I cleared my throat. "This time-travel game wasn't my idea, it was Zhang Cheng Rui Xue's. Now that I think about it, it shouldn't have been Zhang Cheng Rui Xue's idea either."
To elaborate on this mechanism, when I was in the alley, I seriously considered: if no one had climbed over the wall, how did that person enter from inside the wall under the infrared camera?
I remember Zhang Cheng Rui Xue once told me that before Lan Jie entered, two migrant workers pushing carts entered the 'Spatial Temporal Passage'. However, an old man living nearby said that there hadn't been any construction projects here for a long time, so where would migrant workers come from?
Let's not discuss why these migrant workers appeared. Assuming the 'Spatial Temporal Passage' could indeed travel two months into the future. Zhang Cheng Rui Xue, who was waiting there with me that day, should have also seen those two migrant workers.
If there were no migrant workers, and only Lan Jie had traveled, then this would be a complete scam.
...
From Zhang Cheng Rui Xue's camera placement, it's evident that this small path wasn't a straight line. Due to design disputes between the two developers, the path had become a wavy line.
The cameras seemed to be connected end-to-end, recording the entire path. However, that wasn't the case. At the bends, there was a pushable wall. This way, the camera on this side couldn't see it, and the camera on the opposite side, after capturing a narrow brick wall, would have a blind spot. It wouldn't see the gap, creating the illusion that someone was emerging from the wall.
Once this movable wall was put back in place, it was indistinguishable. To prevent the gap created by pushing the wall from collapsing, the designer also fixed a vertical steel plate behind the wall. Once this large, fixed movable wall was pushed open to create a gap, one could enter.
...
This design had a fatal flaw: you couldn't see it from inside with a camera, but it was clearly visible from within the residential compound as someone struggled to squeeze through the gap. Therefore, when setting up the cameras, they could only capture the alley's interior, not the exterior of the alley.
After I disappeared, Lin Han immediately bought both residential properties, claiming it was for wall protection and real-time monitoring. In reality, it avoided the awkward situation of installing cameras outside the wall.
...
Who came up with this design, and what was its purpose?
I already knew the answer. The person who designed this place was the man who had traveled for the first time. That man was a drug dealer, and Lan Jie was one of his contacts. The unknown man had his subordinates pose as migrant workers to push carts of drugs into the alley. After the transaction, the migrant workers would push the carts out, while those who entered the alley would quietly leave from within the residential compound.
At the entrance, on the street in front of the small shop, old men often played chess. They frequently watched people go in but not come out. Coupled with the rumors deliberately spread by the designer, this place became a 'Spatial Temporal Passage' that instilled fear in the residents.
...
At this moment, I heard my father's voice from outside: "Xiao Luo, you're here. Come inside. They're all in the house. Your aunt and I are making a few dishes, you'll eat with us later."
Yu Xiao Luo pushed the door open. We were all sitting properly, like children who had done something wrong.
"What's going on?"
Yu Xiao Luo wasn't someone who couldn't read a situation. She immediately sensed something was wrong upon entering.
Lin Han bit her lip and said, "Sister, we didn't mean to trick you. It was all Tang Nan's idea."
Chang Da Chun seized the opportunity. "I advised Tang Nan against this."
Fatty added insult to injury. "Tang Nan insisted we not tell you about this."
Hearing their words, Yu Xiao Luo's expression grew more distressed with each sentence. I watched her clench her teeth, a chill running down my neck. "Sister, let me explain."
"You're treating me like an outsider, aren't you? Everyone knew, but I didn't."
"No, that's not what I meant, I..."
Seeing their mischievous eyes, a plan formed in my mind. "It was brother-in-law who told me not to say anything."
"Who?"
"My brother-in-law, Luo Bo!"
"What does he have to do with this?"
"He told me to investigate Zhang Cheng Rui Xue."
Yu Xiao Luo turned to leave. I quickly gave Lin Han a look. Lin Han plastered on a smile and said, "Sister, why don't you hear Tang Nan's explanation?"
"Speak!"
I carefully chose my words. "It's like this, Sister. Didn't I ask you to investigate Lan Jie's financial issues?"
"It was fruitful. Lan Jie did have illicit assets."
