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Chapitre 12

Su Ying glanced at the aquarium, shrugged, and said, "No." She then got up and walked to the aquarium, shook it vigorously a few times, and patted the bottom side a few times. Immediately, many fish emerged from the thick layer of fine sand at the bottom of the tank, swimming around frantically.

I couldn't help but find it strange. I'd never heard of these saltwater fish having such a habit. These were clearly ornamental fish, brightly colored, and they didn't seem to like burrowing under corals or into crevices in the sand to forage. Then, as the water gradually calmed, the fish, wagging their tails, all disappeared back into the sand. I went closer to observe, and noticed several undulations on the sand's surface, as if fish were swimming within it, making it appear as if empty spaces existed from a distance.

I asked Su Ying, "When did these fish start showing these changes?"

Su Ying replied with an ambiguous expression, "Just in the next few days." She seemed completely uninterested in anything other than underwater people and swimming, and I'd gotten used to it.

I used to keep fish, so I know a little about their habits. After some thought, I came to the conclusion that these fish have probably mutated.

Cats and cockroaches flashed through my mind again; this fish must be the third mutated creature. Based on my experience watching Hollywood movies, it's very likely that there's some kind of radiation source in this Zhidanyuan residential area. This sent a chill down my spine; if a person were to be next… the consequences would be unimaginable.

The next day at noon, seeing that it was still a while before my appointment with Ruan Xiuwen, I took a walk around the archaeological site. Zhang Qiang wasn't there this time either; perhaps he had gone to lunch and hadn't returned. At first glance, the site seemed almost untouched, and there wouldn't be any progress. The excavated soil was piled into a small mound, and a group of children were running up and down it excitedly.

I smiled. I was quite mischievous when I was a child, and for a moment I felt a pang of nostalgia for my own childhood. I watched them from a distance. I saw them digging out a few earthworms from the soil with small twigs and shovels, and then they cheered.

Several boys grabbed a few earthworms and threw them in front of them, racing each other. One boy, annoyed that his earthworm was too slow, smacked it hard with a shovel. The earthworm immediately struggled and sprang up, and the boy yelled in surprise, cruelly shoveling it into four pieces. Of course, an earthworm doesn't die when cut; each piece trembles—this is basic common sense. But the children, however, shouted and cheered, crowding around as if it were a spectacle.

I couldn't help but smile knowingly, and moved a little closer to them, because I had done the same thing when I was a child. This, of course, doesn't mean I lacked compassion as a child, it just means I was very curious. However, in a flash, as I stared at the two pieces of earthworm on the ground, an exaggerated deduction flashed through my mind like a wild horse: earthworms are soft-bodied and can't be killed by a shovel—like cats with flexible bones that can survive being run over by a truck or falling from a building; earthworms can survive being cut in half and still not die, with each piece struggling and writhing—like cockroaches whose two bodies can move freely when separated; those earthworms that were dug out were still struggling to burrow back into the soil—like fish that like to burrow in the sand.

I simply took the new characteristics of these three mutated organisms and put them together, yet the conclusion clearly matches earthworms perfectly. The inherent characteristics of the three earthworms correspond one-to-one with the three mutated organisms. This cannot be merely a coincidence. So, could it be that the cartilage of cats, the cockroach's ability to split and survive, and the sand-burrowing ability of saltwater fish are all mutations modeled after earthworms?

I was astonished by this accidental discovery. In truth, this reasoning is quite reasonable, and earthworms have indeed appeared near the Zhidan Garden site. Perhaps if I were to catch a fish from Su Ying's aquarium now, it wouldn't die even if I slapped it or separated it. But this is still just a hypothesis; I have no evidence. Even if Su Ying's fish really did turn out that way, it doesn't prove my conclusion is correct. And even if the conclusion is correct, its connection to the Zhidan Garden archaeology remains unexplained.

Regardless, let's go see Ruan Xiuwen first.

