咔.

Lin Xian closed the cap of his water-based pen, held it between his fingers, and began to rotate it.

"Gaoyang, look, this is what I've summarized: Zhang Yuqian's time of death, date of birth, age... and the comparison with Chu Anqing's time of death, date of birth, and age."

Before him.

On the white paper on the desk.

Several lines of densely packed words recorded the data and inferences Lin Xian had compiled.

After getting up this morning,

Lin Xian directly called Liu An, the director of the National Security Agency.

The director was very enthusiastic to receive Lin Xian's call.

After all, in Liu An's eyes, Lin Xian was a true hero!

This young man not only provided a large number of vulnerabilities for the Dragon Country's network security Great Wall and prevented the intrusion of the world's strongest hacker, Kevin Walker.

But also at last year's World Hacker Competition, he made the Dragon Country proud, defeating Kevin Walker in a stunning victory and winning the world championship trophy.

Although the trophy itself was of little value or significance, it was an unparalleled honor and laurel in that special period and at that special juncture.

When he bid farewell upon returning to China, Liu An had intended to keep Lin Xian in the capital for a while longer, to introduce him to some leaders and entertain him.

But at that time, Lin Xian was anxious to return to Donghai, and besides, his little girlfriend... seemed to have sneaked out, so it was not appropriate to stay for long. So Liu An didn't press him too much, just told Lin Xian to keep in touch and call him if he encountered any troubles or problems he couldn't handle.

"Don't worry, if I can't handle it, I'll contact my friends to help you handle it."

At that time, Director Liu An patted his chest and assured him with a smile:

"Besides... even if I can't handle it, there's still Teacher Gao Yan! What I can't handle, Teacher Gao Yan can handle. If you're embarrassed to ask Teacher Gao Yan for help, it's okay, I'll do it! I've been his student and subordinate for so many years, my skin has been worn out, there's nothing I can't say to him!"

Lin Xian also nodded with a smile and shook hands with Director Liu An to say goodbye.

He could see that Director Liu An was a very loyal person.

As Gao Yan said, he was straightforward and never beat around the bush, saying whatever he thought.

After that farewell in the capital,

The two of them had little contact.

They just sent each other a greeting message during the Spring Festival.

But now,

Without VV's intelligence gathering ability, Lin Xian had to ask this big shot for help.

He mainly asked Director Liu An for two things in the phone call.

The first thing.

Was to check the address of an elderly couple, Zhang Shi and Yan Qin, originally from Qufu, Shandong, who now lived in the capital, most likely near Xidan.

The last time they met at Xidan Shopping Plaza, VV instantly investigated the two elderly people's information and read it to Lin Xian.

Very detailed.

Including their age, education, experience, and so on.

But Lin Xian couldn't remember so much... At that time, Chu Anqing had just been frightened and her emotions hadn't recovered, and Xidan Shopping Center was crowded with people and cars, a noisy mess. He only remembered the names of the elderly couple.

But with names, and the names of both husband and wife, it was already easy to check.

Director Liu An agreed to this matter immediately, saying it was easy and that he could find the address without any difficulty.

The second thing.

Was that Lin Xian entrusted Director Liu An to investigate a car accident that occurred in Qufu, Shandong in January 2000.

The deceased was Zhang Yuqian, a young girl born in 1980, and also the only daughter of the elderly couple Zhang Shi and Yan Qin.

Because those files were not recorded on the internet in those years, especially since VV also found that this was just a traffic accident, not a hit-and-run; there was no perpetrator, Yan Qin herself drove into a tree, and Yan Qin was responsible for everything. So it wasn't considered a major case that was difficult to handle. It was handled according to the most basic procedures, and naturally no information was left.

Moreover, 20 years was really too long ago.

But to Lin Xian's surprise, Director Liu An also agreed immediately:

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it for you."

…

Before long, the location of Zhang Shi and Yan Qin's residential area and their specific address were sent to Lin Xian's mobile phone.

Then, near noon, a police officer from Qufu, Shandong, added Lin Xian's WeChat and sent him various yellowed, broken, even mouse-gnawed and water-soaked pages.

And said:

"Mr. Lin, we searched for a long time in various warehouses and archives, and went through all the data from 2000. We only found these related records. There was really nothing special about that car accident back then, and there were no subsequent connections. At most, some money was paid to the landscaping department... As for the vehicle damage, that car only had compulsory traffic insurance back then. We don't know how Yan Qin handled the car afterward."

