Cyber ​​Ghost Record

Chapter 7, Part 7: Kindred Spirits
"Suicide? Who?"

Suger feigned surprise and asked in return.

If he hadn't received training in counter-interrogation, he would most likely have assumed that Yang Guan already knew his secret when faced with Yang Guan's sudden questioning.

But from the moment Yang Guan began probing his past identity, he was already on guard. He wouldn't easily reveal any information until he was sure how much the other party knew.

After all, he didn't know if his superpowers were related to the organization, nor did he know if he would be subject to special supervision after exposing his superpowers. Even though the investigator saved him, he still had to be extremely cautious.

"He committed suicide right in front of you, and you didn't know?"

Yang Guan looked at Su Ge meaningfully, waved his hand, and released three human-shaped projections in the air in front of him.

He arranged the three projections side by side, devising a subtle trap by placing the gray-haired man's projection on the right and the bald cyborg in the center.

If Socrates was truly as clueless about what happened that night as he appeared, influenced by his reading habits, he would have scanned the projections of the doctor, the bald cyborg, and the gray-haired man from left to right.

Finally, Suger's attention will be more focused on the bald modified man, who is more eye-catching in both spatial position and appearance.

Yang Guan's electronic eye can capture subtle differences in how Su Ge observes objects.

If the hibernator shows more attention to the gray-haired man, then he is lying.

However, after glancing at these suddenly appearing images, Suger recoiled in terror, as if frightened, and then pointed at the doctor:

"Him, him!"

Seeing Su Ge react, Yang Guan put away the projector and squinted his eyes.

"What's up with him?"

"He, he injected me with something, and then... I couldn't move, and I couldn't open my eyes."

The image disappeared, but Suger still pretended to be in shock.

He had almost forgotten the counter-interrogation training he received, but he still remembered one thing: try not to follow the other person's rhythm.

Unable to glean anything from the situation, Yang Guan patted Su Ge on the shoulder. Once the hibernator had calmed down, Yang Guan reassured him, "I understand you've been through a lot. But don't worry, it's absolutely safe here, and no one will pose a threat to you. I just wanted to get some details about the incident from you. See, this isn't an interrogation room, so don't be nervous."

"I...I'm a little confused," Su Ge said in a low voice.

"Oh, it's alright, it's alright." Yang Guan smiled kindly. "If you're not feeling well, just rest here for now, and we'll talk when you've recovered. I have a mission, so if you remember anything, just tell me, and I'll talk to you in person as soon as possible."

Suger was very familiar with this kind of rhetoric. On the surface, it was concern, but the subtext was that if you didn't cooperate with the investigation, you'd better stay here and not leave.

After Yang Guan finished speaking, he got up and left without asking any further questions.

Su Ge had too many questions on his mind. After considering for a while, he called Yang Guan back.

"Investigator Yang, I'm also very confused about what happened last night."

Suger leaned against the bed, staring at the thin blanket on his legs, as if recalling his kidnapping.

Yang Guan noticed that Su Ge said "last night," not "the night before." It seemed that this hibernator hadn't carefully observed his surroundings after waking up, nor did he know that he had been asleep for more than twenty hours.

Just now, Yang Guan felt that this hibernator seemed to have been trained in counter-interrogation, and this detail made Yang Guan think that Su Ge might really just be an ordinary victim.

"I only remember them kidnapping me, beating me, and injecting me with something. Then, I couldn't open my eyes and could only hear them arguing and fighting amongst themselves. When I finally had the strength to get up, I found that they were all dead."

"I was afraid they had accomplices, so I picked up his gun. Then I tried to find my phone to call the police, but I couldn't find it..."

Su Ge rubbed his head, speaking slowly as he recalled the events while carefully observing Yang Guan's reaction.

"So, you're saying someone committed suicide? I don't quite understand. I initially thought they might have... died together?"

……

Yang Guan sized up Su Ge, the luckiest hibernator he had ever encountered.

He was tricked into going to a lawless area where criminals lived, fell into the hands of robbers, and miraculously survived.

Replay footage shows that the last robber walked up to Suger with a relaxed gait, like a victor surveying his spoils. But then, as if compelled by some unseen force, he retreated step by step to the wall and shot himself.

Although his partner Bai Miao had already submitted the case for closure, and Yang Guan agreed with her analysis, his intuition told him that Su Ge was not simple.

But so far, Suger's reactions have been normal.

Have I been paying too much attention to hibernators lately?
He sat back down on the edge of the bed.

"Your opinion that it was a mutual suicide is plausible. We currently believe that the suicide program implanted in his brain by his accomplice was triggered."

"So that's it."

Suger was finally relieved; it seemed that he hadn't been caught on camera using his superpowers.

"Of course, there are other possibilities as well."

Yang Guan then changed the subject.

"Almost all the chips in his brain-computer interface were burned out, which is quite rare. Ordinary suicide programs cannot achieve this."

This surprised Suger. Was the chip burning out because of him?
He asked, "What's possible?"

Yang Guan said, "The samples have already been sent out; we'll only know the results after they've been tested."

"The test results..."

Socrates began to worry that the sample testing would expose him, but at the same time he wanted to know the test results and what kind of assessment the Security Bureau would give.
Yang Guan, however, was getting a little impatient with the questions. "This is a matter for the Security Bureau, so you don't need to worry about it. You're from two centuries ago, so it's normal to be curious, but don't try to figure everything out."