Ruan Xiuwen maintained his polite smile, which convinced me he was a formidable opponent. He was likely similar to Liang Yingwu—exceptionally intelligent and highly skilled. Moreover, he came from a distinguished family with a rich scholarly tradition, surpassing Liang Yingwu in this respect. However, he wasn't as handsome as Liang Yingwu. Unconsciously, I found myself comparing Ruan Xiuwen to Liang Yingwu. Having shared unimaginable dangers with Liang Yingwu, I knew his resourcefulness and composure, so I truly didn't hope Ruan Xiuwen's talents surpassed his. After learning Ruan Xiuwen was with the X organization, I began to realize his smile was merely a facade.

I started with general questions. Ruan Xiuwen answered all my questions without any unusual behavior. On some archaeological questions, Ruan Xiuwen spoke eloquently, befitting his family's scholarly background. I knew that this wouldn't lead to any progress, so I decided to test the waters by asking him some questions first.

“I heard from the residents of the neighborhood—you know, I happen to live in that neighborhood too—that this area has been haunted these past few days. Many animals have undergone strange changes, which I would call mutations. Some elderly people are terrified, and I don’t know if it’s true or not.” I said, paying attention to Ruan Xiuwen’s expression.

Ruan Xiuwen showed no sign of the flaw I hoped to see. Instead, he widened his eyes in surprise and said, "Really? I haven't heard of that."

I simply replied, "Yes, it's right inside the residential area. It seems to be some dogs and cats. I heard it from some residents."

He adopted a helpless and dejected expression, saying, "I don't know about that. I'm only responsible for the archaeological identification work. If there really is such a problem, you should probably ask other departments. I think it's mostly just some gossip and rumors. You reporters should know how to distinguish them, right?"

Perhaps he thought his reaction was good, but I think if he were truly unaware or if these variations were particularly relevant to archaeology, he should have reacted much more strongly. He should have shown great interest; after all, he's from Agency X. Clearly, he wasn't surprised by the variations I pointed out. This confirms my suspicion that the Zhidanyuan archaeological site must be related to these variations.

"Really? I happened to contact the Archaeological Association yesterday morning, but they said they didn't know your name, haha." I continued to probe him.

“Oh, they must have made a mistake. Those people are always very reckless.” Ruan Xiuwen appeared very calm.

"But they also said they hadn't sent anyone to Shanghai. Was that a mistake?"

Ruan Xiuwen's face flushed slightly, indicating his annoyance. He said in a deep voice, "Mr. Na Duo, you are quite professional, but doubting my identity seems unnecessary. You can call again tomorrow to ask, but I advise you not to waste your time. I have never lied to you about anything."

"No, no," I quickly explained. "I was just saying it casually, don't take it to heart." I was afraid that if he got angry, the atmosphere would become awkward and difficult to manage.

Unexpectedly, Ruan Xiuwen asked again: "You seem to be working particularly hard. No other reporters have contacted me since I arrived here, but you have already contacted me several times in just a few days."

"Hehe... I wasn't really that enthusiastic." I tried my best to lower Ruan Xiuwen's guard against me and laughed, "But I think freelance archaeologists are quite rare, and I think you're amazing. I'd really like to talk to you more and learn more about you. I'm really sorry for taking up so much of your time."

Ruan Xiuwen's expression softened slightly upon hearing this. After all, flattery never fails, and even scions of powerful families are no exception. I decided to press my advantage, to appear completely ignorant to make him feel even better, thus enticing him to say more and giving him a chance to slip up. A thought struck me: I would find a ridiculous topic to divert his attention.

“I have a friend who writes fairy tales, and I don’t know what’s going on, but recently he suddenly had this crazy idea,” I casually made up, “that he wants to write a fairy tale, to create a story about this site and some kind of underwater people, and he’s been pestering me to come and interview him, to provide him with real material…” Before I could finish, Ruan Xiuwen seemed to shudder halfway through, his glasses slipping halfway off his nose, and his expression changed drastically. I realized there was something wrong with my “undersea people” story and didn’t dare to continue.

“That fantasy is rather… rather interesting.” Ruan Xiuwen adjusted his glasses with difficulty. “But as a journalist, shouldn’t you be recording the facts? Isn’t it ridiculous to conduct an interview about this kind of issue?”

"No, I just..."

“I’m quite disappointed in you, Mr. Na Duo. Let’s call it a day. I’ve told you everything I know. I still have work to do, so please go back.” Ruan Xiuwen said, standing up with a resolute expression.

