Chapter 4 chapter 2

Xiaolu and I took a taxi that looked like a large version of the mini convertible and set off for the city university.According to Xiaolu, the university is in a place called the Cultural and Educational District. The cultural and educational area has a lot of green vegetation, small parks can be seen everywhere, and the residents seem to have made an appointment to have a lawn in front of each house. I suddenly felt that this kind of scenery seemed familiar, as if I had been here before.This feeling is stronger than the sense of sight (that is, the sense of sight, that is, the feeling of deja vu that has never been experienced or the scene seems to have been experienced at a certain moment.).I can even vaguely recall the map here.As for when I came and what I did, I can't remember at all.

Soon, the taxi stopped in front of a brick building.The walls of the buildings are covered with reliefs, reminiscent of ancient Europe. "This is the City University." Xiaolu said, "Dr. Yuecun's laboratory is inside." We entered through the slightly dark entrance as the main entrance.There was a musty smell in the cold air.There is no door, and the passage surrounded by stone walls leads to the atrium, from which the corridor divides left and right and surrounds the atrium. The atrium is a nice lawn with a few white benches. I followed Xiaolu and turned right along the corridor.The three female students in white clothes seemed to be discussing something seriously, and passed us without seeing them.

"This is the doctor's laboratory." Xiaolu stopped in front of a dilapidated dark brown door.There is a sign on the door that reads "Laboratory Thirteen".I hesitated, stretched out my fist and knocked on the door twice. No answer was heard.I raised my hand and was about to knock again when the door opened suddenly. "I heard a knock at the door." A tall, thin woman in her early thirties was staring at us. "Ah, I'm really sorry, uh..." I didn't know what to say for a while.She ignored me and smiled at Xiaolu: "Welcome, long time no see."

"Hello." "Uh... I'm..." "The mayor called me. It's Mr. Detective Tianxiayi. Please come in." As she spoke, she opened the door completely. Walking into the room, the first thing you see is piles of books standing up like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and there are several of them, irregularly.The walls of the room are lined with bookshelves.It's like being in a city after a volcanic eruption, the books are full of dust, and the air is slightly cloudy. "It's a bit messy, please forgive me. I don't have time to clean it up." She sat down across the table with a thick stack of books. "You can sit whatever you want, it doesn't matter if you sit on the books."

"Then I'm sorry." I sat on a stack of illustrated books, while Xiaolu stood. The woman looked down at the books spread out on the table.She has a long, pointed jaw and slightly freckled cheeks, but she doesn't seem to be trying to hide it with makeup.A pair of gold-rimmed round-rimmed glasses rest on a straight nose that looks like it has been drawn with a ruler. "Does my face have any observation value, Mr. Detective?" She suddenly raised her head and said, "Or do you have the same feelings as ordinary men in the world, and you are inconceivable that I am a woman, and because of this, you are aroused?" curiosity?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't intend to stare at you, but after I came to this city, I became more cautious." I lowered my head, "I am not surprised that you are a woman. The mayor told me When I think of you, I already feel it." "What did the mayor say?" "Said you were charming. And he never once said you were a gentleman." She shrugged her shoulders, stared at me and said, "I am Yuecun from the thirteenth research room." "I am Tianxiayi." After I finished speaking, I realized that I was used to this name. "So..." Dr. Tsukimura said, "Should I say something first, or should I take you to the memorial hall first?"

"I want to hear your opinion first. Do you have any clues about the thief?" The female scholar immediately shook her head: "No." "It's so simple." "If there are any clues, how can it be your turn to investigate?" "That's true. But since we know that the thief is likely to be someone related to the memorial hall, at least there should be some clues." "Unfortunately, I don't have a penchant for slandering people without basis." Her resolute tone was that of a female scholar, as if she agreed with the idea that the thief came from within.Of course, it is not impossible to conclude that she is innocent.

"Let me change the question. Why do you think burglars go to the basement to steal? You just have to say what you think." "It must be something they want to monopolize. If it is discovered by the investigation team, it will become public property." "Will it be something expensive?" "Not necessarily. Some people are obsessed with it." "I heard from the mayor that investigating the mummy and the basement may be able to find clues to solve the mystery of the small town." "I hope so too." "However, there should be some people who don't want it. For example, people who claim to be descendants of the pioneers."

Dr. Tsukimura shrugged and said, "You mean the mayor?" Xiaolu suddenly raised her head. "Several people here have that kind of thinking. Can't we think of it like this: People who think that way, hire or commission other people to steal things?" The doctor stared at me for a moment, fingers clasped. "For that to work, there needs to be one condition: the thieves know what they're going to steal." "Is this impossible?" "Impossible. We don't know anything about the memorial yet." "But the burglar must know there's something there, or how would he steal it?"

