Without waiting for a response, he hurried off, his back rushing away.

Wang Xiao, unaware that Lin Youhan's haste stemmed from guilt, closed the interrogation room door and muttered, "Is there a ghost in the station? Why's he running so fast?"

If Lin Youhan could hear his thoughts, he'd say: There's a ghost in my heart.

-

Outside the station, breathing fresh air, Lin Youhan let out a sigh.

He turned familiarly into an alley near the station and casually glanced up at the surveillance camera ahead—instantly, the officer monitoring the computer stood up abruptly.

His screen turned snowy/fuzzy.

The monitoring room door opened, and Wang Xiao walked in asking, "How's it—?"

Before finishing, his gaze fixed on the screen, and after a pause, he belatedly said, "...I recall Director Zhao just brought in this equipment this month."

But now it resembled outdated gear glitching and flickering.

The two stared at each other in confusion until suddenly a message appeared on the screen: Do not try to monitor my movements.

After a moment, Wang Xiao cursed, "Shit, we've been played."

-

In the alley, Lin Youhan leaned against the wall for a while. A robot glowing with blue light floated slowly from the other end.

Lin Youhan looked up and said irritably, "Migu, next time, wait until I'm dead to come."

Ignoring him, the robot extended a mechanical arm to touch him. Its robotic voice, though toneless, held a hint of melancholy only Lin Youhan could detect. "Master, I sensed Snow."

"So what if you sensed it? What shouldn't be remembered is forgotten, and what should be remembered is also forgotten. Better to just take it easy and live freely." Lin Youhan said casually.

As Migu seemed about to speak, he hurriedly urged, "Home, let's go home. How are you, a robot, more emotional than me?"

Migu lowered its head, wanting to disagree, but when it looked up, Lin Youhan was already far away.

His steps were careless and lazy, yet they couldn't conceal his thin, sickly frame; his intentionally dyed black hair, upon closer inspection, revealed numerous white hairs underneath.

Seeing this, Migu's expression turned sad. As a super-intelligent robot with only one default expression, it didn't understand sadness or longing. It had merely guarded a cold, empty house alone for ten years, waiting for its master to return.

It didn't know where its master had been for those seven years, only that the once spirited master had been tempered by time, leaving behind a composed demeanor. He often lay awake at night, troubled by nightmares, tossing and turning, even coughing through the night.

Lin Youhan was ill.

Just as he entered his most vibrant years, he unknowingly began living like an old man.

...

After walking awhile, Lin Youhan noticed Migu falling behind and called back, "Migu, hurry up. Let's go home."

"Okay."

-

Meanwhile, Yuehu Jiangxinzhou was blocked off with multiple police lines. Reporters crowded outside, eager to breach the scene for breaking news, but deterred by police authority and force, they pushed and argued noisily.

Si Muyun headed straight for Song Chenglei and Zhao Mingchuan upon exiting his car. The trapped reporters, seeing they couldn't enter, spotted a tall, handsome man and rushed toward him without hesitation.

"Officer, could you spare a moment for an interview?" one said, thrusting a microphone.

Another pushed them aside. "Officer, we're from Xinyang Media. Could you tell us what's happening inside?"

"Excuse me, officer..."

...

The scene was chaotic, and Si Muyun's aloof presence couldn't fend off the eager reporters. Soon, a person carrying a camera bumped into him.

Frowning, Si Muyun caught the photographer who was about to fall and said to the crowd, "...Step aside, please."

Though his voice wasn't loud, the commanding presence he carried instantly made everyone back off, and the crowd unconsciously parted to create a path.

Song Chenglei arrived just then and immediately arranged for other officers to clear out the reporters. After giving instructions, he walked alongside Si Muyun toward the spot where Chen Wen was found.

As they walked, Si Muyun asked, "Has Zhang Daguo's son been found yet?"

Song Chenglei hesitated briefly. "Not yet. That kid is hiding too well—not going to school, not returning home. Finding him is like searching for a needle in a haystack."

"I remember he's a student at the Star Institute," Si Muyun said thoughtfully.

The Star Science and Technology Academy, abbreviated as the Star Institute, is one of the few century-old schools in Star City. Its founding dean was the now world-renowned Professor Bai Zhen. At its peak, it was even ranked alongside Menglan Military Academy of Canglan City as the "Sword of Civilization." Unlike Menglan Military Academy, the Star Institute, as an academic institute, is closely tied to the technological development of Star City. Its electronic information-related technologies have attracted countless students from across the city.

Lin Youhan, a tech genius who emerged a decade ago, also graduated from the Star Institute. Older professors spoke highly of him, and although he died young, his theories are still written in textbooks for future reference.

Thinking of Lin Youhan, Si Muyun's mind seemed to grind like an old machine, gears creaking, his thoughts slowing down... He rubbed his temples, trying not to think about it, but the image of the vagrant from the interrogation room intruded his mind—their similar personalities slowly stirring a long-buried unease in his heart.

For a moment, Si Muyun's breath seemed to halt. Half a second later, he let out a self-mocking laugh.

Missing someone for too long really does make everyone resemble that person.

