A black Toyota SUV sped along the national highway. Outside the window, distant mountains snaked along, and a thin layer of snow on the treetops looked like white silk, reflecting a pale golden light in the early morning sunlight.

Si Hang set off early in the morning with Xiao Meng to Luo City.

Xiao Meng, sitting in the passenger seat, tilted his head back and caught up on sleep with his mouth open. Si Hang focused on driving, being especially cautious on snowy roads.

As they exited the highway and the car gradually entered the county road, Si Hang remembered what Zhuang Zi had told him yesterday and asked Xiao Meng, “How is the progress on Xiaomi’s case?”

“The girl’s parents have already filed a lawsuit,” Xiao Meng said. “The girl’s parents are with their son, so they can’t make decisions. When Xiaomi’s uncle came to the police station, he implied that Xiaomi’s mother developed depression after divorcing her father, and Xiaomi was assigned to her father because of her mother’s illness. This time, her father remarried another woman and found an excuse to leave the child with her mother temporarily. Now that something has happened, the woman’s relatives are more aggressive, blaming her father entirely. Xiaomi’s uncle said the child is pitiful and that since the man is selfish and irresponsible, they are willing to take Xiaomi back and raise her if he pays a fixed monthly living expense after the lawsuit.”

Si Hang asked, “Have they found her father?”

“They found him,” Xiao Meng replied sarcastically. “He just returned from a honeymoon abroad with his new wife. He probably turned off his phone to avoid being disturbed by Xiaomi’s mother because of the child. Now he wants to settle the matter privately and take the child back, but Xiaomi’s uncle refuses, saying he’s incapable of raising her. The relatives on both sides are still negotiating the living expenses. If they reach an agreement, there should be a result in a few days. We’ll see if they go to court or withdraw the case.”

…

The car gradually entered a rural road, the surface uneven and bumpy.

After nearly half an hour of bumps, they finally stopped at a small supermarket near a stone factory.

It was one in the afternoon, and they had been on the road for a while. Knowing there were no proper restaurants in the area, they had already had lunch at a restaurant in a small town along the way.

Standing at the supermarket entrance, Si Hang waited for Xiao Meng to come back with water.

Passersby near the supermarket couldn’t help but glance at him.

He stood tall and dressed well. Even though he worked as a criminal police officer and had to endure the elements, his demeanor was still somewhat different from that of rural people who did farm work.

A few minutes later, Xiao Meng returned with the water, and they headed to Zhao Yuan’s house.

Two years ago, Si Hang had been here and roughly remembered the way to Zhao Yuan’s house.

They walked along a rural path and soon arrived at a house.

White walls and black tiles, a newly built flat-roofed house.

Si Hang remembered that when he came last time, this house hadn’t been built. At that time, Zhao Yuan and his family were still living in an annex that hadn’t completely collapsed.

Reflecting on it now, he felt a bit emotional.

He recalled that a few years ago, the major accident at the stone factory, which had affected several nearby villages, had started here.

The development of the stone factory required daily blasting, and the vibrations severely affected the nearby residents’ lives. Every house had varying degrees of cracks.

Zhao Yuan’s house was one of the most severely affected.

The surrounding villagers were angry but dared not speak out, knowing the big boss behind the stone factory had powerful connections. Some had complained but their efforts had dissipated, and they nearly got themselves into trouble. The villagers, being powerless farmers, feared other unpredictable disasters from resistance and could only endure silently.

Until one peaceful afternoon three years ago, Zhao Yuan was on his way home for lunch from work when he heard a massive explosion from the nearby stone factory, causing the ground to shake.

Halfway home, a neighbor rushed to tell him that his house had collapsed from the vibration.

When he arrived home, his wife and father were kneeling in the ruins, digging through the bricks and earth while crying heart-wrenchingly.

His son and mother had died in the accident.

According to Zhao Yuan’s own account, six months after the incident, the stone factory’s director, accompanied by local coordinators, came to negotiate compensation to settle the matter.

The pain of losing his son and mother was something no person with a conscience could accept by merely taking a sum of money and letting it go.

Zhao Yuan insisted on filing a lawsuit, holding the stone factory responsible.

But things were more desperate than he anticipated…

He and his wife were weak and had no one to turn to for help.

After another six months without progress, they had no choice but to cause a scene at the stone factory’s owner’s headquarters, Yisheng Ruihong Group.

Unexpectedly, this brought them face to face with the dark and terrifying side of society’s survival of the fittest.

Just as Zhao Yuan was about to jump off Ruihong Group’s high-rise to create a stir and draw public attention, the police reported they had begun investigating the case.

Now, the case was solved, and the stone factory was shut down.

Si Hang still remembered his first visit to Luo City clearly; the environment was much more dilapidated then. In just over two years, the once-ramshackle earthen houses had been rebuilt into rows of brand-new low-rise houses.

A picturesque new countryside.

Who should get credit for this?

Si Hang didn’t dare take the credit; the residents here should thank the anonymous ‘hero’ who wrote the anonymous letter.

…

The door was tightly closed, and Xiao Meng went to knock, but there was no response.

No one was home.

Xiao Meng speculated, “Could he have arranged with Zhao Yuan to escape?”

Si Hang looked around and then turned to leave, saying, “Let’s ask the nearby neighbors.”

Not far away, they saw an old man sitting at the entrance of a farmhouse, smoking a pipe and basking in the sun. Xiao Meng went to chat with him and got some information: “He said Zhao Yuan’s wife had been suffering from nervous headaches and was hospitalized in town a couple of days ago.”

They immediately left for the town.

The town was small, with only one hospital, easy to find.

They went directly to the neurology department, and at the nurse’s station, they quickly found out Zhao Yuan’s wife’s bed number.

They located the corresponding ward.