"In 2000, mobile phones were not yet popular, let alone dash cams, and there were basically no surveillance cameras on the streets. So... the details of the car accident all came from Yan Qin's account, without any actual evidence or photos."

"What's more, as I explained to you just now, this was not a heinous incident, nor was it a hit-and-run. Moreover, Yan Qin and the others reported the case a long time afterward... They were very sad and upset because of their daughter's death and didn't think about reporting the case at all."

"Later, the landscaping department issued a notice to investigate the compensation for the green belt and trees. Only after Yan Qin found out, did she take the initiative to report the case and make compensation in accordance with the regulations. Everything went smoothly and quickly, so there was very little information left, and even less could be found after 20 years..."

Seeing these precious and hard-won materials, Lin Xian quickly thanked the police officer and said that it was enough, and that he was very grateful and sorry for the trouble.

He couldn't help but sigh...

Although VV was artificial intelligence, it still had great limitations in human society, which emphasized human relationships and social interactions.

It was true that VV could find information and intelligence all over the internet in a second.

But even if you gave it the entire power generation capacity of the Three Gorges Dam, it couldn't mobilize any archive staff to flip through old files piled up from 20 years ago.

Obviously, it couldn't command them. No one would work because of VV's instructions... except for himself.

But Director Liu An was different.

The director of the National Security Agency, or even without the director, just one phone call, and the entire Qufu City Archives would be mobilized. So... he was able to flip through all the old files from 2000 so quickly, in just a few hours.

Looking at the condition of the paper in these photos.

It had really suffered a lot from wind and sun, mouse gnawing, yellowing, and tearing... It had suffered a lot over the years and had been tossed around a lot.

The staff had really worked hard.

Lin Xian thanked him many times. His original intention was not to ask for such detailed information. He just wanted to simply understand the situation back then. He really didn't want to trouble the staff in Qufu so much:

"Thank you, thank you very much, you've really worked hard! This is definitely enough!"

After thanking him politely, Lin Xian began to carefully read the oral accounts, case records, police reports, and processing forms from 2000 one by one, and extract useful information from them.

Just like the police officer said.

The car accident that resulted in Zhang Yuqian's death occurred at around 1:00 a.m. on January 21, 2000, but the time of the report was February 7, 2000, a full half-month later.

The reason had been explained clearly by the police officer.

In 2000, people's legal awareness and awareness of reporting cases were not as strong as they are now. They felt that they had not harmed anyone else and that there were no other injuries, so naturally they did not think about reporting the case. It was just a matter of breaking a tree, and no one would think of reporting it.

In addition, Yan Qin and Zhang Shi's only daughter died, and their first reaction was definitely to treat her or deal with the aftermath. They had no intention of reporting the case.

It was only later that the landscaping and environmental protection departments issued a notice that they came to report the case. But at that time, Zhang Yuqian's funeral had been completed and she had already been buried in the ground. They could only record the statements, fill in some case details, and then pay compensation to settle the matter.

But.

From these broken pieces of information, Lin Xian still extracted the information he needed.

Which was what was currently written on the paper.

Gaoyang, who was brushing his teeth, walked over with his toothbrush in his mouth:

"What's written? Let me see."

Lin Xian pushed a chair over to him and then picked up the pen and pointed to the words written on the paper one by one:

"Look, these police records show that Zhang Yuqian was born on January 21, 1980, and the car accident occurred at 1:00 a.m. on January 21, 2000."

"Holy shit!"

Gaoyang spat out a mouthful of toothpaste foam:

"Exactly 20 years old! The car accident happened on the early morning of her 20th birthday! This... this is too much of a coincidence! The main thing is, Chu Anqing is the same! A few days ago, Chu Anqing jumped off the spaceplane and then disappeared upon landing, wasn't that also on her 20th birthday... uh... early morning? Right, I remember you said it was 00:42?"

"That's right."

Lin Xian moved the pen and pointed to the second line of words:

"Let's look at Chu Anqing's information again, born on March 28, 2004, the time she turned into suspected quantum state collapse, that is, disappeared like blue stardust, was also March 28, 2024, at 00:42."

"I'm not sure if Zhang Yuqian's specific time of death was 00:42, because the information provided to us by the police station does not have detailed time points, only a vague time point of around 1:00 a.m. This time comes from the account of the car driver at the time, Yan Qin, Zhang Yuqian's mother."

Gaoyang spat out a mouthful of toothpaste foam into the nearby trash can:

"Then I feel like it must be 00:42."

