Chapter 73: You Are Looking for the Mountain!

Half an hour later.

"Why didn't we stay overnight at that farmhouse just now?"

Zhang Sen had already parked the car on an empty patch of land by the roadside.

"The time since they lost contact was too recent." Yu Dazhang lowered his seat and lay down:

"From now on, no matter who we meet, regardless of their identity, do not trust them completely."

Zhang Sen adjusted his seat as well, lying down shoulder to shoulder with Yu Dazhang:

"I understand that; I still have that much vigilance. I just don't get why you chose to stop here."

In his mind, they should either stay overnight at the farmhouse or keep driving southeast.

Yet Yu Dazhang stubbornly chose such a place that relied on neither.

This way, they would rest poorly and also waste time.

"For no reason." Yu Dazhang closed his eyes, looking like he didn't want to discuss the matter.

Seeing he didn't want to speak, Zhang Sen asked no more.

Early the next morning.

While Zhang Sen was still in a dream, he suddenly felt the person beside him sit up.

Immediately, the sound of opening a door and getting out of the car followed.

He woke up instantly, first glancing at the passenger seat.

Upon discovering Yu Dazhang was no longer in the seat, he looked out the window.

He saw that fat man struggling to climb onto the car's hood.

He's climbing high again... Seeing his clumsy appearance, Zhang Sen felt immediate anger:

"Hey! Why do you keep climbing on the car for no reason? Are you addicted?"

Yu Dazhang acted as if he hadn't heard, continuing his actions.

By the time Zhang Sen opened the door and got out, he was already standing on the front hood.

Under Zhang Sen's gaze, he first stared in the direction they had come from for about a minute.

Then he performed the same action as in the industrial park, joining his thumbs and index fingers of both hands to form a triangle.

He then aimed it at the direction they had come from, his gaze looking into the distance through the gap in the middle.

This time, Yu Dazhang did not move in one direction as last time; instead, maintaining this action, he turned a full circle around him.

Seeming somewhat uncertain, he thought for a moment, then turned back in the opposite direction.

Zhang Sen watched from below, his lips twitching.

The hood is dented in. Damn it.

This car belongs to their Second Brigade, and he drove it out himself; how can he explain this when they return?

Say it was this fat man climbing high that caused it?

He couldn't bring himself to say it.

That would be equivalent to snitching; he simply couldn't do such a thing.

It seems getting scolded is unavoidable.

Forget it; anyway, whenever they encounter this kid, nothing good happens.

Just as Zhang Sen was feeling depressed, a hand pressed onto his shoulder.

"Hey, don't..."

By the time he reacted, Yu Dazhang had already used his shoulder as a fulcrum to jump up, then landed steadily.

Zhang Sen's half-body tilted, nearly falling.

Shaking off that hand from his shoulder, Zhang Sen looked at Yu Dazhang with some anger:

"I warn you, from now on, you are not allowed to touch my body, any part of it!"

"Don't be so stingy." Yu Dazhang, knowing he was in the wrong, said with a smile:

"Come into the car; let's analyze the case. I have already deduced the whereabouts of those two officers."

Hearing it was related to the case, Zhang Sen immediately took it seriously, opened the door, and sat in the driver's seat.

Once inside the car, Yu Dazhang took a document from his bag and handed it to him:

"This records the clues provided by Zhou Zizhe; take another careful look."

Zhang Sen had already seen this document before they departed.

But he had only read it once; analysis was out of the question. He didn't think anything could be discerned from it. After all, it was the memory of a five-year-old child, and sixteen years had passed.

In his view, it held no reference value anymore.

However, since Yu Dazhang brought it up, he took it and began to read it carefully.

Unfortunately, from start to finish, he still couldn't see anything worth noting.

"Look at this sentence." Yu Dazhang knew what he was thinking from his expression, so he prompted:

"After Zhou Zizhe slipped out, he went down the mountain overnight, then walked for a day and a night, finally collapsing at the entrance of a construction site."

Zhang Sen nodded and replied:

"I know this; the construction site mentioned above is the industrial park we visited before."

Yu Dazhang said in a deep voice:

"That is just the result; the part before is the key point."

Prompted by him, Zhang Sen focused his gaze on the sentence 'went down the mountain overnight, then walked for a day and a night'.

As if a bright lamp lit up before his eyes, in that instant, he suddenly felt a sense of sudden clarity in his heart.

The clue originally thought to be worthless suddenly became clear.

Please... collect... 6... 9... Book...!

As if clouds parted to reveal the sun, he seemed to see a door opening toward him.

Seeing him lost in thought, Yu Dazhang made no sound to disturb him, but gently pushed the car door open and stepped out.

Outside, he took out his phone and called Lu Zhongxin.

The moment the call connected, he asked directly:

"Master, how is it on your end?"

"Rather smoothly. We found that the two officers had visited the industrial park," Lu Zhongxin's voice sounded somewhat weary:

"Moreover, they had inquired within the park about what mountains were nearby."

"Anything else?" Yu Dazhang continued asking.

"Yes." Lu Zhongxin spoke quickly:

"We collected information along the route to where the two officers lost contact, confirming they took a relatively remote lower road."

He paused, as if pondering something; a moment later, he continued:

"That's all for now. Where are you now, and what have you found?"

Afterwards, Yu Dazhang told his master what he had discovered and his current location.

"You found the farmhouse where they stayed the day before they lost contact?" Lu Zhongxin's tone held barely concealed joy.

Though phrased as a question, it was clear he was certain his disciple would not be mistaken.

"Master, the information you found is truly useful."

Yu Dazhang's words were not flattery, but heartfelt.

If only he and Zhang Sen were investigating, he could not have bypassed the industrial park and the location where the two lost contact to go directly to that village.

Because that would miss many valuable clues, leading to information asymmetry and an inability to cross-verify.

After ending the call, he sat back in the car.

By now, Zhang Sen had regained his senses and was staring at him with wide, blank eyes.

"I understand," he said excitedly:

"I know why you stopped here."

"You were looking for a mountain!"

"That sentence contains two key points."

"First, 'descended the mountain overnight' indicates Zhou Zizhe fled down from a mountain, or rather, from a mountain village."

"Second, 'one day and one night' appears to be time, but actually refers to distance."

"A five-year-old child walking for one day and one night allows that distance to be estimated."

"No wonder you climbed onto the hood and gestured back and forth with your hands; you were searching for which nearby mountain matched that distance."

"Wow, you really are..."

"You have too many cunning tricks!"

See, tell someone there is a clue somewhere, and they can quickly analyze it.

Unfortunately, not everyone can spot the key points.

The same sentence, some glance over it instantly, while others see something different.

"Brother Sen, I must correct you," Yu Dazhang said seriously:

"I had no subjective intent to do anything; what I have been doing all along is simulating the investigative logic of the two missing officers."

(End of this chapter)