He paused, then looked at Suger: "Actually, I didn't need to reveal so many details of the case to you. The Security Bureau has already approved the case closure application and determined that you will no longer be subject to any further threats."

"Is the case closed?"

Yang Guan's words surprised Su Ge.

"What about... the demons and monsters?"

"The security agency believes this was a non-targeted intrusion by demons and monsters."

"What do you mean?" "It means that the thing wasn't targeting you. The security bureau will investigate it, but it's highly unlikely that it will try to harm you again, since it's already been exposed once, which is a huge risk for it."

wrong.

Su Ge refuted Yang Guan's words in his mind.

His true identity is protected by top-secret information, and due to the special nature of the mission, the confidentiality period has been flexibly extended to the time he wakes up. The "general" knows him very well and can even create virtual images of his parents.

The "general" must be after him.

"Is it really... not going to come looking for me again?"

Suger asked, seemingly still shaken.

"Probably not, but I think there's something fishy about this." Yang Guan frowned, flicking out something resembling a short cigar between his fingers. He took a puff, like smoking, but no smoke appeared. "How did it trick you?"

"It... has become someone I trust very much."

“This is a very common technique.” Yang Guan nodded. “Tell me the specifics?”

“My teacher,” Sog said, recounting a fabricated lie, “said that I woke up in a shady hospital where people were going to use me for live research. I believed him, and then he tried to lure me into jumping off a building.”

"Jump off a building?" Yang Guan, who had been relaxed, suddenly sat up straight. "It just wanted to murder you? Are you sure it wasn't working with those organ traffickers?"

Su Ge didn't know where Yang Guan's excitement came from, and cautiously said, "It shouldn't be, but I can't be completely sure."

"I knew it! That night was the Great Nuo Festival, what demon would risk showing itself!" Yang Guan completely ignored the second half of Su Ge's sentence, stood up excitedly, and hurriedly asked, "Why did it want to kill you? Do you know? How exactly did it lure you?"

Suger shook his head. "I don't know."

Yang Guan's voice rose an octave: "How could you not know!"

Is this an interrogation?

Suger frowned slightly.

Yang Guan realized his lapse in composure, sat down, took out the short cigar-like object, and took another puff.

"This is my personal inquiry and does not represent the Security Bureau or the Extraordinary Detective Team Three. So you can choose not to answer. But before you think it over, I need to tell you some data."

“In the past five years, 29 hibernators have been awakened in Yingchuan City, and almost half of them have met with accidents. Moreover, the longer the hibernation, the higher the mortality rate. Currently, the hibernators who are still alive have almost all been in hibernation for no more than fifty years. As for old relics like you, almost none of them have survived.”

"Someone is secretly targeting hibernators."

He put down his short cigar and looked at Suger, whose expression was growing increasingly serious.

"Your situation is dangerous, but I can help you."

Yang Guan's words fueled Su Ge's speculation. The forces behind the "General" were purging the hibernators, and a question popped into his mind—among these hibernators, were there any who, like him, carried secrets?
"What results has the Security Bureau found?" Soger asked.

Yang Guan paused for a moment before saying, "I didn't check."

Su Ge was stunned: "No investigation?"

Yang Guan nodded. "The security system considers this data to be normal because you are out of touch with the times and lack awareness of danger. No one is targeting you. I am investigating this matter in my personal capacity."

“How could the security system think this is normal?” Soger felt it was absurd. “So many people have died.”

"I mentioned the security system to make it easier for you to understand. Yingchuan City's security system, 'Li Lou,' is actually a digital life form with a personality. Even without sufficient information, its judgment accuracy can reach 80% to 90%."

"But He is not without plans. If you trust me, tell me everything you know."

The investigator trusted his own judgment more than data analysis, and his judgment was correct.

Suger sighed inwardly and could only say against his will, "I probably still... trust that security system more."

Yang Guan looked at Su Ge with disappointment.

He sacrificed a great deal to uncover the secrets behind the hibernators. But one investigator's suspicions couldn't shake the authority of the security agency, and he watched helplessly as several hibernators died because of their own wishful thinking. He had once earnestly advised several people, but now he felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

He sighed, shook his head, and said only a few words:

"Bless yourself."

He got up to leave, and as soon as he turned around, he heard Su Ge ask behind him, "Investigator Yang, are there any hibernators from my generation?"

Yang Guan stopped and turned halfway to look at Su Ge.

"There is one."

Su Ge had only asked the question out of wishful thinking, but he received an unexpected answer. His heart raced, and he was extremely uneasy. He pressed on, "Is the person still alive?"

Seeing Su Ge's expectant expression, Yang Guan said tactfully, "We've lost contact, so that possibility is basically over. However, we can't completely confirm that he's dead."

"I want to participate in the investigation."

"I'll help you find him," Socrates said confidently.

"You'll help me investigate the case?"

Yang Guan was completely taken aback by Su Ge's words. This was the first hibernator who, after encountering demons and monsters, still dared to actively get involved in an unusual case.

He had no prosthetic parts, no exoskeleton, and no brain-computer interface. He only had a frail body, dulled senses, and slow neural responses. Any random child on the street could easily take care of him.

Yang Guan admired his courage.

But this courage born of ignorance will soon crumble when he discovers that he has been left behind by the times.

There are far too many examples like this.

Yang Guan sighed and patted Su Ge on the shoulder.

"This isn't the 21st century anymore, Suger. You're lucky, but don't mistake that for ability. After leaving the Security Bureau, just focus on surviving, one day at a time."

(End of this chapter)