He picked up a mouthwash cup and rinsed his mouth a few times, then spat it into the trash can again:

"Since Zhang Yuqian and Chu Anqing look so similar, and you said that even the location of their beauty mark is exactly the same, and their death dates just happen to be on their 20th birthday, then why don't we be bolder in our reasoning and just assume that Zhang Yuqian's time of death was 00:42! Not a second off!"

"Even!"

Gaoyang spat out the last mouthful of mouthwash, pulled out a tissue to wipe his mouth, and looked at Lin Xian:

"Even! Let's be even bolder--"

"[Let's directly assume that the specific time of birth for Chu Anqing and Zhang Yuqian was also 00:42!]"

"Do you think it's possible? Anyway, babies can be born at any time, but I think that since it's already a coincidence that they died on their 20th birthday, why can't it be even more of a coincidence? Maybe their time of birth was 00:42 in the early morning. And the time of death was also 00:42 in the early morning."

"That! Is the real 20th birthday! Twenty years of life! A rigorous twenty years, not a second off!"

Suddenly, Gaoyang's expression turned serious, and he patted his cheeks:

"呸呸呸, we can't use the word 'dead'. Chu Anqing is our friend, we can't curse her. I'm increasingly feeling that Chu Anqing may not be dead... but I don't know the specific situation, I can't figure it out."

"Ah 呸呸呸, why did I say 'dead' again, it's really unlucky. 'Disappeared'! 'Disappearance'! 'Missing' is okay, we have to describe Chu Anqing like this. Zhang Yuqian is fine, she's probably really dead... Holy shit!!"

Gaoyang instantly reacted:

"Holy shit, Lin Xian! The reason why you called me to Qufu, Shandong, couldn't be to dig up Zhang Yuqian's grave, right?! God, what are you thinking! I thought you were saying you wanted to dig a grave for Chu Anqing, dig a pit to commemorate her... but you want me to dig up a dead person's grave?"

"You're going too far! Even as your childhood friend, I can't stand your behavior! What are you thinking? Do you know what it means to dig up someone's ancestral grave in Dragon Country? Is this something that ordinary people dare to do? People can't... at least shouldn't..."

"Okay, stop shouting." Lin Xian reached out and interrupted him:

"I also know that this is immoral, that it's not a good thing to do. But as you said, Chu Anqing is our friend, shouldn't we find out what happened to her? Shouldn't we be responsible for our friends?"

"There's Chu Anqing's hair that I pulled out in the suitcase. We just need to dig up Zhang Yuqian's grave and then get the residual bones or teeth from the body, and then compare them with Chu Anqing's hair for a DNA match. Then we can find out the specific relationship between these two girls who look exactly alike."

"If the DNA comparison is inconsistent and they are not the same person at all, then we can simply treat them as people who look alike... But from the current situation, it's impossible for these two to have no relationship at all, right? I even guess that they are very likely to be the same person."

"Now I don't know what will happen after the DNA comparison, what direction things will develop in... But, at the moment, the only clue to figure out what happened to Chu Anqing is Zhang Yuqian, Zhang Yuqian's tomb, DNA. We can't just ignore such a bright clue, right? I have to find out the truth and give Chu Shanhe an explanation when I return to Donghai."

Gaoyang's face was pale, and he sat back on the chair tremblingly:

"This thing of yours... no matter how you look at it, is too outrageous. And from another point of view, shouldn't Zhang Yuqian have been cremated after she died? After cremation, there's no DNA in the high-temperature incinerated ashes! You won't be able to test anything, and you'll be wasting your time digging up the grave."

"We have to try it anyway."

Lin Xian put down the pen in his hand, leaned back in the chair, and looked at Gaoyang:

"In 2000, people's thinking was still very old-fashioned, and many people were very resistant to cremation. And at that time, the policy of compulsory cremation had not been promoted, and in reality, not many people were actually cremated... rather, there were really very few."

"My grandma died not long after I was born. I heard my parents say that she was also buried without cremation. That's how everyone was at that time. Dragon Country's traditional thinking couldn't accept cremation. So Zhang Yuqian was most likely buried directly without cremation. Even now... many people are still resisting cremation, let alone more than twenty years ago?"

"Besides, Gaoyang, you dare to go to space, you dare to poke hornet's nests when you were a kid, you dare to jump into the manure pit... what are you afraid of digging a grave for? You're not afraid of real living things, what are you afraid of this ethereal stuff? You're a materialist warrior, believe in yourself."

"No no no..."

Gaoyang shook his head like a rattle:

"This is different. This is not a question of superstition or not. Materialist warriors are not afraid of gunfire, but how many materialist warriors dare to dig up people's ancestral graves? If you told me to dig a grave that definitely only had ashes, I would dare... but you're now going for the purpose of picking up a girl's bones. Who's as perverted as you! Grave robber Lin Xian!"