"Since we've known each other, I still have a piece of advice for you: Mr. Journalist, be realistic. Your profession shouldn't allow you to indulge in all sorts of fantasies; that would be irresponsible to society," Ruan Xiuwen warned me bluntly as he left.

I didn't expect him to react so strongly to the underwater people, which undoubtedly indicates that they are not unrelated to this archaeological excavation. This brings us back to square one: underwater people, cats, cockroaches, and ruins. And now there's one more thing: earthworms. Although I didn't get any useful clues out of Ruan Xiuwen, I still gained something. But Ruan Xiuwen probably won't give me any more chances to get close to him. I left the hotel and pondered deeply.

When I got home that evening, I redrawn a clue chart to clarify my thoughts. The relevant clues for this incident are as follows: the described mutation (cartilage).

The mutation of cockroaches (their immortality).

Fish mutation (burrowing in sand).

The hypothetical model for these variations is the earthworm.

The existence of underwater people has been confirmed by Ruan Xiuwen.

The possibility that Su Ying is a sea creature. Since I initially learned that Su Ying was the source of the information about sea creatures, and that information has been confirmed, I have to reconsider Su Ying's involvement. The veracity of her statements is still unknown, and the possibility cannot be completely ruled out. It is currently impossible to know whether Su Ying is directly related to the events.

At the heart of the matter: the archaeological excavation of the Yuan Dynasty water gate architecture at Zhidan Garden. I can now believe that this is the origin of the whole affair, and there is no doubt about that now.

Of course, there's also Ruan Xiuwen, masquerading as a freelance archaeology expert. He represents Organization X's role in the incident. I'm certain of my highly probable hypothesis: earthworms are the model for the mutation. So, I point arrows to the earthworm, showing the cat, cockroach, and fish as the model. However, the archaeological site, the underwater people, etc., seem completely unrelated. This means we can't understand the essence of the event.

At this point, I can say with certainty that this is the most challenging case I've ever encountered, with the most seemingly unrelated and chaotic threads. Connecting them all is practically an impossible task.

When I was at my wit's end, I decided to abandon conventional thinking and engage in bold reasoning. This is a method of reasoning similar to that used by Sherlock Holmes in novels: first make a bold assumption, and then eliminate other possibilities one by one. The so-called impossible assumptions are often proven true in the end.

First, all three organisms mutated from earthworms, and mutation requires energy, meaning it needs some kind of force to drive it. I hypothesize that this force comes from the Zhidan Garden site.

Then, similarly, next to the entry for "sea creatures," I drew an arrow and labeled it "mutation." The other end of that arrow could then be filled with—humans.

The underwater people mutated from humans. Simply put, they became human. Similarly, the Zhidan Garden ruins provided the energy. I remember Su Ying once said that Zhidan Garden is the place where the underwater people became human, which coincides with my current thinking.

Therefore, after summarizing and organizing my thoughts, I concluded that the mutation of worms, cockroaches, and fish into earthworms, just like the transformation of sea creatures into humans, is all due to some kind of power at the Zhidan Garden site. These three creatures may simply be some kind of side effect; the key is that the Zhidan Garden site used the same power to transform sea creatures into humans.

This is clearly a very constructive hypothesis, vaguely connecting all the clues. However, to verify or refute this claim, the help of two people is needed. Two crucial figures: First, Ruan Xiuwen. I currently don't know the extent of the X Agency's research on this archaeological event, but I believe they should have a general idea. Second, Su Ying. It's such a coincidence that her idea of being a sea creature has been confirmed, which has piqued my interest in her previously claimed secret. However, directly verifying with Ruan Xiuwen is now unlikely, leaving only Su Ying.

Looking back now, Su Ying's history of mental illness seems even more mysterious. Was there some reason that led to her being mistakenly diagnosed with a mental illness? Su Ying clearly doesn't know the truth of the whole incident, but she might be somewhat involved. It seems she's hiding something from me, something about herself and the so-called underwater people. Ruan Xiuwen probably has the key, but not enough to completely explain the whole incident. I don't think he needs to go to the construction site every day to put on a show; his uneasy expression yesterday wasn't intentionally staged for everyone.