booktalesy Chapter 58 The Still
Chapter 58 The Still
The once bustling campsite was now in chaos, and the person in charge had been taken away by patrol officers for questioning. Although police tape had been put up, the crowd continued to grow.
The group of five then revealed their identities and connected with the patrol officers on site. Sun Tiemei immediately took over, directing the officers to disperse the onlookers and having Su Xiaohe verify the man's identity.
Through the family's account and document verification, Su Xiaohe quickly confirmed the man's identity: Lin Nei, 32 years old, a programmer at a local surveillance manufacturing company, a resident of the city, who had come to Tianping Mountain for camping and leisure with his family of three.
Lin Nei's wife, Meng Xin, stated that her husband did not have any arguments or conflicts with anyone during the camping trip. Meanwhile, some tourists also confirmed that, apart from their child running around freely in the campsite, the couple did not interact much with others, and the little boy was very cute; no tourists scolded the child.
The paramedics had already lifted Lin Nei onto the ambulance, preparing to take him to the city's central hospital. Meng Xin couldn't stop her tears from falling as she carried her son into the ambulance. The little boy was a bit frightened by the sudden shock, curling up and clinging tightly to his mother.
Sun Tiemei's expression was grave: "I'll take Chen Shi and Xiao He to the hospital with the ambulance first, to calm the family and follow up on the injured. Chang Biao and Pang Daqiang, you two stay at the scene and cooperate with the patrol officers to cordon off the area, conduct a preliminary investigation and collect evidence, and make sure no one tampers with the scene."
Such a sudden and illogical situation might seem unbelievable to ordinary people, but as people with supernatural abilities, they have seen all sorts of bizarre things.
The three followed the ambulance closely all the way to the city center hospital.
Upon arrival at the hospital, Lin Nei underwent a full range of in-depth examinations. Brain imaging, blood tests, and neurological reflex tests were all completed. After the results came out, the attending physician looked at the report with a face full of confusion and frustration.
All of Lin's physiological indicators were normal. There was no brain damage or lesions, his organ functions were intact, there were no toxins or drug residues in his body, and no cause could be found to lead to loss of consciousness. But the facts were right in front of him: the man was lying there, breathing and with a heartbeat, but he had completely lost his self-awareness, no different from a person in a vegetative state.
"No pathological cause can be found; the only diagnosis is unexplained loss of consciousness." This is the hospital's conclusion. Lin Nei's current state is like a machine whose body is functioning normally, except for receiving the command of "consciousness."
After hearing the doctor's words, Meng Xin completely broke down, leaning against the corridor wall and crying until she was completely exhausted. Su Xiaohe carried the child away, not letting the grief continue to spread to the child.
If normal pathological issues are ruled out, then this bizarre situation is absolutely caused by supernatural powers. Conventional police and medical systems simply cannot handle it.
Without hesitation, Sun Tiemei immediately took out her phone and dialed Lao Zheng's number, giving a brief and clear report of the entire incident. After listening, Lao Zheng on the other end of the line did not hesitate for long and directly handed over full investigative authority for this special case to Team Five.
After hanging up the phone, Sun Tiemei looked at her team members: "The bureau has officially taken over this case, and the investigative authority belongs to us."
Then she called Chang Biao, who was staying at the campsite, and remotely arranged for field investigation. "Chang Biao, you and Pang Daqiang review everything you came into contact with on the entire lawn and in the woods again, be careful." "Also, ask the stall owners and tourists who haven't left yet if there's anything else that seems out of the ordinary." Chang Biao on the other end of the phone accepted the order and immediately led the fat man to restart the detailed investigation.
After hanging up the phone, Sun Tiemei looked at the other two team members: "Chen Shi, you and Xiao He stay in the ward the whole time, accompany Lin Nei's family, and ask questions slowly, paying special attention to whether Lin Nei has had any strange little symptoms recently. Chen Shi will handle the questioning, and Xiao He, you take good care of the child."
Inside the campsite, Chang Biao and Fatty conducted a thorough re-examination of all items they had come into contact with on the lawn and in the woods where the incident occurred, but they still couldn't find any unusual traces.
Chang Biao then went to the park's security room and carefully reviewed the key surveillance footage covering the area where the incident occurred. The footage was of very high clarity and completely recorded the entire incident.
The video footage shows that Lin Nei interacted normally with his wife and children throughout the entire incident, with no one approaching or making contact. Within seconds, without any warning or anyone approaching, he simply froze, exactly as everyone present had witnessed.
The surveillance video showed nothing suspicious. They then interviewed the vendors and tourists who hadn't completely left the area, but no one could say anything unusual.
Inside the ward, Chen Shi calmed the family member down and asked her to think about what might have been wrong with her husband lately.
"Officer, he's really perfectly fine." The woman's voice was hoarse, and her expression was blank. "We had a physical exam together last month, and everything was normal. He just occasionally says he feels a little dizzy, but I thought it was because he was working too hard and didn't take it seriously."
Chen Shi patiently pressed further: "Before the incident, did you notice anything unusual?"
The woman thought carefully for a moment, then gently shook her head, as if suddenly remembering something. "Really, nothing... Oh, I remember now, there's just one strange thing," she said earnestly, recalling the incident. "Just now on the lawn, he suddenly said the sunlight was too bright, making his eyes hurt. But at that time, the sky was clearly already overcast!"
Chen Shi remembered clearly that shortly after they arrived at the camp, thick clouds gathered in the previously clear sky, and Fatty even muttered, "Will it rain?" The appearance of the blinding sunlight that Lin Nei had mentioned at this time was indeed a suspicious point that could not be ignored.
Besides, Lin Nei had only experienced mild dizziness recently, and all his previous medical examination results were normal. Su Xiaohe also verified Lin Nei's personal information: he was an ordinary programmer with a regular lifestyle, simple social life, no disputes, no enemies, and no shady social connections.
As evening fell, Chang Biao and Fatty finished their on-site investigation and rushed back to the hospital to reunite with the others. All five teams reviewed all the clues in the corridor. The conventional investigation methods made no progress, except for the suspicious point that Lin Nei mentioned before the incident, "the sunlight was too bright," but even this so-called suspicious point could not be investigated.
The fat man asked, puzzled, "You could say this guy is dead, but he's not really dead either; he's practically dead too. So, does this count as a murder case?"
Sun Tiemei: "So far, all conventional investigation methods have failed. The other party's modus operandi is extremely covert, completely circumventing our conventional investigation scope."
After thinking for a while, she finalized the follow-up plan: "We will suspend the overt investigation, seal the clues separately, and not include them in any old case files. The hospital will be responsible for continuously monitoring the situation in the forest, while we will follow up and keep watch covertly. If any unusual activity occurs, we will immediately restart the investigation."