novellhall Chapter 23 It has always been with us.
Chapter 23 It has always been with us.
Did I see my father who passed away many years ago?
Shi Yan's eyelids twitched.
It has to be said that the words were so eerie, they immediately created a sense of unsettlingness.
So the monster we're dealing with this time is this deputy director's father, who has come back from the dead?
Shi Yan had intended to ask that, but then thought he might get beaten up if he did, so he honestly replied, "Could you explain the situation in more detail?"
"Okay, let's talk in my office." Gao Ping glanced around. "Also, we should keep our voices down. So far, apart from a few people, no one has noticed anything amiss, and I don't want to cause any panic."
"sure."
So the three of them followed Gao Ping into the archaeological bureau.
As mentioned before, the Lincheng Archaeological Bureau covers a large area and has multiple venues, each responsible for different tasks. The venue managed by Gao Ping is number 13, built five years ago, and is responsible for excavating a mass grave containing the remains of a hundred people. According to Gao Ping, this mass grave belongs to a branch of the royal family who were executed by the emperor for treason, and their bodies were all thrown into the pit.
However, it's unclear whether the soldiers who buried the pit forgot to search it, or whether the emperor wanted to preserve some dignity for his relatives, because there were still quite a few burial objects in the pit. Excavating and maintaining these burial objects was the responsibility of Site No. 13, which was Gao Ping's duty.
Shi Yan listened attentively to this information.
The history of this world is quite different from the history of his previous life, but that makes sense, since there are monsters in this world. Therefore, Shi Yan cannot directly apply his understanding of history from his previous life to this world.
The interior of the venue is clearly visible. At its center is a huge rectangular burial pit, where dozens of archaeologists are bent over, meticulously cleaning the skeletons. Not far from the pit is a modern office area responsible for data recording and other miscellaneous tasks.
As Gao Ping led the three of them into the office area, a girl typing on a computer looked up at Gao Ping with a reproachful expression: "Deputy Director, when can we get off work? If you don't let me go home soon, my clothes will go bad."
"Ahem, it'll be soon, very soon." Gao Ping coughed lightly twice, then put on a serious face. "As you know, the city officials are coming to inspect soon, and our work progress has been lagging behind the other venues. Since you're usually rather lazy, don't blame us for working hard now. Let's give it our all."
After saying that, Gao Ping ignored the girl's wails and led the three of them into his office.
As soon as he entered the office, Qi Fei smiled and said, "Looks like you noticed something was wrong, so you specifically prevented them from going home?"
"Yes." Gao Ping nodded slightly, then couldn't help but complain, "It's also a rule that I can't let the monsters out. But things are different now. Before, to meet deadlines, we could work non-stop in the museum for ten days or half a month. Now, most of the people in the museum are young. If you lock them up for a few days, they'll rebel. That's why I had you come over last night to resolve things as soon as possible."
Qi Fei shook his head: "I really had something to do last night and couldn't come."
Gao Ping initially wanted to say, "Aren't you just live-streaming?" But looking at Shi Yan beside him, he roughly guessed what Qi Fei was doing, so he didn't say anything more, only saying, "Let's begin now. I noticed something unusual last night. Like I just said, I saw my father. He used to work in this building, but he passed away two years ago. Last night, when I was resting in this office, he pushed open my door, reported on his work, and then left."
As Gao Ping recounted the story, his face was unusually pale, as if simply recalling the event filled him with terror.
This also explains why he had such dark circles under his eyes... After something like this, it's really unlikely he could sleep.
but……
"I don't quite understand, didn't you have any reaction at the time?" Shi Yan couldn't help but ask, "Didn't you know your father had passed away? Why would you still...?"
"Why would you still listen to his work report?" Gao Ping sighed. "I was dozing off at the time, completely dazed, and couldn't tell if it was reality or a dream. After all, my father often did that when he was alive."
Do you often chat about work late at night? That's incredibly dedicated.
Shi Yan mentally scoffed for a moment, then said, "But now you know this isn't a dream."
"Yeah." Gao Ping turned his laptop around. "I might be dreaming, but surveillance footage is impossible."
The surveillance camera on the screen was pointing directly at Gao Ping's office door. Shi Yan clearly saw an elderly man who bore a striking resemblance to Gao Ping enter his office, stay for nine minutes, and then leave. The date displayed on the camera was last night.
This really is like the dead coming back to life.
"Was your father also buried nearby?" Shi Yan asked again.
After all, this kind of resurrection behavior makes it hard for him not to think that some strange body parts might have jumped into the corpse's mouth to be reborn.
"How could that be?" Gao Ping shook his head. "This is an archaeological site. Even if my father loved his work, he couldn't possibly be buried here. His grave is on the other side of Lincheng."
On the other side of Lincheng? After coming back to life, he ran quite far. This father must be incredibly dedicated to his work.
Perhaps guessing Shi Yan's thoughts, Gao Ping spoke up again: "That couldn't be my father's body, because my father was cremated, and it's absolutely impossible for him to come back to life. Moreover, after that, I checked all the surveillance footage, but I didn't see my father. He disappeared after leaving my office."
At this point, Gao Ping paused for a moment.
"It was while I was reviewing the surveillance footage that I discovered something even more terrifying."
After saying that, he tapped the keyboard on his laptop twice, simultaneously bringing up the monitoring data from multiple cameras.
"You'll understand once you see these two." Gao Ping's expression was very unpleasant.
Shi Yan stepped forward again and, under Gao Ping's guidance, looked at the first monitor.
This was a man with a thick beard, recording something in the mortuary, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
So he looked at the second surveillance camera, and there was the same bearded man, sitting in the office area, chatting and laughing with the girl who had complained to Gao Ping about why she couldn't go home yet.
"Is there a problem with this?" Shi Yan couldn't help but ask.
"You can tell by looking at the time."
time?
Shi Yan immediately realized something and looked again.
When Shi Yan saw that both times were 3:30 pm the day before yesterday, she couldn't help but hold her breath, even though she was mentally prepared.
"Yes," Gao Ping said softly, "it has always been with us."