She scratched her scalp and stood up. "Let me take you to the memorial hall. Seeing is believing, hearing is believing." We headed to the memorial in a truck with muddy tires.Although the front seat is long, it is still a bit crowded for three people.This truck seems to be the doctor's favorite car, although the engine is noisy and the speed is very slow.The doctor kicked it from time to time and said "this piece of shit". The truck drove straight on to the flagstone road.When passing through several traffic light intersections, Dr. Tsukimura, who was holding the steering wheel with his arms outstretched, remained motionless.

"The road to the memorial hall is a straight line." As if to dispel my doubts, the little green beside me said, "The memorial hall is located in the center of the city, and the road extends around the memorial hall like a ray. So, go to the memorial hall, no matter what From whichever direction you start, go in a straight line." "I see." Soon, a white wall appeared in front of him.The doctor then turned left and walked along the white wall.The white wall is sinuous, drawing a gentle curve.Across the wall is a row of trees. Suddenly, there was a break in the wall, which seemed to be the entrance, and there was a sign next to it: "During maintenance, the memorial hall is closed." Dr. Yuecun drove right and entered the entrance.There is a parking lot in front of you, with several small cars parked there. "Another illegal parking." The doctor said with a frown. There is a forest in front of the parking lot.A road about three meters wide runs through it. There are two thick gateposts at the end of the road, and a black hut can be seen vaguely. There was a hut next to the doorpost, and out of it stepped a stout man.The man was wearing a faded gray shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a dark tan waistcoat, and a bearded, bear-like face.He should be the administrator here.But judging by his posture, it is more appropriate to call him a guard. "No one came in again?" asked Dr. Tsukimura. "Of course, the door is still closed." I glanced in the cabin window.Inside was a table with coffee mugs and pulp magazines.The coffee cup was still steaming.It seems to be a kitchen further inside, with a long rattan chair against the wall. "The door is closed, and someone may climb over the iron fence." "Ah, no. I'm watching with these two big eyes." The guard pointed to his eyes and said with a charming smile. "That's good, yes, I want to go in and have a look." "Of course it doesn't matter, but..." The guard just glanced at me. "Let me introduce, this is Mr. Detective Tianxiayi." "Oh, Mr. Detective." He looked like he was looking at a rare animal. "Last time, the mayor asked him to investigate." "Ah, yes, that's true, please take care of me." "However, don't tell other people that Mr. Tianxiayi is a detective, it will cause trouble." "Oh, that's natural, that's natural, I understand, and I'm not a fool." The guard picked up the key chain hanging from his waist and opened the iron door. "I'll take them in and give me the key. You stay here and don't let anyone in." "Ah... I see." The guard probably wanted to follow up to see the detective's reasoning, and handed the keychain to the doctor with regret on his face. "Is he the only administrator?" I asked as I walked. "Yes. He has been alone all the time. Because the budget is not enough." The doctor seemed dissatisfied. "He was there when the theft happened?" "yes." "Is he tight-lipped? Won't he tell others about me?" "I don't know anything else, but I can guarantee that he will not speak out about this matter easily. In any case, it is related to whether he can keep his position." "But my father said that he will be fired after the incident is resolved." "That's good." I said to Xiaolu. Although it is called a memorial hall, it is actually just a simple hut.A rough lock hangs on the old wooden door.Dr. Tsukimura found a key from the keychain and opened the door. The interior has a slightly musty smell and there is no carpet. A table and a few chairs are placed side by side near the small window, like dining chairs.In one corner of the room there is an original fireplace, above which is a chimney.Opposite the fireplace were some old pieces of furniture.Some have drawers, and some are simply a combination of wooden boxes. There are photographs on the painted walls, each accompanied by a sheet of paper with explanatory text.Looking carefully, it turns out that some rich people donated money to repair the memorial hall, as well as photos taken by foreign guests when they visited. "I heard the memorial is a two-story building." "The way to the second floor is this way. But there's almost nothing up there." The doctor opened a door, and a ladder was erected in a square room about one square meter.Indeed, the ladder appeared to have been recently repaired. Climb up the ladder, and above it is a room of about eight square meters, with a wooden floor, a bed in the corner, and nothing else.The bed is covered with a plaid quilt, which is very beautiful.How lucky the thing hasn't been stolen so far, I thought. There is a door opposite the window.I thought there was another room next to it, but no matter how much I pushed and pulled the handle, the door wouldn't budge. "That can't be opened." Xiaolu poked her head out from below and said. "It was locked on purpose?" "No, it couldn't be opened in the first place." "Anyone want to open it?" She hey hey laughed. "No one would do that." "why?" "Everyone knows that even if it is opened, nothing will happen." "Really? How do