2052, Thirty Years Of Sleep

"Then you can focus on a few of them first and have more contact with them."

Zhang Xixue nodded in approval, but then she discovered that the man sitting opposite her was frowning for some reason and staring straight at the table.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly.

"I suddenly thought of something." Yan Muyun raised his head with a serious face: "What if Xia Houhao heard our conversation in the convenience store?"

"What?" Zhang Xixue didn't react.

"We confirmed before that Xia Houhao and I first came into contact in a convenience store."

"Yep."

"Now let's say he heard part of our conversation."

"I remember...we were talking about Zi Tong."

"Yes." Yan Muyun nodded, and his tone gradually slowed down:

"Is it possible that he... could deduce the identity of our Special Branch Commissioner from our conversation?"

Zhang Xixue frowned: "We haven't mentioned the Special Branch, have we?"

Yan Muyun shook his head: "There are not many people who can go to the superpower registration office and discuss the inside story of a certain case with the police, and also say 'you police'."

"So, what does this mean?" Zhang Xixue was a little confused.

"What if the 'there' that Xia Houhao said at that time: 'I have heard that they have people there' did not refer to the Superpower Registration Office, but to the Special Branch Bureau?"

Yan Muyun's eyes were bright, and his pupils gave off a faint golden luster under the sunlight: "After all, the Superpower Registration Office will basically not come into contact with criminal cases, nor will it be involved with the police."

"If that's the case..." Zhang Xixue leaned back slightly and did not continue.

"If that's the case, it's basically certain that the mole is in the Special Branch." Yan Muyun continued.

But he immediately shrugged and said indifferently: "But these are all my wild guesses, and they may be a bit over-interpreted. To be honest, I feel that what I just said is a bit far-fetched. Maybe Xia Houhao didn't hear it at all. The content of our conversation, maybe he heard it and didn’t think much about it, after all, he is not very smart.”

Zhang Xixue was silent for a moment, and then asked: "Then...what are you going to do about this task?"

"I don't know." Yan Muyun shook his head frankly. He really had no experience in this kind of work similar to that of a spy in TV dramas:

"At most, I'll just make some insinuations. Chat more often and see if anyone in the bureau has had family difficulties or lacked money some time ago."

Zhang Xixue pursed her lips slightly and said comfortingly: "You don't have to worry too much. We in the Strange Detection Department will also find a way. Just cooperate with us when the time comes."

"OK."

"So...goodbye?"

"Bye, Captain Wei said he would give me a day off today, so I can go back to sleep." Yan Muyun waved his hand and said with a smile.

The two stood up, said goodbye to each other again, and left in opposite directions.

...

When Zhang Xixue returned to the old Zhang Xiang Restaurant, Boss Zhang was still standing behind the stall in the mist, cooking rice noodles quickly.

"Dad, I'm back." She shouted crisply.

"Okay, will you go back and rest later?" Lao Zhang wiped the sweat from his head, his honest face full of smiles.

"I plan to go back to the police station first and write a report on tonight's mission." Zhang Xixue said.

Boss Zhang poured the rice noodles into the bowl and his eyes widened: "Is your boss so unreasonable? You have been tired all night, so you can't write the report after you fall asleep?"

Zhang Xixue shook her head: "It's none of Section Chief Zhao's business. I plan to work overtime myself. I won't be able to sleep well if I don't write the report first."

"Tsk tsk, that's right. I'm as dedicated as your father and I." Boss Zhang gave a thumbs up with one hand, scooped up a shaky spoonful of braised pork with the other hand and poured it into the bowl, then turned back and shouted into the store: "Old Wang, your powder is ready!"

"Okay!" An old man in a vest came out and brought the rice noodles in.

Zhang Xixue watched this scene with a smile. When her father was done, she waved her hand and said, "Dad, I'll leave first."

"Ah, okay." Boss Zhang nodded.

Zhang Xixue turned around and took a few steps, but heard her father shouting from behind: "Oh, wait a minute!"

"What's wrong?" She stood there and looked back.

"Come here." Boss Zhang waved.

Zhang Xixue was helpless and had no choice but to walk back.

Boss Zhang turned around and glanced into the store, then came over and asked in a low voice: "Um...what are you going to do tonight?"

Zhang Xixue frowned: "Dad, didn't I tell you many times not to ask me about work?"

Boss Zhang had a bitter look on his face: "Oh, I know, I know. Some of the things you police do are not suitable to be told to us ordinary people. I understand this, so I just asked because I couldn't hold it in any longer."

"It's similar to my previous job, catching bad guys."

"Why do you need to dress like this to catch bad guys, and you have to go there in the middle of the night... It's really not safe for a girl as young as you."

Zhang Xixue felt a little funny: "Dad, think about it again, am I unsafe at night, or are the bad guys unsafe?"

Boss Zhang waved his hands repeatedly: "I know, I know, what kind of special power you have, but after all, this thing is not omnipotent, and there will always be things that cannot be handled. Can you discuss with your section chief, how to handle tasks like this in the future? , let your male colleagues handle it?"

Zhang Xixue tilted her head slightly and said with a smile: "There is a male colleague with me."

"Oh, I'm not talking about whether there are any male colleagues, but I'm asking you to try not to go..." Boss Zhang was confused for a while and explained nonchalantly.

Zhang Xixue comforted her old father: "Don't worry, there are not many tasks of this type. I have only done this once in two years. And I will go to college in September this year, so you and my mother don't have to." I worry all day long.”

"That's right." Boss Zhang relaxed a little after thinking about it.

"Then I'm leaving."

"hold on."

"What else is there?" Zhang Xixue looked at her father angrily and funny.

Boss Zhang's brows were furrowed tightly, and he seemed hesitant to speak. After a long while, he hesitated and said: "That colleague of yours... doesn't have a girlfriend yet?"

Zhang Xixue felt her face was a little hot, and she vaguely guessed what her father was going to say, but she still said forcefully: "Whether he has a girlfriend or not, it's none of my business?"

"That is to say... you two are not suitable for each other. Can you try to keep as little contact as possible except for work matters in the future?" After saying this, Boss Zhang's honest face turned red, as if he was a little ashamed and a little embarrassed. I feel unkind.

Zhang Xixue was stunned for a moment, her originally hot face quickly cooled down in the morning breeze, and she subconsciously asked, "Why?"

"Didn't you say before that he is 52 years old?"

"Are you afraid that the age gap is too big and I will still be young when he gets older?" Zhang Xixue tilted her head and asked.

"Well..." Boss Zhang made a low hum of unknown meaning, not knowing what he wanted to say.

"Let me state in advance that me speaking for him does not mean that I like him. I just want to eliminate any misunderstandings you may have about him."

Zhang Xixue first vaccinated her father, and then explained: "Yan Muyun has been sleeping for thirty years, and his body functions do not seem to have changed during this period. In other words, his mental and physical age are still the same. At 22 years old, there is no problem with life expectancy in the future.”

"Ah, no, that's not what I meant..." Boss Zhang waved his hands repeatedly.

"Do you think he's not good enough?"

"Quite outstanding. I think he has a good temper and is down-to-earth."

"Then why do you specifically tell me not to be with him?" Zhang Xixue became more and more confused.

Boss Zhang had a bitter look on his old face, and after talking with each other several times, he finally made up his mind and said, "That is to say, he is 52 years old this year."

"Um."

"I'm almost 52."

"Um?"

"If you are really with him, should I treat him as my son, or should I call him my brother?"

"dad!"