"That's right. In reality, there's this drug chain. The drug dealer controls students like Lan Jie, who just graduated in Beijing and are struggling, to pass drugs to Zhang Peng, the manager of Galaxy Bath Center. Zhang Peng is then responsible for selling them. The drug is called Happy Pill. The police discovered this sales channel, so Zhang Cheng Rui Xue set up a time-travel scenario to help them evade charges. No one believes in time travel, and it doesn't exist in this world. Therefore, Zhang Cheng Rui Xue hid these two people and used two months to teach them how to evade polygraph tests. If they proved they weren't lying, it would imply they had mental issues, using mental problems to avoid criminal responsibility."
"Impossible, Zhang Cheng Rui Xue isn't that kind of person. She..."
Yu Xiao Luo didn't believe this theory and shook her head repeatedly.
"She's someone who hates evil, right? This is the direction brother-in-law was investigating. He discovered a group within the police force called 'Zheng Qi' (Righteousness). These 'Zheng Qi' members help criminals evade charges and then punish them in their own way."
"Accidental death?"
Yu Xiao Luo's face changed when she heard this. This concept of accidental death touched a raw nerve. Yu Xiao Luo's first boyfriend had died in an accident orchestrated by Leng Yan, who was involved in 'Logical Paradoxes'.
"Yes, the opponent this time is more professional than Leng Yan. Lan Jie and the drug dealer who also experienced time travel, they didn't die accidentally on the fourteenth day after their 'travel'; they were murdered."
"Is it really Zhang Cheng Rui Xue?" Yu Xiao Luo asked again.
"Yes, Zhang Cheng Rui Xue is just a member of 'Zheng Qi'. Brother-in-law wanted to know who was behind her. So, when you asked him to help you and Lin Han, he recommended Zhang Cheng Rui Xue. Zhang Cheng Rui Xue isn't a schemer herself. When I left the forensic psychology department earlier, I asked Zhang Cheng Rui Xue. She vaguely mentioned the plan and asked Teacher Wang Ren for his opinion."
Yu Xiao Luo was no longer angry but completely stunned. "Teacher Wang Ren is also involved in this? Could Teacher Wang Ren be the leader of this 'Zheng Qi' organization?"
"I don't know. I designed this time-travel scenario to force Zhang Cheng Rui Xue's hand. To let her know that I had exposed her scheme. However, I didn't expect her to carry out her task during this period, murdering them to silence them. No, she completed her job during this time, killing Lan Jie and that drug dealer. Now, Zhang Cheng Rui Xue, who knows the truth, hasn't exposed my time-travel deception. I guess her plan is to kill me by 'accidental death' on the fourteenth day after the 'travel'."
"Don't these 'Zheng Qi' members only kill criminals? Would she kill you?"
"Sister, there's no absolute justice in this world. I threatened their organization; they will definitely kill me."
"What do you plan to do?"
Yu Xiao Luo asked me. Lin Han picked up the conversation. "The plan is roughly set. Fourteen days from now, Tang Nan and I will have our wedding. There will be many people at the wedding, and the situation will be complex, with more unexpected factors. The simplest way to kill us under such circumstances would be a car accident. So, on that day, I've arranged for twenty-five couples to have a mass wedding. We'll have twenty-five wedding cars. Even we won't know which car we'll be in."
Lin Han's plan left Yu Xiao Luo dumbfounded. "Lin Han, Tang Nan is being reckless, and you're indulging his madness."
"Sister, a wife follows her husband. Since I chose to be the wife of a schemer, I naturally don't mind using a wedding to set a trap."
"I don't agree. Although this method is good, you must understand that the more complex the situation, the greater the enemy's challenge, that's true. But don't forget, this also increases your danger."
I smiled. "Sister, isn't there still you?"
"Me?"
"Please protect me on the wedding day."
Yu Xiao Luo smiled for the first time since entering. "Alright, everything is planned, isn't it? I'll go home and educate Luo Bo properly."
I felt relieved. "Yes, educate him properly, make him kneel on a washboard."
Chang Da Chun, ever the peacekeeper, said, "Xiao Luo, couples should be harmonious."
Fatty mumbled, "Yu Xiao Luo, should I buy you a durian?"
...
During dinner, we ate harmoniously and had a few drinks. Although Yu Xiao Luo didn't say much more, I could feel that she harbored a peculiar hatred for those who designed 'accidental deaths'.
Fourteen days later, the wedding proceeded as scheduled. After becoming a schemer, it felt like a curse. I never imagined my wedding would also be a setup.