you know if you don't open it?" "But, open the door and you're outside." "Outside?" "Yeah, even if you open it, there's nothing there, it'll fall down, just like a Chaplin movie." "Then why is there a door here?" "Why? I don't know either. It is said that this is also a mystery of the memorial hall." "Oh." I took a closer look and found words engraved on the door.It starts with the Roman letters from A to Z, followed by the words: "WHO DONE IT?" Who did it? - Literal translation is like this.But this sentence has another meaning in detective novels, referring to works that focus on finding criminals. "About these words, have you heard anything?" "That's a mystery too, Father said." "Does anyone know the answer?" "It is said that there is no." I took one more look at the door and climbed down the ladder. "Did you find anything?" asked Dr. Tsukimura, who was waiting below. I talked about that strange door. "We are also deeply troubled by that door." She said, "I don't know if it is a belief or a spell. There is no clue at all. It may be just a design error, or it may be a shortage of materials during construction, so we have to put other The door of the place was moved here. So far, no one dares to say for sure. Now that the basement has been discovered, everyone is looking forward to solving this mystery." "I heard that no one has opened it." "Ah, and people have doubts about how deep the act of opening that door itself meant. Anyway, no one has opened it yet. Maybe it's nailed in, and it's not so easily damaged." "Writing on the door, WHO DONE IT." "That's a mystery too, do you have any clues?" I would have said it was a form of speculative fiction, but didn't say it.Because, no matter how you think about it, speculative fiction has little to do with the present situation. "What about the basement?" "Right here." The Doctor walked up to the waist-high furniture.The furniture was the size of an old refrigerator and, like the refrigerator, had a door in front with a crude lock.Padlocks are common to all the furniture here.The doctor opened the lock. "Was it locked after the basement was discovered?" "Of course. Everyone thought it was just an ordinary cabinet before." "How many keys are there?" "Two. The mayor has the other." "Please show me." I checked the key, very simple style. "It's not difficult to match such a key. Although it is difficult to get the model by pouring candle oil into the keyhole, it may be easy to take the model with clay with this key." "However, the key belongs to the administrator." Xiaolu said. "That's the problem. There is no material or evidence to prove that we should trust the guard unconditionally. I just noticed that there is a clear weaving pattern on his wrist. Do you know what it is?" "The weaving pattern... I didn't notice it, why?" "That's the evidence that he just took a nap on the rattan chair. The magazines were also scattered on the floor. They were originally on the chair, and they were probably thrown on the floor because they prevented him from taking a nap. The freshly brewed coffee, It’s for refreshing after waking up.” Little Green's eyes widened. "Sleeping in broad daylight just after the theft happened!" "The habit is really scary. Perhaps, just now was the time when he used to take a nap. It's not difficult to steal the key and make a model when he is taking a nap." "What is this, I have to tell my father." Xiaolu puffed up her cheeks and said. "As expected of a detective." Dr. Tsukimura, who had been listening to me, said expressionlessly. "Low-level reasoning," I said happily. The doctor opened the door in front of him, but there was nothing inside.The floor is covered with cheap plywood.She grabbed one end of the plywood and pulled it hard. The board moved with her hand, and a square channel appeared. "Is this the entrance to the basement?" I said. "It was discovered by the craftsman who repaired this cabinet." "Is the craftsman suspicious?" "Impossible, he only found this entrance, and has no idea what's below." The doctor reached in and took out a flashlight that he seemed to have prepared.She turned on the flashlight and stretched her feet to step into the narrow passage.It looks like there are stairs. "Be careful when you come in, your feet are slippery," she said in the passage. Leaning my cane against the cabinet, I cautiously slipped into the passage.Sure enough, there are stairs inside, but they are actually just piled stone slabs, just as the doctor said, if you are not careful, you will slip and fall. When I bent over to enter, I was careful not to touch my head, but when I entered, I found that the inside was actually very high.The stairs were about one meter long and had no handrails. I walked down the cold stone wall.After descending the stairs, I found a kerosene lamp hanging from the ceiling.After the doctor lit it with a lighter, the surroundings suddenly lit up, and our shadows swayed on the surrounding walls, which was a bit creepy.Little Green seems to be waiting for us to light the lights.When the lights came on, she came down too. There is a wooden door in front, and the door frame and door stack are partly made of iron.An iron ring with a diameter of about ten centimeters hangs on the right side of the door, which seems to be a handle.The doctor did not pull the hoop, but stretched his hand to a slightly higher place.With a harsh sound, the door opened towards the inside. Flashlights and kerosene lamps beamed into the enclosed darkness.I took a step forward and almost screamed.A person appeared in front of my eyes. Of course, that was not a living person.