"Besides, what if I get possessed by dirty stuff? Don't say it, don't say it! Last night I felt a bit eerie, just like sleep paralysis, it pressed me so hard that I couldn't breathe, and I woke up suffocating. Then after waking up, I saw you standing on the balcony like a ghost, not saying a word!"

"I was really scared to death at the time... Lin Xian, you're obsessed!"

Alas.

Lin Xian sighed, reached out to stop Gaoyang's nagging, and pointed to the west:

"If you're really scared, there's Shijingshan over there. Go worship Buddha, ask for a talisman, and calm your nerves."

"Wouldn't Buddha's mercy be able to suppress it?"

Gaoyang thought seriously again:

"Is there any more ruthless character?"

Lin Xian pointed to the southwest again:

"Then go to a closer one, Prince Gong's Mansion, where He Shen lived back then. In the last row of big houses in Prince Gong's Mansion, He Shen enshrined a row of gods and Buddhas back then, all of them ruthless characters, a whole row of gods and Buddhas army."

"But that didn't save He Shen in the end! Wasn't he still beheaded!" Gaoyang exclaimed.

"No no, these superstitions are still unreliable."

Gaoyang took out his mobile phone and started searching for something:

"We still have to believe in science. I'll get some right treasures to bring with me. By the way, if we really dig a grave, we'll need some equipment, right? I'll buy it all together."

"You can buy it in Qufu, otherwise how will you take it there by plane or high-speed rail?"

"Okay, I'll find a place first."

…

Afterward, Gaoyang went to prepare the treasures.

Lin Xian lowered his head and continued to examine the clues he had summarized and classified on the white paper in front of him.

He suddenly felt that.

Talking to Gaoyang for so long just now was like playing the piano to a cow, it was completely equal to not saying anything.

At this moment, he understood why Coach Wei Cheng was so speechless about Gaoyang...

It seemed that in the future, there was no need to expect this guy to understand reasoning and plans.

Just tell him what to do and how to do it.

Lowering his head again.

Lin Xian continued to look at the similarities between Chu Anqing and Zhang Yuqian that he had summarized.

Too much of a coincidence.

Apart from their birth dates, life eras, times of death, and different lives,

Other places are almost exactly the same!

Thinking of the [Millennium Pile] and [Historical Lockdown] that Huang Que said.

Could these two things be related to Chu Anqing?

Pile...

Piles are still very common in daily life.

Lin Xian stood up.

He walked to the balcony again and looked at a construction site in the distance where the foundations were being laid.

He didn't know what kind of building they were planning to build there.

But no matter what kind of building, as long as it wasn't a bungalow, piles would always be needed for the stability of the foundation and the building structure.

At this time, there were two tall pile drivers parked inside the construction site.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

The pile driver's heavy steel hammer continuously rose, fell, rose, and fell, and the huge kinetic energy drove the steel piles into the ground inch by inch.

Hammer!

Hammer!

Hammer!

Every heavy hammer blow represented the gradual nailing of a [pile].

Nailing the foundation, nailing the building, nailing the entire project.

"History... Lockdown..."

Lin Xian muttered softly, the first law of time and space that Huang Que told him yesterday.

Historical Lockdown.

Who can lock down history?

Looking at the steel piles being hammered down one by one at the construction site in the distance.

Lin Xian suddenly had a wild idea!

Could it be...

The Millennium Pile is the pile used to lock down history?

If Chu Anqing is a Millennium Pile.

Then is Zhang Yuqian also a Millennium Pile?

Is CC also a Millennium Pile?

Is their purpose to turn into piles nailed to the historical trajectory, to nail history to death! Lockdown?

If that's the case...

"Then how do they lock down history?"

Lin Xian blinked his eyes, completely unable to understand.

At the same time:

"Locking down history, what does it mean? What will happen after locking down history? What will happen?"

Lin Xian also couldn't understand.

But.

If he continued to think deeper along this line of thought, he thought of an even more terrifying question.

A chill ran down his spine in an instant.

If...

The truth about the Millennium Pile is indeed as he thought, that it is used to lock down history.

Lin Xian raised his head.

Squinting his eyes, he stared at the blazing sun in the sky:

"Then..."

He swallowed his saliva, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he said softly:

"Who is it that wants to lock down this passing history?"

"And who..."

"[Personally hammered these Millennium Piles one by one into the long river of history?]"