Chapter 454 - Chapter 454: Chapter 454 BWMJP (1/2)
Chapter 454: Chapter 454 BWMJP
The man who introduced himself as Old He appeared to be in his fifties, with neatly combedback hair that was not dyed black, hence it was mixed with a significant amount of white hair.
He was not wearing any uniform, but rather a dark suit which seemed to be made of high-quality material and tailored well, but was clearly aged. Both his leather shoes and belt appeared to be of decent craftsmanship – durable but not brand-name.
Oddly, Old He was also sporting a watch that did not quite match his clothing style. Its design was bizarre, bearing no resemblance to a traditional digital watch or a sports wristband or even a typical smart watch. To the sides of its large screen main dial, there were four sub-dials each a quarter of the size of the main dial attached to the strap, making it look more like a specialized tool.
Upon walking into the meeting room, Zhao Feng and Wang De’an instinctively began to evaluate Old He, but they were unable to discern his identity or his position in any department or unit from these external features.
However, judging from the head of the special investigation team’s attitude towards Old He, it was apparent that Old He was at least of a higher rank and status than he was.
After the head of the team called the two of them in, he greeted Old He and left the room, leaving them to converse with Old He alone.
After exchanging a glance, Zhao Feng and Wang De’an both felt their hearts skip a beat. What did he want to discuss with them that even the head of the special investigation team needed to excuse himself?
“Xiao Zhao, Xiao Wang, come, sit down, feel free to engage in conversation,” Old He said with a smile, his eyes filled with friendliness, giving off an impression of being easy to talk to and a person of gentle character.
After they sat down, Old He skipped the pleasantries and directly moved ahead to the main subject. He said: “I heard from your previous supervisors… Oh, not Old Li, but Old Han and Old Xu, was it? That you two seem to be investigating certain hallucinations witnessed by the criminals in previous cases?”
The “Old Li” that Old He mentioned here was the head of the special investigation team, whereas “Old Han” and “Old Xu” were Wang De’an’s and Zhao Feng’s respective supervisors in Pancheng and Citong city.
“We just felt some subtle commonalities himearranting investigation between the hallucinations experienced by the criminals in those two cases. There might be some external connections we haven’t been fully clear on yet. So we casually discussed and exchanged thoughts during our free time after work, purely out of curiosity,” Zhao Feng said in a measured tone.
Wang De’an nodded in agreement, adding: “We just discussed it after work…” and then added, “Both cases were already closed.”
Old He nodded with a smile, and asked: “So, did you dig up anything?”
The two young officers exchanged another glance before Zhao Feng responded again: “So far… we have no definitive evidence.”
He dared not tell Old He about how he had been guided by an “eight-armed, eight-eyed monster” in his dream to find several corpses on Zi Huan Mountain, as it sounded too unreal. If shared, he might give the impression that he was mentally unsound.
Old He asked, “Did you guys read about the news from Myanmar’s Montamilla online today?”
“You mean… the riot in Montamilla?” Zhao Feng enquired cautiously.
Old He nodded, saying: “Behind the Montamilla riot, there were some forces hostile to us stirring up trouble and adding fuel to the flames. But in the end, they suffered the consequences of their own actions, further exposing the identity of their backers. The official authorities in Myanmar will certainly be more vigilant towards them in the future – those people really played themselves. However, what I want to talk about has nothing to do with this issue. It’s about the ‘monster’ or ‘giant’ illusion that appeared in Montamilla, which is now being discussed by a lot of people online. According to many eyewitness accounts, there’s an illusion with eight arms and eight eyes, doesn’t it sound similar to the hallucination seen by the criminals you are investigating in your cases?”
“Indeed, it indeed does,” Zhao Feng answered honestly. When he and Wang De’an had seen the related news about Montamilla online, they instantly connected it with the matter they were investigating.
Wang De’an couldn’t help but ask, “Boss, do you know what that thing is?”
Old He smiled at him and said, “Don’t call me Boss, just call me Old He. I don’t know what it is either. I’m quite curious. So I wanted to ask you if you’re interested in joining us to investigate this issue? Um…the next thing we need to discuss requires signing some confidentiality agreements. That’s alright, isn’t it?”
As he spoke, Old He slid a folder from the side table towards them.
Zhao Feng and Wang De’an immediately gathered together, looking closely at the two agreements inside the folder. After some low-pitched discussions, they both took up a pen and signed their names, suppressing their somewhat excited emotions.
Old He didn’t even glance at the signed agreements, he simply tossed the folder back onto the side table and said with a smile, “I should introduce myself. My name is He Haomin, and I’m the director of the ‘National Abnormal Biology Research Center’.
“In theory, we come under the ‘Biotechnology Development Center’ of the Ministry of Science and Technology, but actually we report directly to other higher-ups. The work we do requires a high level of secrecy, so you won’t find the name of our institute on any external websites.
“Our main tasks are, as the name suggests, to study ‘abnormal biological entities’. We have reason to believe that the delusions you two investigated, as well as the illusion that appeared in Montamilla last night, are all either created by an ‘abnormal biological entity’, or are a special state of a particular ‘abnormal biological entity’.
“Usually, you would have a day or two to consider joining but this case is unusual. If you agree to join, I plan to send you to Montamilla for an investigation right away.”
Zhao Feng and Wang De’an were somewhat surprised. They whispered to each other briefly, both leaning towards acceptance. They were indeed very curious about the “Abnormal Biology Research Center”.
But before agreeing, Zhao Feng asked a question: “May I ask… how did you first notice us?”
He wasn’t sure that their former boss and partner, Officer Han, would have actively reported their activities to the ‘Abnormal Biology Research Center’. In fact, he thought that Old Xu and Officer Han, like most people, probably had no idea this department even existed.
Old He said, “Chen Tianhua… or Mijoe as you know her. When you arrested her in Citong, I noticed you.”
At these words, both men were taken aback. Then they realised that when they vouched for Mijoe’s innocence back in Citong, it was because they had Old He or his research center backing them.
“Is she one of yours?” Wang De’an asked on impulse.
“You could say that, or you could say she isn’t,” Old He said, “Here’s the thing: our specific research and investigation into ‘abnormal biological entities’ is conducted in partnership with a certain company, or rather, it is mainly led by that company. Our role is more to assist, oversee, and conduct safety assessments. If you two agree to join us, once all the formalities are complete, your official employment will covertly be transferred under the ‘Abnormal Biology Research Center’. However, in the field, you will be given new identities arranged by that company and will collaborate with the company’s investigators. Mijoe isn’t with the ‘Center’, she’s with the company.”
The two men were somewhat confused by this. Zhao Feng spontaneously asked, “What company? Is it an affiliated business of the Center?”
Old He replied only with a smile.
Zhao Feng paused for a moment, then quickly understood. He said, “We’re both prepared to join.”
Wang De’an also nodded in agreement.