-

Song Chenglei didn’t quite understand why the Star Institute was suddenly brought up, but he replied, "We sent someone to investigate yesterday. His roommate said he hasn’t been back to school for a month."

"A month?" Si Muyun frowned.

The Star Institute's management system is as strict as Menglan Military Academy's. Unexcused absences of a month or longer result in expulsion.

"Besides him, another person in their dorm hasn’t returned for a week. The others tried contacting them via terminal, but without exception, they couldn’t get through. Both of them seem to have vanished into thin air—completely untraceable."

After saying this, Song Chenglei sighed.

"Have someone search for them," Si Muyun said, feeling that things weren’t simple. How could two people from the same dorm disappear without a trace around the same time?

As they spoke, the two arrived at the spot where Chen Wen was found.

Chen Wen still seemed dazed, not understanding why the police were surrounding him. He clearly didn’t know that his drinking buddy had called the police, thinking he had drowned.

He looked up at Si Muyun, intimidated by the latter's unapproachable aura, and quickly lowered his head again.

Way too intimidating.

Song Chenglei crouched down and said gently, "Your friend thought you drowned last night and called us to rescue you. How are you feeling now? Any better?"

Song Chenglei's voice was warm, like a spring breeze that naturally put people at ease.

Chen Wen's nervous heart instantly calmed. Hearing Song Chenglei's words, his focus was entirely on the first sentence.

He scratched his head, too surprised to know how to respond, and finally managed, "...I drowned?"

Song Chenglei and Si Muyun exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

After a long silence, Si Muyun asked, "You don’t know whether you drowned or not?"

"Last night..." As memories of the previous night resurfaced, Chen Wen's head began to ache. He patted his head, trying to alleviate the pain, but when he looked back at Song Chenglei, his mind went blank.

It was as if what happened last night had vanished from his memory.

"I... I can’t remember," Chen Wen said bitterly.

Song Chenglei was about to say more when a hand suddenly pulled him back. He turned to see Si Muyun shaking his head and saying, "Get him to a hospital first."

Song Chenglei stood up and nodded in agreement.

-

After sending Chen Wen off in an ambulance, the two walked along the shore for a while before a police officer rushed over urgently. "Captain Si, Deputy Captain Song, Director Zhao has identified the body."

"Captain Si has been here for so long, and you’re only just now finding out? Your department’s efficiency is really something," Song Chenglei teased.

The officer looked embarrassed but defended his team earnestly. "Deputy Captain Song, our department is spinning like a top. Given how busy we are, could you please get us some tech support? Director Zhao is the best in the department—you can’t expect miracles from us."

Song Chenglei patted his shoulder and said gravely, "Young man, if you lack ability, you have to train. Don’t think Zhao Mingchuan became the head of the investigation division overnight. When he and I joined the team, we were both blank slates."

He didn’t continue teasing and turned serious. "Alright, what did Zhao Mingchuan say?"

The officer stood at attention, chest out, and said loudly, "The deceased is named Yang Ming, a second-year student at the Star Science and Technology Academy. He’s 20 years old and has an older brother working in Canglan City."

He added, "Director Zhao also found out that he shared a dorm with Zhang Daguo's son, Zhang Yuanhang, and was one of Zhang Yuanhang's few friends. But he hasn’t returned to school for a week."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Captain Si and Deputy Captain Song wearing equally grave expressions.

Song Chenglei chimed in, "The students drinking at Aike last night were also from the Star Institute."

"The Star Institute?" Si Muyun repeated slowly.

Come to think of it, since Lin Youhan’s death a decade ago, he had rarely heard news about the Star Institute. After Lin Youhan’s passing, the academy declined year by year, clearly on a downward trend.

As time passed, just as he had expected, new tech schools emerged one after another, overshadowing the older institutions, and the Star Institute’s enrollment grew worse each year.

Now, with incidents successively involving its students, he couldn’t help but suspect someone was targeting the Star Institute.

Suddenly, a ringing interrupted his thoughts—his terminal rang.

He answered the call to hear Wang Xiao’s heavy, tearful voice. "Captain, we’ve been outsmarted by that vagrant!"

"Hm?" Si Muyun sounded puzzled.

"Director Zhao’s newly installed monitoring equipment this month—he broke it!" Wang Xiao sobbed. "I just wanted to see where he went on the monitor, and in the blink of an eye, the screen broke."

Si Muyun felt a headache coming on. Rubbing his throbbing temples, he couldn’t find words to respond.

But Wang Xiao wasn’t done. "Captain, he also stole your mirror."

"What mirror?" Si Muyun’s mind was muddled, and he couldn’t immediately recall which mirror he meant.

"The small mirror you always kept locked in the drawer. The back cover had some messily engraved letters on it..."

Realizing which mirror it was, Si Muyun fell silent.

After what felt like a long time, Wang Xiao heard Si Muyun say in an unreadable tone, "Well done."

In that moment, Wang Xiao detected helplessness, anger, and a faint, almost imperceptible trace of regret and sorrow in his words.

Soon, the communication cut off, and everything returned to silence.

As if it had all been an illusion.

But only Si Muyun knew it wasn’t.

After ten years of twists and turns, he had still lost one of the few things left behind by him.